Abstract:
An opening movement control device of a sliding door on a vehicle body. The sliding door having an outer panel connected to an inner panel to define a space therebetween, with a window glass slidably supported between the panels. A link mechanism disposed in the space includes a drive link coupled to the glass to cause reciprocal motion thereof. A drive shaft is rotatably supported by a module base, with one end passing through the module base, and another end fixed to the drive link. A cam member is fixed on the one end of the drive shaft, and a cam follower is movably supported by the inner panel and contacting the cam member. A stopper coupled to the cam follower contacts the vehicle body only when the glass moves down to prevent movement of the door when the window glass is down.

Description:
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/253,537, filed Sep. 25, 2002, now abandoned, which is incorporated herein by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to an opening movement control device of a sliding door for a vehicle, and more particularly, relates to a device for controlling an opening movement of a sliding door when a window glass of the sliding door opens with respect to a predetermined position. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   In a prior sliding door for a vehicle, an outer panel having a window portion formed at its upper side region and an inner panel having a window portion formed at its upper side portion are opposed and are connected at their peripheral portions. A space is formed between the lower side region of the outer panel and the lower side region of the inner panel and a window glass which opens and closes the window portions is disposed in the space so as to be able to move up and down. A window regulator is mounted on the inner panel in the space and the window glass is moved up and down by the window regulator. In case that the sliding door moves to open under the condition which the window glass is opened, for example, when a hand stretches out of the window glass, there is in danger that the hand is nipped between a pillar of the window portions and a pillar of the body side. 
   In a Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-160930, a mechanism for controlling an opening movement of a sliding door when a window glass of the sliding door opens with respect to a predetermined position. Namely, a lower end of one of a pair of links which are rotatably connected at center portion in X configuration supports a sector gear rotatably in the space of the outside of the compartment, a lower end of the other link is slidably guided horizontally. The window glass is supported on the upper ends of a pair of links. A pinion which is geared with the sector gear is driven a motor and the window glass is moved up and down. When the window glass moves down to the predetermined position by the rotation of the sector gear, a cam which is mounted on the sector gear swings a swing link. The other end of the swing link is connected to a wire of a movement transmitting cable and a coating tube is fixed to the inner panel. The movement transmitting cable is introduced to the inside of the compartment through an opening which is formed on the inner panel. The cable is connected to a stopper which is rotatably supported on the inner panel at the lower side of the front side of the sliding door. When the window glass moves down with respect to the predetermined position, the stopper rotates and projects, and contacts with a stopping member provided on the body. 
   In the prior device for controlling the opening movement of the sliding door, the swing link, which is operated by the cam fixed to the sector when the sliding door moves down to the predetermined position, is fixed to the inner panel at the outside of the compartment, and the stopper, to which the swing movement of the swing link is transmitted and which rotates, is supported on the inner panel at the inside of the compartment. Therefore, the movement transmitting cable has to be introduced from the outside of the compartment to the inside of the compartment through the opening which is formed on the inner panel and it is necessary to waterproof the opening by a grommet. As a result, the number of parts and the assembling steps increase and the cost increases. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is an object of the present invention to provide an opening movement control device of a sliding door for a vehicle which can prevent the prior drawback. 
