Window regulator

Abstract

Provided is a window regulator that can be assembled with a simple configuration without being restricted by a working hole. A window regulator (21) attached to an inner panel of a vehicle door is provided with: a support plate (41) for supporting a window glass (W) of the vehicle door (1); a guide rail (42) that supports the pallet (41) and allows the pallet (41) to move up and down freely; a drum housing (63) in which a rail fitting part (72) into which the lower end of the guide rail (42) is fitted is formed; and a cover plate (32) that closes the first working hole (17a) of the inner panel (11), and the drum housing (63) and the cover plate (32) are integrally formed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to vehicle window regulators. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is a lower rail type window regulator in which a driving unit is arranged at the lower end of a guide rail (see Patent Document 1). The window regulator includes: a pallet connected to a window glass of a vehicle; a guide rail that guides the lifting and lowering of the pallet; a cable that pulls the pallet; a rotating drum that releases or reels the cable by rotating; and a drum housing (housing) that is equipped with the lower end of the guide rail and accommodates the rotating drum. In such a window regulator, the window regulator is assembled to a door panel by assembling the drum housing equipped with the guide rail to the door panel.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-124515 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problem that the invention aims to solve

[0007] However, in the conventional window regulator, if there is an operation hole (inspection hole) of the door panel at the position of the drum housing, the window regulator cannot be assembled to the door panel. Therefore, the window regulator needs to be assembled in a manner that the position of the drum housing and the position of the operation hole do not overlap, which has the problem of restricting the configuration of the window regulator relative to the door panel.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a window regulator that can be assembled with a simple structure and without being restricted by a work hole.

[0009] Solutions for solving problems

[0010] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a window regulator, which is a window regulator assembled to a door panel of a vehicle door, and is characterized in that it comprises: a support plate, which supports the window glass of the vehicle door; a guide rail, which supports the support plate and allows the support plate to be freely raised and lowered; a shell, which is formed with a rail engaging portion for the end of the guide rail to be engaged; and a cover plate, which closes the working hole of the door panel, and the shell and the cover plate are integrally formed.

[0011] Effects of the Invention

[0012] The window regulator of the present invention can be assembled with a simple structure without being restricted by a working hole. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic front view showing a window regulator according to an embodiment of the present invention and a vehicle door equipped with the window regulator.

[0014] Figure 2 It is a front view showing the vehicle door.

[0015] Figure 3 (a) is a front view of the window regulator showing a state where the window glass is completely closed, and (b) is a front view of the window regulator showing a state where the window glass is completely opened.

[0016] Figure 4 (a) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA′ showing the guide rail, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA′ showing the periphery of the rail fitting portion.

[0017] Figure 5 The figures show the integrally formed drum shell and cover plate, (a) is a stereoscopic view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a top view.

[0018] Description of Reference Numerals

[0019] 1: vehicle door, 11: inner panel, 17a: working hole, 21: window regulator, 32: cover plate, 41: support plate, 42: guide rail, 43: ascending side cable, 44: descending side cable, 62: rotating drum, 63: drum housing, 71: drum storage portion, 72: rail fitting portion, W: window glass. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Hereinafter, a window regulator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The window regulator is a lifting device that is assembled to a vehicle door and lifts and lowers the window glass of the vehicle door. In particular, the window regulator is formed integrally with the drum housing and the cover plate so that the window regulator can be assembled without being restricted by the working hole. In addition, hereinafter, the lifting and lowering direction of the window glass will be referred to as the lifting and lowering direction. In addition, hereinafter, left and right, front and back, and up and down will be defined and described as shown in the various figures. In addition, in the present embodiment, the lifting and lowering direction is consistent with the up and down direction of the window regulator, and the vehicle width direction of the vehicle is consistent with the front and back direction of the window regulator. In addition, the direction orthogonal to the lifting and lowering direction and the vehicle width direction is the left and right direction of the window regulator.

[0021] (Structure of vehicle door)

[0022] Here, before explaining the window regulator 21, the vehicle door 1 equipped with the window regulator 21 will be explained. Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the vehicle door 1 is composed of an inner panel 11 as a door panel on the inner side of the vehicle cabin and an outer panel (not shown) on the outer side of the vehicle cabin, and a door internal space is formed between the inner panel 11 and the outer panel.

