US20010033086A1 - Operating device for automotive pivotal door - Google Patents
Operating device for automotive pivotal door Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20010033086A1 US20010033086A1 US09/813,980 US81398001A US2001033086A1 US 20010033086 A1 US20010033086 A1 US 20010033086A1 US 81398001 A US81398001 A US 81398001A US 2001033086 A1 US2001033086 A1 US 2001033086A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- rack member
- operating device
- door
- output gear
- speed reduction
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60J—WINDOWS, WINDSCREENS, NON-FIXED ROOFS, DOORS, OR SIMILAR DEVICES FOR VEHICLES; REMOVABLE EXTERNAL PROTECTIVE COVERINGS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES
- B60J5/00—Doors
- B60J5/10—Doors arranged at the vehicle rear
- B60J5/101—Doors arranged at the vehicle rear for non-load transporting vehicles, i.e. family cars including vans
- B60J5/106—Doors arranged at the vehicle rear for non-load transporting vehicles, i.e. family cars including vans comprising door or part of door being moveable by a linkage system to open/close position
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- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05F—DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION; CHECKS FOR WINGS; WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05F15/00—Power-operated mechanisms for wings
- E05F15/60—Power-operated mechanisms for wings using electrical actuators
- E05F15/603—Power-operated mechanisms for wings using electrical actuators using rotary electromotors
- E05F15/611—Power-operated mechanisms for wings using electrical actuators using rotary electromotors for swinging wings
- E05F15/616—Power-operated mechanisms for wings using electrical actuators using rotary electromotors for swinging wings operated by push-pull mechanisms
- E05F15/619—Power-operated mechanisms for wings using electrical actuators using rotary electromotors for swinging wings operated by push-pull mechanisms using flexible or rigid rack-and-pinion arrangements
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2201/00—Constructional elements; Accessories therefore
- E05Y2201/20—Brakes; Disengaging means, e.g. clutches; Holders, e.g. locks; Stops; Accessories therefore
- E05Y2201/214—Disengaging means
- E05Y2201/216—Clutches
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2201/00—Constructional elements; Accessories therefore
- E05Y2201/20—Brakes; Disengaging means, e.g. clutches; Holders, e.g. locks; Stops; Accessories therefore
- E05Y2201/23—Actuation thereof
- E05Y2201/246—Actuation thereof by motors, magnets, springs or weights
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2201/00—Constructional elements; Accessories therefore
- E05Y2201/40—Motors; Magnets; Springs; Weights; Accessories therefore
- E05Y2201/46—Magnets
- E05Y2201/462—Electromagnets
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2201/00—Constructional elements; Accessories therefore
- E05Y2201/60—Suspension or transmission members; Accessories therefore
- E05Y2201/622—Suspension or transmission members elements
- E05Y2201/71—Toothed gearing
- E05Y2201/722—Racks
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2400/00—Electronic control; Power supply; Power or signal transmission; User interfaces
- E05Y2400/10—Electronic control
- E05Y2400/30—Electronic control of motors
- E05Y2400/302—Electronic control of motors during electromotoric braking
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2400/00—Electronic control; Power supply; Power or signal transmission; User interfaces
- E05Y2400/10—Electronic control
- E05Y2400/30—Electronic control of motors
- E05Y2400/36—Speed control, detection or monitoring
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2800/00—Details, accessories and auxiliary operations not otherwise provided for
- E05Y2800/10—Additional functions
- E05Y2800/11—Manual wing operation
- E05Y2800/112—Back driving the transmission or motor
- E05Y2800/114—Overriding existing wing movement
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2900/00—Application of doors, windows, wings or fittings thereof
- E05Y2900/50—Application of doors, windows, wings or fittings thereof for vehicles
- E05Y2900/53—Application of doors, windows, wings or fittings thereof for vehicles characterised by the type of wing
- E05Y2900/531—Doors
-
- E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
- E05—LOCKS; KEYS; WINDOW OR DOOR FITTINGS; SAFES
- E05Y—INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO HINGES OR OTHER SUSPENSION DEVICES FOR DOORS, WINDOWS OR WINGS AND DEVICES FOR MOVING WINGS INTO OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, CHECKS FOR WINGS AND WING FITTINGS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR, CONCERNED WITH THE FUNCTIONING OF THE WING
- E05Y2900/00—Application of doors, windows, wings or fittings thereof
- E05Y2900/50—Application of doors, windows, wings or fittings thereof for vehicles
- E05Y2900/53—Application of doors, windows, wings or fittings thereof for vehicles characterised by the type of wing
- E05Y2900/546—Tailgates
Definitions
- the present invention relates in general to operating devices for operating automotive doors, and more particularly to operating devices of a type which opens and closes an automotive pivotal door.
- Japanese Utility Model First Provisional Publication 6-71852 shows an operating device for a pivotal back door of a motor vehicle.
- the operating device generally comprises an electric motor which is mounted on a body of the vehicle, a pinion which is driven by the motor, a sector gear which is meshed with the pinion and pivotally held by the vehicle body and a rod member which has one end pivotally connected to the sector gear and the other pivotally connected to the pivotal back door.
- the pinion pivots the sector gear in one or the other direction thereby to push or pull the pivotal back door through the rod member. With this, the pivotal back door is swung toward an open or close position.
- ball-joints For the pivotal movement of the rod member relative to both the sector gear and the pivotal back door, there are employed ball-joints respectively.
- Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 9-125820 shows a so-called semi-automatic operating device for an automotive door. That is, when, due to manual handling by an operator, the door is moved slightly toward an open or close position, the operating device senses the movement and then moves the door in the desired direction by force of an electric motor.
- the publication further shows a technique that avoids or lessens a shock which would be sensed by the operator when the door operation switches from the manual handling to the auto-driving. More specifically, by the technique, only when the moving speed of the door in the manual driving is within a predetermined range, the auto-driving follows. Thus, when the movement of the door by the manual handling is excessively high in speed at the beginning of door operation, the auto-driving for the door does not take place. That is, in this case, opening or closing of the door is entirely carried out by manual labor.
- an operating device for operating a pivotal door which comprises an electric motor of reversible type; a speed reduction device driven by the motor, the speed reduction device having an output part formed into an output gear; a rack member having a toothed side edge meshed with the output gear, so that upon energization of the motor, the rack member is moved axially; a motion transmitting member having one end pivotally connected to one end of the rack member and the other end connected to the pivotal door; and a structure which permits a swing movement of the rack member about an axis of the output gear when an external force is applied to the rack member in a direction to swing the same during the axial movement of the rack member.
- an operating device for use in a motor vehicle having a pivotal door which is pivotally connected at its upper end to a rear end of a roof of the vehicle.
- the operating device operates the pivotal door and comprises an electric motor of reversible type mounted on the rear end portion of the roof; a speed reduction device connected to and driven by the motor, the speed reduction device having an output part formed into an output gear; a rack member having a toothed side edge meshed with the output gear, so that upon energization of the motor, the rack member is moved axially; a motion transmitting member having one end pivotally connected to one end of the rack member and the other end connected to the pivotal door; a holding member for holding the rack member permitting the axial movement of the rack member relative thereto, the holding member being held by the speed reduction device in a manner to be pivotal about the axis of the output gear; two rollers rotatably connected to the holding member, each roller putting thereon the other side edge
- an operating device for use in a motor vehicle having a pivotal door which is pivotally connected at its upper end to a rear end of a roof of the vehicle.
- the operating device operates the pivotal door and comprises an electric motor of reversible type mounted on the rear end portion of the roof; a speed reduction device connected to and driven by the motor, the speed reduction device having an output part formed into an output gear; a rack member having a toothed side edge meshed with the output gear, so that upon energization of the motor, the rack member is moved axially; a motion transmitting member having one end pivotally connected to one end of the rack member and the other end connected to the pivotal door; a single roller rotatably connected to a case of the speed reduction device to put thereon the other side edge of the rack member, the roller being arranged to permit a pivotal movement of the rack member about the axis of the output gear; a cover member connected to the case of the speed reduction device to define there
- FIGS. 1 to 10 are drawings showing an operating device of a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein:
- FIG. 1 is a rear side view of a motor vehicle having a pivotal back door, to which the operating device is practically applied;
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the operating device, which is mounted on a rear end corner of a roof panel of the vehicle;
- FIG. 3 is a side view of the operating device showing a condition to bring the back door to a full-close position
- FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing a condition to bring the back door to a full-open position
- FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a part of the operating device where an output gear, a rack member and rollers are arranged;
- FIG. 6 is a back view of the operating device taken from a back side of the vehicle
- FIG. 7 is a plan view of the operating device taken from a top of the vehicle
- FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a drive unit installed in the operating device
- FIG. 9 is a side view of the operating device with a cover member removed.
