JP7666310B2 - Vehicle door retaining device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle door retaining device that retains a vehicle door.

Conventionally, in vehicles such as minivans, situations may arise where there is not enough space at the rear of the vehicle to fully open the back door, or where the user has difficulty reaching the back door when it is in the fully open position. Therefore, to deal with such situations, there is a need for technology that allows the user to hold the back door in any intermediate position between the fully open and fully closed positions.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a holding device related to this type of technology. This holding device generally includes a rotating drum for winding up a cable, a cable with one end engaged to the rotating drum and the other end engaged to the back door, a spiral spring that biases the rotating drum in the direction of winding up the cable, and a rotation control mechanism that controls the rotation of the rotating drum.

According to this holding device, the rotation control mechanism is set to a one-way rotation state by closing the back door somewhat at any intermediate position between the fully open position and the fully closed position. This restricts the rotation of the rotating drum in the cable unwinding direction, allowing the user to hold the back door in the intermediate position. In addition, by closing the back door from the intermediate position to the fully closed position, the rotation control mechanism switches from the one-way rotation state to a non-restricted state. This allows the user to open the back door from the fully closed position.

JP 2011-46280 A

In the holding device configured as above, the rotation control mechanism is provided with a first ratchet wheel for maintaining the opening degree, a first ratchet pawl that can mesh with the ratchet teeth of the first ratchet wheel, a second ratchet wheel for the lock start mechanism, and a second ratchet pawl that can mesh with the ratchet teeth of the second ratchet wheel. This rotation control mechanism requires the use of two ratchet wheels and two ratchet pawls, which causes the problem of a complex structure.

The present invention was made in consideration of these problems, and aims to provide a technology that is effective in simplifying the structure of a vehicle door retaining device.

One aspect of the present invention is
A vehicle door holding device that holds a vehicle door at an intermediate position between a fully closed position and a fully open position,
a rotating drum rotatably provided on one of the vehicle door and the vehicle body and connected to the other of the vehicle door and the vehicle body via a cable member;
A gear provided on the rotating drum and having engaging teeth on its outer periphery;
a lock switching mechanism that switches the rotating drum between a locked state in which the rotation of the rotating drum is locked and an unlocked state in which the lock on the rotation of the rotating drum is released;
Equipped with
The lock switching mechanism includes a rotary gear that rotates in conjunction with the gear, a ratchet that can rotate between an unlocked position at which the gear is released from meshing with the engagement teeth and a locked position at which the gear is meshed with the engagement teeth, a lock link that operates to rotate the ratchet from the unlocked position to the locked position, and a torque transmission switching unit that can transmit and interrupt torque from the rotary gear to the lock link,
The lock switching mechanism is configured to hold the ratchet in the unlocked position by interrupting the torque transmitted from the rotating gear to the lock link by the torque transmission switching unit during a door opening operation for opening the vehicle door from the fully closed position toward the intermediate position, and to rotate the ratchet to the locked position by transmitting torque from the rotating gear to the lock link by the torque transmission switching unit during a door holding operation for temporarily closing the vehicle door from the intermediate position toward the fully closed position, thereby locking the rotating drum and allowing movement only in the door closing direction in this locked state.
the lock switching mechanism has a cancel lever that rotates the ratchet from the locked position to the unlocked position during a door closing operation that closes the vehicle door to the fully closed position, the rotating gear is provided with a cancel portion that can be engaged with the cancel lever, and the ratchet is provided with an engagement portion that can be engaged with the cancel lever;
is located.

In the vehicle door retaining device of the above aspect, the lock switching mechanism has a function of switching the rotating drum between a locked state and an unlocked state. This lock switching mechanism has a rotating gear that rotates in conjunction with a gear provided on the rotating drum, a ratchet that rotates to be able to mesh with the engaging teeth of the gear, a lock link that rotates the ratchet toward a locked position where it meshes with the engaging teeth of the gear, and a torque transmission switching unit that transmits and cuts off torque from the rotating gear to the lock link.

According to the lock switching mechanism, when a user opens the vehicle door from the fully closed position to the intermediate position, the torque transmitted from the rotating gear to the lock link is interrupted by the torque transmission switching unit, preventing the lock link from operating, and the ratchet is held in the unlocked position. Therefore, the rotating drum can be maintained in the unlocked state, and the user can continue to open the vehicle door. Also, when it is desired to hold the vehicle door at any intermediate position between the fully closed position and the fully open position, the vehicle door is operated to temporarily close from the intermediate position. As a result, torque is transmitted from the rotating gear to the lock link by the torque transmission switching unit, and the lock link is operated, so that the ratchet rotates toward the locked position. Therefore, the rotating drum can be switched from the unlocked state to the locked state, and the user can temporarily hold the vehicle door at any intermediate position. And, when the rotating drum is in the locked state, the movement of the vehicle door is permitted only in the door closing direction, and therefore a door opening operation that moves the vehicle door in the opposite direction is prevented.