[0023] In addition, a window opening 16 opened and closed by a window glass W is formed at the upper portion of the inner panel 11 and the outer panel. On the other hand, three operation holes 17a, 17b, and 17c for introducing various functional components into the inner space of the door are formed at the lower portion of the inner panel 11. Hereinafter, the operation hole 17a for introducing the window regulator 21 into the inner space of the door is referred to as a "first operation hole".

[0024] (Composition of a window regulator)

[0025] like Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the window regulator 21 is mounted on the inner panel 11 of the vehicle door 1 and includes a window regulator body 31 and a cover plate 32 that supports the window regulator body 31 and covers and closes the first operation hole 17 a .

[0026] like Figure 3 As shown, the window regulator body 31 includes: a pallet 41 that supports the window glass W; a guide rail 42 that is provided along the lifting direction and supports the pallet 41 and allows the pallet 41 to be lifted and lowered; an ascending cable 43 and a descending cable 44 that pull the pallet 41; a driving unit 45 that is disposed at the lower end of the guide rail 42 and drives the ascending cable 43 and the descending cable 44; and a pulley 46 that is fixed to the upper end of the guide rail 42 and changes the direction of the ascending cable 43. That is, the window regulator body 31 is a cable-driven window regulator that uses the cables 43 and 44 to lift and lower the pallet 41, and is a lower rail type window regulator in which the driving unit 45 is disposed at the lower end of the guide rail 42. The ascending cable 43 and the descending cable 44 are examples of cables.

[0027] The guide rail 42 is a long metal member extending in the lifting direction and is bent so as to protrude toward the outside of the vehicle compartment in the vehicle width direction. Figure 4 As shown in (a), the guide rail 42 has: a flat plate portion 51, which extends in the lifting direction; a right plate portion 52 and a left plate portion 53, which are erected toward the front side from the left and right end portions of the flat plate portion 51 in the short side direction (the direction perpendicular to the lifting direction); and a right flange portion 54, which protrudes toward the right side from the front end of the right plate portion 52.

[0028] like Figure 3As shown, one end of the ascending cable 43 is connected to the rotating drum 62 (described later) of the driving unit 45, the ascending cable 43 is released upward from the driving unit 45 and reaches the pulley 46, and the other end is mounted on the support plate 41 after the direction is changed downward by the pulley 46. On the other hand, one end of the descending cable 44 is connected to the rotating drum 62 of the driving unit 45, the descending cable 44 is released upward from the driving unit 45 and the other end is mounted on the support plate 41.

[0029] The support plate 41 is a plate-shaped member formed of a resin such as polyacetal, and is slidably supported on the right side plate portion 52 of the guide rail 42. In addition, a fastening hole 41a for attaching the window glass W is formed in the support plate 41. The fastening hole 41a is used to fasten a glass retainer (not shown) fixed to the window glass W with a bolt, and the window glass W is attached to the support plate 41 via the glass retainer by fastening the glass retainer to the fastening hole 41a with the bolt.

[0030] The driving unit 45 includes: a driving motor 61; a cylindrical rotating drum 62, which is driven to rotate by the driving motor 61, and the ascending cable 43 and the descending cable 44 are wound and released (driven) by the rotation; a speed reducer (not shown in the figure), which transmits the rotation of the driving motor 61 to the rotating drum 62; a drum housing 63, which is engaged with the lower end of the guide rail 42, and accommodates the rotating drum 62 and allows the rotating drum 62 to rotate freely; and a motor housing 64, which holds the driving motor 61. The motor housing 64 has a speed reducer built in, and is fixed to the drum housing 63. Moreover, the motor housing 64 connects the output shaft of the speed reducer to the rotating drum 62, and covers the opening of the drum storage portion 71 (described later) of the drum housing 63. In addition, the drum housing 63 is an example of a housing.

[0031] When the driving motor 61 is driven to rotate forward, the rotating drum 62 rotates forward, and accordingly, the descending side cable 44 is released and the ascending side cable 43 is wound up. As a result, the pallet 41 is pulled by the ascending side cable 43 and moves upward in the lifting direction. As a result, the window glass W mounted on the pallet 41 rises. On the other hand, when the driving motor 61 is driven to rotate backward, the rotating drum 62 rotates backward, and accordingly, the ascending side cable 43 is released and the descending side cable 44 is wound up. As a result, the pallet 41 is pulled by the descending side cable 44 and moves downward in the lifting direction. As a result, the window glass W mounted on the pallet 41 descends. As a result, the pallet 41 and the window glass W are raised and lowered along the guide rail 42.

