JP2001115736A - Motor-operated open-close system of sliding door - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a motor-operated open-close system in which a configuration space is reduced, a cable driving unit is arranged comparatively feely and the bending sites of a cable are decreased. SOLUTION: The motor-operated open-close system in which the sliding door 2 installed at the side-face rear section of an automobile 1 in the longitudinal direction and guided by a center rail 3, in which a front is curved inwards, is opened and closed and driven has a front pulley 33 mounted near the front end section of the center rail 3, a rear pulley 33 set up near a rear end section, a cable driving unit 8 connected through these pulleys and conduits 24, 25 and inner cables 26, 27, which are introduced from the cable driving unit 8 and inserted slidably into the front-rear conduits 24, 25, the directions of which are changed by the front-rear pulleys 33, 33, which are extended in front and in rear along the center rail 3 and in which end sections are retained to the roller section of the sliding door 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric door opening / closing system for an automobile. More specifically, a door of a type that moves inward to the same plane as the side wall of the car when closed, moves somewhat outward along a rail provided on the side wall when opened, and moves rearward, The present invention relates to an electric opening / closing system that opens and closes by reciprocating a cable connected to a door by driving a motor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A door of an automobile guides rollers mounted above and below the front end of a door by an upper rail provided at an upper portion of a side wall of the vehicle body and a lower rail provided at a lower portion thereof, and is provided at an intermediate portion of the side wall at a rear portion of the vehicle body. The center rail provided guides a roller provided at the center of the rear end of the door. A cable is connected to a roller section running along the lower rail or the center rail (waist rail), and the cable is routed so as to basically constitute a circulation path along a horizontal plane.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-61432 discloses that
As shown in FIG. 7A, a basic example of a so-called bottom / in-horizon wiring type switchgear in which a circulation path is formed along the horizontal plane at the bottom of the vehicle body 101 is shown. In this device, a flexible conduit 103 is provided at the front and rear ends of a lower rail 102,
103, and the rear conduit is bent along a horizontal plane to form a horizontal loop.
Connected to the cable drive mechanism 104 driven by the. Therefore, the reaction force against the pulling force of the cable 105 can be supported by the conduit 103.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-
Japanese Patent No. 232539 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-232525 disclose a switchgear having a case attachable to a lower part of a vehicle body and a cable loop routed in the case. Since this opening / closing device can be unitized by a case, it is easy to assemble the vehicle body.
Also, since the case can support the reaction force of the cable, no conduit is required.

On the other hand, in relatively large vehicles, USP
5,138,795, USP 5,434,4
No. 87 discloses a cable in which a cable is connected to a roller section running on a center rail, and a cable driving device and a guide are protruded into the interior of an automobile. This can support the reaction force of the cable with the vehicle body.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-125820 discloses FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2B, a pulley 107 which rotates around a horizontal axis is provided at the front end of the center rail 106, and a circulation loop of a cable 108 is formed in a vertical plane inside the center rail 106 like a unit case. And
Two cables 108 from the rear end of the center rail 106
Cable drive device 1 pulled out and placed at the rear of the vehicle body
09. This supports most of the reaction force of the cable 108 with the center rail 106,
A part of the reaction force can be supported by the vehicle body.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned conventional device for arranging a cable so as to form a horizontal loop, except for a large automobile, the cable is arranged below a vehicle body, particularly under a floor. Therefore, the wiring work becomes relatively difficult. In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-61432 in FIG. 7A, the problem is partially solved by making the entire apparatus into a half unit using a flexible conduit. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
In the device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 232539, the problem is further improved by using a unit in which the entire device is housed in a case, but it is still insufficient.

On the other hand, the opening / closing device disclosed in US Pat. No. 5,434,487 is difficult to employ in a relatively small vehicle because a driving device and the like protrude into the vehicle. The opening and closing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-125820 shown in FIG. 7B has an advantage in that a loop in a vertical plane is formed along the side wall of the vehicle, so that the protrusion into the vehicle compartment is small. However, there are disadvantages in that the arrangement position of the cable driving device is limited, and there are many bent portions of the cable, and the transmission efficiency tends to be low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric opening / closing system having a small space for arrangement, a relatively free arrangement of a cable driving device, and a small number of bent portions of a cable.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An electric sliding door opening / closing system according to the present invention comprises a rail which is attached to the side of an automobile in the front-rear direction and has an inwardly curved front, and a door guided by the rail. In the slide door mechanism having a, a door opening and closing drive system,
Brackets provided near the front end and rear end of the rail, cable direction changing means provided near those brackets, conduits having one end fixed to each bracket, and the other end of each conduit Connected, winding up the inner cable,
A drum for sending out, and a cable driving mechanism having a motor for reciprocatingly rotating the drum, and exiting from the cable driving mechanism, slidably inserted into the front conduit, and turned by the front turning means. A rearwardly extending inner cable extending rearward along the rails and having an end locked to a roller portion of the door, and is slidably inserted into a rear conduit exiting from a cable drive mechanism. And a reversing inner cable that is turned forward by the side turning means and then extends forward along the rail, and whose end is locked to a roller portion of the door.

