Window regulator

Abstract

To provide a window regulator that can improve temporary fixation function of a drum housing to a door panel while suppressing improvement cost.SOLUTION: A window regulator 21 to be attached to an inner panel comprises: a carrier plate 31; an ascending wire 33 and a descending wire 34 that pull the carrier plate 31; a rotary drum 42 which performs winding and unwinding of the ascending wire 33 and the descending wire 34 by rotation; and a drum housing 43 for accommodating the rotary drum 42. The drum housing 43 has a housing body 51 having a drum shaft 72, and a temporary fixation member 52 which projects to a rear side from the housing body 51, fits into a temporary fixation hole formed in the inner panel, and temporarily fixes the drum housing 43 to the inner panel. The temporary fixation member 52 can be fitted into a drum shaft hole 73 of the drum shaft 72.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a window regulator. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a drum housing for a window regulator that is provided with a protrusion for temporary fastening (see Patent Document 1). In this drum housing, the protrusion (protrusion piece) for temporary fastening is inserted into an engagement hole in the door panel to temporarily fasten the drum housing to the door panel, and in this state, the drum housing is fastened to the door panel with screws to fix the drum housing to the door panel. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-157682 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional drum housing described above, the protrusion and the engagement hole are designed with a large amount of play, so the drum housing easily comes off the door panel even after the protrusion is inserted into the engagement hole, and when tightening the screws, it is necessary to press the drum housing against the door panel.In contrast, adding a protrusion that fits into the engagement hole would require changing the molding die for the drum housing, which would increase the cost of modifications.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a window regulator that can improve the function of temporarily fixing the drum housing to the door panel while suppressing the cost of repairs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a window regulator that is attached to a door panel, comprising: a carrier plate that supports the window glass; a wire that pulls the carrier plate; a rotating drum that winds and pays out the wire by rotation; and a drum housing that accommodates the rotating drum, wherein the drum housing has a housing main body having a drum shaft that rotatably supports the rotating drum, and a temporary fixing member that protrudes from the housing main body toward the door panel and fits into a hole formed in the door panel to temporarily fix the drum housing to the door panel, and wherein the temporary fixing member is configured to be attachable to a drum shaft hole of the drum shaft. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The window regulator according to the present invention can improve the function of temporarily fixing the drum housing to the door panel while suppressing the cost of improvements. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic front view showing a window regulator according to an embodiment of the present invention and a vehicle door to which the window regulator is attached. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are a front view and a rear view, respectively, of a window regulator. [Figure 4] 1A is a front view showing the drive unit, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A'. [Figure 5] FIG. [Figure 6] 1A is a front view showing a drum housing, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing the drum housing. [Figure 7] 1A is a plan view, FIG. 1B is a front view, and FIG. 1C is a rear view showing the temporary fixing member. [Figure 8] 10A to 10C are explanatory diagrams showing an assembly procedure for the drive unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A window regulator according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The window regulator is a lifting device attached to a vehicle door and lifts and lowers the window glass of the vehicle door. In particular, the window regulator has a temporary fixing fitting protrusion formed by a temporary fixing member configured to be attachable to a drum shaft hole of a drum housing. Hereinafter, the direction in which the window glass is lifted and lowered will be simply referred to as the lifting and lowering direction. Also, the following description will be given by defining left and right, front and rear, and up and down as shown in the drawings. In this embodiment, the lifting and lowering direction coincides with the up and down direction of the window regulator, and the vehicle width direction coincides with the front and rear direction of the window regulator. The direction perpendicular to the lifting and lowering direction and the vehicle width direction is the left and right direction of the window regulator.

[0010] (Vehicle door configuration) Before describing the window regulator 21, we will first describe the vehicle door 1 to which the window regulator 21 is attached. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle door 1 is composed of an inner panel 11 on the vehicle interior side, which is a door panel, and an outer panel (not shown) on the vehicle exterior side, and an interior space of the door is formed between the inner panel 11 and the outer panel.

[0011] A window opening 16 is formed in the upper part of the inner panel 11 and the outer panel, and is opened and closed by a window glass W. As shown in FIG. 2, a working hole 17 is formed in the lower part of the inner panel 11 for introducing various functional parts into the interior space of the door.

[0012] Furthermore, two fastening holes 18, 18 for screwing the window regulator 21 and a temporary fixing hole 19 for temporarily fixing the window regulator 21 are formed in the lower part of the inner panel 11. The temporary fixing hole 19 is an example of a hole portion.

