JP7566681B2 - Vehicle back door - Google Patents

Description

This specification discloses a tailgate installed at the rear of a vehicle.

As a back door provided at the rear of a vehicle, a back door that opens from both the top and bottom is known, as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2. For example, in the case of a welfare vehicle, the upper and lower back doors are opened, and the occupant in the wheelchair is loaded into the rear of the vehicle compartment through them.

In Patent Document 1, a door handle is provided on each of the upper and lower back doors, and the back doors are opened by operating the door handles. In Patent Document 2, a motor is provided to release the locking mechanism of each of the upper and lower back doors, and a switch is provided to drive the motor.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-117417 JP 2018-145635 A

However, providing a mechanism for automatically opening the upper and lower back doors, such as opening the doors by operating a switch, increases costs compared to opening these back doors manually. On the other hand, when manually opening the upper and lower back doors, it was previously necessary to operate the respective door handles, making the opening operation cumbersome. Therefore, the vehicle back door disclosed in this specification aims to reduce the number of operations required to manually open the upper and lower back doors compared to the past.

The vehicle back door disclosed in this specification has a structure that opens both up and down and includes an upper back door and a lower back door. The upper back door is provided with a pivot shaft that extends in the vehicle width direction at the top of the rear opening of the vehicle body. The lower back door is provided with a pivot shaft that extends in the vehicle width direction at the bottom of the rear opening of the vehicle body. An operating lever for an unlocking mechanism that can unlock the lower back door is provided at the top of the lower back door. An abutment portion is provided at the bottom of the upper back door that abuts against the operating lever when the upper back door is opened to unlock the lower back door.

According to the above configuration, when the upper back door is opened, the abutment portion abuts against the operating lever to unlock the lower back door. This eliminates the need to manually open the lower back door.

In the above configuration, the lower back door may be unlocked by tilting the operating lever backward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction. In this case, the abutment portion faces the operating lever forward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction when the upper and lower back doors are closed.

With the above configuration, the contact portion faces the front of the operating lever in the vehicle front-rear direction, so that the contact portion can be reliably brought into contact with the operating lever when opening the upper back door.

In the above configuration, an operating lever may be provided at the end of the power transmission path of the unlocking mechanism, which is capable of transmitting power for the unlocking operation to the lock unit of the lower back door. In this case, the power transmission path is provided with an engagement pin that engages with the operating lever when the operating lever is tilted backward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction, and disengages when the operating lever is tilted forward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction.

According to the above configuration, when the upper back door is closed, the contact portion hits the operating lever and the operating lever is tilted forward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction. At this time, the operating lever is disengaged from the engagement pin, so power transmission to the power transmission path is avoided.

In the above configuration, the lower back door may be provided with a cable, a connecting link, and an arm member. One end of the cable is connected to a latch that can engage with a striker provided at the rear of the vehicle body. The other end of the cable is connected to the connecting link, which can pull the cable by rotating itself. The arm member can rotate relative to the connecting link, and when the operating lever is tilted rearward in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, it engages with the connecting link to rotate the connecting link, and when the operating lever is tilted forward in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, it disengages from the connecting link and spins freely.

According to the above configuration, when the upper back door is closed, the arm member rotates freely, so power transmission from the arm member to the connecting link is avoided.

In the above configuration, a connecting member may be provided that is connected to the operating lever and the arm member. In this case, the connecting member is connected to the operating lever and the arm member by a ball joint.

As the operating lever and the arm member rotate, the connection points between these members and the connecting member are displaced in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction and width direction. By using a ball joint as the connecting member, the connecting member and the operating lever, and the connecting member and the arm member can rotate relative to each other around their respective connection points, making it possible to maintain the connection relationship while following the displacement.

The vehicle back door disclosed in this specification makes it easier to manually open the upper and lower back doors by reducing the number of operations compared to conventional methods.

1 is a perspective view of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle back door according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle back door according to an embodiment of the present invention when it is open. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lower back door with the passenger compartment side surface as the front. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a part of an unlocking mechanism. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view (1/5) illustrating the operation of the upper and lower back doors when they are opened. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view (2/5) illustrating the operation of the upper and lower back doors when they are opened. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view (3/5) illustrating the operation of the upper and lower back doors when they are opened. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view (4/5) illustrating the operation of the upper and lower back doors when they are opened. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view (5/5) illustrating the operation of the upper and lower back doors when they are opened. FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional side view illustrating an operation when the upper back door is closed. FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of an operating lever and an engagement pin. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another example of an unlocking mechanism. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another example of the unlocking mechanism with the cover plate removed; FIG. 11 is a perspective view (1/2) illustrating the operation of an unlocking mechanism according to another example. FIG. 13 is a perspective view (2/2) illustrating the operation of an unlocking mechanism according to another example.

