Abstract:
A composite soft top assembly having a convertible roof portion that provides an open air feel with a soft, flexible outer layer. The composite soft top assembly further includes soft sides with hard glass or hard polymer materials connected to a frame, which is connected to the soft sides of the assembly. Additionally, the rear window has a removable horseshoe frame structure about which the hard rear window is connected with hinges to allow for the rear window to pivot about at least one hinge between an open and closed position. Additionally, the rear window can have a wiper or electronic wire mounts for a center high mount stop lamp. Additionally, the horseshoe frame structure allows for the connection of other electrical components such as a rear defrost system.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/079,881, filed Nov. 14, 2013 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/727,315, filed Nov. 16, 2012. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a composite soft top assembly having a convertible roof, hard windows and a removable horseshoe rear lift gate. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Convertible roof tops are commonly used in sport-utility vehicles for recreational purposes. The foldable roof can typically be moved between an open position, and a deployed position. When in the deployed position, the foldable roof will protect the occupants of the vehicle from various weather conditions. However, there are occasions where the weather is pleasant, and it is desired by the occupants of the vehicle to move the foldable roof to an open position such that the vehicle essentially functions without a roof, and the passenger compartment of the vehicle is exposed to the atmosphere. This allows the occupants of the vehicle to enjoy more favorable weather conditions while driving. 
     Many different convertible roofs also incorporate removable windows which are attached to the roof through the use of various zippers and retainers. However, vehicles incorporating a convertible roof are often driven throughout the entire year, and the convertible roof remains in the deployed position during the winter months. Current removable windows are made of a soft, flexible substrate, such as flexible PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) or TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethanes) materials, which are not easily cleaned during the wintertime without damaging the soft window material. Additionally, the soft windows scratch easily and cannot be used in a carwash. Also, often times the soft rear window material can be difficult to move out of the way for rear access to the vehicle. 
     An alternative to the convertible soft top is to use a hard top that is bulky and does not provide any open air feel without removing the entire top. If the entire hard top is removed, it then must be stored, which is often difficult because of the size of the top. It is desirable to design a composite top made of soft material with hard windows and a more manageable and removable rear window. It is also desirable to provide a top that can be opened to provide what is often referred to as an open air feel, where a portion of the top of the roof is moved from a closed position to an open position exposing a portion of the inside vehicle compartment to the outside. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a composite soft top assembly having a convertible roof portion that provides an open air feel with a soft, flexible outer layer. The composite soft top assembly further includes soft sides or quarter side windows with hard glass or hard polymer materials connected to a frame, which is connected to the soft sides of the assembly. Additionally, the rear window has a removable horseshoe frame structure about which the hard rear window is connected with hinges to allow for the rear window to pivot about at least one hinge between an open and closed position. The rear window can have a window wiper, electronic wire mounts for a center high mount stop lamp, or other electrical components such as a rear window defrost system. 
     Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description and Appendix provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a side perspective view of the composite soft top assembly connected to a vehicle; 
         FIG. 2  is a side rear of the composite soft top assembly connected to a vehicle; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the composite soft top assembly where the rear window is in the open position; 
         FIG. 4  is rear side perspective view of another aspect of the invention where the rear side windows of the soft top assembly have been removed and the convertible roof top has been opened; 
         FIG. 5  is a inside side perspective view of the left side rear quarter window of the soft top assembly showing the hard window with frame connected to the soft fabric; 
         FIG. 6  is a close-up side perspective view of the P-Welt flange formed along the top of the quarter window; 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view of the bottom or back edge of the quarter window showing the J-lock retainer used to attach the back and bottom edge of the quarter window to the vehicle; 
         FIG. 8  is an exploded inside perspective view of the front edge of the quarter window of  FIG. 5 , where the front edge has a retainer flange that connects to the front edge of the window to an edge on the B-pillar of the vehicle; 
         FIG. 9  is a top perspective view of the composite soft top assembly with the roof portion removed and the roof bows shown; 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view of the roof of the composite soft top assembly showing the moveable side rail and front support bow for the convertible portion of the composite soft top assembly; 
         FIG. 11  is a close-up perspective view of the side rails of the soft top roof assembly having a pocket for receiving one of the two rear bows of the composite soft top assembly; 
         FIG. 12  is a rear perspective view of the horseshoe frame of the rear window of the composite soft top assembly; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective of the horseshoe frame removed from the vehicle; 
         FIG. 14  is a end view of the horseshoe frame aperture foot mount; 
         FIG. 15  is a top perspective view of the vehicle body flange receiving portion for the horseshoe foot mount for the rear horseshoe frame; 
         FIG. 16  is a cross-sectional end view of the side rail frame of the composite soft top assembly; 
         FIG. 17A  is a schematic cross-sectional view of one of the side rails of the composite soft top assembly; 
         FIG. 17B  is a side perspective view of one of the side rails of the composite soft top assembly; and 
         FIG. 17C  is an overhead plan view of one of the side rails of the composite soft top assembly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. 
     Referring now generally to all of the figures with particular reference to  FIGS. 1-12 , a composite soft top assembly  10  connected to a vehicle  11 . The composite soft top assembly  10  includes a rigid rear window horseshoe  12  that is connected to the vehicle  11  and extends upward and is connected to a support or roll over frame of the vehicle. The rigid rear window horseshoe  12  includes a frame portion  14  made of polymer or metal and a rear window  16  that in one embodiment is pivotally connected to the frame  14  to provide a lift gate feature. Optionally, the rear window  16  is permanently connected to the frame without any type of pivot. The composite soft top assembly  10  also includes a front edge frame rail  18  that in one embodiment is capable of pivoting to move the composite soft top assembly between the deployed and open position in order to provide the open air feel of the composite soft top without completely removing the composite soft top assembly  10  from the vehicle  11 . 
