Patent Application
20150322700
The present invention relates to a fixing device for vehicle doors.
A conventional fixing device for vehicle doors includes two shim members, which are arranged on a vehicle body panel and a door panel such that an inclined surface of one of the shim members comes into contact with a corresponding inclined surface of the other one of the shim members when the vehicle door is closed. The fixing device is adapted to urge and press one of the shim members (a movable shim) against the other one of the shim members (a fixed shim). See, for example, Patent Document 1.
That is, using the force by which the shim members are pressed against each other, the vehicle door in the closed state is pressed in a direction crossing the opening and closing direction of the vehicle door, or, for example, against the hinge portion, which is the motion pivot of the door. In this manner, backlash of the vehicle door is restrained through a simple configuration.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-149502
However, vehicle body panels and door panels are shaped differently from one type of vehicles to another. For example, typically, smaller vehicles have doors with smaller thicknesses. To widen the usability of a vehicle door fixing device such that the device can be used in such smaller vehicles, areas necessary for installing shim members must be reduced in size. The areas must be reduced in size particularly in directions in which the shim members are moved relative to each other when the vehicle door is opened or closed. In this regard, further improvement of vehicle door fixing devices has been desired.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a widely usable fixing device for vehicle doors that requires relatively small areas for installing shim members.
To achieve the foregoing objective and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a fixing device for vehicle doors is provided that includes a door lock striker adapted to be arranged on a first panel that is one of a vehicle body panel and a door panel, a fixed shim, and a movable shim. The fixed shim is adapted to be fixed to a second panel that is the other one of the vehicle body panel and the door panel. The fixed shim has two inclined surfaces that are movable relative to the door lock striker on opposite sides of the door lock striker. The movable shim is adapted to be arranged on the first panel. The movable shim has two inclined surfaces arranged on opposite sides of the door lock striker, and the inclined surfaces are urged to be pressed against the inclined surfaces of the fixed shim. The door lock striker includes a leg portion projected from a panel surface of the first panel. The movable shim includes two shim bodies configuring the two inclined surfaces of the movable shim and a connecting portion that connects the shim bodies together at rear end portions of the shim bodies that are pressed against the fixed shim and moved rearward. The connecting portion has an arched shape protruding in a direction in which the leg portion is projected.
The connecting portion connects the two shim bodies together at the rear end portions of the shim bodies. The connecting portion is moved forward or rearward in the front-rear direction integrally with the shim bodies at a position rearward of the leg portion of the door lock striker, which is projected from one of the panel surfaces. In many cases, the basal end portion of each leg portion of the door lock striker includes protruding portions such as a fixing portion of the leg portion and a guide portion of the movable shim. The movement range of the movable shim is set relatively rearward to restrain interference between the connecting portion and the protruding portions when the movable shim is moved forward. This disadvantageously enlarges the area necessary for installing the movable shim on the corresponding one of the panel surfaces.
However, in the above-described configuration, even when the movable shim is moved forward, it is unlikely that the connecting portion will interfere with the protruding portions, which are formed in the basal end portion of the leg portion of the door lock striker. This allows the movement range of the movable shim to be set relatively forward, thus reducing the size of the area necessary for installing the movable shim. As a result, the usability of the device is widened so that the device can be used in a greater number of types of vehicles.
One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
Specifically, the vehicle door 2, which is illustrated in
In the present embodiment, a side end face 5a of the door panel 5, which is arranged on the rear side, is located at the position facing the side end face 3a of the door opening 3 when the vehicle door 2 is closed. The door panel 5 has a striker hole 10, which extends in the direction (the horizontal direction as viewed in
That is, in the present embodiment, the door lock striker 4, which is arranged on the vehicle body panel 1, is adapted to be apparently received by or separated from the striker hole 10, which is formed in the panel surface S2 of the door panel 5, by being moved relatively in correspondence with opening/closing of the vehicle door 2. The door lock assembly 7 is fixed to the inner side of the door panel 5 (the inside of the panel) such that the latch mechanism 6 is arranged at a position facing the striker hole 10.
