Sliding door device for a vehicle

Abstract

To provide a vehicle slide door device which can inhibit a support roller from scraping a load receiving surface of a vehicle when a slide door moves.SOLUTION: A vehicle slide door device includes: an inner guide rail 12b and an outer guide rail 12a which extend in forward and reward directions of a vehicle 11; and support mechanisms 14 supporting a slide door 13. The support mechanism 14 includes an arm 17 which is attached so as to be swingable in a horizontal direction through a swing shaft 18 relative to the slide door 13. A roller unit 20 is attached to the arm 17 so as to be swingable in the horizontal direction through a center shaft 19. In the roller unit 20, a support roller 21 which receives a load from the slide door 13 is supported so as to be rollable along a load receiving surface of the vehicle 11 and a first guide roller 22 is supported so as to be rollable along the outer guide rail 12a. In the arm 17, a second guide roller 23 is supported so as to be rollable along the inner guide rail 12b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a sliding door device for a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] As shown in Patent Document 1, a sliding door device for a vehicle includes an inner guide rail and an outer guide rail that extend longitudinally on the side of the vehicle, and a support mechanism that supports a sliding door on the side of the vehicle. The inner guide rail is located closer to the center in the vehicle width direction than the outer guide rail. The support mechanism is capable of moving along the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail.

[0003] The support mechanism includes an arm that is attached to the sliding door so as to be swingable horizontally via a swing axis. A support roller, a first guide roller, and a second guide roller are supported on this arm. The support roller is for receiving the load from the sliding door and is supported on the arm so as to be able to roll along the load receiving surface of the vehicle. The first guide roller and the second guide roller are supported on the arm so as to be able to roll along the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail.

[0004] The sliding door moves between a closed position where it closes an opening located on the side of the vehicle along with the movement of the support mechanism along the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail, and an open position where it opens the opening and is located outside the vehicle width direction from the above closed position. When the sliding door moves as described above, the first guide roller and the second guide roller of the support mechanism roll along the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail to guide the above movement of the sliding door. During the above movement of the sliding door, the support roller supported on the arm rolls along the load receiving surface formed on the vehicle while receiving the load from the sliding door.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005] Japanese Patent Document 1 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-80468 Summary of the Invention Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The outer guide rail and the inner guide rail are curved so as to enable movement between the closed position and the open position of the sliding door. For this reason, when the first guide roller and the second guide roller roll along the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail as the sliding door moves, the relative positions of these rollers change according to the curvature of the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail. Then, as the relative position changes, the arm of the support mechanism swings around the swing axis. As a result, the support roller supported by the arm rubs against the load-bearing surface of the vehicle in the swinging direction of the arm. This makes it impossible to smoothly swing the arm or causes uneven wear of the support roller. Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] Hereinafter, each aspect of the sliding door device for a vehicle that solves the above problems will be described. (Aspect 1) An inner guide rail and an outer guide rail extending longitudinally on the side of a vehicle, and a support mechanism for supporting a sliding door on the side of the vehicle. The inner guide rail is located closer to the center in the vehicle width direction than the outer guide rail. The support mechanism is capable of moving along the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail. The sliding door moves between a closed position where it closes an opening located on the side of the vehicle as the support mechanism moves along the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail, and an open position where it opens the opening and is located outside the vehicle width direction relative to the closed position. In the sliding door device of the vehicle, the support mechanism includes an arm swingably attached to the sliding door in the horizontal direction via a swing axis. A roller unit is attached to the arm so as to be swingable in the horizontal direction via a central axis. The roller unit is supported such that a support roller for receiving a load from the sliding door can roll along a load receiving surface formed on the vehicle, and a first guide roller is supported so as to be able to roll along one of the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail. A second guide roller is supported on the arm so as to be able to roll along the other of the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail.

[0008] According to the above configuration, when the sliding door moves between the closed position and the open position, the support roller supported by the roller unit of the support mechanism rolls along the load receiving surface of the vehicle while receiving the load from the sliding door. Further, the first guide roller supported by the roller unit rolls along one of the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail, and the second guide roller supported by the arm of the support mechanism rolls along the other of the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail. As the first guide roller and the second guide roller roll along the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail, when the arm swings around the swing axis of the sliding door, the roller unit that supports the support roller can swing around the central axis with respect to the arm. By such swinging of the roller unit with respect to the arm, it is possible to suppress the support roller from rubbing against the load receiving surface of the vehicle as the arm swings. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the arm from being unable to swing smoothly or the support roller from being unevenly worn due to the support roller rubbing against the load receiving surface of the vehicle in the swinging direction of the arm. In addition, since the second guide roller that rolls along the other of the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail as described above has a simple structure in which it is rotatably supported with respect to the arm, the peripheral structure of the second guide roller in the support mechanism does not become complicated. For this reason, while suppressing the structure of the support mechanism from becoming complicated, the above-described effect can be obtained.

