JP2672791B2 - Sliding door closing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of a sliding door closing device for automatically closing a manually opened sliding door.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are various structures for a sliding door closing device for automatically closing a sliding door, but all of them store some kind of energy when manually opening the door and release it when closing the door to automatically close the door. It is something to do.

In this type of closing device, for the safety of passersby and the prevention of damage to components, a cushioning mechanism is attached, and the cushioning mechanism is operated before the sliding door is fully closed to reduce the closing speed of the sliding door. Is common. As shown in FIG. 6, most of conventional cushioning mechanisms (40) are configured by arranging a hydraulic cylinder (42) near an end of a hanger rail (41) on a closed side (left side in the drawing), and a sliding door (43). Just before the door is fully closed (43)
The contact piece (44) protruding from the contact part is brought into contact with the contact piece (45) provided at the end of the hydraulic cylinder (42), and thereafter, the contact piece (44) is used until the sliding door (43) is completely closed. The sliding door (43) is decelerated and the sliding door (43) is decelerated by applying a resistance force to the sliding door (43) in a direction opposite to the closing direction.

[0004]

By the way, in this type of closing device, there is a problem that the sliding door is not completely closed, that is, a so-called unpulled state occurs. That is, when a passerby opens the sliding door to the fully open position, the closing inertial force in the vicinity of the fully closed position becomes large, so it is possible to completely close the sliding door against the resistance of the buffer mechanism. When the passerby opens only about half of the entire travel, the inertial force of the sliding door becomes small, and the sliding door cannot withstand the resistance of the buffer mechanism and stops immediately before the fully closed position.

Usually, a passerby rarely fully opens the sliding door and often uses it at an open position of about 1/2 to 2/3 of the entire process, so that such a problem tends to occur frequently.

On the other hand, even if the sliding door is opened to the fully open position, the sliding door may not be completely closed when the frictional force is increased due to, for example, a change in climate or deterioration of lubrication.

Therefore, the present invention provides a sliding door that is manually opened.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sliding door closing device that can prevent a so-called unpulled state from occurring and reliably and automatically close the door to a fully closed position.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a sliding door is linearly opened and closed by a hanger rail provided at a fixed position, and the sliding door is accumulated when manually opened. In a system in which energy is used to automatically close the door, and the cushioning mechanism is operated at a predetermined position during the closing stroke to reduce the closing speed of the sliding door, the cushioning mechanism is released immediately before the sliding door is fully closed.

Further, a hanger rail provided at a fixed position supports the sliding door so as to be linearly openable and closable, and the sliding door is automatically closed by using the energy accumulated when the door is manually opened to a predetermined position during the closing stroke. In which the closing speed of the sliding door is reduced by activating the damping mechanism, the damping mechanism has an input shaft rotatably supported, a braking means for applying a braking force to the input shaft, and a linear movement of the sliding door. Is converted into rotational motion to rotate the input shaft, and the power transmission to the input shaft is released immediately before the sliding door is fully closed.

The converting means is composed of a pinion gear attached to the input shaft and a rack which can be meshed with the pinion gear and which extends along the opening / closing direction of the sliding door, and one of the pinion gear and the rack is fixed. And the other side is preferably provided on the movable side.

A shock absorbing portion made of a shock absorbing material may be provided in at least a portion of the rack that first meshes with the pinion gear when the door is closed.

The rack may be elastically supported in the vertical direction via an elastic member.

The input shaft of the braking means may be provided with a one-way clutch which idles when the sliding door is opened and transmits torque when the sliding door is closed.

[0014]

[Operation] If the buffer mechanism is released immediately before the sliding door is fully closed,
No resistance is applied to the sliding door, and the door is in an unloaded state. Therefore,
The sliding door moves to the fully closed position only by the pulling force acting on the sliding door. In this case, since the sliding door is sufficiently decelerated by the cushioning mechanism in the previous stage, the sliding door gently moves to the fully closed position without excessively increasing the inertial force.