Here, with the lock switching mechanism configured as described above, the rotating gear, lock link, and torque transmission switching unit can be used as a trigger for rotating the ratchet during the vehicle door holding operation. Therefore, in a vehicle door holding device that temporarily holds the vehicle door at any intermediate position and allows movement only in the door closing direction after holding, there is no need to use multiple ratchets or multiple rotating gears, and the number of parts can be kept small to prevent the structure from becoming complicated.

As described above, the above-mentioned aspect simplifies the structure of the vehicle door retaining device.

1 is a side view of the rear part of the vehicle body as viewed from the side, showing a state in which the back door according to the first embodiment is in an arbitrary intermediate position. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle door holding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2 . 2 is a side view showing a state in which the back door in FIG. 1 is opened from a fully closed position to a fully open position. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle door holding device in FIG. 4, corresponding to FIG. 3; FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the back door in FIG. 1 is held during a door holding operation. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle door holding device in FIG. 6, corresponding to FIG. 3; FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the back door in FIG. 1 is stopped intermediately; 9 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle door holding device in FIG. 8 corresponding to FIG. 3 . 2 is a side view showing a state in which the back door in FIG. 1 is closed from an intermediate position to a fully closed position. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle door holding device in FIG. 10, corresponding to FIG. 3;

Preferred embodiments of the above aspects are described below.

In the vehicle door holding device, it is preferable that the lock switching mechanism has a stopper that engages the lock link when the vehicle door is opened.

With this retention device, when the vehicle door is opened, the lock link is engaged by the stopper, preventing the lock link from operating. This puts the torque transmission switching unit into an overload state, blocking the torque transmitted from the rotating gear to the lock link, and allowing the rotating gear to rotate independently of the lock link. Therefore, the torque transmission switching unit can be put into an overload state by utilizing a simple structure in which the stopper engages the lock link.

In the vehicle door holding device, it is preferable that the lock switching mechanism has a cancel lever that rotates the ratchet from the locked position to the unlocked position during a door closing operation that closes the vehicle door to the fully closed position.

With this retaining device, the ratchet can be rotated from the locked position to the unlocked position by the cancel lever during the door closing operation to close the vehicle door to the fully closed position, and the rotating drum can be placed in an unlocked state. This makes it possible to prevent the rotating drum from remaining locked when the vehicle door is in the fully closed position, preventing the door opening operation to reopen the vehicle door from being blocked.

In the vehicle door retaining device, it is preferable that the rotating gear is provided with a cancel portion that can engage with the cancel lever, and the ratchet is provided with an engagement portion that can engage with the cancel lever.

This holding device makes it possible to rotate the ratchet from the locked position to the unlocked position by using the cancel lever, which engages with the cancel portion as the rotating gear rotates, to engage with the engagement portion of the ratchet.

Below, we will explain a more specific embodiment of a vehicle door retaining device that is installed between the vehicle body and the back door at the rear of the vehicle, with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings for this explanation, unless otherwise specified, the arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle and the arrow UP indicates the top of the vehicle. The first direction corresponding to the vehicle width direction is indicated by the arrow X, the second direction corresponding to the vehicle length direction is indicated by the arrow Y, and the third direction corresponding to the vehicle height direction is indicated by the arrow Z.

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1, a rear portion 2 of a vehicle body 1 is provided with a back door 6 as a vehicle door and a vehicle door holding device (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a "holding device") 10 of the first embodiment.

The back door 6 is a flip-up vehicle door that can be rotated via a pivot 7 between a fully closed position P1, an intermediate position (also called a "half-open position") P3, and a fully open position P2. The rotation of the back door 6 allows the luggage room 4 behind the last row of seats 3 to be opened or closed. The luggage room 4 is divided at its rear by the back door 6, and on both sides by left and right pillar trims 5.

