JP2008127830A - Vehicular opening/closing body drive unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular opening/closing body drive unit which can use a roller bracket in common irrespective of whether a vehicle is equipped with an automatic opening/closing device, and facilitates connection of a cable terminal to the roller bracket if the vehicle is specified so as to be equipped with the automatic opening/closing device. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicular opening/closing body drive unit has a towed body 3 coupled with an opening/closing body 1 in order to automatically open/close the opening/closing body 1 provided for the vehicle by a driving source 7, and supporting a roller 23 for rolling on a guide rail 2 arranged in the vehicle; a pair of cables 5a, 5b each having one end thereof connected to the driving source 7 and the other end thereof connected to the towed body 3; engaging pieces 27 each connected to a terminal on the other end of each of the pairing cables 5a, 5b; and a pair of cable hooks 26 formed of a pair of leg pieces opposed to each other for connecting the engaging pieces 27 together. The drive unit has an engaging portion 25 arranged between the cable hooks 26, which is detachably mounted on a support shaft 24 of the roller in a direction orthogonal to an axis of the support shafts 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive device for a vehicle opening / closing body, and more particularly to a device in which a terminal of a cable for transmitting an opening / closing driving force to a vehicle automatic slide door is connected to the slide door.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a slide door of a type that slides forward and backward by engaging a roller bracket with a guide rail provided on a side portion of a vehicle body so as to be movable in the front-rear direction and connecting the roller bracket to the door. ing. In this sliding door, there is known one in which a terminal of a cable pulled by an electric motor (drive source) is connected to a roller bracket, and the door is opened and closed by pulling the cable by the electric motor (patent) See reference 1).

As a structure of the connecting portion with the roller bracket of the cable terminal in such an automatic sliding door, in Patent Document 1, a cylindrical locking piece in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the cable is fixed to the cable terminal, A cable hook formed in a forked shape with a pair of leg pieces is formed on the roller bracket, and both ends of the locking pieces are fitted into holes formed in both leg pieces, and the cable is connected between the pair of leg pieces. A cable terminal coupling device that is adapted to be pulled out is disclosed.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-61432

  On the other hand, although it may be set so that the presence / absence of the automatic opening / closing device of the sliding door can be selected in the same vehicle type, in this case, the sliding door of the manual opening / closing specification does not require the cable terminal connecting device. Therefore, conventionally, two types of roller brackets have been prepared depending on whether or not an automatic opening / closing device is provided. However, it is not preferable to prepare a plurality of types of parts in accordance with the vehicle body specifications because it complicates parts management. On the other hand, if the roller bracket is used as a common part regardless of the presence or absence of the automatic opening / closing device, there is a problem that the cable terminal connecting device is an unnecessary cost burden for a manually opening / closing specification vehicle.

  The present invention has been devised to eliminate such disadvantages of the prior art, and the main purpose of the present invention is to allow the roller bracket to be used in common with or without an automatic opening / closing device. In the case of the specification with a device, the object is to provide a drive device for a vehicle opening / closing body capable of easily connecting a cable terminal to a roller bracket.

  In order to achieve such an object, the present invention is configured to rotate the guide rail 2 connected to the opening / closing body 1 and provided to the vehicle so that the opening / closing body 1 provided in the vehicle can be automatically opened / closed by the drive source 7. Towed body 3 on which moving roller 23 is supported, a pair of cables 5a and 5b having one end connected to drive source 7 and the other end connected to towed body 3, and each of the other pair of cables 5a and 5b In a drive device for a vehicle opening / closing body having a locking piece 27 fixed to an end on an end side and a pair of cable hooks 26 formed of a pair of leg pieces facing each other to connect the locking piece 27, The cable hook 26 is provided with an engaging portion 25 detachably attached to the support shaft along a direction orthogonal to the axis of the support shaft 24 (claim 1). In particular, it is preferable to provide an elastic locking means (clip 35) formed of a leaf spring material at the engaging portion (claim 2).

  According to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the roller bracket can be used in common regardless of the presence or absence of the automatic opening / closing device. Since the cable hook to which the cable terminal is connected can be easily attached, it is possible to cope with a difference in specifications without requiring unnecessary cost burden.

  In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the elastic hooking means is provided at the engaging portion of the cable hook, it is possible to prevent the cable hook attached to the roller bracket from being easily detached.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic sliding door opening / closing drive device to which the present invention is applied. The door 1 is provided so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body for getting in and out of a vehicle seat (for example, a rear seat) (not shown), and is slidable on a guide rail 2 extending in the longitudinal direction at an appropriate position on the side surface of the vehicle body. It is driven to open and close via a roller bracket 3 as a to-be-drawn body connected to a door 1 engaged with the door.