- FIG. 10 is a side view of the operating device with some parts (viz., cover member and rack member) removed;
- FIGS. 11 to 15 are drawings showing an operating device of a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein:
- FIG. 11 is a side view of the operating device showing a condition to bring the back door to a full-close position
- FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11, but showing a condition to bring the back door to a full-open position
- FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a part of the operating device where an output gear, a rack member and a roller are arranged;
- FIG. 14 is a side view of the operating device with a cover member removed
- FIG. 15 is a side view of the operating device with some parts (viz., rack member and cover member) removed;
- FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a control system which controls operation of the operating device of the first end second embodiments of the present invention.
- FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing operation steps executed by a control unit of the control system when the back door is pivoted in a closing direction;
- FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing operation steps executed by the control unit when the back door is pivoted in an opening direction.
- FIGS. 1 to 10 there is shown an operating device 8 of a first embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 1 there is shown a rear part of a body 1 of a motor vehicle, to which the first embodiment of the present invention is practically applied.
- the rear part of the vehicle body 1 has a back door opening 2 which faces backward, as shown.
- a back door 3 is pivotally connected to the opening 2 , through hinges 4 arranged at an upper edge of the opening 2 , so that the back door 3 pivots about a hinge pin axis 4 a between a full-close position “B” to fully close the opening 2 and a full-open position “A” to fully open the opening 2 .
- the position denoted by reference “C” is a neutral position of the back door 3 .
- the angle defined between the full-close position “B” and the full-open position “A” is about 80 degrees.
- the opening 2 is equipped at its lower edge with a striker.
- a lower end of the back door 3 is equipped with a lock device 5 which becomes engaged with the striker when the back door 3 is brought to the full-close position “B”.
- the lock device 5 is equipped with an electric actuator which can cancel the engagement between the lock device 5 and the striker upon being energized.
- a pair of gas-stays 6 are arranged between the vehicle body 1 and the back door 3 .
- Each gas-stay 6 has an upper end 6 a pivotally connected to the back door 3 and a lower end 6 b pivotally connected to the vehicle body 1 .
- Each gas-stay 6 contains therein a compressed gas by which a cylinder having the lower end 6 b and a piston rod having the upper end 6 a are biased in opposite directions, that is, in a direction to increase the length of the gas-stay 6 .
- each gas-stay 6 turns about the hinge pin axis 4 a while describing an arc about the lower end 6 b that is pivotally connected to the vehicle body 1 .
- each gas-stay 6 is subjected to a telescopic motion biasing the back door 3 in the opening direction or in the closing direction.
- the neutral position “C” of the back door 3 is a position wherein the own weight of the back door 3 is balanced with the biasing force produced by the two gas-stays 6 .
- the gas-stays 6 function to bias the back door 3 toward the full-open position “A”, while, when the back door 3 assumes a half-open position below the neutral position “C”, the gas-stays 6 function to bias the back door 3 toward the full-close position “B”.
- the operating device 8 of the invention for the back door 3 can function normally irrespective of a small driving force produced thereby.
- brackets 8 a which is the first embodiment of the present invention.
- an interior trim is arranged beneath the roof panel 7 to conceal the operating device 8 from the interior of the vehicle body 1 .
- the operating device 8 comprises a reversible type electric motor 10 which is connected to a speed reduction device 11 mounted on the brackets 8 a.
- a larger diameter first gear lib is meshed with a pinion 10 a driven by the motor 10 .
- a smaller diameter gear part 11 b ′ of the first gear 11 b is meshed with an input gear 11 c ′ of an electromagnetic clutch 11 c which functions to break and connect a torque transmission from the motor 10 .
- An output gear 11 c ′′ of the clutch 11 c is meshed with a larger diameter second gear 11 e .
- An input gear 11 d ′ of a rotary encoder 11 d is engaged with the second gear 11 e , which produces a pulse signal representing the rotation manner of the second gear 11 e , that is, the moving manner of the back door 3 .
- a smaller diameter gear part 11 e ′ of the second gear 11 e is meshed with a larger diameter gear part of a pinion 13 .
- the pinion 13 is provided with an output gear 13 a which is projected outward from the case 11 a.
- the rotary encoder 11 d thus detects the number of rotation of the output gear 13 a , which is used for controlling the operating device 8 . Since the input gear 11 d ′ of the rotary encoder 11 d is arranged to rotate with the output gear 11 c ′′ of the electromagnetic clutch 11 c , the rotary encoder 11 d can sense the rotation of the output gear 13 a caused by a manual handling to the back door 3 . That is, under such movement of the back door 3 by the manual handling, the clutch 11 c breaks the torque transmission from the motor 10 to the output gear 11 c ′′ permitting a free rotation of the output gear 11 c′′.
- the operating device 8 further comprises a rack member 14 which is meshed at its tooth portion 14 a with the above-mentioned output gear 13 a.
- the rack member 14 is longitudinally slidably held by a holding member 15 .
- the holding member 15 is held by the case 11 a of the speed reduction device 11 in a manner to be swingable about the axis of the output gear 13 a . That is, as is seen from FIG. 5, the holding member 15 has an opening 15 b which is rotatably received on an annular projection 11 a ′ of the case 11 a through an annular bearing member 12 . A leading end of a shaft 13 b for the pinion 13 (and thus for the output gear 13 a ) passes through the annular projection 11 b .
- the holding member 15 can swing about the annular projection 11 b , that is, about the axis of the outer gear 13 a.
- the holding member 15 is concealed by a cover member 16 .
- the holding member 15 is provided at its lower portion with two spaced rollers 17 which support thereon a lower edge 14 b of the rack member 14 .
- the two rollers 17 are spaced from the output gear 13 a by the same distance.
- Each roller 17 is rotatably disposed on a roller pin 17 a fixed to the holding member 15 .
- the cover member 16 has an upper portion bolted to holding member 15 and a lower portion fixed to leading ends of the roller pins 17 a .
- the holding member 15 , the two rollers 17 and the cover member 16 constitute a unit which is swingable about the axis of the output gear 13 a.
- an outer slider 18 of polyacetal resin is disposed between the rack member 14 and the cover member 16 to smooth the movement of the rack member 14 relative to the cover member 16 .
- an inner slider 19 of polyacetal resin which has an oval-ring shape, is disposed between the holding member 15 and the rack member 14 to smooth the movement of the rack member 14 relative to the holding member 15 .
- the holding member 15 is formed, at the portion where the oval-ring shaped inner slider 19 is arranged, with a recess 15 a which has a biasing member 20 of rubber press-fitted therein. Due to provision of the biasing member 20 , the rack member 14 is constantly biased toward the rollers 17 , so that the tooth portion 14 a of the rack member 14 is appropriately meshed with the output gear 13 a of the speed reduction device 11 . If desired, in place of the rubber-made biasing member 20 , other member, such as a coil spring, a plate spring or the like may be used.
- FIGS. 2 and 3 To a right end 14 c of the rack member 14 , there is secured a connecting member 14 d which, as is seen from FIG. 4, can be projected at its right end to the outside of the vehicle body through an opening 2 a formed in the vehicle body 1 .
- the right end of the connecting member 14 d is pivotally connected to a leading end of an arm member 3 a through a pivot pin 14 e .
- the arm member 3 a is secured at its base portion to an upper side portion of the back door 3 .
- the connecting member 14 d may be integral with the rack member 14 .
- the motor 10 and the speed reduction device 11 constitute a drive unit “U”.
- the operating device 8 has a generally L-shaped structure when viewed from the top of the vehicle body 1 . That is, the rack member 14 extends in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body 1 , and the electric motor 10 is arranged to extend perpendicular to the rack member 14 .
- the operating device 8 can be neatly arranged on a rear corner of the roof panel 7 , as shown. That is, the bulky drive unit “U” including the rack member 14 , the motor 10 and the speed reduction device 11 can be positioned away from a passenger's head “H”, and thus the passenger room can be provided with a satisfied head clearance.
- the right end 14 c of the rack member 14 can swing to smoothly follow the swinging movement of the pivot pin 14 e to which the arm member 3 a of the back door 3 is pivotally connected.
- the holding member 15 is swung by an angle of about 10 degrees when the back door 3 is pivoted from the full-close position “B” to the full-open position “A”.
