Hinged draught deflectors for vehicle opening roofs

Claim 1

A hinged deflector for a vehicle opening roof of the type comprising a vehicle roof having a front part in which is located an opening, guides on opposite sides of said opening, and a panel assembly slidable in said guides between a first position in which said opening is closed and a second position in which at least a portion of the opening at its front end is exposed, said hinged deflector comprising a transverse flap for location at a front end of an opening in a vehicle roof and manually hingable about a transverse axis between a downwardly and forwardly extending inoperative position and at least one upwardly and rearwardly inclined operative position, said transverse flap having a forward edge, the invention comprising a transverse sealing strip for attachment to a roof at a front end of an opening, a rearwardly disposed part-circular bead on said strip having an outer curved surface with which said forward edge of said flap is adapted to engage at least when said flap is in both said operative and inoperative positions, and hinge means located substantially between opposite ends of said flap for connecting said flap to said sealing strip, said hinge means comprising a first flange connected to said sealing strip, a second flange connected to said flap and a hinge pin hingably coupling said first and second flanges, said hinge pin being fast in one of said flanges and having opposite ends which project outwardly from said hinge assembly in opposite directions and which are received within said bead.