A shim member 20A and a shim member 20B are arranged on the panel surface S1 of the vehicle body panel 1 and the panel surface S2 of the door panel 5, respectively. Two inclined surfaces 11 of the shim member 20A come into contact with two inclined surfaces 12 of the shim member 20B when the vehicle door 2 is closed. In the present embodiment, a vehicle door fixing device 21 is formed in this manner. Using the forces by which the shim members 20A, 20B are pressed against each other, the vehicle door fixing device 21 presses the vehicle door 2, which is closed, in a direction crossing the opening/closing direction of the vehicle door 2, more specifically, toward the vehicle front side (the upper side as viewed in
Specifically, in the present embodiment, the shim member 20B of the door panel 5 is a fixed shim 22, which has the inclined surfaces 12 arranged on the leading side in the closing direction of the vehicle door 2 (leftward as viewed in
More specifically, referring to
As shown in
With reference to
Specifically, in the present embodiment, the movable shim 23 includes two shim bodies 31 (31A, 31B), each of which forms the corresponding one of the inclined surfaces 11 (11A and 11B), and a connecting portion 32, which connects the shim bodies 31 to each other through rear end portions 31a of the shim bodies 31. The movable shim 23 of the present embodiment is a molded product (an injection-molded product) of plastic, in which the shim bodies 31 and the connecting portion 32 are formed as an integral body using a mold. The movable shim 23 of the embodiment is attached to the base plate 25 with the door lock striker 4 arranged between the two shim bodies 31.
More specifically, as illustrated in
With reference to
Specifically, in the present embodiment, the projection 36 of the base plate 25 has an elongated protrusion-like shape extending in the front-rear direction of the base plate 25 (the horizontal direction as viewed in
Specifically, as illustrated in
With reference to
Also, in the present embodiment, as illustrated in
Referring to
Specifically, the torsion coil spring 40 of the present embodiment has two wound portions 42 (42a, 42b), which are connected together through a middle linear portion 41. The torsion coil spring 40 is attached to the base plate 25 such that the wound portions 42a, 42b are spaced apart and arranged on the opposite sides of the rear leg portion 8a of the door lock striker 4 in the widthwise direction (the vertical direction as viewed in
In the present embodiment, stopper portions 45 are each formed in a front end portion of a corresponding one of the opposite ends of the base plate 25 in the widthwise direction. Forward movement of the movable shim 23 caused by the urging force of the torsion coil spring 40 is restricted at the position where the movable shim 23 contacts the stopper portions 45.
As illustrated in
The coil cover 46 of the present embodiment has a rear-portion surface 46s, which opposes the movable shim 23 that has been moved rearward against the urging force of the torsion coil spring 40 when the coil cover 46 is attached to the rear end portion 25a of the base plate 25, as has been described. In the embodiment, as illustrated in
That is, as the inclined surfaces 11 (11A, 11B) of the movable shim 23 are pressed against the inclined surfaces 12 of the fixed shim 22, the rear end portion 23a becomes inclined toward the vehicle body panel 1 (downward as viewed in
Particularly, the movable shim 23 of the present embodiment is a plastic product molded using a mold. Also, a plastic introducing portion for injection molding of the product is set in a back surface 32s of the connecting portion 32, which is the portion that faces the rear-portion surface 46s of the coil cover 46 when the movable shim 23 is moved rearward. The plastic introducing portion is set at such a position to facilitate the design of the mold and improve the aesthetic appearance of the product. However, consequently, burrs are formed in the material introducing portion (the plastic introducing portion) and further facilitate contact between the rear end portion 23a of the movable shim 23 and the rear-portion surface 46s of the coil cover 46.
To solve this problem, in the present embodiment, the rear-portion surface 46s of the coil cover 46 is inclined in the above-described manner (at an inclination angle θ). In this manner, the occurrence of the problems caused by the contact between the rear end portion 23a of the movable shim 23, which is moved rearward, and the rear-portion surface 46s of the coil cover 46 is avoided. Also, a step for removing burrs formed in the plastic introducing portion is eliminated or simplified, thus simplifying the steps of manufacturing the product.
In the present embodiment, as shown in
As illustrated in
Specifically, as illustrated in
With reference to
In the present embodiment, the base bracket 50 is fastened to the door panel 5 using non-illustrated bolts, which are inserted through bolt holes 53 extending through the base bracket 50 in the thickness direction. Also, as illustrated in
With reference to
Operation of the fixing device for vehicle doors according to the above described embodiment will now be described.
That is, when the vehicle door 2 is closed, the inclined surfaces 12 (12A, 12B) of the fixed shim 22 fixed to the door panel 5 are moved relatively to the positions on the opposite sides of the door lock striker 4, which is arranged on the vehicle body panel 1. The inclined surfaces 12 thus come into contact with the inclined surfaces 11 (11A, 11B) of the movable shim 23, which is arranged on the vehicle body panel 1 together with the door lock striker 4. The movable shim 23 is then pressed by the fixed shim 22 to be moved rearward against the urging force of the torsion coil spring 40, which urges the movable shim 23 in the direction in which the inclined surfaces 11 are pressed against the inclined surfaces 12 of the fixed shim 22.
