JP4118648B2 - Vehicle door coupling device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a door connecting device having front and rear doors on a side portion of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly, it is suitable for a center pillarless vehicle in which an inclined surface is provided on a latch constituting the connecting device for both doors. The present invention relates to a door connecting device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, in a door connecting device 100 for a center pillarless vehicle having front and rear doors on the side of a vehicle such as an automobile, the front end portion 102A of the front side door 102 is connected to the vehicle body 104 so as to be openable and closable. By making the rotation center 106A of the hinge 106 movable forward of the vehicle and opening and closing the front side door 102 at a position moved forward, in the double door type door structure, the degree of freedom in opening and closing the front side door 102 and the rear side door is increased. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-280746 A [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-280744
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
On the other hand, the rear side door is provided with rollers (not shown) as well-known slide mechanisms, and the closed position is established by these rollers and rails (not shown) as well-known slide mechanisms provided on the vehicle body side. And can be slid between the open position. When opening the rear side door from the closed position, the rear side door is first moved obliquely rearward and outward from the vehicle, and then slid rearward.
[0005]
Here, in consideration of the above facts, the following devices can be considered as a door connecting device that has a simple hinge mechanism and improves the connecting performance at the time of a side collision. For example, with respect to the doors arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle on the side of the vehicle, a latch and a pole are disposed on one door, a striker that engages with the latch and the pole is disposed on the other door, and the door is closed. In such a state, the striker is connected to the latch or the like, but when the door handle disposed on the door is operated (opened), the latch is activated and the connected state is released. It is done.
[0006]
However, in such a device, when the door is suddenly opened, the striker contacts the latch before the latch returns to the unlatched position. If the contact direction of the striker with the latch does not coincide with the rotation direction of the latch, the contact may suppress the rotation of the latch, and the latch may be damaged.
[0007]
Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problem, that is, in the door connecting device of the center pillarless vehicle, the hinge mechanism is simple and the connecting performance at the time of side collision is improved, and the connection releasing operation of the door connecting device is performed. The problem is to make the system smooth.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides one of the front and rear doors on the vehicle side, one of which is a swing door and the other is a slide door, and a latch and a pole disposed on the swing door, and a slide door. When the disposed striker, the latch actuating means for connecting the latch and the striker when both the swing door and the slide door are closed, and the door handle operation of at least one of the swing door and the slide door A door connecting device including a connection releasing means for releasing a connection state between a latch and a striker, wherein the striker connects a pair of spaced leg portions extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and both the leg portions and an inclined portion. A means is provided that includes a connecting portion, and the latch has an inclined surface along the inner surface of the inclined portion of the striker.
[0009]
According to this means, when both the swing door and the slide door are closed, the latch and the striker are connected by the latch operating means. For this reason, it is difficult for the swing door and the slide door to separate in the vehicle front-rear direction at the time of a side collision, and the connection performance at the time of a side collision can be improved.
Further, according to this means, unlike the configuration in which the latch and the striker are connected or disconnected by the contact between the latch and the striker, the opening direction is not affected by the presence of the other door. Since only one of the different swing doors and slide doors can be opened and closed, the hinge mechanism need not be complicated, and the hinge mechanism can be configured simply.
[0010]
Further, according to this means, even if the striker and the latch come into contact with each other when the sliding door is opened, the inclined portion of the connecting portion can come into surface contact with the inclined surface of the latch. The portion can apply a force in the rotation direction of the latch. Therefore, the connection releasing operation of the door connecting device can be made smooth. In this case, the latch is not easily damaged by contact with the striker.
More specifically, the latch is rotatable in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the movement of the sliding door in the opening direction brings the inner surface of the inclined portion into contact with the inclined surface, and the striker moves in the latch rotating direction. It is preferable that a component force can be applied to the latch.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
An example of the center pillarless vehicle is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the center pillarless vehicle 10 includes a front side door 11 as a swing door and a rear side door 12 as a slide door among front and rear doors on the side of the vehicle.
