JP4175401B2 - Vehicle door - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle door.

The vehicle door is provided with a side impact beam for the purpose of protecting an occupant from the other vehicle when the other vehicle collides sideways. The vehicle door described in Patent Document 1 includes a reinforcing member (guard means) in the lower part of the side impact beam in addition to the side impact beam in order to reduce the impact applied to the occupant's waist.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-50926

  By the way, the height of the bumper may differ depending on the vehicle. Even in the same vehicle, the height of the bumper varies depending on the number of passengers and the load capacity of the luggage. If the bumper height of the other vehicle colliding with the side and the height of the side impact beam of the own vehicle are deviated, the local deformation of the vehicle door becomes remarkable. In order to reduce the local deformation of the vehicle door due to a side collision, if the reinforcing member described in Patent Document 1 is provided so as to be compatible with all other vehicles having different bumper heights, the reinforcement is inevitably required. The member becomes larger, which causes an increase in the weight of the vehicle door.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door capable of reducing local deformation even when a side collision occurs with another vehicle having a different bumper height while suppressing an increase in weight.

  The vehicle door of the present invention includes a reinforcing member coupled to the lower part of the door glass, a bumper detection means for detecting the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle, and a bumper when there is a possibility of a side collision by the other vehicle. Drive means for moving the reinforcing member in the vehicle height direction according to the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle detected by the detection means.

  According to this vehicle door, when there is a possibility of a side collision by another vehicle, the reinforcing member is moved in the vehicle height direction by the driving unit according to the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle detected by the bumper detecting unit. Moved. Therefore, the reinforcing member can be moved to a suitable height position in accordance with the height position of the bumper of another vehicle that may cause a side collision. Moreover, according to this vehicle door, since the reinforcing member can be moved in the vehicle height direction, it is not necessary to widen the width of the reinforcing member in the vehicle height direction, and the increase in the weight of the vehicle door is suppressed. Can do.

  The drive means preferably moves the reinforcing member to a predetermined height position when the bumper detection means does not detect the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle. The predetermined position is, for example, the height position of a general vehicle bumper. According to this vehicle door, even if the bumper detection means does not detect the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle, the driving member can move the reinforcing member to an appropriate position.

  The vehicle door further includes vehicle height detection means for detecting the vehicle height of the host vehicle, and the drive means moves the reinforcing member in consideration of the vehicle height of the other vehicle detected by the vehicle height detection means. It is preferable to make it.

  According to this vehicle door, the reinforcing member is moved by the driving means in consideration of the vehicle height detected by the vehicle height detecting means. Therefore, for example, even when the vehicle height of the host vehicle changes depending on the number of passengers, the load amount of the luggage, and the like, the reinforcing member can be moved to a more appropriate position at the time of a side collision of another vehicle.

  Further, the vehicle door is disposed between the door glass and the reinforcing member to connect each other, and further includes interval changing means for changing the interval between the door glass and the reinforcing member, and the driving means includes: It is preferable to move the reinforcing member by driving the interval changing means.

  According to this vehicle door, the interval changing means is disposed between the door glass and the reinforcing member, and the driving means drives the interval changing means to change the interval between the door glass and the reinforcing member. Accordingly, the reinforcing member is moved. Therefore, at the time of a side collision of another vehicle, the reinforcing member can be moved in a state in which the door glass is closed, and the safety of the occupant can be further improved.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce local deformation in a vehicle door even if a side collision occurs with another vehicle having a different bumper height while suppressing an increase in weight.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[First Embodiment]
First, the configuration of the vehicle door according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a view of a vehicle door according to a first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the vehicle interior side. In FIG. 1, in order to make it easy to understand the characteristic part of this embodiment, the description of the inner panel is omitted, and a circuit block diagram of the electrical system section is described. 2 is an end view of the vehicle door taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an end view of the vehicle door taken along line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of the vehicle door shown in FIG.

