Vehicle rear door

Abstract

A vehicle rear door (20) comprises: an opening which is formed in the rear part of a vehicle; a rear door body (26) which is formed from an outer panel (21) and an inner panel (22) positioned on the vehicle interior side of the outer panel (21), and which opens and closes the opening; and a bracket (32) which is attached to the vehicle-interior-side end of the inner panel (22) with a gap between the bracket and the inner panel surface, and which extends in the vehicle vertical direction when the rear door body (26) has closed the opening. The bracket (32) has a protrusion (50) which is disposed inward in the vehicle width direction relative to an end of the outer panel (21), protrudes from a surface facing the inner panel (22) toward the inner panel surface, and extends in the longitudinal direction of the bracket (32).

Description

Vehicle back door

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

[0002] When a vehicle back door installed at the rear of a vehicle is opened during rain or a car wash, there is a concern that water accumulated behind the rear lamp of the vehicle back door may flow into the luggage compartment. In response to such concerns, the technology described in Patent Document 1 provides a drainage hole in the recess of the vehicle back door where the rear lamp is installed, thereby draining the water accumulated behind the rear lamp.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-175332

[0004] However, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, there is a risk that water that does not reach the drainage holes provided in the recess may flow down the vehicle tailgate and enter the luggage compartment when the vehicle tailgate is opened.

[0005] The present invention has been made in response to such problems, and aims to provide a vehicle tailgate that can direct water running down the vehicle tailgate out of the luggage compartment when the vehicle tailgate is opened.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle tailgate comprising: an opening formed in a rear portion of a vehicle; a tailgate body including an outer panel and an inner panel located on the interior side of the outer panel and configured to open and close the opening; and a bracket attached to an end of the inner panel on the interior side of the vehicle with a gap between it and the surface of the inner panel and extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle when the tailgate body closes the opening. The bracket is positioned inward in the vehicle width direction relative to the end of the outer panel, and has a protrusion that protrudes from a surface facing the inner panel toward the surface of the inner panel and extends in the longitudinal direction of the bracket.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle back door that can guide water running down the vehicle back door to the outside of a luggage compartment when the vehicle back door is opened.

[0008] 9A is a diagram of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle back door according to an embodiment of the present invention, and is a schematic diagram of the vehicle back door when fully open. FIG. 9B is a plan view of the vehicle back door according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen from the rear. FIG. 9C is a plan view of the vehicle back door according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen from the front. FIG. 9D is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle back door taken along the cutting line IV-IV in FIG. 2. FIG. 9E is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle back door taken along the cutting line V-V in FIG. 3. FIG. 9F is a schematic diagram of a touch sensor unit attached to the vehicle back door according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9G is a partial enlarged view of a portion "VII" in FIG. 6. FIG. 9H is a partial enlarged view of a portion "VIII" in FIG. 6. FIG. 9H is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle back door showing water collecting in the vehicle back door shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 9I is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle back door when it has been opened from the state shown in FIG. 9A.

[0009] A vehicle back door according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the terms "front," "rear," "left," "right," "up," and "down" refer to the state in which the driver of the vehicle is facing forward (forward). The left-right direction corresponds to the vehicle width direction. Note that the vehicle back door in this embodiment rotates around its upper portion, and therefore the posture of the vehicle back door differs between the closed state and the open state. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, when the respective directions are used in the description, the vehicle back door in the closed state is being described.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1 , a vehicle 1 includes a vehicle body 10 having an opening 11, a vehicle tailgate 20 that opens and closes the opening 11, and an actuator (not shown) that drives the vehicle tailgate 20. The vehicle tailgate 20 also includes a tailgate main body 26, a touch sensor unit 30 provided on the tailgate main body 26, and a rear lamp 12. As shown in FIG. 3 , the touch sensor unit 30 is attached to the surface facing the passenger compartment on both the left and right sides of the vehicle tailgate 20. The rear lamp 12 is provided on the vehicle body 10 and the tailgate main body 26. When the vehicle tailgate 20 is closed, the vehicle body 10 and the rear lamp 12 of the tailgate main body 26 are integrally formed and extend linearly in the left-right direction.

[0011] The opening 11 is located at the rear of the vehicle body 10 and forms an entrance to the luggage compartment. When the vehicle body 10 is viewed from the rear, the opening 11 has a rectangular shape with the width direction as the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction as the short side. Therefore, the vehicle back door 20 that covers the opening 11 also has a rectangular shape when viewed from the rear, as shown in FIG. 2. In addition, a recess 15 is formed around the opening 11. The recess 15 prevents water that runs down the vehicle 1 from entering the luggage compartment.

