Window regulator

Abstract

To provide a window regulator in which a slide-contact piece that slidably contacts the base part of a guide rail can be prevented from being caught with a concave connection part formed on the base part.SOLUTION: A window regulator comprises a carrier plate 11 to support a window glass, a guide rail 12 to slidably support the carrier plate 11, and lift means to move the carrier plate 11 up and down. The guide rail 12 comprises a base part 31 that extends in the lifting / lowering direction of the window glass, a right-side plate part 32 standing at one end on the breadth of the base part 31, and a left-side plate part 33 standing at the other end on the breadth of the base part 31. The carrier plate 11 has a slide-contact piece 46 formed on it that slidably contacts the base part 31. The slide-contact piece 46 comprises an arm part 51 that extends in the breadth of the base part 31 from the right end point of the base part 31 to the left end point of the base part 31, and a slide-contact part 52 that is formed at the tip of the arm part 51 and slidably contacts the left end point of the base part 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a window regulator in which a carrier plate is provided with a sliding contact piece that slides against the base of a guide rail (see Patent Document 1). This window regulator includes a carrier plate that supports the window glass, a guide rail that slidably supports the carrier plate, a closing wire and an opening wire that pull the carrier plate, a wire drive device that drives the closing wire and the opening wire, and a pulley attached to the upper end of the guide rail via a pulley bracket. In this window regulator, the sliding contact piece is provided on the carrier plate, which makes it possible to reduce rattle of the carrier plate. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-177836 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in conventional window regulators, when a concave joint is formed in the guide rail by joining the guide rail to the pulley bracket using a TOX (registered trademark) joint or the like, there is a problem in that the tip of the sliding contact piece falls into the recess of the concave joint and gets caught when the window glass is raised or lowered. When the sliding contact piece gets caught in the concave joint, it generates abnormal noise and causes improper raising and lowering.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a window regulator that can prevent the sliding contact piece that slides against the base of the guide rail from getting caught in the concave joint formed in the base. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a window regulator comprising: a carrier plate that supports a window glass; a guide rail that supports the carrier plate so that it can slide freely; and a lifting means for raising and lowering the carrier plate along the guide rail, wherein the guide rail has a base extending in the direction in which the window glass is raised and lowered, a first side plate portion erected from one widthwise end of the base, and a second side plate portion erected from the other widthwise end of the base, and the carrier plate is formed with a sliding contact piece that slides against the base, and the sliding contact piece has an arm portion that extends in the widthwise direction of the base from the position of one widthwise end of the base to the position of the other widthwise end, and a sliding contact portion formed at the tip of the arm portion that slides against the other widthwise end of the base. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The window regulator according to the present invention can prevent the sliding contact piece that slides against the base of the guide rail from getting caught in the concave joint formed in the base. [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. 2(a) is a front view showing the window regulator when the window glass is in an open state, and FIG. 2(b) is a front view showing the window regulator when the window glass is in a closed state. [Figure 3] (a) is an end view of the guide rail and pulley bracket taken along line A-A' in Figure 2(a), (b) is an end view of the carrier plate, guide rail and pulley bracket taken along line B-B' in Figure 2(b), and (c) is an end view of the carrier plate, guide rail and pulley bracket taken along line C-C' in Figure 2(b). [Figure 4]1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a plan view, and FIG. 1C is a back view showing a carrier plate. [Figure 5] 1A is a side view showing a carrier plate, and FIG. 1B is a rear perspective view showing the carrier plate. [Figure 6] 1A is a rear view showing the sliding contact piece, and FIG. 1B is a side view showing the sliding contact piece. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, a window regulator according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This window regulator is a lifting device that is attached to the inside of a vehicle door provided in a vehicle (e.g., an automobile) and lifts and lowers the window glass of the vehicle door. In particular, this window regulator has a sliding contact piece that slides against the base of the guide rail and is shaped so that it does not get caught on a concave joint formed in the base. Hereinafter, the direction in which the vehicle window glass is lifted and lowered will be simply referred to as the lifting and lowering direction. Also, hereinafter, left and right, front and rear, and up and down will be defined as shown in each drawing. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the lifting and lowering direction coincides with the up and down direction of the window regulator, and that the vehicle width direction coincides with the front and rear direction of the window regulator. Also, the direction perpendicular to the lifting and lowering direction and the vehicle width direction is referred to as the left and right direction of the window regulator.