- the maximum inclination of the rack member 14 corresponds to the inclination of an imaginary tangential line that contacts both a pitch circle of the output gear 13 a and a locus described by the pivot pin 14 e.
- FIGS. 11 to 15 there is shown an operating device 28 of a second embodiment of the present invention.
- the cover member 36 of the second embodiment is not swingable about the axis of the output gear 13 a .
- the rack member 14 can swing on the roller 37 using the same as a fulcrum.
- an outer slider 38 of polyacetal resin is disposed between the rack member 14 and the cover member 36 to smooth the movement of the rack member 14 .
- an inner slider 39 of polyacetal resin which has an oval-ring shape, is disposed between the case 11 a and the rack member 14 for smoothing the movement of the rack member 14 .
- the case 11 a is formed, at the portion where the oval-ring shaped inner slider 39 is arranged, with a recess 11 f which has a pressing member 40 of rubber press-fitted therein. Due to provision of the pressing member 40 , the rack member 14 is constantly biased toward the roller 37 , so that the tooth portion 14 a of the rack member 14 is appropriately meshed with the output gear 13 a of the speed reduction device 11 . If desired, in place of the rubber-made pressing member 40 , other member, such as a coil spring, a plate spring or the like may be used.
- the right end 14 c of the rack member 14 can swing to smoothly follow the swinging movement of the pivot pin 14 e to which the arm member 3 a of the back door 3 is pivotally connected. Similar to the case of the first embodiment, the rack member 14 can swing by an angle of about 10 degrees when the back door 3 is pivoted form the full-close position “B” to the full-open position “A”.
- control unit 25 is control unit of the system, which is a microcomputer comprising generally CPU, RAM, ROM and input and output interfaces.
- Denoted by numeral 24 is a manual control switch 24 which is arranged in the vicinity of a driver's seat or a position near the back door 3 .
- the switch 24 comprises a switch circuit 24 a for opening the back door 3 and another switch circuit 24 b for closing the back door 3 .
- Denoted by numeral 26 is a battery which is a power source.
- the rotary encoder 11 d detects the movement of the back door 3 by counting pulses produced by a pulse generator which is driven by the input gear 11 d ′ (see FIG. 8) when the back door 3 pivots.
- the control unit 25 comprises a main control section 27 which controls the output in accordance with instruction signals applied thereto from the manual control switch 24 and the rotary encoder 11 d .
- a calculation section 128 which processes the pulse signals from the rotary encoder 11 d and feed the processed signals to the main control section 27 .
- a speed control section 29 At an output side of the main control section 27 , there are arranged a speed control section 29 , a door opening driving section 30 and a door closing driving section 31 which control the motor 10 in accordance with output signals from the main control section 27 , and a clutch driving section 32 which controls the electromagnetic clutch 11 c (see FIG. 8) in accordance with an output signal from the main control section 27 .
- the manual control switch 24 and the rotary encoder 11 d are devices which generate information signals applied to an input part of the control unit 25
- the motor 10 and the electromagnetic clutch 11 c are devices which are controlled by instruction signals issued from the control unit 25 .
- the battery 26 is arranged to energize the control unit 25 and the motor 10 .
- the rotary encoder 11 d is constructed to generate two types of pulse signals whose phases are different from each other by 90 degrees. By processing these signals, the calculation section 128 calculates various data of the back door 3 which will be described in the following.
- the rotary encoder 11 d Under pivoting of the back door 3 , the rotary encoder 11 d generates the pulse signals that are applied to the calculation section 128 of the control unit 25 .
- the pulse signals from the rotary encoder 11 d are processed to calculate the position, moved distance, moving speed, acceleration and moving direction of the back door 3 . These data are led into the main control section 27 .
- the moving speed and the acceleration of the back door 3 are derived by applying primary and secondary differentiation to the moved distance with time respectively.
- the rotary encoder 11 d and the calculation section 128 constitute a section which comprises a speed detecting means and an acceleration detecting means.
- FIG. 17 there is shown a flowchart of programmed operation steps which are executed in the control unit 25 for controlling the pivoting movement of the back door 3 in a direction to close the same. More specifically, the flowchart shows the control of the back door 3 from the time when the door 3 in a larger open position is pushed down by the manual handling to the time when the door 3 is brought to the full-close position “B” by the auto-driving.
- step S 1 judgement is carried out as to whether the back door 3 is being pivoted in the closing direction or not. If YES, that is, when the back door 3 is being pivoted in the closing direction, the operation flow goes to step S 2 .
- the YES judgment at step S 1 is actually provided when, with both the door opening driving section 30 and the door closing driving section 31 being kept inoperative, the rotary encoder 11 d senses a given degree of the moved distance of the back door 3 .
- step S 1 If NO at step S 1 , that is, when the back door 3 is not being pivoted downward, the operation flow goes back to START.
- step S 2 judgement is carried out as to whether or not the back door 3 under closing pivoting has come to a position below the neutral position “C”. If YES, that is, when the back door 3 has come to such a lower position through the neutral position “C”, the operation flow goes to END. That is, when the back door 3 comes down to such a lower position below the neutral position “C”, the door 3 would be automatically pivoted down to the full-close position “B” due to the biasing force composed of the own weight of the back door 3 and the biasing force produced by the gas-stays 6 . Thus, in this case, there is no need of using a power of the operating device 8 (or 28 ) for moving down the back door 3 to the full-close position “B”.
- step S 2 If NO at step S 2 , that is, when the back door 3 is still at a position above the neutral position “C”, the operation flow goes to step S 3 .
- step S 3 judgement is carried out as to whether the downward pivoting of the back door 3 is under acceleration or not. If YES, that is, when the downward pivoting of the back door 3 is under acceleration, the operation flow goes back to START.
- the YES judgement at step S 3 is actually provided when the acceleration derived by the calculation section 128 of the control unit 25 shows a positive value, that is, in a condition wherein the back door 3 is being pivoted downward manually by an operator. If, under this condition, the manual downward pivoting of the door 3 starts to be assisted by the power of the operating device 8 (or 28 ), uncomfortable shock would be applied to the operator.
- the auto-driving for the door 3 by the operating device 8 (or 28 ) is not induced.
- the auto-driving for the door 3 takes place only when the downward pivoting of the door 3 shows no acceleration, that is, in a condition wherein the operator is forced to temporarily remove his or her door moving force at the time when the door 3 comes down to a position near the neutral position “C”. That is, at such time, the operator is forced to change the door gripping manner in which his or her hand grasps the lower end of the back door 3 .
- the step S 3 is provided.
- step 53 If NO at step 53 , that is, when the downward pivoting of the back door 3 is not under acceleration, the operation flow goes to step S 4 .
- step S 4 judgment is carried out as to whether the moving speed of the back door 3 is within a given range or not. If YES, that is, when the door moving speed is within the given range, the operation flow goes to step S 5 .
- the YES judgment as step S 4 is actually provided when the moving speed derived by the calculating section 128 of the control unit 25 is within a certain range, that is, in a condition wherein the moving speed is lower than a higher given speed that does not provide the operator with a marked shock upon switching to the auto-driving and higher than a lower given speed that is provided by the manual handling of the door 3 by the operator.
- step S 4 If NO at step S 4 , that is, when the moving speed of the back door 3 is not within the given range, the operation flow goes back to START.
- step S 5 the electric motor 10 is energized and then the operation flow goes to step S 6 to engage the electromagnetic clutch 11 c . That is, in this operating order, the motor 10 has already rotated when the clutch 11 c begins to engage. Thus, the torque of the motor 10 is smoothly transmitted to the rack member 14 of the operating device 8 (or 28 ) upon switching from the manual handling of the back door 3 to the auto-driving of the same. Due to the steps of S 5 and S 6 , the pivoting of the back door 3 toward the full-close position “B” is carried out by the force produced by the operating device 8 (or 28 ). The moving speed of the back door 3 at this time is set higher than the higher given speed provided at the step S 4 , so that the switching from the manual handling to the auto-driving produces substantially no shock.
- step S 7 the operation flow goes to step S 7 .
- step S 7 judgment is carried out as to whether or not the back door 3 has come down to a given position at which braking of the downward pivoting of the door 3 should start. If NO, that is, when the back door 3 has not come to the given position yet, the operation flow goes back to the front of the step S 7 , and the judgement work is repeated until the back door 3 comes to the given position.
- the given position is derived by processing the information signal from the rotary encoder 11 d by the calculation section 128 .
