Articulating Front Top Assembly for SUV Roof
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional soft top systems for SUVs are cumbersome and difficult to manage, lacking a seamless transition between closed and open positions, and often fail to provide a weather-tight seal, especially in vehicles without a complete door window frame.
Innovation Solution
A foldable soft panel top assembly that seals against a hard top roof, featuring a pivotal portion that can be easily operated from within the vehicle, using side rail linkage assemblies and a lightweight rear header with bulb seals for a weatherproof connection, allowing for quick conversion between closed and open positions without removing the top.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hard top is used to provide roof protection, then weather protection is improved, but the ability to provide open air feel is lost and removal/storage becomes difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The hard top is divided into a fixed portion and a removable front top panel portion. The front top panel can be independently removed to provide open air feel while the fixed portion maintains weather protection. This segmentation allows selective removal of only the necessary portion rather than the entire hard top.
Solution Approach 2:
The front top panel is designed with dynamic characteristics - it can be in a fixed closed position for weather protection or removed completely for open air feel. The panel includes release mechanisms that allow easy transition between states, enabling the system to adapt to different user needs.
2Ease of operation
If the entire hard top is removed to provide open air feel, then open air accessibility is improved, but storage difficulty and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the hard top into removable and fixed portions, only the necessary front panel needs to be removed and stored when open air feel is desired. This significantly reduces the time and effort required compared to removing the entire hard top, while still providing the desired open air experience.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional soft top systems are used, then flexibility is improved, but weather-tight sealing capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The front top panel combines a rigid structural core with flexible outer surfaces. The rigid core provides structural integrity for weather protection, while the flexible surfaces allow the panel to conform to the vehicle body and create effective seals. This composite construction resolves the contradiction between flexibility and sealing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The soft top system uses flexible panel constructions with integrated sealing elements that can conform to the vehicle body contours. These flexible panels incorporate sealing mechanisms that maintain weather-tight barriers while allowing the necessary flexibility for installation and removal.
4Reliability
If front top panels are made large and bulky to provide adequate coverage, then weather protection is improved, but handling difficulty and storage problems increase
Solution Approach 1:
The front top panel is designed as a segmented component that can be independently removed. While the panel maintains sufficient size for weather protection when installed, its segmented nature and integration with the soft top system make it easier to handle and store compared to a full hard top assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
An articulating front top cover assembly adapted for connecting to a vehicle in sealing engagement with a hard top portion of a roof of the vehicle. A pivotal portion includes a multi-bar over-center linkage arrangement. The pivotal portion is movable between at least a closed position over the front vehicle compartment and an open position with a passive lock from the multi-bar linkage assembly for an open air feel.