This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-008749 filed on Jan. 22, 2020, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a sealing structure for a vehicle door.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2011-46274 discloses a structure that prevents entry of water into a vehicle from between a door opening provided on a side portion of the vehicle and a sliding door that closes the door opening. In the structure described in the document, a sealing member functioning as a seal is provided at the door opening and the sliding door, and the sealing member is interposed between the door opening and the sliding door, thereby preventing the entry of water into the vehicle from between the door opening and the sliding door.
Meanwhile, in the structure where the sealing member for preventing the entry of water into the vehicle is provided at the door opening or its periphery, it is conceivable that the sealing member hinders an occupant from getting on and off the vehicle or a load from being loaded on and off the vehicle.
In view of the above fact, an object of the present disclosure is to obtain a sealing structure for a vehicle door capable of preventing a sealing member from hindering an occupant from getting on and off a vehicle and a load from being loaded on and off the vehicle.
A sealing structure for a vehicle door according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes: a door opening provided on a vehicle; a vehicle door provided to be shiftable between a closed position for closing the door opening and an open position for opening the door opening; and a sealing member provided at the door opening, the sealing member partially moving toward the vehicle door and coming into contact with the vehicle door to prevent the entry of water into the vehicle from between the door opening and the vehicle door when the vehicle door is placed at the closed position from the open position, the sealing member partially moving away from the vehicle door when the vehicle door is placed at the open position from the closed position.
According to the above aspect, when the vehicle door is placed at the closed position from the open position, at least a part of the sealing member moves toward the vehicle door and comes into contact with the vehicle door. In this state, the sealing member prevents the entry of water into the vehicle from between the door opening and the vehicle door. When the vehicle door is placed at the open position from the closed position, the sealing member is separated from the vehicle door. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the amount of protrusion of the sealing member from the door opening in a state where the vehicle door is placed at the open position. It is thus possible to prevent the sealing member from hindering an occupant from getting on and off the vehicle and a load from being loaded on and off the vehicle.
In the above aspect, the sealing member is provided along the vehicle's lower side of the door opening, the sealing member protrudes upward in the vehicle with respect to a floor surface in the vehicle in a state where the vehicle door is placed at the closed position, and the sealing member is stored downward in the vehicle with respect to the floor surface in a state where the vehicle door is placed at the open position.
With the above sealing structure for the vehicle door, in the state where the vehicle door is placed at the closed position, the sealing member protrudes upward in the vehicle with respect to the floor surface in the vehicle. Hence the sealing member keeps back water trying to enter the vehicle from between a lower side of the vehicle door and a lower side of the door opening. Further, in the state where the vehicle door is placed at the open position, the sealing member is stored downward in the vehicle with respect to the floor surface. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the amount of protrusion of the sealing member from the floor surface in the state where the vehicle door is placed at the open position. Therefore, for example, when a user of a wheelchair gets on the vehicle or gets off the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the sealing member from hindering a wheel of the wheelchair from rolling.
In the above aspect, a drain passage, in which water kept back by the sealing member flows toward the outside of the vehicle, is provided outward of the sealing member from the vehicle.
With the above sealing structure for the vehicle door, the water kept back by the sealing member can be allowed to flow toward the outside of the vehicle through the drain passage.
In the above aspect, the sealing member includes a first lip portion and a second lip portion that are placed separately from members constituting the vehicle door and the door opening, respectively, in the state where the vehicle door is placed at the open position, and the first lip portion and the second lip portion are in contact with the members constituting the vehicle door and the door opening, respectively, in the state where the vehicle door is placed at the closed position.
With the above sealing structure for the vehicle door, by providing the first lip portion and the second lip portion in the sealing member, it is possible to effectively prevent the entry of water into the vehicle from between the vehicle door and the first lip portion of the sealing member and the entry of water into the vehicle from between the door opening and the second lip portion of the sealing member.
In the above aspect, there is further provided an interlocking actuation unit that shifts the sealing member in coordination with the shifting of the vehicle door from the open position to the closed position or the shifting of the vehicle door from the closed position to the open position.
According to the sealing structure for the vehicle door, by providing the interlocking actuation unit, it is possible to shift the sealing member so as to be associated with the shifting of the vehicle door.
The sealing structure for the vehicle door according to the present disclosure has an excellent effect in that it is possible to prevent a sealing member from hindering an occupant from getting on and off the vehicle and a load from being loaded on and off the vehicle.
Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:
First, a schematic configuration of a vehicle will be described with reference to
Schematic Configuration of Vehicle
The vehicle 12 illustrated in
As illustrated in
The vehicle 12 includes a floor panel 26 extending in the front-rear direction and the vehicle width direction on a lower side of the vehicle's inside 24. Note that load-bearing performance of the floor panel 26 is ensured by joining a reinforcing member 28, formed in a substantially W-shaped cross-section as viewed from the front side to a lower surface of the floor panel 26 or by some other means. A sheet-like member 30 formed in a sheet shape is joined to an upper surface of the floor panel 26. The upper surface of the sheet-like member 30 constitutes a floor surface 32 of the vehicle's inside 24.
The vehicle 12 is provided with a pair of right and left rockers 34 constituting frames on both sides of a lower portion of the vehicle 12 in the vehicle width direction. The pair of right and left rockers 34 are formed in a substantially rectangular cross-section as viewed from the front side of the vehicle. Note that only the left rocker 34 is illustrated in
A slope unit 42 is provided between the floor panel 26 and the panel member 36 in a portion on one side (left side) in the vehicle width direction. The slope unit 42 includes a sloping rail 44 and a slope body 46 that moves along the sloping rail 44 from a state of being placed at a storage position C1 to be developed to a lateral side (left side) of the vehicle 12. In
The step member 50 constituting a part of the side-door opening 14 is attached to an end of the floor panel 26 on one side in the vehicle width direction at a location corresponding to the side-door opening 14 via a fastening member 52 such as a bolt. The step member 50 is formed in a long shape with the front-rear direction as a longitudinal direction by extrusion molding of an aluminum alloy or the like as an example. Specifically, the step member 50 includes an upper wall 54 extending in the front-rear direction with the height direction as a thickness direction, and a lower wall 56 extending in the front-rear direction with the height direction as the thickness direction and disposed below the upper wall 54. The step member 50 is provided with an outer wall 58 that connects, in the height direction, the outer end of the upper wall 54 in the vehicle width direction and an outer end of the lower wall 56 in the vehicle width direction, and an inner wall 60 that connects, in the height direction, an inner end of the upper wall 54 in the vehicle width direction and an inner end of the lower wall 56 in the vehicle width direction. Further, the step member 50 is provided with a single or a plurality of intermediate walls 62 connecting the upper wall 54 and the lower wall 56 in the height direction at a center portion in the vehicle width direction. An insertion hole 64 through which the fastening member 52 is inserted is formed in a portion inside the vehicle width of the lower wall 56. A passage hole 66, through which the fastening member 52 passes when the step member 50 is attached to the floor panel 26, is formed at a location corresponding to the insertion hole 64 of the lower wall 56 in a portion of the upper wall 54 inside the vehicle width.
In the state where the pair of sliding doors 16 are at the closed position B1, the first sealing member 22 prevents the entry of water to the vehicle's inside 24 from between the pair of sliding doors 16 and the step member 50. However, provision of an additional sealing member is considered depending on an environment in which the vehicle 12 is used, conditions for the contact between the first sealing member 22 and the step member 50, and the like. Hereinafter, a configuration in which the second sealing member 68 as the additional sealing member is provided will be described.
Configuration of Second Sealing Member 68
As illustrated in
The shaft portion 70 and the seal body portion 72 are formed using a hard resin material. The seal body portion 72 includes a D-section portion 78 coaxially disposed with the shaft portion 70 and formed in a D-shaped cross-section, and a protruding plate portion 80 protruding from the D-section portion toward the opposite side from the shaft portion 70.
The first lip portion 74 is formed using a viscoelastic material such as rubber. A base end side 74A of the first lip portion 74 is joined to an end of the protruding plate portion 80 of the seal body portion 72 on the opposite side from the D-section portion 78. A tip side 74B of the first lip portion 74 is flexible and deformable with respect to the protruding plate portion 80 of the seal body portion 72.
The second lip portion 76 is formed using a viscoelastic material such as rubber similarly to the first lip portion 74. A base end side 76A of the second lip portion 76 is joined to an opposite side from the protruding plate portion 80 in the D-section portion 78 of the seal body portion 72. The tip side 76B of the second lip portion 76 is flexible and deformable with respect to the D-section portion 78.
Next, a configuration of a portion of the step member 50 in which the second sealing member 68 is provided will be described.