In such an electric switching system,
Preferably, the front and / or rear direction changing means is a pulley rotatably provided on a bracket. In that case, it is preferable to close the end of the conduit tightly on the side of the bracket to which the pulley is attached, leaving a hole through which the inner cable is inserted. Further, it is preferable that the bracket has a main body having an opening and a grommet that closes the opening closely, and the grommet is provided with an entrance for an inner cable.

[0012]

In the electric opening and closing system according to the present invention (claim 1), brackets are respectively provided near the front end and the rear end of the rail, and a cable direction changing means is provided near the bracket. The inner cable is guided by a conduit having one end fixed to the bracket, and the inner cable is circulated by a cable drive mechanism on the other end of the conduit. Therefore, it can be arranged in a narrow space along the side wall of the vehicle. Thereby, it is easy to adopt a type that drives the roller unit that runs on the center rail. In addition, the cables are routed from the front and rear ends of the rails with conduits, so the efficiency is high. In addition, since the cable is guided by the conduit, there is a high degree of freedom in installing the cable driving mechanism. Therefore, if a cable drive mechanism can be provided below the center rail, both conduits are largely bent downward so that the routing route is kept as short as possible while being arranged at an appropriate position below the center rail. be able to. Therefore, there is an advantage that the bent portion of the inner cable is small and the installation space is small.

In the system employing the pulley as the direction changing means (claim 2), the load efficiency of the inner cable is high due to the combination of the pulley and the conduit. Further, there is an advantage that the bent portion of the inner cable is small and the installation space is small.
Further, the inner cable running in the rail is exposed to the outside, but when turning around with a pulley, a part of water droplets and dirt falls off the inner cable. Therefore, when the inner cable enters the conduit thereafter, it is difficult to bring water droplets or the like into the inside of the conduit, and the inner cable and the conduit are less likely to rust. Further, it is possible to prevent water from entering the vehicle interior.

In the above-mentioned electric open / close system in which the end of the conduit is tightly closed while leaving a hole through which the inner cable passes (Claim 3), water droplets and the like are less likely to enter the inside of the conduit, and the grease in the conduit is exposed to the outside. It is hard to come out. In the case where the bracket has a main body having an opening and a grommet that closes the opening closely, and the grommet is provided with an entrance for an inner cable (claim 4), the function of the pulley is not impaired. , More external protection can be achieved.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of an electric door opening / closing system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an electric opening / closing system of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an automobile provided with the opening / closing system, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a front pulley assembly used in the opening / closing system, 4a and 4b are a plan view and a front view after the assembly, FIG. 4c is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 4a, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a rear pulley assembly used in the opening and closing system, and FIGS. 6b is a plan view and a front view after the assembly, and FIG. 6c is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 6a.

First, the entire electric door opening / closing system will be described with reference to FIG. The vehicle 1 in FIG. 2 includes a door 2 on a side surface. The upper and lower portions of the front portion of the door 2 are slidably guided by upper and lower rails (not shown) provided in the front and rear directions on the upper and lower sides of the vehicle. An intermediate portion of the rear portion of the door 2 in the up-down direction is guided by a center rail 3 provided in the front-rear direction at an intermediate portion of the rear portion of the automobile so as to be able to travel.

Around the center rail 3, a mechanism portion 4 of the opening / closing system according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided, and a controller 5 as a control portion is provided below the mechanism portion 4. The mechanism part 4 includes a front pulley assembly 6 provided before and after the center rail 3 and a rear pulley assembly 7.
And a cable drive unit 8 and a cable assembly (control cable) 9 for connecting them. Reference numeral 10 denotes a battery.