Further, the shock absorbing mechanism has an input shaft rotatably supported, and braking means for applying a braking force to the input shaft, and linear motion of the sliding door are converted into rotary motion to rotate the input shaft. If the sliding door is configured to include a conversion means that releases the power transmission to the input shaft immediately before the sliding door is fully closed, the input shaft of the braking means starts to rotate when the sliding door reaches the predetermined position, but the input shaft is moved from the braking means. Since it receives the braking force, its rotation is also suppressed. Therefore, resistance is applied to the sliding door via the conversion means, and the closing speed of the sliding door is reduced. When the sliding door reaches immediately before the fully closed position, the power transmission to the input shaft by the converting means is released, so that the sliding door is in an unloaded state in which no resistance force acts. Therefore, the sliding door quietly moves to the fully closed position only by the traction force acting on the sliding door.

The converting means is composed of a pinion gear attached to the input shaft and a rack which can be meshed with the pinion gear and extends along the opening / closing direction of the sliding door, and one of the pinion gear and the rack is fixed. When the other is provided on the movable side, the linear movement of the sliding door can be efficiently converted into the rotational movement of the input shaft by the engagement of the rack and the pinion gear.

If at least the portion of the rack that first meshes with the pinion gear when the door is closed is made of a cushioning material, it is possible to absorb the impact when the rack and the pinion gear come into contact with each other. Therefore, it is possible to suppress or eliminate the generation of annoying noise (contact noise) at the beginning of meshing.

When the rack is elastically supported in the vertical direction via the elastic member, the rack self-corrects its posture even if the rack and the pinion gear are not meshed well.
It is possible to absorb the deviation between the two and securely engage with each other. Generally, when the sliding door is opened and closed, the sliding door slightly moves up and down due to subtle unevenness of the hanger rail, but even in that case, good meshing of the two can be maintained.

By the way, in the above-mentioned structure, not only when the door is closed, but also when the door is opened, the conversion means converts the linear motion of the sliding door into the rotational motion to rotate the input shaft, and the braking force is generated by the braking means. This imposes an excessive burden on passers-by who open the sliding door. Therefore, by interposing a one-way clutch that idles when the sliding door is opened and transmits torque when the sliding door is opened to the input shaft of the braking means, the braking means is operated when the door is closed while the braking means is released when the door is opened. be able to. Therefore, a passerby can open the sliding door with a light force without feeling resistance.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the opening side of the sliding door (1) is shown on the right side of the drawing, and the closing side is shown on the left side of the drawing.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a frame body (2) having a U-shaped cross section is horizontally arranged above the sliding door (1) with its opening facing downward. The inside of the frame (2) has a cross section of approximately L.
The character-shaped hanger rails (3) are horizontally arranged, and the hanger rails (3) are frame bodies (2) using screws or the like.
Fixed to the vertical wall (4) of the. A pair of door hangers (5a) (5b) spaced apart along the opening and closing direction of the sliding door are attached to the upper part of the sliding door (1), and each of the door hangers (5a) (5b) has one Each hanger roller (6a) (6b) is rotatably supported. The hanger roller (6a) (6b) rolls on the hanger rail (3) to guide the sliding door (1) in the horizontal direction, and smoothes the opening / closing operation of the sliding door (1).

At the closed end of the hanger rail (3),
A closing force generating means (9) is provided. The closing force generating means (9) uses a spiral spring (10) as a drive source, and the tip of the winding spring (10) is pulled out of the case and attached to the door hanger (5a) on the closing side. ing.
When a passerby opens the sliding door (1) in the fully closed state (shown by the solid line in FIG. 1) in the direction of the arrow, the winding spring (10) is pulled out as the sliding door (1) moves, and the sliding door (1) The elastic force that urges in the closing direction is stored. Therefore, when a passerby releases the sliding door (1), the accumulated elastic energy is released, and the sliding door (1) slides in the closing direction and automatically returns to the initial closed position.

At the open end of the hanger rail (3),
The stopper (11) is attached. This stopper (11)
It is equipped with a leaf spring (12) bent in a mountain shape, and when the sliding door (1) is opened to the fully open position (shown by a chain double-dashed line), the hanger roller (6b) on the opening side is the leaf spring (12) mountain. The sliding door (1) is fully opened against the return force generated by the closing force generating means (9) because the mountain portion engages with the hanger roller (6b) to prevent its movement in the closing direction. Can be held in position. When closing the door, slide the sliding door (1) into the leaf spring (1
The hanger roller (6b) may be pulled out from the crest portion of the leaf spring (12) by pulling in the closing direction against the restraining force of 2).

The buffer mechanism (13) is a rotary braking means (1
5) and a conversion means (14) for converting the linear motion of the sliding door (1) into a rotary motion to activate the braking means (15).

