This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. ยง119 with respect to Japanese Application No. 2003-117215 filed on Apr. 22 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Inventions
The present invention relates to a vehicle door controlling apparatus that electrically operates vehicle doors to perform opening/closing thereof, and more specifically, for a center pillar-less vehicle, to an apparatus for controlling a sliding door, which includes a swinging door for performing opening/closing thereof in the widthwise direction of the vehicle and a sliding door for performing opening/closing thereof in the backward and rearward direction of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a vehicle which includes a turning door (swinging door) which is opened or closed in the widthwise direction thereof and a sliding door which is opened or closed in the forward and backward directions of the vehicle, and which opens or closes the doors independently, has been proposed. Such kind of related art is, for instance, disclosed in the Japanese Patent Application laid-open publication No. 2002-147090.
In a vehicle shown in the above-mentioned related art, in order to combine a swinging door with a sliding door, a first locking device is placed between the swinging door and the sliding door. The vehicle further includes a second locking device for combining the swinging door with a frame on the vehicle side and a third locking device for combining the sliding door with the frame on the vehicle side.
The first locking device connects the swinging door and the sliding door using pliers having two locking tongues. If the sliding door is closed, the first locking device is hung in a receiving seat to which the sliding door corresponds and the swinging door is combined with the sliding door so that the mechanical strength of the vehicle is improved during a side impact collision.
The vehicle includes doors, which open and close in the forward and backward directions of the vehicle and removes the center pillar that is generally installed between the front and rear doors. As a result, an entrance of the vehicle becomes so wide that an ascending and descending property or a stacking property to the vehicle can be improved. In addition, the first locking device (which becomes the door connecting mechanism) for connecting a swinging door and a sliding door is installed and the front and rear doors are connected through the first locking device so that the mechanical strength of the vehicle can be improved.
However, when the above-described configuration is applied to a sliding door system (which is referred to as a power sliding door system) for connecting the swinging door to the sliding door and electrically operating the sliding door, if the sliding door does not take into consideration whether the locking device of the swinging door, which controls the movement of the sliding door, is in lock state in which the movement of the sliding door is locked by a locking device of the swinging door, the door connecting mechanism interferes with the opening and closing of the sliding door. For example, if interference occurs, the sliding door is opened where the lock state is unstable and the sliding door is not well opened. As such, a connection between the door connecting mechanism and the sliding door is required.
It is an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door controlling apparatus, which in the configuration of connecting doors, when one door operates electrically, the door connecting mechanism does not interfere with the door that is operating.
In order to achieve the object, the present invention provides a vehicle door controlling apparatus, comprising: a connection locking means provided between a first door and a second door for locking the first door and the second door by connecting both of them to each other; a door-locking means for restraining opening and closing of the second door on the vehicle body to be locked; a release means for unlocking the connection locking means or the door-locking means; and a controlling means for controlling the connection locking means and the release means. The vehicle door controlling apparatus further comprises: an operating means which requests the opening of the second door; and a first lock state detecting means for detecting the state of the connection member, wherein, when a request for opening the second door using the operating means is detected, the controlling means operates the release means, releases the lock which has been locked by the connection member and releases the lock of the door-locking means, and electrically drives the second door based on a signal from the first lock state detecting means.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description with the accompanying drawings.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Front ends of the swinging door 2 installed at the front side of the vehicle are installed at a front pillar by a pair of upper and lower hinges 3. The swinging door 2 is horizontally swung in the widthwise direction of the vehicle about the hinges 3 and is capable of being opened and closed with respect to the front opening 6.
Meanwhile, the sliding door 4 installed at the rear side of the vehicle employs a well-known sliding mechanism in which a roller installed inside the sliding door 4 rolls along a guide rail (not shown) installed under the opening 6 between the closed and opened positions, and is moved in the forward and backward directions of the vehicle. When opened from the whole closed position, the sliding door 4 instantaneously inclines away from the rear side of the vehicle (direction of arrow S shown in
A door handle 7 is installed outside the swinging door 2. The door handle 7 operates during an opening and closing operation outside the vehicle and is installed at the rear upper side of the vehicle. In addition, a connection locking mechanism 40 having a center locking function is installed inside the rear center of the swinging door 2 to connect the swinging door 2 and the sliding door 4 installed at the rear side of the vehicle. Door locking devices 20 and 26 are respectively installed in rear upward and downward directions of the swinging door 2. By inserting a vehicle key into a key cylinder (not shown) installed at the door handle 7 and by rotating, moving and operating the vehicle key, the locking devices 20 and 26 are locked or unlocked. In addition, separately from this operation, the connection locking mechanism can be mechanically unlocked, by opening the door handle 7.