  The vehicle door 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 includes an outer panel 2, a door frame 3, a door glass 4, an inner panel 5, a reinforcing member 6, an interval changing unit 7, a window electric motor 8, a radar sensor 9, and a window sensor 10. , A distance sensor 11, a CCD camera 12, a suspension stroke sensor 18, and an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as an ECU: Electric Control Unit) 13. The radar sensor 9, the window sensor 10, the distance sensor 11, the CCD camera 12, the suspension stroke sensor 18, and the ECU 13 constitute an electric system section.

  The outer panel 2 forms the outer surface of the vehicle door 1 and constitutes a part of the vehicle body. A door frame 3 is provided on the upper portion of the outer panel 2. The outer panel 2 and the door frame 3 cover the outer edge of the door glass 4 when the window is closed.

  An inner panel 5 is provided on the inner surface side of the outer panel 2. An outer edge portion of the inner panel 5 is coupled to the outer panel 2, and a portion other than the outer edge portion of the inner panel 5 is separated from the outer panel 2. A reinforcing member 6 is provided between the outer panel 2 and the inner panel 5.

  The reinforcing member 6 is a rod-shaped member and extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, the reinforcing member 6 has a rectangular cross section, but the cross sectional shape may be various shapes. The reinforcing member 6 is disposed below the door glass 4 so that both ends thereof overlap the pillars 20 and 21 forming the vehicle skeleton in the vehicle width direction. The reinforcing member 6 is coupled to the door glass 4 so as to be separated from each other, and an interval changing portion 7 is provided between the reinforcing member 6 and the door glass 4.

  The lower end part of the space | interval change part 7 is couple | bonded with the center part of the reinforcement member 6, for example by welding, and the upper end part is couple | bonded with the center part of the door glass support member 14, for example by welding. The door glass support member 14 is coupled to the lower edge of the door glass 4 and supports the door glass 4. The interval changing unit 7 has an expansion / contraction function that expands / contracts in the vehicle height direction, and changes the interval between the door glass 4 and the reinforcing member 6 by expanding / contracting according to a command from the CPU 13. Thus, the space | interval change part 7 raises / lowers the reinforcement member 6 to a vehicle height direction. Details of the interval changing unit 7 will be described later.

  The window electric motor 8 transmits driving force to the window regulator 15 based on a command from the ECU 13 to open and close the door glass 4. For example, an X arm type window regulator or a wire type window regulator can be applied to the window regulator 15. For example, the window electric motor 8 and the ECU 13 are assembled into an ASSY by being combined, and are attached between the outer panel 2 and the inner panel 5.

  Next, the structure of the electrical system part of the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment will be described. The radar sensor 9 is, for example, a millimeter wave radar sensor that forms part of the pre-crash sensor. The radar sensor 9 transmits a millimeter wave signal to a predetermined range on the side surface of the vehicle, receives a reflected wave signal reflected by the object, and detects the presence or absence of the object on the side surface of the vehicle. . The radar sensor 9 detects the distance to the object from the millimeter wave signal transmission time and the reflected wave signal reception time. Further, the radar sensor 9 detects the relative speed with respect to the object by detecting the distance to the object a plurality of times at predetermined time intervals. The radar sensor 9 outputs to the ECU 13 a distance signal having a value corresponding to the detected distance to the object and a speed signal having a value corresponding to the relative speed with the object.

  The window sensor 10 detects the amount of elevation of the door glass 4. As the window sensor 10, what detects the raising / lowering amount of the door glass 4 by detecting the rotation amount and rotation direction of the window electric motor 8, for example can be used. The window sensor 10 outputs an elevation amount signal having a value corresponding to the detected elevation amount of the door glass 4 to the ECU 13.

  The interval sensor 11 detects an interval distance between the door glass 4 and the reinforcing member 6 by the interval changing unit 7. The interval sensor 11 is provided in the interval changing unit 7, for example. Specifically, the interval sensor 11 detects an interval distance between the door glass 4 and the reinforcing member 6 by detecting a rotation amount and a rotation direction of an electric actuator 7 g described later in the interval changing unit 7. The interval sensor 11 outputs an interval signal having a value corresponding to the detected interval distance to the ECU 13.

