JP3580264B2 - Vehicle sliding door device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a slide door device, and more particularly to a slide door device that reduces the load on a drive motor that moves the slide door.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, a sliding door device for a vehicle is provided with a roller bracket having a base end connected by a hinge so as to be horizontally rotatable at an upper end and a lower end of a front edge of the door and at an intermediate position above and below the rear edge of the door. , And the rollers are positioned in the upper, lower, and center guide rails, and the rollers are moved along the guide rails to open and close the door.
[0003]
In some of such slide door devices, an operation wire is connected to the roller bracket provided at the lower end of the door, and the operation wire is moved forward and reverse by a drive motor so that the slide door can be automatically opened and closed. In such a sliding door device, a latch for locking the door by engaging with the striker at the body opening edge is often provided at an intermediate position above and below the rear edge of the door. In addition, a wire is connected to a roller bracket for the center guide rail located near this.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as shown in FIG. 4, the center guide rail 1 requires the rear edge D1 of the slide door DR to be pulled into the vehicle when the door is closed, so that the rail front end 11 has a constant radius of curvature Ra within the vehicle. It is curved toward. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, when the roller 4 (shown as a vertical roller) provided at the front end of the bracket moves the distance L, the bracket base end 21 on the door side also moves by the same amount in the straight rail portion. The amount of movement of the slide door DR in the vehicle front-rear direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 4) along the road is L, but at the curved rail front end 11, the bracket base end 24 is moved while the roller 4 moves the distance L. Swings, the amount of movement of the slide door DR in the vehicle front-rear direction becomes L ′, which is larger than the distance L that the roller 4 has moved.
[0005]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, if the slide door DR is closed (solid line from the chain line in FIG. 5) while the vehicle is parked on a road surface inclined upward by θ, the amount of movement of the roller 4 is In the rail straight section, the amount of increase in the center of gravity of the door is Lsinθ (FIG. 5 (1)), but in the curved part of the rail, the amount of increase in the center of gravity is L′ sinθ (FIG. 5 (2)). For this reason, when the roller bracket of the center guide rail 1 is opened and closed, there is a problem in that the operation load is large and the drive motor becomes large, resulting in an increase in cost.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention solves such a problem, and when opening and closing a roller bracket in a guide rail whose one end is greatly curved, suppresses an increase in motor load and increases the size and cost of the drive motor. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric sliding door device for a vehicle that can avoid the problem.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a substantially linear straight portion (13) that is disposed substantially horizontally and extends at least along the outer surface of the vehicle body, and is connected to one end of the straight portion (13) and is connected to the inside of the vehicle. A guide rail (1) having a curved portion (11) curving inward, a roller bracket (2) having one end (24) in the vehicle inward and outward direction coupled to a slide door (D) so as to be horizontally rotatable, and the roller bracket (2) a pair of rollers (3) which are arranged at predetermined intervals along the guide rail (1) at the other end in the vehicle inward and outward directions and are guided and moved by the guide rail (1); A slide door opening / closing drive mechanism (7, 8) coupled to the bracket (2) to open / close the slide door (D) by moving the roller bracket (2) forward / reverse along the guide rail (1). Equipment In the sliding door device for a vehicle, the curved portion (11) of the guide rail (1) is continuous with at least the straight portion (13) and extends from the straight portion (13) toward the tip (111) of the guide rail (1). It has a portion in which the radius of curvature changes so as to decrease gradually or smoothly.
[0008]
In the present invention, since the radius of curvature of the curved portion of the slide rail is changed stepwise or smoothly toward the tip of the guide rail, the slide relative to the predetermined movement amount of the roller along the guide rail is performed. The maximum value of the amount of movement of the door in the vehicle body direction becomes smaller than before, and as a result, the amount of movement of the center of gravity of the door also becomes smaller. As a result, the load on the drive motor at the time of opening and closing the door is reduced, and its size and cost are avoided.
[0009]
In addition, the code | symbol in the said parenthesis shows the correspondence with the concrete means described in embodiment mentioned later.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
In FIG. 1, the center guide rail 1 for guiding the opening and closing of the slide door DR has a straight portion 13 extending along the vehicle body. The front end of the center guide rail 1 is a curved portion 11 that curves inward (downward in the figure) along the rear edge of the side entrance / exit SO of the vehicle, and closes the entrance / exit SO here. The roller bracket 2 connected to the slide door DR (front end position X) is located. The base end 24 of the roller bracket 2 is rotatably coupled to a stay 23 provided on the slide door DR, and the vertical roller 4 provided at the center of the distal end and the horizontal rollers 3 located on both sides thereof are connected to the center rail 1. Located within. When the rollers 3 and 4 roll along the center guide rail 1 and move to the rear end 12 of the center rail, the slide door DR moves from the front end position X to the rear end position Y. To open.
[0011]
