JP2003253960A - Automatic opening/closing device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic opening/closing device for vehicles by which a loading property onto a vehicle is improved by reducing the total length. <P>SOLUTION: In an opening/closing member movably installed in a vehicle body through a hinge, both ends of a feeding screw 26 are rotationally supported to a support member 29 which is an automatic opening/closing device 10 for a vehicle and is fixed to a vehicle body. A nut 27 screwed with the feeding screw 26 is attached. A guide rod 28 is provided in parallel with the feeding screw 26 in the support member 29, and an advancing and retreating block 32 guided to both forward and the rearward sides by the guide rod 28 and integrally fixed together with the nut 27 is provided. A connection rod 17 movably fitted to the advancing and retreating block 32 at one end and movably fitted to the opening/closing member at the other end is provided, and further, an electric motor 23 rotationally driving the feeding screw 26 is provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle, and more particularly to a technique effectively applied to opening and closing a back door, a trunk lid, an engine hood, a door, etc. attached to a vehicle body via a hinge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an opening / closing member to be mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile, a back door, a trunk lid or the like which is opened and closed by swinging a hinge as a fulcrum, or a slide which is opened and closed by moving along a rail. There is a door.

For example, many one-box vehicles are often provided with a back door so that loading and unloading of luggage from the rear of the vehicle can be easily performed. Usually, such a back door is mounted on the vehicle through a hinge fixed to the rear end of the vehicle roof, and is opened and closed vertically with the hinge serving as a fulcrum. In this case, since the back door is largely flipped up above the vehicle, it is also called a flip-up type back door.

Further, since the flip-up type back door is often large and heavy, a gas cylinder is provided as an auxiliary mechanism for connecting the vehicle body and the back door. Therefore, the gas cylinder is opened by releasing the lock mechanism,
While the back door can be easily opened, when closing the back door, it was necessary to manually close the back door while contracting the gas cylinder.

Such a back door is often flipped up a lot when it is opened, and there is a large gap between the end of the back door and the ground, which makes opening and closing it difficult. . In particular, it has been very difficult for women and children to close such back doors.

Further, since the back door is flipped up by the gas cylinder, for example, when the space for opening the back door is limited in the parking lot, a method of pressing the back door during the opening operation is used. You have to stop the backdoor flipping up,
Workability was also poor.

Therefore, even women and children can easily open and close,
An increasing number of vehicles are equipped with a back door opening / closing device that can be stopped at any open position. As such an opening / closing device, a vehicle lift gate power operating system capable of electrically opening and closing a back door has been developed, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-253241. In this system, a rack bar provided in a channel is driven forward and backward by an electric motor, and a lift gate, that is, a back door is opened and closed via a link provided on the rack bar.

[0008]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
The switchgear disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 001-253241 is
Since the rack bar is driven, the total length of the opening / closing device is approximately twice the link operation amount. Since such an opening / closing device is arranged between the panels constituting the vehicle body, that is, inside the pillar at the rear end of the vehicle, downsizing of the opening / closing device is an important factor.

In the opening / closing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-253241, an electromagnetic clutch is provided between the worm gear of the electric motor and the output pinion gear that drives the rack bar. Therefore, it is possible to open and close the back door manually by disengaging the electromagnetic clutch.
Since the output pinion gear and the worm gear are separated from each other, the output pinion gear easily rotates and the opening / closing resistance of the back door is almost eliminated. Therefore, if the electromagnetic clutch is disengaged during the opening / closing operation, the back door may be suddenly opened or closed.

Further, when the electromagnetic clutch is connected, it is necessary to rotate the worm from the worm wheel side, and it is very difficult to manually move the worm.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle, which has a reduced overall length and thus has improved mountability in a vehicle.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle, which has a simple structure and can safely open and close the opening / closing member manually.

[0013]

An automatic opening / closing apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention is an automatic opening / closing apparatus for a vehicle which automatically opens and closes an opening / closing member which is swingably provided on a vehicle body via a hinge. A feed screw whose both ends are rotatably supported by a support member fixed to the vehicle body, and a nut provided on an advancing / retreating block which is guided forward and backward in parallel with the feed screw, and which is screwed to the feed screw. A connecting rod having one end swingably attached to the advancing / retreating block and the other end swingably attached to the opening / closing member, and an electric motor attached to the support member for rotationally driving the feed screw. Is characterized by.

