Thule Sweden Ab

Industri Ab Thule

William Fortune

Kevin W Harris

Ted Niedziela

Jeffrey R Edgerly

Frederick Murray

Load carrier mountable above a bed structure of a vehicle having an upper surface and an internal bed rail system is disclosed. The load carrier broadly includes an upright base support member, an internal rail clamping assembly, and a clamp adjustment assembly. The upright base support member rests upon the upper surface of the side wall of the bed structure and connects with the internal rail clamping assembly. The upright base support member has a first clamp surface for asserting a clamping force upon the upper surface of the side wall of the bed structure. The rail clamping assembly is releasably securable to the internal bed rail system and includes a second clamp surface for asserting a clamping force upon the internal bed rail system. The clamp adjustment assembly positionally adjusts the first clamping surface with respect to the second clamping surface between clamped and unclamped positions.

Load carrier arrangement for a vehicle bed comprising an internal bed rail system

Apparatus and method for transporting a bicycle in a substantially upright orientation. The method includes positioning a bicycle in a carrier so that a wheel of the bicycle is located in a trap space of the carrier. The trap space is configured to maintain the bicycle in a substantially upright orientation when the wheel is located therein and the carrier is in a released configuration. This permits the operator to use both hands to secure the bicycle in the carrier. The wheel of the bicycle, and typically the front wheel, is fixed in the carrier by applying a squeeze force upon the wheel and thereby establishing a securing configuration of the carrier. Preferably, the squeeze force is imposed across a perimeter of the wheel and the actuators for imposing the squeeze force are positioned low enough to be within the typical user's reach, also referred to as the reach zone, when the carrier is mounted on the roof-top of a carrying vehicle.

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Branford, CT, United States of America

William Fortune