JP6221444B2 - Vehicle step device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle step device in which a rotation support shaft is coupled to a proximal end portion of an arm having a step attached to a distal end portion.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a vehicle in which a step used as a scaffold for getting on and off is provided at the lower part of the entrance of a vehicle such as a one-box type. At this time, there is known a vehicle step structure in which the step is moved and displaced between a non-use state in which the step is stored below the side of the vehicle body and a use state in which the step projects from the non-use state to the lower side of the vehicle body. It has been. In such a step structure, the step is provided at the tip of the pair of arms, the rotation support shaft is provided at the base end portion of the arm, and the arm rotates around the rotation support shaft. It is displaced between a retracted state and a protruding state (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-343307 A

  By the way, the step in the projecting state is a so-called cantilever that receives a load only by the rotation support shaft, and when the person puts his / her foot on, the load acts on the joint between the arm and the rotation support shaft, and the connection However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 does not take any special measures.

  Then, this invention aims at suppressing the failure | damage of the coupling | bond part of the arm provided with a step at the front-end | tip, and a rotation support shaft.

The present invention includes a coupling portion between the lower portion of the mounting hole of the arm and the lower portion of the rotation support shaft, in which the arm and the rotation support shaft are coupled and fixed to each other. A load receiving portion that receives a compressive load between the arm and the rotation support shaft when received is provided.
The coupling portion includes a coupling inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the axial direction of the rotation support shaft so that the lower portion is radially outward from the upper portion, and the rotation support shaft receives a load toward the lower side through the step. When a bending load is received between the main body and the shaft support portion of the main body, the bending fulcrum receiving the bending load is located on the extended line of the coupling inclined surface.

According to the present invention, when the arm receives a load through the step, the load receiving portion of the coupling portion receives a compressive load between the arm and the rotation support shaft. It becomes difficult for a joint part to break, and it can control breakage of a joint part.
When the rotation support shaft receives a bending load because the bending fulcrum where the rotation support shaft receives the bending load is located on the extension line of the coupling inclined surface, the coupling inclined surface receives a compressive load in a right angle direction. The breakage of the coupling portion can be more reliably suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a vehicle step device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle step device of FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the vehicle step device shown in FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a lower portion of a slide door lower portion of a vehicle including the vehicle step structure of FIG. 1, in which (a) shows a use state in which a step plate protrudes, and (b) stores a step plate. Indicates a non-use state. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a rotary arm used in the vehicle step device of FIG. 1.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a vehicle step device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a lower part of a slide door lower portion of a vehicle including the vehicle step device 1 of FIGS. . As shown in FIG. 4A, the step plate 3 as a step is in a protruding state (use state) in a lower side near the entrance of the vehicle body 5 and a stored state (non-contained) in the lower part of the vehicle body 5. It moves and displaces between (use state). In the drawing, the direction indicated by FR is the front of the vehicle, and the direction indicated by UPR is the upper side of the vehicle.

  In such a vehicle step structure, when the slide door 7 set on the side of the vehicle body 5 is slid rearward and opened as shown in FIG. It becomes a use state in conjunction with the movement of 7. The step plate 3 in use projects sideways at a position below a door opening 9 that is a doorway formed on the side of the vehicle body 5. On the contrary, when the slide door 7 is slid forward (left side in FIG. 4) and closed as shown in FIG. 4B, the step plate 3 is moved to the inside of the vehicle body 5 in conjunction with the movement of the slide door 7. (In this embodiment, the vehicle 5 is located below) and is stored in a non-use state.

  The vehicle step device 1 includes the above-described step plate 3, a main body portion 13 that is attached to, for example, a side sill or a floor member below the vehicle body 5 via an attachment portion 11 illustrated in FIG. 2, and the step plate 3 and the main body portion 13. And a rotating arm 15 as two arms that rotatably connect the two.

  The step plate 3 and the rotating arm 15 are connected via a bracket 17 as shown in FIG. The bracket 17 includes an upper wall 17a, a lower wall 17b, and a side wall 17c, and both sides in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 1 and the right side in FIG. 1 are open. On both sides of the upper wall 17a in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 1, there are provided mounting flanges fixed to the lower surface of the step plate 3 by bolts (not shown). That is, the bracket 17 is attached to the step plate 3 by fastening the mounting flange (not shown) to the lower surface of the step plate 3 with a bolt.