[0010] (Window regulator configuration) 1 and 2, a window regulator 10 is attached to a vehicle door 1 and includes a carrier plate 11 that supports a window glass W, a guide rail 12 that supports the carrier plate 11 so that it can slide in the raising and lowering direction, an ascending wire 13 and a descending wire 14 that pull the carrier plate 11, a drive unit 15 that is provided at the lower end of the guide rail 12 and drives the ascending wire 13 and the descending wire 14, and a pulley 16 that is provided at the upper end of the guide rail 12 via a pulley bracket 17 and changes the direction of the ascending wire 13. In other words, the window regulator 10 is a wire-driven window regulator that raises and lowers the carrier plate 11 using the wires 13 and 14, and is also a bottom rail-type window regulator in which the drive unit 15 is disposed at the lower end of the guide rail 12. The ascending wire 13, the descending wire 14, and the drive unit 15 are an example of a lifting means that raises and lowers the carrier plate 11 along the guide rail 12.

[0011] One end of the ascending-side wire 13 is connected to a rotating drum 22 (described later) of the drive unit 15, is fed upward from the drive unit 15 to the pulley 16, is redirected downward by the pulley 16, and then the other end is attached to the carrier plate 11. On the other hand, one end of the descending-side wire 14 is connected to the rotating drum 22 of the drive unit 15, is fed upward from the drive unit 15, and the other end is attached to the carrier plate 11. In this embodiment, a thin rail with a small width is used as the guide rail 12, so when viewed from the front-to-rear direction, the ascending-side wire 13 and the descending-side wire 14 do not overlap with the guide rail 12, and are arranged with a positional deviation in the left-to-right direction relative to the guide rail 12.

[0012] 2, the drive unit 15 has a motor 21, a cylindrical rotating drum 22 that is rotationally driven by the motor 21 and rotates to wind and unwind the ascending-side wire 13 and the descending-side wire 14, a reducer (not shown) that transmits the rotation of the motor 21 to the rotating drum 22, a drum housing 23 into which the lower end of the guide rail 12 is fitted and which rotatably houses the rotating drum 22, and a motor housing 24 that holds the motor 21. The motor housing 24 incorporates the reducer and is fixed to the drum housing 23 so as to cover the drum housing portion of the drum housing 23.

[0013] When the motor 21 is driven in the forward direction, the rotating drum 22 rotates in the forward direction, and accordingly, the descending side wire 14 is unwound while the ascending side wire 13 is wound up. As a result, the carrier plate 11 is pulled by the ascending side wire 13 and moves upward in the lifting / lowering direction. As a result, the window glass W attached to the carrier plate 11 rises. On the other hand, when the motor 21 is driven in the reverse direction, the rotating drum 22 rotates in the reverse direction, and accordingly, the ascending side wire 13 is unwound while the descending side wire 14 is wound up. As a result, the carrier plate 11 is pulled by the descending side wire 14 and moves downward in the lifting / lowering direction. As a result, the window glass W attached to the carrier plate 11 falls. As a result, the carrier plate 11 and the window glass W rise and fall along the guide rails 12 (raising and lowering operation of the window glass W).

[0014] The pulley bracket 17 is made of a metal plate and rotatably supports the pulley 16. The pulley bracket 17 is disposed so as to overlap the rear side of the upper end of the guide rail 12, and is joined to the guide rail 12 by a TOX joint.

[0015] The guide rail 12 is formed by bending a long metal plate toward the outside of the vehicle compartment at a predetermined curvature, and is disposed inclined rearward in the vehicle front-rear direction relative to the vehicle door 1.

