JP2001063467A - Step device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To interlock the opening and closing of a slide door and the protruding and retreating of a step by a mechanical system instead of electrically driven systems. SOLUTION: A roller 6 is supported on a car body vertically displaceably on a moving locus of a guide rail 11 provided below a slide door by a parallel link mechanism 7 provided with two parallel links 7a, 7b, and the parallel link 7b and a side step 3 are connected together by a transmission link 8. By turning motion of the parallel link 7b, which accompanies the rolling of the roller 6 along a sloped face of the guide rail 11 in interlocking with open-slide of the slide door, the side step 3 is moved from a storage position to a using position. By the turning motion of the parallel link 7b, which accompanies the rolling of the roller 6 along the sloped face of the guide rail 11 in interlocked with closed-slide of the slide door, the side step 3 is moved from the operating position to the storage position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a step device used when a vehicle gets in and out of a vehicle, and more particularly to a step device provided below a slide door in a vehicle having a slide door on a side surface of the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a vehicle step device, for example, an "electric vehicle step control device" described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-305362 is known. The above-mentioned conventional device is of an electric type and includes an electric step which is driven in and out by a drive motor, and control means for controlling the drive of the drive motor based on detection of a sensor. Means for detecting a state, means for detecting a stored state of an electric step, means for detecting a shift operation of reversing the vehicle, means for detecting opening of at least one of a front door and a rear door, and means for detecting a speed of a vehicle Is provided. Then, the control means stores the electric step under the condition that the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value and the door is closed, or executes the control to output the electric step under the condition that the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined value and the door is opened. It is configured as follows. Therefore, in the above-described conventional technology, the electric step can be issued or stored according to the use state of the vehicle.

[0003]

However, since the above-mentioned prior art is an electric type, it requires an electric motor and various control means, has a complicated structure, is disadvantageous in terms of cost, and has a disadvantage in practice. In order to mount it on a vehicle, it is necessary to satisfy various fail-safe performances so that the electric step does not inadvertently move out due to malfunction.
For this reason, more detection means are required, and the configuration is further complicated, which may lead to an increase in cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a step device capable of operating a step in conjunction with opening and closing of a slide door by a mechanical system instead of an electric system. Therefore, the main purpose is to simplify the configuration and make it a cost-effective means, and furthermore, in such a device, it is inexpensive to improve the operation reliability and improve the product quality. It is intended to achieve.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention relates to a vehicle having a sliding door provided on a side surface of a vehicle body so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. An apparatus, wherein a step member is located at a position below the slide door, and a use position where a step surface is directed upward and a storage position where the step surface is directed toward a vehicle center direction around a rotation axis that is oriented in the vehicle front-rear direction. A guide member extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle below the slide door, and a slope surface vertically displaced is formed on the guide member, and the guide member Roller that can roll along the guide can be displaced vertically by a parallel link mechanism with two parallel links on the movement trajectory of the guide member when the slide door is opened and closed. One of the parallel links constituting the parallel link mechanism and the step member are connected to each other so that rotation can be transmitted by a transmission link, and the transmission link is interlocked with opening of the slide door. The step member is moved from the retracted position to the use position by the rotation of the parallel link as the roller rolls along the slope surface of the guide member, and the roller is moved along with the slide of the guide member in conjunction with the closing slide of the slide door. It is characterized in that the step member is moved from the use position to the storage position by rotation of the parallel link accompanying rolling along the surface.

[0006] As described in claim 2, claim 1
In the step device described above, the connection between the transmission link and the parallel link is a connection having an escape mechanism using a long hole and a pin, and the transmission link and the parallel link are connected to each other in a state where the step member is disposed in the storage position. It is configured to be movable to a disengaged position displaced beyond a line connecting the center of rotation, and in this disengaged position, the roller is arranged at a position that does not overlap the movement locus of the guide member. It is preferred to configure.

[0007] Also, as described in claim 3, claim 2
In the step device described above, the elongated hole and the pin are arranged such that, when the step member is arranged at a use position, the extending direction of the link provided with the pin is orthogonal to the extending direction of the elongated hole. It is preferred to configure.