   According to the present invention, an opening movement control device of a sliding door for a vehicle includes an outer panel and an inner panel in which window portions are formed at their upper side region and which are connected at their peripheral portions, a space which is formed between the lower side region of the outer panel and the lower side region of the inner panel and in which a window glass for opening and closing the window portions is disposed so as to be able to move up and down, a link mechanism which supports and moves up and down the window glass and which is disposed on the inner panel at the outside of a compartment, a drive shaft which is rotated by a driving device for driving the link mechanism and which is rotatably supported on the inner panel, a cam member which is fixed to an end portion of the inside of the compartment of the drive shaft, a cam follower which contacts with a cam portion of the cam member and which is movably supported on the inner panel and a stopper which is disposed on the inner panel and which is connected to one end of the cam follower through a cable, wherein the stopper projects when the window glass moves down with respect to the predetermined position and contacts with a stopping member which is provided on a body. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a front view of a sliding door for a vehicle which is provided with an opening movement control device according to the present invention and in which a trim is removed; 
       FIG. 2  is a partial sectional side view of the sliding door for a vehicle; 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of a module structure; 
       FIG. 4  is an enlarged view of an essential part of an opening movement control device a sliding door for a vehicle; 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view of a mounting part of an actuator part of a window regulator and drive shaft part which is mounted to a module base; 
       FIG. 6  is a view showing a mounting of a cam follower to the module base; 
       FIGS. 7(   a ) to  7 ( c ) show the other embodiment of a fastener for fastening a coating tube to the module base; and 
       FIGS. 8(   a ) to  8 ( c ) show the other embodiment for fastening a coating tube to the module base. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained referring to drawings. As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a window portion  15  penetrates an upper side region  14  of a door main body  13  which is formed by connecting between an outer panel  11  and an inner panel  12  at their peripheral portions and is provided. In a lower side region  19 , a space  17  in which a window glass  16  for opening and closing the window portion  15  is disposed so as to be able to move up and down is formed between the outer panel  11  and the inner panel  12 . The numeral  18  is a trim which is mounted at the inside of a compartment of the door main body  13 . 
   A horizontally long module mounting opening  20  is formed near the window portion  15  at the lower side region  19  of the inner panel  12 . A peripheral portion of a module base  21  is overlapped with a peripheral portion of the module mounting opening  20  and is fluid-tightly fixed thereto through a seal, and a module structure  22  constituted by mounting a plural functional components to the module base  21  is fixed from the inside of the compartment. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the module structure  22  is constituted by mounting a inside handle  23  for opening and closing a sliding door  10 , a front side latch mechanism  24  for maintaining the sliding door  10  in a closing state by engaging with a body, a remote control mechanism  28  for transmitting the movement of the inside handle  23  and an outside handle  27  to the front side latch mechanism  24  and a rear side latch mechanism  25  so as to be able to engage and disengage, a window regulator  32  for moving up and down the window glass  16  and so on to the module base  21 . 
   On the inner panel  12 , besides the module structure  22 , the rear side latch mechanism  25  which engages the sliding door  10  with the body and which maintains the sliding door  10  in the closing state, a power sliding door driving unit  33  for opening and closing automatically the sliding door  10 , an electric supply device  34  for supplying the electric power from the body side to each actuator and so on mounted on the sliding door  10  and so on are mounted. 
   The window regulator  32  is mounted on the module base  21 . As shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , T-shaped reinforcing plate  35  is fixed on a side face outside of the compartment of the module base  21 . The reinforcing plate  35  has minimum size in order to lighten the weight. Both ends of a top panel portion  41  of the reinforcing plate  35  are fixed to the module base  21  by screws  36 . An inner edge of a bearing hole which is formed in a center portion of the top panel portion  41  is bent toward the inside of the compartment and a bearing portion  48  is formed, and a drive shaft  37  is rotatably supported. On an end portion of the drive shaft  37  which projects toward the outside of the compartment, a rotation center portion of a sector gear  38  and one end of the drive link  50  are fixed thereon so as to regulate the relative rotation. Both ends of the bearing portion  48  is nipped between a flange portion formed on the drive shaft  37  and the sector gear  38  and the movement in the axial direction of the drive shaft  37  is regulated. A strip-shaped portion  42  