As a result, the displacement amount of the connecting rod required for opening and closing the opening / closing member can be secured by operating the connecting rod by using the nut which is fed and moved by the feed screw. The total length of the opening / closing device can be shortened by approaching the displacement amount of the connecting rod, and the mountability on the vehicle body can be improved.

In the vehicle automatic opening / closing device of the present invention, the electric motor is mounted in parallel with the feed screw. As a result, the total length of the vehicle automatic opening / closing device can be further shortened by approaching the displacement amount of the connecting rod, and the mountability on the vehicle body can be improved.

The vehicle automatic opening / closing device of the present invention has a clutch which is provided between the output shaft of the electric motor and the feed screw and which switches between transmission and interruption of the driving force of the electric motor. To do. Thereby, the electric motor and the feed screw can be separated from each other, and the opening / closing member can be manually opened / closed.

In the vehicle automatic opening / closing device of the present invention, the opening / closing member is attached to the vehicle body through the hinge attached to the rear end of the vehicle body roof, and the supporting member is provided on the vehicle body adjacent to the opening / closing member. It is characterized by being fixed in the pillar. As a result, the appearance of the vehicle is improved, and the feed screw and the advancing / retreating block are housed in the pillar, so that the safety can be improved.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing a part of a vehicle 11 to which an automatic vehicle opening / closing device 10 (hereinafter referred to as an opening / closing device) according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing a vehicle 11. FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a state in which a back door 12 which is an opening / closing member of the vehicle 11 in FIG. 1 is opened, and similarly, FIG. 4 shows a state in which the back door 12 of the vehicle 11 in FIG. 2 is opened. It is a side view.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an opening / closing member, that is, a back door 12 is attached to the rear end of the vehicle body 13 which constitutes the vehicle 11. A hinge 14 is attached to a rear end portion of a vehicle body roof 13r provided above the vehicle body 13, and the back door 12 is attached to the vehicle body 13 via the hinge 14. The back door 12 is openable and closable about the hinge 14 from the fully closed state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the fully opened state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The illustrated back door 12 is a vehicle body 13
It is installed so that it can be opened and closed vertically,
The invention is not limited to this, and the hinge 14 may be attached to the rear end side portion of the vehicle body 13 to open and close the back door 12 in the horizontal direction with respect to the vehicle body 13. It may be attached to a so-called double door backdoor. Further, the opening / closing range of the back door 12 is not limited to about 90 degrees and may be set arbitrarily.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a back door 12 is provided between the vehicle body 13 of the vehicle 11 and the back door 12.
An opening / closing device 10 for automatically opening / closing the vehicle and a gas cylinder 15 for assisting the opening / closing operation of the back door 12 are mounted. The opening / closing device 10 is mounted inside the pillar 16 formed on the vehicle body 13, that is, inside the pillar 16 on the left side in FIG. And the switchgear 10
One end of the connecting rod 17 provided on the back door 12 protrudes from a slit 18 formed in the pillar 16.
It is swingably mounted inside the. In this way, the vehicle body 13 to which the opening / closing device 10 is attached and the back door 12 are connected via the connecting rod 17.

The gas cylinder 15 has a cylinder portion 1
9, a piston slidably provided in the cylinder portion 19, and a cylinder rod 20 provided in the piston. One end of the cylinder portion 19 is swingable to the pillar 16 at the rear end portion of the vehicle body 13. Mounted, cylinder part 1
One end of the cylinder rod 20 projecting from the other end of 9 is swingably mounted inside the back door 12. The gas chamber formed by the cylinder portion 19 and the piston is filled with high-pressure gas, and the back door 12 is biased in the opening direction via the cylinder rod 20. In addition,
In the fully closed state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cylinder rod 20 is housed in the cylinder portion 19 and the pressure energy in the gas chamber is increased by compression. In the fully open state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cylinder rod 20 is opened, and the pressure energy in the gas chamber is converted into the kinetic energy of the cylinder rod 20 by expansion.

