Patent ID: 8348111

Claim:
A vehicle article carrier system adapted for use on an outer body surface of a vehicle to removably support articles above the outer body surface, the system comprising: a pair of support rails adapted to be secured to the outer body surface generally parallel to one another, and extending along a major longitudinal axis of the vehicle; at least one cross bar having dimensions sufficient to extend between the support rails when the support rails are secured to the outer body surface of the vehicle; said cross bar having a central portion and a pair of end supports at opposite ends of said central portion, the end supports being pivotally secured to the opposite ends of the central portion; the cross bar being supportable on top of a respective one of the support rails to lie generally flush on the respective one support rail, at a first elevation, when the cross bar is placed in a stowed position, and further such that the end supports extend generally along a longitudinal axis of the central portion of the cross bar; the cross bar further being adapted to be secured to extend perpendicularly between the pair of support rails in an operative position, and when in the operative position each one of the end supports is secured to an associated one of the pair of support rails with the end supports being pivoted to extend non-parallel from the central portion of the cross bar, such that the central portion of the cross bar is elevated above the support rails and above the end supports; each said end support having a housing and a rotatable locking component secured to the housing for rotatable movement, the rotatable locking component having a locking post with a threaded end portion adapted to threadably engage a portion of a support rail and to enable a threaded engagement between the threaded end portion and the portion of the support rail to provide a primary attachment force that secures the end support to the support rail; one of the housing and the rotatable locking component having a biased implement projecting therefrom, and the other one of the housing and the rotatable locking component having a plurality of structural elements arranged in a circumferential pattern; and wherein the biased implement engages with at least one of the structural elements to provide an additional holding force to said rotatable locking component when said rotatable locking component has been tightened.