The door 2 is provided with a known door lock 11, a release actuator 12, and a closer 15 for driving them via control cables 13 and 14. Reference numeral 16 denotes a junction switch, and reference numeral 17 denotes a roller assembly including a roller that rolls in the center rail 3. Further, a touch sensor 18 for pinch detection is provided at the front edge of the door 2.

Around the driver's seat, a main switch 19 for turning on and off the power of the controller 5 is provided.
Electric switch 20 for opening and closing and stopping the door
The parking lever 21 is provided with a parking switch 21 for detecting that the parking lever is being pulled. Further, a vehicle speed sensor 22 is provided at the front of the vehicle. The main switch 19, the electric operation switch 20, the parking switch 21, the vehicle speed sensor 22, and the like are connected by a wire harness to send a predetermined signal to the controller 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the center rail 3 is curved at the front end (the left side in FIG. 1) to the inside of the automobile, and the others are substantially straight. The center rail 3 is formed by bending a metal plate. The cross-sectional shape of the center rail 3 is a U-shaped groove in which the rollers of the roller assembly 17 roll, a portion bent downward from the lower front end, and once from the upper front end. And a portion that bends downward and further bends upward. The center rail 3 is fixed so as to fit into a groove formed in the outer panel of the side wall of the vehicle.

The front pulley assembly 6 is arranged near the front end of the center rail 3 and is fixed to an outer panel of the vehicle body. Rear pulley assembly 7 is center rail 3
It is located near the rear end of the vehicle and is also attached to the outer panel of the vehicle body. A conduit 24 of the front cable assembly 9 extends rearward from the front pulley assembly 6, curves downward, and further horizontally curves to be connected to the cable drive unit 8. The conduit 25 of the rear cable assembly 9, one end of which is attached to the rear pulley assembly 7, extends forward on the back side of the outer panel, curves downward, and further curves backward, and is connected to the cable drive unit 8.

One inner cable 26 emerging from the cable drive unit 8 is passed through the front conduit 24 to the front pulley assembly 6, where it exits the conduit 24 and is approximately 12 inches.
Change the direction by 0 degrees and enter the groove of the center rail 3. The inner cable 26 passes through the space above the groove of the center rail 3, and the cable end fixed to the end is locked by the end holder of the roller assembly 17. The other inner cable 27 coming out of the cable drive unit 8 is passed through the rear conduit 25 and reaches the rear pulley assembly 7 where it exits the conduit 25 and turns approximately 180 degrees, after the center rail 3 Enter the groove from the end. The inner cable 27 passes through the space above the groove of the center rail 3, and the cable end fixed to the end is locked to the end holder.

Since the inner cables 26 and 27 are arranged in a closed loop in this manner, the cable drive unit 8 winds one of the inner cables 26 and sends out the other inner cable 27 so that the roller assembly 17 is moved. You can move forward. Thereby, the door 2 is closed. Also, one inner cable 26
And the other inner cable 27 is taken up, the roller assembly 17 is retracted, and the door 2 is opened.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the front pulley assembly 7 includes a bracket 31, a shaft 32,
A pulley 33, a pulley cover 34, and a grommet 35 are used as basic elements. The bracket 31 is formed by bending a metal plate, and supports portions 36, 36 parallel to each other.
, A conduit mounting portion 37 connecting between them, a support portion 36,
Attachment part 3 to vehicle body bent at right angle from side edge of 36
8, 38. The mounting portion 38 to the vehicle body is provided with a mounting hole 39 such as a screw hole or a welding nut. 4A and 4B, the arm-shaped bracket 4 is attached to the mounting portion 38 of the bracket 31 to the vehicle body.
0 is shown in a state fixed by welding. Reference numeral 41 in FIG.
Is an outer end fixed to the end of the conduit 24. As shown in FIG. 4c, a central portion of each of the support portions 36, 36 is provided with a portion 36a that is somewhat concaved inward, and a hole 42 through which the shaft passes is formed at the center thereof. Conduit connection 37
Is formed with a notch 43 for passing the outer end 41 (see FIGS. 4A and 5).

The shaft 32 is a metal rod, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
2a is provided, and an annular groove 32b for locking the retaining ring 44 is formed at the other end. The pulley 33 is made of synthetic resin, has a hole 33a through which the shaft 32 passes at the center, and a guide groove 33b that engages with the inner cable 26 is formed around the pulley 33.

The pulley cover 34 is a box-shaped molded product made of synthetic resin. An opening 34a for inserting the pulley 33 is provided at one end, and upper and lower walls sandwiched by bracket support portions 36 have upper and lower walls. Hole 34b through which shaft 32 passes
Is provided. Further, the rear portion which comes into contact with the conduit connecting portion 37 is made somewhat thicker, and a bottomed hole 34c into which the rubber stopper 45 and the tip of the outer end 41 are fitted is formed in that portion. 4a). Further, a through hole 34d through which the inner cable 26 passes is provided at the bottom thereof. In the rear part of the pulley cover 34, a through hole is formed in the plug body 45 so that the inner cable passes therethrough.

The opening 34a of the pulley cover 34 is
As shown in b, the grommet 35 is made of rubber or soft resin. As shown in FIG. 4c, the grommet 35
Is provided with a small entrance / exit 35a through which the inner cable 26 passes, and a periphery thereof is provided with a groove 35b for engaging with a small window formed in a panel 46 of the vehicle body.

The above bracket 31, shaft 32, pulley 33, pulley cover 34 and grommet 35
4A to 4C, the pulley cover 34 is fitted inside the bracket 31, the pulley 33 is inserted inside the pulley cover 34, and the two parts are assembled through the shaft 32. The inner cable 26, the conduit 24, and the plug 45 are previously attached to the pulley cover 34 before attaching the pulley 33, and the grommet 35 is finally attached to the pulley cover 3.
Attach to 4.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front pulley assembly 6 constructed as described above is attached to a panel of the vehicle body near the front end of the center rail 3 by a bracket 31. Then, the direction of the inner cable 26 sliding on the surface of the center rail 3 can be turned by the pulley 33 at an angle of 90 degrees or more (the angle formed by the inner cable is 90 degrees or less) and guided to the conduit 24. . Therefore, when the inner cable 26 is pulled in by the cable drive unit 8, the inner cable 26
Although the tension applied to is very large, the direction can be changed smoothly. Also, the conduit 24 itself need not be curved with a small radius of curvature. When the rear inner cable 27 is pulled in by the cable drive unit 8, the front inner cable 26 is pulled by the door 2. Even in that case, the direction can be smoothly changed from the conduit 24 to the center rail 3.

In FIG. 4B, the conduit 24 and the outer end 41 are arranged at an angle of about 5 degrees with respect to the center plane of the pulley 33 (a plane perpendicular to the shaft 32). Thus, when routed as shown in FIG. 1, the conduit 24 once rises somewhat obliquely upward and curves downwardly therefrom. Therefore, the radius of curvature of curvature can be further increased, and the sliding resistance of the inner cable 26 in the conduit 24 is reduced.

Further, in this embodiment, since the pulley 33 is surrounded by the pulley cover 34 and the grommet 35 except for the entrance 35a of the grommet 35, there is little possibility that water droplets and dirt adhere. Further, the inside of the vehicle body behind the pulley cover 34 is closed by the pulley cover 34, and the panel 46 of the vehicle body is closed except for a window for mounting the grommet 35, so that dust or the like enters the inside of the vehicle body. It can also be prevented. Further, since the plug body 45 is interposed between the pulley cover 34 and the conduit 24 or the outer end 41, it is possible to prevent water droplets and dust from entering the conduit 24. Thus, the inner cable 26 can be protected from rust and the like.

The rear pulley assembly 7 is substantially the same as the front pulley assembly 6 described above.
Therefore, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description is omitted. However, in the case of the rear pulley assembly 7, FIG.
6C, a part of the pulley 33 protrudes from the entrance 35a of the grommet 35. for that reason,
The inner cable 27 can be engaged by the pulley 33 so as to be turned approximately 180 degrees. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the conduit 25 can be routed along the inner surface of the panel, and the space can be further saved. The other functions of the pulley 33 to change the direction of the inner cable 27 and the pulley cover 34 and the grommet 35 to prevent dust and water droplets from entering are the same as those of the front pulley assembly 6.

Next, the cable drive unit 8 will be described with reference to FIG. The cable drive unit 8 includes a base bracket 51, a drum 52 disposed on a lower surface side of the base bracket 51, a motor M, a reduction gear G, and a clutch 53 disposed on an upper surface side. The drum 52 is for winding and unwinding the inner cables 26 and 27, and is usually formed of a synthetic resin. A spiral guide groove for winding the inner cables 26 and 27 is formed around the drum 52, and a recess is provided for engaging a cable end fixed to an end of the inner cable.
The base bracket 51 is installed in an appropriate space, for example, on an inner panel forming a tire house of an automobile.

