Mazda Motor Corporation

Seiichi Asoh

Shigefumi Kohno

Tomoo Taguchi

Satoshi Kubota

Fumiyuki Murakami

Kajuhiro Ushijima

Hitoki Fukuda

A roof panel connected to the vehicle body through at least a pair of left-hand and right-hand front pillars and a pair of left-hand and right-hand rear pillars is provided with a wide open roof panel opening enclosed by a front header, a pair of left-hand and right-hand roof side rails and a rear header. To the pair of left-hand and right-hand rear pillars and the rear header is fixed a rear window glass panel. In order to close the roof panel opening, there is provided a flexible top foldable or windable. When the roof panel opening is in a closed state, a forward end portion of the flexible top is in abutment with said front header, its left-hand and right-hand side end portions are abutted with the left-hand and right-hand roof side rails, and its rearward end portion is in abutment with the rear header. The flexible top is displaceable along the roof side rails and the rear pillars. When the roof panel opening is in an open state, the flexible top is housed or accommodated in a folded or wound state at a position rearward of the rear window glass panel and nearby its lower end portion.

Flexible top apparatus for a vehicle

A windowpane guide structure in an automobile door assembly includes a windowpane drive mechanism for driving a windowpane up and down between closed and open positions, at least one guide rail member housed completely within the windowpane chamber defined between outer and inner door panels of the door assembly, and a slide member operatively interconnecting the windowpane and the guide rail member. The guide rail member is stationarily supported by the door assembly so as to extend substantially parallel to the direction of movement of the windowpane and is shaped and curved to permit the lower edge of the windowpane during the movement of the windowpane from the closed position towards the open position to progressively move generally straight downwards, slightly deflect towards the inner door panel and then deflect towards the outer door panel before the windowpane reaches the open position, i.e. to travel in a generally S-shaped trajectory.

Windowpane guide structure in automobile door assembly

A rear underbody structure includes a pair of side sills each having a generally closed cross-section and extending longitudinally of the automobile while spaced apart from each other in a direction extending widthwise of the automobile, a respective rear frame member connected end-to-end with each of the side sills so as to extend rearwardly of the automobile, a first cross member connected at its opposite ends to the rear frame members, respectively, so as to extend widthwise of the automobile, and a second cross member connected at its opposite ends to the rear frame members, respectively, so as to extend widthwise of the automobile and disposed rearwardly of the first cross member with respect to the automobile.

Growing community of inventors

Higashihiroshima, Japan

Seiichi Asoh