JP3960328B2 - Automatic opening / closing device for vehicle opening / closing member - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member mounted on a vehicle, and more particularly to an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member configured to blow a buzzer mounted in the vehicle when the opening / closing member is opened / closed.

  Opening and closing members such as doors, sunroofs, and tailgates are mounted on the vehicle so as to be openable and closable at the opening of the vehicle. For example, in a wagon car, a one-box car, etc., a tailgate is provided at the rear part of the vehicle so that cargo can be easily loaded and unloaded from the rear opening of the vehicle.

  By the way, such a tailgate is formed to be relatively large so that a relatively large opening can be opened and closed, and the opening and closing tends to be heavy accordingly. In particular, it may be difficult for women, children, etc. to open and close freely, especially on hills, the opening / closing becomes heavier due to its own weight, or conversely, the opening / closing becomes too light due to its own weight and suddenly opens and closes. There were problems such as. Furthermore, while the tailgate can obtain a relatively large opening, it is necessary to open and close the door while ensuring a space sufficient to prevent interference with an external obstacle when the door is opened and closed.

  Therefore, the number of vehicles equipped with an automatic opening / closing device for tailgates that can be easily opened and closed by women and children tends to increase.

  By the way, when opening the tailgate, which is an opening / closing member, it is desirable to notify the person near the tailgate of the opening / closing of the door to prevent interference with the door. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-280250 (Patent Document 1), a buzzer is mounted on the inside or outside of the vehicle, and when the tailgate opening / closing condition is established, the buzzer starts to ring, and the operator opens the tailgate. A technique for notifying operation or closing operation is disclosed.

JP-A-5-280250

Usually, a buzzer is often installed in a vehicle interior as in Patent Document 1 so as not to be affected by rain, mud, or the like.
However, when the buzzer is installed in the vehicle interior, it is difficult to hear outside the vehicle when the tailgate is fully closed, and the buzzer volume needs to be increased sufficiently to make it easier to hear outside the vehicle. As a contradiction, an excessively loud buzzer sound is noisy and annoying for passengers in the vehicle, leading to a decline in merchantability.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and suppresses the influence of a buzzer sound on an in-vehicle occupant and reliably informs the person around the opening / closing member outside the vehicle of the opening operation of the opening / closing buzzer. Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member capable of automatically opening / closing the vehicle opening / closing member.

  In order to achieve the above object, the automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member according to claim 1 causes the control means to temporarily stop for a predetermined time when the opening / closing member reaches a predetermined opening degree when the opening / closing member is opened. The driving means is controlled, and the buzzer is driven when the opening / closing member is opened again after being temporarily stopped.

  The automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member according to claim 2 is the automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing member pivots so that the upper end portion of the opening / closing member swings above the opening forming member of the vehicle. The buzzer is attached to the inner wall member of the tailgate, and the stop position of the opening / closing member is the opening / closing member from the lower part of the opening forming member so that the buzzer on the tailgate can directly emit the sound generated by the buzzer. Is set as a position spaced apart in the vehicle exterior direction.

  According to the automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member according to claim 1, the opening / closing member stops at a temporary stop position separated by a predetermined amount from the fully closed position, and the buzzer is driven to make a sounding sound immediately before moving to the opening operation again. Because it is released outside the vehicle, even a relatively small buzzer sound is released outside the vehicle through the gap between the opening forming member and the opening and closing member of the vehicle, preventing the buzzer sound from becoming bothersome for passengers in the vehicle, In addition, it is possible to notify a person around the opening / closing member to open / close the opening / closing member. In addition, since the opening / closing member is temporarily stopped at a predetermined opening, it is possible to prompt the person in the vicinity of the tailgate to open the opening / closing member, thereby further improving safety.

  According to the automatic opening / closing device for the opening / closing member for a vehicle according to the second aspect, the sound of the buzzer can be directly emitted outside the vehicle in a more accurate state.

FIG. 1 shows a vehicle provided with an automatic opening / closing device M for a vehicle opening / closing member as an embodiment of the present invention.
The vehicle 1 is a wagon car, and a substantially rectangular rear opening 2 is formed at the rear of the vehicle body. The rear opening 2 is opened and closed by a tailgate 3 as an opening / closing member. Here, the rear opening 2 is formed by left and right rear pillars 4 and 5 forming left and right side edges, and a roof end pillar 6 and a tail end panel 7 forming upper and lower opening edges of the rear opening 2. The tail gate 3 as an opening / closing member is pivotally attached to the roof end pillar 6 via a pair of hinges 8, 8 at the left and right sides of the upper end portion thereof. It swings up and down in the open / close area E between the fully closed position B1 and the fully open position B2, and is also arranged so as to be able to temporarily stop at the temporary stop position B3 as will be described later.

