Patent ID: 8474906

Claim:
A roof apparatus operating a movable panel in opening and closing directions, the movable panel being arranged at an opening portion of a roof panel for a vehicle, the opening and closing operations including tilt-up and slide modes of the movable panel, the roof apparatus comprising: a functional bracket supporting the movable panel; a guide rail adapted to be attached to the roof panel, the guide rail extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle; a drive shoe driven to move along the guide rail in the longitudinal direction; a front link connected to a front portion of the functional bracket to move in the longitudinal direction in conjunction with the movement of the drive shoe; a rear link provided to be connectable to the drive shoe, the rear link, in the connected state with the drive shoe, moving in the longitudinal direction in conjunction with the movement of the drive shoe and supporting a portion of the functional bracket so that the portion is slidable in the longitudinal direction, the portion being positioned rearward than the front portion of the functional bracket; front and rear restriction portions arranged at the front link and separated from each other in the longitudinal direction, the front and rear restriction portions being restricted by the guide rail from moving vertically in a state where the movable panel is in a fully closed position; front and rear restriction portions arranged at the rear link and separated from each other in the longitudinal direction, the front and rear restriction portions being restricted by the guide rail from moving vertically in a state where the movable panel is in the fully closed position; a first distance defined between the front restriction portion of the front link and the rear restriction portion of the rear link in the longitudinal direction; and a second distance defined between the rear restriction portion of the front link and the rear restriction portion of the rear link in the longitudinal direction, wherein the front link and the rear link are arranged at different positions on a plain surface so that the first distance is longer than the second distance in a state where the movable panel is in the fully closed position, the plain surface extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the guide rail extends, and the front link and the rear link are arranged at the different positions on the plain surface so that the first distance is shorter than the second distance in a state where the movable panel is in a fully opened position.