Patent ID: 7597380

Claim:
A roof for a convertible roof vehicle having a roof stowage deck in a rear portion thereof and a windscreen, the roof comprising: a forward roof panel and a rear roof panel; a pair of roof hinge mechanisms each comprising an upper linkage fixed to one side of the forward roof panel, the upper linkage having a rear end, a main lever fixed to one side of the rear roof panel, a top side of the main lever pivotally fixed to the rear end of the upper linkage, a control arm pivotally fixed at a top end thereof to the upper linkage, a fixed base pivotally fixed to a lower end of the control arm and fixed proximate the roof stowage deck of the vehicle, a guiding mechanism including a guide linkage pivotally fixed at one end to the lower end of the control arm and a front end of a push-pull rod, the other end of the guide linkage pivotally fixed to the fixed base, the push-pull rod pivotally fixed at a rear end thereof to the lower end of the main lever, and a first linear actuator fixed between the fixed base and a linkage arrangement that is pivotally fixed to a lower end of the main lever; and a pair of tonneu cover mechanisms each comprising a pivot link extending past the lower end of one of the control arms of one of the roof hinge mechanisms, the pivot link pivotally fixed to a link arrangement that is itself pivotally fixed to a tonneu bracket, each tonneu bracket fixed to opposing sides of a tonneu cover, the tonneu cover including a pair of side flaps, each pivotally fixed at a rear end thereof to a side flap retracting mechanism; whereby with the roof in a top-down position such that the roof panels are stowed substantially horizontally in the roof stowage deck and covered by the tonneu cover, the roof is put into a top-up position by actuating the first linear actuator in a first direction to cause the control arm to pivot up, simultaneously causing the tonneu cover to pivot up and forward, the control arm, main lever, upper linkage and fixed base forming substantially a parallelogram, such that the forward roof panel remains substantially horizontal, the side flaps of the tonneu bracket pivoting inward to provide clearance for the control arm and the main lever, the tonneu cover then pivoting back downward to cover the roof stowage deck, the forward and rear roof panels becoming aligned to form the roof of the vehicle with the forward roof panel abutting the windscreen, the first linear actuator being actuated in a second direction to reverse the process and cause the roof to go from the top-up position to the top-down position.