Sliding door for vehicle

A sliding door for a vehicle, which is applicable to a door portion to which a straight rail is difficult to be applied, may include a door rail mounted in a door which is configured to be closed to a vehicle body in a vertical direction of the vehicle; a vehicle body rail mounted in the vehicle body to which the door is configured to be closed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle; and a moving arm having one end portion which is movably coupled along the door rail in the vertical direction to open or close the door in a transverse direction of the vehicle body during moving, and the other end portion which is movably coupled along the vehicle body rail in a longitudinal direction to allow the door to be slidingly moved in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body during moving.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0062597 filed on May 25, 2020, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a sliding door for a vehicle, which is applicable to a door portion to which a straight rail is difficult to be applied.

Description of Related Art

In passenger vehicles for leisure and vans, sliding doors which are opened or closed by pushing the sliding doors in a longitudinal direction are employed.

A straight rail is fixed to a vehicle body and a door in the front and rear direction thereof, and the sliding door is fixed to the vehicle body through a roller and hinge structure so that the door may be guided along a trajectory of the rail to be opened or closed in a sliding manner.

However, the conventional sliding door has a problem in that the rail of the door is exposed to an interior of a vehicle to degrade an aesthetically pleasing feeling in terms of an interior design. Furthermore, there is a difficulty in configuring a layout of an interior of the door in addition to a door glass.

Since the rail is a straight shape, the rail is applicable to a rear door, but there is a disadvantage in that it is difficult for the rail to be applied to a front door of which a roof side portion is formed to be inclined downward.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing a sliding door for a vehicle, which is applicable to a door portion to which a straight rail is difficult to be applied in terms of a design.

According to one aspect, there is provided a sliding door for a vehicle, which includes a door rail mounted in a door which is configured to be closed to a vehicle body in a vertical direction of the vehicle; a vehicle body rail mounted in the vehicle body to which the door is configured to be closed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle; and a moving arm having one end portion which is movably coupled along the door rail in the vertical direction to open or close the door in a transverse direction of the vehicle body during moving, and the other end portion which is movably coupled along the vehicle body rail in a longitudinal direction to allow the door to be slidingly moved in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body during moving.

A rack gear may be provided along the door rail, and a gear module may be connected to the rack gear in a gear engagement structure at one end portion of the moving arm to be moved in the vertical direction, and simultaneously, to rotate the one end portion of the moving arm.

The gear module may include a module housing coupled to the door rail and guided by the door rail to slide in the vertical direction thereof, a drive external gear axially coupled to the module housing and engaged with the rack gear, a driven external gear axially coupled to the module housing and fixed to the one end portion of the moving arm, and an idle external gear axially coupled to the module housing and engaged between the drive external gear and the driven external gear, and configured to transmit a rotating force of the drive external gear to the driven external gear.

The sliding door may further include a motor configured to provide a driving force to the drive external gear.

When the gear module is moved from one end portion to the other of an entire vertical movement section, a gear ratio between the rack gear and the driven external gear may be configured such that the moving arm is rotated from one end portion to the other of an entire rotation section.

The door rail may be mounted on an internal surface of a door frame, and the vehicle body rail may be mounted on an external surface of a pillar.

The vehicle body rail may be mounted in a curved shape along an A-pillar or a C-pillar of the vehicle body, and the door rail may be vertically mounted in a portion of the door frame corresponding to a B pillar of the vehicle body.

A guide slit may be formed on a surface of the vehicle body rail facing the door in a longitudinal direction thereof, one end portion of a roller portion may be coupled to the other end portion of the moving arm in a ball joint structure, an intermediate portion of the roller portion may pass through the guide slit, and a roller provided at the other end portion of the roller portion may be inserted into the vehicle body rail and guided to be moved along the vehicle body rail.

The vehicle body rail may be formed in a torsional shape in the longitudinal direction thereof, the guide slit of the vehicle body rail adjacent to the B pillar may be formed to surface a lower end portion of the door rail, and the guide slit of the vehicle body rail far away from the B pillar may be formed to surface an upper end portion of the door rail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A sliding door according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention has a sliding door structure for being configured irrespective of a design line of a vehicle. The sliding door is applicable to an upper rail portion mounted at an upper end portion of a door10. For reference, rail portions may be formed even at a lower end portion and an intermediate portion of the door10. These rail portions may be applicable in a form of the existing straight rail structure.