At this stage, the vehicle door fixing device 21 of the present embodiment presses the vehicle door 2, which is in a closed state, in the direction crossing the opening/closing direction of the vehicle door 2, which is, specifically, the direction toward the front side (see
The above described embodiment achieves the following advantages.
(1) The door lock striker 4 includes the leg portions 8 (8a, 8b), which are projected from the panel surface S1 of the vehicle body panel 1. The movable shim 23, which is also arranged on the vehicle body panel 1, includes the two shim bodies 31 (31A, 31B) each configuring the corresponding inclined surface 11 (11A, 11B), which are arranged at the positions on the opposite sides of the door lock striker 4, and the connecting portion 32, which connects the rear end portions 31a of the shim bodies 31 together. The connecting portion 32 has the arched shape protruding in the projecting direction of each leg portion 8 (8a, 8b) of the door lock striker 4.
That is, the connecting portion 32, which connects the rear end portions 31a of the shim bodies 31 (31A, 31B) together, moves (forward and rearward) in the front-rear direction integrally with the shim bodies 31 (31A, 31B) at a position rearward of the leg portion 8 (the rear leg portion 8a) of the door lock striker 4, which is projected from the panel surface S1. In many cases, the basal end portion of each leg portion (8a, 8b) of the door lock striker 4 includes protruding portions such as the fixing portion (the flange-like large diameter portion 28a) of the leg portion 8 and the guide portion (the projection 36) of the movable shim 23. The movement range of the movable shim 23 is set relatively rearward to restrain interference between the connecting portion 32 and the protruding portions when the movable shim 23 is moved forward. This disadvantageously enlarges the area necessary for installing the movable shim 23 in the vehicle body panel 1.
However, in this configuration, even when the movable shim 23 is moved forward, it is unlikely that the connecting portion 32 will interfere with the protruding portions (the large diameter portion 28a and the projection 36), which are formed in the basal end portion of the leg portion 8 (the rear leg portion 8a) of the door lock striker 4. This allows the movement range of the movable shim 23 to be set relatively forward, thus reducing the size of the area necessary for installing the movable shim 23. As a result, the usability of the device is widened such that the device can be employed in a greater number of types of vehicles.
(2) The movable shim 23 is urged in the direction in which the inclined surfaces 11 (11A, 11B) are pressed against the inclined surfaces 12 (12A, 12B) of the fixed shim 22 by the elastic force of the torsion coil spring 40. The torsion coil spring 40 includes the two wound portions 42, which are adapted to be spaced apart and arranged on the opposite sides of the corresponding leg portion 8 of the door lock striker 4.
This configuration reduces the size of the area necessary for installing the movable shim 23, including the area for the torsion coil spring 40, which configures an urging member. This widens the usability of the device such that the device can be used in a greater number of types of vehicles.
(3) The cutout 39 is formed in the rear end portion 23a of the movable shim 23 (the rear end portions of the two side wall portions 35) at the position facing the panel surface S1. This makes it unlikely that the rear end portion 23a will interfere with the protruding portions formed on the panel surface S1, including the step G, when the movable shim 23 is moved rearward. The area necessary for installing the movable shim 23 is thus reduced in size. This widens the usability of the device such that the device can be used in a greater number of types of vehicles.
(4) The movable shim 23 is slidably arranged on the base plate 25, which is fixed to the panel surface S1 of the vehicle body panel 1. The coil cover 46, which covers the two wound portions 42 (and the middle linear portion 41) of the torsion coil spring 40, is attached to the rear end portion 25a of the base plate 25. The rear-portion surface 46s, which configures the decorative surface of the coil cover 46, is inclined such that the closer a location on the rear-portion surface 46s is to the rear end (the right side as viewed in the drawing), the shorter the distance is from that location to the panel surface S1 of the vehicle body panel 1.
That is, when the inclined surfaces 11 of the movable shim 23 are pressed against the inclined surfaces 12 of the fixed shim 22, the rear end portion 23a becomes inclined toward the vehicle body panel 1. In this manner, the rear end portion 23a of the movable shim 23, which is moved rearward, or, in other words, the rear end portions 31a of the shim bodies 31 and the connecting portion 32, may contact the rear-portion surface 46s of the coil cover 46, which is the decorative surface. This may damage the rear-portion surface 46s or cause problems such as starches and noise.
However, the above-described configuration makes it unlikely that the rear end portion 23a of the movable shim 23, which is moved rearward, will contact the rear-portion surface 46s of the coil cover 46. In this manner, the problems caused by such contact are avoided.
