JP2005186810A - Rear gate device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rear gate device for a vehicle capable of opening/closing a rear gate even if a space at a rear side of the vehicle is small and enabling reduction of opening/closing operation force. <P>SOLUTION: The rear gate device for the vehicle is constituted by an upper gate constitution body 8 and a lower gate constitution body 9 by vertically dividing the rear gate 4. The upper gate constitution body 8 is pivotally mounted to an upper part of a vehicle body 2 and the lower gate constitution body 9 is openably/closably stored in the state it is superposed slidably relative to the upper gate constitution body 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle rear gate device.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a vehicle rear gate device is known that is configured as a so-called power rear gate that automatically opens and closes a rear gate using an electric opening / closing drive device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-199224 A

By the way, the vehicle rear gate device as described above is often employed in a vehicle having a relatively large rear gate such as a wagon car. In this case, it was necessary to secure a sufficient space behind the vehicle when the rear gate was opened and closed. Moreover, in the case of such a rear gate, the moment around the rotation center due to its own weight is large, and it is difficult to reduce the opening / closing operation force by electric or manual operation.
Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle rear gate device that can be opened and closed with a small space behind the vehicle and that can reduce the opening and closing operation force.

  As a means for solving the above problems, the invention described in claim 1 is that a rear gate (for example, the rear gate 4 of the embodiment) is divided into a plurality of gate structures (for example, the upper gate structure 8 and the lower gate structure of the embodiment). The upper gate structure is pivotally attached to the upper portion of the vehicle body (for example, the vehicle body 2 of the embodiment), and the lower gate structure is slid with respect to the upper gate structure. It is possible to be opened and closed in a polymerized state.

According to this configuration, when the rear gate is opened / closed, the gate structure located below is slid and accommodated in a state of being superimposed on the gate structure located above the rear gate, so that the rear gate can be rotated from the pivot center (pivot part). The length to the turning tip, that is, the turning radius is shortened.
In addition, since the lower gate structure is accommodated in the upper gate structure, the position of the center of gravity of the rear gate moves toward the rotation center, and the moment around the rotation center due to the weight of the rear gate is reduced. .

  In the invention described in claim 2, the upper gate structure is slidably supported on both upper sides of the lower gate structure, and the lower both sides of the lower gate structure are supported by this. Adjacent left and right vehicle body structural members are slidably supported, the gate structure located above is set wider than the gate structure located below, and the gate structure located above, A pair of left and right guide rails (for example, the upper guide rail of the embodiment) that guides the gate structure that is positioned below the vehicle body structural member (for example, the vehicle body component 15 of the embodiment) adjacent to the gate structure that is positioned below. 11 and the lower guide rail 12), and a movable body that moves along the guide rail on both the upper and lower sides of the gate structure located below. For example wherein the embodiment of the upper roller 13 and lower roller 14) were provided, respectively.

  According to this configuration, the lower gate structure is provided in the upper gate structure and the vehicle body component in the upper gate structure having a wider width than this. It is accommodated while being guided by a guide rail and a moving body that moves along the guide rail. At this time, both upper side portions of the gate structure located below are slidably supported by the gate structure located above via the movable body and the guide rail, and both sides below the gate structure located below. The portion is slidably supported by the vehicle body constituent member via the movable body and the guide rail.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a driving device (for example, the lower gate driving device 16 of the embodiment) for raising the gate structure located below via a cable (for example, the cable 19 of the embodiment) on the vehicle body side. It is provided.

  According to this configuration, the driving device automates the operation of superposing the lower gate structure on the upper gate structure and storing it.

  The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that guide rails provided on the vehicle body constituting member are arranged on the vehicle interior side at both side edges of the gate structure located below.