The braking means (15) is fixedly installed at a predetermined position inside the frame body (2), specifically, slightly on the open side of the open side door hanger (5b) at the fully closed position. The braking means (15) applies a braking force to the input shaft (16) rotatably supported in the forward and reverse directions, and its structure is arbitrary as long as it can exert such a braking function. In this embodiment, as the braking means (15), as shown in FIG. 3, a gear pump (17)
A hydraulic damper having a structure in which a throttle valve (20) is interposed between a suction port (18) and a discharge port (19) of the.

In this braking means (15), the input shaft (1
When 6) is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the drive gear (21a) connected to the input shaft (16) and the driven gear (21) meshing with this drive gear (21a).
Due to the engagement of b), the hydraulic oil is pushed out of the discharge port (19) and flows back to the suction port (18) via the throttle valve (20). At this time, the throttle valve (20) exerts a constant flow resistance on the hydraulic oil, so that a braking force in the direction opposite to the rotational direction acts on the input shaft (16). This braking force can be set to an arbitrary value by adjusting the throttle amount of the throttle valve (20) with an adjusting screw (22: see FIG. 2). Input shaft (16)
When is rotated in the reverse direction, the hydraulic oil passes through the route opposite to that in the normal rotation, but the braking force in the opposite direction to the rotation direction acts on the input shaft (16) as in the normal rotation.

The conversion means (14) includes a pinion gear (26) attached to the input shaft (16) of the braking means (15) on the fixed side, and a rack (27) attached to the sliding door (1) on the movable side. ) And.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the rack (27)
Is attached to the upper part of the door hanger (5b) on the opening side by elastic member (3
Fixed through 0). Specifically, the door hanger (5
A leaf spring-shaped elastic member (30) is attached to b) via a pair of support members (29), and the rack (27) is fixed to the upper surface of the elastic member (30). With this configuration, the rack (27)
Is elastically supported by the door hanger (5b) via the elastic member (30) and can be bent in the vertical direction. Racks (27)
The support structure of the rack (27) is arbitrary as long as the rack (27) is elastically supported in the vertical direction.
May be attached to the door hanger (5b) by being supported by a coil spring or the like instead of the leaf spring.

A buffer portion (31) made of a buffer material such as rubber is integrally formed at the closed end of the rack (27). The cushioning portion (31) absorbs an impact generated at the beginning of meshing between the pinion gear (26) and the rack (27) in the closing stroke of the sliding door (1), and suppresses annoying noise (contact noise). Or it is something to make it disappear. In the present embodiment, in consideration of the strength of impact, the buffer portion (31) is provided only in the portion (close side end portion) of the rack (27) that first comes into contact with the pinion gear (26) when the door is closed. If necessary, the part that first comes into contact with the pinion gear (26) when the door is opened (open end)
A buffer section (31) may be provided in the.

In the input shaft (16) of the braking means (15), torque is transmitted from the driving side to the driven side during forward rotation between the pinion gear (26) and the driving gear (21a), and during reverse rotation. A one-way clutch (not shown) that locks the input shaft (16) to block torque transmission is mounted. In FIG. 1, this clutch is mounted in such a direction that the input shaft (16) idles when the input shaft (16) rotates counterclockwise (when the door is open) and transmits torque when the input shaft (16) rotates clockwise (when the door is closed).

The sliding door closing device according to the present invention has the above structure. The operation will be described below with reference to FIG.
Note that FIG. 4 is a simplified drawing of FIG. 1, and detailed illustrations of members such as the stopper (11), the elastic member (30), and the buffer portion (31) are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4 (a), when a passerby opens the sliding door (1) to the fully open position and then releases the hand, the elastic restoring force generated by the closing force generating means (9) causes the sliding door (1). ) Starts to close automatically. When the sliding door (1) is opened, the rack (27) and the pinion gear (26) mesh with each other midway and the input shaft (16) rotates counterclockwise, but the clutch interposed in the input shaft (16) Since the input shaft (16) idles due to the action of, the braking means (15) does not operate. Therefore, a passerby can open the sliding door (1) with a light force without feeling a resistance throughout the entire process.

As shown in FIG. 2B, when the automatically closed sliding door (1) reaches a predetermined deceleration start position, the pinion gear (26) of the braking means (15) and the rack (27) start to mesh with each other. . At this time, since the shock generated between the pinion gear (26) and the rack (27) is absorbed by the buffer section (31), no annoying noise is generated at the beginning of meshing.