[0012] The vehicle back door 20 is a power back door that can be rotated around its upper part by an actuator (not shown). From a state in which the vehicle back door 20 closes the opening 11, the vehicle back door 20 rotates around its upper part as a rotation center and lifts its lower part upward. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the opening 11 is opened, allowing luggage to be loaded or unloaded. In this way, the vehicle back door 20 is a flip-up type.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 5 , the tailgate body 26 includes an outer panel 21 and an inner panel 22. The outer panel 21 forms a wall portion of the vehicle tailgate 20 on the exterior side of the vehicle body 10. The inner panel 22 forms a wall portion of the vehicle tailgate 20 on the interior side of the vehicle compartment. The outer panel 21 and the inner panel 22 are formed by processing thin metal plates. The outer and inner panels 21 and 22 are joined together at their outer peripheries. This gives the tailgate body 26 a shell-like shape with an internal space. The tailgate body 26 includes a lower body 28 that rises vertically when closed, and an upper body 27 that is provided above the lower body 28 and has an upward slope toward the front. On the other hand, when the vehicle tailgate 20 is fully open, as shown in FIG. 1 , the lower body 28 of the tailgate body 26 assumes a position that has an upward slope toward the front, and the upper body 27 of the tailgate body 26 assumes a position that has a downward slope toward the front.

[0014] 4, the outer panel 21 is formed with a recess 23 that is recessed forward. The rear lamp 12 is fitted into this recess 23. The recess 23 is formed to match the shape and size of the rear lamp 12 to be accommodated. The recess 23 that accommodates the rear lamp 12 is also formed to extend to both left and right ends of the vehicle tailgate 20. This allows the rear lamp 12 of the vehicle tailgate 20 and the rear lamp 12 of the vehicle body 10 to appear as if they are integrated when the vehicle tailgate 20 is closed.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 6 , the touch sensor unit 30 includes an elongated touch sensor main body 31 that detects contact with an object and a bracket 32 ​​that holds the touch sensor main body 31. The touch sensor units 30 are provided on both the left and right sides of the tailgate main body 26, and are configured symmetrically with respect to each other. Therefore, when describing the detailed structure of the touch sensor unit 30, the touch sensor unit 30 attached to the right side of the tailgate main body 26 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 , the touch sensor unit 30 is attached to both the left and right sides of the vehicle tailgate 20 across approximately the entire height. As a result, when the vehicle tailgate 20 is closed, the touch sensor unit 30 is attached to the tailgate main body 26 in a state that extends in the vertical direction.

[0016] The touch sensor body 31 is a cable-shaped sensor that detects whether a person or object is trapped when the sensor is crushed and electricity is applied. The touch sensor body 31 is a sensor that can detect from all directions over its entire length, for example, and is made of a highly flexible material.

[0017] The bracket 32 ​​has a longitudinal direction that corresponds to the extension direction of the touch sensor main body 31. The bracket 32 ​​holds the touch sensor main body 31 along the longitudinal direction. The bracket 32 ​​is made of, for example, a synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 5 , the bracket 32 ​​has a sheet-shaped base portion 34 and a plurality of mounting portions 40 provided at intervals on a surface of the base portion 34 facing the vehicle back door 20.