  According to this configuration, when the rear gate is closed, the guide rail provided on the vehicle body constituting member is covered with the gate constituting body positioned below and is not exposed to the outside of the vehicle compartment.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the space required for opening and closing the rear gate at the rear of the vehicle is reduced, and the rear gate can be opened and closed in a small space. Therefore, the convenience of the vehicle can be improved. Further, as the rear gate's own weight moment is reduced, the rear gate opening / closing operation force can be reduced.
According to the invention described in claim 2, by using the guide rail and the moving body that moves along the guide rail, the gate structure located below can be smoothly accommodated in the gate structure located above. . At this time, the upper side part and the lower side part of the gate structure located below are slidably supported, so that the gate structure located below can be stably slid.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, by providing the drive device, it is possible to automate the accommodating operation of the gate structure located below.
According to the invention described in claim 4, when the rear gate is closed, the guide rail provided on the vehicle body constituting member is not exposed to the outside of the passenger compartment, so that the appearance quality of the vehicle can be kept good.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the directions such as front, rear, left and right in the following description are the same as those in the vehicle unless otherwise specified. In the figure, an arrow RR points to the rear of the vehicle, an arrow LH points to the left of the vehicle, and UP points to the upper side of the vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 1, a rear opening 3 is provided at the rear of a vehicle body 2 in a wagon type vehicle 1 to allow communication between the outside and the interior of the vehicle. The rear opening 3 is opened and closed by a rear gate 4. The rear gate 4 is pivotally mounted with its upper end pivotable about a hinge axis C provided parallel to the vehicle width direction (vehicle left-right direction) in the vicinity of the rear edge of the roof 5 at the top of the vehicle body 2.

  In the vicinity of the hinge shaft C, an electric opening / closing drive device 6 for the rear gate 4 is provided. The opening / closing drive device 6 is provided with a connecting stay 6a extending toward the rear of the vehicle, and the tip of the connecting stay 6a is connected to the vicinity of the hinge shaft C of the rear gate 4. The opening / closing drive device 6 strokes the connecting stay 6a substantially in the front-rear direction and pushes up or down the rear gate 4 to automatically open and close the rear gate 4. A closure 7 for locking and releasing the rear gate 4 when the rear gate 4 is fully closed is provided below the rear opening 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rear gate 4 is divided into two parts at a position slightly below the center position in the vertical direction. Here, a portion constituting the upper part of the rear gate 4 is referred to as an upper gate structure 8, and a portion constituting the lower part is referred to as a lower gate structure 9. The lateral width (left-right width) of the upper gate structure 8 is set to be wider than the lateral width of the lower gate structure 9, and the thickness of the upper gate structure 8 is thicker than the thickness of the lower gate structure 9. (See FIG. 1).

  Upper guide rails 11 extending substantially along the vertical direction are respectively provided on both side edges of the upper gate structure 8. On the other hand, on both sides of the upper edge portion of the lower gate structure 9, there are respectively provided upper rollers (moving bodies) 13 that are arranged in the upper guide rails 11 and can roll with respect to the upper guide rails 11. Here, each upper roller 13 is rotatably attached to both sides of the upper edge portion of the lower gate structure 9 via an upper support shaft 13a parallel to the vehicle width direction.

  Further, the lower guide rails 12 are respectively provided in the vehicle body constituting members 15 adjacent to the both side edges of the lower gate structure 9 so as to overlap the both side edges of the lower gate structure 9 in the rear view of the vehicle. On the other hand, on both sides of the lower edge portion of the lower gate structure 9, lower rollers (moving bodies) 14 that are arranged in the lower guide rail 12 and can roll with respect to the lower guide rail 12 are provided. Here, each lower roller 14 is rotatably attached to both sides of the lower edge portion of the lower gate structure 9 via a lower support shaft 14a parallel to the vehicle width direction.

  With such a configuration, the lower gate structure 9 moves up while moving the upper roller 13 along the upper guide rail 11 and moving the lower roller 14 along the lower guide rail 12. As a result, the lower gate structure 9 is accommodated in the upper gate structure 8 so as to overlap the upper gate structure 8 in a rear view of the vehicle while sliding with respect to the upper gate structure 8. In addition, the lower gate structure 9 is lowered by rolling the rollers 13 and 14 in the corresponding guide rails 11 and 12 from the state accommodated in the upper gate structure 8 by its own weight, for example. It is pulled out from the gate structure 8.

  The raising and lowering operation of the lower gate structure 9 as described above is performed by the lower gate driving device 16. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the lower gate drive device 16 is fixed to a drive motor 17 disposed at a substantially central portion in the vehicle width direction at the rear edge of the roof 5, and a drive shaft of the drive motor 17. It has a winding pulley 18 and a pair of left and right cables 19 that are wound or unwound by the winding pulley 18. Each cable 19 is wound up simultaneously when the winding pulley 18 rotates in one direction, and is simultaneously rewound when rotated in the other direction.

  The take-up pulley 18 is provided so as to face the upper edge of the rear gate 4 from the rear edge of the roof 5. Each cable 19 extends from the take-up pulley 18 in the upper edge portion of the rear gate 4 toward the outer side in the vehicle width direction, and is wound around guide rollers 19a provided on both sides of the upper edge portion of the rear gate 4 to change the direction. Extends downward. The front ends of these cables 19 are connected to upper support shafts 13a fixed to both sides of the upper edge of the lower gate structure 9 via, for example, an L-shaped bracket 19b.