  A step plate rotation support shaft 19 is attached to the bracket 17 in the vicinity of the open side on the right side in FIG. And the front-end | tip part 15a of the rotation arm 15 is inserted between the upper wall 17a and the lower wall 17b of the bracket 17, and this front-end | tip part 15a is rotatably connected to the step board rotation support shaft 19 via the bearing part 21. doing. Such a connecting structure between the tip 15a of the rotary arm 15 and the step plate 3 is the same between the two rotary arms 15.

  On the other hand, the base end portion 15b of the rotary arm 15 is connected and fixed to the lower portion of the main body side rotation support shaft 23 as a rotation support shaft. The connecting structure itself between the base end portion 15b of the rotary arm 15 and the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is the same between the two rotary arms 15. However, the rotary arm 15 located on the vehicle front side in FIG. 2 corresponds to FIG. 1 and is connected to the drive mechanism 25 shown in FIG. doing.

  In FIG. 2, the rotary arm 15 located on the vehicle rear side is not connected to the drive mechanism 25, but is simply connected to the main body side rotation support shaft 23. That is, by driving the drive mechanism 25, one rotary arm 15 located on the vehicle front side in FIG. 2 is rotationally driven, and accordingly, the other rotary arm 15 located on the vehicle rear side in FIG. The rotating arms 15 rotate while maintaining a parallel state to each other.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 13 includes a base plate 27, the drive mechanism 25 that is attached to the base plate 27, and a cover 29 that is mounted on the base plate 27 so as to cover the drive mechanism 25. I have. The base plate 27 includes an extension 27a that extends from the side on the step plate 3 side toward the rear of the vehicle, and the body-side rotation support shaft 23 is rotatably attached to a support 27b near the tip of the extension 27a. . A part of the mounting portion 11 described above is provided around the support portion 27b.

  The drive mechanism 25 includes an electric motor 31 as a drive source and a power transmission mechanism 35 including a gear 33 shown in FIG. The gear 33 is fitted and fixed to the main body side rotation support shaft 23. That is, when the electric motor 31 is driven, the main body side rotation support shaft 23 shown in FIG. 1 is rotated via the power transmission mechanism 35 including the gear 33, and the rotation arm 15 is rotated along with the rotation of the main body side rotation support shaft 23. To do. The electric motor 31 is driven at a predetermined timing by a control circuit (not shown), such as being driven in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the slide door 7.

  The cover 29 is provided with a wiring lead-out hole 29a for passing the wiring 36 of the electric system of the drive mechanism 25 on the upper surface near the end portion on the front side of the vehicle in FIGS.

  The main body side rotation support shaft 23 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into a through hole 27 c provided in the base plate 27 via a bush 37. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5, the bush 37 includes a pair of upper and lower resin sliders 39 and a metal support rigid body 41 positioned outside the slider 39.

  The slider 39 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, and includes a cylindrical portion 39a and a flange portion 39b formed at one end of the cylindrical portion 39a. The pair of upper and lower sliders 39 has an inner diameter that is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the main body side rotation support shaft 23, and the main body side rotation support in a state where the ends of the cylindrical portion 39 a opposite to the flange portion 39 b are in contact with each other. A shaft 23 is rotatably inserted.

  The support rigid body 41 has a cylindrical shape as a whole, and includes a cylindrical portion 41a and a flange portion 41b formed on the upper portion of the cylindrical portion 41a. The support rigid body 41 has an inner diameter that is substantially the same as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 39a of the slider 39, and the pair of upper and lower sliders 39 are press-fitted. The cylindrical portion 41a of the support rigid body 41 is inserted and fixed in the through hole 27c of the base plate 27, and the flange portion 41b is positioned above the base plate 27 to prevent the bush 37 from coming off from the base plate 27.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the latch base 43 and the washer 45 are disposed on the bush 37 in a state where the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is inserted, and the nut 47 is placed on the main body side rotation support shaft 23 from above the washer 45. It is concluded to. When the nut 47 is fastened, the latch base 43 is pressed against the flange 39 b of the slider 39 by the fastening force and the elastic force of the washer 45.

