Combination Roof Rack and Removable Soft Top
First Claim
1. A roof rack and soft top assembly for a vehicle body having an exposed passenger compartment protected by a windshield and a roll cage, the assembly comprising:
- an outer frame mounted to the vehicle body exterior to the roll cage and surrounding a rear portion of the passenger compartment; and
a soft top between the outer frame and the roll cage, the soft top including;
a fabric body having a plurality of fasteners spaced across a back portion thereof and operable to removably attach the back portion of the fabric body to the outer frame and cover the rear portion of the passenger compartment; and
a header assembly attached to a forward portion of the fabric body and having a front edge that is operable to removably engage with the top edge of the windshield while drawing the forward portion of the fabric body over a front portion of the passenger compartment.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A roof rack and soft top assembly for a vehicle having an exposed passenger compartment protected by a windshield and a roll cage. The assembly includes an outer frame mounted to the vehicle exterior to the roll cage and surrounding a rear passenger compartment, and a plurality of slide rails mounted to the top of the roll cage above a front passenger compartment. The assembly further includes a soft top suspended from the outer frame with fasteners and a header assembly attached to a forward portion of the soft top that slides along the slide rails to engage with the top edge of the windshield, thereby covering the front passenger compartment. When open air driving is desired, the soft top can be withdrawn or removed from the slide rails and the outer frame and stored in the vehicle.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A roof rack and soft top assembly for a vehicle body having an exposed passenger compartment protected by a windshield and a roll cage, the assembly comprising:
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an outer frame mounted to the vehicle body exterior to the roll cage and surrounding a rear portion of the passenger compartment; and a soft top between the outer frame and the roll cage, the soft top including; a fabric body having a plurality of fasteners spaced across a back portion thereof and operable to removably attach the back portion of the fabric body to the outer frame and cover the rear portion of the passenger compartment; and a header assembly attached to a forward portion of the fabric body and having a front edge that is operable to removably engage with the top edge of the windshield while drawing the forward portion of the fabric body over a front portion of the passenger compartment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A roof rack and soft top assembly for a vehicle body having an exposed passenger compartment protected by a windshield and a roll cage, the assembly comprising:
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an outer frame mounted to the vehicle body exterior to the roll cage and surrounding a rear passenger compartment; a pair of slide rails mounted to the top of the roll cage above a front passenger compartment; and a soft top between the outer frame and the roll cage, the soft top including; a fabric body having a plurality of fasteners spaced across a back portion thereof and operable to removably suspend the back portion of the fabric body from the outer frame and cover the rear passenger compartment; and a header assembly attached to a forward portion of the fabric body, the header assembly including a pair of slide blocks that are slidably engageable with the slide rails and a front edge that is engageable with a top edge of the windshield, the header assembly being operable to slide along the slide rails to removably engage with the top edge of the windshield while drawing the forward portion of the fabric body over the front passenger compartment. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of covering an exposed passenger compartment of a vehicle body protected by a windshield and a roll cage, the method comprising:
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mounting an outer frame to the vehicle body exterior to the roll cage and surrounding a rear passenger compartment; mounting a plurality of rails to the top of the roll cage above a front passenger compartment; positioning a soft top between the outer frame and the roll cage, the soft top including a fabric body having a plurality of fasteners spaced across a back portion thereof and a header assembly attached to a forward portion thereof, the header assembly including a pair of movable blocks that are translatably engageable with the rails and a front edge that is engageable with a top edge of the windshield; engaging the pair of movable blocks with the rails; coupling the plurality of fasteners to the outer frame to attach the back portion of the fabric body from the outer frame and cover the rear passenger compartment; moving the header assembly forwardly along the rails to draw the forward portion of the fabric body toward the windshield and cover over the front passenger compartment; and engaging the front edge of the header bar with the top edge of the windshield to secure the soft top to the vehicle body.
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Specification