- step S 7 If YES at step S 7 , that is, when the back door 3 has come down to the given position, the operation flow goes to step S 8 to brake the downward movement of the back door 3 . Actually, the rotation of the motor 10 is braked. With this, the downward movement of the door 3 is decelerated. Then, the operation flow goes to step S 9 .
- step S 9 judgement is carried out as to whether the back door 3 has come down to the full-close position “B” or not. If NO, that is, when the back door 3 has not come to the full-close position “B” yet, the operation flow goes back to the front of the step S 9 and the judgement work is repeated until the back door 3 comes to the full-close position “B”.
- the full-close position “B” is derived by processing the information signal from the rotary encoder 11 d by the calculation section 128 .
- step S 9 If YES at step S 9 , that is, when the back door 3 has come to the full-close position “B”, the operation flow goes to step S 10 to disengage the electromagnetic clutch 11 c and then to step S 11 to deenergize the motor 10 . That is, upon receiving OFF signal from the main control section 27 (see FIG. 16), the clutch driving section 32 forces the clutch 11 c to take its OFF or disengaged condition and upon receiving a stop signal from the main control section 27 , the door closing driving section 31 forces the motor 10 to take its OFF condition.
- FIG. 18 there is shown a flowchart for controlling the pivoting movement of the back door 3 in a direction to open the same. That is, the flowchart shows the control of the back door 3 from the time when the door 3 in a smaller open position is pulled up by the manual handling to the time when the door 3 is brought to the full-open position “A” by the auto-driving.
- step S 11 judgement is carried out as to whether the back 3 is being pivoted in the opening direction or not. If YES, that is, the back door 3 is being pivoted in the opening direction, the operation flow goes to step S 12 . If NO at step S 11 , that is, when the back door 3 is not being pivoted upward, the operation flow goes back to START.
- step S 12 judgement is carried out as to whether or not the back door 3 under opening pivoting has come to a position above the neutral position “C”. If YES, that is, when the back door 3 has come to such a higher position through the neutral position “C”, the operation flow goes to END. That is, when the back door 3 comes up to such a higher position above the neutral position “C”, the door 3 would be automatically pivoted up to the full-open position “A” due to the biasing force produced by the gas-stays 6 against the weight of the door 3 . Thus, in this case, there is no need of using a power of the operating device 8 (or 28 ) for moving up the back door 3 to the full-open position “A”.
- step S 12 If NO at step S 12 , that is, when the back door 3 is still at a position below the neutral position “C”, the operation flow goes to step S 13 .
- step S 13 judgement is carried out as to whether the upward pivoting of the back door 3 is under acceleration or not. If YES, that is, when the upward pivoting of the back door 3 is under acceleration, the operation flow goes back to START.
- the YES judgement at step S 13 is actually provided in a condition wherein the back door 3 is being pivoted upward manually by the operator. If, under this condition, the manual upward pivoting of the door 3 starts to be assisted by the power of the operating device 8 (or 28 ), a certain shock would be applied to the operator. Thus, if the upward pivoting of the door 3 is under acceleration, the auto-driving for the door 3 by the operating device 8 (or 28 ) is not induced.
- the auto-driving for the door 3 takes place only when the upward pivoting of the door 3 shows no acceleration, that is, in a condition wherein the operator is forced to temporarily remove his or her door moving force at the time when the door 3 comes up to a position near the neutral position “C”. That is, at such time, the operator is forced to change the door gripping manner in which his or her hand grasps the lower end of the back door 3 .
- the step S 13 is provided.
- step S 13 If NO at step S 13 , that is, when the upward pivoting of the back door 3 is not under acceleration, the operation flow goes to step S 14 .
- step S 14 judgement is carried out as to whether the moving speed of the back door 3 is within a given range or not. If YES, that is, when the door moving speed is within the given range, the operation flow goes to step S 15 .
- the YES judgement is actually provided in a condition wherein the moving speed is lower than a higher given speed that does not provide the operator with a marked shock upon switching to the auto-driving and higher than a lower given speed that is provided by the manual handling of the door 3 by the operator.
- step S 14 If NO at step S 14 , that is, when the moving speed of the back door 3 is not within the given range, the operation flow goes back to START.
- step S 15 the electric motor 10 is energized and then at step S 16 , the electromagnetic clutch 11 c is engaged.
- the pivoting of the back door 3 toward the full-open position “A” is carried out by the force produced by the operating device 8 (or 28 ).
- the moving speed of the back door 3 at this time is set higher than the higher given speed provided at the step S 14 , so that the switching from the manual handling to the auto-driving produces substantially no shock.
- step S 16 the operation flow goes to step S 17 .
- step S 17 judgment is carried out as to whether or not the back door 3 has comes up to a given position at which braking of the upward pivoting of the door 3 should start. If NO, that is, when the back door 3 has not come to the given position yet, the operation flow goes back to the front of the step S 17 , and the judgment work is repeated until the back door 3 comes to the given position.
- step S 17 If YES at step S 17 , that is, when the back door 3 has come up to the given position, the operation flow goes to step S 18 to brake the upward movement of the back door 3 . Actually, the rotation of the motor 10 is braked. With this, the upward movement of the door is decelerated. Then, the operation flow goes to step S 19 .
- step S 19 judgment is carried out as to whether the back door 3 has come up to the full-open position “A” or not. If NO, that is, when the back door 3 has not come to the fully-open position “A” yet, the operation flow goes back to the front of the step S 19 and the judgement work is repeated until the back door 3 comes to the full-open position “A”.
- step S 19 If YES at step S 19 , that is, when the back door 3 has come to the full-open position “A”, the operation flow goes to step S 20 to disengage the electromagnetic clutch 11 c and then to step S 21 to deenergize the motor 10 .
Abstract
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates in general to operating devices for operating automotive doors, and more particularly to operating devices of a type which opens and closes an automotive pivotal door.
- 2. Description of the Related art
- In order to clarify the task of the present invention, some known operating devices for automotive pivotal doors will be briefly described before commencing the detailed explanation of the present invention.
- Japanese Utility Model First Provisional Publication 6-71852 shows an operating device for a pivotal back door of a motor vehicle. The operating device generally comprises an electric motor which is mounted on a body of the vehicle, a pinion which is driven by the motor, a sector gear which is meshed with the pinion and pivotally held by the vehicle body and a rod member which has one end pivotally connected to the sector gear and the other pivotally connected to the pivotal back door. Upon operation of the electric motor, the pinion pivots the sector gear in one or the other direction thereby to push or pull the pivotal back door through the rod member. With this, the pivotal back door is swung toward an open or close position. For the pivotal movement of the rod member relative to both the sector gear and the pivotal back door, there are employed ball-joints respectively.
- Japanese Patent First Provisional Publication 9-125820 shows a so-called semi-automatic operating device for an automotive door. That is, when, due to manual handling by an operator, the door is moved slightly toward an open or close position, the operating device senses the movement and then moves the door in the desired direction by force of an electric motor. The publication further shows a technique that avoids or lessens a shock which would be sensed by the operator when the door operation switches from the manual handling to the auto-driving. More specifically, by the technique, only when the moving speed of the door in the manual driving is within a predetermined range, the auto-driving follows. Thus, when the movement of the door by the manual handling is excessively high in speed at the beginning of door operation, the auto-driving for the door does not take place. That is, in this case, opening or closing of the door is entirely carried out by manual labor.
- However, due to their inherent constructions, even the above-mentioned known operating devices have failed to provide users with a satisfaction. That is, in the former device, usage of the ball-joints brings about a complicated and costly construction, and in the latter device, even if the movement of the door by the manual handling is adequately slow, the auto-driving for the door suddenly takes place when the manual movement is kept for over a certain time, which produces a certain shock sensed by the operator.
- It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an operating device for an automotive door, which is free of the above-mentioned drawbacks.
- According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating device for operating a pivotal door, which comprises an electric motor of reversible type; a speed reduction device driven by the motor, the speed reduction device having an output part formed into an output gear; a rack member having a toothed side edge meshed with the output gear, so that upon energization of the motor, the rack member is moved axially; a motion transmitting member having one end pivotally connected to one end of the rack member and the other end connected to the pivotal door; and a structure which permits a swing movement of the rack member about an axis of the output gear when an external force is applied to the rack member in a direction to swing the same during the axial movement of the rack member.