[0013] (Window regulator configuration) 1 and 3, the window regulator 21 is attached to the inner panel 11 of the vehicle door 1 and includes a carrier plate 31 that supports the window glass W, a guide rail 32 that is provided along the lifting direction and supports the carrier plate 31 so that it can be raised and lowered, an ascending wire 33 and a descending wire 34 that pull the carrier plate 31, a drive unit 35 that is disposed at the lower end of the guide rail 32 and drives the ascending wire 33 and the descending wire 34, and a pulley 36 that is attached to the upper end of the guide rail 32 via a pulley bracket 37 and changes the direction of the ascending wire 33. In other words, the window regulator 21 is a wire-driven window regulator that raises and lowers the carrier plate 31 using the wires 33 and 34, and is also a bottom rail-type window regulator in which the drive unit 35 is disposed at the lower end of the guide rail 32. The ascending wire 33 and the descending wire 34 are examples of wires.

[0014] The guide rail 32 is a long metal member extending in the lifting direction and is attached to the vehicle door 1 at an angle toward the rear in the vehicle front-rear direction. The guide rail 32 is also curved so as to protrude toward the outside of the vehicle compartment in the vehicle width direction.

[0015] The ascending wire 33 has one end connected to a rotating drum 42 (described later) of the drive unit 35, is fed upward from the drive unit 35 to the pulley 36, is redirected downward by the pulley 36, and then has the other end attached to the carrier plate 31. On the other hand, the descending wire 34 has one end connected to the rotating drum 42 of the drive unit 35, is fed upward from the drive unit 35, and has the other end attached to the carrier plate 31.

[0016] The carrier plate 31 is a plate-like member made of resin such as polyacetal, and is slidably supported on guide rails 32. The carrier plate 31 is also formed with mounting holes 31a for mounting the window glass W. The mounting holes 31a are for screwing in a glass holder (not shown) fixed to the window glass W, and the window glass W is mounted to the carrier plate 31 via the glass holder by fastening the glass holder to the mounting holes 31a with bolts.

[0017] 4 and 5, the drive unit 35 has a drive motor 41 with a reducer, a cylindrical rotating drum 42 that is rotationally driven by the drive motor 41 and winds and unwinds the ascending-side wire 33 and the descending-side wire 34 through rotation, a drum housing 43 into which the lower end of the guide rail 32 is fitted and which rotatably houses the rotating drum 42, and a motor housing 44 that holds the drive motor 41. The motor housing 44 connects the output shaft 41a of the drive motor 41 to the rotating drum 42 and is fixed to the drum housing 43 so as to cover the opening of a drum housing portion 61 (described later) of the drum housing 43.

[0018] When the drive motor 41 is driven in the forward direction, the rotating drum 42 rotates in the forward direction, and as a result, the lowering side wire 34 is unwound while the ascending side wire 33 is wound up. As a result, the carrier plate 31 is pulled by the ascending side wire 33 and moves upward in the lifting direction. As a result, the window glass W attached to the carrier plate 31 rises. On the other hand, when the drive motor 41 is driven in the reverse direction, the rotating drum 42 rotates in the reverse direction, and as a result, the ascending side wire 33 is unwound while the descending side wire 34 is wound up. As a result, the carrier plate 31 is pulled by the descending side wire 34 and moves downward in the lifting direction. As a result, the window glass W attached to the carrier plate 31 falls. As a result, the carrier plate 31 and the window glass W are raised and lowered along the guide rails 32.

[0019] As shown in Figures 4 to 6, the drum housing 43 has a housing main body 51 and a temporary fixing member 52 that protrudes from the housing main body 51 toward the rear (toward the inner panel 11) and engages with a temporary fixing hole 19 formed in the inner panel 11 to temporarily fix the drum housing 43 to the inner panel 11.

[0020] The housing body 51 is formed by injection molding of resin. The housing body 51 is also formed with a drum accommodating portion 61 that accommodates the rotating drum 42, a rail fitting portion 62 that is disposed above the drum accommodating portion 61 and that fits the lower end of the guide rail 32, three fixing portions 63, 63, 63 for fixing the motor housing 44 with fixing bolts 45, and two fastening portions 64, 64 for fastening the housing body 51 to the inner panel 11 with screws.