The front side door 11 is attached to the front pillar 14 by a pair of upper and lower known hinges 13 and 13 at the front end, and can swing between a closed position and an open position. When the front side door 11 is opened from the closed position, the front side door 11 is rotated outward in the vehicle width direction around the hinges 13 and 13.
[0012]
On the other hand, the rear side door 12 is provided with rollers (not shown) as well-known slide mechanisms, and these rollers and rails (not shown) as well-known slide mechanisms provided on the vehicle body 10 side, It can slide between the closed position and the open position. When the rear side door 12 is opened from the closed position, the rear side door 12 is first moved obliquely rearward and outward and then slid rearward.
[0013]
Locking devices 15 and 16 for the front side door 11 are arranged in the vertical position of the door, and these locking devices 15 and 16 use a controller 17 to obtain a locked / unlocked state. The controller 17 is interposed between the front side door handle 18 (outside handle and inside handle) and the locking devices 15 and 16, and when locked, the outside handle and the inside constituting the front side door handle 18 are arranged. Even if one of the handles is operated, the door is not opened or disabled, and when unlocked, the door is opened or enabled when the outside handle or the inside handle as the front side door handle 18 is operated. It is like that.
[0014]
On the other hand, a courtesy switch 19 as an open / close detection means for detecting whether or not the rear side door 12 is closed is disposed at the center in the vertical direction at the rear end portion of the rear side door 12.
The controller 20 is interposed between the outside handle and the inside handle constituting the rear side door handle 21 and the door lock device 22, and operates the outside handle or the inside handle in the rear side door handle 21 when locked. Even if the door is not opened or invalidated, the door is opened and validated when the outside handle or the inside handle in the rear side door handle 21 is operated in the unlocked state.
[0015]
In addition, the controller 20 is provided with a handle switch 23 that is turned on and off by operating the rear side door handle 21.
The controller 17 of the front side door 11 and the controller 20 of the rear side door 12 are connected to an ECU 24 provided in the instrument panel. The ECU 24 is connected to the courtesy switches 19 and 19 and the handle switch 23 of each door. Based on these signals, a close actuator and a release actuator described later are operated based on these signals.
[0016]
In addition, a door connecting device 25 is disposed at the middle portion in the vertical direction at the rear end portion of the front side door 11, and a striker 26 is disposed at the middle portion in the vertical direction at the front end portion of the rear side door 12. Yes.
[0017]
The door coupling device 25 has a latch that can be engaged with the striker 26 and a pole that holds the latch of the latch to the striker.
As shown in FIG. 1, the striker 26 is substantially U-shaped in a plan view opened rearward, that is, extending in the vehicle front-rear direction and a pair of spaced apart leg portions and extending in the vehicle width direction. And a connecting portion for connecting both the leg portions. Further, the latch is rotatable around a fulcrum, and a latch position and an unlatch position can be selected.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 1, the rear side door 12 is a sliding door having a locus in the direction of arrow S, and fixes the striker 26 to the front surface portion 33 between the outer panel 27 and the inner panel 28. The striker 26 has a pair of leg portions 29, 29 spaced apart in the vehicle width direction, and a plan view that opens in the rearward direction of the vehicle having the leg portions 29, 29 connected to each other and a connecting portion 30 extending in the vehicle width direction. It is a U-shaped one.
The connecting portion 30 of the striker 26 has an inclined portion shape that is inclined backward from the inside to the outside of the vehicle. Apart from the illustrated example, a part of the connecting portion may be an inclined portion.
[0019]
A latch 31 that engages and disengages from the striker 26 to create a latched state and an unlatched state has an inclined surface 32 at the corner on the vehicle front side that faces the connecting portion, that is, the inclined portion 30 in the latched state, in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the inclined surface 32 is provided over the width dimension of the opening 35 of the front surface portion 34 of the front side door 11 (size that allows the striker 26 to be taken in and out).