[0016] 2 and 3 , the guide rail 12 integrally includes a plate-shaped base 31 having a width in the left-right direction and extending in the elevation direction; a right side plate 32 extending forward from the right end of the base 31 in the width direction and extending in the elevation direction; a left side plate 33 extending forward from the left end of the base 31 in the width direction and extending in the elevation direction; and a right flange 34 extending rightward from the front end of the right side plate 32 and extending in the elevation direction. The right flange 34 is formed substantially parallel to the base 31. The right side plate 32 is a reference side plate, and the guide rail 12 slidably supports the carrier plate 11 mainly by the right side plate 32. The right side plate 32 is an example of a first side plate, and the left side plate 33 is an example of a second side plate.

[0017] Furthermore, two concave joints 35 are formed in the center of the upper end of the base 31 in the left-right direction by TOX joining to the pulley bracket 17. Each concave joint 35 has a recess 35a that extends from the front face of the base 31 to the rear face.

[0018] (Carrier plate configuration) As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the carrier plate 11 is made of resin (for example, polyacetal resin) and has a plate-shaped main body 40, two mounting holes 41, 41 formed on the left and right ends of the main body 40, a rail sliding portion 42 formed toward the right of the center of the rear side of the main body 40, an ascending side wire mounting portion 43 formed to the right of the rail sliding portion 42 on the main body 40, a descending side wire mounting portion 44 formed to the right of the ascending side wire mounting portion 43 on the main body 40, a flange sliding fin 45 formed in the center of the rear side of the main body 40, and a pair of upper and lower sliding contact pieces 46, 46 formed above and below the flange sliding fin 45 on the main body 40 and in sliding contact with the base 31 of the guide rail 12.

[0019] The two mounting holes 41, 41 are for mounting two glass holders (not shown) fixed to the window glass W. By mounting the two glass holders fixed to the window glass W in the respective mounting holes 41, 41, the window glass W is mounted to the carrier plate 11 via the two glass holders.

[0020] One end of the ascending side wire 13 is attached to the ascending side wire attachment portion 43. On the other hand, one end of the descending side wire 14 is attached to the descending side wire attachment portion 44. In other words, the carrier plate 11 is configured to be pulled upward in the ascending / descending direction by the ascending side wire 13 via the ascending side wire attachment portion 43, and to be pulled downward in the ascending / descending direction by the descending side wire 14 via the descending side wire attachment portion 44.

[0021] The rail sliding portion 42 slides on the right side plate portion 32 of the guide rail 12. As the rail sliding portion 42 slides on the right side plate portion 32, the carrier plate 11 is supported on the guide rail 12 so as to be slidable.

[0022] The flange sliding fin 45 is formed in an arc shape with the rear side convex, and slides on the right flange portion 34 of the guide rail 12.

[0023] (Configuration of sliding contact piece) As shown in Figures 3(b), 3(c) and 6, each sliding piece 46 has an arm portion 51 that has width in the vertical direction (lifting direction) and extends to the left, and a sliding portion 52 that is formed at the tip of the arm portion 51 and slides against the base 31 of the guide rail 12.

[0024] The arm 51 is formed between the right side plate 32 and the left side plate 33, extending from the position of the right side plate 32 to the position of the left side plate 33. That is, the arm 51 is formed to extend in the left-right direction (width direction of the base 31) from the position of the right end of the base 31 to the position of the left end of the base 31. The arm 51 is also formed to be inclined toward the rear (toward the base 31) and presses the sliding contact portion 52 against the base 31 like a leaf spring, causing the sliding contact portion 52 to slide against the base 31. In this way, by causing the sliding contact portion 52 of the sliding contact piece 46 to slide against the base 31, rattle (rotational rattle) of the carrier plate 11 in the front-rear direction can be suppressed. This makes it possible to suppress flapping of the carrier plate 11 and the window glass W in the front-rear direction when the window glass W is raised or lowered.

[0025] The sliding contact portion 52 has a width in the up-down direction (lifting direction), is formed in a semi-cylindrical shape with a convex rear side, and is in sliding contact with the front surface of the left end portion of the base 31. That is, the sliding contact portion 52 is formed at the tip of the arm portion 51 that extends to the position of the left end portion of the base 31, and is in sliding contact with the left end portion of the base 31. In this way, the sliding contact portion 52 is in sliding contact with the left end portion of the base 31, so that it is possible to completely avoid the position of the concave joint 35, and it is possible to prevent a part or all of the sliding contact portion 52 from falling into the recess 35a when the carrier plate 11 passes over the concave joint 35.