The opening / closing device 10 for automatically opening / closing the back door 12 will be described below. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the opening / closing device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5
As shown in FIG. 1, the switchgear 10 includes a drive unit 21 that generates a rotational force and a conversion unit 2 that converts a rotational motion into a linear motion.
2 and is fixed in the pillar 16 of the vehicle body 13.

The drive unit 21 has an electric motor 23 that is driven to rotate forward and backward, and a plurality of reduction gears 24 that reduce the rotation of the electric motor 23. The electric motor 23 and the reduction gear 2
4 between the output shaft of the electric motor 23 and the reduction gear 24.
An electromagnetic clutch 25 is provided for connecting and disconnecting and. The reduction gear 24 is housed in a gear case (not shown).

The conversion portion 22 has a feed screw 26 connected to the reduction gear 24 and a nut 27 screwed to the feed screw 26.
And a guide rod 28 that prevents the nut 27 from rotating and linearly moves the nut 27.

Both ends of the feed screw 26 are provided with support members 29 and 30.
Is rotatably supported by a screw thread 31 having an arcuate cross section on the outer surface of the feed screw 26. Further, a screw groove having an arc-shaped cross section is formed on the inner surface of the nut 27 so as to correspond to the screw groove 31 of the feed screw 26. By incorporating a large number of steel balls between the thread groove 31 of the feed screw 26 and the thread groove of the nut 27, the feed screw 26 and the nut 27 mesh with each other through the steel balls, and these steel balls roll. By the lead screw 26
The nut 27 and the nut 27 can be smoothly screwed together.
These steel balls circulate inside the nut 27 so as to perform endless rolling motion.

The two guide rods 28 are fixed to the support member 29 in parallel with the feed screw 26. The advancing / retreating block 32 provided slidably on the guide rod 28 is movable forward and backward in the axial direction of the guide rod 28. The advancing / retreating block 32 is integrally fixed to the nut 27 via a fixing pin 33, and the advancing / retreating block 32 and the nut 27 are integrally operated. A ball stud 34 is provided on the side surface of the advancing / retreating block 32, and one end of the connecting rod 17 is swingably mounted via a ball socket 35. The method of fixing the advancing / retreating block 32 and the nut 27 is not limited to the fixing pin 33, but may be fixed by welding, caulking, or may be integrally formed.

Such an opening / closing device 10 has a feed screw 26.
Are arranged so that the axial direction thereof is substantially vertical with respect to the vehicle body 13, and the mounting holes 36 to 40 provided in the support members 29 and 30 at both ends of the feed screw 26 are used to attach the vehicle body 13 by a fastening member (not shown). It is fixed in the pillar 16.

Then, when the electric motor 23 is driven with the electromagnetic clutch 25 engaged and the feed screw 26 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow A as shown in FIG. 5, the nut 27 is rotated through the advancing / retreating block 32. It is stopped by the guide rod 28, and the nut 27 is fed by the feed screw 26 as shown by arrow B.
It is possible to make a straight movement in the forward direction along the. Such a rectilinear motion is transmitted from the advancing / retreating block 32 to the back door 12 via the connecting rod 17 as an operation in the opening direction. On the other hand, when the electric motor 23 is driven in the reverse direction, the nut 27 makes a rectilinear motion in the backward direction, and this rectilinear motion is transmitted to the back door 12 via the connecting rod 17 as a motion in the closing direction. The electric motor 23 and the electromagnetic clutch 25 are connected to a control device (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 11, and the electric motor is driven by a current supplied based on an operation of an open / close switch (not shown) provided in the vehicle interior or the like. 23 is rotated normally and reversely, and the electromagnetic clutch 25 is connected or disconnected.

