JP7803754B2 - Door rail mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a door rail used to open and close a vehicle sliding door.

Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a mounting member (nut plate). The mounting member has multiple holes. Furthermore, multiple nuts are joined to the mounting member in positions corresponding to the multiple holes. The mounting member is supported by spot welding to a vehicle body member such as an outer panel. The mounting member is used, for example, to mount a door rail for a vehicle's sliding door. By using this mounting member, there is no need for equipment to hold multiple nuts on the vehicle body member. This makes it easy to mount the door rail.

When a vehicle's sliding door is opened or closed, vibrations are transmitted from the sliding door to the door rail as the door slides. If the natural frequency of the mounting member disclosed in Patent Document 1 roughly matches the frequency of the vibrations transmitted to the door rail, the mounting member will resonate with the vibrations. This increases the noise generated in the vehicle body as the sliding door opens and closes. Therefore, measures to reduce this noise are desirable.

JP 2012-11885 A

The objective of this invention is to provide a door rail mounting structure that ensures ease of door rail installation while reducing noise generated in the vehicle body when a sliding door is opened and closed.

The door rail mounting structure provided by the present invention comprises a vehicle body member, a mounting member supported by the vehicle body member, and a door rail located on the opposite side of the vehicle body member from the mounting member and supported by the mounting member. The mounting member has a first surface facing the vehicle body member and a second surface facing the opposite side from the first surface. The vehicle body member is provided with two insertion holes that penetrate in the normal direction of the first surface. The mounting member has two first support parts that respectively face the two insertion holes and support the door rail. The mounting member is provided with a plurality of recesses recessed from either the first surface or the second surface, and at least one of the plurality of recesses is located between the two first support parts.

The door rail mounting structure of the present invention ensures ease of door rail mounting while reducing noise generated in the vehicle body when the sliding door is opened and closed.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

1 is a front view of a door rail mounting structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a front view of a mounting member provided in the door rail mounting structure shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a door rail mounting structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a mounting member provided in the door rail mounting structure shown in FIG. 8.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment
1 to 7, a door rail mounting structure (hereinafter referred to as "mounting structure A10") according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The mounting structure A10 is applied to a vehicle equipped with a sliding door. The mounting structure A10 includes a vehicle body member 10, a mounting member 20, and a door rail 30.

Furthermore, for ease of explanation, in these figures, upr refers to the upper direction of the vehicle, dwn refers to the lower direction of the vehicle, fr refers to the forward direction of the vehicle, rr refers to the rearward direction of the vehicle, rh refers to the rightward direction of the vehicle, and lh refers to the leftward direction of the vehicle. In the following explanation, unless otherwise specified, up and down refers to the up and down in the vertical direction of the vehicle, and unless otherwise specified, front and rear refers to the front and rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Furthermore, the rightward direction of the vehicle and the leftward direction of the vehicle are included in the vehicle width direction.

The vehicle body member 10 forms part of the vehicle. In the mounting structure A10, the vehicle body member 10 is a side outer panel located at the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle body member 10 is exposed to the outside. As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the vehicle body member 10 has a plurality of insertion holes 11. The plurality of insertion holes 11 penetrate the vehicle body member 10 in a normal direction to a first surface 21 of the mounting member 20, which will be described later. In the mounting structure A10, this normal direction corresponds to the vehicle width direction. The plurality of insertion holes 11 are arranged along the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

As shown in Figure 6, the mounting member 20 is supported by the vehicle body member 10. The mounting member 20 is located on the passenger compartment side in the vehicle width direction, relative to the vehicle body member 10. As shown in Figure 1, the mounting member 20 extends in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the mounting member 20 has a first surface 21, a second surface 22, a plurality of first support portions 23, a plurality of second support portions 24, and a plurality of nuts 26. The mounting member 20, excluding the plurality of nuts 26, is formed by pressing a thin plate.

As shown in Figures 5 to 7, the first surface 21 faces the vehicle width direction and faces the vehicle body member 10. The second surface 22 faces the opposite side from the first surface 21. Therefore, the second surface 22 faces toward the passenger compartment in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the multiple first support portions 23 individually face the multiple insertion holes 11 of the vehicle body member 10. The multiple first support portions 23 support the door rail 30 via multiple fastening members 40. The multiple fastening members 40 are bolts.