 When the main body-side rotation support shaft 23 rotates, the metal latch base 43 has a larger frictional force between the metal and the washer 45 than the frictional force between the resin-made slider 39. Then, it slides and rotates with respect to the slider 39. That is, as the main body side rotation support shaft 23 rotates, the latch base 43 also rotates together. As described above, the main body side rotation support shaft 23 rotates together with the latch base 43, the washer 45, the nut 47, and the gear 33.

  A pair of latches (not shown) are rotatably mounted on the latch base 43, and the pair of latches can be respectively engaged with corresponding pins on the base plate 27 side. When the electric motor 31 is driven, the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is rotated by a certain angle via the gear 33, and the corresponding latch pin 43 is engaged with one corresponding pin by the rotation of the latch base 43, and the main body side rotation support is supported. The reverse rotation of the shaft 23 is restricted. At this time, the rotary arm 15 is also integrally rotated by a certain angle, and the step plate 3 is, for example, protruded (used) and maintained in the engaged state with the latch.

  On the other hand, when the electric motor 31 reversely rotates from the above state and the main body side rotation support shaft 23 also reversely rotates, the projection on the gear 33 releases the engagement of one of the latches in the engaged state, and continues to rotate as it is. The other latch engages with the corresponding other pin to restrict the forward rotation of the gear 33. At this time, the rotary arm 15 also rotates integrally, and the step plate 3 is in a retracted (non-use) state, for example, and the state is maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the rotary arm 15 is divided into two members, that is, an upper member 49 and a lower member 51, and the above-described step plate rotation support shaft is provided at the tip portion 15a on the right side in FIG. Insertion holes 49a and 51a into which 19 is inserted are provided. On the other hand, the base end portion 15b of the rotary arm 15 is provided with an insertion hole 49b into which the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is inserted only in the upper member 49. A shaft mounting core 53 is disposed between the upper member 49 and the lower member 51 at the base end portion 15b. The shaft mounting core 53 is provided with a mounting hole 53a into which the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is inserted and mounted.

  As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 5, the mounting hole 53a includes a cylindrical hole 53a1 positioned on the upper member 49 side, a conical hole 53a2 continuous to the lower part of the cylindrical hole 53a1, and a lower part continuous to the lower part of the conical hole 53a2. And a cylindrical hole 53a3. The cylindrical hole 53a1 has substantially the same inner diameter as the insertion hole 49b of the upper member 49, and the conical hole 53a2 has a lower inner diameter larger than the upper inner diameter.

  On the other hand, the main body side rotation support shaft 23 inserted into the mounting hole 53a is provided with a conical portion 23a at the lower end. The outer diameter of the lower portion of the conical portion 23a is larger than the outer diameter of the upper portion. A circular portion 23b formed concentrically with the lower cylindrical hole 53a3 is provided below the conical portion 23a. The slope of the conical portion 23a and the slope of the conical hole 53a2 of the shaft mounting core 53 are parallel to each other. The length B of the inclined surface of the conical portion 23 a is shorter than the length C of the inclined surface of the conical hole 53 a 2 of the shaft mounting core 53.

Between the conical hole 53a2 and the lower cylindrical hole 53a3 of the shaft mounting core 53 and the conical part 23a of the main body side rotation support shaft 23, a part of the upper shaft part of the conical part 23a and the circular part 23b, an annular shape is provided. A gap is formed. A welded portion 55 as a coupling portion is provided in the annular gap. The welded portion 55 melts the welding material by, for example, CO ₂ welding and fills the melt.

  As the welding operation, the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is connected to the attachment hole 53a and the insertion hole 49b from the attachment hole 53a side in a state where the shaft attachment core 53 is superimposed on the surface facing the lower member 51 of the upper member 49. Do it in the inserted state. As a result, a substantially conical annular weld 55 is formed in the annular gap. At this time, it is performed in a state where the axis P of the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is aligned with the centers of the mounting hole 53a and the insertion hole 49b.