  The CCD camera 12 captures an image for detecting the position of a bumper of another vehicle. The CCD camera 12 is attached to, for example, a bumper, a door mirror, or a room mirror in a vehicle. The CCD camera 12 captures an image in a predetermined range on the side of the vehicle and outputs an image signal corresponding to the image to the ECU 13.

  The suspension stroke sensor 18 detects the stroke amount of the suspension. The suspension stroke sensor 18 functions as vehicle height detection means of the present invention. The suspension stroke sensor 18 outputs a stroke signal having a value corresponding to the detected suspension stroke amount to the ECU 13.

  The ECU 13 includes a microprocessor that performs calculations, a ROM that stores programs for causing the microprocessor to execute each process, a RAM that stores various data such as calculation results, and a backup RAM in which the stored contents are held by a 12V battery. Etc. With such a configuration, the ECU 13 includes a first determination unit 13a, a bumper detection unit 13b, a second determination unit 13c, and a drive unit 13d.

  The first determination unit 13a determines the possibility of a side collision by an object based on the distance signal and speed signal received from the radar sensor 9.

  The bumper detection unit 13b performs image processing on the image received from the CCD camera 12, thereby detecting the position of the other vehicle and the bumper of the other vehicle and obtaining the ground height of the bumper. In the present embodiment, the bumper detector 13b and the CCD camera 12 function as the bumper detector of the present invention.

  The second determination unit 13c includes the bumper ground height detected by the bumper detection unit 13b, the lift signal from the window sensor 10, the interval signal from the interval sensor 11, and the stroke signal from the suspension stroke sensor 18. Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the height position of the reinforcing member 6 matches the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle. Specifically, the second determination unit 13c calculates the stroke change amount of the suspension from the stroke amount of the suspension in a no-loading state such as at the time of shipment stored in a memory or the like in advance and the stroke amount according to the stroke signal. Ask. The second determination unit 13c calculates the stroke change amount of the reinforcing member 6 from the obtained stroke change amount, the lift amount of the door glass 4 according to the lift signal, and the distance between the door glass 4 and the reinforcing member 6 according to the interval signal. The ground clearance is obtained, and it is determined whether the ground clearance of the reinforcing member 6 matches the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle. In the present embodiment, if the difference between the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 and the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle is a value within a predetermined range, the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 is equal to the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle. Assume that they match.

  When the second determination unit 13c determines that the height position of the reinforcement member 6 does not match the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle, the drive unit 13d determines the ground height of the reinforcement member 6 of the bumper of the other vehicle. The interval changing unit 7 is commanded to match the ground clearance. At this time, it is preferable that the drive unit 13d instructs the window electric motor 8 to close the door glass 4. In the present embodiment, the drive unit 13d functions as the drive unit of the present invention.

  On the other hand, when the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle is not detected by the bumper detection unit 13b, the drive unit 13d instructs the interval changing unit 7 to move the reinforcing member 6 to a predetermined position. The predetermined position is a height position of a general vehicle bumper and is a position having a ground height of about 400 mm to 500 mm. At this time, it is preferable that the drive unit 13d instructs the window electric motor 8 to close the door glass 4.

  Next, the interval changing unit 7 will be described in detail. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the interval changing unit, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the interval changing unit partially broken. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the present embodiment, the interval changing unit 7 includes a rack and pinion type elastic member 7 a and an electric actuator 7 g.

  In this embodiment, the elastic member 7a has substantially cylindrical members 7b, 7c, and 7d. A member 7c is provided in the inner hole of the member 7d, and a member 7b is provided in the inner hole of the member 7c. A rack 7e is provided on the outer surface of the member 7b, and a pinion 7f and an electric actuator 7g are provided in the inner hole of the member 7d.

  The electric actuator 7g is an electric motor in this embodiment. The electric actuator 7g transmits the rotational force according to the command from the ECU 13 to the pinion 7f by a transmission mechanism (not shown). In this manner, when the electric actuator 7g and the pinion 7f rotate forward or backward, the members 7b and 7c are moved up and down sequentially, and the telescopic member 7a expands and contracts.

