JP7635481B2 - Vehicle door opening and closing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle door opening and closing device for automatically opening and closing a vehicle's sliding door.

Cited Document 1 discloses a vehicle door opening and closing device that automatically opens and closes a sliding door using the power of a motor and has an electromagnetic clutch that can be switched between a connected state in which the power of the motor can be transmitted to the sliding door and a disconnected state in which the power cannot be transmitted.

The vehicle door opening and closing device disclosed in Cited Document 1 places a motor on one side of a metal base plate fixed to the vehicle body, and places the annular electromagnetic coil of the electromagnetic clutch on the other side, thereby making it possible to miniaturize the metal base plate and also to use the metal base plate as a heat sink for the electromagnetic coil to prevent a decrease in the operating efficiency of the electromagnetic clutch due to heat generation, thereby making it possible to miniaturize the motor module, which includes the motor, metal base plate, electromagnetic clutch, and a reduction mechanism that reduces the rotation speed of the motor.

Patent No. 4911662

However, in the vehicle door opening and closing device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the annular electromagnetic coil portion is fixed to the other surface of the metal base plate so that its axial direction is perpendicular to the surface of the metal base plate, whereas the motor is disposed on one side of the metal base plate so that the rotation axis direction of the rotating shaft is parallel to the surface of the metal base plate, which places a limit on how small the metal base plate can be made.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle door opening and closing device that enables the miniaturization of a metal base plate on one side of which a motor is arranged and on the other side of which an electromagnetic coil portion of an electromagnetic clutch is fixed, thereby enabling the miniaturization of a motor module.

According to the present invention, the above problems are solved as follows.
a power transmission member guide fixed to a vehicle body so as to follow the opening and closing direction of a sliding door, and a guide module including a power transmission member that can move circularly along the opening and closing direction of the sliding door by the reduced rotation of the reduction mechanism and is connected to the sliding door to pull and move the sliding door in the opening and closing direction, wherein the motor module has a casing fixed to the power transmission member guide, a metal base plate fixed to the casing, the motor attached to one side of the metal base plate so that its rotation axis is perpendicular to the surface of the one side of the metal base plate, an electromagnetic clutch located within the casing and disposed on the other side of the metal base plate with reference to the rotation central axis of the rotation shaft, a first gear located within the casing and rotatable integrally with the electromagnetic clutch around the rotation central axis of the rotation shaft , and a drive shaft located within the casing, the reduction mechanism including the first gear, and a drive shaft capable of transmitting rotation of the reduction mechanism to the power transmission member via a drive pulley.

Preferably, the metal base plate includes a first metal plate to which the motor is fixed and a second metal plate on which the electromagnetic clutch is disposed , and a gap is formed between the first metal plate and the second metal plate to fix the first metal plate and the second metal plate to each other.

Preferably, the motor is covered by a cover fixed to the casing, and an air layer is formed between the cover and the motor.

Preferably, the casing is formed separately from the power transmission member guide and is fixed to the power transmission member guide via a buffer member.

Preferably, the central axis of rotation of the drive shaft is oriented in a vertical direction perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the power transmission member.

Preferably, in a plan view, a straight line connecting the central axis of rotation of the motor and the central axis of rotation of the drive shaft is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the power transmission member guide.

According to the present invention, a motor is fixed to one side of a metal base plate so that the rotation axis is perpendicular to one surface of the metal base plate, and an annular electromagnetic coil portion, which is one of the components of an electromagnetic clutch, is fixed to the other side with the central axis of rotation of the rotation axis as a reference, thereby reducing the projected area of the metal base plate and making it possible to miniaturize the motor module.