Figure 1 illustrates a vehicle 10 equipped with a vehicle back door according to this embodiment. In Figures 1 to 11, the vehicle front-rear direction is indicated by the axis represented by the symbol FR, the vehicle width direction is indicated by the axis represented by the symbol RW, and the vertical direction is indicated by the axis represented by the symbol UP. The symbol FR stands for Front, and the front of the vehicle is the positive direction of the front-rear axis FR. The symbol RW stands for Right Width, and the right width direction is the positive direction of the width axis RW. The height axis UP stands for the upward direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the FR axis, RW axis, and UP axis are mutually perpendicular. Hereinafter, the vehicle back door according to this embodiment will be described appropriately based on these three axes. For example, the "front end" refers to the end of any component on the positive side of the FR axis, and the "rear end" refers to the end of any component on the negative side of the FR axis. The "inner width" refers to the inner width of the vehicle relatively along the RW axis, and the "outer width" refers to the outer width of the vehicle relatively along the RW axis. Furthermore, the "upper side" refers to the positive side of the UP axis relatively, and the "lower side" refers to the negative side of the UP axis relatively.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vehicle back door according to this embodiment is provided at the rear of the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 may be, for example, a welfare vehicle capable of carrying a wheelchair user inside the vehicle.

The vehicle back door according to this embodiment has a structure that opens from above and below, including an upper back door 20 and a lower back door 40. Figure 2 shows an example of a rear perspective view of the vehicle 10 when the upper back door 20 and the lower back door 40 are open.

<Upper back door>
The upper back door 20 is rotatable about a rotation axis L1 provided at the upper portion of the rear opening 12 of the vehicle body. The rotation axis L1 extends in the vehicle width direction. For example, the rotation axis L1 is determined by a hinge mechanism (not shown) provided at the upper end of the rear opening 12 of the vehicle body and the upper end of the upper back door 20.

The upper back door 20 has a door handle 24 on its outer surface. A lock unit 22 and an abutment 26 are provided on the lower part of the upper back door 20, for example on the lower surface 20A. The lock unit 22 is a paired structure with a striker 48 provided on the lower back door 40, for example, and includes a latch (not shown) that can engage the striker 48.

The latch and door handle 24 are connected by a cable (not shown), and when the door handle 24 is manually operated to open, the latch is pulled by the cable, rod, or solenoid (if electric), and disengaged from the striker 48. This opens the upper back door 20, which is in a closed state.

Figure 5 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of the FR-UP cross section of the vehicle 10. This figure shows an example when the upper back door 20 and the lower back door 40 are in a closed state. The abutment portion 26 is provided on the lower part of the upper back door 20. More specifically, the abutment surface of the abutment portion 26 against the upper back door 20 is L-shaped in side view, and the abutment portion 26 is attached to at least one of the inner surface 20B and the lower surface 20A of the upper back door 20. For example, the abutment portion 26 is attached to both the inner surface 20B and the lower surface 20A of the upper back door 20.

The contact portion 26 tapers downward from the attachment portion of the upper back door 20, leaning toward the front of the vehicle. In addition, the rear surface 26A of the contact portion 26 is curved in side view, and the stroke (contact length) when it contacts the operating lever 52 is longer than if it were straight.

When the upper back door 20 and the lower back door 40 are closed, the abutment portion 26 faces the operating lever 52 forward in the vehicle longitudinal direction. This arrangement allows the abutment portion 26 to abut against the operating lever 52 when the upper back door 20 is opened. As described below, when the upper back door 20 is opened, the abutment portion 26 abuts against the operating lever 52, thereby performing the unlocking operation of the lower back door 40.

<Lower back door>
2 and 3, the lower back door 40 is rotatable about a rotation axis L2 provided at the bottom of the rear opening 12 of the vehicle body. The rotation axis L2 extends in the vehicle width direction. For example, the rotation axis L2 is determined by a bracket 49 (see FIG. 2) provided at the bottom end of the rear opening 12 of the vehicle body, and a hinge mechanism in which a rotation pin (not shown) is inserted into a flange 44A (see FIG. 3) provided at the bottom end of the door panel 44 of the lower back door 40.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the lower back door 40 is a portion that includes the center of the rear bumper (the center in the vehicle width direction), and is opened by tilting backward. Therefore, the rear bumper of the vehicle 10 is divided into rear bumpers 19, 19 provided on both sides in the vehicle width direction at the rear of the vehicle, and a back door bumper 42 provided on the lower back door 40.