During the meshing of the pinion gear (26) and the rack (27), the linear motion of the sliding door (1) is converted into a rotary motion,
The input shaft (16) rotates clockwise. At this time, input axis (1
Since the shaft torque of 6) is transmitted to the braking means (15) via the clutch, a braking force acts on the input shaft (16), which reduces the closing speed of the sliding door (1). Racks (27)
Since the elastic member is supported by the elastic member (30), even when the meshing with the pinion gear (26) is poor, the elastic member (30) bends up and down to self-correct its posture and maintain the meshing with the pinion gear (26) well.

As shown in FIG. 3C, when the sliding door (1) reaches the position just before the fully closed position, the engagement between the rack (27) and the pinion gear (26) is released, and the input shaft (16) is rotated. Stop. As a result, the unloaded sliding door (1) moves to the fully closed position by the traction force generated by the closing force generating means (9), and completely blocks the passage as shown in FIG. . At this time, since the closing speed has been sufficiently reduced by the buffer mechanism (13) in the previous stage, the sliding door (1) slowly and quietly moves to the fully closed position without significantly increasing the inertial force.

From the above operation, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), during the period from the fully open position until the closing side end of the sliding door (1) reaches the deceleration start position, a high speed section (closed quickly due to a large inertial force). ), And until the end on the closing side reaches the position just before full closing from the deceleration start position, the braking section () is decelerated by receiving the resistance force from the braking means (15), and the end on the closing side is just before closing. From the position to the fully closed position, there is a low speed section () in which the sliding door (1) slowly closes due to a small inertial force.

As described above, according to the present invention, when the buffer mechanism (13) is operated at a predetermined position during the door closing stroke to reduce the closing speed, the buffer mechanism (13) is immediately before the sliding door (1) is fully closed. ) Is released and the sliding door is unloaded,
The sliding door (1) is generated by the traction force generated by the closing force generating means (9).
Can be reliably moved to the fully closed position (so-called latching effect). At this time, the sliding door (1) is decelerated by the buffer mechanism (13) in the previous stage, and the closing inertial force thereof is also sufficiently small, so that the sliding door (1) gently moves to the fully closed position at a low speed.

Further, the pinion gear (26) and the rack (27)
The structure in which the linear closing movement of the sliding door (1) is converted into rotational movement to activate the braking means (15) by the combination of the above, the meshing area of the pinion gear (26) and the rack (27) is appropriately changed. By doing so, the operating range of the braking means (15) can be set to any position and range. Therefore, the deceleration start position of the sliding door (1) and the position immediately before the full closing can be freely changed. The meshing area can be changed freely by changing the positional relationship between the pinion gear (26) and the rack (27) or the length of the rack (27).

Further, since at least the portion of the rack (27) that first meshes with the pinion gear (26) when the door is closed, the cushioning portion (31) made of a cushioning material is provided.
It is possible to suppress or eliminate the generation of annoying noise (contact noise) at the beginning of meshing between the rack (27) and the pinion gear (26).

When the rack (27) is elastically supported in the vertical direction via the elastic member, even if the rack (27) and the pinion gear (26) are not properly meshed with each other, the rack (27) moves its posture in the vertical direction. Since self-correction is performed, it is possible to absorb the deviation between the two and surely engage with each other. Generally, when the sliding door (1) is opened and closed, the sliding door (1) slightly moves up and down due to delicate unevenness of the hanger rail (3), but even in that case, good meshing of both can be maintained.

Since the input shaft (16) of the braking means (15) is provided with a one-way clutch that idles when the sliding door (1) is opened and transmits torque when the sliding door (1) is closed, the braking means (15) when the door is closed. It is possible to release the braking means (15) at the time of opening the door, while activating (4). Therefore, a passerby can open the sliding door (1) with a light force without feeling a resistance.

The structure for automatically closing the sliding door (1) is not limited to the above-mentioned coil spring type, and various structures can be applied. For example, a coil spring is used in place of the mainspring winding spring (10), a weight cone is hung on the sliding door (1) through an idle pulley, and the weight cone is pulled up when the sliding door (1) is opened. That closes the sliding door (1) due to the difference in potential energy of the heavy cone, or the hanger rail (3) is installed so as to be inclined with the closing direction downward, and the sliding door (1) is raised when the door is opened to raise its own weight. There is a thing to close the door with (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-883). In any case, the present invention is applicable to any type of semi-automatic sliding door closing device that stores energy by manual opening and releases the stored energy when closing the door to automatically close the door.