  In the vicinity of both ends of the guide rail 2, pulleys 4a and 4b are rotatably disposed, respectively. An open drive cable 5a and a closed drive cable 5b are looped between the pair of pulleys 4a and 4b. One end of the open drive cable 5a and one end of the close drive cable 5b are connected to the roller bracket 3 that is slidably engaged with the guide rail 2 and connected to the door 1 in opposite directions.

  The directions of the two cables 5a and 5b are changed by 180 degrees by the corresponding pulleys 4a and 4b, and the other end portions are wound around the drive drum 6 in opposite directions. The drive drum 6 is coupled to an electric motor 7 as a drive source through an electromagnetic clutch 10 so as to be able to contact and separate, thereby enabling power transmission between the two. The electric motor 7 and the electromagnetic clutch 10 are controlled by an electronic control device 8.

  The electronic control unit 8 receives, for example, a contact signal from an operation switch 12 provided in the vicinity of the driver's seat or a radio signal of a transmitter 13 provided on a key carried by the driver, and the motor 7 and the electromagnetic clutch in response thereto. A drive command is issued to 10. Further, since the rotation pulse signal P from the electric motor 7 is input to the electronic control unit 8, the moving speed of the door 1 is calculated based on the rotation pulse signal P, and the speed is set to a preset target speed. Thus, the forward / reverse drive signal D is output to the electric motor 7.

  When the electric motor 7 is driven forward or backward while the electromagnetic clutch 10 is connected (ON), the drive drum 6 is forward or reverse depending on whether the electric motor 7 is forward or backward, and either of the cables 5a and 5b is opened or closed. Traction is applied in the direction. By this traction force, the roller bracket 3 reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body along the guide rail 2, and the door 1 automatically opens and closes accordingly. Note that by turning off (separating) the electromagnetic clutch 10, the drive drum 6 can freely rotate, and the door 1 can be manually opened and closed.

  Next, a cable terminal connecting device for connecting one end of both the cables 5a and 5b to the roller bracket 3 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the roller bracket 3 provided with the detachable cable terminal coupling device 21 according to the present invention. The upper wall portion 3b of the roller bracket 3 is provided with a pair of vehicle width direction regulating rollers 22 that engage with the guide rail 2 and rotate on the vertical axis, and the vertical wall portion 3a is engaged with the guide rail 2. In addition, one vertical regulating roller 23 that rotates on the horizontal axis is provided. The illustrated roller bracket 3 is basically configured to fit a sliding door that is manually opened and closed, but is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the support shaft 24 (FIG. 3) of the vertical direction regulating roller 23. By attaching the cable terminal connecting device 21, the vehicle terminal can be adapted to the above-described auto sliding door (with automatic opening / closing device) specification vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the cable terminal connecting device 21 includes a roller support shaft engaging portion 25 provided at the center, and a pair of cable hooks 26 provided at both ends sandwiching the roller support shaft engaging portion 25. A conventionally known cylindrical locking piece 27 fixed to the ends of the cables 5a and 5b, and a bush 28 that is externally fitted to the locking piece 27 and that fixes the locking piece 27 to the cable hook 26. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of cable hooks 26 is composed of a pair of upper and lower leg pieces 26a and 26b each having a bush fitting hole 29 coaxially provided, and has a cross-sectional shape viewed from the door slide direction. , The side of the passenger compartment is open. The upper leg piece 26a is formed with a slit 31 through which the cables 5a and 5b can pass from the outer edge in the door sliding direction toward the center of the bush fitting hole 29.

  The bush 28 includes a cylindrical portion 28a that can be fitted into the bush fitting holes 29 of the upper and lower leg pieces 26a and 26b constituting the cable hook 26, and a flange portion 28b formed at the upper end of the cylindrical portion 28a. . The cylindrical portion 28b includes an axial slit 33a that reaches the intermediate position in the axial direction from the lower end of the cylindrical portion 28b, and a circumferential slit in which the cylindrical portion 28a is cut from the upper end of the axial slit 33a to a position that exceeds 90 degrees in the circumferential direction. 33b are formed continuously. These slits 33a and 33b are also sized to allow the cables 5a and 5b to pass therethrough.

  The roller support shaft engaging portion 25 has a U shape that opens upward, and the roller support shaft 24 is tightly received inside thereof.

  On the outer peripheral surface of the roller support shaft engaging portion 25, a clip 35, which is formed of a leaf spring material and serving as a bullet locking means, is fitted. The clip 35 has a shape in which the Ω character is turned upside down. The semicircular portion 35a corresponding to the outer peripheral contour of the roller support shaft engaging portion 25 and the roller support shaft engagement from both upper ends of the semicircular portion 35a. The horizontal portion 35b bent inward along the open surface of the joint portion 25, and the vertical portions raised upward from the inner ends of the horizontal portions 35b with a space narrower than the diameter of the roller support shaft 24. It consists of a part 35c and an enlarged part 35d at the upper end of both vertical parts 35c.