[0032] like Figure 5As shown, the drum housing 63 is formed of a resin such as polyacetal and is integrally formed with the cover plate 32. In addition, the drum housing 63 is formed with: a drum storage portion 71 having a storage chamber 71a, which stores the rotating drum 62 and allows the rotating drum 62 to rotate freely; a rail fitting portion 72, which is arranged on the upper side of the drum storage portion 71 and is fitted with the lower end of the guide rail 42; and a first fixing portion 73, a second fixing portion 74 and a third fixing portion 75, which are used to screw the motor housing 64. The first fixing portion 73 is formed on the rail fitting portion 72, and the second fixing portion 74 and the third fixing portion 75 are respectively arranged at the lower right and lower left of the drum storage portion 71, and are connected to the drum storage portion 71 via a rib-shaped connecting portion 76.

[0033] The rail fitting portion 72 has a fitting chamber 72a whose upper side is open and into which the lower end of the guide rail 42 is inserted from above. Figure 4 As shown in (b), the fitting bin 72a has a shape complementary to the cross section of the guide rail 42. When the lower end of the guide rail 42 is inserted into the fitting bin 72a, the inner wall of the fitting bin 72a facing the front and back sides (front and back sides) of the flat plate portion 51 will contact the front and back sides of the flat plate portion 51 to clamp the flat plate portion 51, and the inner wall of the fitting bin 72a facing the front and back sides (left and right sides) of the left side plate portion 53 will contact the front and back sides of the left side plate portion 53 to clamp the left side plate portion 53. Thus, the lower end of the guide rail 42 is fitted and fixed to the fitting bin 72a. Thus, the lower end of the guide rail 42 is fixed to the drum housing 63.

[0034] like Figure 5 As shown, the cover plate 32 is formed of a resin such as polyacetal, and integrally includes: a flat plate body 81; a rising portion 82, which rises rearward from the peripheral end of the plate body 81; and a protruding portion 83, which protrudes from the top end of the rising portion 82 to the outside (the opposite side of the plate body 81). The plate body 81 has the same shape as the first working hole 17a, and the convex portion including the plate body 81 and the rising portion 82 is configured to fit into the first working hole 17a. On the other hand, eight clips 84 for fastening to the inner panel 11 are mounted on the protruding portion 83. The cover plate 32 is mounted to the inner panel 11 by fitting the plate body 81 and the rising portion 82 into the first working hole 17a, and fastening the protruding portion 83 to the inner panel 11 using the eight clips 84.

[0035] Although not shown in the figure, a sealing material is applied between the extension 83 and the inner panel 11. The sealing material improves the watertightness between the extension 83 and the inner panel 11, and can prevent water from entering the interior of the vehicle door from the gap between the cover plate 32 and the inner panel 11. In addition, regarding the sealing material, in the present window regulator 21, it can also be said that the cover plate 32 integrally formed with the drum housing 63 has a configuration of the sealing material.

[0036] In addition, as described above, the cover plate 32 is integrally formed with the drum housing 63. Specifically, the cover plate 32 and the drum housing 63 are formed by integrally forming a resin such as polyacetal. In addition, the drum housing 63 is formed on the front of the plate body 81, thereby the drum housing 63 is fixed to the plate body 81.

[0037] (Assembly Operation of Window Regulator 21)

[0038] Next, the assembly operation of the window regulator 21 to the vehicle door 1 will be described. In the assembly operation of the window regulator 21, first, the window regulator body 31 is introduced into the door internal space from the first operation hole 17a. Then, the plate body 81 and the rising portion 82 of the cover plate 32 are fitted into the first operation hole 17a, and the extension portion 83 of the cover plate 32 is fastened to the inner panel 11 using eight clips 84. After the extension portion 83 is fastened to the inner panel 11, the upper end portion of the window regulator body 31 is fixed to the inner panel 11. Thus, the assembly operation of the window regulator 21 is completed.

[0039] (Functions and Effects of Implementation Methods)

[0040] As described above, according to the configuration of the above embodiment, since the drum housing 63 and the cover plate 32 are integrally formed, the window regulator 21 can be mounted to the inner panel 11 with a simple configuration without being restricted by the working hole 17 a of the inner panel 11 .

