JP4272099B2 - Connecting structure of outside handle and door latch - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a coupling structure of an outside handle and a door latch.

  A door latch that engages with a striker provided on a vehicle body (for example, a center pillar) and maintains the closed state of the door is attached inside the door of the automobile in a state along the door. An outside handle for releasing the engagement state of the door latch is attached to a portion of the door outer panel located above the door latch in a state along the door. The outside handle has a structure in which a handle and a key cylinder are assembled to a base portion, and the base portion and the door latch are connected by a cable that transmits an operation force of the handle.

The base part of the outside handle and the door latch are separately attached to the door, and then the work of connecting the two by cable inside the door is very troublesome. Is integrally connected with a single large bracket in advance, and the cable is also connected to form a module. And all the attachment work is completed only by putting the module into the inside from the work opening formed in the door and fixing (for example, patent documents 1).
JP-A-5-346075

  However, in such a conventional technique, a module in which the base portion of the outside handle and the door latch disposed below the outer handle are integrally coupled by a single large bracket is formed. T-type or L-type. Therefore, it becomes difficult to store and handle the module, and the work opening for inserting the module into the door must be enlarged, which may reduce the strength of the door.

  Also, in order to form a module in which the base and door latch are joined together with a single large bracket, even when replacing some parts for maintenance, the entire module must be removed from the door. This is disadvantageous in terms of maintainability. Furthermore, since the layout of the base portion and the door latch in the door differs depending on the vehicle type, one large bracket must be set for each vehicle type, which is disadvantageous in terms of cost.

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional technique, and can be folded into a compact form before being fixed to the door, although the base portion and the door latch are integrally coupled. In addition, the present invention provides a coupling structure of an outside handle and a door latch that is advantageous in terms of maintainability and cost.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an outside handle and a door latch that integrally couple a base portion of an outside handle attached in a state along the door and a door latch attached to the inside of the door below the base portion. A sub bracket extending to the door latch side is attached to the base portion, a module bracket extending to the base portion side is attached to the door latch, the sub bracket and the module bracket are rotatably connected, and the base portion is The door latch is foldable from a use state to a storage state, and the sub bracket and the module bracket are coupled by a detachable coupling means.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the sub bracket and the module bracket are coupled by means of bolts and nuts.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the sub bracket is attached to the base portion in a removable state.

  The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the module bracket is detachably attached to the door latch.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the sub bracket is attached to the base portion in a position adjustable state.

  The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the module bracket is attached to the door latch in a position adjustable state.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the sub bracket provided on the base portion and the module bracket provided on the door latch are rotatably coupled, the base portion can be folded with respect to the door latch, The door latch can be made compact. Therefore, it is only necessary to put it into the door in the folded state, return it to the use state inside the door, and fix it to the door. The working opening formed in the door can be small, and the strength of the door can be prevented from being lowered. Moreover, since it can be folded compactly, storage and handling before attaching to a door become easy. And since the sub bracket and the module bracket can be removed after joining, even when replacing some parts, only the group that includes the parts that need to be replaced after removing the sub bracket and the module bracket. It can be removed from the door, and after replacing the parts, it can be returned to the inside of the door and joined again. Furthermore, even when the layout of the base portion and the door latch differs depending on the vehicle type, it can be dealt with by simply changing the shape of either the sub bracket or the module bracket, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the sub bracket and the module bracket are coupled by the bolt and nut means, it is possible to form a pivotable and detachable coupling portion with a simple structure.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the sub bracket is attached to the base portion in a removable state, it is possible to remove and replace only the sub bracket after assembling to the door. More improved.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the module bracket is detachably attached to the door latch, only the module bracket can be removed and replaced after being attached to the door. improves.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the sub bracket is attached to the base portion so that the position of the sub bracket can be adjusted, it can be securely attached while adjusting the position when the base portion is attached to the door.

  According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the module bracket is attached to the door latch in a position adjustable state, it can be securely attached while adjusting the position when the door latch is attached to the door.