In FIG. 2, in order to clarify the position of the striker 18 etc., assistive devices such as ramps are not shown inside the vehicle compartment 14, but these assistive devices may be provided in the vehicle compartment 14 to make it easier for wheelchair users to board the vehicle.

Figure 3 shows an oblique view of the lower back door 40 with the vehicle compartment side (inner surface) facing forward. The lower back door 40 includes a back door bumper 42, a door panel 44, a lock unit 46, a striker 48, and an unlocking mechanism 50.

The door panel 44 is a plate material that extends in the vehicle width direction and the vertical direction, and flanges 44A that are part of the hinge mechanism are formed on both ends of the lower end in the vehicle width direction. In addition, a weather strip 45 is provided on the upper end of the door panel 44 over the entire length in the vehicle width direction.

An unlocking mechanism 50 and a lock unit 46 are provided on the front surface of the door panel 44. The lock unit 46 is supported by a lock arm 47 and is disposed forward and above the front surface of the door panel 44. A pair of lock units 46 are provided on both ends of the lower back door 40 in the vehicle width direction. The lock unit 46 has a slit cut in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, for example, on the outer side in the vehicle width direction, and a latch (not shown) is provided inside the lock unit 46.

Referring further to FIG. 2, a striker 18 for the lower back door 40 is provided on the side wall at the rear of the passenger compartment 14, particularly on the deck trim side panel 16 which is the inner wall of the wheel well. Note that while FIG. 2 only shows the striker 18 on the right side of the vehicle, due to the symmetry of the vehicle structure, a striker 18 is also provided on the deck trim side panel 16 on the left side of the vehicle.

When the lower back door 40 is in a closed state, the latch of the lock unit 46 is engaged with the striker 18. As described below, when the operating lever 52 of the unlocking mechanism 50 is tilted rearward in the vehicle front-rear direction, the latch is pulled by the cable 64 and disengaged from the striker 18. This opens the lower back door 40, which is in a closed state.

The unlocking mechanism 50 is a mechanism capable of unlocking the lower back door 40, and is composed of an operating lever 52, an engagement pin 54, an arm 56, a connecting link 58, and a pair of cables 64, 64. Of these, a portion of the arm 56, the connecting link 58, and the cables 64, 64 are covered by a cover 70. In Figure 3, a portion of the cover 70 has been removed to show an example of the internal structure.

An operating lever 52 and an engagement pin 54 are provided on the upper part of the lower back door 40. Specifically, a striker 48 is provided in the center of the upper surface 40A of the lower back door 40 in the vehicle width direction, and the operating lever 52 and engagement pin 54 are provided to the side of the striker 48.

Referring to FIG. 3, the unlocking mechanism 50 is formed with a power transmission path capable of transmitting the power of the unlocking operation to the lock unit 46. This power transmission path has the operating lever 52 as its end (starting point), and is configured as the operating lever 52 → engagement pin 54 → arm 56 → connecting link 58 → cable 64, and is connected to the lock unit 46.

The cable 64 is a wire that connects the lock unit 46 and the connecting link 58. One end of the cable 64 is connected to the joint 58B of the connecting link 58, and the other end is connected to a latch (not shown) of the lock unit 46.

The connecting link 58 is a plate-shaped member that can rotate around a rotating pin 60 as a rotation center and the vehicle longitudinal axis (FR axis) as a rotation axis. The connecting link 58 has a joint 58A that is connected to the arm 56, and a pair of joints 58B that are connected to a pair of cables 64. The connecting link 58 is also connected to a return spring 62. Figure 3 shows an example of the connecting link 58 that is positioned in the reset position (initial position) by the return spring 62.

As described below, when the joint 58A is pulled up by the arm 56, the connecting link 58 is rotated counterclockwise when viewed from the front. At this time, the counterclockwise rotation of the joint 58B pulls the cable 64, which disengages the latch of the lock unit 46 from the striker 18 (see FIG. 2). The connecting link 58 is then rotated clockwise by the return spring 62 and returned to the reset position.

Referring to Figures 3 and 5, the arm 56 is C-shaped in side view, and is obtained, for example, by forming a round bar member into a C-shape. The arm 56 has an upper portion 56C and a lower portion 56D that extend in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle, and an intermediate portion 56E that is connected to both and extends in the up-down direction. The upper portion 56C is inserted into the support groove 54C of the engagement pin 54.