[0021] The drum accommodating section 61 is formed with a circular accommodating hole 71 that accommodates the rotating drum 42, and a drum shaft 72 that is disposed in the center of the accommodating hole 71 and rotatably supports the rotating drum 42. The drum shaft 72 is formed with a drum shaft hole 73 that penetrates from the top of the drum shaft 72 to the rear surface of the housing main body 51. Strictly speaking, the drum shaft hole 73 is composed of a hole formed in the drum shaft 72 and a hole formed in the rear wall of the housing main body 51 that is connected to the drum shaft 72.

[0022] 4(b) and 7, the temporary fixing member 52 is configured to be attachable to the drum shaft hole 73 and is configured to be joined to the inner panel 11 by a snap fit method. In detail, the temporary fixing member 52 integrally includes a cylindrical body portion 81 to be inserted into the drum shaft hole 73, a truncated conical claw portion 82 formed at the tip end of the body portion 81, and a disk-shaped flange portion 83 formed at the base end of the body portion 81, and is provided with a slit 84 extending from the flange portion 83 to the claw portion 82.

[0023] The outer peripheral surface 81a of the body portion 81 serves as a fitting surface that fits into the inner peripheral surface of the temporary fixing hole 19 of the inner panel 11, and functions as a fitting portion that fits into the temporary fixing hole 19. That is, the body portion 81 of the temporary fixing member 52 is inserted into the temporary fixing hole 19, and the outer peripheral surface 81a of the body portion 81 fits into the inner peripheral surface of the temporary fixing hole 19, thereby fixing the position of the temporary fixing member 52 in the up-down and left-right directions relative to the inner panel 11. As a result, the position of the drum housing 43 is fixed in the up-down and left-right directions relative to the inner panel 11.

[0024] The front surfaces 82a of the claw portions 82 serve as engagement surfaces that engage with the rear surface of the inner panel 11, and function as restriction portions that restrict the separation of the inner panel 11 and the housing main body 51. That is, the engagement of the front surfaces 82a of the claw portions 82 with the rear surface of the inner panel 11 restricts the separation of the inner panel 11 and the housing main body 51. This fixes the position of the drum housing 43 in the front-rear direction relative to the inner panel 11. The body portions 81 of the temporary fixing members 52 fit into the temporary fixing holes 19, and the claw portions 82 of the temporary fixing members 52 engage with the inner panel 11, temporarily fixing the drum housing 43 to the inner panel 11. In this way, the portions of the temporary fixing members 52 that protrude from the housing main body 51 function as fitting protrusions for temporary fixation.

[0025] Furthermore, the outer peripheral surfaces 82b of the claw portions 82 are tapered (inclined) surfaces that taper rearward. As a result, when the claw portions 82 are pressed into the temporary fixing holes 19, the outer peripheral surfaces 82b of the claw portions 82 come into contact with the edges of the temporary fixing holes 19, generating radially inward stress on the temporary fixing member 52. As a result, the slits 84 are narrowed, and the entire temporary fixing member 52 is deformed and contracted in diameter. When the temporary fixing member 52 is joined to the inner panel 11, the claw portions 82 are pressed into the temporary fixing holes 19, causing the entire temporary fixing member 52 to contract in diameter. In this state, the claw portions 82 are further pressed in to pass through the temporary fixing holes 19. When the claw portions 82 completely pass through the temporary fixing holes 19, the radially inward stress is released, and the entire temporary fixing member 52 returns to its original shape. The outer peripheral surface 81a of the body portion 81 fits into the inner peripheral surface of the temporary fixing hole 19, and the front surfaces 82a of the claw portions 82 engage with the rear surface of the inner panel 11. This allows the temporary fixing member 52 to be joined to the inner panel 11 by a snap fit method. Note that the slits 84 preferably extend to the middle of the claw portions 82 in the front-rear direction so that the rear side of the temporary fixing member 52 can easily undergo diameter contraction deformation. Also, as shown in Figures 4(b) and 7, the temporary fixing member 52 as a whole preferably has a central hole formed therein that penetrates from the flange portions 83 to the claw portions 82 so that the temporary fixing member 52 can easily undergo diameter contraction deformation as a whole.