[0009] (Aspect 2) The arm protrudes from the swing axis of the sliding door toward the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail, the second guide roller is positioned corresponding to the inner guide rail, and the first guide roller of the roller unit is positioned corresponding to the outer guide rail. The sliding door device for a vehicle according to (Aspect 1).

[0010] According to the above configuration, when the sliding door moves, the second guide roller rolls along the inner guide rail, and the first guide roller of the roller unit rolls along the outer guide rail. Therefore, the roller unit and the support roller supported thereon receive the load from the sliding door at a position closer to the sliding door than the second guide roller. Since the support roller receives the load from the sliding door at a position closer to the sliding door in this way, the movement of the sliding door while receiving the above load by the support roller can be made stable.

[0011] (Aspect 3) The roller unit swings horizontally by rotating around the central axis, and the first guide roller rolls along the outer guide rail by rotating around the central axis. The sliding door device for a vehicle according to (Aspect 2).

[0012] According to the above configuration, the central axis that functions as the center of swing with respect to the arm of the roller unit also functions as the center of rolling of the first guide roller. Thereby, the number of parts of the support mechanism can be reduced, and the structure of the support mechanism can be simplified.

[0013] (Aspect 4) Two first guide rollers are provided on the roller unit, one of the first guide rollers rotates around the central axis, and the support roller is positioned corresponding to the space between the two first guide rollers. The sliding door device for a vehicle according to (Aspect 3).

[0014] According to the above configuration, two first guide rollers that roll along the outer guide rail are supported on the roller unit. And the support roller that receives the load from the sliding door is positioned corresponding to the space between the two first guide rollers in the roller unit. Therefore, when the support roller receives the load from the sliding door, the posture of the support roller is likely to be stabilized by the contact of the two first guide rollers with the outer guide rail.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a sliding door device for a vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. The sliding door device of the vehicle 11 shown in FIG. 1 includes a guide rail 12 extending longitudinally on the side portion of the vehicle 11, and a support mechanism 14 that supports a sliding door 13 on the side portion of the vehicle 11. The guide rail 12 and the support mechanism 14 are provided at the upper part, the lower part, and the central part in the vertical direction of the vehicle 11, respectively.

[0017] The support mechanism 14 is capable of moving along the guide rail 12. The sliding door 13 moves between a closed position where the opening 15 of the vehicle 11 is closed and an open position where the opening 15 is opened by moving along the guide rail 12 together with the support mechanism 14. The sliding door 13 reaches the above-described closed position when the support mechanism 14 reaches the front end portion of the guide rail 12, that is, the right end portion in FIG. 1. Further, the sliding door 13 reaches the above-described open position when the support mechanism 14 reaches the rear end portion of the guide rail 12, that is, the left end portion in FIG. 1.

[0018] The guide rail 12 located at the lower part of the vehicle 11 is composed of an outer guide rail and an inner guide rail located closer to the center in the vehicle width direction than the outer guide rail. The support mechanism 14 corresponding to the guide rail 12 receives the load from the sliding door 13.

[0019] <Details of the outer guide rail and the inner guide rail> As shown in FIG. 2, the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b extend in the front-rear direction of the vehicle at the side portion of the vehicle. At a position closer to the rear end of the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b, a predetermined interval is provided between the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b.

[0020] The front end portion of the outer guide rail 12a, that is, the left end portion in FIG. 2, is curved so as to be located closer to the inner side in the vehicle width direction toward the front end. Further, at the front end portion of the inner guide rail 12b, a position closer to the rear end than the curved portion of the outer guide rail 12a is curved so as to approach the outer guide rail 12a. Furthermore, a position closer to the front end than the curved portion at the front end portion of the inner guide rail 12b is curved so as to be located closer to the inner side in the vehicle width direction toward the front end, and thus is adjacent to the front end portion of the outer guide rail 12a.

[0021] The support mechanism 14 positioned corresponding to the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b moves along the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b. The slide door 13 moves between the closed position and the open position by moving along the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b together with the support mechanism 14. FIG. 2 shows the movement of the slide door 13 and the support mechanism 14 when moving along the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b. The above-described curvature at the front end portions of the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b is for positioning the open position of the slide door 13 to be located closer to the outer side in the vehicle width direction than the closed position.

[0022] <Details of the support mechanism 14> The sliding door 13 is provided with a door fixing member 16. The support mechanism 14 is provided with an arm 17. The arm 17 is attached to the door fixing member 16 so as to be swingable in the horizontal direction via a swing shaft 18. A roller unit 20 is attached to the arm 17 via a central shaft 19. The roller unit 20 can swing in the horizontal direction around the central shaft 19 with respect to the arm 17. The roller unit 20 is positioned corresponding to the outer guide rail 12a.