The right and left ends of the tailgate 6 are connected to the rear 2 of the vehicle body 1 by known hydraulic damper stays 8. This allows the damper stays 8 to assist the user in opening and closing the tailgate 6. For example, when the user releases the tailgate 6 at the intermediate position P3, the damper stays 8 can prevent the tailgate 6 from moving under its own weight toward the fully closed position P1. The damper stays 8 can also reduce the force required by the user to flip up the tailgate 6 from the intermediate position P3 toward the fully open position P2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the retaining device 10 is attached to the vehicle body 1. The retaining device 10 has a function of retaining the back door 6 via a cable member 25 at any intermediate position P3 between the fully closed position P1 and the fully open position P2. The cable member 25 is configured as a wire rope made by combining multiple metal wires. If necessary, the wire rope can be changed to a member such as a belt or a tape measure. The retaining device 10 may be fixed directly to the frame of the vehicle body 1, or indirectly to the frame of the vehicle body 1 via an interior material.

(Structure of holding device)
2 and 3, the retaining device 10 includes a case 10a fixed to the vehicle body 1 and a cover 10b (see FIG. 3) that closes an opening of the case 10a. A plurality of components including a rotating drum 20 and a lock switching mechanism 30 are housed in the case 10a.

(Rotary drum structure)
2, the rotating drum 20 is configured as a rotating body that can rotate in a first rotation direction A1 or a second rotation direction A2 around a shaft portion 20a that is provided on the case 10a so as to extend in the first direction X. The rotating drum 20 is connected to the back door 6 by a cable member 25 that can be wound up and unwound. The rotating drum 20 has a reel portion 21, a first gear 22, and a second gear 23, all of which are coaxial and integrated. Therefore, the reel portion 21 of the rotating drum 20 rotates integrally with the first gear 22 and the second gear 23.

The reel section 21 has a winding surface for the cable member 25 on its outer circumference in the rotation directions A1 and A2, and is a section that allows the cable member 25 to be wound and unwound by the rotating drum 20 rotating about the shaft portion 20a. For this reel section 21, the first rotation direction A1 is the unwinding direction of the cable member 25, and the second rotation direction A2 is the winding direction of the cable member 25. This reel section 21 is constantly elastically biased by the spring member 24 in the second rotation direction A2, which is the winding direction of the cable member 25.

The first gear 22 is a ratchet gear provided to correspond to the ratchet 51 of the latch mechanism 50, and this first gear 22 is provided with a plurality of engagement teeth 22a around its entire circumference. Each of the plurality of engagement teeth 22a has an inclined shape that extends in a direction inclined with respect to a virtual line in the radial direction. For convenience, some of the engagement teeth 22a are omitted from FIG. 2.

The second gear 23 has a plurality of engagement teeth 23a around its entire circumference. For convenience, some of the engagement teeth 23a are omitted from FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the second gear 23 has a smaller diameter than the first gear 22.

(Structure of lock switching mechanism)
2, the lock switching mechanism 30 includes a trigger mechanism 40 and a latch mechanism 50. The lock switching mechanism 30 functions to switch the rotating drum 20 between a locked state in which the rotation of the rotating drum 20 is locked, and an unlocked state in which the lock on the rotation of the rotating drum 20 is released.

(Structure of the trigger mechanism)
The trigger mechanism 40 is configured to transmit the torque generated when the rotating drum 20 rotates to the latch mechanism 50, thereby serving as a trigger for operating the latch mechanism 50 so as to lock the rotating drum 20. The trigger mechanism 40 includes a rotating gear 41, a lock link 43, and a torque limiter 45.

The rotating gear 41 is configured as a rotating body that can rotate in a first rotation direction B1 or a second rotation direction B2 around the shaft portion 41a. For this rotating gear 41, the first rotation direction B1 is the unwinding direction of the cable member 25, and the second rotation direction B2 is the winding direction of the cable member 25. The shaft portion 41a of the rotating gear 41 extends from the case 10a in the first direction X (see FIG. 3).

The rotating gear 41 has multiple engagement teeth 41b around its entire circumference. For convenience, some of the engagement teeth 41b are omitted from FIG. 2. The multiple engagement teeth 41b mesh with multiple engagement teeth 23a of the second gear 23 of the rotating drum 20. Therefore, when the second gear 23 is used as a driving gear, the rotating gear 41 becomes a driven gear that is driven by the second gear 23. Therefore, the rotating gear 41 rotates in conjunction with the first gear 22 that rotates integrally with the rotating drum 20 when the rotating drum 20 rotates.

The rotating gear 41 is provided with a cancel pin 42 as a cancel part extending from one side in the first direction X. The circumferential position of the cancel pin 42 changes with the rotation of the rotating gear 41, and this allows it to engage with a cancel lever 57, which will be described later.