Meanwhile, the connection locking mechanism 40 is unlocked by opening the door handle 7 and is controlled by a controller 30 installed at the passenger's foot, as shown in
Meanwhile, a door handle 8 is installed outside the sliding door 4 in the forward and upward direction. In addition, a controller 10 is installed at the inner center of the sliding door 4. Further, a door-locking device 28 in which a latch 81 is engaged or separated from a striker (not shown) installed at the side of the vehicle is installed at the rear inside of the vehicle. The sliding door 4 is configured so that, if the controller 10 drives a sliding motor 61, the driving force is transmitted to the sliding door 4 through a power transmission mechanism 60 and the sliding door 4 operates. The door-locking device 28 installed at the rear side of the sliding door 4 can be locked or unlocked by rotating, moving and operating a vehicle key inserted into a key cylinder (not shown) installed in the door handle 8. In addition, separately from this operation, the connection locking mechanism can be mechanically unlocked by opening the door handle 8. As such, even when the door-locking device 28 of the sliding door 4 is locked, the sliding door 4 is not opened by operating the door handle 8 (for example, an outside handle or an inside handle) of the sliding door 4. However, when the door-locking device 28 is unlocked, the door handle 8 is operated to open the sliding door 4.
Control of opening and closing the sliding door 4 is performed by the controller 10, signals are input from various switches 16 in a vehicle into the controller 10, and the controller 10 operates a closing actuator 25 having the door-locking device 28 and operates a release actuator 19 in response to the input signals.
Next, a structure for connecting the swinging door 2 and the sliding door 4 will be described. The connection locking mechanism 40 is placed at the inner center of the rear end of the swinging door 2. Meanwhile, a striker 41 having the central opening and made of a rigid body is installed in the middle of the front end of the sliding door 4, as shown in
The configuration of the connection locking mechanism 40 will be described with reference to
The connection locking mechanism 40 includes a lever 50. As shown in
In a state where the striker 41 fits in the concave portion 40A formed on the rear end of the swinging door 2, when the latch 50 reaches a position (L-position) which is rotated to the farthest clockwise point, as indicated by a solid line shown in
When the pole 48 of the connection locking mechanism 40 is latched with the latch 50, as shown in
The connection locking mechanism 40 further includes a release actuator 64. As shown in
In the configuration shown in
In addition, a pivot (closing lever) 70 inserted through the latch 50 is installed in the connection locking mechanism 40 to pivot. As shown in
As shown in
The connection locking mechanism 40 includes a rotary switch 54 (first lock state detecting means). The rotary switch 54 is supported by the casing of the connection locking mechanism 40 coaxially with the latch 50 and detects the rotation (rotation position) of the latch 50. In this case, a rotation lever (not shown) is located between the latch 50 and the rotary switch 54 coaxially with the latch 50. The rotation lever, which engages the pin that is placed in the latch 50, is installed to rotate coaxially with the latch 50 and switches the state of a switch installed inside the rotary switch 54. For example, the latch 50 rotates clockwise as shown in
In this way, a predetermined gap between the latched position L and a predetermined position I near the latched position L and a predetermined gap between the release position U and the predetermined position u near the release position U are formed so that the rotary switch 54 is not affected by an installation position error of the latch 50 and detects a position which is securely latched to or released from the striker 41.
Next, a structure for electrically operating the sliding door 4 positioned at the rear side of the swinging door 2 will be described.
The sliding door 4 can move along a guide rail 21 installed so as to extend in the forward and backward directions of the vehicle at the center of the vehicle body 9 in its upward and downward directions. As shown in
The sliding door driving unit 27 is installed at the rear lower side of the sliding door 4. As shown in
The release actuator 19 is disposed at the inner lower side of the door handle 8 installed at the front side of the sliding door 4. As shown in
Meanwhile, when opening of the door handle 8 is completed or when driving of the lock release motor 18 stops, the operating lever 37 returns to a position indicated by a solid line of
Next, the closing actuator 25 will be described with reference to
The half-latch switch detects the position of the latch 81 in the half-closed state. The half-latch switch changes when the position of the sliding door 4 is opened to a predetermined degree rather than the half-closed state (for example, the whole closed side: off state and the whole opened side: on state).