- According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating device for use in a motor vehicle having a pivotal door which is pivotally connected at its upper end to a rear end of a roof of the vehicle. The operating device operates the pivotal door and comprises an electric motor of reversible type mounted on the rear end portion of the roof; a speed reduction device connected to and driven by the motor, the speed reduction device having an output part formed into an output gear; a rack member having a toothed side edge meshed with the output gear, so that upon energization of the motor, the rack member is moved axially; a motion transmitting member having one end pivotally connected to one end of the rack member and the other end connected to the pivotal door; a holding member for holding the rack member permitting the axial movement of the rack member relative thereto, the holding member being held by the speed reduction device in a manner to be pivotal about the axis of the output gear; two rollers rotatably connected to the holding member, each roller putting thereon the other side edge of the rack member; a cover member connected to the holding member to define therebetween a space through which the rack member axially moves; an outer slider of plastics disposed between the rack member and the cover member to smooth the axial movement of the rack member relative to the cover member; an inner slider of plastics disposed between the rack member and the holding member to smooth the axial movement of the rack member relative to the holding member; and a biasing member held by the holding member to bias the rack member toward the output gear to assure the meshed engagement between the rack member and the output gear.
- According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an operating device for use in a motor vehicle having a pivotal door which is pivotally connected at its upper end to a rear end of a roof of the vehicle. The operating device operates the pivotal door and comprises an electric motor of reversible type mounted on the rear end portion of the roof; a speed reduction device connected to and driven by the motor, the speed reduction device having an output part formed into an output gear; a rack member having a toothed side edge meshed with the output gear, so that upon energization of the motor, the rack member is moved axially; a motion transmitting member having one end pivotally connected to one end of the rack member and the other end connected to the pivotal door; a single roller rotatably connected to a case of the speed reduction device to put thereon the other side edge of the rack member, the roller being arranged to permit a pivotal movement of the rack member about the axis of the output gear; a cover member connected to the case of the speed reduction device to define therebetween a space through which the rack member axially moves; an outer slider of plastics disposed between the rack member and the cover member to smooth the axial movement of the rack member relative to the cover member; an inner slider of plastics disposed between the rack member and the case of the speed reduction device to smooth the axial movement of the rack member relative to the case; and a biasing member held by the case of the speed reduction device to bias the rack member toward the output gear to assure the meshed engagement between the rack member and the output gear.
- Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
- FIGS.1 to 10 are drawings showing an operating device of a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein:
- FIG. 1 is a rear side view of a motor vehicle having a pivotal back door, to which the operating device is practically applied;
- FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the operating device, which is mounted on a rear end corner of a roof panel of the vehicle;
- FIG. 3 is a side view of the operating device showing a condition to bring the back door to a full-close position;
- FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing a condition to bring the back door to a full-open position;
- FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a part of the operating device where an output gear, a rack member and rollers are arranged;
- FIG. 6 is a back view of the operating device taken from a back side of the vehicle;
- FIG. 7 is a plan view of the operating device taken from a top of the vehicle;
- FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a drive unit installed in the operating device;
- FIG. 9 is a side view of the operating device with a cover member removed; and
- FIG. 10 is a side view of the operating device with some parts (viz., cover member and rack member) removed;
- FIGS.11 to 15 are drawings showing an operating device of a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein:
- FIG. 11 is a side view of the operating device showing a condition to bring the back door to a full-close position;
- FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 11, but showing a condition to bring the back door to a full-open position;
- FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a part of the operating device where an output gear, a rack member and a roller are arranged;
- FIG. 14 is a side view of the operating device with a cover member removed;
- FIG. 15 is a side view of the operating device with some parts (viz., rack member and cover member) removed;
- FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a control system which controls operation of the operating device of the first end second embodiments of the present invention;
- FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing operation steps executed by a control unit of the control system when the back door is pivoted in a closing direction; and
- FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing operation steps executed by the control unit when the back door is pivoted in an opening direction.
- In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- For ease of understanding, various directional terms, such as, upper, lower, right, left, upward, downward and the like are used in the following description. However, it is to be noted that such terms are to be understood with respect to a drawing or drawings on which the corresponding part or portion is illustrated.
- Referring to FIGS.1 to 10, there is shown an
operating device 8 of a first embodiment of the present invention. - In FIG. 1, there is shown a rear part of a
body 1 of a motor vehicle, to which the first embodiment of the present invention is practically applied. - The rear part of the
vehicle body 1 has a back door opening 2 which faces backward, as shown. Aback door 3 is pivotally connected to theopening 2, throughhinges 4 arranged at an upper edge of theopening 2, so that theback door 3 pivots about ahinge pin axis 4 a between a full-close position “B” to fully close the opening 2 and a full-open position “A” to fully open theopening 2. The position denoted by reference “C” is a neutral position of theback door 3. The angle defined between the full-close position “B” and the full-open position “A” is about 80 degrees. - The
opening 2 is equipped at its lower edge with a striker. A lower end of theback door 3 is equipped with alock device 5 which becomes engaged with the striker when theback door 3 is brought to the full-close position “B”. Thelock device 5 is equipped with an electric actuator which can cancel the engagement between thelock device 5 and the striker upon being energized. - A pair of gas-
stays 6 are arranged between thevehicle body 1 and theback door 3. Each gas-stay 6 has anupper end 6 a pivotally connected to theback door 3 and alower end 6 b pivotally connected to thevehicle body 1. Preferably, for the pivotal connection, ball-joints are used. Each gas-stay 6 contains therein a compressed gas by which a cylinder having thelower end 6 b and a piston rod having theupper end 6 a are biased in opposite directions, that is, in a direction to increase the length of the gas-stay 6. During the pivotal movement of theback door 3, theupper end 6 a of each gas-stay 6 turns about thehinge pin axis 4 a while describing an arc about thelower end 6 b that is pivotally connected to thevehicle body 1. Thus, during the pivotal movement of theback door 3 between the full-close position “B” and the full-open position “A”s, each gas-stay 6 is subjected to a telescopic motion biasing theback door 3 in the opening direction or in the closing direction. It is to be noted that the neutral position “C” of theback door 3 is a position wherein the own weight of theback door 3 is balanced with the biasing force produced by the two gas-stays 6. More specifically, when theback door 3 assumes a half-open position above the neutral position “C”, the gas-stays 6 function to bias theback door 3 toward the full-open position “A”, while, when theback door 3 assumes a half-open position below the neutral position “C”, the gas-stays 6 function to bias theback door 3 toward the full-close position “B”. - Thus, in order to open the
back door 3 which assumes the full-close position “B”, engaged engagement between thelock device 5 and the striker is cancelled first, and then a certain external force is applied to theback door 3 to lift up the same to a position just above the neutral position “C”. With this, theback door 3 is automatically lifted up to the full-open position “A” by the force of the gas-stays 6. - While, in order to close the
back door 3 which assumes the full-open position “A”, a certain force is applied to theback door 3 to pivot down the same to a position just below the neutral position “C” against the force of the gas-stays 6. With this, theback door 3 is automatically pivoted down to the full-close position “B” by the newly produced force of the gas-stays 6. - As will be described in detail hereinafter, due to provision of the gas-stays6, the operating
