JPH0561432B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for automatically opening and closing a sliding door provided in a vehicle such as an automobile so that it can be opened and closed from a driver's seat or the like.

Conventional drive mechanisms for this type of automatic opening/closing device include a chain drive type, a lever drive type, an air cylinder drive type, a cable drive type, and the like.

However, with chain-driven ones (e.g.
(Refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 56-128890), abnormal noises may be generated due to vibration of the chain when opening/closing the sliding door or when the vehicle is running, and the running path of the chain must be placed on the same plane. Due to various restrictions on the mounting location and the occurrence of the above-mentioned noise, the chain had to be placed away from the slide door guide rail, and as a result, the chain running path became closer to the vehicle body. There are various disadvantages such as protruding from the lower surface of the device and increasing the size of the entire device.

In addition, lever-driven types (for example, JP-A-Sho
52-152019)), the rotation range of the arm is large, a large amount of installation space is required, and miniaturization cannot be expected, and the arm is exposed outside the sliding door, making it unsightly.

Furthermore, the air cylinder driven type (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 51-97922) requires a cylinder with a length more than twice the amount of door movement.
This also has the drawback that the entire device becomes large and is particularly unsuitable for use in automobiles.

As for the cable-driven type, a part of the cable that is routed around the front and rear drive pulleys and driven pulleys that are pivotally mounted on the underside of the car body is fixed to a part of the sliding door, and the sliding door is opened and closed. In this device, the roller device of the sliding door changes the cable rotation depending on whether it is moving along the curved section at the front end of the rail or when it is moving along the straight section. The running trajectory and the effective length of the cable change significantly, so unless a tension roller is installed in the middle of the cable's running trajectory or a driven pulley is made movable, the cable will become sagging, resulting in a complicated and complex structure. There are drawbacks such as increased size.

In addition, since the cable has an almost triangular shape with the vertices of the roller device of the sliding door to which the end is attached, the driving pulley, and the driven pulley, the direction of the load applied to the end of the cable and the direction of movement of the sliding door There is a big difference between the two and the efficiency of load transmission from the cable to the sliding door is poor.

As described above, the entire device of any of the conventional drive mechanisms becomes large in size, making them unsuitable for application to small vehicles such as passenger cars.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic opening/closing device for a sliding door for a vehicle that is small, lightweight, and can operate smoothly, and can be applied not only to vehicle sizes but also to small automobiles in particular. It is something.

Further, the present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems in the cable-driven type.

In order to achieve this objective, in the present invention,
A vehicle equipped with a sliding door attached to the vehicle body side, the front end of which is curved inward toward the vehicle body, and the other portion of which is disposed along a rail that is approximately parallel to the side surface of the vehicle body so as to be openable and closable. In this step, a flexible cable, a portion of which is disposed within the rail, is fixed in place to a roller device that is attached to the sliding door and moves within the rail, and the cable that comes out from the end of the rail is fixed to the roller device that moves within the rail. A flexible cable conduit is used to guide a cable provided on the vehicle body side to a drive means for running in forward and reverse directions, and by the drive means,
The sliding door is driven to open and close by running the cable in forward and reverse directions.

The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 is a car body, and 2 is a sliding door.

A channel-shaped lower rail 3 is fixed to the lower side of the vehicle body 1, the front end of which is curved toward the inside of the vehicle body 1, and the other portion of which is oriented in the longitudinal direction substantially parallel to the side surface of the vehicle body 1. A lower roller device 4 attached to the lower part of the inner surface of the sliding door 2 is slidably fitted inside.

A channel-shaped waist rail 5 extending in the front-rear direction is fixed to the middle part of the rear side of the vehicle body 1, and within this waist rail 5 is a waist roller device attached to the middle part of the rear end of the sliding door 2. 6 are slidably fitted.

Further, although not shown in the drawings, an upper rail is fixed to the upper side of the vehicle body 1 so as to form a pair of upper and lower rails with the lower rail 3, and an upper roller device attached to the upper inner surface of the sliding door 2 is attached to the upper rail. (not shown) are slidably fitted.