The lock link 43 is for setting the rotating drum 20 in a locked state, and operates to rotate the ratchet 51, described below, from the unlocked position to the locked position. The lock link 43 has a shaft portion 45a concentric with the shaft portion 41a of the rotating gear 41, and is configured as a link member that can rotate in the first rotation direction B1 or the second rotation direction B2 around the shaft portion 45a. The lock link 43 has an extension extending from the shaft portion 45a radially outward of the rotating gear 41, and is provided with an engagement pin 44 at its extending tip. The lock link 43 is also connected to the rotating gear 41 via a torque limiter 45.

The torque limiter 45 is configured as a torque transmission switching unit that can transmit and cut off torque from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43. According to this torque limiter 45, torque is transmitted from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43 in a low load state, but the torque transmitted from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43 is cut off in an overload state. That is, when the torque acting on the rotating gear 41 in the first rotation direction B1 or the second rotation direction B2 falls below a reference value, the rotating gear 41 and the lock link 43 rotate together. In contrast, when the torque exceeds the reference value, the rotating gear 41 and the lock link 43 become capable of relative rotation according to the function of the torque limiter 45.

The structure of the torque limiter 45 is not particularly limited, but as an example, a rotary oil damper of known structure having a rotor as a rotating body and a stator that houses the rotor so that it can rotate freely via oil can be used. For the specific structure of this oil damper, reference can be made to the structure of the rotary oil damper disclosed in JP 2001-234962 A, for example.

In addition, as an alternative example of the torque limiter 45 structure to the above-mentioned rotary oil damper, known overload protection structures can be appropriately used, such as a spring-type structure using a coil spring, a structure in which a ball member interposed between the first and second gears disengages in the event of an overload, or a structure in which the first and second gears are separated by controlling an electromagnetic clutch in the event of an overload.

The lock link 43 is prevented from rotating in the second rotation direction B2 by a stopper 10c. The stopper 10c extends from the cover 10b in the first direction X (see Figure 3).

(Structure of the latch mechanism)
2, the latch mechanism 50 has a function of setting either a locked state that locks the rotation of the rotating drum 20 or an unlocked state that allows the rotation of the rotating drum 20. The latch mechanism 50 includes a ratchet 51, a torsion spring 56 connected to the ratchet 51, and a cancel lever 57.

The ratchet 51 is provided adjacent to a position facing the rotating drum 20 in the second direction Y. The ratchet 51 is configured to be rotatable in the lock direction C1 or the unlock direction C2 around the shaft portion 51a between an unlock position (a position corresponding to the "unlock position R1" described below) and a lock position where the ratchet 51 meshes with the engaging teeth 22a (a position corresponding to the "lock position R2" described below). The shaft portion 51a of the ratchet 51 extends from the case 10a in the first direction X (see FIG. 3).

The ratchet 51 has a locking claw 52, a first engagement arm 53, and a second engagement arm 54.

The locking pawl 52 is provided on the ratchet 51 so that it can engage with multiple engagement teeth 22a of the first gear 22 of the rotating drum 20. When the locking pawl 52 engages with the engagement teeth 22a, the rotation of the rotating drum 20 is locked, resulting in a locked state. On the other hand, when the locking pawl 52 does not engage with the engagement teeth 22a, the rotation of the rotating drum 20 is released, resulting in an unlocked state.

The locking claw 52 is configured to be elastically biased in either the locking direction C1 or the unlocking direction C2 by the torsion spring 56. At this time, the direction of the elastic bias that the locking claw 52 receives from the torsion spring 56 is switched depending on the positional relationship between the other end 56b of the torsion spring 56 and the imaginary line L extending in the third direction Z.

The torsion spring 56 is a spring member with one end 56a attached to the case 10a and the other end 56b attached to the locking claw 52. When the one end 56a of the torsion spring 56 is set as a fixed point, the imaginary line L is a straight line connecting the one end 56a, which is the fixed point, and the shaft portion 51a of the ratchet 51.

The ratchet 51 is positioned in the middle position when one end 56a of the torsion spring 56 is on the imaginary line L. When the other end 56b of the torsion spring 56 is in the lock region D2 to the right of the imaginary line L in FIG. 2, the locking claw 52 of the ratchet 51 receives an elastic load in the lock direction C1 from the torsion spring 46. As a result, the locking claw 52 engages with the engagement tooth 22a and the rotating drum 20 is in a locked state. In contrast, when the other end 56b of the torsion spring 56 is in the unlock region D1 to the left of the imaginary line L in FIG. 2, the locking claw 52 of the ratchet 51 receives an elastic load in the unlock direction C2 from the torsion spring 56. As a result, the locking claw 52 does not engage with the engagement tooth 22a and the rotating drum 20 is in an unlocked state.