device 8 of the invention for theback door 3 can function normally irrespective of a small driving force produced thereby. - As is understood from FIGS. 1 and 2, on a rear end corner of a
roof panel 7 of thevehicle body 1, there is mounted theoperating device 8 throughbrackets 8 a, which is the first embodiment of the present invention. Although not shown in the drawings, an interior trim is arranged beneath theroof panel 7 to conceal theoperating device 8 from the interior of thevehicle body 1. - The
operating device 8 comprises a reversible typeelectric motor 10 which is connected to aspeed reduction device 11 mounted on thebrackets 8 a. - As is seen from FIG. 8, within a
case 11 a of thespeed reduction device 11, there are mounted various parts of thedevice 11. That is, a larger diameter first gear lib is meshed with apinion 10 a driven by themotor 10. A smallerdiameter gear part 11 b′ of thefirst gear 11 b is meshed with aninput gear 11 c′ of an electromagnetic clutch 11 c which functions to break and connect a torque transmission from themotor 10. Anoutput gear 11 c″ of the clutch 11 c is meshed with a larger diametersecond gear 11 e. Aninput gear 11 d′ of arotary encoder 11 d is engaged with thesecond gear 11 e, which produces a pulse signal representing the rotation manner of thesecond gear 11 e, that is, the moving manner of theback door 3. A smallerdiameter gear part 11 e′ of thesecond gear 11 e is meshed with a larger diameter gear part of apinion 13. Thepinion 13 is provided with anoutput gear 13 a which is projected outward from thecase 11 a. - The
rotary encoder 11 d thus detects the number of rotation of theoutput gear 13 a, which is used for controlling theoperating device 8. Since theinput gear 11 d′ of therotary encoder 11 d is arranged to rotate with theoutput gear 11 c″ of the electromagnetic clutch 11 c, therotary encoder 11 d can sense the rotation of theoutput gear 13 a caused by a manual handling to theback door 3. That is, under such movement of theback door 3 by the manual handling, the clutch 11 c breaks the torque transmission from themotor 10 to theoutput gear 11 c″ permitting a free rotation of theoutput gear 11 c″. - Referring back to FIG. 2, the operating
device 8 further comprises arack member 14 which is meshed at itstooth portion 14 a with the above-mentionedoutput gear 13 a. - As is seen from FIGS. 3 and 5, the
rack member 14 is longitudinally slidably held by a holdingmember 15. The holdingmember 15 is held by thecase 11 a of thespeed reduction device 11 in a manner to be swingable about the axis of theoutput gear 13 a. That is, as is seen from FIG. 5, the holdingmember 15 has anopening 15 b which is rotatably received on anannular projection 11 a′ of thecase 11 a through anannular bearing member 12. A leading end of ashaft 13 b for the pinion 13 (and thus for theoutput gear 13 a) passes through theannular projection 11 b. Thus, the holdingmember 15 can swing about theannular projection 11 b, that is, about the axis of theouter gear 13 a. - As is seen from FIGS. 2 and 5, the holding
member 15 is concealed by acover member 16. - As is seen from FIGS. 9 and 10, the holding
member 15 is provided at its lower portion with two spacedrollers 17 which support thereon alower edge 14 b of therack member 14. The tworollers 17 are spaced from theoutput gear 13 a by the same distance. Eachroller 17 is rotatably disposed on aroller pin 17 a fixed to the holdingmember 15. - As is seen from FIGS. 3 and 5, the
cover member 16 has an upper portion bolted to holdingmember 15 and a lower portion fixed to leading ends of the roller pins 17 a. Thus, the holdingmember 15, the tworollers 17 and thecover member 16 constitute a unit which is swingable about the axis of theoutput gear 13 a. - As is seen from FIG. 5, an
outer slider 18 of polyacetal resin is disposed between therack member 14 and thecover member 16 to smooth the movement of therack member 14 relative to thecover member 16. As is seen from FIGS. 5 and 10, aninner slider 19 of polyacetal resin, which has an oval-ring shape, is disposed between the holdingmember 15 and therack member 14 to smooth the movement of therack member 14 relative to the holdingmember 15. - As is seen from FIGS. 5, 9 and10, the holding
member 15 is formed, at the portion where the oval-ring shapedinner slider 19 is arranged, with arecess 15 a which has a biasingmember 20 of rubber press-fitted therein. Due to provision of the biasingmember 20, therack member 14 is constantly biased toward therollers 17, so that thetooth portion 14 a of therack member 14 is appropriately meshed with theoutput gear 13 a of thespeed reduction device 11. If desired, in place of the rubber-made biasingmember 20, other member, such as a coil spring, a plate spring or the like may be used. - As is seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, to a
right end 14 c of therack member 14, there is secured a connectingmember 14 d which, as is seen from FIG. 4, can be projected at its right end to the outside of the vehicle body through anopening 2 a formed in thevehicle body 1. The right end of the connectingmember 14 d is pivotally connected to a leading end of anarm member 3 a through apivot pin 14 e. Thearm member 3 a is secured at its base portion to an upper side portion of theback door 3. If desired, the connectingmember 14 d may be integral with therack member 14. - The
motor 10 and thespeed reduction device 11 constitute a drive unit “U”. - As is seen from FIG. 7, the operating
device 8 has a generally L-shaped structure when viewed from the top of thevehicle body 1. That is, therack member 14 extends in the fore-and-aft direction of thevehicle body 1, and theelectric motor 10 is arranged to extend perpendicular to therack member 14. Thus, because of the L-shaped structure, the operatingdevice 8 can be neatly arranged on a rear corner of theroof panel 7, as shown. That is, the bulky drive unit “U” including therack member 14, themotor 10 and thespeed reduction device 11 can be positioned away from a passenger's head “H”, and thus the passenger room can be provided with a satisfied head clearance. - In the following, operation of the
operating device 8 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. - For ease of understanding, the description will be commenced with respect to the full-close position “B” of the
back door 3, which is shown by a solid line in FIG. 1. In this condition, thelock device 5 is engaged with the striker and theoperating device 8 assumes such a condition as shown in FIG. 3, that is, a condition wherein therack member 14 assumes its frontmost position. - When now a manual control switch24 (see FIG. 16) is actuated in a normal direction, that is, a direction to open the
back door 3, the actuator cancels the engagement of thelock device 5 with the striker and at the same time, theelectric motor 10 of theoperating device 8 is rotated in a normal direction and thus theoutput gear 13 of thespeed reduction device 11 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3. Upon this, therack member 14 is slid rearward that is rightward in FIG. 3. Thus, finally, theback door 3 is pushed up to the full-open position “A”, as shown in FIG. 4. During this opening movement of theback door 3, the operatingdevice 8 can reduce its output force at the time when theback door 3 comes to the neutral position “C” (see FIG. 1) due to the above-mentioned function of the gas-stays 6. - During the rearward movement of the
rack member 14, thepivot pin 14 e of the connectingmember 14 d is forced to make a swing movement about thehinge pin axis 4 a, which applies a certain force to therack member 14 in a direction to swing the same. Thus, therack member 14 is swung together with the holdingmember 15 about the axis of theoutput gear 13 a during the rearward movement of therack member 14. That is, therack member 14 and the holdingmember 15 are forced to swing about the axis of theoutput gear 13 a relative to thecase 11 a of thespeed reduction device 11. - Accordingly, during the rearward movement of the
rack member 14, theright end 14 c of therack member 14 can swing to smoothly follow the swinging movement of thepivot pin 14 e to which thearm member 3 a of theback door 3 is pivotally connected. In the illustrated first embodiment, the holdingmember 15 is swung by an angle of about 10 degrees when theback door 3 is pivoted from the full-close position “B” to the full-open position “A”. It is to be noted that the maximum inclination of therack member 14 corresponds to the inclination of an imaginary tangential line that contacts both a pitch circle of theoutput gear 13 a and a locus described by thepivot pin 14 e. - As is seen from FIG. 4, when the
back door 3 assumes the full-open position “A”, therack member 14 assumes its rearmost position. - When, now, the manual control switch is actuated in a reverse direction, that is a direction to close the
back door 3, theelectric motor 10 is rotated in a reverse direction. With this, therack member 14 is slid forward that is leftward in FIG. 4, pulling theback door 3 toward the full-close position “B” and finally to the full-close position “B”. Upon this, thelock device 5 of thedoor 3 becomes engaged with the striker thereby latching theback door 3 at the full-close position “B”. - During the forward movement, the
rack member 14 is forced to swing together with the holdingmember 15, like in the manner as is described hereinabove. - Referring to FIGS.11 to 15, there is shown an
operating device 28 of a second embodiment of the present invention. - Since the operating device of the second embodiment is similar to that of the above-mentioned first embodiment, only parts and portions which are different from those of the first embodiment will be described in the following. Similar parts and portions are denoted by the same numerals as those in the first embodiment.
