Runner Unit

Abstract

To reduce the overall cost of a sliding door runner unit by minimizing the structural changes involved in adding a damper for shock mitigation upon door panel flip-up.SOLUTION: A runner unit 5 includes a runner body 8 guided along an upper rail 2, a holder 9 fixedly embedded in a door panel 4, a runner base 10 fixedly mounted to the holder 9, a runner shaft 11 suspending the runner base 10, and a damper 12 installed between the runner base 10 and runner shaft 11 for the purpose of mitigating impact when the door panel 4 flips up. The runner base 10 is consecutively provided with a shaft connecting hole 30 for connecting the runner shaft 11 and a damper housing section 31 for housing the damper 12 in the vertical direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a runner unit that guides a bottom-loaded door panel when opening and closing, and in particular to a runner unit equipped with a damper to absorb the impact when the door panel bounces up. [Background technology]

[0002] A runner unit equipped with this type of damper is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 (Title of Invention: Upper Guide Device for Sliding Door). The upper guide device in Patent Document 1 includes a sliding door fixed body fixed to the upper part of the sliding door, a connecting rod protruding upward from the sliding door fixed body, a runner body attached to the tip of the connecting rod and guiding the sliding door along the upper rail to open and close, and a built-in damper member provided on the sliding door fixed body. The built-in damper member includes an outer tube, a rod that advances and retreats relative to the outer tube, a spring that biases the rod in the forward direction, and a runner pressure contact part provided on the upper part of the outer tube and presses against the runner body. The runner body and the connecting rod are connected to be able to slide relative to each other up and down via an axis guide hole provided in the connecting rod and a mounting shaft fixed to the runner body. The sliding door fixed body is composed of a first fixed body that is fixed with a screw into the storage groove at the upper corner of the sliding door, and a second fixed body that is removably attached to the first fixed body, and the built-in damper member is incorporated into a damper storage hole provided in the first fixed body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-193944 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As in Patent Document 1, when a built-in damper member is disposed between the runner body and the sliding door fixed body, when the sliding door jumps up and the runner body is pressed against the ceiling surface of the upper rail, the built-in damper exerts its cushioning effect, and the built-in damper member can absorb the impact acting on each component, such as the upper rail, the runner body, the sliding door fixed body, or the sliding door. This can prevent a large impact force from acting on each component, and effectively prevent each component from being damaged. However, since the runner body and the second fixed body are connected to each other by a connecting rod and a mounting shaft fixed to the second fixed body so that they can slide relatively up and down, the structure becomes more complex and the overall cost of the support structure increases. Furthermore, since it is necessary to provide a damper storage hole for accommodating the built-in damper member in the first fixed body, a rod storage space for accommodating the connecting rod in the second fixed body, and a rod mounting hole in the runner body, it is necessary to redesign the first fixed body, the second fixed body, and the runner body, which inevitably results in higher overall costs than conventional runner bodies.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to minimize the structural changes associated with adding a damper to a runner unit equipped with a damper to absorb the impact when a door panel bounces up, thereby reducing overall costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The runner unit 5 of the present invention comprises a runner body 8 guided by an upper rail 2, a holder 9 embedded and fixed to the upper left and right sides of a bottom-loading door panel 4, a runner base 10 attached and fixed to the holder 9, a runner shaft 11 assembled to the runner body 8 and suspending the runner base 10, and a damper 12 provided between the runner base 10 and the runner shaft 11 for the purpose of preventing the door panel 4 from bouncing up. The damper 12 includes a cylinder 43, a piston body 44 that moves in and out of the cylinder 43, and a buffer member disposed inside the cylinder 43. One of the cylindrical end of the cylinder 43 and the protruding end of the piston body 44 is supported by the runner base 10, and the other is connected to the runner shaft 11. Another runner unit 5 of the present invention comprises a runner body 8 guided by an upper rail 2, a holder 9 embedded and fixed to the upper left and right sides of a bottom-loading door panel 4, a runner base 10 attached and fixed to the holder 9, a runner shaft 11 assembled to the runner body 8 to suspend the runner base 10, and a damper 12 provided between the runner base 10 and the runner shaft 11 to prevent the door panel 4 from bouncing up. The damper 12 comprises a cylinder 43, a piston body 44 that moves in and out of the cylinder 43, a buffer member disposed inside the cylinder 43, and a damper spring 49 that applies a pushing force to the piston body 44, and the upper end of the rod 44b of the piston body 44, which is pushed up by the damper spring 49, is pressed against the lower surface of the runner shaft 11.

