Vehicle with removable cover

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10894467-B2
Application number	US-201715398015-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 4, 2017
Priority date	Jan 4, 2017
Publication date	Jan 19, 2021
Grant date	Jan 19, 2021

Abstract

A vehicle is described herein that includes a body structure such as a windshield and/or a windshield frame, a compartment such as a passenger compartment, one or more body panels around the compartment, and an at least partially floating cover, such as a roof, disposed over the compartment. The floating cover includes one or more body structure mounts and an overhang extending from the body structure over the compartment to an aft portion of the compartment. Other similar embodiments include features such as support structures, support structure mounts that mount the floating cover to the support structures, and various aerodynamic features incorporated into the floating cover. For example, some embodiments include roll bars and roll bar mounts, aerodynamic arcs, and aerodynamically continuous surfaces.

First claim

We claim:

1. A vehicle, comprising:
a windshield;
a passenger compartment;
one or more body panels around the passenger compartment; and
a removable and at least partially floating roof extending as an overhang from a support structure disposed over the passenger compartment, the roof comprising:
one or more windshield mounts; and
an overhang extending from the windshield over and across the passenger compartment.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , at least one body panel disposed aft of the passenger compartment and aligned parallel to the roof, wherein the overhang extends past the passenger compartment and over the aft body panel.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 , further comprising a void disposed between the roof and the one or more body panels, the void extending around the passenger compartment from a first side of the windshield to a second side of the windshield and beneath the floating overhang.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the floating roof is monolithic, rigid, or both.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 , the floating roof having a center of mass biased towards the windshield.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the windshield mounts is aligned with the center of mass of the floating roof.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 , the floating roof further comprising a rigid frame coupled to the windshield by the one or more windshield mounts and a shell wrapped over the rigid frame, the shell and the frame forming the overhang.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising one or more roll bars, the floating roof further comprising one or more roll bar mounts extending beneath the floating roof and mounting the floating roof to the roll bars.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 , the one or more rigid roll bar mounts comprising one or more straps wrapped at least partially around the one or more roll bars, thereby affixing the one or more rigid roll bar mounts to the one or more roll bars.

10. The vehicle of claim 8 , at least one of the one or more rigid roll bar mounts having a surface shape complementary to a corresponding surface shape of at least one of the one or more roll bars.

11. The vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the corresponding surface shape of the at least one of the one or more roll bars is circular, and wherein the complementary rigid roll bar mount surface shape comprises an arc that mates with the at least one roll bar.

12. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the arc angle is greater than one hundred and eighty degrees and corresponds with a flexural strength of a material forming the at least one rigid roll bar mount.

13. The vehicle of claim 11 , further comprising a rigid clasp coupled to the at least one rigid roll bar mount and wrapped around the at least one roll bar, the clasp forming an arc explementary to the rigid roll bar mount surface shape arc.

14. The vehicle of claim 8 , at least one of the one or more rigid roll bar mounts comprising an end portion extending at least partially into at least one of the one or more roll bars.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 , further comprising a securing mechanism, wherein the end portion extends through the at least one roll bar, and wherein the securing mechanism prevents the end portion from retracting through the at least one roll bar.

16. The vehicle of claim 8 , at least one of the one or more rigid roll bar mounts magnetically affixed to at least one of the one or more roll bars.

17. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the one or more rigid roll bar mounts and the overhang form an arc.

18. The vehicle of claim 17 , comprising at least two rigid roll bar mounts, the arc disposed between the at least two rigid roll bar mounts.

19. The vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a windshield frame, wherein the windshield is mounted to the vehicle in the windshield frame, and wherein the roof windshield mounts include one or more rods that extend into one or more corresponding openings in the windshield frame.

20. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the windshield and roof are aerodynamically continuous.

Assignees

• Hall David R
• Hall Stephen R
• Johson Christopher
• Simpson Jason
• Knight Jedediah
• Hall Labs Llc

Inventors

• Hall David R
• Hall Stephen R
• Johson Christopher
• Simpson Jason
• Knight Jedediah

Classifications

• B60J7/11

  Removable panels, e.g. sunroofs · CPC title

• B60J7/1628

  for covering the passenger compartment · CPC title

• B60J1/02

  arranged at the vehicle front {, e.g. structure of the glazing, mounting of the glazing (on windscreen mounted antenna wire H01Q1/1271)} · CPC title

• B60J7/194 Primary

  for locking detachable hard-tops or removable roof panels to the vehicle body · CPC title