the opening via front and rear sliders. So that, when it is operated from a fully closed position, the sliding lid is first lowered at a rear end thereof by the rear sliders, and then substantially and simultaneously with the lowering operation, the sliding lid is also lowered at a front end thereof by the front sliders. After that, it is slid rearward (Please refer, for instance, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 5-319099).
In a conventional sunroof device such as described above, however, there is a risk that seal members mounted around edges of the opening in the roof. Especially for one at the front edge may be damaged at an earlier time due to frequent rubbing of the sliding lid against the seal member at the front edgeof the opening.
In order to eliminate such a risk as described above, it is contemplated that the front end of the sliding lid in addition to a rear end is also lifted and/or lowered independently from the rear end thereof while the sliding lid is being opened or closed. But with the structure like this there would be caused unstable supports of the front and rear ends of the sliding lid, and resulting in the risk that the sliding lid may stagger in lateral directions.
In addition, in a conventional example as described above, since various types of guide means are disposed in parallel laterally of guide rails, the lateral width of the guide rail has to be increased, and this causes a problem that an opening formed in