[0007] Specifically, a configuration can be adopted in which a shaft connecting hole 30 for connecting the runner shaft 11 and a damper accommodating portion 31 for accommodating the damper 12 are arranged vertically in the runner base 10 . Effect of the Invention

[0010] When the damper 12 is provided between the runner base 10 and the runner shaft 11 as in the runner unit 5 of the present invention, when the door panel 4 bounces up and the runner body 8 is pressed against the ceiling wall of the upper rail 2, the damper 12 exerts its cushioning effect, and the damper 12 can absorb the impact acting on each component such as the upper rail 2, the runner body 8, the runner base 10, or the door panel 4. This makes it possible to prevent a large impact force from acting on each component, and therefore it is possible to effectively prevent each component from being damaged. In addition, when the damper 12 is arranged between the runner base 10 and the runner shaft 11 as in the present invention to prevent the door panel 4 from bouncing up, the new structural changes associated with the addition of the damper 12 can be limited to the runner base 10, so that the structural changes can be minimized and the overall cost of the runner unit can be reduced compared to the conventional runner units that required major structural changes not only to the runner base 10 but also to the runner body 8 and runner shaft 11.

[0011] The basic design change required to adopt the above configuration is to vertically connect the shaft connecting hole 30 that connects the runner shaft 11 to the runner base 10 and the damper accommodating section 31 that accommodates the damper 12, thereby minimizing structural changes compared to conventional runner units and reducing the overall cost of the runner unit.

[0012] If the damper 12 comprises a cylinder 43, a piston body 44 that moves in and out of the cylinder 43, and a cushioning member arranged inside the cylinder 43, and one of the cylindrical end of the cylinder 43 or the tip of the piston body 44 is supported by the runner base 10, and the other is connected by the runner shaft 11, the simple configuration allows the bouncing action of the door panel 4 to be transmitted to the runner shaft 11 via the cylinder 43 and the piston body 44 without any time loss. In other words, for example, in a configuration where a gap is normally formed between the runner shaft 11 and the piston body 44, it is unavoidable that a time lag occurs between the door panel 4 starting to bounce up and the piston body 44 coming into contact with the runner shaft 11 and the damper 12 exerting its cushioning effect. However, as in the present invention, when either the cylindrical end of the cylinder 43 or the tip of the piston body 44 is supported by the runner base 10 and the other is connected by the runner shaft 11, it is possible to suppress the time lag between the door panel 4 starting to bounce up and the damper 12 exerting its cushioning effect, and to more accurately exert the cushioning effect.

[0013] In a configuration in which a spring is provided on the damper member to bias the rod in the forward direction as in Patent Document 1, the biasing force of the spring always acts on the runner body, so that the runner body is pushed up by the biasing force, and there is a risk that the runner body will come into contact with the ceiling surface of the upper rail. There is also a risk that the runner pressure contact portion arranged at the upper end of the damper member will come into contact with the front and rear flange walls of the upper rail. For this reason, the configuration in Patent Document 1 has the disadvantage that the runner body or the runner pressure contact portion comes into contact with the upper rail, increasing the running resistance, hindering the smooth opening and closing operation of the sliding door, or the runner body or the runner pressure contact portion comes into contact with the upper rail, increasing the running noise. In contrast, in the present invention, damper 12 is provided with cylinder 43, piston body 44, and buffer member, in other words damper 12 is not provided with a damper spring that applies a pushing force to piston body 44, so that runner body 8 is not pushed up by piston body 44 in the normal state, and it is possible to prevent runner body 8 from accidentally contacting the ceiling surface of upper rail 2 during traveling. Therefore, according to the runner unit of the present invention, it is possible to prevent an increase in traveling resistance and an increase in traveling noise, and for example, when the runner unit of the present invention is applied to a sliding door, it is possible to construct a sliding door that is smooth to open and close, and is also quiet.