  At this time, the lower end surface 23c of the main body side rotation support shaft 23 and the lower end surface 53b opposite to the upper member 49 of the shaft mounting core 53 are substantially flush with each other. At this time, the lower end portion 55a opposite to the upper member 49 of the welded portion 55 does not protrude downward in FIG. 5 from the lower end surface 23c and the lower end surface 53b, and the lower end surface 23c and the lower end surface 53b The same surface. If the welding part 55 is formed, the lower member 51 will be fixed to the upper member 49 by welding.

  Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the coupling is made between the inclined surface 55b on the outer peripheral side of the welded portion 55 and the inner surface of the conical hole 53a2 of the shaft mounting core 53 that is in close contact with the inclined surface 55b. An inclined surface 57 is provided. The coupling inclined surface 57 is inclined with respect to the axial direction of the main body side rotation support shaft 23 so that the lower part is radially outward from the upper part. The upward extension line Q on the coupling inclined surface 57 passes through the corner R on the upper end of the slider 39 on the upper side of the bush 37. The corner R is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the main body side rotation support shaft 23. The extension line Q is on the same plane as the axis P of the main body side rotation support shaft 23.

  Further, a shaft-side coupling inclined surface 59 is provided between the conical portion 23 a of the main body side rotation support shaft 23 and the inner peripheral inclined surface 55 c of the welded portion 55. The shaft-side coupling inclined surface 59 and the above-described coupling inclined surface 57 are substantially parallel to each other, and a welded portion 55 is formed between them.

  Next, the operation will be described. When the occupant puts his / her foot on the step plate 3 when the step plate 3 is in a use state protruding to the side of the vehicle body as shown in FIG. 4A, a load F (FIG. 1) acts on the step plate 3. To do. The load F is transmitted to the rotary arm 15 and the main body side rotation support shaft 23 via the bracket 17, and the rotary arm 15 and the main body side rotation support shaft 23 are arranged on the inner side of the upper end of the slider 39 of the bush 37 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the corner portion R is rotated in the counterclockwise direction as a fulcrum (bending fulcrum).

  At this time, when the load F increases, the rotary arm 15 and the main body side rotation support shaft 23 are elastically deformed and receive a bending load at a portion in contact with the corner portion R. That is, when the rotary arm 15 receives a load F downward through the step plate 3, the main body side rotation support shaft 23 applies a bending load between the main body side rotation support shaft 23 and the bush 37 serving as the shaft support portion of the main body portion 13. A moment M about the receiving and bending fulcrum (corner portion R) is generated.

  At that time, the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is prevented from coming off from the main body portion 13 (bush 37) by the nut 47, and the rotary arm 15 is prevented from coming off from the main body side rotation support shaft 23 by the welded portion 55. Static balance is maintained. That is, when the step plate 3 receives the load F, the welded portion 55 including the coupling inclined surface 57 between the rotary arm 15 and the main body side rotation support shaft 23 applies the load below the main body side rotation support shaft 23. As a result, a reaction force for maintaining the above-described static balance with respect to the moment M is generated in the welded portion 55.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the extension line Q of the combined inclined surface 57 coincides with the corner portion R of the slider 39. Therefore, when the rotary arm 15 tries to rotate with the corner portion R of the slider 39 as a bending fulcrum of the main body side rotation support shaft 23, the welded portion 55 is pivoted on the coupling inclined surface 57 on the extension line Q. The force f1 that presses the mounting core 53 in the right-angle direction acts as a reaction force. In other words, a compressive load is applied to the joint inclined surface 57 on the extension line Q so that the welded portion 55 presses the shaft mounting core 53 in the right-angle direction, so that the joint inclined surface 57 on the extension line Q receives the load. It will be equipped with.