One ends of operation wires 7 and 8 constituting a sliding door opening / closing drive mechanism are respectively connected to front and rear ends 21 and 22 along the center rail 1 at the tip of the roller bracket 2. The operation wire 7 coupled to the rear end 22 of the roller bracket 2 extends inside the center rail 1 to the rear of the vehicle, extends from the rear end of the center rail 1 to outside the rail on the extension thereof, and is provided in the vehicle quarter panel. The vehicle is suspended by a guide pulley 51, changes its direction toward the front of the vehicle, and reaches a drive pulley (not shown) rotated by a drive motor. On the other hand, the operation wire 8 connected to the front end portion 21 of the roller bracket 2 extends from the front end of the center rail 1 to the outside of a rail on an extension of the center rail 1, is suspended by a guide pulley 52 provided in a vehicle opening edge panel, and moves rearward of the vehicle. The direction is changed to reach the drive pulley. With such a structure, the operation motors 7, 8 in the center rail 1 are moved forward or backward by rotating the drive motor forward and backward, so that the roller bracket 2 moves between the front end position X and the rear end position Y. To open and close the slide door DR.
[0012]
Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the curved shape of the front end portion 11 of the center rail that curves inward in the vehicle has a radius of curvature Ra in a region Zo close to the linear portion 13 and a region Zi far from the linear portion 13. , The radius of curvature is Rb, and Ra> Rb. FIG. 2 shows a vertical position intermediate the front and rear horizontal rollers 3 when the roller bracket 2 (FIG. 1) is moved in the door closing direction by 20 mm at the center rail front end 11 with Ra set to 130 mm and Rb set to 60 mm. The movement trajectories of the center point of the roller 4 and the trailing edge of the slide door DR corresponding thereto are shown as points A to I and points a to i, respectively. As is clear from the figure, when the center point of the vertical roller 4 moves the front end 11 of the center rail 1 by 20 mm from the area Zo to the area Zi, the amount of movement of the slide door DR in the vehicle longitudinal direction along the vehicle body during this time. Gradually increases to 21.7 mm and 27.3 mm, but gradually decreases to a maximum of 31.9 mm. The slide rail 1 is linear again from the area Zi of the curved portion to the tip (inner end) 111 thereof.
[0013]
On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows a case where the entire bending portion 11 of the center rail 1 that curves inward of the vehicle is bent at a constant curvature Rc = 90 (mm) as in the related art. In FIG. 3, when the roller bracket 2 is moved in the door closing direction by 20 mm at the center rail curved portion 11, the trailing edge of the slide door DR moves with respect to the points A to H indicating the movement locus of the center point of the vertical roller 4. The movement locus changes as shown by points a to h, and the amount of movement of the trailing edge of the slide door in the vehicle front-rear direction gradually increases to 23.9 mm, 31.8 mm, and reaches a maximum value of 36.2 mm.
[0014]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the moving amount of the trailing edge of the slide door (this is the moving amount of the trailing edge of the sliding door) with respect to the fixed moving amount of the center point (that is, the roller bracket 2) of the vertical roller 4 moving the curved portion 11 of the center guide rail 1 (Equivalent to the amount of movement of the center of gravity of the door) is reduced by about 11% compared to the related art. As a result, the amount of movement of the center of gravity of the door when the slide door is closed is reduced, the load on the drive motor is reduced, and the size and cost of the drive motor are reduced. In a state where the vehicle is parked on a downwardly inclined road surface, the structure of the present embodiment reduces the load on the drive motor when the slide door is opened. In the above embodiment, the radius of curvature of the curved portion of the center guide rail is constant in each region, but may be changed in multiple steps or continuously. The center guide rail may be further provided with a straight portion following the curved portion, or the radius of curvature of the curved portion may change from large to small to large.
[0015]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the electric sliding door device for a vehicle of the present invention, an increase in the motor load when opening and closing the roller bracket in the guide rail whose one end is greatly curved is suppressed, and the drive motor is enlarged. And cost increase can be avoided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a slide door device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a front end of a slide rail showing a movement amount of the slide door when the slide door is closed.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a front end of a slide rail showing a movement amount of a conventional slide door when the slide door is closed.
FIG. 4 is a schematic enlarged plan view of a front end of a slide rail showing a movement amount of a conventional slide door when closed.
FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the van-type vehicle showing a change in the position of the center of gravity of the slide door when parked on an inclined road surface.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Guide rail, 11 ... Front end part, 2 ... Roller bracket, 3 ... Horizontal roller, 4 ... Vertical roller, 7, 8 ... Operation wire, Zi, Zo ... Area.

Claims (1)

A guide rail that is disposed substantially horizontally and has a substantially linear straight portion extending at least along the outer surface of the vehicle body and a curved portion that is connected to one end of the straight portion and that curves inward in the vehicle, and one end in the vehicle inward and outward directions. A roller bracket horizontally rotatably coupled to the slide door, and a roller bracket disposed at a predetermined interval from the other end of the roller bracket in the vehicle inward and outward directions along the guide rail and guided by the guide rail to move; A pair of rollers, and a slide door opening / closing drive mechanism that is coupled to the roller brat and that opens and closes the slide door by moving a roller bracket forward and backward along the guide rail. The curved portion of the guide rail is continuous with at least the straight portion and extends from the straight portion toward the tip of the guide rail. Sliding door apparatus for a vehicle, wherein the radius of curvature has a portion that varies so as stepwise or smoothly reduced me.

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