extended from the top panel portion  41  of the reinforcing plate  35  bends outside along the way and passes through a sectorial penetrating hole  40  formed on a center portion of the sector gear  38 , and is positioned at the outside with respect to the sector gear  38 . The strip-shaped portion  42  extends in parallel with the sector gear  38  and supports rotatably a shaft portion of a pinion  43  meshed with the sector gear  38 . The end portion of the strip-shaped portion  42  bends inside and overlaps with the module base  21 . The screw  36  penetrates this overlapped portion and is screwed to a fixing seat  44  of an actuator  47  which contacts with a side face of the inside of the compartment of the module base  21 , and the end portion of the strip-shaped portion  42  is fixed to the module base  21 . In a portion of the module base  21  which is opposite to the pinion  43 , an opening  45  is formed and a mounting plate  46  is fixed so as to close the opening  45 . The actuator  47  including a motor and a speed reduction mechanism is mounted on the mounting plate  46  and an output shaft is connected to the pinion  43 . A driving device for rotating the drive shaft  37  is constituted by the actuator  47 , the pinion  43 , the sector gear  38  and so on. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , on a center portion of the drive link  50  rotated with the sector gear  38  in a body, a pin  51  is rotatably supported and one end of a guide link  52  is fixed to an inner end of the pin  51  projected toward the module base  21  of the drive link  50 . The other end of the guide link  52  is guided movably in the horizontal direction by a guide  53  which is fixed to the side face of the outside of the compartment of the module base  21  and whose height is the same as the drive shaft  37 . One end of a support link  54  is fixed to an outer end of the pin  51  projected to the opposite side of the drive link  50  so as to extend the guide link  52 . A top end portion of the drive link  50  and a top end portion of the support link  54  are guided movably in the horizontal direction by a guide rail  55  mounted on a lower end side surface of the window glass  16  and support the window glass  16 . The drive link  50 , the pin  51 , the guide link  52  and the support link  54  constitute a pair of links which are rotatably connected at the center portion in X configuration and are mounted to the module base  21  at the outside of compartment, and constitute a link mechanism for supporting the window glass  16  and for moving up and down the window glass  16 . 
   The numeral  56  is a sectorial cam member which is made of resin or metal. The rotation center portion is fitted on a head portion of the drive shaft  37  projected toward the inside of the compartment through a serration fit and a hook portion formed on an inner end surface is engaged with a jaw portion of the drive shaft  37  for preventing from dropping out. The cam member  56  is fixed to the drive shaft  37  at the flip of a switch. On an outer circumferential surface of the cam member  56 , a cam is formed at the rotational direction. A bearing hole  58  is formed on the module base  21  adjacent to the cam member  56 . An inner edge of the bearing hole  58  is bent toward the outside of the compartment and a cylindrical inner surface is formed. A shaft portion  60  which is projected and provided on a side surface of a cam follower  59  made of resin is supported in the bearing hole  58 . The shaft portion  60  is fitted into the bearing hole  58  and a hook portion formed on a top end of the shaft portion  60  is engaged with an end surface of the bent portion of the bearing hole  58  for preventing from dropping out. The cam follower  59  is rotatably supported on the module base  21  at the flip of a switch. The cam follower  59  contacts with the cam  57  of the cam member  56  at its top end portion. The cam follower  59  may be slidably mounted on the module base  21  and may be lineally moved by the cam  57 . 
   A cable connecting portion  61  is provided on the cam follower  59 . A wire  63  of a cable  62  is connected to a top end portion of the cable connecting portion  61  and a coating tube  64  is fixed to a bracket  65  which is screwed shut to the module base  21 . The cable  62  is disposed adjacent to a stopper  66  which is rotatably supported on the inner panel  12  at the lower side of the front side of the sliding door  10 . The wire  63  is connected to the stopper  66  and the coating tube  64  is fixed to the inner panel  12 . The shape of the cam  57  is a shape for rotating the stopper  66  when the drive shaft  37  and the cam member  56  are rotated until the window glass  16  moves down to a predetermined position and for contacting the stopper  66  to a stopping member provided on a body. 
   Next, the operation of the opening movement control device of a sliding door for a vehicle according to the present invention is described. When an open switch of the window glass  16  is operated, the motor of the actuator  47  of the window regulator  32  rotates toward the direction which the window glass  16  moves down and the sector gear  38  is rotated by the pinion  43 . Then, the drive shaft  37  is rotated clockwise in  FIG. 3  and the drive link  50  is rotated in the same direction. Then, the guide link  52  is guided by the guide  53  and is rotated counterclockwise while moving in the horizontal direction. Then, the support link  54  is rotated in the same direction and the guide rail  55  is moved downward, and the window glass  16  is moved down. 
