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US 6,957,843 B2Granted
Folding roof for vehicle with sliding elements
AssigneeFrance Design
InventorJean-Marc Guillez
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AssigneeFrance Design
InventorJean-Marc Guillez
Estimating the term…
The invention concerns a folding roof for vehicle, comprising a rigid front roof element (1), a rigid intermediate roof element (2) and a rigid rear roof element (3). The displacement of the rear element towards the rear deck (5) is guided by fingers (6) borne by the rear part of the rear element (3) and slidably engaged in the slide rails (7), (10) extending inside the deck (5). The displacement of the intermediate element (2) and the front element (1) is guided by the slide rails borne by two adjacent roof elements and by fingers engaged in said slide rails and borne by two other adjacent roof elements, enabling the front element (1) and the intermediate element (2) to slide towards each other and to slide towards the rear element (3) so that the three elements can be superimposed.
A retractable roof for a vehicle, comprising a front roof element (1), an intermediate roof element (2) and a rear rigid roof element (3), the three elements being able to move between a position in which they cover the vehicle cabin (4) and a position in which they are superimposed substantially horizontally in the rear deck (5) of the vehicle, comprising first fingers, first and second slide rails, third slide rails, and third fingers characterised in that the movement of the rear element (3) towards the deck (5) is guided by said first fingers carried by the rear part of the rear element (3) and slidably engaged in said first and second slide rails which extend inside the deck (5), in that the movement of the intermediate element (2) and of the front element (1) is guided by said third slide rails carried by the two adjacent front and intermediate roof elements and by said third fingers which engage said third slide rails and are carried by said front and intermediate adjacent roof elements, enabling the front element (1) and the intermediate element (2) to slide towards each other and to slide towards the rear element (3) so that the three elements can be superimposed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
With rigid non plate-like elements, e.g. for convertible vehicles: the sliding movement being combined with a pivoting movement
Windows, windscreens, non-fixed roofs, doors, or similar devices for vehicles
Term ended 30 Nov 2021 (estimated)
The invention concerns a roof which can be retracted or folded away in the rear deck of a vehicle.
A retractable roof of this type makes it possible in particular to convert a vehicle of the two-seater coupe or four-seater coupe or saloon type into a vehicle of the cabriolet type.
In the case of four-seater coupés or saloons, the roof has a relatively great length, so that the retractable roof is composed of three elements, each of which has a length compatible with the dimensions of the vehicle and deck.
In the accompanying drawings, given by way of non-limiting examples:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view in partial longitudinal section of a vehicle equipped with a retractable roof in the closed position, according to a first embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 1B is a partial view of FIG. 1 presenting a different embodiment according to which three-point links (instead of fingers) engage in the slide rails;
In the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 1 to 9, the retractable roof for a vehicle comprises a front roof element 1, an intermediate roof element 2 and a rear roof element 3. These three elements 1, 2, 3 are able to move between a position in which (see FIGS. 1, 4 and 7) they cover the vehicle cabin 4 and a position in which (see FIGS. 3, 6 and 9) they are superimposed substantially horizontally in the rear deck 5 of the vehicle.
In accordance with the invention and in all the embodiments depicted, the movement of the rear element (3) towards the deck (5) is guided by fingers (6) carried by the rear part of the rear element (3) and slidably engaged in slide rails (7), (10) extending inside the deck (5). The rear element (3) is connected to the intermediate element (2), the latter is itself connected to the front element (1) by fingers engaged in longitudinal slide rails enabling the front element (1) and the intermediate element (2) to slide towards each other and to slide towards the rear element (3) so that the three elements can be superimposed.
In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 to 3, the retractable roof is designed so that the longitudinal runners (52, 53), (56, 57) are adapted so that the front element (1) can, when sliding, position itself above the intermediate element (2), and so that the intermediate element (2) can, when sliding, position itself above the rear element (3).