Patent ID: 7393047

Claim:
An automobile roof structure comprising: a pair of right and left roof side rails, each having a rail outer panel and a rail inner panel which are combined together to define a closed section extending in a longitudinal direction of an automobile body; a transparent roof panel attached to cover a space between said roof side rails; a sun shade disposed below a bottom surface of said transparent roof panel; and a shade support member to support said sun shade in a slidingly movable manner wherein the rail outer panel and the rail inner panel in each of said roof side rails are formed, respectively, with first and second roof flanges which are oriented to protrude in a laterally inward direction of the automobile body and joined together, each of the opposite lateral peripheral portions of said transparent roof panel is fixed onto an upper surface of the first roof flange of the corresponding rail outer panel, said first and second roof flanges, a corresponding one of opposite lateral peripheral portions of said transparent roof panel, and said shade support member, are disposed within a given positioning zone where they overlap each other in top plan view, said shade support member is fixed to a wall of the rail inner panel at a position located outward of the automobile body relative to the first roof flange of said rail outer panel, said shade support member has an anchor portion fixed to said inner panel, and a protrusion portion protruding in an inward direction of the automobile body from said anchor portion, said protrusion portion being formed with a support groove to support an lateral edge of said sun shade in a slidingly movable manner, and said support groove of said shade support member has an upper wall in contact with a lower surface of the second roof flange of said rail inner panel.