[0008] Further, as described in claim 4, claim 2
4. The step device according to claim 3, further comprising a check spring that engages with one of the parallel links to limit the displacement from the uncoupling position when the transmission link and the parallel link are arranged at the uncoupling position. Is preferred.

In the step device of the present invention configured as described above, when the slide door is opened and slid, the guide member moves in the vehicle longitudinal direction together with the slide door.
A roller supported to be vertically displaceable by the vehicle body is displaced vertically by being pushed by a slope surface of the guide member. With this displacement, the parallel link rotates, and the rotation is transmitted to the side step via the transmission link, and the side step rotates from the storage position to the use position.

On the other hand, when the slide door is closed and slid, the operation is the reverse of the above, and the side step moves from the use position to the storage position.

In the above operation, the roller is supported by the parallel link mechanism and moves in parallel, so that the contact state with the guide member can be kept constant. Therefore, it is possible to set a large vertical stroke amount of the roller,
Compared to the case where the roller is simply supported by the rotating member,
It is possible to ensure a large lever ratio, thereby reducing the load on the operation of the slide door. Furthermore, it is easy to secure the amount of rotation of the side step, and when the side step is in the retracted position, it is possible to turn the side step more than the upright position. In this case, the own weight of the side step is returned to the use position. It is possible to act so as to generate a moment opposite to the moving direction, and it is possible to improve stability during storage.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the transmission link and the parallel link are relatively displaced by the escape mechanism formed by the elongated hole and the pin provided between the transmission link and the parallel link in a state where the side step is disposed at the storage position. And can be moved to the uncoupling position. In this case, since the roller is disposed at a position deviated from the movement locus of the guide member, even if the slide door is slid, the roller is not pushed by the guide member, and therefore, the side step is held at the storage position. You.

Further, in the above-mentioned uncoupled state, the transmission link and the parallel link are arranged beyond a line connecting the center of rotation of the two links from the normal operation side position, that is, a so-called bottom dead center. Even if there is an input at the time of traveling, for example, it does not move beyond the bottom dead center. Therefore, the side step is maintained in a state where the connection to the slide door is released.

Next, in the invention according to claim 3,
When the side step is arranged at the use position, the long hole forming the escape mechanism is orthogonal to the link provided with the pin. Therefore, in this state, even if there is an input to the transmission link or the parallel link, the elongated hole and the pin do not relatively displace, and thereby the side step can be prevented from floating.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4,
In the second or third aspect of the present invention, when the transmission link and the parallel link are arranged at the uncoupling position, the parallel link and the check spring are engaged. Therefore, the displacement of the parallel link from the disconnection position is restricted, and the disconnected state can be reliably maintained.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle to which the embodiment is applied. A slide door 2 is supported by a guide rail (not shown) on a side surface of a carrier 100 of the vehicle. Slidable back and forth.
A side guard 13 extends in the front-rear direction at a position below the side surface of the carrier 100. In the figure, reference numeral 102 denotes a frame that supports the side guard 13.

A side step 3 is rotatably supported by the side guard 13. As shown in FIG. 1, the side step 3 has an L-shaped cross-section in the vehicle width direction, and has a step surface 3a directed upward as shown by a solid line in FIG. As shown by an imaginary line in the drawing, the step surface 3a is rotatably supported between a storage position in which the step surface 3a is raised toward the center of the vehicle. The side step 3
When placed at the storage position, the dimension L is ensured so that the own weight indicated by W in the drawing generates a moment to rotate toward the storage position in the side step 3.

Further, although not shown, the side step 3 is provided with a return spring which urges rotation from the use position toward the storage position. It is regulated by the storage position stopper 9 provided at 103.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 4 denotes a bracket. This bracket 4 is a bracket that supports a parallel link mechanism 7 described later, and has a back surface on the side member 103.
It is fixed to.