  Although the base part and the door latch are integrally connected, the structure of the outside handle and the door latch can be folded into a compact form before being fixed to the door and is advantageous in terms of maintenance and cost. An outside handle and a door latch integrally connecting a base portion of an outside handle attached in a state along the door and a door latch attached to the inside of the door below the base portion. A sub bracket extending to the door latch side is attached to the base portion, a module bracket extending to the base portion side is attached to the door latch, the sub bracket and the module bracket are rotatably connected, and the base portion is The door latch can be folded from the use state to the storage state. Both the sub-bracket and the module bracket, that are joined by a removable coupling means, realized.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows an outside handle 1 and a door latch 2 attached to a front right door of an automobile. The outside handle 1 is attached to an outer panel of a door (not shown) in a state along the front-rear direction. The outside handle 1 includes a base portion 3 that is fixed to the door, a handle portion 4 that is assembled to the base portion 3 so as to be pulled out to the outside of the vehicle, and a key cylinder mounting portion 5 that is fixed to the rear end portion of the base portion 3. It is composed of In FIG. 2 and subsequent figures, the handle portion 4 and the key cylinder portion 5 are not shown, and only the base portion 3 is illustrated.

  The door latch 2 is attached below the rear end portion of the base portion 3 in a state along the vertical direction. On the rear surface of the door latch 2, there is provided a lock portion 6 that engages with a striker (not shown) installed on the vehicle body (center pillar).

  The door latch 2 and the base portion 3 are connected by a cable 7 protected by an outer tube, and the operating force of the handle portion 4 is transmitted to the door latch 2 via the cable 7, and the lock portion 6 and a striker (not shown). The engagement with can be released.

  Further, the door latch 2 is provided with a key lever 9 having a lever portion 8 whose tip rotates in an arc, and the lower end 11 a of the key rod 11 is held at the tip of the lever portion 8 via a holder 10. A lower end 11 a of the key rod 11 is bent at a right angle toward the vehicle inner side and protrudes to the opposite side of the module bracket 13. The upper end 11b of the key rod 11 is bent at a right angle toward the outside of the vehicle, and is inserted into and engaged with a key cylinder (not shown) of the key cylinder mounting portion 5 from the back side of the base portion 3.

  A sub bracket 12 and a module bracket 13 are attached to the base portion 3 and the door latch 2, respectively. The sub bracket 12 has an arc-shaped lower end 12a, a recess 14 is formed at the center, and step portions 15 are formed on both sides. A welding nut 16 having a screw hole that penetrates the sub bracket 12 is provided at the center of the arc shape of the lower end portion 12a. A rectangular engagement hole 17 is formed in the upper end portion 12b of the sub bracket 12 along the front-rear direction. The sub bracket 12 is attached to the base portion 3 by engaging its engagement hole 17 with an engagement claw 18 formed on the lower surface of the rear end portion of the base portion 3, and the module bracket 13 is attached to the base bracket 3. It will be in the state which turned to the side. The engagement hole 17 is longer than the engagement claw 18, and the position of the sub bracket 12 can be adjusted in the front-rear direction with respect to the base portion 3. Since the sub bracket 12 and the base portion 3 are attached by engagement of the engagement holes 17 and the engagement claws 18, the sub bracket 12 can be detached from the base portion 3 after attachment.

  On the other hand, the module bracket 13 has a shape that is long in the vertical direction, and the lower end portion 13a has a U-shaped cross section and covers the lower end portion on the vehicle body side of the door latch 2 from the outside. An engagement hole 19 which is long in the vertical direction is formed in the lower end portion 13a, and an engagement claw 20 formed in the door latch 2 is engaged in the engagement hole 19, and the module bracket 13 is attached to the door latch 2. It becomes a state. In the mounted state, the module bracket 13 is in a state of being directed from the door latch 2 to the base portion 3 side. Also on the module bracket 13 side, the engaging hole 19 is longer than the engaging claw 20, and the position of the module bracket 13 can be adjusted in the vertical direction with respect to the door latch 2. Since the module bracket 13 and the door latch 2 are attached by engagement between the engagement hole 19 and the engagement claw 20, the module bracket 13 can be detached from the door latch 2 after attachment.

