JPH0235831B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic door opening/closing device for an automobile, etc., in which the door of the automobile, etc. is automatically opened and closed by a drive means housed in the door.

Conventionally, this type of automatic door opening/closing device
(Refer to Publication No. 22888), the rotation of the motor as a drive source is converted into the rotation of an arm via a reducer or sector gear, and one end of this arm is connected to the vehicle body to push the door. Many of them are connected to the other end of the pushing rod used for traction.

However, in the above configuration, in order to connect the drive source and the arm with various linking means,
Since the structure is complicated and many parts are used, there is a drawback that the cost is high, and there is also a drawback that the installation location is inevitably limited because it can be accommodated within the limited space inside the door.

The present invention attempts to solve the above-mentioned difficulties by linking the push rod and the drive means with a flexible cable.

That is, in the present invention, the other end of the push rod, whose one end is pivotally attached to the vehicle body side slightly lateral to the pivot axis of the door hinge, is connected to the guide rail provided on the door so as to be substantially parallel to the push rod. One end of a flexible cable is pivotally connected to the slidably fitted sliding piece and is guided by a cable conduit with one end fixed to the guide rail and the other end fixed in place on the door. Attaches to the sliding piece,
The other end of the cable is pushed by an appropriate driving means,
The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic door opening/closing device for an automobile or the like, characterized in that the door is opened and closed by pushing and pulling the pushing rod and the sliding piece.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail based on an illustrated embodiment.

Reference numeral 1 designates a center pillar of an automobile, and a rear door 4 is pivotally attached to the rear outer surface of the center pillar 1 through a pair of upper and lower door hinges 3 each having a vertical pivot 2.

The automatic door opening/closing device of the present invention is housed in a predetermined position of a room 5 formed by an outer panel 4a, an inner panel 4b, a front end plate 4c, and a rear end plate 4d that constitute the door 4. .

Reference numeral 6 denotes a motor serving as a driving source, which can be rotated forward or reverse by operating a switch (not shown) located at a driver's seat or the like, and is powered by a battery.

A speed reducer 7 with a clutch is directly connected to the motor 6.

The structure of this decelerator 7 with a clutch is shown in FIG. The output shaft 9, which passes through a boss 8a of a housing-like case 8 fixed to the inner panel 4b and whose tip protrudes horizontally to the outside of the case 8, is rotatably supported by the boss 8a and slightly axially rotated. It is movable. A pinion 10 is fitted to the tip of the output shaft 9, and a disc-shaped armature 11 is fitted to the outer periphery of the other end inside the case 8.

An annular coil 12 is fixed to the inner wall of the case 8 so as to face the armature 11, and is interposed between the coil 12 and the armature 11.
An annular worm wheel 13 is also rotatably supported on the outer periphery of the boss 8a.

A meshing portion 13a is fitted onto the outer circumferential surface of the worm wheel 13 so as to be integral therewith, and the meshing portion 13a meshes with a worm 14 that is rotated in conjunction with the output shaft of the motor 6.

Therefore, the field is excited by energizing the coil 12, and the worm wheel 13 attracts the armature 11, so that the pinion 10
Rotational force is transmitted to. In other words, it functions as both a clutch mechanism and a speed reduction mechanism.

A cable 15 is provided so that its rear end meshes with the pinion 10, and this structure will be explained in detail later.

As best shown in FIG.
This is a push rod that also serves as a check link, and is made by attaching two horizontally oriented thin plates with a raised part with a slope in the center in opposite directions.
It has a rod shape with an upper and lower bulge 16a in the center.

The tip of the push rod 16 penetrates the front end plate 4c of the door 4 and a holding device 17 fixed to the front end plate 4c and has a built-in sliding member, and projects out of the door.
The door hinge 3 is pivotally connected to a bracket 18 attached to the center pillar 1 with a vertical axis 19 at a portion slightly lateral to the pivot axis 2.

A stopper 20 is fixed to the outer periphery of the rear end of the push rod 16, and the push rod 1 is attached to the rear of the stopper 20.
A vertical connecting pin 21 penetrating through 6 is fixed at its upper end and hangs down.

The cable 15 includes a spiral protrusion 15b around a flexible core material 15a. Such a cable 15 is known as a so-called geared cable, and is formed by, for example, winding another hard steel wire helically around a core material made of hard steel wire. . The cable 15 is slidably inserted in the axial direction into a cable conduit 15c made of a steel pipe or a flexible circular pipe made of synthetic resin, and is guided by the cable conduit 15c.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a guide rail having a C-shaped cross section, and is fixed to the inner wall of the inner panel 4b via a mounting plate 22a so as to be substantially parallel to the push rod 16.

