JP2003154851A - Mounting structure of center rail cover for automobile slide door - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance a feeling or rigidity and quality of an automobile center rail cover by preventing the occurrence of bending and chattering of the lower end of the center rail cover. SOLUTION: The center rail cover 3 used for an automobile slide door covers a recessed part 1, formed in a horizontal direction along a side face Q of an automobile body, and the center rail 2 installed in the recessed part 1 to guide the slide door. The inner surface of the upper half of the center rail cover 3 is fixed to the recessed part 1 while the lower end of the center rail cover 3 covers the center rail 2. A clearance is provided between the lower end rim of the center rail cover 3 and the lower rim of the recessed part 1 to allow a center arm of the slide door to pass therethrough. The spacer 5 of an elastic material is disposed on the inner surface of the lower end of the center rail cover 3, and brought into pressure contact with the center rail 2, thereby inhibiting the bending and chattering of the lower end of the center rail cover 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a center rail cover of an automobile slide door that covers a recess formed in a side surface of a vehicle body and a center rail assembled in the recess.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a wagon type vehicle or the like in which a door on the side of a vehicle body is opened and closed with a sliding door is provided with a recess extending horizontally along a lower edge of the quarter window on a quarter panel forming a rear portion of the vehicle body side. A center rail that is formed and that supports and guides the intermediate portion of the slide door is mounted in the recess. A center rail cover is attached so as to cover the recess.

FIG. 3 shows a conventional typical mounting structure of a center rail cover. On the upper part of the quarter panel Q along the lower edge of the opening of the quarter window W, a recess 1 extending horizontally in a band shape is formed. The recess 1 has a large vertical width, the upper half 1a forms a closed cross section with the inner panel 11, and the lower half 1b is formed deeper than the upper half 1a.
A center rail 2 extending horizontally along the lower half portion 1b is attached to the lower half portion 1b.

The center rail cover 3 is an outer panel 3
A panel member having an inner frame 3b on the inner surface of a,
The plurality of clips 4 provided on the inner frame 3b are provided in the recess 1
It is attached by being fitted and locked from the outside of the vehicle into a plurality of locking holes 10 provided in the upper half portion 1a. The center rail cover 3 covers the center rail 2 at its lower end, and between the lower edge of the center rail cover 3 and the lower edge of the recess 1, a center roller and a slide door that roll in the center rail 2 not shown are provided. There is a gap through which a center arm that connects the

[0005]

By the way, in the conventional structure, since the center rail cover 3 covers the center rail 2 at its lower end, the size from the clip fastening position to the lower edge is large, and When the rail cover 3 is touched with a hand or the like, the lower end bends inward, and when the rail cover 3 is tapped, chatter occurs at the lower end, which gives rise to a problem that the rigidity and texture are not good. Therefore, it is conceivable to connect the lower end of the center rail cover 3 to the center rail 2 and fix the lower end of the center rail cover 3. However, the center rail 2 and the center rail cover 3 may be fixed.
If there are variations in the construction of the building, it will be difficult to combine them.

Therefore, the present invention is not affected by variations in the construction of the center rail and the center rail cover,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting structure for a center rail cover of a sliding door for an automobile, which prevents bending and chattering of the lower end portion of the center rail cover and improves the rigidity and texture of the center rail cover. is there.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a center rail cover that covers a recess formed horizontally along the side surface of a vehicle body and a center rail installed in the recess for guiding a slide door. And the inner surface of the upper half is fixed to the recess, the lower end covers the center rail, and a gap is provided between the lower end and the lower end of the recess to allow the center arm of the slide door to be inserted. In the center rail cover of the door, a spacer of an elastic member is installed on the inner surface of the lower end of the center rail cover, and the spacer is pressed against the center rail (claim 1). Since the spacer provided at the lower end of the center rail cover is pressed against the center rail, bending and chattering can be suppressed, and the rigidity and texture of the center rail cover can be improved.

A lip extending from the inner surface facing the center rail to the inner surface with a gap is formed in the spacer, and the lip is pressed against the center rail (claim 2). The lip effectively absorbs variations in the construction of the center rail and the center rail cover, and the spacer can be reliably pressed against the center rail.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, a quarter panel Q forming a rear portion of a side surface of a vehicle body is provided with a recess 1 extending horizontally along the lower edge of the quarter window W. The recess 1 has substantially the same structure as the conventional structure shown in FIG. 3 and has a large vertical width, and the lower half portion 1b of the recess 1 is formed in a groove shape deeper than the upper half portion 1a.
The front end of the lower half portion 1b extends forward of the front end of the upper half portion 1a and wraps around to the front side of the pillar P that forms the rear edge of the edge of the door opening on the side surface of the vehicle body. The upper half portion 1a of the concave portion 1 has a plurality of locking holes for a clip 4 for mounting a center rail cover 3 described below at front end and rear end positions along the upper edge and front end, middle and rear end positions along the lower edge, respectively. 10 is formed. A mounting seat 7 for fastening the rear end of the center rail cover 3 is formed behind the recess 1 on the opening side edge of the back door opening, and the mounting seat 7 is formed with a screw hole 70 at a vertical position.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a center rail 2 is attached to the lower half portion 1b of the recess 1 along the same. The center rail 2 is a long body having the same cross-sectional shape over the entire length, and has a substantially hat-shaped cross section, a vertical wall-shaped side wall 22 connected to one end of the upper wall 21, and a bottom wall connected to the lower end of the side wall 22. 23, and the side wall 2 with the opening facing the outside of the vehicle
2 is attached to the lower half portion 1b of the recess 1 by bolting.

The center rail cover 3 which covers the recess 1 and the center rail 2 is made of a metal panel member in which an inner frame 3b is fixed inside the outer panel 3a. The inner frame 3b has a plurality of vertical frames 32, 333 vertically arranged at predetermined intervals between the upper and lower horizontal frames 30, 31 along the upper and lower edges of the outer panel 3a.
It is connected with 4,35. The inner frame 3b has an upper edge flange bent toward the vehicle interior and an upper edge flange bent toward the vehicle inner side of the outer panel 3a, and is welded, and a lower edge is hemmed integrally with a lower edge of the outer panel 3a.

Inner frame 3 of center rail cover 3
In b, corresponding to each locking hole 10 of the concave portion 1, the clip 4 is provided at the vertical position of the front end vertical frame 32, the lower end position of each intermediate vertical frame 33, 34, and the upper end position of the rear end vertical frame 35. Mounting holes 36 are formed. At the rear edge of the center rail cover 3, there is provided a plate-shaped fastening piece 37 which projects rearward in correspondence with the mounting seat 7 of the vehicle body.
A through hole corresponding to each screw hole 70 of the mounting seat 7 is formed in 7.

On the inner surface of the center rail cover 3, the center rail 2 is brought into contact with each other at an intermediate position between the front end vertical frame 32 and the intermediate vertical frame 33 and an intermediate position between the intermediate vertical frame 34 and the rear end vertical frame 35. A spacer 5 made of an elastic material such as rubber is firmly fixed.

The spacer 5 is integrally formed with a lip 5b extending from an inner surface 51 of a rectangular block-shaped main body 5a. The lip 5b is plate-like and protrudes inward from the upper end of the inner side surface 51, is bent, and extends obliquely downward so that the tip side gradually separates from the inner side surface 51 and the gap widens. The lower end of the main body 5a is formed with a thin plate-shaped protruding portion 53 protruding downward along the outer side surface 52 of the main body 5a.

The spacer 5 is aligned with a notch 38 formed in the upper edge of the lower horizontal frame 31 at an intermediate position between the vertical frames 32, 33, 34 and 35 of the center rail cover 3.
The protruding portion 53 is fitted into the gap between the outer panel 3a and the upper edge of the lower horizontal frame 31 from above, and the main body portion 5a
The outer surface 52 is attached to the inner surface of the outer panel 3a directly or with a double-sided adhesive tape.