1 is a side view of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle door opening and closing device according to the present invention; 2 is a perspective view of a vehicle door opening and closing device and a center guide rail as viewed obliquely from the front. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle door opening and closing device as viewed obliquely from the front; 1 is a side view of a vehicle door opening and closing device as viewed from the vehicle exterior side. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle door opening and closing device; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the motor module. FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical end view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 5 . 8 is an enlarged vertical end view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 5 . 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 4. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the connecting member in a temporary holding position, as viewed obliquely from behind; FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion of the power transmission member guide as viewed obliquely from behind. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a main part of the connecting member when it is in a temporary holding position, as viewed from diagonally front. FIG. 11 is a side view of a main part seen from the vehicle exterior side with the connecting member in a temporary holding position. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a main part of a state in which the connecting member is connected to the center guide roller unit, as viewed obliquely from behind. FIG. 11 is a side view of the main part as seen from the vehicle exterior side in a state in which the connecting member is connected to the center guide roller unit. FIG. 16 is a vertical end view taken along line XVI-XVI in FIG. 13. 17 is a vertical end view taken along line XVII-XVII in FIG. 15. 14 is a horizontal end view taken along line XVIII-XVIII in FIG. 13.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below, and includes appropriate modifications of the embodiment described below within the scope obvious to those skilled in the art.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 according to this embodiment is disposed inside a left-side body panel 4 of a small wagon-type vehicle 2, and automatically opens and closes a left-side sliding door 3 supported on the body panel 4 so as to be freely opened and closed in the fore-and-aft direction by the power of a motor 10, which will be described later.
In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the directions refer to the directions when the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 is attached to the vehicle 2.

The sliding door 3 opens and closes in the front-to-rear direction by being supported so that it can move freely in the front-to-rear direction by the upper guide roller unit 31 attached to the front-top part, the upper guide rail 41 that extends in the front-to-rear direction and is fixed to the upper part of the vehicle body, the center guide roller unit 32 attached to the center rear part, the center guide rail 42 that extends in the front-to-rear direction and is fixed to the center of the vehicle body in the up-down direction, and the lower guide roller unit 33 attached to the front-to-rear lower part is supported by the lower guide rail 43 that extends in the front-to-rear direction and is fixed to the lower part of the vehicle body, respectively.

As shown in Figures 2 to 5, the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 is disposed inside the vehicle body panel 4 and includes a motor module 5 that outputs power for automatically opening and closing the sliding door 3, and a guide module 6 that is connected to the motor module 5 and transmits the power output from the motor module 5 to the sliding door 3 to open and close the sliding door 3. Note that Figure 2 shows the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 and center guide rail 42 in a state in which a connecting member 24 (described later) of the guide module 6 in the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 is connected to a center guide roller unit 32, and Figures 3 to 5 show only the vehicle door opening and closing device 1.

The vehicle door opening and closing device 1 will now be described.
(Motor module 5)
As shown in Figures 6 to 9, the motor module 5 includes a casing 7 fixed to the power transmission member guide 20 via a mounting plate 22 in the guide module 6 (described later), a metal base plate 8 fixed to the top of the casing 7, a motor 10 fixed to the upper surface of the metal base plate 8 so that the rotating shaft 9 faces in the vertical direction (the rotating shaft 9 faces perpendicular to one side of the metal base plate 8), a synthetic resin cover 11 fixed to the upper surface of the casing 7 and covering the entire upper surface of the casing 7 including the motor 10, an electromagnetic clutch 12 arranged within the casing 7, a first gear 13 arranged below the electromagnetic clutch 12 and rotatable about a rotation center axis CL1 facing in the vertical direction of the rotating shaft 9 of the motor 10, a second gear 14 that reduces the rotation of the first gear 13, and a third gear 15 that further reduces the rotation of the second gear 14.

The casing 7 is composed of a lower casing 7A that is fixed directly to the mounting plate 22 of the guide module 6, and an upper casing 7B that is fixed to the upper part of the lower casing 7A. The lower casing 7A has front and rear mounting parts 71A on the lower side that protrude toward the outside of the vehicle, and a mounting part 72A on the inside bottom surface that protrudes downward. Each mounting part 71A, 72A is fastened and fixed to the mounting plate 22 by bolts 25.