[0014] The damper 12 includes a cylinder 43, a piston body 44 that moves in and out of the cylinder 43, a buffer member disposed inside the cylinder 43, and a damper spring 49 that applies an upward biasing force to the piston body 44, and the upper end of the rod 44b of the piston body 44 that is biased upward by the damper spring 49 is pressed against the lower surface of the runner shaft 11. This can prevent a gap from being formed between the rod 44b and the runner shaft 11 without connecting them as described above, so that the time lag between the door panel 4 starting to bounce and the piston body 44 contacting the runner shaft 11 and the damper 12 exerting the buffering effect, which is unavoidable in a configuration in which a gap is formed between them, can be suppressed, and the buffering effect can be exerted more accurately. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the runner unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention (cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 3). [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5]FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway front view showing a state in which the sliding door is being assembled. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an exploded cross-sectional view showing the connection structure between the runner shaft and the damper. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a runner unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is an exploded cross-sectional view showing the connection structure between the runner shaft and the damper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] (Example 1) Figures 1 to 6 show Example 1 in which the runner unit according to the present invention is applied to a sliding door. In this example, front, rear, left, right, and up and down are indicated by crossed arrows shown in Figures 2 and 3, and the symbols for front, rear, left, right, and up and down in the vicinity of the arrows. As shown in Figure 2, the sliding door comprises an opening frame 1 and a door panel 4 that is guided to open and close by an upper rail 2 and a lower rail 3 fixed to the top and bottom of the frame 1. The door panel 4 is supported by a pair of hoist-type runner units 5·5 provided inside the upper rail 2 and a door roller 6 that is guided to move by the lower rail 3, and is configured to be slidable between a closed position and a fully open position. The upper rail 2 is made of an aluminum strip material with a C-shaped cross section that opens downward, and rail parts 2a are provided at the front and rear of the lower surface (see Figure 3), and a pair of front and rear auxiliary rails 2b (corresponding to the ceiling wall of the upper rail 2) are provided downward on the ceiling wall facing the moving trajectory of a roller 16 described later. The lower rail 3 is made of an aluminum strip with an inverted V-shaped rail surface 3a and a regulating groove 3b recessed between the rail surfaces 3a. A handle 7 is provided on the closed end side of the door panel 4. This sliding door is a bottom-loading type, and the entire load of the door panel 4 is supported by the lower rail 3 via the door rollers 6. The sliding door may be one having multiple door panels 4 that are opened and closed by sliding.

[0017] In FIG. 1, the runner unit 5 is composed of a runner body 8 that is guided by the upper rail 2, a holder 9 that is embedded and fixed to the upper left and right sides of the door panel 4, a runner base 10 that is attached and fixed to the holder 9 from the side, a runner shaft 11 that is assembled to the runner body 8 and suspends the runner base 10, and a damper 12 that prevents the door panel 4 from jumping up. The runner body 8 is composed of a runner body 15 made of a horizontally long plastic molded product, four rollers 16 that are arranged on the left and right sides of the runner body 15, one pair each at the front and rear, and a roller shaft 17 that supports these rollers 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the runner body 15 is divided into front and rear parts, and the runner shaft 11 is fitted and connected to a connecting hole 15a recessed into the dividing surface so that it can rotate relatively but cannot slide vertically relative to the runner body 15. A restricting wall 18 that is received by the underside of the rail part 2a when the door panel 4 tries to jump up is formed on the lower part of the front and rear surfaces of the runner body 15 (see FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 4, an assist device 19 is connected to the open end of the runner body 8.

