Patent ID: 7523977

Claim:
A retractable linkage for a rear soft top module for a vehicle that has a pair of rear quarter panels, the vehicle including a flexible fabric top that has an extended position and a retracted position, and the vehicle having a permanent hoop that divides a roof area into a front roof area and a rear roof area, wherein the rear roof area is covered by the rear soft top module in the extended position, the linkage comprising: a pair of pivot brackets each assembled to a top portion of each of the rear quarter panels at an intermediate point on the top portion of each of the rear quarter panel panels; a pair of attachment links pivotally connected on a pivoting end to each of the pivot brackets that is the sole connection on each side of the retractable linkage to the vehicle; a rear bow that extends about the sides and top of a rear back light when the soft top is in an extended position and the rear bow is disposed at the back of the rear roof area, the rear bow having two ends that are attached to a distal end of each of the attachment links; an intermediate bow connected to the rear bow and the attachment links by a plurality of articulated intervening links; wherein each of the attachment links extend in a rearward vehicle direction from the pivot bracket to the rear bow when the soft top module is in the extended position, and wherein each of the attachment links extend in a forward vehicle direction from the pivot bracket in the retracted position; wherein the rear bow is moved by pivoting each of the attachment links in an arcuate path above the pair of pivot brackets from the back of the rear roof area to a position behind and proximate the permanent hoop; wherein the intermediate bow is moved by the intervening links from a location intermediate the permanent hoop and the rear bow in the extended position to a location beside the permanent hoop in the retracted position; and wherein the linkage is not directly connected to the permanent hoop in the extended position in that only the rear soft top extends between the linkage and the permanent hoop.