The first engagement arm 53 of the ratchet 51 is configured to be able to engage with the engagement pin 44 of the lock link 43. When the lock link 43 rotates around the shaft portion 45a in the first rotation direction B2 and the engagement pin 44 of the lock link 43 engages with the first engagement arm 53, the ratchet 51 can be rotated in the lock direction C1 around the shaft portion 51a.

The second engagement arm 54 of the ratchet 51 is provided with an engagement pin 55 that is an engagement portion that can engage with a cancel lever 57 described below. When the cancel lever 57 engages with the engagement pin 55 of the second engagement arm 54, the ratchet 51 can be rotated in the unlocking direction C2 around the shaft portion 51a. Therefore, the cancel lever 57 has the function of rotating the ratchet 51 from a locking position R2 described below to an unlocking position R1 during a door closing operation that closes the back door 6 to the fully closed position P1.

In this way, both the first engagement arm 53 and the second engagement arm 54 are used to drive the ratchet 51. At this time, both the lock link 43 and the cancel lever 57 act as triggers for driving the ratchet 51.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cancel lever 57 is provided between the lock link 43 and the ratchet 51 in the third direction Z. This cancel lever 57 has a first engagement arm 58 and a second engagement arm 59, and is configured to be rotatable about the shaft portion 57a. The shaft portion 57a of this cancel lever 57 extends from the case 10a in the first direction X (see FIG. 3).

The first engagement arm 58 is configured to be able to engage with the engagement pin 55 provided on the second engagement arm 54 of the ratchet 51 when the cancel lever 57 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2 around the shaft portion 57a. The clockwise rotation of the first engagement arm 58 at this time is caused by the second engagement arm 59 of the cancel lever 57 receiving a pressing load from the cancel pin 42 provided on the rotating gear 41 when the rotating gear 41 rotates in the first rotation direction B2.

Note that while Figures 2 and 3 show the specific shapes and layouts of the multiple elements that make up the holding device 10, the shapes and layouts of these multiple elements are merely illustrative and can be changed as necessary.

Next, the operation of the holding device 10 configured as described above when the back door 6 is opened and closed will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 4 to 11.

(Door opening operation)
4 shows a state in which a user grasps the back door 6 with his/her fingers and opens it from the fully closed position P1 to the intermediate position P3 (see FIG. 1). At this time, the opening operation of the back door 6 is assisted by the damper stay 8, and the cable member 25 is pulled out from the rotating drum 20 of the holding device 10 in response to the movement of the back door 6.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rotating drum 20 of the holding device 10 rotates in a first rotation direction A1 around the shaft portion 20a in conjunction with the opening operation of the back door 6, while unwinding the cable member 25 against the elastic force of the spring member 24. In addition, in conjunction with the movement of the rotating drum 20 at this time, the rotating gear 41 rotates in a first rotation direction B1 around the shaft portion 41a.

At this time, the lock link 43 attempts to rotate integrally with the rotating gear 41, but is prevented from rotating by engaging with the stopper 10c, resulting in a stopped state. That is, when the back door 6 is opened, the stopper 10c engages with the lock link 43 as the rotating gear 41 rotates, thereby preventing the lock link 43 from operating. Then, since the rotating gear 41 attempts to rotate in the first rotation direction B1 relative to the stopped lock link 43, resulting in an overload state, the transmission of torque from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43 is blocked by the torque limiter 45. This releases the linkage between the lock link 43 and the rotating drum 20.

In this way, when the back door 6 is opened from the fully closed position P1 toward the intermediate position P3, the torque limiter 45 blocks the torque transmitted from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43, preventing the lock link 43 from operating, thereby holding the ratchet 51 in the unlocked position. As a result, the user is allowed to continue the door-opening operation of the back door 6 up to any intermediate position P3.

(Door holding operation)
6 shows a state in which a user performs a door holding operation to stop the movement of the back door 6 in the middle of the door opening operation of the back door 6. When performing this door holding operation, the user first temporarily stops the door opening operation of the back door 6 at any intermediate position P3. Then, the user performs a door closing operation to push the back door 6 back toward an intermediate position P3', which is a position slightly moved toward the door closing side from the intermediate position P3, against the assist force of the damper stay 8. At this time, the cable member 25 is slightly pulled back from the rotating drum 20 of the holding device 10 in accordance with the movement of the back door 6.

As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating drum 20 of the holding device 10 rotates in the second rotation direction A2 around the shaft portion 20a in conjunction with the closing operation of the back door 6, while rewinding the cable member 25 according to the elastic force of the spring member 24. In addition, in conjunction with the movement of the rotating drum 20 at this time, the rotating gear 41 rotates in the second rotation direction B2 around the shaft portion 41a.

