Patent ID: 6959961

Claim:
An assembly for selectively closing an opening in a vehicle roof, comprising: a plurality of louvers that are moveable between open and closed positions; a plurality of carriers having at least one end supporting a corresponding one of the louvers; a plurality of guide blocks supporting a second end of the carriers such that each carrier can pivot relative to a corresponding one of the guide blocks about a first link location; a plurality of link rods, each having a first end pivotally coupled to one of the carriers at a second link location and a second end pivotally coupled to an adjacent one of the guide blocks at a third link location, the first, second and third link locations defining a triangle in all orientations of the louvers; at least one guide rail along which the guide blocks are moveable, the guide blocks and carriers having cooperating stop surfaces and stops, respectively, that link the guide blocks together while moving along at least a portion of the guide rail in a manner that the guide blocks and carriers successively disengage as the guide blocks are moved in a direction to close the louvers; and locking projections that are operative to maintain an associated guide block in a fixed position relative to the guide rail, the locking projections successively releasing the associated guide blocks from the fixed position as the guide blocks are moved in a direction, to open the louvers.