FIG. 1is a diagram illustrating a state in which the door10slides to be opened according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention from an exterior of a vehicle, andFIG. 2A,FIG. 2B, andFIG. 2Care diagrams for describing an opening and closing operation relationship of the door10according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The door10includes a door rail100, a vehicle body rail200, and a moving arm400.

Referring to the drawings, the present invention includes the door rail100mounted in the door10in a vertical direction of the vehicle, wherein the door10is closed to a vehicle body20; the vehicle body rail200mounted in the vehicle body20to which the door10is closed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle; and a moving arm400having one end portion connected to be movable along the door rail100in the vertical direction connected to open or close the door10in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body20during moving and the other end portion connected to be movable along the vehicle body rail200in the front and rear direction to allow the door10to be slidably moved in a vertical direction of the vehicle body20during moving.

For example, the door rail100is vertically mounted on an internal surface of the door10facing an interior of the vehicle, and the vehicle body rail200is mounted on an external surface of the vehicle body20facing the exterior of the vehicle in the front and rear direction thereof. Furthermore, it is configured such that the one end portion of the moving arm400moves vertically along the door rail100and the other end portion thereof moves along the vehicle body rail200in the front and rear direction thereof.

That is, in the state in which the door10is closed, the one end portion of the moving arm400is located at a lowermost end portion of the door rail100, and the other end portion thereof is located at a distal portion of one side of the vehicle body rail200.

In the above state, when a force for opening the door10is provided, the one end portion of the moving arm400is moved upward along the door rail100to apply a force for pushing the door10. In the present process, the door10is moved in the transverse direction of the vehicle body20so that a gap between the door10and the vehicle body20occurs.

Furthermore, when a pushing force is applied to the door10toward a distal portion of the other side of the vehicle body rail200, the other end portion of the moving arm400moves along the vehicle body rail200so that the door10may slidingly move in a direction corresponding to the distal portion to open the door10.

Alternatively, when the door10is closed in a state of being open, the door10and the moving arm400may move in a reverse order of the above description to close the door10.

As described above, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, when the door10is opened, the moving arm400moves along the door rail100mounted in the vertical direction to adjust a distance between the vehicle body20and the door10. Thus, since there is no need to configure a rail in the front and rear direction of door10, the sliding door may be applicable even to the door10in which it is difficult to implement a rail due to a layout problem of an interior of the door10. It is possible to apply the sliding door even to a front portion of the door10in which a roof side portion is formed in a curved shape instead of a straight shape in terms of a design.

Furthermore, since a transverse movement amount of the door10is determined according to a length of the moving arm400, when the door10is opened, the gap between the vehicle body20and the door10may be sufficiently secured as much as a desired level.

Furthermore,FIG. 3is a diagram illustrating a gear engagement structure inside a gear module300and an exemplary embodiment in which a driving force of a motor M is provided to the gear module300according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The door rail100and the moving arm400are connected through the gear engagement structure so that the moving arm400vertically moves along the door rail100.

To describe with reference to the drawing, a rack gear110is provided at an intermediate portion of the door rail100along the door rail100.

Furthermore, the gear module300is connected to the rack gear110at one end portion of the moving arm400in the gear engagement structure so that a structure is formed such that the gear module300is vertically moved, and simultaneously, one end portion of the moving arm400is rotated.

That is, when a force for opening the door10is provided to the gear module300, gears in a gear module300are coupled to the rack gear110in the gear engagement structure so that the gear module300is vertically moved along the rack gear110and the moving arm400coupled to the gear module300is rotated.

To describe a configuration of the gear module300in detail, the gear module300includes a module housing310guided by the door rail100to slide vertically, a drive external gear320axially coupled to the module housing310and engaged with the rack gear110, a driven external gear350axially coupled to the module housing310and fixed to one end portion of the moving arm400, and an idle external gear axially coupled to the module housing310and engaged between the drive external gear320and the driven external gear350to transmit a rotating force of the drive external gear320to the driven external gear350.

For example, the module housing310is formed in a shape of covering a portion of a front surface of the door rail100. Rail grooves313are formed on both side surfaces of the door rail100, and rail protrusions316inserted into the rail grooves313are formed at both sides of the module housing310so that the module housing310may be coupled to the door rail100to slidingly move in the vertical direction thereof.

