US 8,474,899 B2Granted

Retractable top for off-road vehicles

AssigneeOmix-Ada, Inc.

InventorsJeffrey A. Moran, Ali Azadi

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Abstract

A retractable top is disclosed for off-road vehicle such as Jeep® Wrangler® and CJ® brand vehicles. The top includes a frame and a fabric cover designed to cover and move with the frame. The frame includes a base plate that is secured to the belt rail surrounding the rear compartment of the vehicle. The top is deployable between a stowed configuration folded upon itself over the rear compartment of a vehicle and a deployed configuration covering the passenger and rear compartments of the vehicle. During deployment, the top unfolds in a substantially vertical direction over the rear compartment substantially to its full extent. This avoids collision with the rear doors and roll bars of the vehicle. Once so deployed, the entire top pivots downwardly into place covering the passenger and rear compartments of the vehicle.

A soft top for an off-road vehicle that has a rear compartment bounded on sides of the rear compartment by belt rails and a passenger compartment forward of the rear compartment, the soft top being attachable to the vehicle and, when attached, selectively movable between a retracted configuration folded on itself and overlying the rear compartment of the vehicle and a deployed configuration unfolded and covering the rear compartment and the passenger compartment, the soft top comprising:

a frame comprising:
a pair of base plates each attachable to a respective one of the belt rails;
a pair of vertical arms each pivotally attached at a forward end of a respective one of the base plates and extending to a distal end;
a pair of rear sections each pivotally attached at the distal end of a respective one of the vertical arm members and extending to a distal end;
a pair of forward sections each pivotally attached at the distal end of a respective one of the rear sections and extending to a distal end;
each rear section and forward section being substantially collinear to define horizontal arms when the soft top is in the deployed configuration;
a header extending between the distal ends of the pair of forward sections and being attachable to the wind screen of the off road vehicle when the soft top is in the deployed configuration;
and
support bows extending between the horizontal arm member;
a fabric cover supported by the frame over the rear compartment and passenger compartment when the soft top is in the deployed configuration and being folded upon itself when the soft top is in the retracted configuration;
and
a deployment mechanism interconnecting the vertical arms, the rear sections of the horizontal arm members and the forward sections of the horizontal arm members, the deployment mechanism being configured to unfold the soft top in a substantially vertical direction over the rear compartment of the vehicle and subsequently to pivot the unfolded soft top downwardly to the deployed configuration covering the passenger and rear compartments.

9 more elements

Facts

Application

13/469,384Filed 11 May 2012 · us provisional application

Priority

12 May 2011

Published

US 2012/0286540 A115 Nov 2012

Granted

2 Jul 2013

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification3 codes

B60J 7/1265
Soft tops for convertible vehicles: characterised by kinematic movements, e.g. using parallelogram linkages
B60J 7/12
Of non-sliding type, i.e. movable or removable roofs or panels, e.g. let-down tops or roofs capable of being easily detached or of assuming a…:…
B60J
Windows, windscreens, non-fixed roofs, doors, or similar devices for vehicles

Abstract

Claims31