Vehicle folding top

A folding vehicular top assembly comprising:

• a flexible cover supported, when deployed, by a rear bow, a center bow and a front bow, each such bow having a cover-contacting bight portion and a pair of parallel leg portions;
• the rear bow leg portions each being pivoted at their lower ends to the vehicle to project upwardly therefrom;
• the center bow leg portions each being pivotally attached to the adjacent rear bow leg portions above the rear bow-vehicle pivot connection to project upwardly and forwardly therefrom;
• the front bow having its legs defined by pivotally interconnected leg sections which are longitudinally aligned in a horizontal plane, the rear sections of the front bow legs each being pivotally connected to the rear bow above the connection of the rear bow to the center bow;
• a pivot connection located on each of said center bow leg portions above the plane of the leg sections of the front bow, and a pair of downwardly divergent links pivoted at each of said center bow pivot connections, one such link of each pair being connected to the adjacent rear section of the front bow legs and the other of each pair of such links being connected to the adjacent front section of the front bow leg;
• and
• means for releasably securing the front bow to the vehicle.

A frame for a folding vehicular top comprising, when the top is deployed over a passenger compartment,

• a rear bow having its parallel legs each pivoted at its lower end to the vehicle body, so that the rear bow projects upwardly and rearwardly therefrom to a top-supporting position;
• a center bow having its parallel legs each pivoted at the lower end to the adjacent rear bow leg, so that the center bow projects forwardly and upwardly therefrom to a top-supporting position;
• a front bow assembly lying horizontally in a top-supporting position, and including a forward bow having its parallel legs horizontal and terminating in free ends located forwardly of said center bow, and horizontal front bow extensions pivotally interconnecting the free ends of said forward bow legs to the rear bow at locations above the pivotal interconnection of the rear bow to the center bow, and
• a scissors assembly including a pivot connection on each of said center bow legs above the plane of the front bow, first scissor links interconnecting the front bow legs to said pivot connections, and second scissors links interconnecting the rear bow legs to said pivot connections, and
• means for releasably securing said front bow to the vehicular body.