The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Vehicle article carrier systems are used on a wide variety of motor vehicles to transport objects above an outer surface of a vehicle. Typically such vehicle article carriers are secured on an outer body surface of a vehicle, for example such as on a roof of the vehicle. A vehicle article carrier often includes one, but more typically two, cross bars that are supported on support rails, where the support rails are fixedly secured to the roof of the vehicle. The cross bars are supported on the support rails so that they extend laterally (i.e., width-wise) above the outer body surface of the vehicle between the two support rails. The cross bars are thus supported above the outer body surface and used to support articles thereon, typically with the assistance of cargo straps such as bungee cords, rubber cords or nylon cords.
While such vehicle article carriers are highly useful for transporting articles thereon, the cross bars do typically add a small degree of wind resistance as the vehicle travels. With the present day emphasis on maximizing fuel economy of vehicles of all types, there is an increased interest in providing a vehicle article carrier construction which can eliminate the wind resistance of the cross bars when the cross bars are not needed. To this end many vehicle article carriers incorporate cross bars that can be removed, although removal can sometimes require special tools and somewhat time consuming procedures. If removed, then the cross bars need to be stored somewhere. Since the cross bars typically have a length which is close to the overall width of the outer body surface of the vehicle (i.e., the roof portion), the cross bars are not always easily stored inside the vehicle. Even if they are able to be stored inside the vehicle, they may use up a considerable amount of otherwise available cargo space inside the vehicle or otherwise interfere with the full use of the available cargo space within the vehicle. Storing the cross bars off of the vehicle, such as in one's garage, is an option, but then that gives rise to the possibility that an unanticipated need may arise to use the vehicle article carrier, and the user may not have the cross bars with him/her in the vehicle.
Another limitation with present day vehicle article carrier systems can be the amount of rotational force that needs to be applied to a rotatable locking member that locks an end support to its respective support rail. Such locking members are used to tighten a clamping member, for example a tap plate, within its respective support rail. However, some individuals may have limited hand strength, either because of an injury or simply because of being small in stature, and may have difficulty applying the needed tightening force to a rotatable locking member. Sometimes such individuals are able to apply a force that meets only a minimum required force to securely lock the locking member onto its respective support rail. When only the minimum required force is applied, there may exist the possibility of the locking member loosening during use, and because the initial tightening was made only to a minimum required force, the loosening that occurs may be sufficient to allow the cross bar being supported by the end support to wobble. Therefore, any mechanism that could be easily implemented on the end support to assist in preventing loosening of its associated rotatable locking member would be highly desirable.
Still another limitation with many present day vehicle article carrier systems is the need to provide mounting fasteners in the vehicle roof at specific locations that approximate where the cross bars of the article carrier system are to be located. The mounting fasteners are then secured to metallic structure associated with the support rails of the article carrier system. This can present a drawback from the standpoint that the mounting fasteners must be located in the vehicle roof at locations approximating where the outer ends of the cross bars will lay when the cross bars are positioned on the support rails. As will be appreciated, this can necessitate the vehicle manufacturer having to redesign the roof of the vehicle so that the mounting fasteners are located at the appropriate locations. This can add significant additional cost that the vehicle manufacturer may have to absorb.