[0018] As shown in Figure 5, the holder 9 is a die-cast product with an open top and left side, and is equipped with a horizontal bottom wall 21, a vertical inner back wall 22, and front and rear walls 23 / 23 integral with the walls 21 / 22. The front and rear walls 23 / 23 are formed with a lock groove 24 of the lock structure described below, and a guide surface 25 that guides a lock pin 51 of the lock structure into the lock groove 24. The holder 9 is fitted into a mounting groove 26 formed in the upper left and right corners of the door panel 4, and the bottom wall 21 and inner back wall 22 are fixed to the door panel 4 at the top and bottom with three screws 27. A conventional holder can be used as the holder 9.

[0019] In Fig. 1 and Fig. 5, the runner base 10 is a plastic molded product with shaft connecting holes 30 for connecting the runner shaft 11 and damper housing parts 31 for housing the dampers 12 at the top and bottom of the right half, and a locking structure is provided to the left of the shaft connecting holes 30 and the damper housing part 31 to prevent the runner base 10 attached to the holder 9 from being separated. As shown in Fig. 1, the shaft connecting holes 30 and the damper housing part 31 are divided into upper and lower parts by a partition wall 32, and these two parts 30 and 31 communicate with each other through a through hole 33 formed in the partition wall 32. The runner shaft 11 is connected to the shaft connecting hole 30, and the damper 12 is arranged and fixed in the damper housing part. The basic structure of the runner base 10 is generally similar to that of a conventional runner base, and is different in that the damper housing part 31 is provided below the shaft connecting hole 30 as described above.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 6, the runner shaft 11 is made of a steel part having a round shaft body 11a and a flange 11b at the upper end of the shaft body 11a. A semicircular anti-rotation portion 11c is formed by protruding from the lower peripheral surface of the shaft body 11a. A rod connecting hole 34 that fits onto the rod 44b of the piston body 44 and a stop ring assembly groove 35 are formed in the lower part of the runner shaft 11. The shaft connecting hole 30 is formed in a keyhole shape with a bearing hole 36 that receives the shaft body 11a and a rotation prevention groove 37 that receives the rotation prevention portion 11c. The runner shaft 11 is connected to the shaft connecting hole 30 with the rotation prevention portion 11c engaged with the rotation prevention groove 37. An upper assembly hole 38 that penetrates the runner base 10 from front to rear is formed in the lower part of the bearing hole 36.

[0021] The lower wall of the damper housing 31 is formed with a cylinder assembly hole 41 communicating with the damper housing 31 and a lower assembly hole 42 penetrating the runner base 10 in the front-rear direction. The damper 12 is a commercially available oil damper, and includes a cylinder 43 and a piston body 44 moving forward and backward relative to the cylinder 43. The piston body 44 includes a piston 44a moving up and down inside the cylinder 43, and a rod 44b fixed to the piston 44a and protruding from the upper surface of the cylinder 43. In the damper 12, the oil (or a fluid such as a gas) contained inside the cylinder 43 and an orifice that regulates the flow of the oil function as a buffer member. In the damper 12, the cylinder 43 is assembled to the damper housing 31 from the lower side of the cylinder assembly hole 41, the upper end of the cylinder 43 is received by the partition wall 32, and the lower end of the cylinder 43 is received by a plate-shaped support body 45 assembled to the lower assembly hole 42. In this state, the rod 44b enters the shaft connecting hole 30 through the through hole 33. A retaining ring groove 46 is formed in the upper part of the rod 44b.

