Sunroof assembly

摘要

A sunroof assembly (16) is provided for securing to an exterior surface (14) of a vehicle roof (12). The vehicle roof has exterior (14) and interior (45) surfaces. Opposing rails (18) are secured to opposing sides of the exterior surface of the vehicle roof. A sunroof (22) is supported between the rails and is movable between closed and opened positions with the sunroof disposed in a sunroof opening in the closed position. A housing (30), which is preferably a portion of a deflector (28), is secured to the exterior of the vehicle roof. In the preferred embodiment which incorporates a deflector, the deflector is secured between the opposing rails. A drive motor (32) is disposed in the housing for moving the sunroof between the closed and opened positions. At least one drive element (34) interconnects the drive motor and the sunroof. Since the drive motor and housing are located exteriorly on the vehicle roof, the sunroof assembly may be installed as a single unit and multi-piece drive elements are unnecessary. <IMAGE>