Referring to FIG. 3, the lower part 56D of the arm is inserted into the opening 58A1 of the joint 58A of the connecting link 58. An insertion groove 58A2 is cut in the opening 58A1 in the vehicle width direction. Correspondingly, the end of the lower part 56D of the arm is a flat part 56D1. When assembling the unlocking mechanism 50, the lower part 56D of the arm is tilted 90 degrees from the orientation shown in FIG. 3, and the flat part 56D1 is inserted into the insertion groove 58A2. After the flat part 56D1 passes through the insertion groove 58A2, the lower part 56D of the arm is raised 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 3. As a result, the lower part 56D of the arm is prevented from coming off the joint 58A.

The end (rear end) of the upper portion 56C of the arm 56 is provided with an enlarged diameter portion 56B to prevent it from coming out of the support groove 54C. Furthermore, the upper portion 56C may be provided with a key (not shown) for retaining the engagement pin 54.

Figure 4 shows an example of an operating lever 52, an engagement pin 54, and a part of an arm 56, which are part of the unlocking mechanism 50. The operating lever 52 and the engagement pin 54 are rotatably supported by a column 51 that protrudes upward from the upper surface 40A of the lower back door 40. The operating lever 52 is a member having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, is aligned with the column 51 in the vehicle width direction, and is pivotally supported by a rotation pin 53.

The operating lever 52 can rotate around the vehicle width axis (RW axis) with the rotating pin 53 as the center of rotation. A return spring (not shown) is connected to the operating lever 52, and when there is no force applied to the abutment portion 26 as described below, the operating lever 52 is positioned in a reset position (initial position) as shown in FIG. 4.

When in the reset position, the operating lever 52 has an engagement claw 52A at its lower end. For example, the engagement claw 52A is formed by two arcuate steps with different radii from the pivot shaft. In the reset position shown in FIG. 4, the engagement claw 52A faces the rear end 54A1 of the base 54A of the engagement pin 54 in the vehicle front-rear direction.

The engagement pin 54, like the operating lever 52, is supported by the rotating pin 53. The engagement pin 54 has a base 54A, a connection portion 54B, and a support portion 54D. The support portion 54D is connected to the rear portion of the base 54A and extends perpendicularly to the base 54A. The support portion 54D is supported by the rotating pin 53 so as to be sandwiched between the column 51 and the operating lever 52.

The base 54A is a member that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and its dimension in the vehicle width direction is formed so that it protrudes from the pivot support 54D in the opposite direction to the column 51. This protruding portion becomes the rear end 54A1 that abuts against the engagement claw 52A.

The engagement pin 54, including the pivot support 54D and the rear end 54A1 of the base 54A, is not mechanically connected to the operating lever 52. For example, as described below, when the operating lever 52 is tilted forward of the vehicle, the rear end 54A1 of the base 54A of the engagement pin 54 and the engagement claw 52A of the operating lever 52 are separated from each other and are not in physical contact with each other.

In other words, the engagement pin 54 engages with the operating lever 52 when the operating lever 52 is tilted backward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction (rotated backward), and disengages from the operating lever 52 when the operating lever 52 is tilted forward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction (rotated forward).

The lower end of the connection part 54B is connected to the front end of the base part 54A. For example, the connection part 54B is inclined relative to the base part 54A in a side view, and the upper end of the connection part 54B is formed so as to protrude forward beyond the lower end.

A support groove 54C is formed in the connection portion 54B. The support groove 54C is generally U-shaped when viewed from the front (when viewed from the FR axis), with an open upper end and penetrating in the thickness direction of the connection portion 54B. An upper portion 56C of the arm 56 is inserted into the support groove 54C. The length of the upper portion 56C of the arm is designed to sufficiently exceed the thickness of the connection portion 54B, and the upper portion 56C of the arm and the connection portion 54B are capable of relative movement along the longitudinal direction of the upper portion 56C of the arm.

<Back door opening operation>
6 to 9 show an example of the upper back door 20 and the lower back door 40 according to this embodiment when they are open. For convenience, in Figs. 5 to 9, the middle portion 56E of the arm 56 is shown shorter than that shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

When the door handle 24 (see FIG. 2) of the upper back door 20 is manually operated to open, the striker 48 is unlocked from the lock unit 22 and the upper back door 20 is lifted upward around the pivot axis L1.

Referring to FIG. 6, at this time, at the lower end of the upper back door 20, the abutment portion 26 rotates along the trajectory indicated by the dashed arrow. The upper portion of the operating lever 52 in the reset position overlaps with this trajectory, and the abutment portion 26 abuts against the front surface 52B of the operating lever 52 during the rotation.