  When the cables 5a and 5b are connected to the roller bracket 3 by the cable terminal connecting device 21, first, the axial slits 33a of the bush 28 are aligned in the direction in which the cables 5a and 5b extend. The locking piece 27 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 28 a from below the bush 28 so as to be fitted on the piece 27.

  Next, in a state where the direction of the slit 31 of the upper leg piece 26a is aligned with the direction in which the cables 5a and 5b extend, the bush 28 in a state in which the locking piece 27 is received in the bush fitting hole 29 of both the leg pieces 26a and 26b. The cylindrical portion 28a is inserted from above.

  When the cylindrical portion 28a of the bush 28 is fitted into the bush fitting holes 29 of the upper and lower leg pieces 26a and 26b, the cables 5a and 5b are extended from between the upper and lower leg pieces 26a and 26b. By turning the bush 28 approximately 90 degrees, the cables 5a and 5b are inserted into the circumferential slit 33b of the cylindrical portion 28a.

  As a result, the slit 31 of the upper leg piece 26a is closed by the flange portion 28b, and the cables 5a and 5b are positioned in a manner in which the cables 5a and 5b enter the hook-like shape in the circumferential slit 33b of the cylindrical portion 28a of the bush 28.

  A radial protrusion 36 is formed at a position corresponding to the end of the circumferential slit 33 b on the lower surface of the flange portion 28 b of the bush 28, and is engaged with the slit 31 of the upper leg piece 26 a, A stop is made.

  In this way, the cable end connecting device 21 in a state where the ends of both the cables 5a and 5b are connected to the both cable hooks 26, the expanded portion 35d of the clip 35 is moved from the lower side of the roller support shaft 24 to the lower surface of the roller support shaft 24. And the vertical portion 35c of the clip 35 expands along the outer peripheral surface of the roller support shaft 24, and the horizontal portion 35b of the clip 35 passes the upper surface of the roller support shaft 24. They return to their original positions, and the corner portions of the horizontal portion 35 b and the vertical portion 35 c come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roller support shaft 24, so that the cable terminal coupling device 21 is fastened to the roller support shaft 24.

  In a state where the cable terminal coupling device 21 is coupled to the roller bracket 3, the cable hooks 26 are positioned below the vehicle width direction regulating roller 22 in the roller bracket 3 and on both the front and rear sides of the vertical direction regulating roller 23. Yes. As a result, the bush 28 assembled to the bush fitting hole 29 from above is closed on the upper wall portion 3b provided with the vehicle width direction regulating roller 22, and the cables 5a and 5b and Both bushes 28 cannot be detached from the cable hook 26.

  When removing the cable terminal coupling device 21 from the roller bracket 3, the cable terminal coupling device 21 may be pushed down by expanding the expanding portion 35d of the clip 35 against the elastic force.

  As described above in detail, according to the present invention, for example, even when there is a user's request to purchase a vehicle having a specification without an automatic opening / closing device and attach an automatic opening / closing device later, the roller bracket 3 remains as it is. Since it can be diverted and does not require replacement work, the cost burden can be minimized. Moreover, since the ends of the cables 5a and 5b can be connected to the cable hook 26 in advance, it is possible to facilitate the operation of connecting the cable end to the roller bracket 3.

It is a schematic block diagram of the auto slide door to which this invention is applied. 1 is an overall perspective view of a roller bracket and a cable terminal connecting device according to the present invention. It is a top view of the state which attached the cable terminal connection apparatus to the roller bracket. It is a principal part disassembled perspective view of a cable terminal coupling device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Slide door 2 Guide rail 3 Roller bracket 5a * 5b Cable 21 Cable terminal coupling device 22 * 23 Roller 24 Roller support shaft 25 Engagement part 26 Cable hook 27 Locking piece 35 Clip

Claims (2)

To be able to automatically open and close an opening / closing body provided in a vehicle by a driving source, a to-be-to-be-connected body connected to the opening / closing body and supporting a roller rolling a guide rail provided in the vehicle, A pair of cables connected to the drive source and connected at the other end to the to-be-towed body; a locking piece fixed to a terminal on each other end of the pair of cables; In a drive device for a vehicle opening / closing body having a pair of cable hooks made of a pair of opposed leg pieces,
The drive device for a vehicle opening / closing body, wherein the cable hook has an engaging portion that is detachable from the support shaft along a direction orthogonal to the axis of the support shaft of the roller.   The drive device for a vehicle opening / closing body according to claim 1, wherein the engagement portion is provided with a bullet locking means formed of a leaf spring material.

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