   When the drive shaft  37  is rotated until the window glass  16  moves down to the predetermined position, the cam  57  of the cam member  56  rotates the cam follower  59  counterclockwise and the wire  63  connected to the cable connecting portion  61  is pulled. Then, the stopper  66  is rotated to the position in which the stopper  66  contacts with the stopping member provided on the body and the opening movement of the sliding door  10  is regulated. 
   In the above mentioned embodiment, although the window regulator and the opening movement control device of a sliding door for a vehicle are provided on the module base, both devices may be mounted on the inner panel directly. 
   In the above mentioned embodiment, although the bracket  65  for fixing the coating tube  64  of the cable  62  is fixed to the inner panel by screw, as shown in  FIGS. 7(   a ) to  7 ( c ), an inverted T-shaped projection  71  is formed on a back face of resinous fastener  70  in which U-shaped concave portion for engaging a mounting portion  69  mounted on the end portion of the coating tube  64  is formed at its front face, the projection  71  is fitted into an inverted T-shaped hole  72  formed on the module base  21  while aligning the transversal line portion and moves toward the upper end of the longitudinal line of the hole  72 , the fastener  70  may be fixed to the module base  21 . 
   Further, as shown in  FIGS. 8(   a ) to  8 ( c ), the mounting portion  69  mounted on the end portion of the coating tube  64  of the cable  62  and the resinous fastener  70  may be integrally formed. 
   As mentioned above, in this embodiment, an opening and closing control device of opening and closing member for a vehicle includes an outer panel and an inner panel in which window portions are formed at their upper side region and which are connected at their peripheral portions, a space which is formed between the lower side region of the outer panel and the lower side region of the inner panel and in which a window glass for opening and closing the window portions is disposed so as to be able to move up and down, a link mechanism which supports and moves up and down the window glass and which is disposed on the inner panel at the outside of a compartment, a drive shaft which is rotated by a driving device for driving the link mechanism and which is rotatably supported on the inner panel, a cam member which is fixed to an end portion of the inside of the compartment of the drive shaft, a cam follower which contacts with a cam portion of the cam member and which is movably supported on the inner panel and a stopper which is disposed on the inner panel and which is connected to one end of the cam follower through a cable, wherein the stopper projects when the window glass moves down with respect to the predetermined position and contacts with a stopping member which is provided on a body. Therefore, it is not necessary to penetrate the cable into the inner panel, it is not only favorable for waterproofing, but cost can be decreased by decrease of the number of parts and number of man-hour for assembling. 
   Further, in this embodiment, the drive shaft fitted on the lower end of one link of a pair of links which are rotatably connected at the center portion in X configuration is rotatably supported on the inner panel, the lower end of the other link is guided slidably in the horizontally direction and the pinion meshed with the sector fitted to the drive shaft is rotated by the actuator. When the window glass is moved down with respect to the predetermined position, the cam member fixed to the end portion of the inside of the compartment of the drive shaft moves the cam follower and the movement of the cam follower is transmitted to the stopper mounted on the inner panel by the cable. Therefore, it is not necessary to penetrate the cable into the inner panel by mounting the cam member to the drive shaft of the link mechanism having simple structure. Therefore, it is not only favorable for waterproofing, but cost can be decreased by decrease of the number of parts and number of man-hour for assembling. 
   Further, in this embodiment, the module mounting opening is formed at the lower side region of the inner panel and the link mechanism is disposed at the outside of the compartment of the module base mounted from the inside of the compartment so as to close the module mounting opening. The drive shaft is rotatably supported on the module base and the cam member is fixed to the end portion of the inside of the compartment of the drive shaft, and the cam follower contacting with the cam portion of the cam member is supported movably on the module base. Therefore, it is able to adjust the operation as the module structure, and it is able to reduce the assembling time and cost by decrease the number of man-hour in assembling process of a vehicle and the number of parts.