  The operation of the drive motor 17 is controlled by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or the like. When an occupant operates an operation switch, the CPU or the like operates the drive motor 17 and the take-up pulley 18 is driven to rotate. 19 will be wound up or rewound. As a result, the lower gate structure 9 is moved up and down and accommodated in the upper gate structure 8 or pulled out from the upper gate structure 8.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the lower gate structure 9 is fully raised by the lower gate driving device 16 and is accommodated in the upper gate structure 8. Here, the state of the rear gate 4 shown in this figure, that is, the state in the upper limit position where the lower gate structure 9 is fully raised is defined as the fully contracted state of the rear gate 4, and the state of the rear gate 4 shown in FIG. The state in which the body 9 is at the lower limit position where it has been lowered is defined as the fully extended state of the rear gate 4. The illustration of the lower gate driving device 16 in FIG. 4 is omitted.

FIG. 5 shows an upper guide rail 11 that is fixed to both side edges of the upper gate structure 8 and a lower guide rail 12 that is fixed to a vehicle body component member 15 adjacent to both side edges of the lower gate structure 9. Show.
The upper guide rail 11 has a hollow rectangular cross section into which the upper roller 13 can be loosely inserted, and a slit 11a for allowing the upper support shaft 13a to move over the upper and lower ends of the inner portion in the vehicle width direction. Is formed. Similarly to the upper guide rail 11, the lower guide rail 12 has a slit 12a that can be freely inserted into the lower roller 14 and that corresponds to the lower support shaft 14a.

  The upper end portion of the lower guide rail 12 is provided so that the lower roller 14 and the lower support shaft 14 a escape from the lower guide rail 12 upward in the fully contracted state of the rear gate 4. A guide portion 21 is formed at the upper end of the lower guide rail 12 to guide the lower roller 14 and the lower support shaft 14a when they enter the lower guide rail 12 from above.

  Further, at the lower end portion of the lower guide rail 12, a swing allowing portion 22 that allows a predetermined swing around the hinge shaft C of the lower roller 14 and the lower support shaft 14 a in the fully extended state of the rear gate 4. Is formed. The predetermined swinging is swinging from a position where the rear gate 4 is in a fully closed state (locked by the closure 7) to a position where the rear gate 4 is opened by a predetermined amount.

  FIG. 6 shows that the upper guide rail 11 is disposed inside both side edges of the upper gate structure 8. Further, FIG. 7 shows that the lower guide rail 12 is disposed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle body constituting member 15 adjacent to both sides of the lower gate constituting body 9. Here, the lower guide rail 12 is located on the vehicle interior side at both side edges of the lower gate structure 9 and is covered by the lower gate structure 9 when the rear gate 4 is fully closed and is not exposed to the outside of the vehicle interior. It is like that.

  The rear gate 4 is displaced as much as possible from the fully closed state to the opened state by a predetermined amount as shown in FIG. 8 when the lock by the closure 7 is released from the fully closed state and the opening / closing drive device 6 is operated. Such displacement of the rear gate 4 is centered on the lower guide rail 12 provided on the vehicle body constituting member 15 side and the lower roller 14 provided on the lower gate constituting body 9 side and the hinge axis C of the lower support shaft 14a. This is possible because the predetermined swinging is allowed.

  Then, by operating the lower gate driving device 16, the lower gate structure 9 is raised to be accommodated in the upper gate structure 8 via the cables 19. The raising operation of the lower gate structure 9 at this time is performed in the guide rails 11 and 12 corresponding to the rollers 13 and 14 provided on both the upper edge side and the lower edge side of the lower gate structure 9 respectively. By moving, it is performed in a smooth and stable state.

  When the lower gate structure 9 is fully raised and the rear gate 4 shown in FIG. 9 is fully contracted, the lower gate structure 9 is almost completely accommodated in the upper gate structure 8. At this time, each of the lower rollers 14 and the lower support shaft 14a has escaped upward from the lower guide rail 12, so that the rear gate 4 can be opened and closed (rotated) around the hinge shaft C. It has become.