[0022] The runner shaft 11 and the rod 44b of the damper 12 are connected so as to be movable together, and this connection state will be explained with reference to Figure 6. First, the damper 12 is assembled to the damper housing portion 31 in the manner previously explained, and the cylinder 43 is fixed with the support body 45 assembled to the lower assembly hole 42. Next, the runner shaft 11 is attached to the shaft connecting hole 30 in the manner previously explained, and the runner shaft 11 is connected to the runner base 10. Although the runner body 8 is not assembled to the runner shaft 11 in Figure 6, the runner body 8 may be assembled to the runner shaft 11 in advance. The runner shaft 11 attached to the shaft connecting hole 30 is pushed down to engage the upper part of the rod 44b of the piston body 44 with the rod connecting hole 34, and the upper end of the rod 44b is brought into contact with the upper wall of the retaining ring assembly groove 35. In this state, the runner shaft 11 is further pushed down until the retaining ring assembly groove 35 faces the upper assembly hole 38, and an E-shaped retaining ring 47 is inserted along the lower wall of the retaining ring assembly groove 35 and attached to the retaining ring assembly groove 35 of the rod 44b, thereby integrating (connecting) the rod 44b with the runner shaft 11. Finally, as shown in Figure 1, the spring pin 48 is driven into the runner base 10 while positioned above the anti-rotation portion 11c, preventing the runner shaft 11 from coming out of the shaft connecting hole 30. At this time, the spring pin 48 is perpendicular to the anti-rotation groove 37 while in contact with the peripheral surface of the runner shaft 11.

[0023] A locking structure is provided between the holder 9 and the runner base 10 to prevent the runner base 10 attached to the holder 9 from being separated. The locking structure is composed of a locking groove 24 provided on the front and rear walls 23 of the holder 9, a locking pin 51 attached to the pin groove 10a of the runner base 10 and sliding along the locking groove 24 to engage and disengage, a locking spring 52 that biases the locking pin 51 toward the locked position, and a locking release lever 53 attached to the runner base 10 to unlock the locking pin 51. The locking release lever 53 is a plastic molded product that is integrally equipped with a horizontal triangular lever body 54 that holds the runner base 10 from the front and rear, and a finger lever 55 that covers the left side of the runner base 10. A pin groove 56 that captures the locking pin 51 is formed in the lever body 54, and the entire lever body is shaped like a bird's beak. The pin groove 56 opens at the top of the triangular lever, and captures the locking pin 51 at the back of the groove. The left side of the pin groove 56 of the lever body 54 of the unlocking lever 53 is attached to the runner base 10 by a spring pin 57, and the unlocking lever 53 can swing back and forth around the pin 57. When the fingertip is placed on the upper end of the finger lever 55 from the state shown in FIG. 1 and pulled to the left, the unlocking lever 53 swings counterclockwise, so that the lock pin 51 engaged with the lock groove 24 can be pushed up to the unlocked position by the pin groove 56 against the biasing force of the lock spring 52. In this state, the runner base 10 can be removed from the holder 9 and separated. The locking structure is the same as the conventional locking structure.

[0024] In Fig. 4, the assist structure is composed of a casing 60 that opens upward, a cylindrical damper 61, a force storage spring 62, and a trigger body 63 that are arranged in the casing 60, a slider 64 to which the damper rod is connected, a guide shaft 65 that slides and guides the slider 64, and a trigger switcher 66 that switches the trigger body 63 between the standby position and the operating position, and assists the closing operation of the door panel 4. End blocks 68 and 69 are fixed to both ends of the casing 60, and the left end block 68 and the slider 64 support both ends of the guide shaft 65, and the force storage spring 62 made of a compression spring is arranged between the end blocks 68 and 64. The casing 60 and the left end block 68 are connected to the runner body 15 on the closed end side with screws 71. The damper 61 is arranged between the slider 64 and the right end block 69.

[0025] The assist structure when the door panel 4 is closed operates the door panel 4 slowly from the closing end to the closed position by the elastic force of the energy storage spring 62. In detail, as shown in FIG. 4, the engaging claw portion 63a of the trigger body 63 is engaged with the engaging hole 60a of the bottom wall of the casing 60. When the door panel 4 is closed near the closed end in a state where the trigger body 63 is engaged with the spring 70 (standby position), the right edge of the cutout at the top of the trigger body 63 is received by the trigger switching device 66, and the trigger body 63 is swung clockwise against the biasing force of the spring 70 to switch to the operating position. At the same time, the left edge of the cutout of the trigger body 63 is received by the trigger switching device 66 so as to be immovable, and the engaging claw portion 63a of the trigger body 63 is separated from the engaging hole 60a of the casing 60, and the engagement between them is released. In this way, when the trigger body 63 is switched to the operating position, the spring force of the energy storage spring 62, which had been compressed and deformed up to that point, acts on the door panel 4 via the left end block 68 and the runner unit 5. Therefore, the door panel 4, receiving the cushioning action of the damper 61, slowly moves from the closed end to the closed position.