The lock link 43 rotates integrally with the rotating gear 41 in the second rotation direction B2, and is therefore disengaged from the stopper 10c. Therefore, the torque limiter 45 does not block the transmission of torque from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43. At this time, the lock link 43 rotates from the first position Q1 (see the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7) to the second position Q2 (see the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 7) in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating gear 41 in the second rotation direction B2.

The first engagement arm 53 of the ratchet 51 engages with the engagement pin 44 of the lock link 43 at the first position P1. The first engagement arm 53 is pressed against the elastic force of the torsion spring 56 as the lock link 43 rotates from the first position Q1 to the second position Q2. As a result, the ratchet 51 rotates in the lock direction C1 around the shaft 51a from the unlocked position R1 (see the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7) to the locked position R2 (see the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 7) in conjunction with the lock link 43 rotating from the first position Q1 to the second position Q2.

In this way, during the door holding operation to temporarily close the back door 6 from the intermediate position P3 toward the fully closed position P1, the torque limiter 45 transmits torque from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43, thereby allowing the ratchet 51 to rotate toward the lock position R2, which is the lock position.

When the ratchet 51 rotates in the locking direction C1 towards the locked position R2, the other end 56b of the torsion spring 56 moves from the unlocked region D1 (see FIG. 2) across the imaginary line L to the locked region D2 (see FIG. 2), and receives an elastic force from the torsion spring 56 in the locking direction C1. Therefore, the ratchet 51 rotates quickly to the locked position R2 where the locking claw 52 engages with the engagement tooth 22a. As a result, the rotating drum 20 is locked, and the user can temporarily hold the back door 6 at the intermediate position P3' by using a simple operation of moving the back door 6 from the intermediate position P3 to the intermediate position P3' with one push.

From the above, the first position Q1 of the lock link 43 and the unlocked position R1 of the ratchet 51 are both positions for putting the rotating drum 20 in an unlocked state. In contrast, the second position Q2 of the lock link 43 and the locked position R2 of the ratchet 51 are both positions for putting the rotating drum 20 in a locked state.

(Operation during intermediate stop)
8 shows an intermediate stop state in which the back door 6 is temporarily held at the intermediate position P3'. In this intermediate stop state, the back door 6 is permitted to be closed, but is prevented from being opened.

In the holding device 10 shown in FIG. 9, when the rotating drum 20 rotates in the second rotation direction A2 around the shaft portion 20a in conjunction with the closing operation of the back door 6, the locking claw 52 of the ratchet 51 moves to pass over the multiple engagement teeth 22a on the rotating drum 20 in order, thereby allowing the rotating drum 20 to rotate in the second rotation direction A2. This is because, as described above, all of the multiple engagement teeth 22a have an inclined shape.

When the locking claw 52 overcomes one engagement tooth 22a against the elastic force of the torsion spring 56, the ratchet 51 temporarily rotates slightly in the unlocking direction C2, and then rotates in the locking direction C1 to engage with another engagement tooth 22a. The ratchet 51 repeats this movement while the back door 6 continues to close. Therefore, the back door 6 is only allowed to move in the door closing direction when it is stopped midway. If the user wishes to stop the back door 6 from closing midway, they can simply perform the door holding operation described above.

In the holding device 10 shown in FIG. 9, even if the rotating drum 20 attempts to rotate in the first rotation direction A1 around the shaft 20a in conjunction with the door-opening operation of the back door 6, the engagement between the locking claw 52 of the ratchet 51 and the engaging teeth 22a on the rotating drum 20 side is not released. In addition, because the ratchet 51 is in the locked position R2, the lock link 43 cannot engage with the ratchet 51 and is in a state where it does not interfere with the ratchet 51 even when it rotates, a so-called "striking state." As a result, the locked state of the rotating drum 20 is maintained, and the back door 6 is prevented from moving in the door-opening direction when it is stopped midway.

As described above, the holding device 10 of this embodiment has a structure that allows the back door 6 to move only in one direction, that is, the door closing direction, after temporarily holding the back door 6 at any intermediate position P3', a so-called "one-way structure." Therefore, the holding device 10 has the advantage that when the back door 6 held at any intermediate position P3' receives an external force such as wind, the rotating drum 20 switches from a locked state to an unlocked state, preventing the back door 6 from opening in the door opening direction.

(Door closing operation)
10 shows a state in which a user grasps the back door 6 with his/her fingers and closes it from the intermediate position P3' to the fully closed position P1. At this time, the cable member 25 is pulled back to the rotating drum 20 of the holding device 10 in accordance with the movement of the back door 6.

