Patent ID: 7780216

Claim:
A foldable frame for supporting a convertible top, comprising: at least first and second linkage arms pivotably coupled at a rotary hinge defining a rotational axis of the first and second linkage arms, a rotational angle encoder fixedly coupled with the first linkage arm adjacent to the rotational axis, the rotational angle encoder being disposed on an inner-facing surface of, or within, at least one of the rotary hinge and the first linkage arm and a sensor element fixedly coupled with the second linkage arm adjacent to the rotational axis, the sensor element being disposed on an inner-facing surface of, or within, at least one of the rotary hinge and the second linkage arm, wherein the rotational angle encoder and the sensor element are arranged and constructed to generate a signal representative of the angular position of the first linkage arm relative to the second linkage arm.