The parallel link mechanism 7 comprises parallel links 7a and 7b which are rotatably supported by the bracket 4 and which are arranged vertically, and a flat roller support which is supported at the tips of the parallel links 7a and 7b. And a roller support member 7 when the parallel links 7a and 7b rotate.
c is configured such that the plane is always directed to the outside of the vehicle.

The roller 6 is configured to be rollable along a guide rail 11 as a guide member. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide rail 11 is supported at the lower end of the slide door 2 at a position overlapping the roller 6 in the vehicle front-rear direction. A slope surface 11a that is displaced upward toward the rear is provided. The guide rail 11 is formed to have a substantially L-shaped cross section. At the slope surface 11a, a side step forced storage having a substantially L-shaped cross section is performed so that the cross section becomes substantially U-shaped. The guide 12 is provided integrally.

The parallel link 7b and the bracket 3c provided on the side step 3 are connected via a transmission link 8, so that the rotation of the parallel link 7b can be transmitted to the side step 3.

That is, when the slide door 2 is opened and slid, the roller 6 comes into contact with the slope surface 11a of the guide rail 11 and is pushed down, and accordingly, the parallel link 7b rotates clockwise in FIG. At the same time, the parallel link 7b and the side step 3 are connected by the transmission link 8 so that the side step 3 rotates from the storage position to the use position. In addition, by this connection, when the slide door 2 is closed,
The roller 6 ascends while abutting against the side step forced storage guide 12 of the guide rail 11, whereby the parallel link 7 b rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 and the side step 3 is stored from the use position. It is connected so as to rotate to the position.

An escape mechanism 80 is provided at the connection between the transmission link 8 and the parallel link 7b. The escape mechanism 80 includes an elongated hole 81 formed in the parallel link 7b,
The pin 82 is inserted into the elongated hole 81 and fixed to the transmission link 8.
Is placed in the storage position, the parallel link 7b and the transmission link 8 are connected, that is, the parallel link 7b and the transmission link 8 in the state shown by a solid line in FIG. ) Can be displaced to a connection release position indicated by an imaginary line in FIG. When the parallel link 7b and the transmission link 8 are arranged at the uncoupling position, the roller 6 is arranged at a position shifted in the vehicle width direction with respect to the position of the guide rail 11, as shown in the figure. When it is opened and closed, it does not come into contact with the guide rail 11, and is in a disconnected state. Note that the bracket 4 is provided with a check spring 10. This check spring 1
No. 0 is configured to engage with the distal end of the parallel link 7a when the parallel link 7b and the transmission link 8 are arranged at the above-described uncoupling position.

The slot 81 is provided in the side step 3
Is set to a use position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1, the transmission link 8 is configured to extend in a direction orthogonal to the elongated hole 81 as shown in FIG.

Next, the operation will be described. A) Sliding door closed state With the sliding door 2 closed, the side step 3 stands up with the step surface 3a facing the center of the vehicle as shown in FIG. In this stored state, the side step 3 is placed at the stored position by the urging force of a return spring (not shown) and the moment due to its own weight W.

(B) When the slide door is opened To rotate the side step 3 in accordance with the opening and closing of the slide door 2, the parallel link 7b and the transmission link 8 are connected to each other as shown in FIG.
At the position shown by the solid line to make a connected state.

When the slide door 2 is opened in this state, the guide rail 11 moves with the movement of the slide door 2. When the guide rail 11 reaches the position of the roller 6, the slope surface 11a of the guide rail 11 is
Is moved while pushing down, and thereby the parallel link mechanism 7 is moved.
Is also pushed down, whereby the transmission link 8 is pulled upward, whereby the side step 3 rotates in the direction of the use position.

When the side step 3 is rotated in the direction of the use position, the roller 6 is rotated by the slope surface 11 of the guide rail 11.
The processing is terminated when the lower end of a is reached. At this time, the side step 3 comes into contact with the rubber 14 provided on the side guard 13.

In the state where the side step 3 is arranged at the use position as described above, the step surface 3a faces upward, and it is easy to get on and off the loading platform 100. At this time, the load input to the side step 3 is distributed to the side guards 13 so that the load is not supported only by the side step 3, and the existing configuration is used to increase the strength.