The metal base plate 8 is fixed to the upper casing 7B. The motor 10 is directly fixed to the upper surface of the metal base plate 8 with the rotating shaft 9 facing up and down, and an annular electromagnetic coil (not shown), which is one of the components of the electromagnetic clutch 12, is directly fixed to the lower surface of the metal base plate 8 with the central axis CL1 of rotation of the rotating shaft 9 as a reference . This allows the metal base plate 8 to be used as a heat sink for the electromagnetic clutch 12 with a reduced projected area, suppressing heat generation from the electromagnetic clutch 12 and preventing a decrease in the operating efficiency of the electromagnetic clutch 12.

In this embodiment, as shown particularly in Figures 7 and 8, the metal base plate 8 is divided into a first metal plate 8A having a generally hat-shaped cross section, and a lower plate 8B fixed to the underside of the first metal plate 8A. A gap 81 is formed between the underside of the first metal plate 8A and the upper surface of the lower plate 8B to prevent them from contacting each other. This increases the overall surface area of the metal base plate 8, and further enhances the effect of the metal base plate 8 as a heat sink.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the metal base plate 8 is divided into a first metal plate 8A to which the motor 10 is fixed and a second metal plate 8B on which the electromagnetic clutch 12 is disposed . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first metal plate 8A and the second metal plate 8B may be formed integrally.

The motor 10 is fixed to the upper surface of the first metal plate 8A so that the rotating shaft 9 faces up and down. A rotating body 16 that rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 9 is fixed to the lower end of the rotating shaft 9 that penetrates downward through the center of the metal base plate 8.

The cover 11 is fixed to the top surface of the upper casing 7b, thereby covering the motor 10, the second gear 14, and the third gear 15 from above. The motor cover part 11a of the cover 11, which covers the motor 10, has a gap 11A that forms an air layer between it and the motor 10 so as not to come into contact with the motor 10. This allows the operating noise of the motor 10, especially operating noise in the high frequency band, to be attenuated by the air layer, thereby improving soundproofing. Furthermore, since the motor 10, electromagnetic clutch 12, first gear 13, second gear 14, and third gear 15 are covered by the casing 7 and cover 11, the handleability of the motor module 5 can be improved.

The electromagnetic clutch 12 basically includes an electromagnetic coil, a rotor , and an armature (not shown) .

When electricity is applied to the electromagnetic coil , the electromagnetic clutch 12 connects the power transmission path between the rotating shaft 9 of the motor 10 and the first gear 13, making it possible to transmit the rotation of the rotating shaft 9 to the first gear 13. When electricity is cut off from the electromagnetic coil , the electromagnetic clutch 12 disconnects the power transmission path between the rotating shaft 9 and the first gear 13.

The rotor 16 is fixed to the lower end of the rotor shaft 9 so as to be allowed to rotate about the rotation center line axis CL1 of the rotor shaft 9 relative to the electromagnetic clutch 12. A first shaft 161 extending downward is provided at the center of the lower surface of the rotor 16. The first shaft 161 has a rotation center coinciding with the rotation center line CL1, and its lower end is rotatably supported by a bearing 17 supported by the lower casing 7A. As a result, the electromagnetic clutch 12 is disposed around the rotation center line CL1 of the rotor shaft 9 as a reference, and the rotation center line of the first gear 13 coincides with the rotation center line CL.

An armature that can be attracted to the rotor inside the electromagnetic clutch 12 is attached to the first gear 13 in such a manner that movement in the direction of the central axis of rotation CL1 is permitted but movement in the direction of rotation is restricted. A small diameter gear 132 extending downward is provided at the center of the underside of the first gear 13. In this embodiment, an upper portion of the shaft portion of the small diameter gear 132 is rotatably supported by a bearing 18 on the upper casing 7B.

The second gear 14 is a two-stage gear with a large diameter gear 14a at the bottom and a small diameter gear 14b at the top, and is rotatably supported by a second shaft 141 that faces up and down and is located in front of the first shaft 161 in the space between the lower casing 7A and the upper casing 7B. The large diameter gear 14a meshes with the small diameter gear 132 of the first gear 13, thereby slowing down the rotation of the first gear 13.