When the abutment portion 26 further moves (rotates) rearward and upward in the vehicle front-rear direction, the operating lever 52 is tilted rearward (rotated) around the rotation pin 53. At this time, the engagement claw 52A at the lower end of the operating lever 52 abuts against and biases the rear end 54A1 of the base 54A of the engagement pin 54. As a result, the engagement pin 54 is rotated upward (clockwise in FIG. 7) around the rotation pin 53 as the rotation center, as illustrated in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

The rotation of the engagement pin 54 lifts the arm 56 hooked to the support groove 54C of the connection part 54B. With reference to FIG. 9, the arm 56 continues to be lifted by the engagement pin 54 until the abutment part 26 passes the operating lever 52. The connection part 54B of the engagement pin 54 and the upper part 56C of the arm 56 move relative to each other along the longitudinal direction of the upper part 56C of the arm. During this process, the joint 58A of the connecting link 58 engaged with the lower part 56D of the arm 56 is lifted upward. With reference to FIG. 3, the connecting link 58 is rotated counterclockwise when viewed from the front, and the cable 64 is pulled, thereby unlocking the lock unit 46. In other words, the lower back door 40 is unlocked.

When the contact portion 26 passes over the operating lever 52, the operating lever 52 is placed in an unloaded state, and the return spring (not shown) returns the operating lever 52 to the reset position as shown in FIG. 5.

In addition, as the connecting link 58 (see FIG. 3) is returned to the reset position (the position in FIG. 3) by the return spring 62, the arm 56 and the engagement pin 54 are returned to the reset position illustrated in FIG. 5.

In this way, with the vehicle back door according to this embodiment, the lower back door 40 is also opened when the upper back door 20 is opened, so the operation of manually unlocking and opening the lower back door 40 can be omitted.

<Back door closing operation>
10 illustrates an example of the operation of the vehicle back door according to the present embodiment when it is closed. When the back door is closed, the lower back door 40 is closed before the upper back door 20 because the striker 48 (see FIG. 2) for the upper back door 20 is provided on the lower back door 40.

After the lower back door 40 is closed, the upper back door 20 is closed. As described above, the upper portion of the operating lever 52 in the reset position intersects with the movement trajectory of the abutment portion 26, so the rear surface 52C of the operating lever 52 and the front surface 26B of the abutment portion 26 come into contact with each other.

Furthermore, as the abutment portion 26 moves (rotates) forward, the operating lever 52 is tilted forward (rotated forward). As described above, the engagement pin 54 engages with the operating lever 52 when the operating lever 52 is tilted backward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction, and disengages from the operating lever 52 when the operating lever 52 is tilted forward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, when the operating lever 52 is tilted forward, the engagement claw 52A and the rear end 54A1 of the base 54A are separated in the circumferential direction, so that the engagement pin 54 is disengaged from the operating lever 52. Therefore, even if the operating lever 52 is tilted forward, the engagement pin 54 remains in the reset position, and power transmission to the power transmission path of the unlocking mechanism 50 (engagement pin 54 → arm 56 → connecting link 58 → cable 64) is suppressed.

<Another example of the operating lever and the engagement pin>
11 shows another example of the operating lever 52 and the engagement pin 54 according to this embodiment. In this example, the column 51, the operating lever 52, and the engagement pin 54 are aligned in the vehicle width direction, and the operating lever 52 and the engagement pin 54 are rotatably supported by the column 51 via a rotation pin 53. A through hole 54E penetrating in the thickness direction is formed in the connection portion 54B of the engagement pin 54, and an upper portion 56C of an arm 56 is inserted into this through hole 54E. The inner diameter of the through hole 54E is formed to be larger than the diameter of the arm upper portion 56C, for example.

Furthermore, an engagement claw 52A is formed at the lower end of the operating lever 52 around the rotation center (rotation pin 53) so as to protrude in the direction of the rotation axis. For example, the engagement claw 52A is formed in an arc shape when viewed from the side, and is concentric with the arc shape of the rear end portion of the engagement pin 54.

On the other hand, an engagement claw 54F is formed at the rear end around the rotation center (rotation pin 53) of the engagement pin 54. This engagement claw 54F is formed, for example, by a step between arcs of different radii from the rotation center. For example, the arc of the engagement pin 54 behind the engagement claw 54F has a smaller diameter than the arc in front of it.

In this configuration, when the operating lever 52 is tilted backward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction, the engagement pin 54 engages with the operating lever 52 due to the abutment of the engagement claws 52A and 54F. On the other hand, when the operating lever 52 is tilted forward in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction, the engagement claws 52A and 54F are separated in the circumferential direction, so that the engagement pin 54 disengages from the operating lever 52.