  In the automatic opening / closing device M, an opening / closing drive unit 9 is mounted on a side inner panel 11 (see FIG. 2) located below one left rear pillar 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the opening / closing drive unit 9 includes an electric motor 12, a worm gear type reduction mechanism 13 that decelerates the rotation of the electric motor 12, and an electromagnetic clutch 14 that is arranged coaxially with the reduction mechanism 13; The swing gear train 17 having a sector gear 27 that meshes with the pinion gear 26 at one end of the clutch rotation shaft 25 of the electromagnetic clutch 14 and the output shaft 16 of the swing gear train 17 are integrally coupled, and the tailgate 3 is opened and closed. And an arm 15 that is one of the link systems that are attached to the drive casing 18.

  The electric motor 12 is fixed to the drive unit casing 18 via a bracket 19, and the protruding end of the motor shaft 21 is pivotally attached to the drive unit casing 18 via a bearing 22. The electric motor 12 receives a control instruction from a tailgate controller 35 (hereinafter simply referred to as a tailgate ECU) 35, which will be described later, and can rotate forward and backward. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the electric motor 12 is connected to the power supply circuit 30 via the motor drive circuit 121.

  A worm 23 integral with the motor shaft 21 meshes with the wheel gear 24. The wheel gear 24 is connected to the electromagnetic clutch 14. The electromagnetic clutch 14 includes a clutch rotating shaft 25 pivotally supported by the drive unit casing 18, and pivotally supports a sliding contact portion (not shown) on the center side of the wheel gear 24, and faces the sliding contact portion (not shown). The clutch rotor 141 is opposed to the clutch rotating shaft 25 in a spline-coupled state so as to be integrally rotatable. The electromagnetic clutch 14 includes an electromagnetic coil (not shown), and the clutch rotor 141 contacts and separates from the sliding contact portion of the wheel gear 24 when the electromagnetic force generated by the electromagnetic coil is turned on and off, so that the rotational force can be transmitted intermittently. The electromagnetic clutch 14 is connected to the power supply circuit 30 via the clutch drive circuit 141. Here, the clutch drive circuit 141 receives a connection / disconnection command from the tailgate ECU 35 and switches the connection / disconnection of the electromagnetic clutch 14.

  A rotor 32 to which a pair of magnet pieces 321 and 322 are fixed is provided at a position further on the shaft end side than the pinion gear 26 on one end side of the clutch rotating shaft 25. Two Hall ICs 33 and 34 are provided in the vicinity of the outer side of the rotation trajectory of the pair of magnet pieces 321 and 322 on the rotor 32, and these form an opening / closing position detection means A2 to be described later. Here, the Hall ICs 33 and 34 are sensors that convert a change in magnetic field into a voltage. The two Hall ICs 33 and 34 respectively output pulse signals P1 and P2 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B) whose phases are shifted by 90 degrees each time the magnet rotates and the magnetic field changes to the tailgate ECU 35 described later. It is formed to do. Here, when the pulse signal P2 at the rising edge of the pulse signal P1 is Hi, it is possible to determine when the tailgate is open, and when Lo is determined, it is possible to determine when the tailgate is closed, and these form the opening / closing direction detecting means A3 described later.

  A sector gear 27 that meshes with the pinion gear 26 of the clutch rotating shaft 25 is integrally coupled to one end of the output shaft 16 that is pivotally attached to the drive unit casing 18 via a bearing (not shown). The other end of the output shaft 16 protrudes from the drive unit casing 18 and integrally couples the arm 15. The swing end of the arm 15 is connected to the lower end of the push rod 28 via a ball join 29. The upper end of the push rod 28 is connected via a ball joint 31 to a position separated from the hinge center line L1 of the pair of hinges 8 and 8 on the side end side of the tailgate 3 by a predetermined amount.

  Such an opening / closing drive unit 9 transmits the rotational force of the electric motor 12 to the sector gear 27 via the wheel gear 24, the electromagnetic clutch 14, and the pinion gear 26, and the oscillation movement of the sector gear 27 and the arm 15 is performed. The movement is transmitted to the tail gate 3 via the push rod 28, the tail gate 3 is swung around the hinge center line L1, and the rear opening 2 is driven to open and close. That is, when the electric motor 12 rotates in one direction, the arm 15 swings upward from the reference position D1, and when it rotates in the other direction, the arm 15 can swing downward from the upper end position D2, and even at a temporary stop position D3. You can pause. As described above, the arm 15 swings in the driving range de between the reference position D1 and the upper end position D2, so that the tailgate 3 is moved to the lock position B1, the initial opening / closing range E1 of the temporary stop position B3, and the temporary stop position B3. It can swing up and down in the main opening / closing area E2 between the fully open position B2. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a gas spring.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a latch unit 36 is provided in the center of the rotational end of the tailgate 3. The latch unit 36 includes a latch switch (hereinafter referred to as a latch SW) 37 that is turned off when the tailgate 3 reaches a position B1 'immediately before the fully closed position B1. Here, the tailgate ECU 35 rotates the latch motor 38 in the pull-in direction in response to an OFF signal of the latch SW37. At this time, a latch (not shown) connected to the latch motor 38 is engaged with a striker 39 (see FIG. 1) facing the tail motor 3 so that the tailgate 3 is pulled into the fully closed position B1 and locked. When the tailgate 3 is pulled and held in the fully closed position B1, a full latch switch (hereinafter simply referred to as a full latch SW) 51 is switched and outputs an ON signal to the tailgate ECU 35. The latch motor 38 is stopped when the full latch SW 51 is turned on.

  Next, when the tailgate ECU 35 receives the latch release command, the tailgate ECU 35 rotates the latch motor 38 in the release direction, and releases the latch (not shown) connected to the latch motor 38 from the striker 39. As a result, the latch SW 37 is turned on, the electric motor 12 is driven in the opening direction, and the tail gate 3 is opened.

  A buzzer 47 is attached to a part of the inner panel forming the inner wall of the tailgate 3. The front part of the main body that emits the sound of the buzzer 47 is mounted so as to protrude from the mounting holes (not shown) provided in the inner panel and the door trim to the inside of the vehicle, so that the sound of the buzzer is surely placed inside and outside the vehicle when the tailgate 3 is opened. Mounted for release. Wiring (not shown) of the buzzer 47 is bundled together with wiring of other equipment in the gate, and is pulled in as a tailgate harness from the upper end of the tailgate to the roof side via a drive circuit 471 operated by the tailgate ECU 35. Are connected to the power supply circuit 30.

The tailgate handle 45 at the center of the tailgate 3 is provided with a gate handle switch (hereinafter simply referred to as a gate handle SW) 46 that is turned on when the handle is operated, and can detect the operation and output an on signal to the tailgate ECU 35. .
The tailgate ECU 35, which is a control unit of the automatic opening / closing device M for a vehicle opening / closing member, is connected to an on-vehicle equipment controller (hereinafter simply referred to as equipment operation ECU) 43 that controls the operation of the on-vehicle equipment through a signal line.

  Both the tailgate ECU 35 and the equipment operation ECU 43 include a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as a CPU), and a ROM, a RAM, a timer, and an I / O port are connected to the CPU. The ROM stores a control program, an arithmetic expression, map data, and the like for an automatic opening / closing control process and a tailgate sandwiching release control process, which will be described later, and the RAM can temporarily store data processed by the CPU. It is like that. Detection signals are input to the I / O port of the tailgate ECU 35 from the two Hall ICs 33, 34, the gate close SW41, the full latch SW51, and the latch SW37, and the electric motor 12 and the electromagnetic clutch 14 are driven at appropriate times. Drive signals are output to the drive circuits 471 of the buzzer 47 attached to the circuits 121 and 141, the latch motor 38, and the tailgate 3.

  Further, the I / O port of the equipment operation ECU 43 includes a receiving unit 481 that receives the opening / closing command signals so and sc from the keyless transmitter SW48, a door lock switch (hereinafter simply referred to as a door lock SW) 49 for the driver door, and a vehicle. The detection signal is input from the speed sensor 52.

As shown in FIG. 3, the tailgate ECU 35 has functions as an automatic opening / closing control means A1, an opening / closing position detection means A2, and an opening / closing direction detection means A3.
The automatic opening / closing control means A1 controls the electric motor 12 via the drive circuit 121 according to the opening command and the closing command, controls the latch motor 38, controls the electromagnetic clutch 14 via the drive circuit 142, and tailgate 3 Automatic opening / closing control of opening and closing is performed. In particular, as shown in the electric motor drive mode of FIG. 6, when the tailgate reaches the temporary stop position B3 when the tailgate 3 is opened, the tailgate is paused for a predetermined time Tα and then opened again. Immediately before the opening operation (see tb in FIG. 6), driving of the buzzer 47 is started. In addition, when the tail gate handle 45 is operated in place of the opening command and the closing command, when the gate handle SW 46 is turned on, it is regarded as a manual operation and clutch switching control for holding the electromagnetic clutch 14 off is also performed.

