JP2012193490A - Assist device for movable body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an assist device for a movable body capable of avoiding the collision of a component in a malfunctioned condition.SOLUTION: The assist device for the movable body comprises: a receiving body provided on the side of one of a support and the movable body to be moved relative to the support; a base body provided on the side of the other of the support and the movable body; an abutting body engageable/disengageable with/from the receiving body, movable along a movement path passing through a first position and a second position relative to the base body, and retractable farther from the second position in a second direction; and a first energizing mechanism for energizing the abutting body.

Description

  The present invention relates to an assist device for a movable body that assists operations of various movable bodies.

  In order to assist the operation of a movable body such as a sliding door, there is known a movable body assist device that forcibly moves and buffers using an urging mechanism and a braking mechanism (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a movable body assist device, a receiving body is provided on the door frame side, and a contact body that can be engaged with the receiving body is provided on the sliding door side. The abutment body is slidable at the standby position and the pull-back position, and is connected to a piston damper as a braking mechanism and a tension coil spring as an urging mechanism. The contact body is made of, for example, resin and has a catcher at the tip, and this catcher can be engaged with and released from the receiving body.

  When the sliding door is in the open position where it is not closed, the contact body is held in the standby position with the tension coil spring extended most. When the operator moves the sliding door from the open position to the closed position, the abutting body hits the receiving body and captures the receiving body. At the same time, the holding at the standby position is released, and the abutment body is pulled by the tension coil spring while moving to the retracted position while capturing the receiving body. For this reason, the sliding door of this moving dimension is forcibly moved. At this time, since the piston of the piston damper is pushed in, a braking force based on the fluid resistance in the piston damper acts on this movement.

  When the sliding door is in the closed position, the contact body is in a state where the tension coil spring is compressed. When the operator moves the sliding door from the closed position toward the open position, the sliding door moves while pulling the tension coil spring. When the predetermined position is reached, the contact body opens the receiving body and is held at the standby position again. At this time, since the piston of the piston damper is pushed in, a braking force based on the fluid resistance in the piston damper acts on this movement.

JP 2006-169723 A

  The above-described technique has the following problems. That is, for some reason, there is a case where a malfunction occurs in which the contact body slides to the retracted position without being engaged with the receiving body. If the sliding door is moved to the closed position in this malfunctioning state, the contact body at the retracted position and the receiving body collide with each other in the middle, causing damage.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a movable body assist device that can avoid collision of components in a malfunctioning state.

  An assist device for a movable body according to an aspect of the present invention includes a receiving body provided on one side of a support body and a movable body that moves relative to the support body, the support body, and the movable body. It is possible to engage and disengage the base provided on the other side of the base and the receiving body, and to move along the movement path passing through the first position and the second position with respect to the base. And an abutting body provided to be retractable in the second direction from the second position, and a first urging mechanism for urging the abutting body.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to avoid collision of parts in a malfunctioning state.

Explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the sliding door provided with the assist apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the sliding door provided with the assist apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. The perspective view of the assist apparatus concerning the embodiment. The side view of the assist apparatus concerning the embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement at the time of the normal of the assist apparatus concerning the embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the operation | movement at the time of malfunction of the assist apparatus concerning the embodiment.

  A movable body assist device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. In the drawings, arrows X, Y, and Z indicate three directions orthogonal to each other. Here, for example, the X-axis is along the sliding direction, the Y-axis is along the width direction, and the Z-axis is along the vertical direction. In each drawing, the configuration is appropriately enlarged, reduced, or omitted for explanation.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the assist device 1 includes a striker 10 as a receiving body provided on one of a movable body and a support, and an assist unit 20 provided on the other of the movable body and the support. , And is configured.

  In this embodiment, for example, the support body is the door frame F, the movable body is the sliding door M, the assist unit 20 is provided in the sliding door M as the movable body, and the striker 10 is provided in the door frame F as the support body. Illustrate.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the door frame F includes an upper frame F1, a left frame F2, a right frame F3, and a lower frame (not shown). A sliding door groove F4 along the sliding direction is formed in the upper frame F1, and the sliding door M is slidably accommodated in the sliding door groove F4.