<Another example of unlocking mechanism>
12 to 15 show another example of the unlocking mechanism 50 according to this embodiment. The unlocking mechanism 50 includes an operating lever 52, a lever frame 110, a ball joint 90, an arm 56, a connecting link 58, and a pair of cables 64A and 64B.

Referring to FIG. 12, the unlocking mechanism 50 is housed in a cover 70. The cover 70 is provided with a cover plate 71, which is a front panel member, and a box-shaped cover tray 72. Referring to FIG. 13, the cover tray 72 has an open portion facing the front of the vehicle, and this open portion is covered by the cover plate 71. A frame-shaped flange 74 is formed on the front portion of the cover tray 72 for fastening to the cover plate 71.

Referring to FIG. 12, an opening 73 is formed in the upper surface 72A of the cover tray 72, penetrating the upper surface in the thickness direction. The upper end of the operating lever 52 protrudes from this opening 73. When the upper back door 20 and the lower back door 40 are closed, the protruding portion of the operating lever 52 faces the abutment portion 26 (see FIG. 5) toward the front in the vehicle longitudinal direction. This arrangement allows the abutment portion 26 to abut against the operating lever 52 when the upper back door 20 is opened. As described later, when the upper back door 20 is opened, the abutment portion 26 abuts against the operating lever 52, thereby performing the unlocking operation of the lower back door 40.

Referring to FIG. 13, the operating lever 52 is, for example, a Π-shaped member when viewed from the front, and is joined to the lever frame 110 by welding or the like. The lever frame 110 has a pair of side walls 110A spaced apart in the vehicle width direction, and a front wall 110B connecting the side walls 110A. The side wall 110A is supported by the side walls 80A, 80A of the base plate 80 via a rotation pin 100 extending in the vehicle width direction. The base plate 80 is fixed to the cover tray 72. With this structure, the lever frame 110 and the operating lever 52 are rotatable in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle relative to the base plate 80 and the cover tray 72.

Although not shown in the figure, a return spring is attached to the rotating pin 100. For example, when the operating lever 52 is raised backward as shown in FIG. 15, the return spring causes the operating lever 52 to return to the initial position (reset position) as shown in FIG. 13.

A connecting arm 110C is provided on one of the side walls 110A, 110A of the lever frame 110, extending in a direction non-parallel to the operating lever 52. The angle between the operating lever 52 and the connecting arm 110C may be, for example, 70° or more and 120° or less.

A ball joint 90 is connected to the tip of the connecting arm 110C opposite the end where the connecting arm 110C is connected to the side wall 110A. The ball joint 90 includes sockets 91A and 91B, studs 92A and 92B, ball heads 93A and 93B, and a connecting rod 94.

The stud 92A is engaged with the front end of the connecting arm 110C of the lever frame 110 via an engaging member such as a bolt and nut (not shown) or by crimping. The stud 92A extends, for example, vertically from the engaging surface of the connecting arm 110C and has a ball head 93A at its tip. The ball head 93A is housed in the socket 91A. The inside of the socket 91A is a spherical cavity, and the ball head 93A is housed in this cavity. A lubricant such as grease is injected into the socket 91A, allowing the ball head 93A and the stud 92A to rotate relative to the socket 91A.

The upper end of the connecting rod 94 is connected to the socket 91A, and the lower end is connected to the socket 91B. The ball head 93B of the stud 92B is received in the socket 91B. The stud 92B is engaged with the flange 56G of the arm 56 via the engagement pin 56H, or alternatively, by fastening with a bolt and nut.

In this manner, in the unlocking mechanism 50 according to this embodiment, the arm 56 and the operating lever 52 are connected via a ball joint 90. As described below, as the operating lever 52 and the arm 56 rotate, the connection point of the connecting member with these members is displaced in the vehicle front-to-rear and width directions. By using the ball joint 90 as the connecting member, the ball joint 90 and the operating lever 52, and the ball joint 90 and the arm 56 can rotate relatively around their respective connection points as the rotation center, and the connection relationship can be maintained while following the displacement.

The arm 56 comprises an arm body 56F and a flange 56G. The flange 56G extends, for example, parallel to the axial direction of the rotation pin 60, and its main surface faces the socket 91B. As described above, the stud 92B engages with this flange 56G.

The arm body 56F extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle, with its main surface facing the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The upper end of the arm body 56F is journaled to a base plate 81 via a rotation pin 60. The base plate 81 is fixed to the cover tray 72. In addition, the arm body 56F is journaled to the rotation pin 60 so as to be coaxial with the connecting link 58. To enable the arm 56 and the connecting link 58 to rotate relative to each other, for example, a washer made of resin with a low coefficient of friction is inserted between the two.