Further, when the side step 3 is disposed at the use position, the extending direction of the elongated hole 81 of the escape mechanism 80 is configured to be orthogonal to the extending direction of the transmission link 8. . Therefore, side step 3
Is used, even if there is an input from the transmission link 8 or the urging force of the return spring,
Does not move in the elongated hole 81, so that it is possible to prevent rattling such as floating of the side step 3. Incidentally, the elongated hole and the pin constituting the escape mechanism 80 may be provided with a pin on a parallel link and an elongated hole on the transmission link, contrary to this embodiment.

(C) When the slide door is closed When the slide door 4 is slid from the fully open position to the fully closed position, the roller 6 moves along the guide rail 11 in a direction opposite to that when the slide door is opened. Then, when the roller 6 is displaced upward along the slope surface 11a, the parallel link mechanism 7 rotates, and accordingly, the side step 3 rotates from the use position toward the storage position. In this case, the side step 3 rotates by the urging force of a return spring (not shown), but also rotates by the roller 6 being pushed up by the side step forced storage guide 12 provided on the guide rail 11. When the roller 6 reaches the upper end of the slope surface 11a, the side step 3 reaches the storage position and comes into contact with the storage position stopper 9.

D) When the side step is released from interlocking If the side step 3 is not used even when the slide door 2 is opened and closed, the state where the side step 3 described in the above a) is stored, that is, the roller 6 is moved in the vehicle longitudinal direction In a position where the transmission link 8 does not overlap with the guide rail 11,
Then, the connecting portion between the and the parallel link 7b is pulled to the outside of the vehicle to rotate the two links 8, 7b to the connection releasing position indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. In this disengaged position, the roller 6 is located at a position that does not overlap the guide rail 11 in the vehicle width direction.
Does not interlock with the movement of the guide rail 11, and the side step 3 is held in the storage position.

Further, in this disconnected state, the parallel link mechanism 7 is held by the check force of the check spring 10 so as to be hard to rotate, and the transmission link 8 is disposed beyond the bottom dead center. Therefore, even if a lateral acceleration acts during traveling, it is prevented from returning to the connection side. By these two points, the connection release state is firmly held.

As described above, in the step device according to the present embodiment, the rotation of the side step 3 in conjunction with the sliding of the slide door 2 corresponds to the parallel link between the guide rail 11 and the roller 6. This is executed by the mechanism 7 and the transmission link 8 and does not use a drive motor, a control device, a position detection sensor, or the like, so that it can be configured at a low cost and has an effect of being excellent in versatility.

Further, since the roller 6 moving along the guide rail 11 is supported by the parallel link mechanism 7, the roller 6 moves while maintaining a parallel state with respect to the contact surface of the guide rail 11. In addition, a stable operation can be obtained even if the amount of vertical movement of the roller 6 is increased. Therefore, there is an effect that a large lever ratio with respect to the rotation of the side step 3 can be secured, and the operation force of the slide door 2 required for rotating the side step 3 can be reduced. In addition, a large amount of rotation of the side step 3 can be ensured, so that when the side step 3 is in the storage position, the stroke is overstroke from the vertical position. In this case, a moment is always generated, so that the stability at the storage position can be improved.

Further, an escape mechanism 80 composed of an elongated hole 81 and a pin 82 is provided at a connecting portion between the parallel link 7b and the transmission link 8.
When the side step 3 is placed in the storage position,
The parallel link 7b and the transmission link 8 are arranged at a position beyond the bottom dead center by a simple operation of merely pulling the transmission link 8 to the outside of the vehicle, and at this time, the cooperation between the roller 6 and the guide rail 11 is cut off. Since the configuration is such that the connection state can be released, it is possible to switch between a state in which the slide door 2 and the side step 3 are interlocked and a state in which they are not interlocked with an inexpensive and simple configuration.
Since b and 8 are arranged beyond the bottom dead center, they can be prevented from moving from the uncoupling position and returning to the connected state.