[0026] (Actions and Effects of the Embodiments) As described above, according to the configuration of the above embodiment, the sliding contact piece 46 includes the arm portion 51 extending from the right end position of the base 31 to the left end position, and the sliding contact portion 52 that slides against the right end position of the base 31. This allows the sliding contact piece 46 to slide against the base 31 at the end of the base 31 and to avoid the position of the concave joint 35. As a result, when the carrier plate 11 passes over the concave joint 35, a part or all of the sliding contact portion 52 does not fall into the concave joint 35a, preventing the sliding contact piece 46 from getting caught in the concave joint 35a. This prevents the generation of abnormal noise and improper lifting caused by the concave joint 35. Furthermore, the arm portion 51 extending from the right end position of the base 31 to the left end position ensures sufficient springiness and rigidity to press the sliding contact portion 52 against the base 31 and suppress rotational rattle.

[0027] Furthermore, by joining the guide rail 12 and the pulley bracket 17 by press joining (caulking), chip grinding and peeling work can be eliminated compared to a configuration in which joining is performed by welding, thereby improving the productivity of the window regulator 10. Furthermore, compared to welding, etc., power consumption during joining can be reduced, and there are no sparks or smoke generated during welding, which improves the production environment for the window regulator 10.

[0028] Furthermore, since the sliding contact portion 52 is configured to be in sliding contact with the base 31 at the end of the side plate portion on the reference side opposite the right side plate portion 32 supported by the guide rail 12, the position where the sliding contact portion 52 is in sliding contact with the base 31 can be separated in the left-right direction from the position where the right side plate portion 32 and the flange sliding fin 45 are in sliding contact with the guide rail 12. This makes it possible to further suppress rotational play in the front-rear direction of the carrier plate 11. More specifically, the sliding contact piece 46 extends from the vicinity of the right side plate portion 32, which is the rotation center of rotational play in the front-rear direction, to the vicinity of the left side plate portion 33, and is in sliding contact with the base 31 near the left side plate portion 33, thereby effectively suppressing rotational play in the front-rear direction.

[0029] (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.

[0030] For example, in the above embodiment, the sliding portion 52 of the sliding piece 46 is configured to slide against the left end of the base 31, but the sliding piece 46 may also have a shape that is inverted left and right, and be configured to slide against the right end of the base 31.

[0031] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the guide rail 12 is configured to have a right flange portion 34, but it may be configured not to have the right flange portion 34, or may be configured to further have a left flange portion extending to the left side from the front end of the left side plate portion 33.

[0032] In addition, in the above embodiment, the guide rail 12 is configured to have both the right side plate portion 32 and the left side plate portion 33, but it may also be configured to have only one of the right side plate portion 32 and the left side plate portion 33.

[0033] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the carrier plate 11 is configured to have two sliding contact pieces 46, one above the other, but may have only one sliding contact piece 46. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 10: Window regulator, 11: Carrier plate, 12: Guide rail, 13: Ascending wire, 14: Descending wire, 15: Drive unit, 31: Base, 32: Right side plate, 33: Left side plate, 46: Sliding piece, 51: Arm, 52: Sliding part, W: Window glass

Claims

1. a carrier plate supporting the window glass; a guide rail that slidably supports the carrier plate; a lifting means for lifting and lowering the carrier plate along the guide rail, the guide rail has a base portion extending in the lifting and lowering direction of the window glass, a first side plate portion erected from one end of the base in the width direction, and a second side plate portion erected from the other end of the base in the width direction, The carrier plate is formed with a sliding piece that is in sliding contact with the base portion, The sliding contact piece is an arm portion extending in a width direction of the base portion from a position of one end portion in the width direction of the base portion to a position of the other end portion in the width direction; a sliding contact portion formed at the tip of the arm portion and in sliding contact with the other end portion in the width direction of the base portion.

2. 2. The window regulator according to claim 1, wherein the first side plate portion is a side plate portion on a reference side.

3. 3. The window regulator according to claim 1, wherein the guide rail slidably supports the carrier plate by the first side plate portion.

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