[0018] The base portion 34 is a sheet-like member having a longitudinal direction in the extension direction of the touch sensor main body 31. As shown in Fig. 7 , the base portion 34 has raised portions 35, 36 at both ends in the short side direction, a convex portion 50 disposed between the raised portions 35, 36, and a wall portion 38 shown in Fig. 8 provided at an end in the longitudinal direction.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 6 , the rising portions 35, 36 extend in the longitudinal direction on both side portions of the base portion 34. The rising portions 35, 36 are formed over the entire longitudinal length of the base portion 34. As shown in Fig. 5 , the rising portions 35, 36 are raised toward the vehicle tailgate 20. Of the rising portions 35, 36, the rising portion 35 that is disposed on the outer side in the vehicle width direction is located outside the outer end portion 24 of the vehicle tailgate 20 in the vehicle width direction. When the touch sensor unit 30 is viewed in the longitudinal direction, the rising portions 35, 36 are formed on the base portion 34 at an angle that is inclined outward so as to increase the distance between them.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 7 , the protrusion 50 is a rib-shaped portion having a rectangular parallelepiped cross section taken perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the touch sensor unit 30. The protrusion 50 protrudes from the base portion 34 toward the vehicle back door 20, i.e., toward the surface of the inner panel 22. As shown in FIG. 6 , the protrusion 50 includes a first protrusion 51 extending in the longitudinal direction of the touch sensor unit 30, i.e., in the up-down direction, and a second protrusion 52 extending obliquely downward from the lower end of the first protrusion 51 toward the inside in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 5 , the protrusion 50 is disposed inward of the outer end 24 of the outer panel 21 in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 2 , an intersection 53 where the first protrusion 51 and the second protrusion 52 intersect is lower than the lower end of the rear lamp 12. That is, the first protrusion 51 extends upward from below the lower end of the rear lamp 12. The second protrusion 52 extends inward in the vehicle width direction below the lower end of the rear lamp 12. The shape of the upper part of the first protrusion 51 gradually changes toward the end. As shown in Fig. 8 , the first protrusion 51 at the upper part of the touch sensor unit 30 bulges over the entire inner side of the touch sensor unit 30 in the vehicle width direction, protruding further toward the vehicle back door 20 (Fig. 5) than the outer side in the vehicle width direction. The portion that is outward in the vehicle width direction from the first protrusion 51 and recessed from the first protrusion 51 functions as a water passage 39 for passing water, as described below.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 8, the wall portion 38 is raised from the upper end of the base portion 34. The wall portion 38 is formed across the entire width of the base portion 34 in the short direction. A notch 37 is formed in the wall portion 38 at a portion where the water passage 39 abuts. The notch 37 is formed, for example, by cutting out a semicircular portion from the wall portion 38, but the shape thereof is not particularly limited. The notch 37 is formed on the outer side in the vehicle width direction.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 7 , the mounting portion 40 has a base portion 41 erected on the base portion 34 and a locking portion 42 attached to the base portion 41. The locking portion 42 has a protruding shape that protrudes toward the vehicle back door 20 ( FIG. 5 ). As shown in FIG. 5 , the locking portion 42 is fitted into a fitting hole 25 formed in the inner panel 22. As shown in FIG. 6 , a plurality of mounting portions 40 are provided at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the touch sensor unit 30. A plurality of fitting holes 25 corresponding to the plurality of mounting portions 40 are formed in the inner panel 22. The locking portions 42 of the mounting portion 40 are fitted into the corresponding fitting holes 25. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8 , a screw 43 is passed through the upper end of the touch sensor unit 30 and fastened to a screw hole (not shown) in the vehicle back door 20. In this manner, the touch sensor unit 30 is attached to the vehicle back door 20 via the attachment portion 40, thereby maintaining a gap between the base portion 34 and the vehicle back door 20. That is, the touch sensor unit 30 is attached to the end of the inner panel 22 facing the interior of the vehicle cabin with a gap between the bracket 32 ​​and the surface of the inner panel 22. When the vehicle back door 20 is closed, the touch sensor unit 30 attached in this manner is inclined in the vehicle width direction so that the inside is forward and the outside is rearward, as shown in FIG. 5 . When the vehicle back door 20 is open, the touch sensor unit 30 is inclined downward from the outside to the inside in the vehicle width direction. Since the raised portion 35 formed on the outside in the vehicle width direction is formed on the base portion 34 at an outward angle, water flowing down from the back door main body 26 can be easily received by the base portion 34. Furthermore, since the raised portion 36 formed on the inside in the vehicle width direction is formed on the base portion 34 at an outward angle, water can be prevented from flowing down to the inside. It should be noted that a gap does not have to be provided between the back door main body 26 and the rising portion 36 in order to prevent water from flowing down from the inside of the touch sensor unit 30. Alternatively, the gap may be filled by providing another soft member between the back door main body 26 and the rising portion 36.5, "front" and "rear" refer to directions when the vehicle back door 20 is closed. On the other hand, "(upper)" and "(lower)" in parentheses refer to directions when the vehicle back door 20 is open.

[0023] 7, a touch sensor main body 31 is attached to the surface of the base portion 34 opposite to the surface on which the attachment portion 40 is provided, for example, via double-sided tape 33. The touch sensor main body 31 detects whether a person or object has been caught when the vehicle back door 20 is being closed. If the touch sensor main body 31 detects whether a person or object has been caught while the vehicle back door 20 is automatically closing, the touch sensor main body 31 transmits the detection result to an actuator (not shown) to stop the automatic closing.