As shown in FIG. 11, the rotating drum 20 of the holding device 10 rotates in the second rotation direction A2 around the shaft portion 20a in conjunction with the closing operation of the back door 6, while rewinding the cable member 25 according to the elastic force of the spring member 24. In addition, in conjunction with the movement of the rotating drum 20 at this time, the rotating gear 41 rotates in the second rotation direction B2 around the shaft portion 41a.

Here, the cancel pin 42 of the rotating gear 41 is arranged so as to interfere with the second engagement arm 59 of the cancel lever 57 just before the back door 6 reaches the fully closed position P1. At this time, the first engagement arm 58 of the cancel lever 57 engages with the engagement pin 55 provided on the second engagement arm 54 of the ratchet 51. Then, as the rotating gear 41 continues to rotate in the second rotation direction B2 until the back door 6 reaches the fully closed position P1, the ratchet 51 rotates in the unlock direction C2 via the cancel lever 57 and returns to the unlock position R1. As a result, the engagement between the locking claw 52 of the ratchet 51 and the engagement tooth 22a on the rotating drum 20 side is released, and the rotating drum 20 becomes unlocked.

In this way, the ratchet 51 rotates from the locked position R2 to the unlocked position R1 by utilizing the fact that the cancel lever 57, which is engaged with the cancel pin 42 as the rotating gear 41 rotates, engages with the engagement pin 55 of the ratchet 51.

In addition, when the other end 56b of the torsion spring 56 moves from the locked region D2 (see FIG. 2) across the imaginary line L to the unlocked region D1 (see FIG. 2), the ratchet 51 receives an elastic biasing force from the torsion spring 56 in the unlocked direction C2. This keeps the ratchet 51 in the unlocked position R1, and the rotating drum 20 in the unlocked state. As a result, the back door 6, which is in the fully closed position P1, becomes available for the next door opening operation.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment 1, the following effects can be obtained:

In the above-mentioned holding device 10, the lock switching mechanism 30 has a function of switching the rotating drum 20 between a locked state and an unlocked state. This lock switching mechanism 30 has a rotating gear 41 that rotates in conjunction with a gear 22 provided on the rotating drum 20, a ratchet 51 that rotates to be able to mesh with the engagement teeth 22a of the gear 22, a lock link 43 that rotates the ratchet 51 toward a locked position where it meshes with the engagement teeth 22a of the gear 22, and a torque limiter 45 that transmits and blocks torque from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43.

In the lock switching mechanism 30, when the user opens the back door 6 from the fully closed position P1 to the intermediate position P2, the torque transmitted from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43 is blocked by the torque limiter 45, preventing the lock link 43 from operating, and the ratchet 51 is held in the unlocked position R1. Therefore, the rotating drum 20 can be maintained in the unlocked state, and the user can continue to open the back door 6.

When the lock switching mechanism 30 is used to hold the back door 6 at any intermediate position P3' between the fully closed position P1 and the fully open position P2, the back door 6 is operated to temporarily close from the intermediate position P3. This causes torque to be transmitted from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43 by the torque limiter 45, activating the lock link 43, causing the ratchet 51 to rotate toward the lock position R2. This allows the rotating drum 20 to be switched from an unlocked state to a locked state, allowing the user to temporarily hold the back door 6 at any intermediate position P3'. With the rotating drum 20 in the locked state, only movement of the back door 6 in the door closing direction is permitted, preventing a door-opening operation that moves the back door 6 in the opposite direction.

Here, with the lock switching mechanism 30 configured as above, the rotating gear 41, the lock link 43, and the torque limiter 45 can be used as a trigger for rotating the ratchet 51 during the door holding operation of the back door 6. Therefore, in the holding device 10 having a one-way structure that temporarily holds the back door 6 at any intermediate position P3' and allows movement only in the door closing direction after holding, there is no need to use multiple ratchets or multiple rotating gears, and the number of parts can be kept small to prevent the structure from becoming complicated.

Therefore, according to the above-mentioned embodiment 1, the structure of the vehicle door retaining device 10 can be simplified.

According to the lock switching mechanism 30 configured as described above, when the back door 6 is opened, the lock link 43 is locked by the stopper 10c, preventing the lock link 43 from operating. This puts the torque limiter 45 into an overload state, blocking the torque transmitted from the rotating gear 41 to the lock link 43, and allowing the rotating gear 41 to rotate independently of the lock link 43. Therefore, the torque limiter 45 can be put into an overload state by utilizing the simple structure in which the stopper 10c locks the lock link 43.