  A holding hole 21 through which the cable 7 is inserted is formed in the vicinity of the lower end portion 13 a of the module bracket 13. A long hole 22 for avoiding interference with the lower end 11 a of the key rod 11 is formed above the holding hole 21. A hook 23 for restricting the key rod 11 from falling to the outside of the vehicle is provided above the long hole 22. Further, a shaft hole 24 is formed in the upper end portion 13 b of the module bracket 13, and two pins 25 and 26 having elastic rollers are provided on an arc locus centering on the shaft hole 24. One pin 25 is formed directly under the shaft hole 24, and the other pin 26 is formed right next to the shaft hole 24. If the holding hole 21 is a long hole and one end of the holding hole 21 is open to the edge of the module bracket 13, the cable 7 can be easily attached and detached.

  By aligning the shaft hole 24 of the module bracket 13 with the weld nut 16 of the sub bracket 12 and screwing the bolt 27 inserted from the shaft hole 24 side to the weld nut 16, the sub bracket 12 and the module bracket 13 are rotated. Can be combined freely. When the bolt 27 is tightened weakly, it can be rotated, and when it is strongly tightened, it cannot be rotated. Moreover, the sub bracket 12 and the module bracket 13 can be removed after the coupling by removing the bolt 27 from the welding nut 16. In this embodiment, the “joining means” is formed by the bolts 27 and the weld nuts 16, and the joining means 27, 16 can provide a pivotable and detachable joining portion with a simple structure.

  In a stage before being attached to the door, as shown in FIG. 2, the base 3 and the sub bracket 12 are folded by rotating to the front side around the bolt 27 with respect to the door latch 2 and the module bracket 13. Put it in a state. Since the sub bracket 12 is attached to the rear end portion of the base portion 3, by rotating the base portion 3 to the front side, the base portion 3 is largely folded to be in a state along the vertical direction. It will be in a lined state. Then, before folding, the large inverted L shape as shown in FIG. 1 becomes a compact state as shown in FIG. 2, and the longitudinal size (vertical size) can be kept small. Therefore, storage and handling are easy.

  In the retracted state, as shown in FIG. 5, the concave portion 14 of the sub bracket 12 is engaged with the pin 26 in the lateral direction of the module bracket 13, and the one step portion 15 is engaged with the pin 25 directly below. The storage state is positioned and held.

  When being attached to the door, the folded and stored state is put into the door through a work opening (not shown). Since it is in a compact state, the work opening formed in the door can be small, and the strength of the door can be prevented from being lowered. After entering the door, the door latch 2 is fixed to the rear wall of the door. Next, the base portion 3 is rotated so as to cause the bolt 27 to be centered to be in a state along the front-rear direction. By rotating the base portion 3, as shown in FIG. 4, the recess 14 of the sub bracket 12 is engaged with the pin 25 of the module bracket 13, and the other step portion 15 is engaged with the lateral pin 26. As a result, the use bracket is positioned with the sub bracket 12 facing in the front-rear direction. Even if the operator cannot see the hand, the operator can know that the concave portion 14 and the pin 25 are positioned in the use state by the click feeling when the concave portion 14 and the pin 25 are engaged. In the use state, the base portion 3 is along the front-rear direction, and the door latch 2 is returned to the inverted L shape along the vertical direction at the rear end portion.

  Next, the position of the base part 3 is adjusted in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction and fixed to the door. The position adjustment in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction is performed by the engagement portions between the engagement holes 17 and 19 formed in the sub bracket 12 and the module bracket 13 and the engagement claws 18 and 20, respectively. Since the sub bracket 12 is adjustable in the front-rear position with respect to the base part 3 and the module bracket 13 is adjustable in the vertical direction with respect to the door latch 2, as a result, the base part 3 and the door latch 2 in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction The relative positional relationship can be adjusted, and both can be securely attached to the door.