[0041] In addition, since the drum housing 63 and the cover plate 32 are integrally formed, there is no need to use special fastening components (bolts, nuts, etc.) when fixing the drum housing 63 to the cover plate 32. In addition, there is no need to assemble the drum housing 63 to the cover plate 32. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the window regulator 21 can be reduced.

[0042] In addition, since the drum housing 63 and the cover plate 32 are integrally formed, the fastening point of the drum housing 63 to the inner panel 11 can be spaced apart from the rail fitting portion 72. That is, since the drum housing 63 and the cover plate 32 are integrally formed, the drum housing 63 is fastened to the inner panel 11 via the cover plate 32, and therefore, the fastening point of the cover plate 32 to the inner panel 11 becomes the fastening point of the drum housing 63 to the inner panel 11. Therefore, the fastening point of the drum housing 63 to the inner panel 11 can be spaced apart from the rail fitting portion 72, thereby reducing the stress applied to the fastening point when a moment with the guide rail 42 or the rail fitting portion 72 as a fulcrum is generated. Therefore, when a moment with the guide rail 42 or the rail fitting portion 72 as a fulcrum is generated due to the shaking of the window glass W, etc., it is possible to suppress the drum housing 63 or the inner panel 11 from being damaged or broken. In addition, compared with directly fastening the drum casing 63 to the inner panel 11, the number of fastening points can be increased, so the stress applied to each fastening point can be dispersed, and the load applied to each fastening point can be reduced.

[0043] In addition, by not forming the guide rail 42 directly integrally with the cover plate 32, but forming the drum housing 63 into which the lower end of the guide rail 42 is fitted integrally with the cover plate 32, the guide rail 42 can be appropriately replaced with a guide rail having a different curvature or length. Thus, the guide rail 42 can be appropriately replaced with a guide rail having a different curvature or length to cope with vehicle doors 1 having different curvatures or sizes. That is, for vehicle doors 1 having different curvatures or sizes, common components other than the guide rail 42 can be used, and the manufacturing cost of the window regulator 21 can be reduced.

[0044] Furthermore, since the drum housing 71 and the rail engaging portion 72 are formed in the drum casing 63 , the positional accuracy of the positional relationship (relative position) between the drum housing 71 and the rail engaging portion 72 can be improved.

[0045] (Regarding other embodiments)

[0046] The above describes the embodiments of the present invention, but the above embodiments do not limit the invention involved in the claims. In addition, it should be noted that all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are not necessarily required for the solution to the problem of the invention. The present invention can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope of its purpose.

[0047] For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is applied to the drum housing 63 having the drum housing portion 71 , but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the present invention may also be applied to a housing having the rail fitting portion 72 but not the drum housing portion 71 .

[0048] In the above embodiment, the drive motor 61 is disposed on the front side of the inner panel 11 (outside the vehicle cabin), but the drive motor 61 may be disposed on the rear side of the inner panel 11 (inside the vehicle cabin).

[0049] In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a housing disposed at the lower end of the guide rail 42, but the present invention may also be applied to a housing disposed at the upper end of the guide rail 42. That is, the present invention may also be applied to a housing having a rail fitting portion 72 formed therein to fit the upper end of the guide rail 42.

[0050] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to a single-rail window regulator 21 having a single guide rail 42 , but the present invention may also be applied to a double-rail window regulator 21 having a plurality of guide rails 42 .

[0051] In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the lower rail type window regulator 21 , but the present invention may be applied to other window regulators such as a delta type, a banjo type, and a self-propelled type in which the arrangement of the drive unit 45 is different.

[0052] In addition, in the above embodiment, the window regulator 21 mounted on the left front door (i.e., the left front side door) is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the present invention may also be applied to the window regulator 21 mounted on the right side door, and may also be applied to the window regulator 21 mounted on the rear side door.

Claims

1. A window regulator mounted on a door panel of a vehicle door, characterized in that: have: a support plate that supports a window glass of the vehicle door; A guide rail, which supports the pallet and enables the pallet to be lifted and lowered freely; a housing having a rail fitting portion formed therein to which an end portion of the guide rail fits; and a cover plate that closes the working hole of the door panel, The shell and the cover plate are integrally formed.

2. The vehicle window regulator according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also available: a cable for pulling the pallet; and a rotating drum which drives the cable by rotating, The housing is further formed with a drum housing portion for housing the rotating drum.

3. The vehicle window regulator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The housing and the cover are formed of resin.

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