(5) The two inclined surfaces 12 (12A, 12B) are moved to the positions on the opposite sides of the door lock striker 4 when the vehicle door 2 is closed. The fixed shim 22 includes the base bracket 50, which is fixed to the panel surface S2 of the door panel 5, and the two independent shim bodies 51 (51A, 51B), which form the inclined surfaces 12 (12A, 12B) by being fixed to the base bracket 50.
This configuration facilitates reduction of the protruding length L0 of the portion arranged apparently on the imaginary line extending from the path of relative movement of each leg portion 8 of the door lock striker 4, which is the slit rear peripheral portion 50a arranged on the line that connects the leg portions 8 (8a, 8b). This makes it unlikely that the slit rear peripheral portion 50a will interfere with the protruding portion (the projection 36) formed on the basal end portions of the leg portions 8 (8a, 8b) of the door lock striker 4. The dimension of the fixed shim 22 in the direction in which the fixed shim 22 is moved relatively is thus decreased. As a result, the area necessary for installing the fixed shim 22 is reduced in size. This widens the usability of the device such that the device can be used in a greater number of types of vehicles.
The above illustrated embodiment may be modified as follows.
In the above illustrated embodiment, the door lock striker 4 and the movable shim 23 are arranged on the vehicle body panel 1 and the fixed shim 22 is provided on the door panel 5. However, the present invention is not restricted to this. As illustrated in
The above illustrated embodiment is the vehicle door fixing device 21 used in the vehicle door 2, or, specifically, the right side door of the vehicle, which is selectively opened and closed about the hinge portion as the action pivot. However, the present invention is not restricted to this but may be employed in a sliding door. Alternatively, the invention may be used in a tail door, which selectively opens and closes an opening at the tail of a vehicle.
In the above illustrated embodiment, the cutout 39 is formed in the rear end portion 23a of the movable shim 23 at the position facing the panel surface S1. However, the shape of the rear end portion 23a with the cutout is not particularly restricted to the shape of the embodiment. That is, although the cutout is formed in the rear end portions of the two side wall portions 35 in the above illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not restricted to this. The portion of each shim body 31 (31A, 31B) facing the panel surface S1, for example, may have a cutout.
In the above illustrated embodiment, the base plate 25 and the coil cover 46, which is attached to the rear end portion 25a of the base plate 25, configure the base member. However, the present invention is not restricted to this. The base member may be formed by a single member. Further, regarding issues unrelated to the base member, a configuration is acceptable in which the door lock striker 4 is projected directly from the panel surface S1.
In the above illustrated embodiment, the two slidably contacting protrusions 49, which slidably contact the rear end portions 31a of the shim bodies 31 (31A, 31B) configuring the movable shim 23, are formed on the rear-portion surface 46s of the coil cover 46. However, the number and locations of the slidably contacting protrusions 49 may be changed as needed.
In the above illustrated embodiment, the movable shim 23 is a plastic product molded using a mold. The plastic introducing portion used in injection molding is set in the back surface 32s of the connecting portion 32. However, the present invention is not restricted to this. The movable shim 23 does not necessarily have to be a molded plastic product but may be formed through aluminum die casting, for example. Also, the plastic introducing portion for the injection molding is not restricted to the plastic introducing portion of the above illustrated embodiment.
Although the arched shape of the connecting portion 32 is substantially an inverted U shape in the above illustrated embodiment, the arched shape of the connecting portion 32 is not restricted to this shape but may be changed as needed. The connecting portion 32 may have a curved shape such as an arcuate shape.
In the above illustrated embodiment, the protruding length LO of the slit rear peripheral portion 50a of the base bracket 50 configuring the fixed shim 22 is set smaller than the aforementioned facing distance D1 between the panel surface S2 and the projection 36 of the door lock striker 4. In this manner, even when the fixed shim 22 is moved relatively to the position facing the base plate 25 in the vicinity of the vehicle body panel 1 as the vehicle door 2 is closed, interference between the slit rear peripheral portion 50a and the projection 36 of the door lock striker 4 is restrained. However, the present invention is not restricted to this and the protruding length LO of the slit rear peripheral portion 50a may be set to restrain interference with the large diameter portion 38a of the front leg portion 8b, which protrudes from the projection 36.
The shim bodies 51 (51A, 51B), which configure the fixed shim 22, may be configured such that the shim bodies 51 are pivotal about a fixed shaft with respect to the base bracket 50. This configuration causes the inclined surfaces 12 (12A, 12B) of the shim bodies 51, which configure the fixed shim 22, to move in a manner following the inclined surfaces 11 (11A, 11B) of the shim bodies 31 of the movable shim 23, with which the inclined surfaces 12 come into contact when the vehicle door 2 is closed. As a result, the vehicle door 2 is reliably held with improved effectiveness using the forces by which the inclined surfaces 11, 12 are pressed against each other.
