JPH0514658B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

This invention relates to an upper support mechanism for a sliding door that slides open and close in the longitudinal direction along the outer surface of the vehicle body, and eliminates the bulge of the roof side rail due to the bending of the end of the upper guide rail toward the passenger compartment. The improvements have been made to improve the appearance of the vehicle interior and to make effective use of the vehicle interior space.Moreover, when the sliding door is opened, the end of the door in the closed position is sufficiently lifted out to the outside of the vehicle body before the door is opened. It relates to an improved device that can be slid in the position direction.

[Conventional technology]

As a support mechanism for this type of sliding door, for example, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 57-121321, an atsupa guide rail is installed along the upper edge of the door opening, and along the bottom edge of the door opening. A lower guide rail is provided along the side of the vehicle body from the middle height of the rear end of the door opening toward the rear, and a center guide rail is provided along the side of the vehicle body. It is constructed by slidingly fitting and supporting the attached guide roller.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, such a sliding door has two opening positions, one in which it overlaps the outer wall of the vehicle body behind the door opening, and the other in which it fits into the door opening in the vehicle width direction and is flush with the outer surface of the vehicle body. Because of the need for sliding guidance between the closed positions, conventionally each guide rail has generally been curved largely toward the passenger compartment at its end on the closed position side. As a result, the roof side rail to which the Atsupa guide rail is attached has to bulge out toward the passenger compartment at a portion corresponding to the curved portion of the Atsupa guide rail, which detracts from the aesthetics of the passenger compartment. There was a problem that the room space was compressed. In order to solve such problems, the applicant installed an atsupa guide rail on the upper edge of the door opening, which is provided with a roller support wall at the end of the door in the closed position and extends linearly in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, an automobile is provided with an arm having a roller that is slidably fitted to the above-mentioned Atsupa guide rail and is swingably attached to the sliding door between an upright position extending inward of the vehicle body in a horizontal plane and a folded position extending in the front-rear direction. We have already proposed an upper support mechanism for sliding doors (Japanese Patent Application No. 60-249553 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 110525-1982)). However, with the upper support mechanism of the automobile sliding door of this prior application, when the door is opened from the closed position, the door is slid backwards without the arm swinging from the folded position to the upright position, and the sliding door and door opening are There is a problem that interference occurs with the outer wall of the rear vehicle body. This invention has been devised under the above-mentioned circumstances, and solves the problems of the above-mentioned conventional example and the prior invention. The structure is designed to eliminate local bulges in the rails, improve the aesthetics of the cabin, and make effective use of the cabin space.In addition, when opening the sliding door, the sliding door is reliably lifted out to the outside of the car body. To provide an upper support mechanism for a sliding door for an automobile, which is configured to be slid toward an open position after being opened, and to prevent interference between the sliding door and the outer wall of the vehicle body behind the door opening.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above problem, the sliding door upper support mechanism of the present invention takes the following technical measures. That is, in the present invention, the door is slidably supported by support mechanisms arranged at multiple locations in the vertical direction between an open position overlapping the outer surface of the vehicle body and a closed position fitting into the door opening of the vehicle body. An upper support mechanism for a sliding door for an automobile, which has a roller support wall at the end on the side of the door closed position, and a bottom-open groove-shaped upper guide rail extending linearly in the front-rear direction at the upper edge of the door opening. At the same time, the arm with the roller that slides into the above-mentioned Atsupa guide rail is moved between the upright position, which extends inward of the vehicle body, and the folded position, which extends in the longitudinal direction, with respect to the sliding door, using another support mechanism. When the sliding door moves in the closing direction, the above-mentioned roller of the above-mentioned roller As the arm rotates in the folding direction due to contact with the support wall, the roller moves upward relative to the upper guide rail while contacting the roller support wall. The present invention is characterized in that a stopper wall is provided at a portion of the upper guide rail facing the roller support wall to prevent the roller in the upwardly moving state from moving toward the door open position. .

[Effect]

When the arm is in the upright position extending inward from the sliding door, a predetermined space is secured between the sliding door and the outer wall of the vehicle, and the sliding door can slide to the open position overlapping the outer wall of the vehicle without any problem. You will be guided. Then, when the sliding door is slid from the open position toward the closed position, the rollers come into contact with the roller support wall provided on the upper guide rail when the sliding door reaches the vicinity of the closed position. When the sliding door is moved from here toward the closed position, the arm swings from the upright position to the folded position around the roller that is prevented from moving as described above, and the upper part of the sliding door follows a curved trajectory. It is pulled towards the passenger compartment. At this time, the arm swings in a plane that slopes downward toward the interior of the vehicle relative to the plane of movement between the open and closed positions of the sliding door, which is supported by a support mechanism other than the upper support mechanism. When the arm is in the folded position, the roller is located above the upper guide rail. On the other hand, in the part of the Atsupa guide rail that faces the roller support wall, since the arm is in the folded position as described above, the roller slide is in the upward movement position relative to the Atsupa guide rail. Since a stopper wall is provided to prevent movement in the door opening direction, when the sliding door is to be slid from the closed position to the open position, movement of the roller in the door opening direction is prohibited. Therefore, when the sliding door moves from the closed position to the open position, the arm swings in the upright direction around the roller, which is prohibited from moving in the opening direction by the stopper wall as described above. It will be done. As the arm is swung from the folded position to the upright position, the position of the roller with respect to the top guide rail becomes lower, and eventually the prohibition of the roller from moving in the opening direction by the stopper wall is released, and the roller moves in the opening direction. will be allowed to move to.

