Vehicle roof with manually configurable sliding panels
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsMichael John Harmon, Robert J. Gelardi, Darren Luke, Daniel J. Kangas, Justin Sorum, Abbas Ghamlouche
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A motor vehicle may include a roof including a roof opening. The motor vehicle may also include a panel manually configurable between a fully closed position, an intermediate position, and at least one open position. The panel may be coupled to a link, and the link may be configured to rotate relative to the roof opening to move the panel between the intermediate and fully closed positions. The link may further be configured to slide relative to the roof opening to move the panel to the at least one open position.
Claims20
A motor vehicle, comprising:
- a roof including a roof opening;
- and
- a panel manually configurable between a fully closed position, an intermediate position, and at least one open position, wherein the panel is coupled to a link, wherein the link is configured to rotate relative to the roof opening to move the panel between the intermediate and fully closed positions, and wherein the link is configured to slide relative to the roof opening to move the panel to the at least one open position.
A method, comprising:
- manually moving a panel from a fully closed position to an intermediate position by rotating a link relative to a roof opening of a motor vehicle, wherein the link is coupled to the panel;
- and
- manually moving the panel from the intermediate position to an open position by sliding the link relative to the roof opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.