As shown in FIG. 4, the multiple first support portions 23 protrude from the first surface 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the multiple first support portions 23 are surrounded by the first surface 21 when viewed in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, each of the multiple first support portions 23 has a first mounting hole 231. The first mounting hole 231 penetrates the mounting member 20 in the vehicle width direction. When viewed in the vehicle width direction, the first mounting holes 231 of the multiple first support portions 23 individually overlap with the multiple insertion holes 11 of the vehicle body member 10.

As shown in Figures 1 and 6, the multiple second support portions 24 face the vehicle body member 10. In the mounting structure A10, each of the multiple second support portions 24 is located between two adjacent first support portions 23 among the multiple first support portions 23. The multiple second support portions 24 are supported on the vehicle body member 10 by spot welding. As shown in Figure 4, the multiple second support portions 24 protrude from the first surface 21. As shown in Figure 2, the multiple second support portions 24 are surrounded by the first surface 21 when viewed in the vehicle width direction.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the multiple nuts 26 are individually joined to the multiple first support portions 23 by welding. Each of the multiple nuts 26 is located on the side of one of the multiple first support portions 23 on which the second surface 22 faces in the vehicle width direction. When viewed in the vehicle width direction, the multiple nuts 26 individually overlap the first mounting holes 231 of the multiple first support portions 23.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the mounting member 20 has a plurality of recesses 25. The recesses 25 are recessed from either the first surface 21 or the second surface 22. In the mounting structure A10, the recesses 25 are recessed from the first surface 21. The recesses 25 are formed by embossing.

As shown in FIG. 2, at least one of the multiple recesses 25 is located between two adjacent first support portions 23 among the multiple first support portions 23. Furthermore, at least one of the multiple recesses 25 is also located between one of the multiple first support portions 23 and one of the multiple second support portions 24 located adjacent thereto. The multiple recesses 25 are spaced apart from the multiple first support portions 23 and the multiple second support portions 24.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the multiple recesses 25 is hexagonal when viewed in the vehicle width direction. Alternatively, each of the multiple recesses 25 may be rectangular when viewed in the vehicle width direction. The pitch p of the multiple recesses 25 in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction is the same. When viewed in the vehicle width direction, the distance d from the outer periphery of two adjacent recesses 25 among the multiple recesses 25 is uniform.

As shown in Figures 5 to 7, the door rail 30 is located on the opposite side of the mounting member 20 from the vehicle body member 10 in the vehicle width direction. The door rail 30 is located rearward of the vehicle body opening that is covered by the sliding door. The door rail 30 is exposed to the outside. As shown in Figure 1, the mounting member 20 extends in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the door rail 30 has a plurality of second mounting holes 31. The plurality of second mounting holes 31 penetrate the door rail 30 in the vehicle width direction. The positions of the plurality of second mounting holes 31 correspond to the positions of the first mounting holes 231 of the plurality of first support portions 23 of the mounting member 20. Each of the plurality of fastening members 40 is connected to one of the plurality of second mounting holes 31, one of the plurality of insertion holes 11 of the vehicle body member 10, and one of the plurality of first support portions 23, and is fastened to one of the plurality of nuts 26. In this way, the door rail 30 is supported by the mounting member 20.

As shown in FIG. 5 , a portion of each of the multiple fastening members 40 is housed in the door rail 30. When the sliding door is opened or closed, a drive wheel 52 and a guide wheel 53 supported by a door hinge 51 rotate along the inner surface of the door rail 30. The door hinge 51 is attached to the sliding door. The drive wheel 52 is rotatable in the vehicle width direction. The guide wheel 53 is located higher on the vehicle than the drive wheel 52 and is rotatable in the vehicle up-down direction. This allows the sliding door to slide in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle via the door rail 30.

Next, we will explain the effects of mounting structure A10.

The mounting structure A10 includes a vehicle body member 10, a mounting member 20, and a door rail 30. The mounting member 20 faces the two insertion holes 11 of the vehicle body member 10, respectively, and has two first support portions 23 that support the door rail 30. The mounting member 20 has multiple recesses 25 recessed from either the first surface 21 or the second surface 22. At least one of the multiple recesses 25 is located between the two first support portions 23. With this configuration, the portion of the mounting member 20 sandwiched between the two first support portions 23 can be considered a beam with each of the two first support portions 23 as a fixed end. The moment of inertia of the beam about a direction perpendicular to the normal direction of the first surface 21 increases. This increases the bending rigidity of the beam, thereby increasing the natural frequency of the mounting member 20 relative to the frequency of vibrations transmitted from the sliding door to the door rail 30 as the sliding door slides. Therefore, the mounting member 20 is less likely to resonate with vibrations transmitted from the sliding door to the door rail 30. As a result, the mounting structure A10 ensures ease of mounting the door rail 30 while reducing noise generated in the vehicle body when the sliding door is opened and closed.