The arm body 56F also has a protrusion 56F1 that projects outward in the vehicle width direction from the rotation pin 60. As described below, when the arm 56 is rotated counterclockwise around the rotation pin 60, the protrusion 56F1 comes into contact with the lower end of the outer arm 58C of the connecting link 58, causing the connecting link 58 to rotate counterclockwise from there.

The connecting link 58 is a generally cross-shaped member when viewed from the front, and its center is supported by a rotating pin 60. The connecting link 58 includes a joint 58B1 extending upward, a joint 58B2 extending downward, an outer arm 58C extending outward in the vehicle width direction, and an inner arm 58D extending inward in the vehicle width direction.

The upper joint 58B1 is fixed to the end of a cable 64A that is connected to the lock unit 46 on the left side in the vehicle width direction (see Figure 3). The lower joint 58B2 is fixed to the end of a cable 64B that is connected to the lock unit 46 on the right side in the vehicle width direction.

The outer arm 58C is formed into a crank shape in a plan view. For example, the outer arm 58C bends forward in the vehicle width direction from the starting end on the rotating pin 60 side, extends further forward than the thickness of the arm 56, and then bends outward in the vehicle width direction. This crank shape allows the outer arm 58C to come into contact with the protruding portion 56F1 of the arm 56, which is located below the outer arm 58C.

One end of a return spring 62 is fixed to the tip of the inner arm 58D of the connecting link 58. The other end of the return spring 62 is fixed to the cover tray 72. When the force of the arm 56 is released, the elastic force of the return spring 62 returns the connecting link 58 to the initial position illustrated in FIG. 13.

The base plate 81 is also provided with stoppers 81A and 81B. The stoppers 81A and 81B each extend toward the front of the vehicle. The stopper 81A faces the outer end of the joint 58B1 in the vehicle width direction. The stopper 81B faces the inner end of the joint 58B2 in the vehicle width direction.

By arranging the stoppers 81A and 81B in this way with respect to the connecting link 58, even if the connecting link 58 rotates clockwise, the rotation is stopped by the stoppers 81A and 81B.

<Back door opening operation>
When the door handle 24 of the upper back door 20 (see FIG. 2) is manually operated to open the door, the striker 48 is unlocked from the lock unit 22, and the upper back door 20 is lifted upward about the rotation axis L1.

Referring to FIG. 6, at this time, at the lower end of the upper back door 20, the abutment portion 26 rotates along the locus of the dashed arrow. Referring to FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, the upper part of the operating lever 52 in the reset position overlaps with the locus of the abutment portion 26, and the abutment portion 26 abuts against the operating lever 52 in the middle of the rotation.

When the abutment portion 26 further moves (rotates) rearward and upward in the vehicle front-rear direction, the operating lever 52 and the lever frame 110 fixed to it are tilted (rotated) rearward with the rotating pin 100 as the center of rotation, as shown by arrow (1) in Figure 14.

As the arrow (1) rotates, the connecting arm 110C of the lever frame 110 rotates upward. As a result, the ball joint 90, whose upper end is connected to the connecting arm 110C, is pulled forward and upward in the vehicle width direction, following the trajectory of the front end of the connecting arm 110C, as shown by the arrow (2).

As the ball joint 90 is pulled up, the flange 56G of the arm 56 connected to the lower end of the ball joint 90 is biased upward as shown by the arrow (3). This causes the arm 56 to rotate counterclockwise as shown by the arrow (4) around the rotation pin 60.

At this time, as the arm 56 rotates, the stud 92B is pushed outward in the vehicle width direction along the trajectory of the arm 56, as shown by arrow (5). In this way, the rotation of the connecting arm 110C and the arm 56 causes the upper part of the ball joint 90 connecting the two to move upward and toward the front of the vehicle, and the lower part to move upward and outward in the vehicle width direction.

The studs 92A, 92B and the sockets 91A, 91B rotate relative to each other to follow this force toward the front of the vehicle and outward in the vehicle width direction. As a result, the ball joint 90 can maintain a connection relationship with the connecting arm 110C (and the operating lever 52 beyond it) and the arm 56 while following the displacement toward the front of the vehicle and outward in the vehicle width direction.

Referring to FIG. 14, as the arm 56 rotates counterclockwise, the protrusion 56F1 comes into contact with the lower end of the outer arm 58C of the connecting link 58. As the arm 56 continues to rotate counterclockwise, the connecting link 58 is also rotated counterclockwise accordingly. As a result, the cables 64A and 64B are pulled, and the lock unit 46 (see FIG. 3) is unlocked. In other words, the lower back door 40 is unlocked.