  By further operating the opening / closing drive device 6 from the above state, the rear gate 4 can be fully opened as shown in FIG. At this time, when the rear gate 4 is opened and closed in the fully contracted state, the length (rotation) from the hinge axis C (rotation center) of the rear gate 4 to the lower end (rotation tip) of the rear gate 4 in the fully contracted state. (Radius) is shortened. As a result, the space behind the vehicle required to open and close the rear gate 4 (indicated by L in FIG. 10 as the distance from the rear end of the vehicle) is the space when the rear gate 4 opens and closes in the fully extended state (indicated by L ′ in FIG. 10). Compared to (shown).

  Further, since the lower gate structure 9 is accommodated in the upper gate structure 8, the position of the center of gravity of the rear gate 4 approaches the hinge axis C, and the moment around the hinge axis C due to the weight of the rear gate 4 is reduced. . That is, the load applied to the opening / closing drive device 6 including the connecting stay 6a and the vehicle body 2 supporting the connection stay 6a when the rear gate 4 is opened / closed is reduced.

  When the rear gate 4 is closed, first, the opening / closing drive device 6 is operated from the state shown in FIG. 10 so that the rear gate 4 is fully contracted and opened by a predetermined amount, that is, the state shown in FIG. Thereafter, the lower gate driving device 16 is operated and each cable 19 is rewound to lower the lower gate structure 9 to be pulled out of the upper gate structure 8. At this time, since the upper end portion of the lower guide rail 12 is configured to be able to guide the lower roller 14 and the lower support shaft 14a to enter the lower guide rail 12, the lower guide rail 12 is supported by the lower roller 14 and the lower support rail. The shaft 14a can enter smoothly.

  After the lower gate structure 9 is fully lowered and the rear gate 4 is fully extended, that is, as shown in FIG. 8, the opening / closing drive device 6 and the closure 7 are operated to pull the entire rear gate 4 toward the vehicle body 2 side. In addition, the rear gate 4 can be fully closed by locking with the closure 7.

  As described above, in the vehicle rear gate device according to the present embodiment, the rear gate 4 is divided into two parts in the vertical direction, and the upper gate structure 8 and the lower gate structure 9 are configured. 5 It is configured to be pivotally attached to the rear edge and to accommodate the lower gate structure 9 so that it can slide with respect to the upper gate structure 8 and can be opened and closed in a superposed state.

With this configuration, when the rear gate 4 is opened and closed, the lower gate structure 9 is slid and accommodated in the upper gate structure 8 in a superposed state, so that the length from the rotation center of the rear gate 4 to the rotation tip, that is, the rotation. The moving radius is shortened.
For this reason, the space required for opening and closing the rear gate 4 at the rear of the vehicle is reduced, the rear gate 4 can be opened and closed in a small space, and the convenience of the vehicle 1 can be improved.

Further, the lower gate structure 9 is accommodated in the upper gate structure 8, so that the center of gravity of the rear gate 4 moves toward the rotation center, and the moment around the rotation center due to the weight of the rear gate 4 is reduced.
As described above, the opening / closing operation force of the rear gate 4 can be reduced with the reduction of the self-weight moment of the rear gate 4. That is, when the rear gate 4 is electrically opened and closed as in the above embodiment, the load applied to the opening / closing drive device 6 and the vehicle body 2 can be reduced to simplify the configuration, and the rear gate 4 can be manually operated. When opening and closing, the usability can be improved.

  In the vehicle rear gate device, the upper gate structure 8 slidably supports the upper both sides of the lower gate structure 9, and the lower side structures of the lower gate structure 9 are adjacent to the left and right vehicle bodies. The member 15 is slidably supported, and the lateral width of the upper gate structure 8 is set wider than the lateral width of the lower gate structure 9, and a pair of left and right upper guide rails 11 are provided on the upper gate structure 8. The vehicle body constituting member 15 adjacent to the gate structure 9 is provided with a lower guide rail 12 for guiding the lower gate structure 9, respectively, while the guides are provided on both upper and lower sides of the lower gate structure 9. It has the structure which provided the rollers 13 and 14 which move along the rails 11 and 12, respectively.

With this configuration, the lower gate structure 9 is provided inside the upper gate structure 8 having a wider width than this, and the guide rails 11 and 12 provided on the upper gate structure 8 and the vehicle body member 15 and the guide rails 11 and 12. Are accommodated while being guided by rollers 13 and 14 that move along the axis. At this time, both upper side portions of the lower gate structure 9 are slidably supported by the upper gate structure 8 via the upper roller 13 and the upper guide rail 11, and both lower sides of the lower gate structure 9 are lower rollers. 14 and the guide rail 12 are slidably supported by the vehicle body constituting member 15.
Thus, the lower gate structure 9 can be smoothly accommodated in the upper gate structure 8 by using the guide rails 11 and 12 and the rollers 13 and 14 that move along the guide rails 11 and 12. At this time, the lower side gate structure 9 can be stably slid by the upper side part and the lower side part of the lower gate structure 9 being slidably supported.