[0023] The roller unit 20 supports a support roller 21 that receives the load from the sliding door 13, and two first guide rollers 22 that roll along the outer guide rail 12a. The support roller 21 is positioned corresponding to the space between the two first guide rollers 22. Further, the arm 17 supports a second guide roller 23 positioned corresponding to the inner guide rail 12b so as to be able to roll along the inner guide rail 12b.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, the roller unit 20 is provided with a support shaft 24 extending in the horizontal direction. The support roller 21 is rotatably attached to the support shaft 24. By rotating around the support shaft 24, the support roller 21 rolls along a load receiving surface 25 formed on the side portion of the vehicle 11. The load from the sliding door 13 acts on the load receiving surface 25 via the arm 17, the roller unit 20, and the support roller 21.

[0025] One of the two first guide rollers 22 in the roller unit 20 is rotatably attached to the central shaft 19. By rotating around the central shaft 19, this first guide roller 22 rotates along the outer guide rail 12a. Specifically, the outer guide rail 12a has a cross-sectional shape that opens downward. The first guide roller 22 is inserted into the inside of the outer guide rail 12a through the opening of the outer guide rail 12a. Then, by rotating around the central shaft 19, the first guide roller 22 rolls along the inner wall surface of the outer guide rail 12a.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the roller unit 20 includes a roller shaft 26 extending parallel to the central axis 19. The other first guide roller 22 of the two first guide rollers 22 in the roller unit 20 is attached to the roller shaft 26 so as to be rotatable around the roller shaft 26. By rotating around the roller shaft 26, the first guide roller 22 rolls along the outer guide rail 12a. Specifically, the first guide roller 22 is also inserted into the inside of the outer guide rail 12a through the opening of the outer guide rail 12a shown in FIG. 3. Then, by rotating around the roller shaft 26 (FIG. 2), the first guide roller 22 rolls along the inner wall surface of the outer guide rail 12a.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, the arm 17 includes a roller shaft 27 extending parallel to the central axis 19. The second guide roller 23 is attached to the roller shaft 27 so as to be rotatable around the roller shaft 27. By rotating around the roller shaft 27, the second guide roller 23 rolls along the inner guide rail 12b. Specifically, the inner guide rail 12b has a cross-sectional shape that opens downward. The second guide roller 23 is inserted into the inside of the inner guide rail 12b through the opening of the inner guide rail 12b. Then, by rotating around the roller shaft 27, the second guide roller 23 rolls along the inner guide rail 12b.

[0028] The sliding door 13 and the support mechanism 14 move along the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b as shown in FIG. 2. Thereby, the sliding door 13 moves between the closed position and the open position. At this time, the two first guide rollers 22 of the roller unit 20 in the support mechanism 14 roll along the outer guide rail 12a, and the second guide roller 23 of the support mechanism 14 rolls along the inner guide rail 12b. By the first guide roller 22 and the second guide roller 23 rolling along the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b, the sliding door 13 is guided to move along the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b.

[0029] When the first guide roller 22 and the second guide roller 23 roll along the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b, the relative position between the first guide roller 22 and the second guide roller 23 changes according to the curvature of the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b. Thereby, the arm 17 of the support mechanism 14 swings around the swing axis 18 with respect to the sliding door 13 as shown in FIG. 2. As a result, the open position of the sliding door 13 protrudes outward in the vehicle width direction from the closed position, and the sliding door 13 can move between such an open position and the closed position. In other words, the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b are curved so as to realize the movement of the sliding door 13 between the above-described closed position and open position.

[0030] Next, the operation of the sliding door device of the vehicle in the present embodiment will be described. When the sliding door 13 moves between the closed position and the open position, the support roller 21 supported by the roller unit 20 of the support mechanism 14 rolls along the load receiving surface 25 of the vehicle 11 while receiving the load from the sliding door 13. Further, the first guide roller 22 supported by the roller unit 20 rolls along the outer guide rail 12a, and the second guide roller 23 supported by the arm 17 of the support mechanism 14 rolls along the inner guide rail 12b.

[0031] As the first guide roller 22 and the second guide roller 23 roll along the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b, the arm 17 swings around the swing axis of the sliding door 13. At this time, the roller unit 20 that supports the support roller 21 swings around the central axis 19 with respect to the arm 17. Due to such swinging of the roller unit 20 with respect to the arm 17, it is suppressed that the support roller 21 rubs against the load receiving surface 25 of the vehicle 11 as the arm 17 swings.