Next, the opening / closing position detecting means A2 detects the opening / closing position of the tailgate 3. Specifically, the pulse signal P1 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B) of one Hall IC 33 is counted, the count value at the fully closed position B1 is set to zero, and the count value is sequentially accumulated to Open / close position is detected.
The opening / closing direction detecting means A3 receives the pulse signals P1 and P2 (see FIGS. 4A and 4B) of the two Hall ICs 33 and 34. When the pulse signal P2 at the rising edge of the pulse signal P1 is Hi, the tail gate is opened. In Lo, the closing time is determined.

Next, the operation of the automatic opening / closing device M for a vehicle opening / closing member having such a structure will be described along the control performed by the tailgate ECU 35. The tailgate ECU 35 executes a tailgate opening drive routine as shown in FIG. 7 in the middle of a main routine (not shown), and further executes a tailgate closing drive routine (not shown).
More specifically, in step s1 shown in FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the tailgate 3 is in a fully closed state. Wait for the release command.

  When the opening command is received, that is, when the driver or the like receives the opening command signal so (see FIG. 6) from the keyless transmitter SW48 via the equipment operation ECU 43, the tailgate ECU 35 determines that the vehicle speed Vc is equal to or less than the stop determination speed Vc0. If the door lock switch 49 is off, it is considered that an open command signal so (automatic opening / closing operation command) has been received when the vehicle is stopped and the door is unlocked, and the process proceeds to step s3.

In step s3, first, the latch motor 38 of the latch unit 36 is released and rotated to move the tailgate 3 from the fully closed position B1 to the position B1 ′ immediately before the fully closed position (see the latch motor driving mode in FIG. 6). The engagement with the striker 39 is released and the electromagnetic clutch joining process is then performed.
When the tail gate 3 reaches the position B1 ′ immediately before full closing, the latch SW 37 is turned on, the latch motor 38 is stopped, the electric motor 12 is rotationally driven in the opening direction, and the tail gate 3 is opened.

  When step s4 is reached, one of the pulse signals P1 is counted on the initial opening / closing region E1 side, and it is determined from the count value whether the tailgate 3 has reached the temporary stop position B3. If it is determined that B3 has been reached (see the position B3 in FIG. 6), the process reaches step s5 to temporarily stop the electric motor 12, that is, the tailgate. Next, in step s6, the buzzer 47 starts to sound.

  At this time, the tailgate 3 that has reached the temporary stop position B3 has the front part of the buzzer protruding from the inner wall surface of the tailgate 3 so that the inner wall surface of the tailgate 3 and the edge of the opening forming member are connected to each other. By ensuring a certain distance, the buzzing sound from the buzzer 47 is emitted directly to the outside of the vehicle, and it can be heard by people around the tailgate to ensure that the tailgate is opened. be able to. Furthermore, the passenger in the vehicle does not receive an excessively loud sound due to the sound emitted from the buzzer 47 being released outside the vehicle, and does not feel bothered.

When step s7 is reached at the elapse of a predetermined time Tα immediately after this, the tailgate 3 is again opened. Here, one of the pulse signals P1 is counted on the main opening / closing area E2 side, and it is determined whether or not the fully opened position B2 is counted in step s8. If it is determined, the process proceeds to step s9.
In step s9, the drive of the electric motor 12, the drive of the buzzer 47, and the drive of the electromagnetic clutch 14 are stopped. At this time, the descent due to the weight of the tailgate 3 at the fully open position B2 is reliably prevented by the reverse rotation prevention function of the worm speed reduction mechanism 13 of the opening / closing drive unit 9 and the action of the gas stopper 10.