     A soft skin roof top  20  is connected a rear edge  22  to the frame  14  of the rigid rear window horseshoe  12 . A front edge  24  of the soft skin roof top  20  is connected to the front edge frame rail  18  so that the soft skin roof top when in the deployed position extends between the rigid rear window horseshoe  12  and front edge frame rail  18 . The soft skin roof top  20  is flexible and capable of pivoting and moving with the front edge frame rail  18  when moved from the deployed position to the open position. The soft skin roof top  20  includes two side edges  26  that are connected to at least two side rails  28  extending along the sides of the vehicle  11  so that the at least two side rails  28 , front edge frame rail  18  and rigid rear window horseshoe  12  generally form a square or top of the composite soft top roof assembly  10 . 
     While the present embodiment of the invention utilizes at least two side frame rails  28 , it is possible to have a greater or lesser number of side frame rails depending upon the structure of the vehicle frame. The at least two side rails  28  are bolted onto the A and B pillars of the vehicle  11 . The two side edges  26  have a rigid retainer, which is sometimes referred to as a J-lock retainer  27  formed into the edge of the soft skin roof top  20  for connecting to a flange  29  formed on the at least two side rails  28 . The rear edge  22  of the soft skin roof top  20  also has a J-lock retainer for connecting to a flange formed in the frame  14  of the rear window horseshoe  12 . The front edge  24  of the soft skin roof top  20  is connected to the front edge frame rail  18  using fasteners; however, it is possible to use adhesives or a J-lock retainer with a flange formed on the front edge frame rail  18  or a C-clamp retainer for locking onto a front edge frame rail  18  that is round in shape. The use of the retainers allows for the soft skin roof top  20  to be connected to the vehicle  11  without the need for a large number of fasteners, adhesives or other permanent mounts. This allows for the easy removal of the front edge frame rail  18  without tools. 
     The composite soft top assembly  10  also includes a left side quarter panel generally shown at  30  and right side quarter panel generally shown at  30 ′, each having a soft skin portion  31  with a hard window  33  connected to a metal frame  32  that is connected to the soft skin of the left side quarter panel  30  and right side quarter panel  30 ′. While this particular embodiment of the invention shows a single left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′, it is within the scope of this invention for multiple side quarter panels to be used in connection with the composite soft top assembly  10 . It is also within the scope of this invention for the hard windows  33  and frame  32  to be a soft window or composite windows connected to the soft sides of the left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′ without the use of a frame member. 
     Each of the left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′ has a rear edge  34 , front edge  36 , top edge  38  and bottom edge  40  that are connected to the vehicle  11 . The rear edge  34  of the left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′ connect to the frame  14  of the rigid rear window horseshoe  12  using a retainer that is configured to lock into a flange on the frame  14 . In this particular embodiment of the invention, the left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′ wrap around the frame  14  of the rear window horseshoe so that the soft skin of the left and right side rear window quarter panels cover the frame  14  to give a soft skin look to a portion of the frame  14  of the rigid rear window horseshoe  12 . The front edge  36  of the left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′ have an attachment mechanism generally shown at  45  that is a retainer. The front edge  36  of the left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′ connect to a pillar frame having an edge configured to receive the retainer on the front edge  36 . The top edge  38  of the left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′ are configured to connect to one of the at least two side rails  28  using a retainer. In this particular embodiment of the invention, the retainer used is called a P-Welt that is formed on the top edge  38  and slides into a channel  42  formed on each of the at least two side rails  28 . The bottom edge  40  of the left and right side quarter panels  30 ,  30 ′ have an attachment mechanism generally shown at  43  that is a retainer that slides into a body flange  44  formed along the body of the vehicle  11 . The type of retainer shown in this particular embodiment of the invention is called a J-lock retainer. While there are specific types of retainers described, it is within the scope of this invention for other types of retainers or fasteners to be used in connection with all of the edges of the different portions of the composite soft top assembly  10 . 
     The rigid rear window horseshoe  12  has an aperture foot mount  46  shown in  FIG. 14  that is configured to rest on and be bolted onto a rear horseshoe flange  48  formed on the body of the vehicle  11 . The bolts shown in  FIG. 14  are used to allow for the connection and removal of the rigid rear window horseshoe  12 . 
     The soft skin roof top  20  of the composite soft top assembly  10  can be disconnected from the rear edge  22 , front edge  24  and two side edges  26  in order to remove the soft skin roof top  20  and expose, underneath an outer layer  53 , a second layer generally shown at  51  of the soft top assembly  10 , which second layer  51  includes two or more stationary roof bows  50  and a moveable roof bow  52 . The stationary roof bows  50  are configured to rest in pockets  54  formed on each of the two side rails  28 . The stationary roof bows  50  are removable from the pockets  54 . The moveable roof bow  52  is connected with fasteners to side portions of the front edge frame rail  18 . The front edge frame rail is pivotally connected by a pivot bracket  56 . The pivot bracket  56  is connected to the vehicle  11  and the front edge frame rail  18  is pivotally connected to the pivot bracket  56 . 
     In addition to the stationary roof bows  50  and  54 , a layer of foam material  55  is positioned below the stationary roof bows  50  and moveable roof bow  52  between the bows and the vehicle headliner, which forms the inside surface of the interior surface of the roof of the vehicle compartment. 
     The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the essence of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.