WO2003091050A1

WO2003091050A1 - Arrangement in a sliding door of a vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2003091050A1
Application number: PCT/FI2002/000358
Authority: WO
Inventors: Seppo Tiittanen
Original assignee: Oy Mosera Ltd.
Priority date: 2002-04-26
Filing date: 2002-04-26
Publication date: 2003-11-06
Also published as: AU2002251108A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement in a sliding door of a vehicle. A driving motor (12) moves the sliding door (1) between the open and closed positions by means of power transmission means (13, 14). The operation of the driving motor (12) is controlled by a control unit (23), which receives the control commands wirelessly from a controller (24). On the sliding door is a solenoid (26) for unlocking the lock of the sliding door. The cable (3) delivering current to the solenoid (26) is led around a sheave (6) moving in a spring-loaded manner and over a sheave (4) fitted with bearings on the body, and fixed to a cable clamp (2) on the sliding door (1), which pulls the cable (3) behind it when the door isopened. On the front edge of the door is fixed a safety edge.

Description

Arrangement in a sliding door of a vehicle

The invention relates to an arrangement in a sliding door of a vehicle, the arrangement comprising - a driving motor and power transmission means between the driving motor and the sliding door for moving the sliding door between the open and closed positions;

- control devices for controlling the operation of the driving motor;

- a solenoid on the sliding door for unlocking the lock of the sliding door, and - supply of current to the solenoid, which is conducted to the sliding door by means of a solid cable for continuous supply of current.

From the patent publication US 4,640,050 is known an arrangement in which the supply of current for the lock-releasing device of a sliding door is provided by means of a switch, which is connected when the door is in the closed position, but disconnected when the door is open. A contact failure in the switch may lead to unintended unlocking of the door. Another disadvantage is that in conjunction with the door cannot be provided accessories such as a safety edge for the door, which require supply of current in the open position of the door.

From the published application DE-10000930 Al is known a sliding door arrangement in which a guide rail is mounted on the door, and a cable is fixed to a slide block sliding along the said rail. The slide block is pulled back in a spring-loaded manner, that is, in the opening direction of the door. In the closed position of the door, the slide block is at the rear end of the guide rail, and in the open position of the door, the slide block is at the front end of the guide rail. Inside the door must be provided a space where the cable will be able to turn. There is no safety rail on the front edge of the door. From the published application DE- 10018332 is known a sliding door arrangement in which a cable guide rail is arranged adjacent to the slide rail of the door, at one end of the guide rail there being a spiral spring loaded winding drum. Supply of current takes place by means of a flat cable wound on the winding drum. There is no safety edge on the front edge of the door.

The aim of the invention is to provide an arrangement of the above type, in which supply of current to the devices connected with the door takes place by means of a solid cable, that is, in all positions of the door, and in which the entry of the cable into the door is realised by means of a simple and reliable construction, whereby supply of current also to the safety edge fixed on the front edge of the door is ensured.

This aim of the invention is achieved on the basis of the characteristics disclosed in the appended claim 1.

The dependent claims disclose preferred embodiments of the invention, especially for improving the safety of operation of the door.

The invention is illustrated in the following by means of examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows a perspective view and partial cross-section of the essential part of an arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention, when the sliding door is in the closed position;

Figure 2 shows the same as Figure 1, but with the sliding door half- open;

Figure 3 shows the same as Figure 1, but with the sliding door completely open; Figure 4 shows diagrammatically the sliding door arrangement according to the invention and its drive and control devices;

Figure 5 shows the arrangement of a safety edge 26 in conjunction with the front edge la of the sliding door 1;

Figure 6 shows the support and securing arrangement of the safety edge;

Figure 7 shows a view from above of an arrangement according to the second embodiment of the invention for leading the cable from the body of the vehicle to the inside of the sliding door; and

Figure 8 shows the arrangement according to Figure 7 from the side, that is, as seen in the horizontal direction.

The arrangement shown in Figure 4 comprises a driving motor 12 and power transmission means 13, 14 between the driving motor and the sliding door 1, for moving the sliding door between the open and closed positions. The power transmission means comprise a drive rod 13 connected to the motor 12 shaft, around which shaft is wound a draw line 14, which runs over the sheaves 15, 16 and is fixed to the rear edge of the door 1. The door 1 is supported in the usual manner with sliding guide bars and rollers on the body of the vehicle.

The control device 23 controlling the operation of the driving motor 12 receives feedback data from the means 17, 18 monitoring the running speed of the motor. On the basis of this data, the control devices 23 are arranged to move the door 1 at an essentially constant speed. The control instructions are transmitted to the control unit 23 wirelessly by means of a key chain controller 24. The control unit 23 comprises a position transmitter 20 for detecting the open position of the door. In a preferred embodiment, the control devices 23, 24 are arranged to move the door towards the open position with all driving controls of the door (including closing control), should the position transmitter 20 not detect that the door is in the open position. A magnet 21 on the front edge of the door 1 is at the position transmitter 20 when the door is in the open position. The door cannot, therefore, be controlled to close until it is in a fully open position.

The arrangement also comprises an infrared sensor 22 for monitoring the doorway 11 area. The control devices 23, 24 are arranged to prevent the closing control of the door if the infrared sensor 22 detects an obstacle in the doorway.