  At the upper end of the sliding door M, a groove M1 for accommodating the assist unit 20 is formed along the sliding direction. Here, focusing on one sliding door M, the left side is the door tip side and the right side is the door bottom side. A handle M2 is formed at the left end portion of the sliding door M which is the door tip side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the state where the sliding door is not in contact with the frame F2 is the first state, and as shown in FIG. 2, the state where the sliding door is moved to the door end side movement end position and is in contact with the left frame F2 is the second state. And

  The assist device 1 includes a striker 10 provided on the door frame F and an assist unit 20 provided on the sliding door M. The assist unit 20 is disposed in the midway position in the X direction of the groove M1 of the sliding door M.

  The assist unit 20 includes a housing 21 as a base provided at the upper end portion of the sliding door M, a standby position as a first position, and a second position that is housed in an end portion on one side (left side in FIG. 1) in the sliding direction of the housing 21. The latch 22 supported so as to be slidable between the retracted position as the position, and a biasing mechanism 23 (first mounting) for biasing the latch 22 toward the other side in the sliding direction (right side in FIG. 1) with respect to the housing. And a braking mechanism 24 that is coupled to the latch 22 and applies a resistance force to the sliding movement of the latch 22 to buffer the same.

  In the sliding door groove F4 at the upper end of the door frame F, a striker 10 is provided at a fixed position from the left end. The striker 10 includes a plate-like attachment member 11 attached to the upper frame F1, and a plate-like engagement portion 12 that forms a surface perpendicular to the Y axis and protrudes downward from the upper frame F1. Yes. The striker 10 is captured by the latch 22 when the catcher 32 a captures the engaging portion 12 by the rotation of the rotating portion 32. As the sliding door M moves, the engaging portion 12 of the striker 10 engages with the latch 22 through the groove M1 at the top of the sliding door M and enters the assist unit 20 or exits from the assist unit 20 and is released. It has become.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the housing 21 has a box shape elongated in the sliding direction at the upper surface opening. In the housing 21, a partition plate 25 is provided at the center in the Z direction, and an upper upper chamber 25a and a lower lower chamber 25b are formed. The left and right ends of the upper chamber 25a are opened, and the latch base 31 is accommodated between the side walls 21a and 21a sandwiching the upper chamber 25a.

  Slits 27 are provided at both ends in the sliding direction of the side walls 21 a of the housing 21. The slit 27 continuously connects a main guide path 27a extending to the standby position and the retracted position along the slide axis X, and a standby path 27b extending curved downward at the standby position at the front end of the main guide path 27a. Have. A shaft portion 32b on which the latch 22 is formed engages with the slit 27 in a rotatable manner.

  In the lower chamber 25 b of the housing 21, a connecting portion 21 b for fixing the end portion of the tension coil spring 41 to the housing 21 is formed. The connecting portion 21b is, for example, a shaft member spanned between the side walls 21a and 21a, and the other end side of the tension coil spring 41 is attached to the connecting portion 21b.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the latch 22 is movably supported in the upper chamber 25 a in the housing 21. The latch 22 includes a latch base 31 and a rotating portion 32 (rotating portion) that is rotatably connected to the distal end portion of the latch base 31.

  The latch base 31 has an elongated projection 31 a that engages with the slit 27. The latch base 31 is slidably held between the pair of side walls 21a, 21a forming the upper chamber 25a of the housing 21 by this engagement.

  A long hole 31b is provided at the tip of the latch base 31 along the sliding direction. The rotating portion 32 is supported so as to be movable along the long hole 31b. The long hole 31b is set to a predetermined dimension that can prevent a collision with the striker 10 in a state where the catcher 32a is retracted in the event of a malfunction.

  The front end portion of the latch base 31 is provided with a pressed portion 32c that comes into contact with the striker 10 by the movement of the movable body and is pressed in the retracting direction. The pressed portion 32c is attached to the latch base 31 so as to be slidable via a coil spring 31f as a second urging mechanism. The pressed portion 32c is pulled in the pull-in direction by the coil spring 31f. The rotating portion 32 is rotatably supported and connected to the lower end portion of the pressed portion 32c.

  The rotating portion 32 has a first shaft portion 32b that has an axial center along the Y direction and protrudes in the Y direction. The first shaft portion 32b is inserted into the slit 27 and the long hole 31b, and is engaged so as to be rotatable and movable in the slit 27.

  The rotating part 32 is provided so as to be rotatable about the first shaft part 32b in the first rotating direction R1 and the opposite second rotating direction R2. A catcher 32a is formed at the tip of the rotating portion 32, and an engaging body 32d is formed. A biased portion 32 e is formed below the rotating portion 32.

  The catcher 32a is provided on the distal end side of the rotating portion 32 and has a hook shape protruding in the R1 direction. The catcher 32a can be engaged with the latch 22 by capturing the engaging portion 12 of the striker 10 by the rotation in the R1 direction, and the engagement is released by the rotation of the rotating portion 32 in the R2 direction. To release. When the catcher 32a rotates in the R1 direction, the catcher 32a is urged in the pull-in direction by the pulling force of the coil spring 32f, and the striker 10 is captured by sandwiching the engaging portion 12 with the latch base 31.

  A pair of engaging bodies 32d are formed on both sides of the catcher 32a. The pair of engaging bodies 32d are formed to protrude in the Y direction, and engage with each other so as to be movable in the slit 27. The engaging body 32d is configured in a prismatic shape having a predetermined shape along the shape of the lower end of the standby path 27b, and is engaged with and held by the standby path 27b.

  The to-be-biased part 32e is provided in the lower part of the rotation part 32, and is located back rather than the engaging body 32d. The biased portion 32e is disposed in the lower chamber 25b of the housing 21, and one end of the tension coil spring 41 is connected thereto. The biased portion 32e is always pulled in the retracting direction by the tension coil spring 41.

  The first urging mechanism 23 includes a tension coil spring 41 serving as a first urging mechanism. The tension coil spring 41 is disposed in the lower chamber 25b of the housing 21 so that the axial direction is along the sliding direction. One end of the tension coil spring 41 is connected to the biased portion 31 e below the latch 22, and the other end is connected to the connecting portion 21 b of the housing 21. This tension coil spring 41 has a function of hooking and holding the latch 22 in the standby state in the pull-in direction so as to be hooked on the standby path 27b and forcing the latch 22 in the main guide path 27a in the pull-in direction. It has a function of moving and a function of urging the latch 22 in the R2 direction.

  The braking mechanism 24 includes a piston damper 50 provided in the upper chamber 25a of the housing 21. The piston damper 50 includes a cylinder 51 in which a fluid is sealed, a piston that reciprocates on the moving center line of the latch 22 in the cylinder 51, and a piston rod 52 that is coupled to the piston.

  The end of the piston rod 52 is fixed to the housing 21, and the outer end of the cylinder 51 facing the piston is connected to the rear end of the latch 22.

  The braking mechanism 24 applies resistance to the pushing and pulling operation of the cylinder 51 or the piston rod 52 by causing the fluid in the cylinder 51 to oppose the operation of the piston housed in the cylinder 51. The sliding movement of the latch 22 with respect to the housing 21 is braked. At this time, the compression coil spring 53 provides a resistance force particularly during pushing. The fluid sealed in the cylinder 51 is typically a viscous fluid such as silicone oil, but is not limited thereto, and a gas may be used.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the assist device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the neutral first state where the sliding door M has not reached the striker 10, the latch 22 is held at the standby position at the end of the housing 21. The engaging body 32d of the latch 22 is caught by the standby path 27b and pulled by the tension coil spring 41, and the latch 22 is held at the standby position of the housing 21.

  A first operation from the first state to the second state will be described. When the operator moves the sliding door M toward the left door stop F1 from the first state shown in FIG. 5A and the sliding door M reaches the first predetermined position, the latch 22 contacts the striker 10. Then, as shown in FIG.5 (b), when the striker 10 pushes the to-be-pressed part 32c back, the catcher 32a rotates to the R1 direction centering | focusing on the 1st axial part 32b. By this rotation, the catcher 32 a at the tip of the rotating portion 32 is engaged with the striker 10, and the striker 10 is captured by the latch 22.

  Further, when the rotating portion 32 rotates in the R1 direction, the lower engaging body 32d moves upward to reach the position where it enters the main guide path 27a, the holding on the standby path 27b is released, and the main guide path It will be in the state which can move along the centerline x of 27a.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, the latch 22 is relatively moved to the right with respect to the housing 21 and the sliding door M by the restoring force of the tension coil spring 41 and is relatively moved to the retracted position. With this movement, the sliding door M and the housing 21 are forcibly moved relative to the left side with respect to the support F and the striker 10. At this time, a resistance force is applied by the braking mechanism 24, and the sliding door M moves slowly and automatically in the direction of closing while buffering. In this second state, the size is set so that the sliding door M is closed with the play 27d at the rear end of the slit 27 remaining behind the protrusion 31a of the latch 22 in the second position.

  Next, the second operation from the second state to the first state will be described. When the operation of moving the sliding door M to the right side from the second state where the sliding door M has moved to the end position on the left side is performed, the latch 22 holds the striker 10 against the biasing force of the tension coil spring 41 and the sliding door M and The sliding door M moves to the right while moving relative to the housing 21 to the left. At this time, since the rear end of the latch 22 is connected to the piston rod 52 of the piston damper 50, it receives the resistance force of the fluid in the cylinder 51 while moving the piston.

  When the predetermined position is reached, the striker 10 is separated from the pressed portion 32c, and the rotating portion 32 rotates in the R2 direction around the first shaft portion 32b by the restoring force of the tension coil spring 41. By this rotation, the engagement of the catcher 32a with the striker 10 is released. At the same time, the engaging body 32d reaches the standby position at the front end of the main guide path 27a, and the engaging body 32d enters the lower standby path 27b and is again held at the standby position by the tension coil spring 41. Subsequent movement of the sliding door M is released from the urging force of the tension coil spring 41.

  Next, as a third operation, an operation in the case where the latch 22 rotates without being engaged with the striker 10 due to malfunction or the like will be described.

  When the catcher 32a rotates in the R1 direction without capturing the striker 10 for some reason from the first state of FIG. 6 (a), as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the engaging body 32d is moved from the standby path 27b. While moving to the guide path 27a, the holding of the latch 22 in the standby position is released. Then, the catcher 32a is pulled to the retracted position together with the pressed portion 32c and the first shaft portion 32b by the second coil spring 32f, and retracts in the second direction along the long hole 31b. Further, the protrusion 31a moves backward by the amount of play 27d of the slit 27. As a result, the latch 22 is further retracted in the second direction than the second position and moved to the third position (FIG. 6C). At this time, the engaging portion 12 of the striker 10 is not sandwiched between the latch base 31 and retracts in the second direction from the state of FIG. The retreat distance is the sum of the dimension of the play 27d of the slit 27 and the dimension of the first shaft portion 32b moving in the long hole 31d.

  As shown by the broken line in FIG. 6C, in the third state in which the latch 22 is retracted in the state where the engagement with the striker 10 is released, the sliding door M moves in the first direction with respect to the support F. Even when the striker 10 moves relative to the housing 21 at the same position as in FIG. 5C, collision between the striker 10 and the latch 22 is avoided.

  The retreat distance is determined according to conditions such as the size of the play 27d at the rear end portion of the slit 27, the size of the long hole 31b, the positional relationship of the assist unit 20 and the striker 10 with respect to the sliding door M and the support F. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the dimension X2 in which the latch 22 is retracted by the movement in the long hole 31b in the third operation, rather than the total dimension X1 in the X direction of the engaging portion 12 and the catcher 32 in the capture state. The total dimension of the dimension X3 for retracting the latch 22 by the play 27d of the slit 27 is set to be long.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid collision of components in a malfunctioning state and prevent damage. That is, by retracting the latch 22 further backward from the retracted position, the striker 10 and the latch 22 can be prevented from colliding with each other, and damage can be avoided.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. In addition, the specific configuration, material, and the like of each unit are not limited to those illustrated in the above embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the assist unit 20 is provided on the movable body side and the striker 10 is provided on the support body side is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. 20 may be provided.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although illustrated about the case where a movable body is the sliding door M, this invention is applicable also to other movable bodies, such as a raising / lowering slide door.

  In the above embodiment, the description has been given focusing on one sliding door M, but the present invention can also be applied to a case where two or more similar sliding doors M and assist units 20 are actually provided.