[0026] When the door panel 4 is opened from the closed position, the runner unit 5 and the casing 60 move in the opening direction while the trigger body 63 is held by the trigger switch 66, so that the force storage spring 62 is compressed and deformed by the end block 68 to store force. Then, when the engagement hole 60a of the casing 60 moves to directly below the engagement claw portion 63a of the trigger body 63, the trigger body 63 is swung in the counterclockwise direction by the spring force of the spring 70. As the trigger body 63 swung, the engagement claw portion 63a dropped into and engaged with the engagement hole 60a, switching to the standby position and being held in that position. The trigger body 63 that was switched to the standby position can pass under the lower surface side of the trigger switch 66, so thereafter the assist device 19 moves to the opening together with the door panel 4, and continues to hold the standby position until the door panel 4 is again operated to close near the closed end. In this embodiment, the assist device assists the closing operation of the door panel 4. However, in addition to assisting the closing operation of the door panel 4, the assist device may also have a function of assisting the opening operation when opening the door panel 4 from near the open end to the fully open position.

[0027] With the sliding door constructed as above, when the door panel 4 is forcefully closed, the door panel 4 has a tendency to bounce up near the closed end, and especially in the case of the runner unit 5 equipped with the closing assist device 19, the right edge of the notch of the trigger body 63 hits the trigger switcher 66, making it easy for the door panel 4 to bounce up. When the door panel 4 is about to bounce up, the holder 9 and runner base 10 move slightly upward, but before they start to move, the roller 16 is received by the auxiliary rail 2b, and further the regulating wall 18 is received by the underside of the rail portion 2a, so the runner shaft 11 and rod 44b are held in the position where the runner body 8 is received by the upper rail 2.

[0028] On the other hand, the cylinder 43 arranged on the runner base 10 side tries to move upward together with the holder 9 and the runner base 10. Therefore, the cylinder 43 and the piston body 44 move slightly relative to each other, but this movement is regulated and buffered by the orifice that regulates the oil flow inside the cylinder 43. As described above, according to the runner unit 5 of the first embodiment, the bouncing motion of the door panel 4 is transmitted to the runner shaft 11 by the piston body 44, and the runner body 8 is received by the upper rail 2, so that the subsequent bouncing motion is mitigated and absorbed by the buffering action of the damper 12. In addition, since it is possible to prevent the door panel 4 from bouncing up too vigorously, it is possible to prevent the door roller 6 from running off the lower rail 3.

[0029] As described above, in the runner unit 5 of this embodiment 1, the damper 12 is provided between the runner base 10 and the runner shaft 11, so that even if the door panel 4 bounces up, the shock acting on each component such as the upper rail 2, the runner body 8, the runner base 10, or the door panel 4 can be absorbed by the damper 12. This makes it possible to prevent a large impact force from acting on each component, so that each component can be effectively prevented from being damaged. In addition, if the damper 12 arranged between the runner base 10 and the runner shaft 11 is used to prevent the door panel 4 from bouncing up as in this embodiment, the new structural changes associated with adding the damper 12 can be limited to the runner base 10, so that the structural changes can be minimized and the overall cost of the runner unit can be reduced compared to the conventional runner units that required major structural changes not only to the runner base 10 but also to the runner body 8 and the runner shaft 11.

[0030] Specifically, it is sufficient to arrange the shaft connecting hole 30 that connects the runner shaft 11 to the runner base 10 and the damper accommodating section 31 that accommodates the damper 12 in the vertical direction, thereby minimizing structural changes compared to conventional runner units and reducing the overall cost of the runner unit.