Hereinafter, the opening / closing device 10 provided on the vehicle body 13
The opening / closing operation of the back door 12 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, in the fully closed state of the back door 12,
When the opening / closing switch is operated in the opening direction by the operator, the electromagnetic clutch 25 is connected by the current from the control device, and the electric motor 23 is rotationally driven by the current from the control device. The rotational force of the electric motor 23 is the electromagnetic clutch 2
5, the reduction gear 24 is driven, and the feed screw 26 is driven via the reduction gear 24 in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. With the rotation of the feed screw 26, the nut 27 linearly moves or feeds in the direction of arrow A, and the connecting rod 17 is gradually protruded from the inside of the pillar 16 via the advancing / retreating block 32. The projection of the connecting rod 17 causes the back door 12 to operate in the opening direction. In the fully closed state of the back door 12, the nut 27 is arranged in the vicinity of the support member 30, but when the nut 27 is moved to the vicinity of the support member 29 by the feed movement caused by the rotation of the feed screw 26, as shown in FIG. 12 is opened to the fully opened state.

On the other hand, when the open / close switch is operated in the closing direction, the current supplied from the control device to the electric motor 23 is
It is supplied in the opposite direction to when the open / close switch is operated in the opening direction. Therefore, the feed screw 26 also rotates in the opposite direction, and the nut 27 is fed and moved toward the support member 29 in the backward direction. With the movement of these members, the connecting rod 17 is housed in the pillar 16, and the back door 12 operates in the closing direction to be closed to the fully closed state shown in FIG.

In this way, by driving the connecting rod 17 using the nut 27 that is fed and moved within the range of the length of the feed screw 26, the displacement amount of the connecting rod 17 required for opening and closing the back door 12 can be adjusted. It is possible to manufacture the opening / closing device 10 with the displacement amount of the connecting rod 17 being substantially the entire length while securing it, and it is possible to significantly reduce the size of the opening / closing device 10. Further, by installing the electric motor 23 in parallel with the feed screw 26, the switchgear 10 can be downsized. Further, when the back door 12 is opened, the gas cylinder 15 is also opened and urges the back door 12 in the opening direction, so that the output of the electric motor 23 can be reduced, and the electric motor 23 is also small. Can be used.

An electromagnetic clutch 25 is provided between the feed screw 26 and the reduction gear 24. By disconnecting the electromagnetic clutch 25, the back door 12 and the electric motor 23 are separated, and the back door 12 is separated. Can also be opened and closed manually. Further, the lead angle of the feed screw 26 is set so as to generate a predetermined resistance when the feed screw 26 is rotated by an input from the back door 12 side, that is, an input from the nut 27 side. That is, the lead angle is set in consideration of the urging force applied from the gas cylinder 15 to the back door 12 and the gravity applied to the back door 12 in addition to the manual opening / closing force. Therefore, even if the electromagnetic clutch 25 is disengaged, the back door 12 can be stopped on the spot by a predetermined opening / closing resistance, and the back door 12 can be moved by applying a manual opening / closing force. Therefore, it is possible to safely open and close the back door 12 manually.

Further, by housing the opening / closing device 10 in the pillar 16, the appearance of the vehicle is improved and at the same time,
Since only the connecting rod 17 projects from the pillar 16 and the feed screw 26 and the advancing / retreating block 32 are placed inside the pillar 16, safety can be improved.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the opening / closing member is the back door 12 attached to the rear end portion of the vehicle body 13, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the vehicle body 13 such as a door, a trunk lid, an engine hood, a sunroof, etc.
Any other opening / closing member may be used as long as it can be opened and closed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the opening / closing device 1
0 and the gas cylinder 15 are used to open and close the back door 12, but only the opening / closing device 10 is used.
It is also possible to open and close two. At this time, the opening / closing resistance of the back door 12 can be easily changed by changing the lead angle of the feed screw 26. Therefore, even if the electromagnetic clutch 25 is disengaged, the back door 12 is gravitationally applied to the back door 12. The back door 12 can be safely opened and closed without sudden closing of the back door 12.
Further, the opening / closing device 10 may be arranged on the left and right of the vehicle body, and the two opening / closing devices 10 may be used to open / close the back door 12.

Further, in this embodiment, the advancing / retreating block 32 and the back door 12 are directly connected by the connecting rod 17. However, a link mechanism is provided between the back door 12 and the connecting rod 17 to form a link. The back door 12 may be opened and closed via a mechanism. Further, the support members 29 and 30 may be connected without being provided separately,
The support members 29 and 30 may be integrally formed, or may be integrally formed with a gear case (not shown). Further, one end of the gas cylinder 15 may be attached to the support member 29 of the opening / closing device 10 without being attached to the pillar 16.

