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US 5,090,764 AGranted
Vehicle body construction for hardtop convertible
AssigneesNissan Motor Co., Ltd., Kabushiki Kaisha Johnan Seisakusho
InventorsHiroshi Kogawa, Hiroshi Imai, Masayuki Kikuchi, Minoru Shibata, Makoto Nagayama, Hiroshi Hasegawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hardtop convertible has a roof which is swingable rearward so as to be stored in a storage chamber. An opening through which the roof enters the storage chamber is covered and uncovered by a slide door.
Claims16
A vehicle body construction for a hardtop convertible comprising:
- a vehicle body;
- a roof made of a rigid material and pivotally mounted on said vehicle body so as to be swingable between a first position into which it is put when the vehicle is used in a hardtop style and a second position into which it is put when the vehicle is used in an open top style;
- means for defining an opening in said vehicle body at a place rearward of said roof in said first position;
- means for defining a storage chamber in said vehicle body at a place under said opening so that said roof passes through said opening into said storage chamber to be stored therewithin when swung open into said second position;
- and
- a slide door installed on said vehicle body to be slidable forwardly and rearwardly thereon to cover and uncover said opening, wherein rearward sliding of said slide door to uncover the opening enables the roof to pass through the thusly uncovered opening into the storage chamber;
- and further including guide mechanism means secured to the slide door for initially guiding the slide door in an upward direction upwardly from a seated position covering the opening and thereafter guiding the slide door in its rearward sliding direction to uncover the opening and thereby enable the roof to pass through the thusly uncovered opening into the storage chamber, and for finally guiding the slide door to lower the slide door to its seated position and thereby cover the opening, wherein said guide mechanism means includes guide rails mounted to the vehicle body, slide channels extending along the guide rails and secured to the slide door, a tilt bracket secured to the slide door, driving shoe mechanism means interconnected to the tilt bracket and slidable along the guide rails to move the slide door in the forward and rearward directions, initial movement of the driving shoe mechanism means in the rear direction being operable to raise the tilt bracket and thereby the front end of the slide door, a tilt lever arrangement connected to the slide channels, a tilt channel pivotally mounted at a forward end thereof to a base plate and connected at a rear end thereof to the tilt lever arrangement, an engagement and disengagement mechanism, a follower shoe mechanism connected to the engagement and disengagement mechanism, the engagement and disengagement mechanism being further connected to the driving shoe mechanism means to transmit initial movement of the driving shoe mechanism means to pivot the tilt channel about its forward end to thereby raise the tilt lever arrangement and the slide channels during initial rearward movement of the driving shoe mechanism means to thereby cause the rear end of the slide door to raise from the seated position.
4 more elements
A vehicle body construction for a hardtop convertible comprising:
- a vehicle body;
- a roof made of a rigid material and means for pivotally mounting the roof on said vehicle body so as to be swingable between a first position into which the roof is placed when the vehicle is used in a hardtop style and a second position into which the roof is placed when the vehicle is used in an open top style;
- means for defining an opening in said vehicle body rearward of said roof in said first position;
- means for defining a storage chamber in said vehicle body under said opening so that said roof passes through said opening into said storage chamber to be stored therewithin when swung open into said second position;
- a slide door installed on said vehicle body to be slidable forwardly and rearwardly thereon to cover and uncover said opening;
- and
- slide door guiding and driving means for guiding and driving said slide door such that said slide door moves upwards while turning into an inclined position where it ascends rearwardly of said vehicle body during initial rearward movement of said slide door to uncover said opening, wherein said slide door guiding and driving means guides and drives said slide door such that said slide door moves downwards while turning from said inclined position into a horizontal position, and wherein said slide door guiding and driving means comprises a tilt channel swingably installed at a front end thereof on said vehicle body and having a gradually arcuated guide groove extending longitudinally of said vehicle body, said guide groove having an upstanding forward end portion, a tilt bracket secured to said slide door and having an upstanding wall formed with a guide slot extending longitudinally of said vehicle body and inclined to descend rearwardly of said vehicle body, a first carriage roller rotatably installed on said upstanding wall of said tilt bracket and movably engaged in said guide groove, a slide pin movably installed in said guide slot, a second carriage roller attached to said slide pin and movably engaged in said guide groove, and a driving shoe mechanism drivingly connected to said slide pin such that during initial movement of said slide door to uncover said opening said slide pin first moves rearward in said guide slot for thereby driving said tilt bracket upwards while causing said first carriage roller to move upwards in said upstanding forward end portion of said guide groove and then moves together with said tilt bracket rearwardly of said vehicle body being held in a rear end of said guide slot and guided by said guide groove.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.