[0031] The damper 12 is provided with a cylinder 43, a piston body 44 that moves in and out of the cylinder 43, and a buffer member disposed inside the cylinder 43. The cylinder end of the cylinder 43 is supported by the runner base 10, and the piston body 44 is connected to the runner shaft 11, so that the jumping up motion of the door panel 4 can be transmitted to the runner shaft 11 through the cylinder 43 and the piston body 44 without time loss with a simple configuration. In other words, for example, in a configuration in which a gap is normally formed between the runner shaft 11 and the piston body 44, it is unavoidable that a time lag occurs between the time when the door panel 4 starts to jump up and the time when the piston body 44 comes into contact with the runner shaft 11 and the damper 12 exerts its buffering effect. However, when the cylinder end of the cylinder 43 is supported by the runner base 10 and the tip of the piston body 44 is connected to the runner shaft 11 as in this embodiment, the time lag between the time when the door damper 12 starts to jump up and the time when the damper 12 exerts its buffering effect is suppressed, and the buffering effect can be exerted more accurately.

[0032] In this embodiment, the damper 12 is provided with a cylinder 43, a piston body 44, and a buffer member, in other words, the damper 12 is not provided with a damper spring that applies a pushing force to the piston body 44, so that the runner body 8 is not pushed up by the piston body 44 in a normal state, and it is possible to prevent the runner body 8 from accidentally contacting the ceiling surface of the upper rail 2 during traveling. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent an increase in traveling resistance and traveling noise, and it is possible to construct a sliding door that is smooth to open and close, and is also quiet.

[0033] A retaining ring groove 46 is formed on the upper part of the rod 44b of the piston body 44, a rod connecting hole 34 that fits onto the rod 44b of the piston body 44 and a retaining ring assembly groove 35 are formed on the lower part of the runner shaft 11, and an upper assembly hole 38 that penetrates the runner base 10 in the front-to-rear direction is formed on the lower part of the shaft connecting hole 30. With the rod 44b of the piston body 44 connected to the rod connecting hole 34 and the upper surface of the rod 44b received by the upper wall of the retaining ring assembly groove 35 facing the upper assembly hole 38, a retaining ring 47 is inserted into and engaged with the retaining ring groove 46 from outside the runner base 10, thereby connecting the rod 44b of the piston body 44 and the runner shaft 11 integrally. According to this, the rod 44b and the runner shaft 11 can be integrally connected by inserting and engaging the retaining ring 47 into the retaining ring groove 46 from the outside of the runner base 10, so that the connecting work between the two (rod 44b and the runner shaft 11) can be easily performed. Also, with a relatively simple structure, the two (rod 44b and the runner shaft 11) can be reliably connected.

[0034] Since the runner shaft 11 and the runner body 8 are connected so that they cannot slide vertically relative to each other, the runner body 8 can be pressed without delay against the auxiliary rail 2b of the upper rail 2 at the same time that the bouncing motion of the door panel 4 is transmitted to the runner shaft 11 by the piston body 44. Therefore, the time lag between when the door panel 4 starts to bounce up and when the damper 12 exerts its cushioning effect is reduced, and the cushioning effect can be exerted more accurately.

[0035] (Example 2) Figures 7 and 8 show Example 2 of the runner unit according to the present invention. In this Example 2, the damper 12 is an air damper in which a damper spring 49, which is a compression coil spring, is housed inside a cylinder 43, and the upper end of the rod 44b of the piston body 44, which is pushed up by the damper spring 49, is always pressed against the lower surface of the runner shaft 11. Since a retaining ring 47 is not used in this example, the rod connection hole 34 and the retaining ring assembly groove 35 of the runner shaft 11 can be omitted, and the retaining ring groove 46 at the upper end of the rod 44b can also be omitted. In addition, the upper assembly hole 38 of the runner base 10 can also be omitted. Since the other components are the same as those described in Example 1, the same components are given the same reference numerals and their description is omitted. In the damper 12 of Example 2, the gas inside the cylinder 43, the orifice that regulates the flow of the gas, and the damper spring 49 function as buffer members.