[0032] Therefore, it is possible to suppress the situation where the support roller 21 rubs against the load receiving surface 25 of the vehicle 11 in the swinging direction of the arm 17, which may prevent the arm 17 from swinging smoothly or cause uneven wear of the support roller 21. Also, as described above, since the second guide roller 23 that rolls along the inner guide rail 12b has a simple structure of being rotatably supported with respect to the arm 17, the peripheral structure of the second guide roller 23 in the support mechanism 14 does not become complicated. For this reason, while suppressing the complication of the structure of the support mechanism 14, the above effects can be obtained.

[0033] According to the present embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained. (1) While suppressing the complication of the structure of the support mechanism 14, it is possible to suppress the support roller 21 from rubbing against the load receiving surface 25 of the vehicle 11 when the sliding door 13 moves.

[0034] (2) The arm 17 of the support mechanism 14 protrudes from the swing axis 18 of the sliding door 13 toward the outer guide rail 12a and the inner guide rail 12b. And the second guide roller 23 of the support mechanism 14 is positioned corresponding to the inner guide rail 12b, and the first guide roller 22 of the roller unit 20 in the support mechanism 14 is positioned corresponding to the outer guide rail 12a. When the sliding door 13 moves, the second guide roller 23 rolls along the inner guide rail 12b, and the first guide roller 22 of the roller unit 20 rolls along the outer guide rail 12a.

[0035] For this reason, the roller unit 20 and the support roller 21 supported thereon receive the load from the sliding door 13 at a position closer to the sliding door 13 than the second guide roller 23. Since the support roller 21 receives the load from the sliding door 13 at a position closer to the sliding door 13, the movement of the sliding door 13 while receiving the load by the support roller 21 can be stabilized.

[0036] (3) The central axis 19 that functions as the center of oscillation of the arm 17 of the roller unit 20 also functions as the center of rolling of the first guide roller 22. Thereby, the number of components of the support mechanism 14 can be reduced, and the structure of the support mechanism 14 can be simplified.

[0037] (4) Two first guide rollers 22 that roll along the outer guide rail 12a are supported by the roller unit 20. And the support roller 21 that receives the load from the sliding door 13 is positioned corresponding to between the two first guide rollers 22 in the roller unit 20. For this reason, when the support roller 21 receives the load from the sliding door 13, the posture of the support roller 21 is likely to be stabilized by the contact of the two first guide rollers 22 with the outer guide rail 12a.

[0038] Note that the above embodiment can be modified as follows, for example. The above embodiment and the following modification examples can be implemented in combination with each other within a technically consistent range. · The position of the support roller 21 in the roller unit 20 does not have to be a position corresponding to between the two first guide rollers 22.

[0039] · Both of the two first guide rollers 22 may be rotatably supported with respect to the roller unit 20 separately from the central axis 19. ·Reverse the positional relationship between the roller unit 20 and the second guide roller 23 with respect to the arm 17 of the support mechanism 14, and roll the first guide roller 22 along the inner guide rail 12b and the second guide roller 23 along the outer guide rail 12a.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0040] 11…Vehicle 12…Guide Rail 12a…Outer Guide Rail 12b…Inner Guide Rail 13…Sliding Door 14…Support Mechanism 15…Opening 16…Door Fixing Member 17…Arm 18…Swing Axis 19…Central Axis 20…Roller Unit 21…Support Roller 22…First Guide Roller 23…Second Guide Roller 24…Support Axis 25…Load Receiving Surface 26, 27…Roller Axis

Claims

【Claim 1】 An inner guide rail and an outer guide rail extending longitudinally on the side of a vehicle, and a support mechanism for supporting a sliding door on the side of the vehicle, wherein the inner guide rail is located closer to the center in the vehicle width direction than the outer guide rail, the support mechanism is capable of moving along the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail, in a sliding door device of a vehicle, the sliding door is configured to move between a closed position where it closes an opening located on the side of the vehicle as the support mechanism moves along the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail, and an open position where it opens the opening and is located outside the vehicle width direction relative to the closed position, the support mechanism includes an arm swingably attached to the sliding door in the horizontal direction via a swing axis, a roller unit is attached to the arm so as to be swingable in the horizontal direction via a central axis, in the roller unit, a support roller for receiving a load from the sliding door is supported so as to be able to roll along a load receiving surface formed on the vehicle, and a first guide roller is supported so as to be able to roll along one of the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail, a second guide roller is supported on the arm so as to be able to roll along the other of the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail, the arm protrudes from the swing axis of the sliding door toward the inner guide rail and the outer guide rail, the second guide roller corresponds to the inner guide rail, and the first guide roller of the roller unit corresponds to the outer guide rail, the roller unit swings in the horizontal direction by rotating around the central axis, the first guide roller rolls along the outer guide rail by rotating around the central axis, two first guide rollers are provided in the roller unit, and one of the first guide rollers rotates around the central axis, the support roller is located corresponding to the space between the two first guide rollers. A sliding door device for a vehicle.

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