  A handle portion 4 is assembled to the base portion 3 fixed to the door from the outside of the vehicle, and is combined so that an operating force is transmitted to the end portion of the cable 7. A key cylinder (not shown) is inserted into the key cylinder mounting portion 5 from the outside of the vehicle and engaged with the upper end of the key rod 11 held upright by the hook 23.

  Since the cable 7 passes through the holding hole 21 of the module bracket 13 in the state of being attached to the door in this manner, the cable 7 is prevented from fluttering inside the door.

  Then, after the attachment to the door, when it is necessary to replace parts in either the outside handle 1 or the door latch 2, the bolt 27 is removed from the welding nut 16, and the sub bracket 12 and the module bracket 13 are removed. To separate. Next, remove only the group that contains the parts that need to be replaced from the door, replace the parts outside the door, return the parts to the interior again after replacing the parts, and join the sub bracket 12 and the module bracket 13 together. It is good and maintenance is good. In addition, when replacing the sub bracket 12 or the module bracket 13 itself, they can be detached from the base portion 3 and the door latch 2 alone, so that only the base portion 3 and the door latch 2 can be replaced. Therefore, the work is easier.

  Furthermore, even when the layout of the base portion 3 and the door latch 2 is different depending on the vehicle type, it can be dealt with only by changing the shape of either the sub bracket 12 or the module bracket 13, which is advantageous in terms of cost. In the case of this embodiment, since the shape of the sub bracket 12 is simpler than that of the module bracket 13, a plurality of sub brackets 12 are prepared for each vehicle type, and the sub bracket 12 is arranged according to the vehicle type. It is advantageous to select and use.

  In the above embodiment, the bolt / nut means using the welding nut 16 and the bolt 27 is used as the means for connecting the sub bracket 12 and the module bracket 13 so as to be rotatable and detachable. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The clip means or the like can also be used. Moreover, although the connection structure of the outside handle 1 attached to the front right door and the door latch 2 has been shown, the present invention can also be applied to those attached to the rear door and the rear back door. Applicable.

The perspective view which shows the outside handle and door latch of the use condition which concern on one Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the base part and door latch of the storage state of FIG. The disassembled perspective view which shows the base part and door latch of the use condition of FIG. The perspective view which shows the sub bracket and module bracket of the use condition of FIG. The perspective view which shows the sub bracket and module bracket of the storage state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Outside handle 2 Door latch 3 Base part 7 Cable 12 Sub bracket 13 Module bracket 16 Welding nut (coupling means)
27 bolts (joining means)

Claims (6)

An outside handle and door latch coupling structure that integrally couples a base portion of an outside handle attached along the door and a door latch attached to the inside of the door below the base portion,
A sub bracket extending to the door latch side is attached to the base portion, a module bracket extending to the base portion side is attached to the door latch,
The sub bracket and the module bracket are connected to each other so that the base part can be folded from the use state to the storage state with respect to the door latch.
The sub-bracket and the module bracket are coupled by a detachable coupling means, and the outside handle and door latch coupling structure. A coupling structure between the outside handle and the door latch according to claim 1,
The sub-bracket and the module bracket are coupled to each other by a bolt / nut means. A structure for connecting the outside handle and the door latch according to claim 1 or 2,
A coupling structure of an outside handle and a door latch, wherein the sub bracket is detachably attached to the base portion. It is a coupling structure of the outside handle and door latch according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A coupling structure of an outside handle and a door latch, wherein the module bracket is detachably attached to the door latch. A coupling structure between the outside handle and the door latch according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A coupling structure of an outside handle and a door latch, wherein the sub bracket is attached to the base portion in a position adjustable state. A coupling structure between the outside handle and the door latch according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A coupling structure of an outside handle and a door latch, wherein the module bracket is attached to the door latch in a position adjustable state.

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