[0026] When attaching the window regulator 21 to the inner panel 11, the window regulator 21 is inserted into the interior space of the door through the access hole 17, and then the window regulator 21 is held and the temporary fixing members 52 are pushed into the temporary fixing holes 19 from the front side of the inner panel 11, and the temporary fixing members 52 are joined to the inner panel 11 by a snap fit method, thereby temporarily fixing the drum housing 43 to the inner panel 11. As a result, the drum housing 43 is fixed in position relative to the inner panel 11 in the up-down and left-right directions by the engagement of the body portions 81 with the temporary fixing holes 19, and the drum housing 43 is fixed in position relative to the inner panel 11 in the front-rear direction by the engagement of the claw portions 82 with the inner panel 11. After the drum housing 43 is temporarily fixed to the inner panel 11, the drum housing 43 is screwed to the inner panel 11 using the fastening holes 18, 18 and the fastening portions 64, 64, thereby permanently fixing the drum housing 43 to the inner panel 11. With the drum housing 43 fully fixed to the inner panel 11 , the pulley bracket 37 is fastened to the inner panel 11 , thereby attaching the window regulator 21 to the inner panel 11 .

[0027] 4(b) and 7, the front surface 83a of the flange portion 83 serves as a contact surface with which the output shaft 41a of the drive motor 41 comes into contact, and functions as a contact portion with which the output shaft 41a comes into contact. As shown in FIG. 4(b), the tip end of the output shaft 41a of the drive motor 41, which is assembled to the drum housing 43 via the motor housing 44, comes into contact with the flange portion 83, thereby pressing the flange portion 83 against the bottom wall of the housing main body 51, thereby positioning the temporary fixing member 52 in the front-to-rear direction. As a result, the temporary fixing member 52 is positioned so that the distance between the front surface 82a of the claw portion 82 and the bottom surface of the housing main body 51 is approximately the same as the thickness of the inner panel 11.

[0028] When assembling the drive unit 35, first, as shown in Fig. 8(a), the rotating drum 42 is attached to the drum shaft 72 of the housing main body 51, and then, as shown in Fig. 8(b), the temporary fixing member 52 is inserted into the drum shaft hole 73 of the housing main body 51 and attached. Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 8(c), the motor housing 44 is fixed to the housing main body 51 at the three fixing portions 63 with fixing bolts 45. As a result, the rotating drum 42 is connected to the output shaft 41a of the drive motor 41, and the tip of the output shaft 41a comes into contact with the flange portion 83 of the temporary fixing member 52, positioning the temporary fixing member 52.

[0029] (Actions and Effects of the Embodiments) As described above, according to the configuration of the above embodiment, the body 81 of the temporary fixing member 52 is configured to fit into the temporary fixing hole 19, which prevents the temporary fixing member 52 from coming out of the temporary fixing hole 19 and causing the window regulator 21 to separate from the inner panel 11. This eliminates the need to press the window regulator 21 against the inner panel 11 when fastening the screws, facilitating the installation of the window regulator 21 to the inner panel 11. Furthermore, by providing the temporary fixing member 52 configured to be attachable to the drum shaft hole 73, a temporary fixing fitting protrusion can be added to the drum housing 43 simply by attaching the temporary fixing member 52 to the existing drum shaft hole 73. This reduces the cost of modifying the drum housing 43 and improves the temporary fixing function of the drum housing 43 to the inner panel 11. Note that the drum shaft hole 73 is also used as a reference hole that serves as a measurement reference when molding the housing main body 51. Therefore, the temporary fixing member 52 can also be configured to be attachable to the reference hole.

[0030] In addition, by providing a claw portion 82 that engages with the rear surface of the inner panel 11, it is possible to regulate the separation between the housing main body 51 and the inner panel 11, thereby further preventing the housing main body 51 from separating from the inner panel 11.

[0031] Furthermore, since the temporary fixing member 52 is configured to be joined to the inner panel 11 using a snap fit method, the temporary fixing member 52 can be easily joined to the inner panel 11, and the temporary fixing member 52 can be easily temporarily fixed to the inner panel 11.

[0032] Furthermore, since the temporary fixing member 52 is positioned by the output shaft 41a of the drive motor 41 assembled to the housing main body 51, there is no need to join the temporary fixing member 52 to the housing main body 51 by welding or the like, and the temporary fixing member 52 can be easily attached to the housing main body 51.

[0033] Furthermore, by configuring the slits 84 to extend rearward from the front end of the temporary fixing member 52, the diameter of the front side of the temporary fixing member 52 can be reduced. This allows the temporary fixing member 52 to be removed from the rear side of the inner panel 11 after the window regulator 21 has been attached to the inner panel 11. In other words, since the temporary fixing member 52, which is no longer needed after the window regulator 21 has been attached, can be removed, the temporary fixing member 52 can be reused for another window regulator 21, for example.