Meanwhile, the full latch switch detects the whole closed position of the latch 81. The full latch switch turns on just before the whole closed state from the whole opened state (for example, the whole opened side: off state and the whole closed side: on state) and the state of the latch 81 shown in
As described above, the power transmission mechanism 60, which electrically opens and closes the sliding door 4 using the sliding motor 61, and the release actuator 19, which releases the lock of the sliding door 4, are electrically connected to the controller 10 for controlling the sliding door 4 as shown in
The controller 10 includes a power source circuit 12 to which power is supplied from a battery 15 and lowers a battery voltage (for example, 12V) to a predetermined voltage (for example, 5V) in the controller 10 to make the battery voltage a stable static voltage. The predetermined voltage generated by the power source circuit 12 is supplied to a CPU, etc. in the controller 10.
The controller 10 further includes an input interface 13 (input I/F) and an output interface 14 (output I/F), and signals output from the switch group 16, the Hall element 66, and the vehicle speed sensor 17 are input into a CPU 11 via the input I/F 13. the CPU 11 includes a read only memory (ROM) in which a program is stored and a random access memory (RAM) in which data is temporarily stored during operation. To drive the sliding door 2 the CPU 11 determines the state of the vehicle based on the input signals and outputs a driving signal for operating the sliding motor 61. In this case, driving instructions to the sliding motor 61 and the lock release motor 18 are performed using the output I/F 14 (for example, driver circuit). In addition, a buzer 39 is connected to the output I/F 14.
For example, when the sliding motor 61 is driven by an instruction from the CPU 11, power is transmitted to the power transmission mechanism 60 connected to an output shaft of the sliding motor 61 and the sliding door 4 is driven.
Next, control of opening and closing the sliding door 4 performed by the CPU 11 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in
When power is supplied to the CPU 11 from the battery 15, the main routine processing shown in
In step S4, the target door speed is obtained. In the present embodiment, the target door speed that is predetermined by the directions (closed direction/opened direction) and the position of the sliding door 4 is stored in the RAM. For example, the target door speed of the sliding door 4 in driving in the closed direction in an area near the whole closed position (for example, an area of several centimeters to several tens of centimeters) is set to a predetermined gradient so that even though a foreign substance is inserted into the sliding door 4 during a closing operation, load (insertion load) caused by the insertion does not exceed a predetermined load and thereafter, the target door speed is set to be constant during the whole closing. In step S5, If the target door speed is obtained, feedback control between the obtained target door speed and the calculated door speed is performed so that the sliding door 4 is controlled. The door control (opening control) will be described in detail later.
If door control is performed in step S5, the CPU 11 performs insertion and detection in steps S6 to S8. In other words, in step S6, a reference speed for determining insertion is calculated. The reference speed for insertion is detected by the Hall element 66 and the CPU 11 calculates the door speed from an output of the Hall element 66. For example, a past door speed is stored in the RAM of the CPU 11 at a predetermined number of times or predetermined period (60 msec) in time series, the door speed is filtered, and an average value of the predetermined number of times or the predetermined period of the door speed is set to a reference speed for insertion.
In step S7, a deviation between the reference speed for insertion calculated in step S6 and a current door speed is calculated. Then the deviation is compared with an insertion determination threshold value (for example, a fixed value). Here, when the deviation does not exceed the predetermined threshold value, the CPU 11 determines that the speed of the sliding door 4 is not reduced by insertion during the movement of the sliding door 4, and the program returns to step S2 and the above-described processing is repeated from step S2. However, in step S7, when the deviation between the reference speed for insertion and the current door speed exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the CPU 11 judges that insertion occurs during the movement of the sliding door 4, and that the speed of the sliding door 4 is reduced to a predetermined level with respect to the filtered reference speed, the program returns to step S2 after insertion processing is performed in step S8 and the above-described processing is repeated from steps S2 to S8. For example, when a motor is driven in the closed direction and the sliding door 4 is closed, the motor is stopped or rotated in reverse and the sliding door 4 is driven to the opening direction to a predetermined degree so that insertion, when it occurs, suppresses an increase in load and stability can be improved.
