Patent ID: 7044345

Claim:
A vehicle article carrier for supporting articles above an outer body surface of a vehicle, comprising: a pair of support rails each having a channel and being adapted to be secured to said outer body surface; at least one cross bar for supporting articles thereon, said cross bar having a pair of end supports at its outermost ends, said end supports adapted to engage with said support rails such that said cross bar is supported above said outer body surface; each said end support having: a housing; an actuating member pivotally secured to said housing and moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position, said actuating member having a camming surface thereon; a locking member adapted to be disposed within said channel in an associated one of said channels, said locking member having a generally planar head portion having a surface adapted to engage a surface of its associated said support rail; and a generally linear biasing member for biasing said locking member into a normally locked position relative to its associated said channel; wherein movement of one of said actuating members by a user from said locked position to said unlocked position causes its said camming surface to urge its associated said locking member into said unlocked position against a biasing force provided by its associated said biasing member; and at least one coupling element extending along said cross bar and coupled to each of said actuating members for simultaneously urging said actuating member which is not being moved by said user into said unlocked position when said user moves the other one of said actuating members into said unlocked position, to thereby simultaneously unlock both of said end supports from their respective said support rails; and wherein said generally planar head portion comprises a component having a plurality of angled serrated, teeth on one surface for engaging a portion of an associated one of said support rails.