Therefore, in the sliding door 2, the lower roller device 4, the waist roller device 6, and the upper roller device are connected to the lower rail 3 and the waist rail 5, respectively.
By sliding along the top rail, the fully open door, shown as an imaginary line in Fig. 1, moves slightly outward from the vehicle body 1 from the closed position A shown by the imaginary line in Fig. 1, and then moves parallel to the rear. It can be opened to position B or closed in the opposite direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower roller device 4 includes a bracket 7 fixed to the inner surface of the sliding door 2.
A swinging piece 9 is pivotally attached to the tip of the bracket 7 protruding toward the inside of the vehicle with a vertical axis 8, and a swinging piece 9 is pivoted to the swinging piece 9 with a horizontal axis 10. vertical roller 11 and a vertical shaft 1 on the swinging piece 9.
A pair of front and rear horizontal rollers 13 pivotally supported with 2
The vertical roller 11 rolls along the upper surface of the lower piece 3a of the lower rail 3, and the horizontal roller 13 rolls along the inner surface of the side piece 3b of the lower rail 3. It is designed to be able to slide smoothly along the

Each end of flexible cables 14 and 15 made of, for example, hard steel wire, arranged inside the lower rail 3, is fixed to the front and rear ends of the swinging piece 9 fitted inside the lower rail 3. has been done.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cable 14 coming out from the front end of the lower rail 3 is guided to a flexible cable conduit 17 that is fixed to the underside of the floor of the vehicle body 1 with an appropriate stopper 16. As shown in FIG. 3, a spiral guide groove 18 is formed on the outer periphery of the rotating drum 18.
It is wound along a.

Also, cable 1 coming out from the rear end of lower rail 3
5 is guided by a flexible cable conduit 19 fixed to the lower surface of the floor of the vehicle body 1 with an appropriate stopper 16, and after being curved into a U-shape at the rear of the vehicle body 1,
A spiral guide groove 1 facing forward parallel to the lower rail 3 and finally formed on the outer periphery of the rotating drum 18
8b, it is wound in a direction opposite to the winding direction of the cable 14.

As clearly shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4,
The rotating drum 18 has an appropriate detent fitting 22 attached to a downward output shaft 21 of a decelerator 20 with an electromagnetic clutch attached to the lower surface of the floor of the vehicle body 1.
They are fitted so that they cannot rotate relative to each other.

A cable loosening prevention device 23 is provided within the rotating drum 18.

The loosening prevention device 23 includes serrated teeth 24 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rotating drum 18 and a spiral spring 2.
5. Inner end 25a of spiral spring 25
is bent radially inward and fixed to the output shaft 21, and the outer end 25b of the spiral spring 25 is bent radially outward to form a pawl member 26 that engages with the teeth 24. ing. This pawl member 26 is
Due to the restoring force of the spiral spring 25, it is always biased clockwise in FIG.

The pawl member 26 and the teeth 24 form a ratchet mechanism 27 that allows the pawl member 26 to rotate only in the clockwise direction in FIG. 4 with respect to the rotating drum 18.

The tip of the cable 15 that has entered the rotating drum 18 through a through hole 28 bored in the outer circumferential wall of the rotating drum 18 is fixed to the pawl member 26, and the cable 15 is always attached in the direction of extension. Forced.

Further, the tip of the cable 14 is connected to the rotating drum 18
It enters into the rotating drum 18 through a through hole 29 bored in the outer circumferential wall of the rotary drum 18 and is locked to the inner circumferential surface of the rotating drum 18 .

Thus, if the cables 14, 15 become loose, the restoring force of the spiral spring 25 will index the tip of the cable 15 into the rotating drum 18, and the slack in the cables 14, 15 will be automatically removed. , the pawl member 26 gradually closes the rear teeth 2 by an amount corresponding to the amount of extension of the cables 14 and 15.
4 and is prevented from returning, after that,
No matter how large the pulling force is applied to the cables 14, 15, there is no fear that the end of the cable 15 will be pulled back toward the outside of the rotating drum 18, and the cables 14, 15 can always be kept in a tensioned state. can.

30 is a drum cover attached to the lower surface of the speed reducer 20 so as to cover the rotating drum 18.

The speed reducer 20 may be of a known type, but in this embodiment, the speed reducer 20 is constructed as described in the patent application filed in 1983 by the present applicant.
It has the same configuration as that disclosed in No. 169717. That is, it includes a worm (not shown) integrally formed with the input shaft 31 (see FIG. 3) and a worm wheel (not shown) that meshes with the worm, and there is a space between the worm wheel and the output shaft 21. , an electromagnetic clutch (not shown) is provided.