Furthermore, in the module housing310, the drive external gears320, a plurality of idle external gears, and the driven external gears350are axially coupled to both the sides of the module housing310and rotated, and these externally engaged gears are connected to each other in an external engagement structure.

That is, the drive external gear320is coupled to a lower end portion of the module housing310to be coupled to the rack gear110in an engagement structure, a first idle external gear330is externally engaged with a front side of the drive external gear320, a second idle external gear340is externally engaged to the first idle external gear330upward, and the driven external gear350is externally engaged to the second idle external gear340upward.

Furthermore, one end portion of the moving arm400is fixed to the driven external gear350so that the moving arm400is rotated according to a rotation of the driven external gear350.

In the instant case, the externally engaged gears may be gears having a shape in which two gears having different external diameters coaxially overlap. This may be a shape in consideration of a gear ratio between the externally engaged gears. Thus, when the externally engaged gears satisfy a gear ratio required for a design, the externally engaged gears may each be formed in a shape of a simple pinion gear.

That is, referring toFIG. 3, when the drive external gear320is rotated in a clockwise direction and moved upward along the rack gear110, the first idle external gear330is rotated in a counterclockwise direction thereof, the second idle external gear340is rotated in the clockwise direction thereof, and the driven external gear350is rotated in the counterclockwise direction thereof.

Therefore, the gear module300is moved upward, and simultaneously, the moving arm400is rotated in the counterclockwise direction so that the door10is separated from the vehicle body20. On the other hand, when the gear module300is moved downwards, and simultaneously, the moving arm400is rotated in the clockwise direction thereof, the door10comes close to the vehicle body20.

Furthermore, an operation of opening the door10from the vehicle body20may be implemented by a manual method or an automatic method.

That is, as described above, when the door10is manually pulled from the outside of the vehicle in a state in which the door10is closed, the gear module300is moved upward, and simultaneously, the moving arm400is rotated in the counterclockwise direction so that the door10may be opened from the vehicle body20.

Meanwhile, when the door10is automatically opened, it may be configured to further include the motor M which provides a driving force to the drive external gear320.

As an exemplary example, as shown inFIG. 3, a shaft of the motor M is coupled to an axis of the drive external gear320so that a rotating force of the motor M is directly provided to the drive external gear320. Thus, the drive external gear320is moved along the rack gear110so that the moving arm400may be rotated.

FIG. 4is a diagram illustrating another exemplary embodiment in which the driving force of the motor M is provided to the gear module300according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, a belt pulley is connected to the shaft of the motor M, and the module housing310of the gear module300is coupled to an intermediate portion of a belt b. However, even in the instant case, a structure of the externally engaged gears in the gear module300may be configured as in the structure shown inFIG. 3.

That is, when the rotating force of the motor M is provided to a pulley p and thus the belt b is moved, the module housing310is vertically moved. Thus, the drive external gear320is moved along the rack gear110so that the moving arm400may be rotated.

Furthermore, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a gear ratio between the rack gear110and the driven external gear350may be configured such that the moving arm400is rotated from one end to the other end of an entire rotation section when the gear module300is moved from one end to the other end of an entire vertical movement section.

That is, when the drive external gear320reaches from one end to the other end of a movement range, a gear ratio is configured between gears engaged with each other such that the moving arm400reaches from one end to the other end of a rotation range according to the reaching of the drive external gear320.

This may be expressed by the following equation.
Y=aX

Y: a gear ratio between a rack gear and a drive external gear

X: a gear ratio between a driven external gear and a second idle external gear

a: a gear ratio between the drive external gear and the second idle external gear

Meanwhile, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the door rail100may be mounted on an internal surface of the door frame12, and the vehicle body rail200may be mounted on an external surface of a pillar.

The vehicle body rail200may be mounted in a curved shape along an A-pillar22or a C-pillar of the vehicle body20, and the door rail100may be vertically provided in a portion of the door frame12corresponding to a B-pillar24of the vehicle body20.

FIG. 6is a diagram for describing a structure in which a roller portion410is inserted into the vehicle body rail200to be moved according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to the drawing, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a guide slit210is formed on a surface of the vehicle body rail200facing the door10along a longitudinal direction thereof.

Furthermore, one end portion of the roller portion410is coupled to the other end portion of the moving arm400in a ball joint structure420.