  In the above embodiment, the rear end portion of the slit 27 is provided with a play 27d behind the second position, and the play 27d can be retreated in the event of a malfunction, and the retreat distance is set in total with the retreat by the long hole 31b. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, even if the retraction by the play 27d is not performed, for example, if the movement dimension x2 by the long hole 31b is ensured to be equal to the total dimension x3 of the latch 22 and the striker 10, the collision is avoided in the same manner as described above. be able to.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be realized even if some of the constituent features of the above-described embodiment are omitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Assist device, 10 ... Striker, 11 ... Mounting member, 12 ... Engagement part,
20 ... Assist unit, 21 ... Housing, 21a. 21a ... sidewall, 22 ... latch,
23 ... Biasing mechanism (first biasing mechanism), 24 ... braking mechanism, 27 ... slit,
27a ... main guide path, 27b ... standby path, 27d ... play, 31 ... latch base,
31a ... projection, 31b ... long hole, 31e ... biased part, 32 ... rotating part, 32a ... catcher, 32b ... first shaft part, 32c ... pressed part, 32d ... engagement body, 32e ... biased Part,
50 ... piston damper, 51 ... cylinder, 52 ... piston rod.

Claims (7)

A receiving body provided on either side of the support and a movable body that moves relative to the support;
A base provided on the other side of the support and the movable body;
Engageable and disengageable with the receptacle, movable along a movement path passing through the first position and the second position with respect to the base body, and further in the second direction from the second position. A contact body provided so as to be retractable;
And a first urging mechanism for urging the abutting body.   The abutment body is supported by the base so as to be able to move in the first direction and the second direction opposite to the base along the movement path. The assisting device for a movable body according to claim 1, further comprising a rotating portion that can engage and disengage from the receiving body. The base is provided with a slit having a main guide path formed along the movement path, and a standby path bent from the movement path at the first position,
The rotating portion includes an engagement body that engages with the slit, the engagement body is held in the first position in a state where the engagement body is disposed in the standby path, and the engagement body is disposed in the main guide path Thus, the movable body can be moved along the movement path along with the movement of the movable body, and can be engaged with the receiving body by rotating the rotating portion in the first rotating direction at the first position. The assist device for a movable body according to claim 1, wherein the engagement can be released by rotating in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction. The base has a long hole extending along the movement path;
The rotating part is pivotally supported in the elongated hole so as to be rotatable and movable,
A second urging mechanism for urging the rotating portion in the second direction;
When the rotating portion rotates in the first rotating direction without engaging with the receiving body and moves to the main guide path, the contact member is moved in the second direction by the first urging mechanism. 2. The movable body assist device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating portion is retracted along the elongated hole by the second urging mechanism. In the first operation, the movable body moves in the first direction with respect to the support body from the first state in which the contact body is held in the first position, thereby holding the first body in the first position. Is released and the abutting body is urged in the second direction by the first urging mechanism in a state where the abutting body and the receiving body are engaged with each other. Forcibly moved with respect to the support body, the abutting body and the receiving body are in a second state in which they are arranged in the second position in an engaged state,
In the second operation, the movable body moves in the second direction with respect to the support body from the second state in which the contact body and the receiving body are placed in the second position in the engaged state. However, when the contact body and the receiving body move toward the first position and reach a predetermined position, the engagement between the contact body and the receiving body is released and the contact body is In the first state held in the first position,
In the third operation, the contact body moves from the first position to the second position and retracts in the second direction in a state where the contact body and the receiving body are disengaged. The collision of the contact body and the receiving body is avoided when the movable body moves in the first direction with respect to the support body. apparatus. The first urging mechanism has a tension coil spring having one end connected to the contact body and the other end connected to the other side of the base body or the movable body and the support body.
A function of hooking and holding the abutting body in the pulling direction by urging the holding body;
A function of urging and moving the contact body in the main guide path in the retracting direction;
A function of urging the contact body in a second rotation direction;
The assisting device for a movable body according to claim 1, wherein: A brake mechanism for applying a resistance force to the movement of the contact body;
The brake mechanism is a piston damper having a cylinder and a piston rod, one of which is connected to the contact body and the other of which is connected to the other side of the base body or the movable body and the support body, The assist device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a resistance force of fluid in the cylinder is applied to pushing and pulling of the piston rod with respect to the cylinder.

Images