<Back door closing operation>
As described above, when closing the back doors, the striker 48 for the upper back door 20 (see FIG. 2 ) is provided on the lower back door 40, so that the lower back door 40 is closed before the upper back door 20.

After the lower back door 40 is closed, the upper back door 20 is closed. As described above, the upper portion of the operating lever 52 in the reset position intersects with the movement trajectory of the abutment portion 26, so the operating lever 52 and the abutment portion 26 come into contact with each other.

Furthermore, as the contact portion 26 moves (rotates) forward, the operating lever 52 is tilted forward (opposite the direction of the arrow (1) in FIG. 14) (rotated forward). As the operating lever 52 rotates forward, the ball joint 90 connected to the connecting arm 110C is pushed downward.

As a result, the arm 56 is biased downward, causing it to rotate clockwise around the rotating pin 60. When the arm 56 rotates clockwise, the protruding portion 56F1 of the arm body 56F is separated from the outer arm 58C. Therefore, the arm 56 is disengaged from the connecting link 58 and rotates freely.

10 vehicle, 12 rear opening, 14 passenger compartment, 18, 48 striker, 19 rear bumper, 20 upper tailgate, 20A lower surface of upper tailgate, 22, 46 lock unit, 24 door handle, 26 abutment portion, 40 lower tailgate, 40A upper surface of lower tailgate, 42 tailgate bumper, 44 door panel, 44A flange, 45 weather strip, 47 lock arm, 49 bracket, 50 unlocking mechanism, 51 column, 51A guide plate, 52 operating lever, 52A engagement claw, 53, 60 rotating pin, 54 engagement pin, 54A base of engagement pin, 54B connection portion of engagement pin, 54C support groove, 54D pivot support portion, 54E through hole, 54F engagement claw, 56 arm, 56B enlarged diameter portion, 56C Upper part of arm, 56D lower part of arm, 56E middle part of arm, 58 connecting link, 58 joint, 62 return spring, 64 cable, 70 cover, 71 cover plate, 72 cover tray, 90 ball joint, 110 lever frame.

Claims (3)

An upper back door having a pivot shaft extending in the vehicle width direction at an upper portion of a rear opening of the vehicle body;
A lower back door having a pivot shaft extending in a vehicle width direction at a lower portion of a rear opening of the vehicle body;
A vehicle back door having a vertical opening structure,
An operating lever of an unlocking mechanism capable of unlocking the lower back door is provided at an upper portion of the lower back door,
A contact portion is provided at a lower portion of the upper back door, the contact portion contacting the operating lever when the upper back door is opened to perform an unlocking operation of the lower back door ,
When the operating lever is tilted backward in the vehicle front-rear direction, the lower back door is unlocked.
The abutment portion faces the operation lever forward in the vehicle front-rear direction when the upper back door and the lower back door are in a closed state,
The operation lever is provided at an end of a power transmission path of the unlocking mechanism, which is capable of transmitting power for an unlocking operation to the lock unit of the lower back door,
Further, an engagement pin is provided in the power transmission path, which is engaged with the operation lever when the operation lever is tilted backward in the vehicle front-rear direction and is disengaged when the operation lever is tilted forward in the vehicle front-rear direction.
Back door for vehicle. An upper back door having a pivot shaft extending in the vehicle width direction at an upper portion of a rear opening of the vehicle body;
A lower back door having a pivot shaft extending in a vehicle width direction at a lower portion of a rear opening of the vehicle body;
A vehicle back door having a vertical opening structure,
An operating lever of an unlocking mechanism capable of unlocking the lower back door is provided at an upper portion of the lower back door,
A contact portion is provided at a lower portion of the upper back door, the contact portion contacting the operating lever when the upper back door is opened to perform an unlocking operation of the lower back door,
When the operating lever is tilted backward in the vehicle front-rear direction, the lower back door is unlocked.
The abutment portion faces the operation lever forward in the vehicle front-rear direction when the upper back door and the lower back door are in a closed state,
The lower back door has
a cable having one end connected to a latch that can engage with a striker provided at the rear of the vehicle body;
a connecting link to which the other end of the cable is connected and which can pull the cable by rotating the connecting link itself;
an arm member is provided which is capable of rotating relative to the connecting link, engages with the connecting link to rotate the connecting link when the operating lever is tilted backward in the vehicle front-rear direction, and disengages from the connecting link to rotate freely when the operating lever is tilted forward in the vehicle front-rear direction;
Back door for vehicle. The vehicle back door according to claim 2 ,
a connecting member is provided which is connected to the operating lever and the arm member;
The connecting member is connected to the operating lever and the arm member by a ball joint.
Back door for vehicle.

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