[0036] As described above, in the runner unit of the second embodiment, the damper 12 is configured as an air damper in which the damper spring 49 is housed inside the cylinder 43, and the upper end of the rod 44b of the piston body 44, which is pushed up by the damper spring 49, is pressed against the lower surface of the runner shaft 11, so that the connecting structure between the rod 44b and the runner shaft 11 can be simplified compared to the runner unit of the first embodiment, and the assembly work can be saved by the amount that the stop ring 47 is not required, and the overall cost of the support structure can be reduced. Also, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent a gap from being formed between the rod 44b and the runner shaft 11, which is unavoidable in a configuration in which a gap is formed between the two, and therefore it is possible to suppress the time lag between when the door panel 4 starts to jump up and when the piston body 44 contacts the runner shaft 11 and the damper 12 exerts its cushioning effect, and to exert the cushioning effect more accurately.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the cylindrical end of the cylinder 43 is supported by the runner base 10, and the rod 44b is connected to the runner shaft 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cylindrical end of the cylinder 43 may be connected to the runner shaft 11, and the rod 44b may be supported by the runner base 10.

[0038] The connecting structure between the piston body 44 and the runner shaft 11 is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be, for example, a structure in which a magnet is provided at the upper end of the piston body 44 and a magnetic body is provided at the lower end of the runner shaft 11, and the piston body 44 and the runner shaft 11 are connected by the magnetic force acting between the magnet and the magnetic body. Other connecting structures may be used, for example, a method in which the lower end of the runner shaft 11 is covered on the upper end of the piston body 44 and the lower end of the runner shaft 11 is deformed and crimped to fix the piston body 44 and the runner shaft 11, a rivet is passed between the upper end of the piston body 44 and the lower end of the runner shaft 11 and the rivet is deformed and the piston body 44 and the runner shaft 11 are crimped to fix the piston body 44 and the lower end of the runner shaft 11, or a method in which the lower end of the runner shaft 11 is fitted to the upper end of the piston body 44. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 2 Upper rail 4 Door Panel 5 Runner Unit 8 Runner body 9 Holder 10 Runners 11 Runner axis 12 Damper 30 shaft connection hole 31 Damper housing 32 Compartment Wall 33 entrance 34 Rod connection hole 35 Retaining ring assembly groove 43 Cylinder 44 Piston body 44b Rod 46 Retaining ring groove 47 Retaining ring 49 Damper spring

Claims

1. A runner body (8) that is guided by an upper rail (2); A holder (9) that is embedded and fixed to the upper left and right sides of a bottom-loading door panel (4); A runner base (10) that is attached and fixed to the holder (9); A runner shaft (11) that is attached to the runner body (8) and suspends the runner base (10); A damper (12) is provided between the runner base (10) and the runner shaft (11) for the purpose of mitigating the impact when the door panel (4) is lifted up; Equipped with The damper (12) includes a cylinder (43), a piston body (44) that moves in and out of the cylinder (43), and a buffer member that is disposed inside the cylinder (43); This runner unit is characterized in that one of the cylindrical end of the cylinder (43) and the protruding end of the piston body (44) is supported by a runner base (10), and the other is connected to a runner shaft (11).

2. A runner body (8) that is guided by an upper rail (2); A holder (9) that is embedded and fixed to the upper left and right sides of a bottom-loading door panel (4); A runner base (10) that is attached and fixed to the holder (9); A runner shaft (11) that is attached to the runner body (8) and suspends the runner base (10); A damper (12) is provided between the runner base (10) and the runner shaft (11) for the purpose of mitigating the impact when the door panel (4) is lifted up; Equipped with The damper (12) includes a cylinder (43), a piston body (44) that moves in and out of the cylinder (43), a buffer member that is disposed inside the cylinder (43), and a damper spring (49) that applies an upward biasing force to the piston body (44), A runner unit characterized in that an upper end of a rod (44b) of a piston body (44) pushed upward by a damper spring (49) is pressed against a lower surface of a runner shaft (11).

3. A runner unit as described in claim 1 or 2, in which an axis connecting hole (30) for connecting a runner axis (11) and a damper accommodating portion (31) for accommodating a damper (12) are arranged in the vertical direction on the runner base (10).

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