  Next, the operation of the vehicle door 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. First, the radar sensor 9 detects whether or not there is an object on the side surface of the vehicle, the distance to the object, and the relative speed with the object, and a distance signal and object having values corresponding to the distance to the object A speed signal having a value corresponding to the relative speed is output to the ECU 13. Further, the window sensor 10 detects the amount of elevation of the door glass 4, and an elevation amount signal having a value corresponding to the amount of elevation is output to the ECU 13. The distance sensor 11 causes the door glass 4 and the reinforcing member 6 to An interval distance is detected, and an interval signal having a value corresponding to the interval distance is output to the ECU 13. Further, an image of the side surface of the vehicle is taken by the CCD camera 12, an image signal corresponding to the image is outputted to the ECU 13, and a suspension stroke amount is detected by the suspension stroke sensor 18, and the stroke amount is obtained. A stroke signal having a corresponding value is output to the ECU 13.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ECU. First, the first determination unit 13a determines whether or not there is a possibility of a side collision by an object based on the distance signal and speed signal received from the radar sensor 9 (step S01). If it is determined that there is no possibility of a side collision, the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the first determination unit 13a determines that there is a possibility of a side collision, the bumper detection unit 13b may cause a side collision from an image corresponding to the image signal received from the CCD camera 12. The ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle is detected (step S02).

  When the bumper detection unit 13b can detect the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle, the second determination unit 13c detects the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle, the lift signal received from the window sensor 10, and the interval. Based on the distance signal received from the sensor 11, the stroke signal received from the suspension stroke sensor 18, and the stroke amount of the suspension in a no-load state such as a memory stored in advance such as a memory, the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 is determined by the other vehicle. It is determined whether or not the bumper matches the ground clearance (step S03).

  When it is determined by the second determination unit 13c that the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 matches the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle, the process ends.

  On the other hand, when the second determination unit 13c determines that the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 does not match the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle, the drive unit 13d instructs the interval changing unit 7 to change the interval. By expanding and contracting the portion 7, the reinforcing member 6 is moved so that the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 matches the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle (step S04). At this time, the drive unit 13 d preferably instructs the window electric motor 8 to close the door glass 4 by the window electric motor 8.

  When the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle is not detected by the bumper detection unit 13b, the drive unit 13d instructs the interval changing unit 7 to expand and contract the interval changing unit 7, thereby causing the reinforcing member 6 to be predetermined. Move to a position (step S05). At this time, it is preferable that the drive unit 13 d instructs the window electric motor 8 to close the door glass 4 by the window electric motor 8.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle door at the time of a side collision caused by another vehicle having a high bumper ground clearance, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle door at the time of a side collision caused by another vehicle having a low bumper ground clearance. is there. As shown in FIG. 8, when the other vehicle is an SUV or the like and the bumper A has a high ground clearance, the door glass 4 is closed and the interval changing unit 7 is shortened, so that the reinforcing member 6 is applied at the time of a side collision. The ground clearance of the vehicle can be made to match the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the other vehicle is a sports type or the like and the bumper A has a low ground clearance, the door glass 4 is closed and the distance changing unit 7 is extended, so that at the time of a side collision, The ground clearance of the reinforcing member 6 can be matched with the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle.

  Thus, according to the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment, when there is a possibility of a side collision by another vehicle, based on the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle detected by the bumper detection unit 13b, The reinforcing member 6 is moved up and down by the drive unit 13d. Therefore, even if the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle having the possibility of a side collision differs depending on the vehicle, the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 is matched with the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle at the time of the side collision of the other vehicle. be able to. Therefore, the collision load from other vehicles can be supported by the reaction force of the reinforcing member 6 supported at both ends by the pillars 20 and 21, and the local deformation of the door can be reduced. It is.