  At the same time, on the joint inclined surface 57 located on the left side in FIG. 5 opposite to the portion where the force f1 acts, the load in the compression direction in which the shaft mounting core 53 presses the welded portion 55 in the right angle direction. f2 acts.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the rotary arm 15 receives the load F downward through the step plate 3, the coupling inclined surface 57 serving as the load receiving portion of the coupling portion is formed between the rotary arm 15 and the main body. A compressive load is applied to the side rotation support shaft 23. For this reason, the joint part including the weld part 55 is less likely to be damaged than when receiving a tensile load, and the joint part including the weld part 55 can be prevented from being damaged.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the corner | angular part R used as the bending fulcrum which receives the bending load in the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is located on the extension line Q of the inclined surface 55b of the welding part 55 used as a connection part. For this reason, when the main body side rotation support shaft 23 receives a bending load, the connecting inclined surface 57 receives a compressive load in a right angle direction, so that the breakage of the connecting portion including the welded portion 55 can be more reliably suppressed.

  Further, in this embodiment, between the coupling inclined surface 57 between the welded portion 55 and the shaft mounting core 53 and the shaft-side coupled inclined surface 59 between the welded portion 55 and the main body side rotation support shaft 23. A welded portion 55 is formed. For this reason, even when the welded portion 55 is used as a coupling portion between the rotary arm 15 and the main body side rotation support shaft 23, the inclined surface 55b of the welded portion 55 corresponding to the coupled inclined surface 57 is in a perpendicular direction. Since the compressive load is received, breakage of the welded portion 55 can be suppressed.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is only the illustration described in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, and this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific technical matters disclosed in the above embodiment, but includes various modifications, changes, alternative techniques, and the like that can be easily derived therefrom.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the welded portion 55 is used as the coupling portion between the rotary arm 15 and the main body side rotation support shaft 23 has been described. However, the present invention is also applied to a structure in which the conical portion 23a below the main body side rotation support shaft 23 is directly brought into close contact with and fixed to the conical hole 53a2 of the mounting hole 53a of the shaft mounting core 53 without providing the welded portion 55. Can be applied.

  Further, the welded portion 55 is provided on the entire circumference of the main body side rotation support shaft 23 and is formed in an annular shape, but at least when the load F acts on the position shown in FIG. It is only necessary to provide a portion where a compressive load acts between the main body side rotation support shaft 23 and the shaft mounting core 53.

1 vehicle step device 3 step plate (step)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Car body 13 Body part of vehicle step apparatus 15 Rotating arm (arm)
23 Main body side rotation support shaft (Rotation support shaft)
37 Bush (shaft support)
53a Rotating arm mounting hole into which the main body side rotation support shaft is inserted 55 Welded portion (joint portion)
57 Coupling inclined surface (load receiving part)
59 Shaft side coupling inclined surface Q Extension line of coupling inclined surface R Bushing slider corner (bending fulcrum)

Claims (2)

A step displaceable between a state protruding outward in the vicinity of the vehicle entrance / exit and a state stored inside the vehicle;
An arm having one end rotatably connected to the step;
A rotation support shaft connected and fixed to the other end of the arm;
A main body portion that is rotatably supported by the rotation support shaft and is attached to the vehicle body,
The arm includes a mounting hole into which the rotation support shaft is inserted,
Between the lower part of the mounting hole and the lower part of the rotation support shaft, the arm and the rotation support shaft are coupled to each other,
The coupling portion includes a load receiving portion that receives a compressive load between the arm and the rotation support shaft when the arm receives a downward load through the step .
The coupling portion includes a coupling inclined surface that inclines so that a lower portion is radially outer than an upper portion with respect to an axial direction of the rotation support shaft,
The rotation support shaft receives a bending load with the shaft support portion of the main body when the arm receives a load downward through the step, and a bending fulcrum receiving the bending load is A vehicle step device located on an extension line of a combined inclined surface . The coupling portion includes the coupling inclined surface formed on the mounting hole side of the arm;
A shaft-side coupling inclined surface formed on the outer peripheral portion of the rotation support shaft, facing the coupling inclined surface via a gap,
A welding portion provided in the gap between the coupling inclined surface and the shaft-side coupling inclined surface and weld-joining between the coupling inclined surface and the shaft-side coupling inclined surface. The vehicle step device according to claim 1 .

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