The lock switching mechanism 30 configured as described above allows the ratchet 51 to be rotated from the locked position R2 to the unlocked position R2 by the cancel lever 57 during the door closing operation to close the back door 6 to the fully closed position P1, and the rotating drum 20 can be set to an unlocked state. This makes it possible to prevent the rotating drum 20 from remaining in a locked state when the back door 6 is in the fully closed position P1, preventing the door opening operation to reopen the back door 6 from being blocked.

The lock switching mechanism 30 configured as above allows the ratchet 51 to rotate from the locked position R2 to the unlocked position R1 by utilizing the fact that the cancel lever 57, which is engaged with the cancel pin 42 as the rotating gear 41 rotates, engages with the engagement pin 55 of the ratchet 51.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various applications and modifications are possible without departing from the purpose of the present invention. For example, the following forms can be implemented by applying the above-described embodiment.

In the above embodiment, a cancel structure is exemplified in which the rotation of the rotating gear 41 is used to operate the cancel lever 57 to move the ratchet 51 from the locked position R2 to the unlocked position R1. However, instead of this, a cancel structure that uses a mechanical cancel lever that can be operated by the user independently of the rotation of the rotating gear 41 to move the ratchet 51 to the unlocked position R1, or a cancel structure that uses an actuator that operates in response to a user's operation to move the ratchet 51 to the unlocked position R1, etc., can also be appropriately adopted.

In the above embodiment, the holding device 10 is attached to the vehicle body 1, and one end 11a of the cable member 25 is engaged with the back door 6. Alternatively, a structure in which the holding device 10 is attached to the back door 6, and one end 11a of the cable member 25 is engaged with the vehicle body 1 can be adopted.

In the above embodiment, the retaining device 10 for a back door is exemplified, but the structure of the retaining device 10 can also be applied to other doors for a vehicle, such as a glass hatch that can be opened and closed and attached to a back door, a tilt-up sunroof that can be opened and closed and attached to the ceiling panel of the vehicle body 1, and a bonnet that can be opened and closed and attached to the front part of the vehicle body 1.

1. Vehicle body 6. Back door (vehicle door)
10 Vehicle door retaining device (retaining device)
10c stopper 20 rotating drum 22 first gear (gear)
22a Engagement teeth 25 Cable member 30 Lock switching mechanism 41 Rotary gear 42 Cancel pin (cancel portion)
43 Lock link 45 Torque limiter (torque transmission switching part)
51 Ratchet 55 Engagement pin (second engagement portion)
57 Cancel lever P1 Fully closed position P2 Fully open position P3, P3' Intermediate position R1 Unlocked position R2 Locked position

Claims (2)

A vehicle door holding device that holds a vehicle door at an intermediate position between a fully closed position and a fully open position,
a rotating drum rotatably provided on one of the vehicle door and the vehicle body and connected to the other of the vehicle door and the vehicle body via a cable member;
A gear provided on the rotating drum and having engaging teeth on its outer periphery;
a lock switching mechanism that switches the rotating drum between a locked state in which the rotation of the rotating drum is locked and an unlocked state in which the lock on the rotation of the rotating drum is released;
Equipped with
The lock switching mechanism includes a rotary gear that rotates in conjunction with the gear, a ratchet that can rotate between an unlocked position at which the gear is released from meshing with the engagement teeth and a locked position at which the gear is meshed with the engagement teeth, a lock link that operates to rotate the ratchet from the unlocked position to the locked position, and a torque transmission switching unit that can transmit and interrupt torque from the rotary gear to the lock link,
The lock switching mechanism is configured to hold the ratchet in the unlocked position by interrupting the torque transmitted from the rotating gear to the lock link by the torque transmission switching unit during a door opening operation for opening the vehicle door from the fully closed position toward the intermediate position, and to rotate the ratchet to the locked position by transmitting torque from the rotating gear to the lock link by the torque transmission switching unit during a door holding operation for temporarily closing the vehicle door from the intermediate position toward the fully closed position, thereby locking the rotating drum and allowing movement only in the door closing direction in this locked state.
The lock switching mechanism has a cancel lever that rotates the ratchet from the locked position to the unlocked position during a door closing operation that closes the vehicle door to the fully closed position, the rotating gear is provided with a cancel portion that can engage with the cancel lever, and the ratchet is provided with an engagement portion that can engage with the cancel lever . The vehicle door retaining device according to claim 1, wherein the lock switching mechanism has a stopper that engages the lock link when the vehicle door is opened.

Images