Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Toshihiro Sorimachi

Fumio Furuki

Takaji Mukumoto

Hirobumi Morita

Mitsuru Hirai

Kotaro Shige

Fumio Kobayashi

Satoru Azumi

Shoichi Narita

A tilt-up device tilts a rear end of a movable roof upwardly when the movable roof is moved from a normal position above the passenger's compartment of an automobile. The tilt-up device is mounted on a surface, which faces the passenger's compartment, of a fixed roof substantially centrally thereon in a transverse direction of the automobile body, and is positioned in front of a seal on the fixed roof. A trunk lid lifting and lowering device is mounted in a trunk and connected to an end of a trunk lid for selectively lifting the trunk lid away from a trunk and lowering the trunk lid toward the trunk. The trunk lid lifting and lowering device has a stopper device for inactivating the trunk lid lifting and lowering device when the trunk lid is locked by a lock device with the trunk lid lowered. The trunk lid has a roof storage region for storing the movable roof which has moved from the normal position, and a roof slide device having an engaging pin for entering a hole defined in the movable roof and opening at one end thereof. A device is mounted in the movable roof for connecting the engaging pin inserted in the hole to the movable roof to lift an end of the movable roof opposite to the hole.

Automobile with movable roof storable in trunk lid

A roof is opened and closed by utilizing a trunk lid for opening and closing a trunk room. The trunk lid can be raised and lowered while it is held substantially horizontal. The trunk lid is provided with a roof slide unit for moving the roof in longitudinal directions. When opening the roof in a closed state, the trunk lid is raised to a position behind the roof, and the roof is moved rearwardly by the roof slide unit to be supported by the trunk lid. Then, the trunk lid is lowered down to a position to close the trunk room. This brings an end to an operation of opening the roof. A reverse procedure may be taken for closing the roof.

Apparatus for opening and closing roof of open roof car

Growing community of inventors

Wako, Japan

Toshihiro Sorimachi