【effect】

As described above, in this invention, after the roller comes into contact with the roller support wall of the linear Atsupa guide rail, the arm swings from the upright position to the folded position around the roller, thereby Since the sliding door is pulled toward the interior of the vehicle, there is no need to curve the closing end of the Atsupa guide rail toward the interior of the vehicle, unlike the conventional Atsupa guide rail. Therefore, there is no need to form a bulge corresponding to the curved part of the Atsupa guide rail on the roof side rail to which the Atsupa guide rail is attached, and the roof side rail is formed in a straight line to improve the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle interior. let me,
It is possible to make effective use of the vehicle interior space. Also,
When the arm is in the folded state at the position where the roller contacts the roller support wall of the Atsupa guide rail, the movement of the roller in the door opening direction is blocked by the stopper wall, so that the arm is folded. Since the door is reliably raised from the state to the upright state, it is possible to reliably prevent a situation where the sliding door is slid in the opening direction without sufficient space being secured between the top of the sliding door and the outer wall of the vehicle body. Interference between the sliding door and the outer wall of the vehicle body behind the door opening can be prevented.

[Explanation of Examples]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially showing the body of an automobile equipped with a sliding door 3. As shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, a top guide rail 4 is attached to the upper edge of a door opening 2 formed on the side of the vehicle body 1, a lower guide rail 5 is attached to the bottom edge of the door opening 2, and a lower guide rail 5 is attached to the bottom edge of the door opening 2 formed on the side of the vehicle body 1. Center guide rails 6 are provided rearward from the middle height of the rear end along the outer surface of the vehicle body, and the sliding door 3 slides rollers attached via arms to each corresponding portion of the slide door 3 onto each of the guide rails. It is supported by fitting. This invention particularly improves a door upper support mechanism consisting of an upper guide rail 4, a roller slidably fitted thereto, or an arm supporting the upper guide rail, and will be described below. First, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the Atsupa guide rail 4 is composed of a groove-shaped member that faces diagonally outward and downward, and is attached to the outer lower surface of the roof side rail 7. is extended in a straight line. At the end of the Atsupa guide rail 4 on the side of the door closed position, that is, the normal front end, there is a
As shown in FIG. 5, a roller support wall 4a is formed. On the other hand, an arm 9 is connected to the inner upper surface of the sliding door 3 via a bracket 8. A roller 10 slidably fitted into the top guide rail 4 is rotatably supported at one end of the arm 9, and a roller 10 formed on the bracket 8 is provided at the other end and intermediate portion of the arm 9. Each cam groove 11, 12
Pins 13 and 14 are provided which are slidably fitted into the. The upper surface of the bracket 8 is oriented obliquely upward and inward, and by caulking the lower ends of the pins 13 and 14 inserted into the cam grooves 11 and 12, the arm 9 is parallel to the upper surface of the bracket 8. It is restricted to swing only within a plane that slopes downward toward the interior of the vehicle. Note that the movement locus regarding the vertical position of the sliding door 3 is based on support mechanisms other than the upper support mechanism according to the present invention, that is, the center guide rail 6 and the lower guide rail 5 shown in FIG.
It is also defined by an arm with a roller provided on the sliding door side so as to cooperate with these, and the vertical movement locus of the sliding door 3 is normally set within a horizontal plane. In other words, the sliding door 3 can be moved in the vehicle length direction and vehicle width direction between an open position where it overlaps the inner surface of the vehicle body and a closed position where it fits into the vehicle body door opening. is set to move in a horizontal plane. Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, the movement locus of the arm 9 moves within a plane that is obliquely inclined toward the interior of the vehicle with respect to the horizontal direction, which is the plane of movement of the sliding door 3 in the vehicle width direction. It turns out. By the way, each of the above cam grooves 11, 12
One side is a linear cam groove 11 parallel to the sliding direction of the sliding door 3, and the other side is an arcuate portion 12.
The curved cam groove 12 is made up of a curved portion 12c, an inclined straight portion 12b, and a curved portion 12c. A stopper wall 15 is provided at the front end of the upper guide rail 4 and faces the roller support wall 4a at a predetermined distance approximately equal to the diameter of the roller 10. The lower edge of this stopper wall 15 is located above the lower edge of the roller support wall 4a. This is because the swinging surface of the arm 9 is inclined with respect to the horizontal movement surface of the sliding door in the vehicle width direction, so the arm 9 is folded in a position that is lower than the position of the roller 10 when the arm 9 is in the upright position. The position of the roller 10 when it is in the folded position is relative to the upper guide rail 4, and when the arm 9 is in the folded position and the roller 10 is in the upper position, this Stopper wall 15
