Patent ID: 7690716

Claim:
An automotive vehicle convertible roof system comprising: a number one roof bow; a front side rail movable in an in-folding manner during retraction; a front link coupling the front side rail to the number one roof bow, the front link having a front section rotatable in a substantially cross-vehicle direction relative to the number one roof bow; a rear side rail located adjacent to and aligned with the front side rail when in a raised orientation; a balance link; at least one intermediate link pivotably coupled to the front side rail, the rear side rail and the balance link; a main pivot bracket, a pivot of the rear side rail coupled to the main pivot bracket and a pivot of the balance link coupled to the main pivot bracket; and a ball-and-socket connector; the main pivot bracket, the rear side rail, the balance link and the at least one intermediate link acting as a four-bar mechanism; the ball-and-socket connector transferring in-folding motion to the front side rail from the balance link; the number one roof bow and front side rail clam-shell folding relative to the rear side rail during retraction; an exterior surface of the number one roof bow facing upwardly in both raised and retracted orientations; and a rigid cover automatically movable from a closed orientation at least partially covering a roof storage area to an open orientation to allow at least portions of the side rails to move into the roof storage area, the rigid cover only covering a rear portion but not a front portion of the number one roof bow at a vehicular centerline when the number one roof bow is retracted and the cover is in its closed orientation.