The third gear 15 has a large diameter gear 15a at its upper portion, and is rotatably supported together with a drive shaft 151 that faces up and down and is located in front of the second shaft 141 in the space between the lower casing 7A and the upper casing 7B, and the large diameter gear 15a meshes with the small diameter gear 14b of the second gear 14 , thereby slowing down the rotation of the second gear 14. The drive shaft 151 is firmly inserted into the center hole of the third gear 15 so as to rotate integrally with the third gear 15.

In this embodiment, a shaft portion 15b is provided at the center of the lower surface of the large diameter gear 15a of the third gear 15, the shaft portion 15b is rotatably supported by the lower casing 7A via a bearing 19A, and the upper end of the drive shaft 151 is rotatably supported by the upper casing 7B via a bearing 19B. Furthermore, serrations extending in the vertical direction are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the drive shaft 151, and the serrations are press-fitted into the center hole of the third gear 15 so that the drive shaft 151 and the third gear 15 rotate integrally. 9, the second shaft 141 forming the center of rotation of the second gear 14 is positioned on a straight line X (see FIG. 9) connecting the central axis CL1 of the rotation shaft of the motor 10 and the central axis CL2 of the drive shaft 151 in the vertical direction, and the first shaft 161 , the second shaft 141 and the drive shaft 151 are arranged so that the direction of the straight line X is parallel to the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction, the opening and closing direction of the sliding door 3) of the power transmission member guide 20. This allows the motor module 5 to be arranged parallel to the opening and closing direction of the sliding door 3, thereby minimizing the protrusion of the motor module 5 toward the inside of the vehicle and minimizing the effect on the interior space.

The drive shaft 151, whose rotation center axis CL2 faces the vertical direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the power transmission member 21, outputs the rotation of the motor 10, which has been decelerated by the first gear 13, the second gear 14, and the third gear 15, to the guide module 6 side. As shown in FIG. 8, the drive shaft 151 penetrates the bottom of the lower casing 7A and is press-fitted and fixed to the center hole of the drive pulley 23 (described later) of the guide module 6 so that it cannot rotate relatively. As a result, the rotation of the rotation shaft 9 of the motor 10 is transmitted to the drive pulley 23 via the connected electromagnetic clutch 12, the first gear 13, the second gear 14, the third gear 15, and the drive shaft 151. The rotation of the drive pulley 23 is transmitted to the power transmission member 21 of the guide module 6, as described later. In this way, by arranging the drive shaft 151 so that it faces perpendicular to the moving direction of the power transmission member 21, the layout space of the motor module 5 can be reduced.

The first gear 13, second gear 14, and third gear 15 in this embodiment are the basic components of the reduction mechanism of the present invention, but the reduction mechanism of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the second gear 14 may be omitted and the third gear 15 may be directly meshed with the first gear 13, or other reduction gears may be added.

(Guide Module 6)
2 to 5, the guide module 6 includes a power transmission member guide 20 made of synthetic resin and arranged on the upper portion of the center guide rail 42, a power transmission member 21 guided by the power transmission member guide 20 along the shape of the center guide rail 42 in the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction), a mounting plate 22 fixed to the power transmission member guide 20, a drive pulley 23 (see FIGS. 6, 8 and 9) for circulating the power transmission member 21, and a connecting member 24 for connecting the power transmission member 21 to the sliding door 3. Note that in this embodiment, the power transmission member 21 is described as being a belt 21, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the power transmission member 21 may be a cable.

The power transmission member guide 20 has a shape that follows the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the center guide rail 42 in the plan view shown in FIG. 5 and overlaps the upper surface of the center guide rail 42. The power transmission member guide 20 is fixed to the vehicle body panel 4 by fastening the front bracket 201 at the front end and the rear bracket 202 at the rear end to the vehicle body panel 4 with bolts (not shown).