- As is seen from FIGS. 11 and 12, like in the first embodiment, on a rear end corner of a
roof panel 7, there is mounted the operatingdevice 28 of the second embodiment. - As is seen from FIGS. 11, 13 and14, in this second embodiment, there is no member corresponding to the holding
member 15 used in the first embodiment. That is, only oneroller 37 is employed for supporting thereon thelower edge 14 a of therack member 14. Theroller 37 is rotatably held by a fixedcover member 36 which is bolted at its upper portions to thecase 11 a of thespeed reduction device 11. As is best shown in FIG. 13, theroller pin 37 a for theroller 37 extends between thecase 11 a and thecover member 36. - It is thus to be noted that unlike the
cover member 16 of the first embodiment, thecover member 36 of the second embodiment is not swingable about the axis of theoutput gear 13 a. However, due to the nature of a so-called one point support effected by theroller 37, therack member 14 can swing on theroller 37 using the same as a fulcrum. - As is seen from FIG. 13, an
outer slider 38 of polyacetal resin is disposed between therack member 14 and thecover member 36 to smooth the movement of therack member 14. As is seen from FIGS. 13 and 15, and aninner slider 39 of polyacetal resin, which has an oval-ring shape, is disposed between thecase 11 a and therack member 14 for smoothing the movement of therack member 14. - As is seen from FIGS. 13 and 15, the
case 11 a is formed, at the portion where the oval-ring shapedinner slider 39 is arranged, with arecess 11 f which has a pressingmember 40 of rubber press-fitted therein. Due to provision of the pressingmember 40, therack member 14 is constantly biased toward theroller 37, so that thetooth portion 14 a of therack member 14 is appropriately meshed with theoutput gear 13 a of thespeed reduction device 11. If desired, in place of the rubber-madepressing member 40, other member, such as a coil spring, a plate spring or the like may be used. - In the following, operation of the operating
device 28 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings, particularly FIGS. 11 and 12. - When the
back door 3 assumes the full-close position “B” as shown in FIG. 11, therack member 14 assumes its frontmost position. - When now a manual control switch is actuated in a normal direction, the
electric motor 10 is rotated and thus therack member 14 is slid rearward that is rightward in FIG. 11. Thus, finally, theback door 3 is pushed up to the full-open position “A”, as shown in FIG. 12. During this opening movement of theback door 3, the operatingdevice 28 can reduce its output force at the time when theback door 3 comes to the neutral position “C” (see FIG. 1) due to the above-mentioned function of the gas-stays 6. - During the rearward movement of the
rack member 14, thepivot pin 14 e of the connectingmember 14 d is forced to make a swing movement about thehinge pin axis 4 a, like in the case of the above-mentioned first embodiment. Thus, therack member 14 is swung on theroller 37 using the same as a fulcrum, during the rearward movement of therack member 14. That is, therack member 14 is forced to swing on theroller 37 relative to thecase 11 a of thespeed reduction device 11. - Accordingly, during the rearward movement of the
rack member 14, theright end 14 c of therack member 14 can swing to smoothly follow the swinging movement of thepivot pin 14 e to which thearm member 3 a of theback door 3 is pivotally connected. Similar to the case of the first embodiment, therack member 14 can swing by an angle of about 10 degrees when theback door 3 is pivoted form the full-close position “B” to the full-open position “A”. - Since a reverse operation effected when the
back door 3 is pivoted from the full-open position “A” to the full-close position “B” is substantially the same as the above-mentioned operation except for the moving direction of the parts, description of such reverse operation will be omitted. - Referring to FIG. 16, there is shown a block diagram of a control system for controlling the above-mentioned
operating device numeral 25 is control unit of the system, which is a microcomputer comprising generally CPU, RAM, ROM and input and output interfaces. - Denoted by
numeral 24 is amanual control switch 24 which is arranged in the vicinity of a driver's seat or a position near theback door 3. Theswitch 24 comprises aswitch circuit 24 a for opening theback door 3 and anotherswitch circuit 24 b for closing theback door 3. Denoted bynumeral 26 is a battery which is a power source. Therotary encoder 11 d detects the movement of theback door 3 by counting pulses produced by a pulse generator which is driven by theinput gear 11 d′ (see FIG. 8) when theback door 3 pivots. - The
control unit 25 comprises amain control section 27 which controls the output in accordance with instruction signals applied thereto from themanual control switch 24 and therotary encoder 11 d. At an input side of themain control section 27, there is arranged acalculation section 128 which processes the pulse signals from therotary encoder 11 d and feed the processed signals to themain control section 27. At an output side of themain control section 27, there are arranged aspeed control section 29, a dooropening driving section 30 and a doorclosing driving section 31 which control themotor 10 in accordance with output signals from themain control section 27, and aclutch driving section 32 which controls the electromagnetic clutch 11 c (see FIG. 8) in accordance with an output signal from themain control section 27. That is, themanual control switch 24 and therotary encoder 11 d are devices which generate information signals applied to an input part of thecontrol unit 25, and themotor 10 and the electromagnetic clutch 11 c are devices which are controlled by instruction signals issued from thecontrol unit 25. Thebattery 26 is arranged to energize thecontrol unit 25 and themotor 10. - The
rotary encoder 11 d is constructed to generate two types of pulse signals whose phases are different from each other by 90 degrees. By processing these signals, thecalculation section 128 calculates various data of theback door 3 which will be described in the following. - Under pivoting of the
back door 3, therotary encoder 11 d generates the pulse signals that are applied to thecalculation section 128 of thecontrol unit 25. In thecalculation section 128, the pulse signals from therotary encoder 11 d are processed to calculate the position, moved distance, moving speed, acceleration and moving direction of theback door 3. These data are led into themain control section 27. The moving speed and the acceleration of theback door 3 are derived by applying primary and secondary differentiation to the moved distance with time respectively. Thus, therotary encoder 11 d and thecalculation section 128 constitute a section which comprises a speed detecting means and an acceleration detecting means. - From the
main control section 27, there is issued a drive control signal to either one of the dooropening driving section 30 and the doorclosing driving section 31 to cause thesection speed control section 29, the drive current is applied to theelectric motor 10. At the same time, from themain control section 27, there is also issued a drive signal to theclutch driving section 32, and from theclutch driving section 32, there is issued a driving current to the electromagnetic clutch 11 c to drive the same. - Referring to FIG. 17, there is shown a flowchart of programmed operation steps which are executed in the
control unit 25 for controlling the pivoting movement of theback door 3 in a direction to close the same. More specifically, the flowchart shows the control of theback door 3 from the time when thedoor 3 in a larger open position is pushed down by the manual handling to the time when thedoor 3 is brought to the full-close position “B” by the auto-driving. - At step S1, judgement is carried out as to whether the
back door 3 is being pivoted in the closing direction or not. If YES, that is, when theback door 3 is being pivoted in the closing direction, the operation flow goes to step S2. The YES judgment at step S1 is actually provided when, with both the dooropening driving section 30 and the doorclosing driving section 31 being kept inoperative, therotary encoder 11 d senses a given degree of the moved distance of theback door 3. - If NO at step S1, that is, when the
back door 3 is not being pivoted downward, the operation flow goes back to START. - At step S2, judgement is carried out as to whether or not the
back door 3 under closing pivoting has come to a position below the neutral position “C”. If YES, that is, when theback door 3 has come to such a lower position through the neutral position “C”, the operation flow goes to END. That is, when theback door 3 comes down to such a lower position below the neutral position “C”, thedoor 3 would be automatically pivoted down to the full-close position “B” due to the biasing force composed of the own weight of theback door 3 and the biasing force produced by the gas-stays 6. Thus, in this case, there is no need of using a power of the operating device 8 (or 28) for moving down theback door 3 to the full-close position “B”. - If NO at step S2, that is, when the
back door 3 is still at a position above the neutral position “C”, the operation flow goes to step S3. - At this step S3, judgement is carried out as to whether the downward pivoting of the
back door 3 is under acceleration or not. If YES, that is, when the downward pivoting of theback door 3 is under acceleration, the operation flow goes back to START. The YES judgement at step S3 is actually provided when the acceleration derived by thecalculation section 128 of thecontrol unit 25 shows a positive value, that is, in a condition wherein theback door 3 is being pivoted downward manually by an operator. If, under this condition, the manual downward pivoting of thedoor 3 starts to be assisted by the power of the operating device 8 (or 28), uncomfortable shock would be applied to the operator. Thus, if the downward pivoting of theback door 3 is under acceleration, the auto-driving for thedoor 3 by the operating device 8 (or 28) is not induced. In other words, the auto-driving for thedoor 3 takes place only when the downward pivoting of thedoor 3 shows no acceleration, that is, in a condition wherein the operator is forced to temporarily remove his or her door moving force at the time when thedoor 3 comes down to a position near the neutral position “C”. That is, at such time, the operator is forced to change the door gripping manner in which his or her hand grasps the lower end of theback door 3. When the auto-driving by the operating device 8 (or 28) is commenced at such time, no shock is applied to the operator. For achieving this advantage, the step S3 is provided. - If NO at step53, that is, when the downward pivoting of the
back door 3 is not under acceleration, the operation flow goes to step S4. - At this step S4, judgment is carried out as to whether the moving speed of the