  Further, according to the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment, since the reinforcing member 6 can be raised and lowered, it is not necessary to increase the width of the reinforcing member 6 in the vehicle height direction, and the weight of the vehicle door is increased. Can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to reduce local deformation of the vehicle door while suppressing a weight increase of the vehicle door and causing a side collision with another vehicle having a different bumper height.

  Further, according to the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment, the reinforcing member 6 is moved up and down by the drive unit 13d in consideration of the ground clearance of the host vehicle detected by the suspension stroke sensor 18. Therefore, even when the vehicle height of the host vehicle changes depending on the number of passengers, the load amount of the luggage, etc., the reinforcing member 6 can be moved to a more appropriate position at the time of a side collision of another vehicle.

  Further, according to the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment, the reinforcing member 6 is moved up and down by the drive unit 13d according to the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle detected by the CCD camera 12, so that the vehicle behavior, For example, even when the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle changes due to a nose dump during braking, the reinforcing member 6 can be moved to a more appropriate position at the time of a side collision of the other vehicle.

  Further, according to the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment, the interval changing unit 7 is provided between the door glass 4 and the reinforcing member 6, and the drive unit 13 d extends the interval changing unit 7. Thus, the interval between the door glass 4 and the reinforcing member 6 is changed, and the reinforcing member 6 is moved up and down. Therefore, the reinforcing member 6 can be moved even when the door glass 4 is closed at the time of a side collision of another vehicle, and the safety of the passenger can be further improved.

  Further, according to the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment, the reinforcing member 6 is lifted and lowered to a predetermined position even when the bumper detection unit 13b does not detect the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle. The member 6 can be moved to an appropriate position.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, the configuration of the vehicle door according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing only the main part of the vehicle door according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the vehicle door 1 </ b> A of the second embodiment is provided with a space changing unit 17 instead of the space changing unit 7 in the vehicle door 1. 1 and different. Since the other structure of the vehicle door 1A is the same as that of the vehicle door 1, the description thereof is omitted.

  The interval changing unit 17 includes wires 17a and 17b, an electric actuator 17c, and wire guides 17d and 17e.

  One end of the wire 17a is connected to one end of the upper surface of the reinforcing member 6, and the other end is wound around the electric actuator 17c. Similarly, one end of the wire 17b is connected to the other end of the upper surface of the reinforcing member 6, and the other end is wound around the electric actuator 17c. The wires 17a and 17b are supported by wire guides 17d and 17e, respectively.

  In this embodiment, the electric actuator 17c has an electric motor, and has a winding mechanism that rotates the electric motor and winds the wires 17a and 17b in response to a command from the ECU 13. The electric actuator 17c raises the reinforcing member 6 by winding the wires 17a and 17b. The electric actuator 17c lowers the reinforcing member 6 by pulling out the wires 17a and 17b.

  The wire guides 17d and 17e are respectively coupled below the both ends of the door glass support member 14, and guide the wires 17a and 17b when the reinforcing member 6 moves up and down.

  Thus, also in the vehicle door 1 </ b> A of the second embodiment, the interval changing unit 17 can raise and lower the reinforcing member 6 based on a command from the ECU 13. Therefore, the same advantages as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. Obtainable. Furthermore, according to the vehicle door 1A of the second embodiment, the pulling speed of the wires 17a and 17b from the electric actuator 17c and the descending speed of the reinforcing member 6 can be increased by the gravitational acceleration of the reinforcing member 6. The ground height of the reinforcing member 6 can be matched with the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle faster than the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, the configuration of the vehicle door according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a view of the vehicle door according to the third embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the vehicle interior side. In FIG. 11, in order to facilitate understanding of the characteristic part of the present embodiment, the description of the inner panel is omitted, and a circuit block diagram of the electrical system section is described.

  A vehicle door 1B shown in FIG. 11 includes an interval fixing member 27 instead of the interval changing unit 7 in the vehicle door 1 of the first embodiment, and includes an inter-vehicle communication device 19 instead of the CCD camera 12. ing. Further, the vehicle door 1 </ b> B includes an ECU 13 </ b> B instead of the ECU 13, and is different from the vehicle door 1 in that the distance sensor 11 is not provided. Since the other structure of the vehicle door 1B is the same as that of the vehicle door 1, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The interval fixing member 27 is different from the interval changing unit 7 in that it does not expand and contract and its length is fixed.