  Further, the vehicle rear gate device has a configuration in which a lower gate driving device 16 for raising the lower gate structure 9 via a cable 19 is provided on the vehicle body 2 side.

  With this configuration, the operation of superposing and accommodating the lower gate structure 9 in the upper gate structure 8 is automated. That is, by providing the lower gate driving device 16, the accommodating operation of accommodating the lower gate structure 9 in the upper gate structure 8 can be automated. In addition, by combining with the opening / closing drive device 6 that opens and closes the rear gate 4, a series of opening / closing operations of the rear gate 4 in the above embodiment can be automated.

  Furthermore, the vehicle rear gate device has a configuration in which the lower guide rails 12 provided on the vehicle body constituting member 15 are arranged on the vehicle interior side at both side edges of the lower gate constituting body 9.

  With this configuration, when the rear gate 4 is closed, the lower guide rail 12 provided on the vehicle body constituting member 15 is covered with the lower gate constituting body 9 and is not exposed to the outside of the passenger compartment. For this reason, the external appearance quality of the vehicle 1 can be kept favorable.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be applied to a case where the rear gate 4 has a configuration in which the rear gate 4 is vertically divided into three or more.
Alternatively, the lower gate structure 9 may be superposed and accommodated in the upper gate structure 8 so as to go around the vehicle interior side or the vehicle interior side of the upper gate structure 8.
Further, when the rear gate 4 is opened by a predetermined amount from the fully closed state, for example, an operation that displaces the rear gate 4 in the direction perpendicular to the surface thereof, such as a general vehicle sliding door, may be adopted.
Furthermore, the lower gate driving device 16 may be configured to pull out the lower gate structure 9 from the upper gate structure 8 using a separate cable.
Moreover, as a structure which supports the lower gate structure 9 so that a slide is possible, the structure which combined the guide rail and the slider which slides with respect to this may be sufficient.
And the structure in the said Example is an example, and it cannot be overemphasized that a various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.

It is a side view of the vehicle in the Example of this invention. It is a rear view of the rear gate of the vehicle. It is explanatory drawing of the lower gate drive device which raises / lowers a lower gate structure. FIG. 3 is a rear view corresponding to FIG. 2 in a state where the lower gate structure is raised. It is the perspective view which looked at the upper part and the lower guide rail from diagonally behind. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line in FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the BB line in FIG. It is a side view which shows the state which the said rear gate opened predetermined amount. FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state where the lower gate structure is raised from the state shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a side view showing a fully opened state of the rear gate from the state shown in FIG. 9.

Explanation of symbols

2 Car body 4 Rear gate 8 Upper gate structure (gate structure)
9 Lower gate structure (gate structure)
11 Upper guide rail (guide rail)
12 Lower guide rail (guide rail)
13 Upper roller (moving body)
14 Lower roller (moving body)
15 Car body component 16 Lower gate drive device (drive device)
19 Cable

Claims (4)

  The rear gate is divided into upper and lower parts to form a plurality of gate structures, and the upper gate structure is pivotally attached to the upper part of the vehicle body, and the gate structure located below the upper gate structure. A rear gate device for a vehicle, which is slidable and accommodated so as to be opened and closed in a superposed state.   The upper gate structure slidably supports the upper both sides of the lower gate structure, and the left and right vehicle body components adjacent to the lower both sides of the lower gate structure slide. The width of the gate structure positioned above is set wider than the width of the gate structure positioned below, and the gate structure positioned above and the gate structure positioned below The adjacent vehicle body structural members are provided with a pair of left and right guide rails for guiding the gate structure located below, and the upper and lower side portions of the gate structure located below are provided along the guide rails. The vehicle rear gate device according to claim 1, further comprising a moving body that moves in a moving manner.   The vehicle rear gate device according to claim 1, wherein a driving device is provided on the vehicle body side to raise a gate structure located below via a cable. The vehicle rear gate device according to claim 2, wherein guide rails provided on the vehicle body constituent member are arranged on the vehicle interior side of both side edges of the gate structure located below.

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