The center rail cover 3 is arranged in the recess 1 of the vehicle body so as to cover the recess 1 from the outside of the vehicle, and the clips 4 provided in the mounting holes 36 of the inner frame 3b are fitted into the locking holes 10 of the recess 1. Center rail cover 3
The fastening piece 37 at the rear end is fixed to the mounting seat 7 by bolting. Each of the spacers 5 is a side portion 2 on the vehicle outer side of the upper wall 21 of the center rail 2 when the center rail cover 3 is fixed.
4 is attached to the center rail cover 3 at a height position corresponding to 4, and the thickness of the spacer 5 including the lip 5b (width in the in-vehicle direction) is larger than the gap width between the side surface portion 24 and the center rail cover 3. When the center rail cover 3 is fixed, the lip 5b bends and comes into pressure contact with the side surface portion 24 of the center rail 2. Center rail cover 3
Between the lower edge and the lower edge of the recess 1, there is a gap for passing a center arm that connects a slide roller and a center roller (not shown) that rolls in the center rail 2.

According to this embodiment, since the lower end of the center rail cover 3 is pressed against the center rail 2 via the spacer 5 made of an elastic material, the lower end of the center rail cover 3 is inserted through the spacer 5 into the center rail. Supported by 2,
Even if the center rail cover 3 is touched with a hand or the like, the bending of the lower end portion is suppressed, and the chattering of the lower end portion when hitting is suppressed, so that the rigidity and texture of the center rail cover 3 can be improved.

Since the spacer 5 is designed so that its lip 5b is bent and brought into pressure contact with the center rail 2, even if the center rail 2 or the center rail cover 3 has a variation in installation, the variation in the lip 5b causes the variation. The center rail cover 3 can be absorbed and the center rail 2 can be reliably pressed against the center rail 2. Further, the deflection of the lip 5b can more effectively suppress chattering of the lower end portion of the center rail cover 3.

Although the spacer 5 having the lip 5b is used in the above-described embodiment, an elastic spacer having no lip 5b may be used, and the elasticity of the spacer may be used for building the center rail or the center rail cover. Variations can be absorbed. However, since it does not absorb variations as much as the lip, if the spacer itself is made too thick, when the center rail cover is fixed,
If an excessive reaction force acts on the lower end portion from the center rail and the thickness is made too thin, the pressure contact force with respect to the center rail becomes insufficient, making it difficult to set the thickness. In that respect, spacers having lips are advantageous.

[0020]

According to the present invention, the center rail cover is not affected by variations in the installation of the center rail or variations in the installation of the center rail, and the bending or chattering of the lower end portion of the center rail cover is effective. It is possible to improve the feeling of rigidity and the texture.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting structure of a center rail cover of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a mounted state taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional center rail cover mounting structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

Q Side of car body (quarter panel) 1 recess 2 Center rail 3 Center rail cover 5 spacers 51 Inside 5b lip

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A center rail cover for covering a recess formed horizontally along a side surface of a vehicle body and a center rail mounted in the recess for guiding a slide door, wherein an inner surface of an upper half of the center rail cover is covered. A center rail cover for an automobile slide door, which is fixed to the recess and covers the center rail at a lower end, and a gap is provided between a lower end edge and a lower edge of the recess to allow a center arm of the slide door to be inserted therethrough, A mounting structure for a center rail cover of an automobile slide door, characterized in that a spacer of an elastic member is installed on the inner surface of the lower end of the center rail cover and the spacer is pressed against the center rail. 2. The spacer according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is formed with a lip extending from the inner side surface facing the center rail with a gap between the inner side surface and the inner side surface, and the lip is brought into contact with the center rail. Installation structure of the center rail cover of the sliding door for automobiles.