Further, in the above description, the braking means (15) is attached to the hanger rail (3), but if it is a member on the fixed side, the braking means (frame body (2), etc.) can be attached to another member. 1
5) may be attached. Similarly, the rack (27) may be attached to another member (such as the door hanger (5a) on the closing side or the sliding door (1)) as long as it is a movable member. Further, contrary to the structure of FIG. 1, a rack (2
7) may be provided, and the braking means (15) and the pinion gear (26) may be provided on the movable member.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the cushioning mechanism is operated at a predetermined position during the closing stroke to reduce the closing speed, the cushioning mechanism is released immediately before the sliding door is fully closed to open the sliding door. Since the unloaded state is set, it is possible to reliably move the opened sliding door to the fully closed position regardless of the opening amount of the sliding door, weather conditions, and the like, and it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a so-called left behind state. At this time, the sliding door is decelerated by the cushioning mechanism in the preceding stage, and the closing inertial force is also sufficiently small, so that the sliding door gently moves to the fully closed position at a low speed. Therefore, there is no possibility of impairing the safety of passersby and damaging the constituent members of the sliding door.

Further, since at least the portion of the rack that first meshes with the pinion gear when the door is closed is provided with the cushioning portion made of the cushioning material, an unpleasant noise (contact noise) at the beginning of the meshing of the rack and the pinion gear. ) Can be suppressed or eliminated.

Since the rack is elastically supported in the vertical direction via the elastic member, even if the rack and the pinion gear are not meshed well, the shift between the rack and the pinion gear can be absorbed to ensure the meshing. Generally, when the sliding door is opened and closed, the sliding door slightly moves up and down due to subtle unevenness of the hanger rail, but even in that case, good meshing of both can be maintained.

The input shaft of the braking means has a one-way clutch that idles when the sliding door is opened and transmits torque when the door is closed. Therefore, the braking means is operated when the door is closed while the braking means is operated when the door is opened. It is possible to cancel. Therefore, a passerby can open the sliding door with a light force without feeling a resistance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a device of the present invention when viewed from the side.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a structural example of braking means.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view showing the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side view of the vicinity of the rack.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Sliding Door 3 Hanger Rail 9 Closing Force Generating Means 13 Buffer Mechanism 14 Speed Change Mechanism 15 Braking Means 16 Input Shaft 26 Pinion Gear 27 Rack 31 Buffer Section

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hanger rail provided at a fixed position supports a sliding door so as to be linearly openable and closable, and the sliding door is automatically closed by using energy accumulated when the door is manually opened, and a predetermined position during a closing stroke. In a device for reducing the closing speed of a sliding door by activating the cushioning mechanism, the sliding door closing device is characterized in that the cushioning mechanism is released immediately before the sliding door is fully closed. 2. A hanger rail provided at a fixed position supports the sliding door so as to be linearly openable and closable, and the sliding door is automatically closed by using the energy accumulated when the door is manually opened to a predetermined position during the closing stroke. In order to reduce the closing speed of the sliding door by operating the cushioning mechanism, the cushioning mechanism has an input shaft rotatably supported, and a braking means for applying a braking force to the input shaft and a linear movement of the sliding door. Is converted into rotational movement to rotate the input shaft, and a conversion means for canceling power transmission to the input shaft immediately before the sliding door is fully closed. 3. The conversion means comprises a pinion gear attached to the input shaft and a rack which can be meshed with the pinion gear and which extends along the opening / closing direction of the sliding door, and one of the pinion gear and the rack is fixed. It is provided on the side,
The sliding door closing device according to claim 2, wherein the other is provided on the movable side. 4. The sliding door closing device according to claim 3, wherein a shock absorbing portion made of a shock absorbing material is provided in at least a portion of the rack that first meshes with the pinion gear when the door is closed. 5. The sliding door closing device according to claim 3, wherein the rack is elastically supported in the vertical direction via an elastic member. 6. The sliding door closing device according to claim 2, wherein a one-way clutch that idles when the sliding door is opened and that transmits torque when the sliding door is closed is interposed on the input shaft of the braking means.