  The inter-vehicle communication device 19 stores information on the host vehicle, transmits the information, and receives information on the other vehicle from the inter-vehicle communication device in the other vehicle. The inter-vehicle communication device 19 detects the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle from the received information on the other vehicle, and outputs the detected ground height information of the bumper to the ECU 13B.

  The ECU 13B includes a bumper detection unit 13e instead of the bumper detection unit 13b in the ECU 13, a second determination unit 13f instead of the second determination unit 13c, and a drive unit instead of the drive unit 13d. The ECU 13 is different from the ECU 13 in having a portion 13g. The other configuration of the ECU 13B is the same as that of the ECU 13, and is omitted.

  The bumper detection unit 13e detects the position of the bumper of the other vehicle and the bumper of the other vehicle from the bumper ground height information received from the inter-vehicle communication device 19, and obtains the height of the bumper.

  The second determination unit 13f is stored in advance in a memory or the like, the bumper ground height detected by the bumper detection unit 13e, the lift signal received from the window sensor 10, the stroke signal from the suspension stroke sensor 18, and so on. Whether or not the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 matches the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle is determined based on the stroke amount of the suspension in the unloaded state such as at the time of shipment. That is, the second determination unit 13f determines without using the interval signal from the interval sensor 11 as in the second determination unit 13c.

  When the second determination unit 13f determines that the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 does not match the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle, the driving unit 13g determines the ground height of the reinforcing member 6 to the other vehicle. The window electric motor 8 is commanded to match the ground height of the bumper.

  Further, when the bumper detection unit 13e does not detect the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle, the drive unit 13g instructs the window electric motor 8 to move the reinforcing member 6 to a predetermined position.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ECU 13B of the third embodiment. In FIG. 12, the process of step S12 is performed instead of step S02 in FIG. 7, the process of step S13 is performed instead of step S03, the process of step S14 is performed instead of step S04, and the process replaces step S05. Then, the process of step S15 is performed. Since the other processes of the vehicle door 1B are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  In step S <b> 12, the bumper detection unit 13 e detects the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle having the possibility of a side collision from the ground height information of the bumper of the other vehicle received from the inter-vehicle communication device 19.

  In step S13, the second determination unit 13f detects the bumper ground height detected by the bumper detection unit 13e, the lift signal received from the window sensor 10, the stroke signal from the suspension stroke sensor 18, and the memory in advance. Whether or not the ground clearance of the reinforcing member 6 matches the ground clearance of the bumper of the other vehicle is determined based on the stroke amount of the suspension in the no-load state stored at the time of shipment.

  In step S14, the drive unit 13g instructs the window electric motor 8, and the window electric motor 8 opens and closes the door glass 4. The ground height of the reinforcing member 6 is reinforced to match the ground height of the bumper of the other vehicle. The member 6 is moved.

  In step S15, the drive unit 13g instructs the window electric motor 8 to open and close the door glass 4, and the reinforcing member 6 is moved to a predetermined position.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle door at the time of a side collision caused by another vehicle having a high bumper ground clearance, and FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle door at the time of a side collision caused by another vehicle having a low bumper ground clearance. is there. As shown in FIG. 13, when the other vehicle is an SUV or the like and the bumper A has a high ground clearance, the ground clearance of the reinforcing member 6 is increased by a side collision by moving the door glass 4 in the closing direction. It can be matched with the ground clearance of bumpers of other vehicles. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, when the other vehicle is a sports type or the like and the bumper A has a low ground clearance, by moving in the direction of opening the door glass 4, The ground clearance can be matched with the ground clearance of bumpers of other vehicles.