Figure 3 shows diagrammatically the solenoid 26 in the sliding door 1 for unlocking the lock of the door. In Figures 1 to 3 is illustrated the supply of current to the solenoid 26 by means of a cable 3, with which the supply of current to the door 1 is ensured in all positions of the door. In this arrangement, there also do not appear the contact failures typical of connectors. The current supply cable from the vehicle battery 25 is brought into sight through an opening 9 and passes around a sheave 6 moving in a spring-loaded manner, and further between two sheaves 4, 5 fitted with bearings on the body, after which the cable is fixed to a cable clamp 2 protruding from the sliding door 1. When the door is being opened or closed, the cable clamp 2 passes the pair of sheaves 5, 6 fitted with bearings on the body, as can be seen by comparing Figures 1, 2 and 3. When the sheave pair 4, 5 fitted with bearings on the body is located above the doorway 11, halfway through the width of the doorway, the distance of travel of the spring-loaded sheave 6 is about ¹A of the distance of travel of the door 1. The spring 7 of the sheave 6 is attached at one end to a fastener 8, the location of which determines the direction of travel of the sheave 6. This direction of travel may also deviate substantially from that shown in the Figure, and it may be selected in accordance with the space available. Reference numeral 10 denotes an opening through which the cable 3 comes out into a free space, for example, above the upper edge of the doorway, where the end of the cable clamp 2 fixed to the top corner of the door 1 moves.

Once current supply has been conducted to the door by means of a solid cable 3, on the front edge of the sliding door can be fixed a safety edge requiring continuous supply of current. This is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. The safety edge 26 is a commercially available, hollow lath or tube, in which the electrically conductive surfaces come into contact due to the effect of external pressure. When the control unit 23 detects a contact on the safety edge 26, it stops the motor 12 and reverses its direction of rotation in order to drive the sliding door towards the opening position.

For the proper and correctly positioned fastening of the safety edge 26, it is fixed on the front edge of the sliding door by means of a flexible connecting piece 27. The flexible connecting piece 27 may be, for example, a rubber lath, which is fixed by means of an adhesive surface 29 on the interior surface of the lip projection lb on the front edge of the door. The adhesive surface 28 of the safety edge 26 is attached on the adhesive surface 30 of the rubber lath 27. The adhesive surfaces 29 and 30 of the rubber lath 27 are on adjacent sides of the rubber lath 27. In this way the attachment of the safety edge 26 may follow the curvature of the outer edge of the lip projection lb in all directions. The projection A of the safety edge 26 from the outer edge of the lip edge lb may be, for example, about 4 mm.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 7 and 8, there are three sheaves 36 moving in a spring-loaded fashion on the same shaft, whereby they together form a moving sheave pack 35. Correspondingly, there are three sheaves 34 fitted with bearings on the vehicle body, co-axially next to each other. The cable 3 forms three cable loops between the moving sheaves 36 and the sheaves 34 fitted with bearings on the body. The cable 3 is locked to the vehicle body by means of a fastener 33.

The slide rail 31 of the slide roll (not shown) at the front of the lower edge of the sliding door 1 ends near the sheave 34 fitted with bearings on the body. From this sheave 34, guided by the slide rail 31, the cable 3 is led inside the sliding door 1 through the opening 32 in the lower corner of the front edge or the front corner of the lower edge. When the door moves to open, the sheave pack 35 moves towards the sheaves 34. In the case shown, the distance travelled by the sheave pack 35 is only 1/8 of the distance travelled by the door. If there were only two sheaves in each set of sheaves, the distance travelled by the sheaves pack would be 4 of the distance travelled by the door.

Claims

1. An arrangement in a sliding door of a vehicle, the arrangement comprising

- a driving motor (12) and power transmission means (13, 14) between the driving motor and the sliding door (1) for moving the sliding door between the open and closed positions;

- control devices (23, 24) for controlling the operation of the driving motor

(12);

- a solenoid (26) on the sliding door for unlocking the lock of the sliding door, and

- supply of current to the solenoid (26), which is conducted to the sliding door (1) by means of a solid cable (2) for continuous supply of current; characterised in that the current supply cable (3) is led around a sheave (6, 36) moving in a spring-loaded manner and over a sheave (4, 34) fitted with bearings on the body, and is fixed to a cable clamp (2) on the sliding door (1), which effects a reciprocating movement of the sheave (6, 36) moving in a spring-loaded manner in the direction of action of the spring force when the door is opened or closed, and that on the front edge of the sliding door is fixed an elongated safety edge (26) by means of a flexible connecting piece (27), the said safety edge receiving its current supply via the said cable (3).

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that there are two or three sheaves (36) moving in a spring-loaded manner and they together form a moving sheave pack (35), that there are correspondingly two or three sheaves (34) fitted with bearings on the vehicle body, and that the cable (3) forms several cable loops between the moving sheaves (36) and the sheaves (34) fitted with bearings on the body.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that the slide rail (31) of the slide roll at the front of the lower edge of the sliding door (1) ends near the sheave (34) fitted with bearings on the body, and that the cable (3) is led, guided by the slide rail (31), through the opening (32) in the lower corner of the front edge or the front corner of the lower edge of the sliding door (1), inside the door.

4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that a pair of sheaves (4, 5) is fitted with bearings on the body, which pair is located halfway through the width of the doorway (11), whereby the distance of travel of the spring-loaded sheave (6) is about A of the distance of travel of the door (1).

5. An arrangement as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 4, characterised in that it comprises a position transmitter (20) for detecting the open position of the door (1), and that the control devices (23, 24) are arranged to move the door towards the open position with all driving controls of the door, should the position transmitter (20) not detect the door to be in the open position.

6. An arrangement as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 5, characterised in that it comprises an infrared sensor (22) for monitoring the doorway (11) area, and that the control devices (23, 24) are arranged to prevent the closing control of the door if the infrared sensor (22) detects an obstacle in the doorway (11).

7. An arrangement as claimed in any of the claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the control devices (23) comprise means (17, 18) for monitoring the running speed of the motor (12), and that the control devices (23) are arranged to move the door (1) at an essentially constant speed.

8. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the flexible connecting piece (27) is a rubber lath, which is fixed by means of an adhesive surface on the interior surface of the lip projection (lb) on the front edge of the door.