An opening 82, which is opened and closed by the second sealing member 68 when the second sealing member 68 is tilted, is formed in an outer portion of the upper wall 54 of the step member 50 in the vehicle width direction. The shaft portion 70 of the second sealing member 68 is locked to each of a front edge and a rear edge of the opening 82 formed in the upper wall 54 of the step member 50, so that the second sealing member 68 can be tilted with the front-rear direction as the axial direction.
As illustrated in
When the second sealing member 68 is tilted from the storage position D1 illustrated in
Further, an outer region in the vehicle width direction in a space surrounded by the upper wall 54, the outer wall 58, the lower wall 56, and the inner wall 60 of the step member 50 (i.e., a region of the second sealing member 68 outward of the D-section portion 78 in the vehicle width direction) serves as a drain passage 84 in which water kept back by the second sealing member 68 placed at the upright position D2 flows. The lower wall 56 of a portion corresponding to the drain passage 84 is formed with a discharge hole (not illustrated) configured to discharge water flowing in the drain passage 84 to the vehicle's outside 25.
As illustrated in
Actions and Effects of Configuration in which Second Sealing Member 68 is Provided
Next, a description will be given of actions and effects of the configuration in which the second sealing member 68 is provided.
As illustrated in
In the state where the sliding door 16 is at the closed position B1, the second sealing member 68 is placed at the upright position D2 by actuation of the interlocking actuation unit 86 (cf.
The water kept back by the second sealing member 68 is discharged to the vehicle's outside 25 through the drain passage 84. It is thus possible to prevent the water kept back by the second sealing member 68 from remaining between the second sealing member 68 and the first sealing member 22. When an amount of water supposed to remain between the second sealing member 68 and the first sealing member 22 is small, the drain passage 84 may not be provided.
As illustrated in
In the example described above, the example has been described where the first lip portion 74 of the second sealing member 68 is brought into contact with or separated from the frame portion 18 of the sliding door 16 by tilting the second sealing member 68 in coordination with the sliding of the sliding door 16, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the entire second sealing member may move in a predetermined locus in coordination with the sliding of the sliding door 16.
In the present embodiment, the example has been described where the second sealing member 68 is provided in the step member 50, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the second sealing member 68 may be supported by the floor panel 26 or the like. The second sealing member 68 may be provided not only in the lower portion of the side-door opening 14 but also in a pillar, a roof side rail, and the like constituting a front edge, a rear edge, and an upper edge of the side-door opening 14. A sealing member having the same configuration as the second sealing member 68 may be provided in a back door opening or the like serving as a door opening.
In the present embodiment, the example has been described where the second sealing member 68 is provided in addition to the first sealing member 22, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the sealing member corresponding to the first sealing member 22 may not be provided, and only a sealing member corresponding to the second sealing member 68 may be provided.
The configuration in which the second sealing member 68 is provided as described above can be used not only for the purpose of preventing a sealing member from hindering an occupant from getting on and off the vehicle and a load from being loaded on and off the vehicle, but also for the purpose of preventing foreign matter such as water from entering the vehicle's inside 24.
Specific Configuration of Interlocking Actuation Unit
Next, a specific configuration of the interlocking actuation unit 86 will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
In the interlocking actuation unit 86, in the state where the sliding door 16 is at the closed position B1, a part of the sliding door 16 comes into contact with the door switch 92, and the door switch 92 outputs a predetermined signal. When determining that the sliding door 16 is at the closed position B1 based on the signal from the door switch 92, the control unit 90 controls the energization of the motor actuator 88 to place the second sealing member 68 at the upright position D2.
In the state where the sliding door 16 is at the open position B2 (cf.
As illustrated in
In the interlocking actuation unit 86, in the state where the sliding door 16 is at the closed position B1, a part of the sliding door 16 is pushing in the rod 98. A force accompanying the pushing of the rod 98 is transmitted to the second sealing member 68, whereby the second sealing member 68 is placed at the upright position D2 against a biasing force of the spiral spring 96
In the state where the sliding door 16 is at the open position B2, a part of the sliding door 16 is separated from the rod 98. In this state, the second sealing member 68 is placed at the storage position D1 by the biasing force of the spiral spring 96.
Although the above two examples have been described as specific configurations of the interlocking actuation unit 86, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, but the second sealing member 68 may be tilted using the interlocking actuation unit 86 of another configuration.
Although one embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above, and it is needless to say that various modifications other than the above can be carried out within a range not deviating from the gist thereof.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020-008749 | Jan 2020 | JP | national |