  Thus, the vehicle door 1A of the third embodiment can obtain the same advantages as those of the first embodiment.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

  In this embodiment, although the space | interval change parts 7 and 17 were illustrated as a mechanism which raises / lowers the reinforcement member 6, the mechanism which raises / lowers the reinforcement member 6 is not restricted to this embodiment. For example, the mechanism for raising and lowering the reinforcing member 6 may have a structure similar to that of a vehicle extendable antenna. Specifically, the mechanism for raising and lowering the reinforcing member 6 includes an elastic member in which cylindrical members having different inner diameters overlap, a wire provided in the elastic member, and a mechanism for winding the wire. Further, a structure in which the elastic member is expanded and contracted by winding or drawing out the wire by the winding mechanism may be used.

  Further, the mechanism for raising and lowering the reinforcing member 6 may be a screw cylinder mechanism. Specifically, the mechanism for raising and lowering the reinforcing member 6 includes an electric motor having a screw fixed to the reinforcing member 6 and a nut type cylinder fixed to the door glass, and is expanded and contracted by the rotation of the electric motor. The structure to be made may be sufficient.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example of the shape of the reinforcing member 6 is shown, but the shape of the reinforcing member is not limited to the present embodiment. For example, the shape of the reinforcing member may be as shown in FIG. The reinforcing member 16A shown in FIG. 15 includes a first portion 16a and a second portion 16b. The first portion 16a has, for example, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. Both end portions 16c and 16d of the first portion 16a are adjacent to the vehicle skeleton member in the vehicle width direction. On the other hand, the second portion 16b is continuous with the central portion in the vehicle width direction on the inner surface side of the first portion 16a. The second portion 16b has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and extends in the vehicle width direction.

It is the figure which looked at the vehicle door which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention from the inner surface side. FIG. 2 is an end view of the vehicle door taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an end view of the vehicle door taken along line III-III in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the vehicle door shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows a space | interval change part. It is a perspective view which shows a space | interval change part partially fractured | ruptured. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of ECU of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the vehicle door at the time of the side collision by the other vehicle with high ground clearance of a bumper. It is a figure which shows the vehicle door at the time of the side collision by the other vehicle with a low bumper ground clearance. It is a perspective view which shows only the principal part of the vehicle door which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which looked at the vehicle door which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention from the inner surface side. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of ECU of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the vehicle door at the time of the side collision by the other vehicle with high ground clearance of a bumper. It is a figure which shows the vehicle door at the time of the side collision by the other vehicle with a low bumper ground clearance. It is a figure which shows the reinforcement member which concerns on a modification.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle door, 2 ... Outer panel, 3 ... Door frame, 4 ... Door glass, 5 ... Inner panel, 6 ... Reinforcement member, 7 ... Space | interval change part (space | interval change means), 8 ... Window electric motor, 9 ... Radar sensor, 10 ... window sensor, 11 ... interval sensor, 12 ... CCD camera (bumper detection means), 13a ... first determination unit, 13b ... bumper detection unit (bumper detection unit), 13c ... second determination unit, 13d: Driving part (driving means), 14 ... Door glass support member, 15 ... Window regulator, 18 ... Suspension stroke sensor.

Claims (4)

A reinforcing member coupled to the lower part of the door glass;
Bumper detection means for detecting the height position of the bumper of another vehicle;
Drive means for moving the reinforcing member in the vehicle height direction according to the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle detected by the bumper detection means when there is a possibility of a side collision by another vehicle;
A vehicle door comprising: When there is a possibility of a side collision by another vehicle and the bumper detecting unit does not detect the height position of the bumper of the other vehicle , the driving unit moves the reinforcing member to a predetermined height position. Move,
The vehicle door according to claim 1. It further comprises vehicle height detection means for detecting the vehicle height of the host vehicle,
The driving means moves the reinforcing member in consideration of the vehicle height of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle height detecting means;
The vehicle door according to claim 1 or 2. It is arranged between the door glass and the reinforcing member, and further includes an interval changing means for connecting each and changing an interval between the door glass and the reinforcing member,
The driving means drives the interval changing means to move the reinforcing member;
The vehicle door according to claim 1.

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