Next, the technical ideas obtainable from the above embodiments are described below with their advantages.
(1) A fixing device for vehicle doors, comprising:
a door lock striker adapted to be arranged on a first panel that is one of a vehicle body panel and a door panel;
a fixed shim adapted to be fixed to a second panel that is the other one of the vehicle body panel and the door panel, wherein the fixed shim has two inclined surfaces that are movable relative to the door lock striker on opposite sides of the door lock striker;
a movable shim adapted to be arranged on the first panel, wherein the movable shim has two inclined surfaces arranged on opposite sides of the door lock striker, and the inclined surfaces are urged to be pressed against the inclined surfaces of the fixed shim; and
a base member adapted to be fixed to a panel surface of the first panel, wherein
the movable shim is adapted to be slidable on the base member, and
the base member has a rear-portion surface that faces the movable shim by being pressed and moved rearward by the fixed shim, wherein the rear-portion surface is inclined such that the closer a location on the rear-portion surface is to the rear end, the shorter the distance is from that location to the surface of the first panel.
(2) The fixing device for vehicle doors according to item (1), wherein
the movable shim is a product molded using a mold,
the movable shim has a material introducing portion for molding in a portion that faces the rear-portion surface when the movable shim is moved rearward.
That is, burrs formed in the material introducing portion further facilitate contact between the portion that faces the rear-portion surface of the base member and the rear-portion surface of the base member. Therefore, by employing the present invention in this configuration, a more significant effect is ensured. Also, by eliminating or simplifying the step for removing burrs, the steps for manufacturing the device are simplified.
(3) The fixing device for vehicle doors according to item (2), wherein the portion of the movable shim in which the material introducing portion is formed has an arched shape protruding in a direction separating away the rear-portion surface.
In this configuration, it is unlikely that the portion in which the material introducing portion for molding is formed will contact the rear-portion surface of the base member. This restrains problems caused by such contact, thus improving the product marketability.
(4) The fixing device for vehicle doors according to any one of items (1) to (3), further comprising a slidably contacting protrusion that is arranged on the rear-portion surface and slidably contacts the movable shim.
In this configuration, the portion that contacts the movable shim is restricted to the slidably contacting protrusion. In this manner, damage to the rear-portion surface, which is a decorative surface, is avoided. Further, since the contact surface area is decreased, occurrence of scratches and noise is restrained.
(5) The fixing device for vehicle doors according to item (3), wherein
the door lock striker includes a leg portion that has a large diameter portion at a basal end and is projected, and
the arched shape of the connecting portion is a shape that allows the connecting portion to avoid contact with the large diameter portion.
(6) The fixing device for vehicle doors according to item (3), wherein
the door lock striker further includes a base member adapted to be fixed to the panel surface of the first panel,
the door lock striker has a projection arranged on the base member,
the door lock striker is projected from the base member via the projection,
the movable shim is adapted to be slidable on the base member,
the projection of the door lock striker protrudes from a slidable surface of the movable shim, and
the arched shape of the connecting portion is a shape that allows the connecting portion to avoid contact with the projection of the door lock striker.
(7) The fixing device for vehicle doors according to item (6), wherein
the fixed shim includes a base bracket adapted to be fixed to a panel surface of the second panel,
a protruding length of the base bracket from the panel surface of the second panel is set smaller than the facing distance between the panel surface of the second panel and the projection of the door lock striker.
(8) A fixing device for vehicle doors, comprising:
a door lock striker adapted to be arranged on a first panel that is one of a vehicle body panel and a door panel;
a fixed shim adapted to be fixed to a second panel that is the other one of the vehicle body panel and the door panel, wherein the fixed shim has two inclined surfaces that are movable relative to the door lock striker on opposite sides of the door lock striker;
a movable shim adapted to be arranged on the first panel, wherein the movable shim has two inclined surfaces arranged on opposite sides of the door lock striker, and the inclined surfaces are urged to be pressed against the inclined surfaces of the fixed shim;
a base member adapted to be fixed to a panel surface of the first panel; and
a torsion coil spring that urges the movable shim in a direction in which the movable shim is pressed against the fixed shim, wherein
the door lock striker includes a leg portion projected from the panel surface of the first panel, and
the torsion coil spring has two wound portions that are adapted to be spaced apart and arranged on opposite sides of the leg portion.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-280214 | Dec 2012 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2013/082820 | 12/6/2013 | WO | 00 |