Note that the present invention is not directly related to the configuration of this speed reducer 20 itself, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

The input shaft 31 of the reducer 20 is a rotating shaft 34a of a motor 34 which is fixed to the lower surface of the floor of the vehicle body 1 with appropriate mounting members 32 and 33 and is capable of forward and reverse rotation.
In addition, the core members 36 are connected to each other through a torque transmitting connector 37 that allows the core member 36 to freely rotate within the armored cable 35.

Thus, with the electromagnetic clutch built in the reducer 20 in operation, the rotating shaft 34 of the motor 34
By rotating the cable 1 in a predetermined normal rotation direction, the rotating drum 18 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 via the decelerator 20, and the cable 1
4 and 15 in the forward direction of the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 3, the sliding door 2 can be opened.

Furthermore, when the rotating shaft 34a of the motor 34 is rotated in the opposite direction to that in the above case while the electromagnetic clutch built in the reducer 20 is operated, the cables 14 and 15 are The sliding door 2 can be closed by traveling in the opposite direction.

Note that when the electromagnetic clutch in the reducer 20 is in an inoperative state, the motor 34 and the rotating drum 18 are disconnected, and the sliding door 2 can be freely opened and closed manually.

In this case, the cables 14, 15 and the rotating drum 1
8 is only driven by the manual operation of the sliding door 2, and the input shaft 31 side of the decelerator 20 is not driven, so the manual operation of the sliding door 2 can be performed smoothly.

Inside the sliding door 2, an in-door operating mechanism is provided. Since this in-door operating mechanism is not directly related to the present invention, it will be briefly described below.

At the rear end of the sliding door 2, there is a
Door lock 38 for locking the door in closed position A
When the sliding door 2 is opened to the fully open position B, it engages with a hook 39 fixed in the waist rail 5 to prevent the sliding door 2 from closing under its own weight on a slope or the like. A foot lever 40 is provided.

The door lock 38 is connected to an electric actuator 44 provided at the lower center of the sliding door 2 via a rod 41, an intermediate lever 42 pivoted approximately at the center of the sliding door 2, and a rod 43. 44, the door lock 38 can be released.

The lever lever 40 is connected to an electric actuator 48 provided at the bottom of the sliding door 2 in parallel with the actuator 44 through a rod 45, an intermediate lever 46 pivotally mounted at the center of the upper part of the sliding door 2, and a rod 47. By operating this actuator 48, the engagement between the hook lever 40 and the hook 39 can be released.

The door lock 38 and the foot lever 4 can also be locked by manual operation of the outside handle 49 and inside handle (not shown) of the sliding door 2.
In order to be able to release the 0, slide door 2
The control mechanism 50 and the outside handle 49 provided at appropriate positions on the front of the lever are connected by rods 51 and 52, and the control mechanism 50 and the inside handle are also connected as appropriate, and the control mechanism 50 and each intermediate lever 42, 46 are connected by rods 53 and 54, respectively.

The control mechanism 50 is further connected to a knob 56 with a rod 55, and is also connected to a key cylinder device (not shown), so that the outside handle can be opened by locking/unlocking the knob 56 or a key (not shown). Door lock 3 using 49 or inside handle
8 can be disabled or enabled.

The actuators 44, 48, the motor 34, the electromagnetic clutch built into the speed reducer 20, etc. are operated at timings described later by appropriate electrical control circuits (not shown).

Next, the overall operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

To automatically open the sliding door 2 while the sliding door 2 is in the closed position A, a door opening switch (not shown) provided on the driver's seat or the like is pressed.

Then, the actuator 44 operates to pull the rod 43 downward and release the door lock 38 via the intermediate lever 42 and the rod 41.

Then, the electromagnetic clutch built into the reducer 20 is activated, and the rotating shaft 34a of the motor 34 is activated.
rotates in the forward direction. Then, the rotating drum 18
rotates in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3, and the cables 14, 1
5 in the forward direction and open the sliding door 2 to the fully open position B.

When the sliding door 2 is opened to the fully open position B, the lever lever 40 engages with the hook 39. Furthermore, when the sliding door 2 reaches the fully open position B is detected by a suitable limit switch (not shown), the operation of the motor 34 and the electromagnetic clutch in the speed reducer 20 is stopped.

To automatically close the sliding door 2 from this state, a door closing switch (not shown) provided on the driver's seat or the like is pressed.

Then, the actuator 48 operates,
Pull the rod 47 downward and move the hook lever 40 to the hook piece 3 via the intermediate lever 46 and rod 45.
Remove from 9.