The inclined surface 32 is chamfered at the corners along the connecting portion, that is, the inclined portion 30, and the latch 31 has a square cross section, but its front surface and outer surface are dropped by approximately 1/3.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 3, the latch 31 rotates around the pin 36 in a plane perpendicular to the vehicle front-rear direction, and the pole 37 engaged with and disengaged from the latch 31 rotates around the pin 38.
An example of the operation mechanism of the latch 31 and the pole 37 will be described later.
[0021]
For example, when the rear side door 12 is rapidly opened and the latch 31 remains in the striker 26, the inner surface of the inclined portion of the connecting portion 30 comes into contact with the inclined surface 32 of the latch 31, and the latch 31 is moved to the unlatched position. Move to.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the rear side door 12 is opened, the trajectory direction load W acts on the latch 31 as an acting force W <b> 1 perpendicular to the inclined surface 32. This acting force W1 can be decomposed into a rotational load W2 of the latch 31 and a vertical restraint W3 that is perpendicular to the rotational load W2. The rotational load W2 that is a component force acts to assist the rotation of the latch 31. The vertical tension W3 acts to apply a frictional force to the latch 31 so as to prevent the rotation of the latch 31. However, by setting the rotational load W2 to be larger than the frictional force, the latch 31 can rotate even when it contacts the striker 26. Further, since the inclined surface 32 is formed on the latch 31, the latch 31 is not easily damaged by contact with the striker 26.
The vertical restraint force W3 on the latch 31 and the load W4 in the opposite direction to the latch rotation direction load W2 have a relationship of W4 = μW3 (μ represents a friction coefficient in the latch rotation direction), and the rotation of the latch 31 is W2> W4 is a condition.
[0022]
An example of the operation mechanism of the latch 31 and the pole 37 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the pawl 37 of the door coupling device 25 is fixed to one end of the rotating shaft 38, and rotates in the vertical direction integrally with the rotating shaft 38. The lever 42 fixed to the other end of the rotary shaft 38 is connected to the front side door handle 18 via a link mechanism 44 as connection release means. Accordingly, when the front side door handle 18 is operated (pulling), the rod 44A of the link mechanism 44 is pulled upward (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4), and the pole 37 is rotated upward.
[0023]
The latch 31 of the door connecting device 25 is rotatable in the vehicle width direction around the rotation shaft 36, and is rotated when the striker 26 of the rear side door 12 enters the door connecting device 25 of the front side door 11. By moving, it is connected to the latch 31 of the door connecting device 25. Further, the latch 31 of the door connecting device 25 is always biased by a spring in the opening direction (direction not connected to the striker 26), and is rotated in the connecting direction by a close actuator 58 described later against the biasing force at the time of connection. It has come to be.
[0024]
The pawl 37 engages with the latch 31 after the latch 31 of the door coupling device 25 is coupled to the striker 26, and regulates the rotation of the latch 31 in the opening direction. Further, the pole 37 is always urged by a spring in the engaging direction, and when the connection between the latch 31 and the striker 26 is released, the release actuator 64 releases the engagement against the urging force. It has come to be.
A rotary switch 54 that is turned on / off by the rotation of the latch 31 is disposed on the rotary shaft 36.
[0025]
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, when the pawl 37 rotates upward (see FIG. 3) in the connected state of the latch 31 and the striker 26, the latch 31 in which the engagement between the pawl 37 and the latch 31 is released is From the connection state with the striker 26 indicated by the solid line, the vehicle rotates inward in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 3) and moves to the connection release state indicated by the two-dot chain line.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 4, an arc-shaped long hole 56 centering on the rotation shaft 36 is formed in the lower part 50 </ b> A of the latch 31 of the door connecting device 25, and the end of the rod 60 is formed in the long hole 56. The part 60A is engaged. The rod 60 is connected to an arm 58A of a close actuator 58 as a latch actuating means.