The rear end of this guide rail 22 is connected to a connecting metal fitting 23.
The front end of the cable 15 connected to the front end of the cable conduit 15c and guided by the cable conduit 15c enters into the guide rail 22 and is connected to the front end of the cable conduit 15c.
A sliding piece 24 is slidably fitted in the axial direction.
It is attached to.

The sliding piece 24 is connected to the side opening 2 of the guide rail 22.
It protrudes horizontally from 2b, and the lower end of the above-mentioned connecting pin 21 is fixed to the protruding end.

The rear end of the cable conduit 15c is connected with a connecting fitting 27 to the front end of a guide tube 26 fixed to the decelerator 7 with a holding fitting 25 so as to face in the tangential direction of the pinion 10.

The cable 15 protruding from the rear end of the cable conduit 15c is
The spiral protrusion 1 enters the guide tube 26 and passes through the cutout window 26a cut in the middle lower part of the guide tube 26.
5b is meshed with the pinion 10.

Note that 28 shown at the rear end of the door 4 in FIG. Main body 30
The engagement between the two is released by the operation of a solenoid 32 linked to the lock body 30 via a lever 31.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of the present invention configured as described above will be explained.

To automatically open and close the door 4, turn on a switch (not shown), energize the solenoid 32, release the engagement between the lock body 30 and the striker 29, and make the door 4 ready to open. . Next, power is supplied to the motor 6. As the motor 6 rotates, the pinion 10 of the reducer 7 to which the clutch is connected rotates, and the helical protrusion 15b meshes with this pinion 10. The rotation of the pinion 10 pushes the cable 15 forward within the cable conduit 15c.

As a result, the sliding piece 24 fixed to the front end of the cable 15 moves forward while being guided by the guide rail 22, and is connected to the push rod 16 via the connecting pin 21.
It operates to push forward.

As shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 6, the door 4 is opened relative to the pivot 2 by pushing the tip of the push rod 16 in the direction of the shaft 19.

When closing the door 4, a switch (not shown) is used.
The motor 6 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the pushing rod 16 is pulled by the operation opposite to that described above.

When opening and closing the door 4 manually, the clutch in the reducer 7 is not connected, so the pinion 1
0 can rotate freely without any resistance from the motor 6. Therefore, the door 4 can be opened and closed by hand while moving the cable 15.

Note that the push rod 16 is provided with a vertical bulge 16a that functions as a check link mechanism.
When this portion passes through the holding device 17, it is configured to generate a desired holding force, and the door 4 is reliably held at the desired opening degree of the door 4.

As described above in detail, the present invention connects the pushing rod that is pushed and pulled to open and close the door with the driving means using a flexible cable, so that the door opening/closing device can be operated easily. Since the structure is simple and the number of parts is small, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

Further, there are advantages such as being able to freely select the installation location of a drive source such as a motor, and being able to reduce the thickness of the door.

Furthermore, the following effects can also be achieved.

(a) When one end of the cable is pushed out of the cable conduit and the door is opened, if one end of the cable is simply connected to the push rod, the connecting part will shift to the side and the cable will become seated. However, it is difficult to accurately transmit the pushing force of the cable to the pushing rod. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the cables from buckling as described above, transmit all of the pushing force of the cables to the push lever, and open the door smoothly and reliably.

(b) It is easier to guide the cable than when using an endless cable, and the structure can be simplified.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of an automobile door to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of the main parts of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is taken along line X-X in Fig. 2. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway front view enlarging other important parts of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line Y-Y in FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view taken along the Z-Z line in FIG. 1. FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Center pillar, 2... Pivot, 3... Door hinge, 4... Door, 6... Motor, 7... Decelerator, 10... Pinion, 15... Cable, 15a
... Core material, 15b ... Spiral protrusion, 15c ... Cable conduit, 16 ... Push rod, 21 ... Connection pin, 22 ...
...Guide rail, 24...Sliding piece, 26...Guide tube.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A guide provided on the door so that the other end of the push rod, which has one end pivoted on the vehicle body side slightly deviated laterally from the pivot axis of the door hinge, is substantially parallel to the push rod. One end of a flexible cable pivotally connected to a sliding piece slidably fitted to the rail and guided by a cable conduit with one end fixed to the guide rail and the other end fixed to a suitable position on the door. is fixed to the sliding piece, and the other end of the cable is fixed to the sliding piece.
An automatic door opening/closing device for an automobile or the like, characterized in that the pushing rod and the sliding piece are pushed and pulled by an appropriate drive means to open and close the door. 2. The cable is made of a geared cable in which a spiral protrusion is formed around a flexible core material, and the driving means for pushing and pulling the cable meshes with the helical protrusion of the cable. An automatic door opening/closing device for an automobile or the like according to claim 1, comprising a pinion, and the cable is pushed and pulled by rotating the pinion forward and backward.