[0024] In such a vehicle tailgate 20, rainwater or water from a car wash may infiltrate the recess 23 formed in the outer panel 21 in which the rear lamp 12 is fitted. As shown in FIG. 9A , water 61 and 62 that infiltrates in this manner tends to accumulate on the upper surface of the rear lamp 12 and the lower surface of the recess 23. When the vehicle tailgate 20 is rotated open as indicated by arrow 63, the vehicle tailgate 20 faces forward and backward as shown in FIG. 9B . At this time, water 64 that had accumulated on the upper surface of the rear lamp 12 and the lower surface of the recess 23 collects behind the rear lamp 12. The water 64 that has collected behind the rear lamp 12 then flows outward in the vehicle width direction, as indicated by arrow 65 in FIG. 5 , due to the downward slope of the recess 23 in the vehicle width direction. The water that flows outward then flows around the outer end 24 of the vehicle tailgate 20 toward the interior and falls downward, as indicated by arrow 66.

[0025] According to this embodiment, by forming the longitudinally extending protrusions 50 on the bracket 32 ​​of the touch sensor unit 30 at positions inward of the left and right edges of the bracket 32, a water passage 39 for passing water can be defined outside the protrusions 50. When the vehicle back door 20 is opened, water that flows around the outer end 24 and falls toward the interior of the vehicle can be blocked by the protrusions 50 located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction, preventing it from flowing toward the interior in the vehicle width direction. When the vehicle back door 20 is open, water that has flowed into the water passage 39 flows downwardly along the water passage 39 toward the front as shown by arrow 67 in FIG. 1 . The water that has flowed through the water passage 39 can then drop into the recess 15 through the notch 37 provided at the end of the touch sensor unit 30 as shown by arrow 68. This allows water that has accumulated in the recess 23 where the rear lamp 12 is provided to be guided out of the luggage compartment. Furthermore, the water behind the rear lamp 12 can be discharged simply by providing the protrusion 50 on the bracket 32 ​​of the touch sensor unit 30, which reduces manufacturing costs.

[0026] Furthermore, the first protrusion 51 formed on the base portion 34 extends upward from below the lower end of the rear lamp 12. This allows the first protrusion 51 to block water that falls from behind the rear lamp 12, preventing it from entering the luggage compartment.

[0027] In addition, the second protrusion 52 extends inward in the vehicle width direction below the lower end of the rear lamp 12. As a result, when the vehicle back door 20 is opened, the second protrusion 52 can guide water that is below the second protrusion 52 to the water passage 39. This allows for smooth drainage in the touch sensor unit 30.

[0028] A water draining notch 37 is formed in a wall 38 provided at the upper end of the bracket 32. This allows water that has passed through a water passage 39 to be smoothly discharged to the outside.

[0029] Furthermore, the touch sensor body 31 is attached to the surface of the bracket 32 ​​opposite to the surface on which the attachment portion 40 for attachment to the back door body 26 is provided. In this way, by utilizing the bracket 32 ​​for attaching the touch sensor body 31 to the back door body 26, it is possible to prevent water from entering the luggage compartment and reduce manufacturing costs.

[0030] Furthermore, the bracket 32 ​​is provided with rising portions 35, 36 that rise toward the back door main body 26 at both ends in the short side direction, and the convex portion 50 is disposed between the rising portions 35, 36. This makes it possible to make the mounting portion 40 for mounting to the back door main body 26 less visible from the outside, thereby improving the design of the vehicle back door 20.

[0031] The vehicle back door is a powered back door that can be rotated around its upper portion by an actuator. A powered back door requires a touch sensor unit 30 to prevent people or objects from getting caught. However, the only requirement is to provide a protrusion 50 on the bracket 32 ​​for mounting the touch sensor unit 30, which is an essential component. This prevents water from entering the trunk while minimizing increases in the number of parts and costs. The vehicle back door 20 is also comfortable and does not require the user to worry about water entering the trunk every time they operate the remote control or back door switch.

[0032] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. In the above embodiment, the tailgate body 26 has been described as having a lower body 28 that stands upright in the vertical direction and an upper body 27 that slopes upward toward the front when the tailgate body 26 is closed, but the shape of the tailgate body 26 is arbitrary. As long as the side portions of the tailgate body 26 slope downward toward the front when the vehicle tailgate 20 is open, water can be properly discharged, and the present invention can be applied.

