Vehicle opening roofs

Claim 1

A vehicle opening roof comprising a rectangular frame for surrounding a longitudinal opening in a roof of a vehicle, said frame comprising side members constituted by spaced parallel guide rails adapted to extend along each side of said opening, a front rail adapted to extend along the front end of said opening, and a rear rail adapted to extend along the rear end of said opening, a panel assembly guided between said guide rails, and a transverse mounting member slidably guided between said guide rails and incorporating a handle-operated locking mechanism for engagement with said front rail to lock said panel assembly in a closed position; said panel assembly being selectable from the group comprising: a sliding panel together with an in-fill panel for closing the rear half of said frame, a sealing strip being provided between the edge of said panel and said side member of said frame; and a flexible fabric covering, intermediate cross-members engaging at their ends with said guide rails, and a rigid flap at the forward end of said fabric covering, side edges of said fabric covering extending over, and in slidable engagement with, said roof of said vehicle on opposite sides of said opening; and said mounting member also incorporating a first bracket for detachable connection to said rigid panel, a second bracket for detachable connection to said rigid flap at the forward end of said flexible covering, and a transmission mechanism for connection to said flap and operable in synchronism with said handle-operated locking mechanism to draw said flap down into engagement with said roof of said vehicle at the front end of said opening.