Wilhelm Karmann Gmbh

Magna Car Top Systems of America, Inc.

Magna Steyr Fährzeugtechnik Ag & Co. Kg

Magna Car Top Systems Gmbh

Ssr Roofing Systems, L.l.c.

Wolfgang Richter

Frank G Neubrand

Berthold Klein

Robert E Fallis, Iii

Martin Rodler

Christoph Aschaber

Claus Careni

Michael T Willard

Udo Heselhaus

Christopher J Dilluvio

Sven Hollenbeck

George F Purcell

Markus Wulf

Holger Schramm

Philipp Wolf

Ryan Mitchell

Scott Yaroch

David Connolly

A headliner corner retractor for a convertible top. The corner retractor moves a front corner of the headliner between a covering position concealing a front portion of the side linkage and a contracted position in which clearance is provided for the side linkages to extend and retract the convertible top. The corner retractor is moved by a mechanical actuator including a cable and a hollow tubular housing.

Retractable headliner corner

A support strap for holding a seal strip of a convertible top against one or more body panels of the vehicle. The seal strip has a body panel engaging portion and an attachment portion. A tensioner is operatively attached to the support strap to reduce the flexibility of the support strap and apply pressure to the seal strip to improve the effectiveness of the seal strip.

Tensioning strap for a top stack seal

A Z-fold convertible top has a frame supporting a textile cover. The frame includes support in the form of at least one of a pair of pivoted rails rigidly mounted to a bow, stabilizing other pivoted rails. The stability may be employed to displace a quarter window with the rail in a manner that provides a compact top stack packaged in the vehicle body. The stability is also employed to coordinate sealing engagement of the quarter window with a cloth control link pivoted to the vehicle body ground, but displacing the cloth away from the window during retraction. A worm link may enhance interaction between the cloth control link and the rail supporting a quarter window.

Z-fold convertible top supporting retractable quarter window

A motor vehicle with a roof opening in a fixed roof surface of the motor vehicle and a roof mechanism configured to close and at least partially open the roof opening. The roof mechanism includes a front folding roof system having a front folding-top configured to close and at least partially open a front region of the roof opening, a rear folding roof system having a rear folding-top configured to close and at least partially open a rear region of the roof opening; guide rails configured to permit displacement of the front and rear folding top, respectively, to close and at least partially open the frontad rear regions of the roof opening.

Motor vehicle having a roof opening

A motor vehicle and a method for at least partially opening and closing a folding roof for the motor vehicle. The motor vehicle a roof frame defining a roof opening and a roof mechanism configured to permit a selective closing and at least partial opening of the roof opening. The roof mechanism includes a folding roof system having a hood cover with a plurality of spaced apart first transparent elements in a longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle and a second plurality of transparent elements between the first transparent elements and configured such that, in the at least partial opening of the roof opening, the hood cover forms folds in which the first transparent elements are positioned in an upper, upward-facing side of a fold and the second transparent elements are positioned in a lower, downward-facing side of a fold and are concealed by the first transparent elements.

A convertible top comprising a plurality articulated rail links that move the convertible top in a fore-and-aft direction. A trim piece carries a window seal and is assembled to at least one of the rail links for movement in the fore-and-aft direction. The trim piece also moves in a lateral direction outwardly when the top is retracted and in the lateral direction inwardly when the top is extended. A stop member is secured to the trim piece and at least one rail link to limit the lateral movement of the trim piece relative to the at least one rail link. A cam block is secured to the trim piece and at least one of the rail links to guide the lateral movement of the trim piece relative to the at least one rail link.

Laterally pivoting trim piece for a Z-fold convertible top

A convertible top includes a linkage assembly that is movable between an extended position and a retracted position, with a mid position defined therebetween. A spring system assists movement of the linkage assembly from the extended position to the mid position and also from the retracted position to the mid position.

Torsion spring system for convertible top

A water management system for directing fluid away from a gap defined between adjacent panels of a folding hardtop of a vehicle. The water management system includes first and second seals and a tube. The seals are disposed along respective gaps between adjacent panels. Each seal has a trough for collecting fluid entering the gap. The tube is in fluid communication with the troughs of both seals and directs the fluid to an external location of the vehicle.

Water management system for a retractable hard top

A retractable top for a vehicle includes a front section, a middle section and a rear section. A first embodiment includes rigid front, middle and rear sections. A second embodiment includes rigid front and rear sections and a membranous middle section. A single retracting mechanism design is utilized for both the first and second embodiments, which allows selective movement of the front, middle and rear sections of the top between an open position and a closed position.

Retracting mechanism for use with both hard and hybrid retractable tops for vehicles

A retractable hardtop system with a rigid front panel and a rear portion including a pair of C-pillars and a central window panel therebetween has the window panel hingedly linked to the C-pillars and the C-pillars hingedly linked to both the vehicle body and the front panel. In a retracted position, a portion of the central window panel is articulated to an elevated position with respect to the C-pillars in order to increase usable space below the retracted system.

Folding hardtop with rear window articulation

A folding top for a convertible has a lateral folding linkage with linkage legs lying opposite to one another in pairs, symmetrically to the longitudinal center plane of the vehicle. The parallelogram links of the linkage legs form a front and a rear four-bar chain, which is supported in the region of a common connecting leg with at least three hinge points. In the case of the inventive folding top, the connector between the two four-bar chains is constructed as a cantilever girder supporting a rear guiding leg of the front four-bar chain as well as a front main guide bar of the rear four-bar chain with a height distance in in each case one of its hinge points and the front four-bar chain with the front link forming the third hinge point is assigned to this cantilever girder.

Growing community of inventors

Commerce Township, MI, United States of America

Wolfgang Richter