In this embodiment, a worm speed reducer is used as the speed reducer G. However, other types of speed reducers such as planetary gear speed reducers may be used. Note that the speed reducer G and the clutch 53 are attached to the base bracket 51 by a casing 62 that is formed by pressing a metal plate. The motor M is fixed to a housing of the reduction gear G, and forms a motor / reduction gear assembly together with the reduction gear G.

In the cable drive unit 8 configured as described above, when the motor M rotates in one direction, the rotation is reduced by the speed reducer G and the output shaft of the clutch 53 rotates. As a result, the drum 52 rotates in one direction, and one inner cable, for example, the front inner cable 26 is wound on the drum 52, and the other inner cable 27 is unwound from the drum 52.
As a result, the loops of the inner cables 26 and 27 circulate in one direction, and move in the direction in which the door 2 closes through the roller assembly 17.

Conversely, when the motor M rotates in the opposite direction, the inner cable 27 on the rear side is wound around the drum 52 and the inner cable 26 on the front side is sent out from the drum in the same manner as described above. It circulates in the opposite direction and moves in the direction in which the door 2 opens.

In the above embodiment, the opening / closing device is applied to the center rail, but may be applied to the lower rail. However, if there is not enough space inside the car wall, install the cable drive unit under the floor, etc.
Arrange in an appropriate space according to the vehicle type.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an electric opening / closing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of an automobile equipped with the opening / closing system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a front pulley assembly used in the opening and closing system of FIG. 1;

4a and 4b are a plan view and a front view, respectively, of the front pulley assembly of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4c is a sectional view taken along the line IVa-IVa of FIG. 4a.

5 is an exploded perspective view of a rear pulley assembly used in the opening / closing system of FIG. 1;

6a and 6b are respectively a plan view and a front view of the subsequent pulley assembly, and FIG. 6c is a sectional view taken along the line VIa-VIa of FIG. 6a.

7a and 7b are perspective views showing an example of a conventional sliding door opening / closing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automobile 2 Slide door 3 Center rail 5 Controller 6 Front pulley assembly 7 Rear pulley assembly 8 Cable drive unit 9 Cable assembly 10 Battery 11 Door lock 12 Release actuator 13 Control cable 14 Control cable 15 Closer 16 Junction switch 17 Roller assembly 18 Touch sensor 19 Main switch 20 Electric operation switch 21 Parking brake switch 22 Vehicle speed sensor 24 Pipe 25 Pipe 26 Inner cable 27 Inner cable 31 Bracket 32 Shaft 33 Pulley 34 Pulley cover 35 Grommet 41 Outer end 45 Plug body 46 Panel 51 Base bracket 52 Drum M Motor G reducer 53 clutch

Continued on the front page (72) Katsunori Nakagawa 2-1-1, Taoyuan, Ikeda-shi, Osaka Daihatsu Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Chiharu Higashi 1-12-28, Sakaecho, Takarazuka-shi, Hyogo Japan F term in System Corporation (reference) 2E052 AA09 BA02 CA06 DA03 DB03 EA16 EB01 EC01 KA15 KA16

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A door mechanism having a rail which is attached to a side surface of an automobile in a front-rear direction and has a front curved inward and a slide door guided by the rail, for driving the slide door to open and close. A bracket provided near the front and rear ends of the rail, means for diverting cables provided near the brackets, conduits having one end fixed to each bracket, and each conduit And a cable driving mechanism having a motor for rewinding and rotating the inner cable, and a motor for reciprocatingly rotating the drum, and slidably out of the cable driving mechanism and into the front conduit. , Which is turned by the front turning means, extends rearward along the rail, and is engaged with the end of the roller portion of the sliding door. Slidably inserted into the rear conduit, coming out of the cable drive mechanism, being slidably inserted in the rear conduit, being turned by the rear turning means, and extending forward along the rail, and An electric opening and closing system for a sliding door, comprising a reversing inner cable whose end is locked to a portion. 2. The electric opening / closing system according to claim 1, wherein the front and / or rear turning means is a pulley rotatably provided on the bracket. 3. The electric open / close system according to claim 2, wherein the end of the conduit is tightly closed on the side of the bracket on which the pulley is mounted, leaving a hole through which the inner cable is inserted. 4. The bracket according to claim 1, wherein the bracket has a main body having an opening and a grommet for closing the opening tightly, and the grommet is provided with an entrance for an inner cable.
The electric opening and closing system as described.