When viewed in the normal direction of the first surface 21 of the mounting member 20, each of the multiple recesses 25 is hexagonal. This configuration makes the second moment of area around a direction perpendicular to the normal direction more uniform. This makes the distribution of bending rigidity of the mounting member 20 more uniform in the in-plane direction of the first surface 21. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 3, when viewed in the normal direction, the distance d from the outer periphery of two adjacent recesses 25 out of the multiple recesses 25 is uniform. This further enhances the vibration damping effect of the mounting member 20 in the in-plane direction of the first surface 21.

As shown in Figure 4, by configuring the multiple recesses 25 to be recessed from the first surface 21 and the multiple second support portions 24 to protrude from the first surface 21, it is possible to prevent the multiple recesses 25 from interfering with the vehicle body member 10 when the mounting member 20 is supported on the vehicle body member 10.

Second Embodiment
A door rail mounting structure according to a second embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "mounting structure A20") will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. In these figures, elements that are the same as or similar to those in the mounting structure A10 described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. The cross-sectional position in Figure 8 is the same as the cross-sectional position in Figure 5, which shows the mounting structure A10. The cross-sectional position in Figure 9 is the same as the cross-sectional position in Figure 4, which shows the mounting structure A10.

In mounting structure A20, the configuration of the mounting member 20 differs from that of mounting structure A10.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the mounting member 20 has a plurality of studs 27 instead of a plurality of nuts 26. The multiple studs 27 are individually joined to the multiple first support portions 23 by welding. Each of the multiple studs 27 is located on the side of one of the multiple first support portions 23 where the first surface 21 faces in the vehicle width direction. Each of the multiple studs 27 protrudes in the vehicle width direction from one of the multiple first support portions 23 and is inserted into one of the multiple insertion holes 11 in the vehicle body member 10. This eliminates the need to provide a first mounting hole 231 in each of the multiple first support portions 23.

As shown in Figure 8, when supporting the door rail 30 on the mounting member 20, multiple studs 27 are individually inserted into multiple second mounting holes 31 in the door rail 30, and then multiple fastening members 40 are individually fastened to the multiple studs 27. The multiple fastening members 40 are nuts.

Next, we will explain the effects of mounting structure A20.

The mounting structure A20 comprises a vehicle body member 10, a mounting member 20, and a door rail 30. The mounting member 20 faces the two insertion holes 11 of the vehicle body member 10, respectively, and has two first support portions 23 that support the door rail 30. The mounting member 20 has multiple recesses 25 recessed from either the first surface 21 or the second surface 22. At least one of the multiple recesses 25 is located between the two first support portions 23. This configuration ensures ease of mounting the door rail 30, while also reducing noise generated in the vehicle body when the sliding door is opened and closed, even with the mounting structure A20.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the present invention can be freely designed and modified in various ways.

A10, A20: Mounting structure 10: Vehicle body member 11: Insertion hole 20: Mounting member 21: First surface 22: Second surface 23: First support portion 231: First mounting hole 24: Second support portion 25: Recess 26: Nut 27: Stud 30: Door rail 31: Second mounting hole 40: Fastening member 51: Door hinge 52: Drive wheel 53: Guide wheel p: Pitch d: Separation

Claims (3)

A body member;
a mounting member supported by the vehicle body member;
a door rail located on the opposite side of the mounting member relative to the vehicle body member and supported by the mounting member,
The mounting member has a first surface facing the vehicle body member and a second surface facing the opposite side to the first surface,
The vehicle body member is provided with two insertion holes penetrating in a normal direction of the first surface,
the mounting member has two first support portions that respectively face the two insertion holes and support the door rail,
the mounting member is provided with a plurality of recesses recessed from either the first surface or the second surface,
At least one of the plurality of recesses is located between the two first support portions,
A door rail mounting structure, wherein in a direction in which the vehicle body member and the mounting member face each other, the distance between each of the two first support portions and the vehicle body member is shorter than the distance between each of the multiple recesses and the vehicle body member . The door rail mounting structure according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of recesses is recessed from the first surface. 3. The door rail mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of recesses is hexagonal when viewed in a direction in which the vehicle body member and the mounting member face each other.