can prevent the roller 10 from moving in the door opening direction,
This is to allow the roller 10 to move in the opening direction when the arm 9 is in the upright position and the roller 10 is open to the upper guide rail 4. In the above configuration, arm 9
When the sliding door 3 is in the upright position, a predetermined space is secured between the sliding door 3 and the outer surface of the vehicle body, so the sliding door can be moved freely without interference between the sliding door 3 and the vehicle body. 3 can be slid between near the closed position and the open position. When the slide door 3 is slid from the open position toward the closed position, the roller 10 is brought into contact with the roller support wall 4a of the upper guide rail 4 near the closed position. When the sliding door 3 is further moved toward the closed position from here, the arm 9 swings from the upright position to the folded position around the roller 10 that is brought into contact with the roller support wall 4a. At this time, the arm 9 swings within a plane that is parallel to the inclined upper surface of the bracket 8 and slopes downward toward the interior of the vehicle interior. The end of the Atsupa guide rail on the closed position side swings in a plane that slopes downward toward the inside of the vehicle compartment relative to the horizontal movement locus of the sliding door when it moves in the closing direction, which is defined by the support mechanism of the slide door. In the section, roller 1
0 is moved upward as the arm 9 swings from the upright position to the folded position as described above.
The movement of the roller 10 thus moved upward in the door opening direction is prevented by the stopper wall 15. When opening the sliding door in the closed state, the movement of the roller 10 in the opening direction is prevented by the stopper wall 15, so the arm 9 folds around the roller 10 whose movement is prevented as described above. As a result, the sliding door 3 is sufficiently lifted out from the closed position to the outside of the vehicle body, and then moved in the opening direction. Therefore, there is no interference between the sliding door 3 and the vehicle body position.
While maintaining a constant distance from the outer surface of the vehicle, it is further slid and guided in the opening direction in a stable manner. In the above embodiment, the movement trajectory of the bracket 8 and the sliding door 3 in the vicinity of the closed position draws an arc centered on the roller 10 while the pin 14 slides within the arc portion 12a of the cam groove 12, and 14 is the inclined straight portion 12 of the cam groove 12
While sliding in 12c, the pin 14 draws a curve in which the amount of movement in the sliding direction is greater than the amount of pulling in the vehicle width direction, and when the pin 14 slides in the curved part of the cam groove 12 in 12c, the sliding door 3 Draw a straight line at a predetermined acute angle with respect to the sliding direction. In the above embodiment, the arm 9 and the bracket 8 are connected via two pins 13 and 14, but the bracket 8 and the arm 9 may be swingably connected with a single pin. Further, the cam profile of each of the cam grooves 11 and 12 of the bracket 8 can be freely selected in accordance with the movement trajectory of the bracket 8 and the sliding door 3. Furthermore, the bracket 8 may be formed with a rack, and the arm may be provided with a pinion gear portion that meshes with the rack.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view partially showing the body of an automobile equipped with a sliding door, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is the end of the Atsupa guide rail in the closed position. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of Fig. 1 when the arm is in the upright position, and Fig. 5 is Fig. 1 when the arm is in the folded position. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line - FIG. 5. 1...Vehicle body, 2...Door opening, 3...Sliding door,
4...Atsupa guide rail, 4a...roller support wall,
9...Arm, 10...Roller, 15...Stopper wall.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Supported so as to be slidable between an open position overlapping the outer surface of the vehicle body and a closed position fitting into the door opening of the vehicle body by support mechanisms disposed at a plurality of locations in the vertical direction. This is an upper support mechanism for an automobile sliding door, which has a roller support wall at the end on the side of the door closed position, and a bottom-open groove-shaped upper guide rail extending linearly in the front-rear direction at the upper edge of the door opening. At the same time, the arm with the roller that slides into the above-mentioned Atsupa guide rail can be attached to other support mechanisms between the upright position extending inward of the vehicle body relative to the sliding door and the folded position extending in the longitudinal direction. By mounting it so that it can swing within a plane that slopes downward toward the interior of the vehicle with respect to the plane of movement between the open and closed positions of the sliding door stipulated above, when the sliding door moves in the closing direction, the As the arm rotates in the folding direction due to contact with the roller support wall, the roller moves upward relative to the upper guide rail while contacting the roller support wall. The present invention is characterized in that a stopper wall is provided at a portion of the upper guide rail facing the roller support wall to prevent the roller in the upwardly moving state from moving toward the door open position. Upper support mechanism for automobile sliding doors.