Further, the feed screw 26 and the nut 27 are not limited to ball screws that are screwed together through steel balls, and a feed screw such as a square screw may be used.

Although the electric motor 23 shown in the figure is provided in parallel with the feed screw 26, the electric motor 23 may be installed in series with the feed screw 26, and the feed screw 26 may be directly installed without the reduction gear 24. 26 may be driven by the electric motor 23.

[0041]

According to the vehicle automatic opening / closing device of the present invention,
The connecting rod is operated by using the nut that is fed and moved by the feed screw, and the displacement amount of the connecting rod required to open and close the opening / closing member is secured. As a result, the total length of the vehicle automatic opening / closing device can be shortened by approaching the displacement amount of the connecting rod, and the mountability on the vehicle body can be improved.

According to the vehicle automatic opening / closing apparatus of the present invention, by mounting the electric motor in parallel with the feed screw, the total length of the vehicle automatic opening / closing apparatus can be shortened closer to the displacement amount of the connecting rod. Therefore, the mountability on the vehicle body can be improved.

According to the vehicle automatic opening / closing device of the present invention, the electric motor and the feed screw can be separated by having the clutch for switching between transmission and interruption of the driving force of the electric motor, and the opening / closing member can be manually operated. It can be opened and closed. In addition, by converting the rotational movement to the linear movement with the combination of the feed screw and the nut, it is possible to generate opening / closing resistance when opening / closing by the input from the opening / closing member side, and even when the clutch is disengaged. The manual opening / closing operation can be performed safely.

According to the vehicle automatic opening / closing device of the present invention, by fixing the support member in the pillar of the vehicle body adjacent to the opening / closing member, the appearance of the vehicle is improved and the feed screw and the advancing / retreating block are placed in the pillar. Since it is stored, the safety can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing a part of a vehicle to which an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached.

2 is a side view showing the vehicle of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing a state in which a back door of the vehicle of FIG. 1 is opened.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the vehicle of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a vehicle automatic opening / closing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Automatic switchgear for vehicles 11 vehicles 12 Back door (opening / closing member) 13 car body 13r body roof 14 Hinge 15 gas cylinder 16 pillars 17 Connecting rod 18 slits 19 Cylinder part 20 cylinder rod 21 Drive 22 Converter 23 Electric motor 24 reduction gear 25 Electromagnetic clutch (clutch) 26 Lead screw 27 nuts 28 Guide rod 29,30 support member 31 thread groove 32 retreat block 33 fixing pin 34 ball studs 35 ball socket 36-40 mounting holes

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takashi Hoshino             Gunma prefecture Kiryu city Hirosawa town             Mitsuba Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shioiri Politics             Gunma prefecture Kiryu city Hirosawa town             Mitsuba Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takao Ochiai             Gunma prefecture Kiryu city Hirosawa town             Mitsuba Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2E052 AA09 CA06 DA00 DA01 DA05                       DA08 DB00 DB01 DB05 DB08                       EA01 EB01 EC01 KA06 KA15                       KA16

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle, which automatically opens and closes an opening / closing member swingably provided on a vehicle body via a hinge, wherein both ends of a support member fixed to the vehicle body are rotatable. A feed screw that is supported, a nut that is provided in a forward / backward block that is guided to move back and forth in parallel with the feed screw, and is screwed to the feed screw, and one end of the forward / backward block is swingably attached to the nut. An automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle, comprising: a connecting rod whose end is swingably attached to the opening / closing member; and an electric motor attached to the support member, which rotationally drives the feed screw. 2. The automatic opening / closing apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the electric motor is attached in parallel with the feed screw. 3. The vehicle automatic opening / closing device according to claim 1, wherein the clutch is provided between the output shaft of the electric motor and the feed screw and switches between transmission and interruption of driving force of the electric motor. An automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle, comprising: 4. The vehicle automatic opening / closing device according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing member is attached to the vehicle body via the hinge attached to a rear end portion of a vehicle body roof. The automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle, wherein the support member is fixed in a pillar of the vehicle body adjacent to the opening / closing member.