Folding soft top with lift assist
First Claim
1. A folding soft top assembly for a vehicle having a windshield frame with side members extending therefrom and a crossmember connecting the side members substantially adjacent the rear of the driver passenger compartment, said folding soft top assembly comprising:
- a pivotal portion operably connected to said side members of said vehicle, said pivotal portion selectively pivotal between a closed position and at least one open position;
a pair of intermediate bow pivot links operably connected to a pair of side rails, respectively;
a pair of lift assist mechanisms each comprising a first gas strut and a second gas strut operably connected to said intermediate bow pivot link and said side rail in force opposition, said lift assist mechanism including a first idler link connected to said first gas strut and to said side rail and a second idler link connected to said side rail and said second gas strut operable to assist moving said soft top assembly between said closed position and said at least one open position.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A soft top assembly which includes lift assist and improved fabric management. The assembly includes front side rails pivotally connected to rear side rails. A plurality of fabric control bows with control linkages provide fabric control to the top material during pivoting of the front side rails. A first and second gas strut are attached to the rear side rails to assist lifting and controlled motion as the top is moved between a closed position and open sunroof position, as one strut is fully loaded and compressed while the other strut is fully loaded and open, for lift assist and dampening.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A folding soft top assembly for a vehicle having a windshield frame with side members extending therefrom and a crossmember connecting the side members substantially adjacent the rear of the driver passenger compartment, said folding soft top assembly comprising:
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a pivotal portion operably connected to said side members of said vehicle, said pivotal portion selectively pivotal between a closed position and at least one open position; a pair of intermediate bow pivot links operably connected to a pair of side rails, respectively; a pair of lift assist mechanisms each comprising a first gas strut and a second gas strut operably connected to said intermediate bow pivot link and said side rail in force opposition, said lift assist mechanism including a first idler link connected to said first gas strut and to said side rail and a second idler link connected to said side rail and said second gas strut operable to assist moving said soft top assembly between said closed position and said at least one open position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19)
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17. A folding soft top assembly for a vehicle having a windshield frame with side members extending therefrom and a crossmember connecting the side members substantially adjacent the rear of the driver passenger compartment, said folding soft top assembly comprising:
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a pair of front side rails pivotally connected to a pair of rear side rails, said pair of rear side rails operably coupled to said side members of said vehicle; a plurality of control linkages operably coupled to the front and rear side rails; a plurality of intermediate bows operably coupled to respective control linkages, wherein the intermediate bows are fabric management bows; a first and second gas strut operably connected to the rear side rail and respective control linkages operable to provide lift assist and controlling motion when moving between an open sunroof position and a closed position.
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20. A folding soft top assembly for a vehicle, comprising:
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a pivotal portion operably connected to said side members of said vehicle, said pivotal portion selectively pivotal in an opening direction and a closing direction between a closed position and at least one open position; a pair of intermediate bow pivot links operably connected to a pair of side rails; a pair of first idler links connected to said pair of side rails; a pair of second idler links connected to said pair intermediate bow pivot links; a pair of lift assist mechanisms each comprising a first gas strut connected to said first idler link and a second gas strut connected to said second idler links in force opposition; a first stop connected to each of said second idler links; and a second stop connected to each of said first idler links; wherein as said pivotal portion rotates in said opening direction said second idler link and said first stop come into contact to load said second gas strut and said first gas strut unloads, and wherein as said pivotal portion rotates in said closing direction said first idler link and second stop come into contact to load said first gas strut and said second gas strut unloads.
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Specification