[0033] Furthermore, although the first protrusions 51 have been described as extending linearly in the vertical direction, they may be bent or have curved portions as long as they can form the water passages 39 that guide water toward the ends of the touch sensor unit 30. The first protrusions 51 may also extend to the lower end of the touch sensor unit 30. A plurality of first protrusions 51 may also be provided. For example, the first protrusions 51 may be arranged in two rows in the longitudinal direction of the bracket 32.

[0034] Although the upper portion of the first protrusion 51 is formed such that the entire inside is raised, making the shape different from that of the other portions, the cross-sectional shape and size may be the same throughout the entire length. Also, although the cross-sectional shape of the first protrusion 51 has been described as being rectangular, the first protrusion 51 may have other cross-sectional shapes.

[0035] Although the example of draining water accumulated behind the rear lamp 12 has been described, it is of course possible to drain water accumulated in other locations. Furthermore, when the vehicle back door 20 is opened during rainfall, the touch sensor unit 30 can receive and drain water that falls from the outer end 24.

[0036] Furthermore, the location where the water guided to the end of the touch sensor unit 30 is discharged is not limited to the recess 15 around the opening 11, but may be, for example, a location where the water reaches the outer surface of the vehicle body 10 outside the recess 15.

[0037] Furthermore, although a powered back door has been described as an example of the vehicle back door 20, the back door may not have an actuator for opening and closing, and may be opened and closed by the user himself.

[0038] Furthermore, although it has been described that the rising portions 35, 36 are formed on the base portion 34 at an angle that is inclined outward so as to increase the distance between them, the angle at which the rising portions 35, 36 rise from the base portion 34 is not particularly limited. Any angle may be used as long as it makes the mounting portion 40, which is surrounded by the vehicle back door 20 and the touch sensor unit 30, invisible from the outside. For example, the rising portions may rise vertically from the base portion 34.

[0039] The present disclosure allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to explain the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of equivalent disclosures are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0040] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...vehicle, 10...vehicle body, 11...opening, 12...rear lamp, 15...recess, 20...vehicle tailgate, 21...outer panel, 22...inner panel, 23...recess, 24...outer end, 25...fitting hole, 26...tailgate main body, 27...upper body, 28...lower body, 30...touch sensor unit, 31...touch sensor main body, 32...bracket, 33...double-sided tape, 34...base portion, 35, 36...rising portion, 37...notch, 38...wall portion, 39...water passage, 40...mounting portion, 41...base portion, 42...engaging portion, 43...screw, 50...convex portion, 51...first convex portion, 52...second convex portion, 53...intersection portion, 61, 62...water, 63...arrow, 64...water, 65, 66, 67, 68...arrows

Claims

1. A vehicle tailgate comprising: an opening formed in the rear of a vehicle; a tailgate body consisting of an outer panel and an inner panel located on the passenger compartment inside of the outer panel, which opens and closes the opening; and a bracket attached to the passenger compartment side end of the inner panel with a gap between it and the inner panel surface, and extending in the vertical direction of the vehicle when the tailgate body is closing the opening, wherein the bracket is positioned more inward in the vehicle width direction than the end of the outer panel, and has a protrusion that protrudes from the surface facing the inner panel toward the inner panel surface and extends in the longitudinal direction of the bracket.

2. A vehicle tailgate as described in claim 1, wherein a rear lamp is fitted into a recess formed on the outside of the tailgate body, and the protrusion has a first protrusion that extends upward from a position below the lower end of the rear lamp when the tailgate body is closed.

3. A vehicle tailgate as described in claim 1, wherein a rear lamp is fitted into a recess formed on the outside of the tailgate body, and the protrusion has a second protrusion extending inward in the vehicle width direction at a position lower than the lower end of the rear lamp when the tailgate body is closed.

4. The vehicle back door according to claim 1, wherein the bracket has a wall portion with a notch formed in an upper end portion of the bracket.

5. The vehicle back door according to claim 1, wherein the bracket has a mounting portion for mounting to the back door body, and the touch sensor body is mounted on a surface opposite to the surface on which the mounting portion is provided.

6. The vehicle back door according to claim 1, wherein the bracket has raised portions at both ends in the short side direction, and the protrusion is disposed between the raised portions.

7. The vehicle back door according to claim 1, which is a power back door.

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