Next, door control shown in step S5 will be described. Further, in this case, when the sliding door 4 is in the whole closed state, how the sliding door 4 performs an opening operation from a state where the swinging door 2 and the sliding door 4 are connected to each other using the connection locking mechanism 40, will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in
In step S11, the CPU 11 determines whether the operating switch 31 installed at the front side of the drivers seat requires the opening of the sliding door 4. In this case, when key manipulation using a portable device (remote control) is possible, it can be detected whether a button for an opening operation of the portable device is operated. Here, when the CPU 11 does not detect the opening request of the operating switch 31, door control shown in
Meanwhile, if the CPU 11 determines that the opening operation of the sliding door 4 is possible, a power transmission line from the sliding motor 61 to the sliding door 4 is secured so as to electrically operate the sliding door 4. This operation is performed by applying an electric current to coils of the electromagnetic clutch 63 of the sliding door driving unit 27 and by turning on the electromagnetic clutch 63. After that the CPU 11 turns on the release motor 18, drives the release motor 18 and operates the release actuator 19, so as to release a lock at the center of the front side of the sliding door 4 of the connection locking mechanism 40 and a lock (rear lock) of the door-locking device 28 of the closing actuator 25 positioned at the rear side of the sliding door 4. As such, the lock of the rear side of the sliding door 4 is released by rotating and moving counterclockwise the operating lever 37 of the release actuator 19 as shown in
In step S15, the CPU 11 determines whether the locks are released. Here, when the front and rear locks are not yet released from the sliding door 4 (when the locks are not completely released from the sliding door 4), the program returns to step S13, and the above-described processing is repeated from step S13. However, when the front and rear locks are released from the sliding door 4, processing shown in step S16 is performed. The CPU 11 determines whether the front and rear locks are released from the sliding door 4 when the full latch switch of the latch switch 82 of the door-locking device 28, that is, the off position of the sliding door 4 in the whole closed position, is changed in an area near the whole closed position as the latch 81 rotates and moves in a release direction (the off state is changed into the on state). Further, it is determined whether the contact point of the rotary switch 54 installed at the connection locking mechanism 40 reaches a position before the predetermined angle of the release position U shown in
If driving of the sliding motor 61 starts, a driving force of the power transmission mechanism 60 is transmitted to the sliding door 4 such that the sliding door 4 opens. In step S17, the half-latch switch turned from off to on is detected at the opened side rather than a position where the full-latch switch is changed and it waits until when the half-latch switch is turned on. In step S18, an electric current is applied to the latch release actuator 10 using the timing when the half-latch switch is changed from on to off.
As such, when the sliding door 4 is opened in the whole closed state, the CPU 11 detects the opening of the sliding door 4 from the state of the operating switch 31. When the opening operation of the sliding door 4 is detected, the electromagnetic clutch 63 is turned on and the sliding door 4 can be operated electrically, After that, the latch release actuator 19 is operated, thereby releasing the front and rear locks of the sliding door 4 and it is determined from the states of the rotary switch 54 and the full-latch switch that the front and rear locks of the sliding door 4 are released completely, thereby driving the sliding motor 61.
The door position moves slightly opened, and when the state of the half-latch switch reaches nearly changing state the sliding door 4 is opened by turning off an electric current to the release actuator 19 which releases the front and rear locks. The sliding door 4 does not interfere with the connection locking mechanism 40 and the lock of the closing actuator 25 and the sliding door 4 is not dragged but can be smoothly driven.
[Advantages]
According to the present invention, in the case of electrically driving a second door, the second door can be electrically driven after restraint of a connection locking means and a door-locking means is released. Therefore, in the configuration of connecting two vehicle doors, when one vehicle door is electrically operated, the door connecting mechanism does not affect the vehicle door that is operating.
In this case, by using the first switch whose switching state is switched in a state where the second door moves from a whole closed state to an opened direction by a predetermined distance, the controlling means can securely detect the position where engagement with one of the doors caused by the connection member is released using the first switch. When the controlling means detects the switched state of the first switch, the controlling means can operate the release means to release the restraint of the second door, securely detect the locked state of the connection member and electrically drive the second door.
In addition, when the second door in the opening position is securely detected by the second switch rather than the first switch, the controlling means stops the operation of the release means so that when restraint of the second door is released, the release means is not operated more than necessary, load of a battery is suppressed and the configuration helps to make the vehicle burglarproof.
Further, the above-described configuration can be applied to a swinging door which is opened or closed in the widthwise direction of the vehicle and a sliding door which is opened or closed in the forward and backward directions of the vehicle.
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Number | Date | Country |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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