Thereafter, the ECU 43 that has received the close command signal sc from the keyless transmitter SW48 via the equipment operation ECU 43 executes a tailgate closing drive routine (not shown) in accordance with the tailgate closing drive mode of FIG. That is, the clutch is engaged according to the closing command signal sc, the motor is driven to rotate in the closing direction, and the buzzer 47 is driven. In the operation in the closing direction, one of the pulse signals P1 corresponding to the addition of the main opening / closing area E2 and the initial opening / closing area E1 is counted, and when the position B1 ′ immediately before full closing is counted, the electromagnetic clutch 14 is disconnected and the electric motor 12 is turned on. Stops, the buzzer 47 stops, then the latch switch 37 on the tailgate 3 turns off, the latch motor 38 rotates in the winding direction, the latch (not shown) meshes with the striker 39, and the tailgate 3 is fully closed The full latch SW51 outputs an ON signal, the door closing operation is confirmed, and the latch motor 38 is stopped.
Here, it is assumed that the buzzer 47 is blown up to the position B1 ′ immediately before full closing, but instead, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, the tailgate 3 is also in the temporary stop position B3 when operating in the closing direction. The sounding operation of the buzzer 47 may be stopped when reaching the value.

  As described above, the automatic opening / closing device M for the vehicle opening / closing member in FIG. 1 stops at the temporary stop position B3 where the tailgate is separated from the fully closed position B1 by a predetermined amount (interval corresponding to the initial opening / closing area E1), and opens again. The buzzer 47 is driven immediately before moving to, and the sound is emitted directly to the outside of the vehicle when the tailgate 3 and the edge of the opening forming member are separated by a predetermined amount. The person around the tailgate can be fully informed of the opening and closing of the tailgate, and the blowing sound is released outside the vehicle so that passengers in the vehicle do not receive an excessively loud sound and the buzzer is simply put inside the vehicle. There is no need to excessively increase the buzzer sound as in the case of mounting, and it is possible to reliably prevent an occupant in the vehicle compartment from being bothered by the loud buzzer sound.

  Further, in setting the temporary stop position B3, the buzzer 47 on the tailgate 3 is a position where the lower part of the tailgate is separated from the lower part of the opening forming member in the vehicle outward direction (rearward direction) so that the buzzing sound can be directly emitted to the outside of the vehicle. Therefore, the drive of the buzzer starts after the tailgate reaches the temporary stop position B3. At this time, even if the volume of the buzzer 47 is set to be relatively small, the door is surely opened to the people around the back door. It is possible to notify the opening and closing, and in this respect, it is not necessary to make the buzzer sound excessively loud, and it is possible to prevent an occupant in the vehicle interior from being bothered by the loud buzzer sound.

1 is a cutaway perspective view of a main part of a rear body of a wagon vehicle to which an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a principal part front view of the opening / closing drive part used with the automatic opening / closing apparatus of the vehicle opening / closing member of FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a tailgate ECU used in the automatic opening / closing device for the vehicle opening / closing member of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an output pulse of a Hall IC used in the automatic opening / closing device for the vehicle opening / closing member of FIG. 1, (a) is a relative phase change characteristic of a pair of pulses when the tailgate is opened, and (b) is a tailgate. It is a wave form diagram which shows the relative phase change characteristic of a pair of pulse at the time of closing. It is a schematic block diagram of the control system of the automatic opening / closing apparatus of the vehicle opening / closing member of FIG. It is a control mode characteristic diagram of each component of the automatic opening / closing apparatus of the vehicle opening / closing member of FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a tailgate opening drive routine performed by an automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

1 vehicle 2 rear opening (opening)
3 Tailgate (opening / closing member)
9 Opening / closing drive part 12 Motor 33, 34 Hall IC
35 Tailgate ECU
43 Equipment operation ECU
47 Buzzer A1 Automatic opening / closing control means A2 Opening / closing position detection means A3 Opening / closing direction detection means B1 Fully closed position B1 'Position immediately before full closing B2 Fully open position B3 Temporary stop position M Automatic opening / closing device for vehicle opening / closing member

Claims (2)

An opening and closing member equipped in the opening of the vehicle;
Driving means for driving the opening / closing member to open at least;
A buzzer that is attached to the inside of the vehicle and rings with the opening operation of the opening and closing member;
Control means for driving the buzzer when the opening / closing member restarts after the temporary stop when the opening / closing member reaches a predetermined opening when the opening / closing member reaches a predetermined opening. An automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member. The automatic opening / closing device for a vehicle opening / closing member according to claim 1,
The opening / closing member is a tailgate pivotably pivoted on the upper end of the opening forming member of the vehicle.
The buzzer is attached to the inner wall member of the tailgate,
The predetermined opening degree is set as a position where the lower part of the opening / closing member is separated from the lower part of the opening forming member so that the buzzer on the tailgate can directly emit the sound of the sound to the outside of the vehicle. Automatic opening and closing device for opening and closing members.

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