Furthermore, an intermediate portion of the roller portion410passes through the guide slit210so that a roller provided at the other end portion of the roller portion410is inserted into the vehicle body rail200and guided to be moved along the vehicle body rail200.

For example, the vehicle body rail200is formed in a rectangular cross-sectional tube shape of which an internal is hollow and roll-moved in a state in which the roller is in contact with an internal surface of the vehicle body rail200.

A center roller412may be provided at a center portion of the other end portion of the roller portion410to be roll-moved while being in contact with an internal wall surface of the vehicle body rail200in the front and rear direction thereof. Furthermore, side rollers414may be provided at both sides of the center roller412to be roll-moved while being in contact with the internal wall surface of the vehicle body rail200in the vertical direction thereof.

That is, when a force for moving the door10in a direction in which the door10is opened (a separate motor may be used) is provided in a state in which the door10is separated in the transverse direction of the vehicle body20, the center roller412and the side rollers414may be in contact with the internal wall surface of the vehicle body rail200to be roll-moved so that the moving arm400may move along the vehicle body rail200.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a rotation axis of the center roller412is aligned to be perpendicular to rotation axes of the side rollers414.

A ball portion413is formed at one end portion of the roller portion410and a ball groove portion415for accommodating a ball of the ball portion413is formed at the other end portion of the moving arm400so that the ball portion413and the ball groove portion415are coupled in the ball joint structure420. Thus, while the moving arm400moves along the vehicle body rail200, a bending movement of the other end portion of the moving arm400moving downward may be absorbed through the ball joint structure420.

Therefore, the vehicle body rail200of a curved shape is mounted in the front portion of the door10in which it is difficult to apply a straight rail in terms of a design, and it is configured to allow the moving arm400to move along the vehicle body rail200. Consequently, the sliding door may be applied even to the front portion of the door10.

Furthermore,FIG. 7is a diagram illustrating a torsional shape of the vehicle body rail200according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The vehicle body rail200may be formed in a torsional shape in the longitudinal direction so that an opening direction of the guide slit210close to the B pillar24may be formed to face a lower end portion of the door rail100, and an opening direction of the guide slit210far away from the B pillar24may be formed to face the upper end portion of the door rail100.

For example, when a sliding door is implemented in a front door portion, the vehicle body rail200is mounted in a portion of the vehicle body20forming the A-pillar22in a built-in structure. The opening direction of the guide slit210is formed downward in a rear side of the vehicle body rail200and accordingly, due to the torsional shape of the vehicle body rail200, the opening direction of the guide slit210is formed toward a lateral direction in a front side of the vehicle body rail200.

That is, while the door10is moved forward, the gear module300is moved to an upper portion of the door rail100so that a position of the one end portion of the moving arm400connected to the gear module300becomes gradually higher, and a position of the other end portion of the moving arm400becomes gradually lower.

Therefore, while the moving arm400moves forward along the vehicle body rail200, the opening direction of the guide slit210is formed to face the gear module300so that the moving arm400smoothly moves along the vehicle body rail200without bending or damage of the moving arm400.

As described above, according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, when the door10is opened, the moving arm400moves along the door rail100mounted in the vertical direction to adjust the distance between the vehicle body20and the door10. Thus, since there is no need to configure the door rail100in the front and rear direction of the door10, the sliding door may be applicable even to the door10in which it is difficult to implement a rail due to a layout problem of the interior of the door10. It is possible to apply the sliding door even to the front portion of the door10in which the roof side portion is formed in a curved shape instead of a straight shape in terms of a design.

Furthermore, since the transverse movement amount of the door10is determined according to the length of the moving arm400, when the door10is opened, the gap between the vehicle body20and the door10may be sufficiently secured as much as a desired level.

In accordance with various aspects of the present invention, when a door is opened, a moving arm moves along a door rail mounted in a vertical direction to adjust a distance between a vehicle body and the door so that, since there is no need to configure the door rail in a longitudinal direction of the door, there is an advantage in that a sliding door may be applicable to a door in which it is difficult to implement a rail due to a layout problem inside the door. Furthermore, there is an advantage in that it is possible to apply the sliding door even to a front portion of the door in which a roof side portion is formed in a curved shape instead of a straight shape in terms of a design.

Furthermore, since a transverse movement amount of the door is determined according to a length of the moving arm, when the door is opened, a gap between the vehicle body and the door may be sufficiently secured as much as a desired level.