[0027]
The close actuator 58 is operated to rotate the latch 31 in the connecting direction, and is operated based on the closed state signals of the front side door 11 and the rear side door 12 transmitted from the ECU 24. Yes. The closed state signals of the front side door 11 and the rear side door 12 are obtained by transmitting signals of courtesy switches 19 and 19 of the doors to the ECU 24.
[0028]
Therefore, when the close actuator 58 is operated, the arm 58A rotates downward (in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 4) about the shaft 58B, and the rod 60 moves downward (in the direction E). Rotates outward in the vehicle width direction (the direction opposite to the direction of arrow C in FIG. 4) and returns to the connected state.
When the latch 31 is completely moved to the connected state, the rotary switch 54 is turned on and the energization to the close actuator 58 is stopped.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 4, the lever 42 is engaged with an arm 64 </ b> A of a release actuator 64 that is a connection release means.
The release actuator 64 is actuated when the pawl 37 is disengaged from the latch 31. The handle switch 23 signal is transmitted to the ECU 24, and the signal is transmitted from the ECU 24 based on this signal. It has become.
Therefore, when the release actuator 64 is actuated, the arm 64A rotates downward (in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 4) around the shaft 64B, and the pole 37 rotates upward (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4) together with the lever 42. The engagement between the pole 37 and the latch 31 is released.
[0030]
According to this means, when both the swing door and the slide door are closed, the latch and the striker are connected by the latch operating means. For this reason, it is difficult for the swing door and the slide door to separate in the vehicle front-rear direction at the time of a side collision, and the connection performance at the time of a side collision can be improved.
Further, according to this means, unlike the configuration in which the latch and the striker are connected or disconnected by the contact between the latch and the striker, the opening direction is not affected by the presence of the other door. Since only one of the different swing doors and slide doors can be opened and closed, the hinge mechanism need not be complicated, and the hinge mechanism can be configured simply.
[0031]
Further, according to this means, even if the striker and the latch come into contact with each other when the sliding door is opened, the inclined portion of the connecting portion can come into surface contact with the inclined surface of the latch. The portion can apply a force in the rotation direction of the latch. Therefore, the connection releasing operation of the door connecting device can be made smooth. In this case, the latch is not easily damaged by contact with the striker.
More specifically, the latch is rotatable in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the movement of the sliding door in the opening direction brings the inner surface of the inclined portion into contact with the inclined surface, and the striker moves in the latch rotating direction. It is preferable that a component force can be applied to the latch.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a door connecting apparatus according to an example of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial plan view showing a relationship between an inclined portion of a striker and an inclined surface of a latch.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a pole and a latch.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a mechanism for operating a pole and a latch.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing a configuration of a center pillarless vehicle.
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a hinge mechanism of a front side door in a conventional door connecting device for a center pillarless vehicle.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 Front side door (swing door)
12 Rear side door (sliding door)
26 striker 29 leg 30 connecting part (inclined part)
31 Latch 32 Inclined surface 37 Pole

Claims (1)

Of the front and rear doors on the vehicle side, one is a swing door and the other is a slide door, and a latch and a pole disposed on the swing door,
A striker disposed on a sliding door;
Latch operating means for connecting the latch and the striker when both the swing door and the sliding door are closed;
A door coupling device comprising coupling release means for releasing the coupling state between the latch and the striker by operating the door handle of at least one of the swing door and the sliding door,
A pair of spaced legs with strikers extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
It has a connecting part that connects both legs and has an inclined part,
The latch has an inclined surface along the inner surface of the inclined part of the striker
The latch can rotate in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The movement of the sliding door in the opening direction brings the inner surface of the inclined portion into contact with the inclined surface, and the striker imparts a component force in the latch rotating direction to the latch. A door connecting device characterized in that a latch and a striker are arranged as possible.

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