Load bar for automobile luggage carrier

摘要

A vehicle article carrier having a pair of bracket members lockably engageable with a pair of slats, wherein each of the bracket members has a rotatable thumb wheel, a locking member and a spreader block disposed within the locking member. The locking member is threadably engaged with a threaded shaft fixedly secured to the thumb wheel such that rotational movement of the thumb wheel in a locking direction linearly displaces the locking member. A spreader block having a pair of tapered walls causes a pair of arm portions of the locking member to be cammingly spread apart as the locking member is linearly displaced such that the arm portions engage within a channel of the slat to cause the bracket member to be clampingly engaged with the slat. The spreader block allows the arm portions to be retracted when the thumb wheel is rotated in an unlocking direction such that the entire bracket member can be removed from the slat without any disassembly.