[0034] (Other embodiments) Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the invention according to the claims is not limited to the above-described embodiments. It should be noted that not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the means for solving the problems of the invention. The present invention can be implemented by modifying it as appropriate within the scope of its spirit.

[0035] For example, in the above embodiment, the temporary fixing member 52 is configured to have a slit 84 extending rearward from the front end of the temporary fixing member 52, but the temporary fixing member 52 may also be configured to have a slit 84 extending forward from the rear end of the temporary fixing member 52.

[0036] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the slit 84 is formed in a vertical line shape when viewed from the front-rear direction, but this is not limited to this as long as the temporary fixing member 52 is configured to be able to reduce in diameter. That is, the slit 84 may be formed at any circumferential position, and for example, the slit 84 may be formed in a horizontal line shape when viewed from the front-rear direction. In other words, the circumferential orientation of the temporary fixing member 52 when attached to the drum shaft hole 73 is arbitrary.

[0037] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the slit 84 is formed in a vertical line shape when viewed from the front-to-rear direction, dividing one half of the temporary fixing member 52 into two, left and right halves, but the slit 84 may be formed in a cross shape when viewed from the front-to-rear direction, dividing the one half of the temporary fixing member 52 into four parts. In other words, the number of divisions into which the one half of the temporary fixing member 52 is divided is arbitrary.

[0038] (Summary of the embodiment) Next, the technical concepts grasped from the above-described embodiments will be described using the reference numerals and the like in the embodiments. However, the reference numerals and the like in the following description do not limit the components in the claims to the members and the like specifically shown in the embodiments.

[0039] {1} A window regulator (21) to be attached to a door panel (11), comprising: a carrier plate (31) that supports a window glass (W); wires (33, 34) that pull the carrier plate (31); a rotating drum (42) that rotates to wind and unwind the wires (33, 34); and a drum housing (43) that accommodates the rotating drum (42), wherein the drum housing (43) has a housing main body (51) having a drum shaft (72) that rotatably supports the rotating drum (42), and a temporary fixing member (52) that protrudes from the housing main body (51) toward the door panel (11) and fits into a hole portion (19) formed in the door panel (11) to temporarily fix the drum housing (43) to the door panel (11), wherein the temporary fixing member (52) is configured to be attachable to a drum shaft hole (73) of the drum shaft (72). [2] The window regulator (21) described in [1] is characterized in that the temporary fixing member (52) has a fitting portion (81) that fits into the hole portion (19) and a claw portion (82) that engages with the door panel (11) and regulates the separation between the door panel (11) and the housing main body (51). <3> A window regulator (21) according to <1> or <2>, characterized in that the temporary fixing member (52) is joined to the door panel (11) by a snap fit method. (4) A window regulator (21) described in any one of (1) to (3), further comprising a drive motor (41) that drives the rotating drum (42), wherein the temporary fixing member (52) has a contacted portion (83) that contacts the output shaft (41a) of the drive motor (41) assembled to the housing main body (51), and the output shaft (41a) is positioned by contacting the contacted portion (83). [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1: vehicle door, 11: inner panel, 19: temporary fixing hole, 21: window regulator, 31: carrier plate, 33: rising wire, 34: falling wire, 41: drive motor, 41a: output shaft, 42: rotating drum, 43: drum housing, 51: housing body, 52: temporary fixing member, 72: drum shaft, 73: drum shaft hole, 81: body portion, 82: claw portion, 83: flange portion, W: window glass

Claims

1. A window regulator attached to a door panel, a carrier plate supporting the window glass; a wire for pulling the carrier plate; a rotary drum that rotates to wind and unwind the wire; a drum housing that houses the rotary drum, The drum housing includes: a housing body having a drum shaft that rotatably supports the rotary drum; a temporary fixing member that protrudes from the housing body toward the door panel and fits into a hole formed in the door panel to temporarily fix the drum housing to the door panel, The window regulator is characterized in that the temporary fixing member is configured to be attachable to a drum shaft hole of the drum shaft.

2. The temporary fixing member is a fitting portion that fits into the hole; 2. The window regulator according to claim 1, further comprising a claw portion that engages with the door panel and restricts separation between the door panel and the housing body.

3. 3. The window regulator according to claim 1, wherein the temporary fixing member is joined to the door panel by a snap fit method.

4. Further comprising a drive motor that drives the rotary drum, The window regulator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the temporary fixing member has a contacted portion that comes into contact with the output shaft of the drive motor assembled to the housing main body, and the output shaft is positioned by contacting the contacted portion.

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