In addition, when the long hole 81 constituting the escape mechanism 80 for forming the above-mentioned disconnected state is arranged at the use position of the side step 3 as shown in FIG. The pin 82 moves in the elongated hole 81 even when there is an input to rotate the side step 3 toward the storage position with the use of the side step 3 because the side step 3 is used. This prevents the side step 3 from floating.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and a design change or the like may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Even if present, it is included in the present invention.

[0041]

As described above, in the step device according to the present invention, the rotation of the side step in conjunction with the sliding of the slide door includes the guide member, the roller, the parallel link mechanism, and the transmission link. Therefore, since the driving means, the control device, the position detection sensor, and the like are not used, the configuration can be made inexpensively and the versatility is excellent.

Further, since a parallel link mechanism is employed,
The increase in the opening / closing operation force of the sliding door due to the load that moves the side steps can be reduced, and the operability is excellent, and the stroke amount of the side steps is increased, so that the storage position of the side steps is overstroke from the vertical position and stored The effect that the stability at the time can be improved is obtained.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation of the side step in conjunction with the opening and closing of the slide door can be canceled with a simple and inexpensive structure, and the usability can be improved at a low cost. The effect is obtained. Further, at this time, by disposing the transmission link and the parallel link beyond the bottom dead center, an effect that this state can be maintained by inexpensive means can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention,
Even if a relief mechanism with a long hole and a pin is provided between the transmission link and the parallel link, this escape does not occur when using the side step, preventing the side step from lifting and improving the quality Can be achieved with a simple configuration.

Further, in the invention according to the fourth aspect, the displacement of the parallel link from the disengaged position is restricted, and the effect that the disengaged state can be reliably maintained can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall view showing a vehicle to which the embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a main part of the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Slide door 3 Side step 3a Step surface 3b Rotating shaft 3c Bracket 4 Bracket 6 Roller 7 Parallel link mechanism 7a Parallel link 7b Parallel link 7c Roller support member 8 Transmission link 9 Storage position stopper 10 Check spring 11 Guide rail 11a Slope surface 12 Side step forced storage guide 13 Side guard 14 Rubber 80 Escape mechanism 81 Long hole 82 Pin 100 Luggage carrier 102 Frame 103 Side member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A step device provided at a position below a slide door in a vehicle provided with a slide door slidably in a front-rear direction on a side surface of a vehicle body, wherein a step member is provided at a position below the slide door. The slide door is supported by the vehicle body so as to be rotatable in a range between a use position in which a step surface is directed upward and a storage position in which the step surface is directed toward the center of the vehicle, about a rotation axis that faces in the vehicle front-rear direction. A guide member extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle at a lower portion of the vehicle. A slope surface displaced in a vertical direction is formed on the guide member, and a roller that can roll along the guide member opens and closes the slide door. On the movement trajectory of the guide member when
A parallel link mechanism having two parallel links is supported on the vehicle body so as to be vertically displaceable, and one of the parallel links constituting the parallel link mechanism and the step member can transmit rotation by a transmission link. The transmission link moves the step member from the storage position to the use position by the rotation of the parallel link associated with the roller rolling along the slope surface of the guide member in conjunction with the opening slide of the slide door. And the step member is moved from the use position to the storage position by rotating the parallel link accompanying the roller rolling along the slope surface of the guide member in conjunction with the closing slide of the slide door. A step device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The connection between the transmission link and the parallel link is a connection having an escape mechanism using a long hole and a pin, and the transmission link and the parallel link are rotated in a state where the step member is disposed in the storage position. It is configured to be movable to a disengaged position displaced beyond a line connecting the moving centers, and in this disengaged position, the roller is arranged at a position that does not overlap the movement locus of the guide member. The step device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The elongated hole and the pin are configured such that, when the step member is arranged at a use position, an extending direction of a link provided with the pin is orthogonal to an extending direction of the elongated hole. The step device according to claim 2, wherein 4. When the transmission link and the parallel link are arranged at the disengaged position, a check spring is provided which engages with one of the parallel links to limit displacement from the disengaged position. The step device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein: