JP2013040444A - Latch device for vehicle door - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a latch device for a vehicle door that securely stops a door from being opened once a vehicle receives a shock load from a sideway, and allows door opening operation after that to be carried on.SOLUTION: The latch device for a vehicle door 2 includes a door handle 3, a base part which fixes one end of the door handle rotatably to a door panel, a case part 11 which fits an arm part 10 formed at the other end of the door handle 3 to the door panel in a projection/retraction state, a lever 12 which rotates interlocking with a drawing-out movement of the arm part 10 of the door handle 3 from the case part 11, a latch 4 which engages a striker fitted to an opening part of a vehicle body to maintain a closing state of the door 2, and a connecting rod 5 which connects the latch 4 and lever 12 to each other, the connecting rod 5 being provided with a bent part 5a which can be bent with inertial force F1 operating sideways on the vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to a latch device for a vehicle door that prevents movement of a latch in an opening direction caused by movement of a door handle when the vehicle receives an impact load from the side.

  A door handle for opening a door of a vehicle is operated by operating a latch attached to the door via a connecting member by gripping and pulling the door handle, and a striker attached to the vehicle body. The function of releasing the engagement is achieved. An example thereof is shown in FIGS.

  10 and 11 are partial front sectional views of a right door 102 of a vehicle including a door handle 103. The door 102 is configured as a hollow structure by an inner panel 106 and an outer panel 107 which are press-formed products of sheet metal. A door handle 103 is supported on the outer surface of the outer panel 107 so as to be rotatable about one end. An arm part 110 projects from the other end of the door handle 103 toward the inside of the vehicle. The arm part 110 penetrates the case part 111 and the outer panel 107 attached to the outer surface of the outer panel 107, and the door 102. The inside of the.

  An L-shaped lever 112 is pivotally supported by a shaft 113 near the arm portion 110 of the door handle 103 inside the door 102, and one end of the lever 112 is at the arm portion 110 of the door handle 103. Is engaged with the engagement hole 110a formed in the.

  On the other hand, below the lever 112 inside the door 102 is accommodated a latch 104 that maintains a closed state of the door 102 by engaging with a striker provided on the vehicle body side. And the open lever 104a of the latch 104 which cancels | releases engagement with a striker is connected with the other end of the lever 112 by the connecting rod 105 distribute | arranged to the up-down direction.

  Therefore, the movement of the door handle 103 is converted into the vertical movement of the connecting rod 105 by the L-shaped lever 112, and the vertical movement of the connecting rod 105 causes the open lever 104a to engage the latch 104 and the striker. The position to be released (lower position) and the position that enables engagement (upper position) are moved. Although not shown, the lever 112 is urged counterclockwise in FIGS. 10 and 11 by a coil spring wound around the shaft 113, and one end of the lever 112 is urged by the arm portion of the door handle 103 by this urging. The connecting rod 105 connected to the other end of the lever 112 moves upward (the position of the open lever 104a is the position). The direction in which the latch 104 and the striker can be engaged is biased.

  Thus, when the door 102 is closed as shown in FIG. 10, one end of the lever 112 engages with the engagement hole 110 a formed in the arm portion 110 of the door handle 103, and the arm portion 110 is moved to the door. The door is closed because the latch 104 is engaged with the striker because the connecting rod 105 connected to the other end of the lever 112 is urged upward while being pulled into the interior of the lever 102. 102 does not open.

  When the operator operates the door handle 103 from the above state and pulls the door handle 103 in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 11, one end of the engagement hole 110a formed in the arm portion 110 of the door handle 103 is inserted. The engaging lever 112 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure (clockwise) about the shaft 113 against the biasing force of a coil spring (not shown), so that the connecting rod 105 connected to the other end of the lever 112 is The latch 104 is pushed downward (in the direction of the arrow in the figure) and the open lever 104a of the latch 104 is rotated in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise).

  By the way, when the door 102 is in the locked state as shown in FIG. 10 and the vehicle suddenly moves to the right side as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, since the inertia force F1 in the pulling direction (in the direction of the arrow in the drawing) acts, the same movement as when the door 102 is opened by operating the door handle 103, the latch 104 and the striker May be disengaged.

  In order to solve the above problem, Patent Document 1 discloses that when the door receives an impact, the drive rod impacting member applies an impact to the connecting rod to remove the connecting rod from the latch and maintain the engagement between the latch and the striker. A latch device has been proposed.

JP 2011-058351 A

  However, since the latch device proposed in Patent Document 1 employs a configuration in which the connecting rod is removed from the latch when the door receives an impact, the connecting rod may be released from the latch by an ordinary door handle operation. . Further, there is a problem that the door cannot be opened after the connecting rod is once released from the latch due to the impact of the door.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is that the door opening operation can be normally performed without any trouble, and the door is surely opened when the vehicle receives an impact load from the side. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular door latch structure that can prevent the above-mentioned problem and can continue the door opening operation thereafter.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1
A door handle provided with a grip portion to be gripped by an operator;
A base portion for rotatably attaching one end of the door handle to the door panel;
A case part for attaching an arm part formed on the other end of the door handle to the door panel so as to be able to appear and retract,
A lever that rotates in conjunction with the movement of the arm portion of the door handle pulled out from the case portion;
A latch that engages with a striker attached to the opening of the vehicle body to maintain the door closed;
A connecting member for connecting the latch and the lever;
In a vehicle door latch device comprising:
The connecting member is provided with a bent portion that can be bent by an inertial force acting toward the side of the vehicle.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the connecting member is divided into a lever connecting portion connected to the lever and a latch connecting portion connected to the latch, and both connecting portions are divided into the two. In addition to being connected by a bent portion, the bent portion is disposed on the vehicle outer side than the connecting portion of the lever connecting portion with the lever.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, a weight is attached to a lower end portion of the lever coupling portion of the coupling member.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the connecting member is provided with a spring that biases the bent portion in the anti-bending direction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle receives an impact load from the side, the lever is rotated because the door handle is pulled outward by the inertia force acting on the vehicle. However, since the bent portion of the connecting member bends due to the inertial force acting on the connecting member toward the side of the vehicle at the same time, the axial force of the connecting member is not transmitted to the latch, and the engagement state between the latch and the striker is maintained. The door will not open unexpectedly. In this case, since the connecting rod does not come off the latch, the subsequent door opening operation can be continued and the door opening operation under normal conditions (when no impact load is applied) should be performed without any problem. Can do.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the connecting member is divided into the lever connecting portion and the latch connecting portion, and both the connecting portions are connected by the bent portion, and the bent portion is located on the vehicle outer side than the lever connecting portion. Since it arrange | positions, a bending part is urged | biased in the anti-bending direction by the dead weight of a lever connection part. For this reason, the connecting member is not bent at the bent portion during normal times (when no impact load is applied), and the normal door opening operation can be performed stably without any trouble.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the inertial force acting on the lever connecting portion when receiving an impact load from the side of the vehicle is increased by the weight attached to the lower end portion of the lever connecting portion of the connecting member, With this large inertial force, the connecting member can be reliably bent at the bent portion to reliably prevent the door from opening. In addition, since the weight is attached to the lever connecting portion located above the latch connecting portion, the bent portion is urged in the anti-bending direction together with the weight of the lever connecting portion, the posture of the connecting member is stabilized, and the door of the normal time is The opening operation can be performed without any trouble. Furthermore, since the weight is attached to the lower end portion in the vicinity of the bent portion of the lever connecting portion, the connecting member can be bent more reliably at the bent portion by effectively applying the inertial force to the bent portion.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the bent portion of the connecting member is biased in the anti-bending direction by the spring provided on the connecting member, the connecting member bends normally (when no impact load is applied). It is kept straight without bending at the part. For this reason, when the door handle is operated during normal operation, the operation force is reliably transmitted to the latch as the axial force of the connecting member, and the engagement between the latch and the striker is reliably released, and the door opening operation during normal operation is prevented. It is made stable without any trouble.

It is a right view of a vehicle. It is a side view of the door of the right front part of a vehicle. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2 (a state in which an operation for releasing the engagement between the latch and the striker is performed). FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 2. It is a partial front sectional view of a door showing an operation of a latch device when a vehicle receives an impact load from the side. It is a perspective view of the bending part of a connecting rod. It is a disassembled perspective view of the bending part of a connecting rod. It is a partial front sectional view of the door which shows the latch device concerning another form of the present invention. It is a partial front sectional view of the right door of a vehicle including a conventional latch device (a state in which the latch can be engaged with the striker). It is a fragmentary front sectional view (state which cancels engagement of a latch and a striker) of a right door of vehicles provided with the conventional latch device.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a right side view of a vehicle (passenger car), FIG. 2 is a side view of a right front door of the vehicle, and a total of four doors that can be opened and closed at the left and right sides of the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. Doors 2 are provided (only the right side is shown in FIG. 1), and these doors 2 are opened by operating a door handle 3 provided on the outer surface thereof.

  Here, the right front door 2 is shown in FIG. 2, and the door handle 3 provided on the door 2 is connected to a latch 4 housed inside the door 2 via a connecting rod 5 which is a connecting member. In conjunction with the operation of pulling the door handle 3 forward, the connecting rod 5 is pushed downward, and the latch 4 engages with a striker (not shown, attached to the vehicle body). Since the maintenance of the closed state is released, the door 2 can be opened. The other doors 2 can be similarly opened by operating the door handle 3. Here, the latch 4 constitutes a part of the latch device according to the present invention, and engages with a striker (not shown) provided at the opening peripheral edge of the door of the vehicle body to hold the striker, thereby closing the door 2. While maintaining the state, the door 2 can be opened by releasing the engagement with the striker by the engagement release operation by the door handle 3, and the door handle 3 can be opened by operating the locking device (not shown). It is a door lock device which can invalidate the engagement release operation by.

  Next, details of the configuration of the latch device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  3 and 4 are cross-sectional views taken along the line AA of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2, and as shown in FIG. 3, the door 2 is an inner part that is a sheet metal press-formed product. A hollow structure is formed by joining the peripheral edges of the panel 6 and the outer panel 7. The door handle 3 is supported on the outer surface of the outer panel 7 so as to be rotatable about one end (front end). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the door handle 3 can be rotated to the outer panel 7 by the shaft 9 on the base portion 8 attached to the outer panel 7 at one end (front end) of the grip portion 3 a held by the operator. At the other end (rear end) of the grip portion 3a, an arm portion 10 is provided to project at a right angle toward the inner side (left side) in the vehicle width direction.

  On the other hand, a case portion 11 is attached to the outer panel 7, and an insertion hole 11 a through which the arm portion 10 of the door handle 3 is inserted is provided in the case portion 11. Here, a rectangular engagement hole 10a is vertically provided in the arm portion 10 of the door handle 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the outer panel 7 is formed with a recess 7 a for securing a space for the operator to insert his / her hand between the door handle 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a lever 12 that is bent in an L shape is housed inside the door 2 so as to be rotatably supported by the case portion 11 by a shaft 13. A coil spring (not shown) wound around the shaft 13 is biased counterclockwise in FIG. 3 (a direction in which the latch 4 can be engaged with the striker) about the shaft 13. When the lever 12 is urged by the coil spring in this way, one end of the lever 12 is accommodated in the engagement hole 10a formed in the arm portion 10 of the door handle 3 and engages with the engagement hole 10a. The door handle 3 is biased in the direction in which the arm portion 10 is pulled into the door 2 by the lever 12 (the direction opposite to the operation direction for releasing the engagement between the latch and the striker and the anti-release operation direction). ing. In the state shown in FIG. 3 in which the door 2 is closed, the door handle 3 maintains a state in which the arm portion 10 is drawn into the door 2.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, below the lever 12 inside the door 2, the latch (door for maintaining the closed state of the door 2 by engaging with a striker provided on the vehicle body). The other end of the lever 12 is connected to the open lever 4a of the latch 4 via the connecting rod 5 arranged in the vertical direction. Here, as described above, since the lever 12 is urged counterclockwise in FIG. 3 about the shaft 13 by a coil spring (not shown), when the door 2 is closed as shown in FIG. The connecting rod 5 is pulled upward by the lever 12, and the latch 4 is engaged with a striker (not shown) provided on the vehicle body side, so that the closed state of the door 2 is maintained.

  By the way, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the connecting rod 5 is vertically moved to a rod-like lever connecting portion 5 </ b> A connected to the lever 12 and a rod-like latch connecting portion 5 </ b> B connected to the latch 4. The lever connecting portion 5A and the latch connecting portion 5B are connected by a shaft 14 so as to be bent. Therefore, a bent portion 5a that can be bent around the shaft 14 is formed at the intermediate portion in the height direction of the connecting rod 5. Specifically, the lever connecting portion 5A and the latch connecting portion 5B have substantially the same length. The bent portion 5 a is formed at a substantially central position in the length direction of the connecting rod 5. Normally (when an inertial force toward the side of the vehicle does not act as will be described later), the bent portion 5a is not bent, and the connecting rod 5 extends in a straight line as shown.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the bent portion 5a centering on the shaft 14 of the connecting rod 5 is arranged on the vehicle outer side than the connecting portion of the lever connecting portion 5A with the lever 12. Specifically, the upper end of the connecting rod 5 (the upper end of the lever connecting portion 5A) is connected to the lever 12 so as to be rotatable (can swing), and the lower end (the lower end of the latch connecting portion 5B) is connected to the open lever 4a. A bent portion 5a that is pivotable (swingable) and that can be bent about the shaft 14 is provided near the center in the length direction. Then, with respect to the connecting rod 5, from the center side to the side of the vehicle in the left-right direction of the vehicle, the connecting portion with the lever 12, the center of gravity of the lever connecting portion 5A, the bent portion 5a, the center of gravity of the latch connecting portion 5B, open It is arranged in the order of the connection location with the lever 4a, and the connection with the lever 12 and the connection with the open lever 4a can be rotated (oscillated) on a rotation axis substantially parallel to the shaft 14 of the bent portion 5a. It has become a consolidated.

  Thus, in order to open the door 2 from a state where the closed state of the door 2 is maintained (a state where the latch and the striker are engaged) as shown in FIG. If a hand is inserted into the space between the recesses 7a (see FIG. 5), the grip portion 3a of the door handle 3 is gripped, and the door handle 3 is pulled to the near side (the non-door side), the door handle 3 Rotating about the shaft 9, the arm portion 10 is pulled out from the inside of the door 2 as shown in FIG. 4. Then, the lever 12 whose one end engages with the engagement hole 10a formed in the arm portion 10 of the door handle 3 rotates clockwise about the shaft 13 as shown in FIG. The connecting rod 5 connected to the end is pushed down, the open lever 4a of the latch 4 rotates counterclockwise, the engagement between the latch 4 and the striker (not shown) is released, and the door 2 is opened. At this time, since inertia force does not act on the connecting rod 5, the connecting rod 5 forms a straight line and can transmit the operating force of the door handle 3 to the latch 4 as an axial force.

  Next, the operation of the latch device when the vehicle 1 receives an impact load from the side will be described below with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a partial front sectional view of the right door showing the operation of the latch device when the vehicle receives an impact load from the right side. When the vehicle 1 receives an impact load from the right side, the vehicle suddenly moves to the left side. By moving, the door handle 3 is subjected to an inertial force F1 directed to the outside (right side) to pull it out. When the door handle 3 is pulled out by the inertial force F 1 as shown in FIG. 6, the lever 12 whose one end engages with the engagement hole 10 a formed in the arm portion 10 of the door handle 3 is shown around the shaft 13. 6 clockwise.

  On the other hand, since the inertial force F2 directed outward (right side) acts on the connecting rod 5, the connecting rod 5 bends in a dogleg shape with the bent portion 5a (shaft 14) as the center. For this reason, the connecting rod 5 cannot transmit the axial force (axial force) caused by the rotation of the lever 12 to the latch 4, and the open lever 4a of the latch 4 is not released from the engagement of the latch 4. Since the operation state is maintained and the engagement between the latch 4 and the striker (not shown) is maintained, the closed state of the door 2 is also maintained, and the occurrence of a problem that the door 2 opens unexpectedly is surely prevented. . That is, in this case, even if the door handle 3 is pulled out and the lever 12 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 6, the downward movement amount y of the lever 12 of the connecting shaft 15 is absorbed by the bending of the connecting rod 5. Therefore, the connecting rod 5 cannot transmit the axial force to the latch 4.

  As described above, according to the latch device according to the present embodiment, since the vehicle 1 receives an impact load from the side, the door handle 3 acts on the outer side (the opening operation direction of the door 2) by the inertial force F1 acting thereon. ), The occurrence of a problem that the door 2 opens unexpectedly is prevented, but in this case, the connecting rod 5 does not come off the latch 4 (open lever 4a). Thereafter, the opening operation of the door 2 can be continuously performed, and the opening operation of the door 2 at the normal time (when no impact load is applied) can be performed without any trouble.

  In the present embodiment, the connecting rod 5 is divided into the lever connecting portion 5A and the latch connecting portion 5B, and both the connecting portions 5A and 5B are connected by the bent portion 5a (shaft 14), and the bent portion 5a. Since the lever connecting portion 5A is disposed on the vehicle outer side than the connecting portion with the lever 12, the bent portion 5a is urged in the anti-bending direction by the weight of the lever connecting portion 5A. For this reason, the connecting rod 5 does not bend at the bent portion 5a during normal times (when no impact load is applied), and the normal opening operation of the door 2 can be performed stably without any trouble. In order to obtain such an effect more stably, the connecting rod 5 may be provided with a biasing means such as a spring, and the bending portion 5a of the connecting rod 5 may be biased in the anti-bending direction by this biasing means. An example is shown in FIGS.

  That is, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the bent portion of the connecting rod, FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the bent portion, and the upper end portion of the latch connecting portion 5B on the lower side of the connecting rod 5 divided into two is U-shaped. (Channel-shaped) connecting portions 5b are formed, and circular holes 16 are formed on opposite side portions of the connecting portions 5b.

  On the other hand, a lower end of the lever connecting portion 5A on the upper side of the connecting rod 5 is partially cut out to form a narrow arm portion 5c, and a circular hole 17 is formed in the arm portion 5c. . The arm portion 5 c is cut out in the axial direction of the circular hole 17.

  Thus, the arm portion 5c formed at the lower end of the lever connecting portion 5A of the connecting rod 5 is inserted from above into the connecting portion 5b formed at the upper end of the latch connecting portion 5B, and the circular holes formed in both of them. When the shaft 14 is inserted and locked to the sides 16 and 17, the lever connecting portion 5 </ b> A and the latch connecting portion 5 </ b> B are connected so as to be bendable around the shaft 14. This bending is due to the relationship between the arm portion 5c and the wall portion which is formed in a U shape by connecting both side portions of the connecting portion 5b in which the circular hole 16 is formed. In order to restrict the posture of the lever connecting portion 5A and the latch connecting portion 5B so as to be able to transmit this force, it does not bend on the side where the wall portion is formed (the anti-bending direction), but on the U-shaped open side Bending is possible on the side where the wall portion is not formed (bending direction). That is, the wall portion is disposed on the outer side of the vehicle and can be bent only in one direction on the outer side of the vehicle from the normal state. And the axis | shaft 14 is arrange | positioned along the front-back direction of a vehicle.