back door 3 is within a given range or not. If YES, that is, when the door moving speed is within the given range, the operation flow goes to step S5. The YES judgment as step S4 is actually provided when the moving speed derived by the calculatingsection 128 of thecontrol unit 25 is within a certain range, that is, in a condition wherein the moving speed is lower than a higher given speed that does not provide the operator with a marked shock upon switching to the auto-driving and higher than a lower given speed that is provided by the manual handling of thedoor 3 by the operator. - If NO at step S4, that is, when the moving speed of the
back door 3 is not within the given range, the operation flow goes back to START. - At step S5, the
electric motor 10 is energized and then the operation flow goes to step S6 to engage the electromagnetic clutch 11 c. That is, in this operating order, themotor 10 has already rotated when the clutch 11 c begins to engage. Thus, the torque of themotor 10 is smoothly transmitted to therack member 14 of the operating device 8 (or 28) upon switching from the manual handling of theback door 3 to the auto-driving of the same. Due to the steps of S5 and S6, the pivoting of theback door 3 toward the full-close position “B” is carried out by the force produced by the operating device 8 (or 28). The moving speed of theback door 3 at this time is set higher than the higher given speed provided at the step S4, so that the switching from the manual handling to the auto-driving produces substantially no shock. - After the step S6, the operation flow goes to step S7. At this step S7, judgment is carried out as to whether or not the
back door 3 has come down to a given position at which braking of the downward pivoting of thedoor 3 should start. If NO, that is, when theback door 3 has not come to the given position yet, the operation flow goes back to the front of the step S7, and the judgement work is repeated until theback door 3 comes to the given position. The given position is derived by processing the information signal from therotary encoder 11 d by thecalculation section 128. - If YES at step S7, that is, when the
back door 3 has come down to the given position, the operation flow goes to step S8 to brake the downward movement of theback door 3. Actually, the rotation of themotor 10 is braked. With this, the downward movement of thedoor 3 is decelerated. Then, the operation flow goes to step S9. - At step S9, judgement is carried out as to whether the
back door 3 has come down to the full-close position “B” or not. If NO, that is, when theback door 3 has not come to the full-close position “B” yet, the operation flow goes back to the front of the step S9 and the judgement work is repeated until theback door 3 comes to the full-close position “B”. Like in the step S7, the full-close position “B” is derived by processing the information signal from therotary encoder 11 d by thecalculation section 128. - If YES at step S9, that is, when the
back door 3 has come to the full-close position “B”, the operation flow goes to step S10 to disengage the electromagnetic clutch 11 c and then to step S11 to deenergize themotor 10. That is, upon receiving OFF signal from the main control section 27 (see FIG. 16), theclutch driving section 32 forces the clutch 11 c to take its OFF or disengaged condition and upon receiving a stop signal from themain control section 27, the doorclosing driving section 31 forces themotor 10 to take its OFF condition. - With the above-mentioned steps, the
back door 3 is finally pivoted to the full-close position “B”. Actually, when thedoor 3 comes to the full-close position “B”, the lock device 5 (see FIG. 1) becomes engaged with the striker to latch thedoor 3 in the full-close position “B”. - Referring to FIG. 18, there is shown a flowchart for controlling the pivoting movement of the
back door 3 in a direction to open the same. That is, the flowchart shows the control of theback door 3 from the time when thedoor 3 in a smaller open position is pulled up by the manual handling to the time when thedoor 3 is brought to the full-open position “A” by the auto-driving. - As step S11, judgement is carried out as to whether the
back 3 is being pivoted in the opening direction or not. If YES, that is, theback door 3 is being pivoted in the opening direction, the operation flow goes to step S12. If NO at step S11, that is, when theback door 3 is not being pivoted upward, the operation flow goes back to START. - At step S12, judgement is carried out as to whether or not the
back door 3 under opening pivoting has come to a position above the neutral position “C”. If YES, that is, when theback door 3 has come to such a higher position through the neutral position “C”, the operation flow goes to END. That is, when theback door 3 comes up to such a higher position above the neutral position “C”, thedoor 3 would be automatically pivoted up to the full-open position “A” due to the biasing force produced by the gas-stays 6 against the weight of thedoor 3. Thus, in this case, there is no need of using a power of the operating device 8 (or 28) for moving up theback door 3 to the full-open position “A”. - If NO at step S12, that is, when the
back door 3 is still at a position below the neutral position “C”, the operation flow goes to step S13. - At this step S13, judgement is carried out as to whether the upward pivoting of the
back door 3 is under acceleration or not. If YES, that is, when the upward pivoting of theback door 3 is under acceleration, the operation flow goes back to START. The YES judgement at step S13 is actually provided in a condition wherein theback door 3 is being pivoted upward manually by the operator. If, under this condition, the manual upward pivoting of thedoor 3 starts to be assisted by the power of the operating device 8 (or 28), a certain shock would be applied to the operator. Thus, if the upward pivoting of thedoor 3 is under acceleration, the auto-driving for thedoor 3 by the operating device 8 (or 28) is not induced. In other words, the auto-driving for thedoor 3 takes place only when the upward pivoting of thedoor 3 shows no acceleration, that is, in a condition wherein the operator is forced to temporarily remove his or her door moving force at the time when thedoor 3 comes up to a position near the neutral position “C”. That is, at such time, the operator is forced to change the door gripping manner in which his or her hand grasps the lower end of theback door 3. When the auto-driving the operating device 8 (or 28) is commenced at such time, no shock is applied to the operator. For achieving this advantage, the step S13 is provided. - If NO at step S13, that is, when the upward pivoting of the
back door 3 is not under acceleration, the operation flow goes to step S14. - At this step S14, judgement is carried out as to whether the moving speed of the
back door 3 is within a given range or not. If YES, that is, when the door moving speed is within the given range, the operation flow goes to step S15. The YES judgement is actually provided in a condition wherein the moving speed is lower than a higher given speed that does not provide the operator with a marked shock upon switching to the auto-driving and higher than a lower given speed that is provided by the manual handling of thedoor 3 by the operator. - If NO at step S14, that is, when the moving speed of the
back door 3 is not within the given range, the operation flow goes back to START. - At step S15, the
electric motor 10 is energized and then at step S16, the electromagnetic clutch 11 c is engaged. Thus, the pivoting of theback door 3 toward the full-open position “A” is carried out by the force produced by the operating device 8 (or 28). The moving speed of theback door 3 at this time is set higher than the higher given speed provided at the step S14, so that the switching from the manual handling to the auto-driving produces substantially no shock. - After the step S16, the operation flow goes to step S17. At this step S17, judgment is carried out as to whether or not the
back door 3 has comes up to a given position at which braking of the upward pivoting of thedoor 3 should start. If NO, that is, when theback door 3 has not come to the given position yet, the operation flow goes back to the front of the step S17, and the judgment work is repeated until theback door 3 comes to the given position. - If YES at step S17, that is, when the
back door 3 has come up to the given position, the operation flow goes to step S18 to brake the upward movement of theback door 3. Actually, the rotation of themotor 10 is braked. With this, the upward movement of the door is decelerated. Then, the operation flow goes to step S19. - At step S19, judgment is carried out as to whether the
back door 3 has come up to the full-open position “A” or not. If NO, that is, when theback door 3 has not come to the fully-open position “A” yet, the operation flow goes back to the front of the step S19 and the judgement work is repeated until theback door 3 comes to the full-open position “A”. - If YES at step S19, that is, when the
back door 3 has come to the full-open position “A”, the operation flow goes to step S20 to disengage the electromagnetic clutch 11 c and then to step S21 to deenergize themotor 10. - With the above-mentioned steps, the
back door 3 is finally pivoted to the full-open position “A”. - The entire contents of Japanese Patent Applications 2000-089768 (filed Mar. 28, 2000) and 2000-092715 (filed Mar. 30, 2000) are incorporated herein by reference.
- Although the invention has been described hereinabove with reference to the embodiments of the invention, the invention is not limited to the embodiments as described hereinabove. That is, various modifications and variations of the embodiments may be carried out by those skilled in the art, in light of the above descriptions.
Claims (25)
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2000089768A JP3749074B2 (en) | 2000-03-28 | 2000-03-28 | Opening and closing device for vehicle opening and closing body |
JP2000-089768 | 2000-03-28 | ||
JP2000-092715 | 2000-03-30 | ||
JP2000092715A JP3923704B2 (en) | 2000-03-30 | 2000-03-30 | Drive control device for vehicle opening / closing body |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20010033086A1 true US20010033086A1 (en) | 2001-10-25 |
US6382706B2 US6382706B2 (en) | 2002-05-07 |
Family
ID=26588627
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/813,980 Expired - Fee Related US6382706B2 (en) | 2000-03-28 | 2001-03-22 | Operating device for automotive pivotal door |
Country Status (2)
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US (1) | US6382706B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE10114938B4 (en) |
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Also Published As
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DE10114938A1 (en) | 2001-10-18 |
DE10114938B4 (en) | 2005-10-27 |
US6382706B2 (en) | 2002-05-07 |
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