A holding portion 203 is provided on the rear side of the power transmission member guide 20 to temporarily hold the connecting member 24 in a detachable manner to the power transmission member guide 20, as shown particularly in Figures 10, 11, 16, and 18. As shown particularly in Figure 11, the holding portion 203 is formed by a rectangular opening hole that penetrates the side wall portion 20a facing the up-down direction of the power transmission member guide 20 in the left-right direction (inside-out direction of the vehicle) and has a predetermined opening width in the front-rear direction. The holding portion 203 temporarily holds the connecting member 24 that is pre-fixed to the belt 21 until the belt 21 is connected to the center guide roller unit 32. The connecting member 24 is temporarily held in a detachable manner to the power transmission member guide 20 by a portion being inserted into and engaged with the holding portion 203.

In particular, as shown in Figures 11 and 16, an upwardly protruding stopper portion 203a is provided below the holding portion 203 in the power transmission member guide 20. The stopper portion 203a abuts against a corner of an engaging portion 241a (described later) of the connecting member 24, thereby restricting the amount of penetration of the engaging portion 241 into the holding portion 203 so that the connecting member 24 is securely and temporarily held in the holding portion 203.

As can be seen particularly from FIG. 6, the mounting plate 22 has a connecting portion 22a facing diagonally upward and fixed to the vehicle interior side of the power transmission member guide 20 by a bolt (not shown), and a horizontal support portion 22b extending from the lower portion of the connecting portion 22a toward the vehicle interior. The connecting portion 22a and the support portion 22b are provided with mounting portions 22c and 22d to which the mounting portions 71A and 72A of the lower casing 7A in the motor module 5 are respectively fixed. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a cylindrical buffer member 26 made of rubber is interposed between the mounting portions 71A and 72A of the lower casing 7A and the mounting portions 22c and 22d, and the mounting portions 71A and 71B are fixed to the mounting portions 22c and 22d, respectively. This makes it possible to reduce the transmission of vibrations generated during vehicle running, etc., to the motor module 5.

As shown in Figures 6 and 8, a drive pulley 23 that can rotate together with the drive shaft 151 is disposed on the support portion 22b. The drive pulley 23 rotates about the central axis CL2 of the rotation of the drive shaft 151 by pressing the lower portion of the drive shaft 151 into the drive pulley 23. A part of the belt 21 is wound around the drive pulley 23. As a result, the rotation of the drive pulley 23 is transmitted to the belt 21, and the belt 21 moves in a circular motion along the power transmission member guide 20.

The belt 21 is a flat, endless rubber belt, and as shown in FIG. 2, its front end is looped around a front reversing pulley 204 pivoted to the front of the power transmission member guide 20, and its rear end is looped around a rear reversing pulley 205 pivoted to the rear of the power transmission member guide 20. As shown in FIG. 9, part of the part that moves on the inside of the vehicle is routed around to the inside of the vehicle and looped around a drive pulley 23 rotatably supported on the mounting plate 22, so that as the drive pulley 23 rotates, the belt 21 moves in a circular motion in the front-to-rear direction along the power transmission member guide 20.

The upper part of the connecting member 24 is fixed to the area of the belt 21 that moves on the outside of the vehicle, and is temporarily held in a detachable state while engaged with the holding portion 203, for example as shown in Figures 3 and 4, until it is connected to the center guide roller unit 32. Finally, as shown in Figure 2, the lower part is connected to the connected portion 32a of the center guide roller unit 32, thereby connecting the belt 21 and the sliding door 3 to each other.

The connecting member 24 is temporarily held in the power transmission member guide 20 while the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 is being transported and while it is being assembled to the vehicle body panel 4. This prevents the connecting member 24 from swinging due to slack or twisting of the belt 21 and coming into contact with and damaging other parts or the sliding door 3, and also improves the handling of the vehicle door opening and closing device 1.

When the connecting member 24 is temporarily held by the holding portion 203, it is temporarily held by the power transmission member guide 20 in a temporary holding position inclined at an angle of approximately 30 degrees toward the outside of the vehicle, as shown in Figures 10, 12, 13, and 16. Therefore, when the connecting member 24 is held in the temporary holding position, the belt 21 is twisted by a predetermined angle from the normal position (for example, the position shown in Figure 17) in which the thickness direction faces the inside and outside of the vehicle. Therefore, when the connecting member 24 is held in the temporary holding position, the twisted portion 21a of the belt 21 is formed on the front and rear sides of the connecting member 24. The twisted portion 21a absorbs the slack of the belt 21, suppresses rattling of the belt 21, and improves the handling properties when the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 is transported and assembled to the vehicle body panel 4.

When the connecting member 24 is in the temporary holding position, it is in a position that is retracted outside the movement trajectory of the center guide roller unit 32. As a result, after the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 is assembled to the vehicle body panel 4, when the center guide roller unit 32 is assembled to the center guide rail 42, the center guide roller unit 32 does not interfere with the connecting member 24, so the center guide roller unit 32 can be easily assembled to the center guide rail 42.

To temporarily hold the connection member 24 in the holding portion 203 of the power transmission member guide 20, as shown in FIG. 16, the connection member 24 is rotated upward by approximately 120 degrees from the normal position shown by the two-dot chain line, and in this state, the engagement portion 24c is inserted and engaged into the holding portion 203 from the outside of the vehicle. As a result, the connection member 24 is temporarily held in a temporary holding position tilted upward by approximately 30 degrees toward the outside of the vehicle, particularly as shown by the solid line in FIG. 16. To remove the connection member 24 from the holding portion 203, in FIG. 16, the connection member 24 is pulled out toward the outside of the vehicle in a state in which it is rotated slightly upward. This allows the connection member 24 to be easily removed from the holding portion 203. After this, the connection member 24 is connected to the center guide roller unit 32 assembled to the center guide rail 42.

In this embodiment, as can be seen particularly from Figures 16 and 17, the connection member 24 includes a first plate 24A on the vehicle exterior side and a second plate 24B on the vehicle interior side that sandwich the belt 21 in the thickness direction (inside/outside of the vehicle).

As shown in Figures 14 to 18, preferably, the connection member 24 has a clamping portion 24a that is fixed to the belt 21 by clamping the belt 21 in the thickness direction, a connecting portion 24b that is lower than the clamping portion 24a and is connected to the connected portion 32a of the center guide roller unit 32, and an engaging portion 24c that is higher than the clamping portion 24a and engages with the holding portion 203.

In particular, as shown in Figures 15 and 18, the engagement portion 24c is formed so that the width W1 in the front-rear direction is slightly smaller than the opening width W2 in the front-rear direction of the holding portion 203. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 16, the engagement portion 24c has a claw portion 24d that protrudes diagonally upward when the connection member 24 is in the temporary holding position.

16 and 18, when the connecting member 24 is held in the temporary holding position, the engaging portion 24c engages with the opening of the holding portion 203 in the width direction (front-rear direction) so as to restrict the movement of the connecting member 24 in the front-rear direction. The corner portion of the engaging portion 24c abuts against the stopper portion 203a located below the holding portion 203 so as to restrict the amount of penetration (insertion amount) of the engaging portion 24c into the holding portion 203 into the vehicle interior. The claw portion 24d engages with the upper edge of the opening of the holding portion 203 from the vehicle interior so that the connecting member 24 does not easily come out of the holding portion 203. A return force (a force that returns the belt 21 to the normal position, a clockwise force in FIG. 16) due to the twisted portion 21a formed in the belt 21 acts on the connecting member 24.

As described above, by temporarily holding the connection member 24 in the holding portion 203 of the power transmission member guide 20 so that the twisted portion 21a is formed in the belt 21 at the front and rear sides of the connection member 24, the slack in the belt 21 can be reliably absorbed by the twisted portion 21a. This allows the connection member 24 to be temporarily held reliably in the holding portion 203.

(Connection Work of Vehicle Door Opening and Closing Device 1 to Slide Door 3)
First, the power transmission member guide 20 is placed above the center guide rail 42 which has been preliminarily fixed to the vehicle body panel 4, and the front bracket 201 and rear bracket 202 of the power transmission member guide 20 are fixed to the vehicle body panel 4 with bolts not shown, thereby assembling the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 to the vehicle body panel 4.

When the vehicle door opening and closing device 1 is assembled to the vehicle body panel 4, the connection member 24 is temporarily held in the holding portion 203 of the power transmission member guide 20. By temporarily holding the connection member 24 in the holding portion 203, unnecessary movement of the connection member 24 and the belt 21 can be suppressed during transportation of the vehicle power slide device 1 and assembly to the vehicle body panel 4, improving the handling of the vehicle power slide device 1. This prevents the connection member 24 from coming into contact with and damaging the vehicle body panel 4 or the sliding door 3.

The vehicle door opening and closing device 1 may be assembled to the vehicle body panel 4 with the motor module 5 already connected to the guide module 6, or the motor module 5 and guide module 6 may be separated and the guide module 6 first assembled to the vehicle body panel 4, and then the motor module 5 is connected to the guide module 6. In this way, the motor module 5 and the guide module 6 are separated and integrated by assembling them to the vehicle body, making assembly to the vehicle body panel 4 easier.

Next, the guide rollers (not shown) of each guide roller unit 31, 32, 33 attached to the sliding door 3 (for the center guide roller unit 32, the guide roller is shown as 32b in FIG. 17) are inserted into the corresponding rails 41, 42, 43 from the rear end. Then, the sliding door 3 is moved forward, i.e., in the closing direction, to align the center guide roller unit 32 with the position of the connecting member 24 temporarily held by the holding portion 203. In this case, since the connecting member 24 is in a temporarily held position and is in a position outside the movement trajectory of the center guide roller unit 32, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the center guide roller unit 32 collides with the connecting member 24. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the center guide roller unit 32 and the connecting member 24.

Next, a special jig is inserted into the gap between the vehicle body panel 4 and the rear end of the sliding door 3, and the connecting member 24 is removed from the holding portion 203 to return the connecting member 24 to the correct position. Then, the connecting portion 24b of the connecting member 24 is connected to the connected portion 32a of the center guide roller unit 32. As a result, the belt 21 and the sliding door 3 are connected via the connecting member 24 and the center guide roller unit 32.

(Function of vehicle door opening and closing device 1)
The motor 10 is driven in response to the operation of a wireless remote switch carried by a user or a door handle for opening the door provided on the sliding door 3. In response to this, the electromagnetic clutch 12 is engaged. As a result, the rotation of the rotating shaft 9 of the motor 10 is transmitted to the belt 21 via the electromagnetic clutch 12, the first gear 13, the second gear 14, the third gear 15, the drive shaft 151, and the drive pulley 23. As a result, the belt 21 moves in a circular motion along the longitudinal direction of the power transmission member guide 20, so that the sliding door 3 moves to open if it is in the closed position, and moves to close if it is in the fully open position.

When the sliding door 3 is opened or closed manually, the motor 10 and the electromagnetic clutch 12 are in a disconnected state. Therefore, the opening and closing operation of the sliding door 3 is transmitted to the belt 21 and the reduction mechanism, but is not transmitted to the motor 10. This allows the sliding door 3 to be opened and closed manually with little force.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, various modifications, changes, and combinations can be made to the above embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention, as follows:

(1) In the above embodiment, the power transmission member guide 20 and the center guide rail 42 of the guide module 6 are separate bodies. Alternatively, the power transmission member guide 20 and the center guide rail 42 may be integrally formed, or the power transmission member guide 20 may be pre-fixed to the center guide rail 42. In this case, a holding portion 203 for temporarily holding the connecting member 24 may be provided on the center guide rail 42. Therefore, in the present invention, the power transmission member guide 20, or an element combining both the power transmission member guide 20 and the center guide rail 42, is defined as a guide means.

(2) The temporary holding position of the connection member 24 is changed from facing diagonally upward toward the outside of the vehicle to facing vertically or horizontally.

(3) Instead of an opening that penetrates the retaining portion 203 from the inside to the outside of the vehicle, an opening that faces up and down or diagonally is used.

(4) The holding portion 203 is made into a circular or elliptical opening hole instead of a rectangular opening hole.

(5) The casing 7 of the motor module 5 is formed integrally with the lower casing 7A and the upper casing 7B.

(6) The vehicle door opening and closing device 1 is installed under the vehicle body, and the belt 21 is connected to the lower guide roller unit 33.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 Vehicle door opening and closing device 2 Vehicle 3 Sliding door 31 Upper guide roller unit 32 Center guide roller unit 32a Connected portion 32b Guide roller 33 Lower guide roller unit 4 Vehicle body panel 41 Upper guide rail 42 Center guide rail 43 Lower guide rail 5 Motor module 6 Guide module 7 Casing 7A Lower casing 71A, 72A Mounting portion 7B Upper casing 8 Metal base plate 8A First metal plate 8B Second metal plate 81 Gap 9 Rotating shaft 10 Motor 11 Cover 11A Gap 11a Motor cover portion 12 Electromagnetic clutch 13 First gear (reduction mechanism) 132 Small diameter gear 14 Second gear (reduction mechanism) 14a Large diameter gear 14b Small diameter gear 141 Second shaft 15 Third gear (reduction mechanism) 15a Large diameter gear 15b Shaft portion 151 Drive shaft 16 Rotating body 161 First shaft 17, 18 Bearings 19A, 19B Bearings 20 Power transmission member guide 20a Side wall portion 201 Front bracket 202 Rear bracket 203 Holding portion 203a Stopper portion 204 Front reversing pulley 205 Rear reversing pulley 21 Power transmission member (belt) 21a Twisted portion 22 Mounting plate 22a Connecting portion 22b Supporting portion 22c, 22d Mounted portion 23 Drive pulley 24 Connecting member 24a Clamping portion 24b Linking portion 24c Engaging portion 24d Claw portion 24A First plate 24B Second plate 25 Bolt 26 Cushioning member

Claims (5)

a motor module including a motor and a speed reduction mechanism for reducing the speed of rotation of the motor; a power transmission member guide fixed to a vehicle body along the opening and closing direction of the sliding door; and a guide module including a power transmission member that is movable in a circular manner along the opening and closing direction of the sliding door by the reduced rotation of the speed reduction mechanism and is connected to the sliding door to pull and move the sliding door in the opening and closing direction;
The motor module includes:
a casing fixed to the power transmission member guide;
a metal base plate fixed to the casing;
the motor is attached to one side of the metal base plate so that a rotation axis of the motor is perpendicular to the surface of the one side of the metal base plate;
an electromagnetic clutch that is disposed within the casing and on the other side of the metal base plate with respect to the central axis of rotation of the rotating shaft;
a first gear that is disposed within the casing and is rotatable integrally with the electromagnetic clutch about a rotational central axis of the rotary shaft;
the reduction mechanism including the first gear, the reduction mechanism being disposed within the casing;
a drive shaft capable of transmitting rotation of the reduction mechanism to the power transmission member via a drive pulley;
In a vehicle door opening and closing device having
The metal base plate includes a first metal plate to which the motor is fixed and a second metal plate to which the electromagnetic clutch is disposed, and a gap is formed between the first metal plate and the second metal plate, and the two metal plates are fixed to each other . 2. The vehicle door opening and closing device according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is covered by a cover fixed to the casing, and an air layer is formed between the cover and the motor. 3. The vehicle door opening and closing device according to claim 1 , wherein the casing is formed separately from the power transmission member guide and is fixed to the power transmission member guide via a buffer member. 4. The vehicle door opening and closing device according to claim 1 , wherein a rotational center axis of the drive shaft is oriented in a vertical direction perpendicular to a circulating direction of the power transmission member. The vehicle door opening and closing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, in a plan view, a straight line connecting the central axis of rotation of the motor and the central axis of rotation of the drive shaft is parallel to a longitudinal direction of the power transmission member guide.

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