  A spring 18 is wound around the shaft 14, and is disposed in a space between the arm portion 5c and the connecting portion 5b formed by a notch at the lower end of the lever connecting portion 5A. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, one end of the spring 18 is locked to the vehicle inward side of the base end portion of the arm portion 5c of the lever connecting portion 5A, and the other end is the side where the wall portion is not formed. The latch is connected to the end of the connecting portion 5b of the latch connecting portion 5B, and the spring 18 biases the bent portion 5a of the connecting rod 5 in the anti-bending direction. Therefore, when the door handle 3 is operated during normal operation, the operating force is reliably transmitted to the latch 4 as the axial force of the connecting rod 5, and the engagement between the latch 4 and the striker is reliably released, so that the normal door The opening operation of 2 can be performed stably without any trouble.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  That is, FIG. 9 is a partial front sectional view of a door showing a latch device according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a weight 19 is attached to the lower end portion of the lever connecting portion 5A of the connecting rod 5. The other features are the same as those of the above embodiment.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the inertial force F2 acting on the lever coupling portion 5A when receiving an impact load from the side of the vehicle is increased by the weight 19, so that the coupling rod 5 is caused by this large inertial force F2. 9 can be reliably bent by the bent portion 5a as shown by the solid line from the normal state shown by the broken line in FIG. 9, and the opening of the door 2 can be more reliably prevented.

  In this embodiment, since the weight 19 is attached in the vicinity of the lower end of the lever connecting portion 5A located above the latch connecting portion 5B of the connecting rod 5, the lever for the connecting portion with the lever 12 in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The position of the center of gravity of the connecting portion 5A can be arranged further to the side of the vehicle, and the bending portion is urged in the anti-bending direction together with the weight of the lever connecting portion 5A, so that the posture of the connecting rod 5 (the axial force can be transmitted) A stable posture state), and the door 2 can be opened normally without any trouble.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the weight 19 is attached to the lower end portion in the vicinity of the bent portion 5a of the lever connecting portion 5A, the inertial force F2 is efficiently applied to the bent portion 5a, and the connecting rod 5 is more reliably secured by the bent portion 5a. The effect that it can be bent is also obtained.

1 Vehicle 2 Door 3 Door Handle 3a Door Handle Grip 4 Door Latch 5 Connecting Rod (Connecting Member)
5A Connecting rod lever connecting portion 5B Connecting rod latch connecting portion 5a Connecting rod bent portion 6 Inner panel (door panel)
7 Outer panel (door panel)
8 Base portion 10 Arm portion 10a Arm portion engagement hole 11 Case portion 12 Lever 13, 14 Shaft 18 Spring 19 Weight F1, F2 Inertial force

Claims (4)

A door handle provided with a grip portion to be gripped by an operator;
A base portion for rotatably attaching one end of the door handle to the door panel;
A case part for attaching an arm part formed on the other end of the door handle to the door panel so as to be able to appear and retract,
A lever that rotates in conjunction with the movement of the arm portion of the door handle pulled out from the case portion;
A latch that engages with a striker attached to the opening of the vehicle body to maintain the door closed;
A connecting member for connecting the latch and the lever;
In a vehicle door latch device comprising:
A latch device for a vehicle door, wherein the connecting member is provided with a bent portion that can be bent by an inertial force acting toward the vehicle side.   The connecting member is divided into a lever connecting portion connected to the lever and a latch connecting portion connected to the latch, both connecting portions are connected by the bent portion, and the bent portion is connected to the lever connecting portion. 2. The latch device for a vehicle door according to claim 1, wherein the latch device is disposed on an outer side of the vehicle with respect to a connecting portion with the lever.   3. The vehicular door latch device according to claim 2, wherein a weight is attached to a lower end portion of the lever connecting portion of the connecting member. The latch device for a vehicle door according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the connecting member is provided with a spring that urges the bent portion in an anti-bending direction.

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