Then, the electromagnetic clutch in the speed reducer 20 is activated, and the rotating shaft 34a of the motor 34 is rotated in the opposite direction. Then, the rotating drum 18 rotates in the opposite direction to the above case, causing the cables 14 and 15 to run in the opposite direction, and closing the sliding door 2 toward the closing position A.

When the sliding door 2 is closed to the closed position A, the door lock 38 engages with a striker (not shown) provided on the vehicle body 1 side, and becomes locked. Furthermore, when the sliding door 2 reaches the closed position A is detected by a suitable limit switch (not shown), the operation of the motor 34 and the electromagnetic clutch in the speed reducer 20 is stopped.

If you want to open and close sliding door 2 manually,
All you have to do is perform the same operations as before. That is, when you want to open the door, operate the outside handle 49 or the inside handle to lock the door lock 3.
8, just push the sliding door 2 toward the rear.

Furthermore, in order to close the sliding door 2 from the fully open position, the user may operate the outside handle 49 or the inside handle to release the lever 40, and then push the sliding door 2 forward. Note that, at this time, as the sliding door 2 moves, the cables 14, 15 and the rotating drum 18 follow, as described above.

As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, in order to move the sliding door, a flexible cable that runs forward and backward along a rail attached to the vehicle body that guides the movement of the sliding door is used. Therefore, compared to the conventional chain drive type, lever drive type, or air cylinder drive type, it is much smaller and requires less installation space, and the drive mechanism is not exposed to the outside.
There is less risk of injury or failure of the drive mechanism due to clothing or other items being caught in the drive mechanism when getting on or off the vehicle, and the vehicle also has the advantage of having a good appearance.

Further, since a flexible cable is used, there is a degree of freedom in the installation location of the motor, speed reducer, etc., and there are also advantages such as being able to arrange the cable according to the unevenness of the vehicle.

Therefore, it is particularly suitable as an automatic opening/closing device for sliding doors for small vehicles such as passenger cars.

Furthermore, the present invention has the following advantages over the conventional cable drive type.

(a) Since part of the cable is placed inside the rail,
The cable can always move along the rail, the effective length of the cable hardly changes as the sliding door moves, and the cable can run smoothly without the need for tension rollers, etc. can.

Therefore, the structure can be simplified and the size can be easily reduced.

Furthermore, since the end portion of the cable moves along the rail together with the roller device, the direction of the load applied to the end of the cable and the direction of movement of the sliding door are almost the same, and the load is transferred efficiently from the cable to the sliding door.

(b) The cable coming out from the end of the rail is guided to the drive means using a flexible cable conduit, so the cable's running trajectory can be freely changed to match the shape of the underside of the car body. can do.

In other words, even if there is a protrusion on the underside of the vehicle,
Cables can be arranged to avoid this.

(c) Furthermore, since the cables are not exposed to the outside, it is possible to prevent mud from adhering to the cables without covering the entire device with a cover or case.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an enlarged perspective view of the lower roller device; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts of the drive mechanism;
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the - line in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the automatic operation mechanism of the door lock, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the automatic operation mechanism of the foot lever. . 1... Vehicle body, 2... Sliding door, 3... Lower rail, 4... Lower roller device, 5... Waist rail, 6... Waist roller device, 14, 15
... Cable, 17, 19 ... Cable conduit, 18 ...
Rotating drum, 20...Decelerator, 23...Loosening prevention device, 34...Motor, 38...Door lock,
39... hook piece, 40... foot lever, 42,4
6... Intermediate lever, 44, 48... Actuator, 49... Outside handle, 50... Control mechanism, 56... Knob.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Equipped with a sliding door attached to the vehicle body side, the front end of which is curved toward the inside of the vehicle body, and the other portion of which is disposed along a rail that is approximately parallel to the side surface of the vehicle body so as to be openable and closable. In the vehicle,
A flexible cable, a portion of which is disposed within the rail, is fixed in place to a roller device that is attached to the sliding door and moves within the rail, and the cable that comes out from the end of the rail is fixed to the roller device that moves within the rail. A cable provided on the vehicle body side is guided to a driving means for running in forward and reverse directions using a cable conduit, and the driving means drives the sliding door to open and close by causing the cable to run in forward and reverse directions. An automatic opening/closing device for a vehicle sliding door, which is characterized by: