Abstract:
The present invention provides a vehicle slide door apparatus including an opening formed on a side portion of a vehicle body; a slide door which opens and closes the opening by moving in the fore-and-aft direction; an upper rail extending along an upper side of the opening; and an upper arm having one end guided by the upper rail in the fore-and-aft direction and the other end fixed to the slide door, wherein an engaging device provided on the upper arm and an engaged device provided on the vehicle body engages in case of side collision of the vehicle so as to effectively secure the safety for passengers by decreasing the deformation if collided.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   The disclosure of Japanese Application No.2004-257092 filed in Sep. 3, 2004 including the specification, drawings, and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a vehicle slide door apparatus for opening and closing an opening formed on a side portion of a vehicle body by a slide door which moves in a fore-and-aft direction. 
   2. Description of Related Art 
   Hitherto, in a motor vehicle of one-box type or the like, the one in which an opening formed on a side portion of a vehicle body is opened and closed by a slide door is in common use. The slide door is adapted to be guided in the fore-and-aft direction by three rails provided in parallel (for example, see JP-A-11-157339). An upper rail and a lower rail of the three rails are provided on the vehicle body, and a remaining center rail is provided on the slide door. 
   The upper rail and the slide door are connected by an upper arm which extends substantially in a lateral direction, and the lower rail and the slide door is connected by a lower arm which extends substantially in the lateral direction. The upper rail and the lower rail extend in the fore-and-aft direction along an upper side and a lower side of the opening of the vehicle body so as to guide one end of each arm in the fore-and-aft direction. The other end of each arm is fixed to a pillar section of the slide door. 
   In case of side collision of the vehicle, a load is applied to a vertical center portion of the slide door in the direction toward a cabin, and hence the center portion thereof is bent and deformed so as to project toward the cabin. Since the slide door is guided by arms which can move freely in the fore-and-aft direction with respect to the vehicle body, the door body cannot be arrested sufficiently by the vehicle body in case of the side collision in comparison with a door which is guided by a hinge fixed to the vehicle body side. Accordingly, an intrusion amount of the slide door toward the cabin increases, and hence a safety securement of a passenger becomes relatively difficult. Therefore, a structure stiffness of the door body and the vehicle body portion around the door is increased to secure the safety of the passenger, and consequently, there arises such a problem as a weight of the vehicle body and a manufacturing cost increases. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle slide door apparatus in which an amount of an intrusion of the slide door toward a cabin in case of a side collision of a vehicle can be reduced. 
   In order to achieve the object, the first aspect of the invention comprises an opening formed on a side portion of a vehicle body, a slide door which opens and closes the opening by moving in a fore-and-aft direction, a rail extending along an upper side or an lower side of the opening; and an arm having one end guided by the rail in the fore-and-aft direction and the other end fixed to the slide door, wherein an engaging device provided on the arm and an engaged device provided on the vehicle body engages in case of side collision of the vehicle. 
   According to the first aspect of the invention, since the engaging device and the engaged device engages with each other in case of side collision of the vehicle, the slide door is arrested by the vehicle body side, and hence the instruction amount of the slide door into the cabin can be reduced. 
   Accordingly, the safety of the passenger can be improved. The intrusion of the slide door can be controlled effectively without increasing stiffness of the slide door and portion around the door. Therefore, number of components and weight of the slide door and the vehicle body can be reduced, whereby a reduction of the vehicle weight and manufacturing cost can be achieved. 
   Preferably, the engaging device is a hole formed on the arm, and the engaged device is a hook formed on the vehicle body so as to project therefrom. 
   Accordingly, when the slide door is deformed in case of side collision of the vehicle, the hook formed on the vehicle body so as to project therefrom engages the hole formed on the arm, and the slide door is arrested by the vehicle body. Since the hole on the arm and the hook on the vehicle body are normally in an isolated state, it does not impair an opening/closing operation of the door. 
   Preferably, the arm is an upper arm which guides the upper portion of the slide door, and the hook is formed so as to project upward and the hole is disposed upwardly of the hook. 
   Accordingly, in case of side collision of the vehicle body, a vertical center portion of the slide door moves toward the center of the cabin, and the slide door is bent into substantially an angular C-shape. At this time, the upper portion of the slide door moves downward, and hence the upper arm moves downward, whereby the hook is received in the hole of the upper arm. Subsequently, the movement of the upper arm with respect to the vehicle body is restrained. 
   Preferably, the hook is formed on a receiving bracket for receiving a catcher pin of the arm. 
   Accordingly, since the hook is formed on the receiving bracket for the catcher pin, the component can be shared and hence further reduction of the weight is achieved. The receiving bracket has a relatively high strength since it is designed to resist an impact of the opening/closing operation of the door, and is advantageous in terms of strength in case of side collision. 
   Preferably, the arm includes a projecting plate having the catcher pin and projecting from the arm body, and the projecting plate is formed with the hole. 
   Accordingly, since the projecting plate having the catch pin is formed with the hole, the hole can be formed easily, and deterioration of rigidity and strength of the arm itself due to formation of the hole on the arm body can be avoided, whereby it is very advantageous for a practical use. 
   In this manner, according to the vehicle slide door apparatus of the present invention, the amount of intrusion of the slide door toward the cabin in case of side collision can be reduced. Simultaneously, the safety of the passenger can be increased, and the weight and the manufacturing cost of the vehicle can be reduced. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of an appearance of a motor vehicle having a slide door apparatus; 
       FIG. 2  is a front cross-sectional view of a front portion of a slide door apparatus; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of an upper arm; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an appearance of the upper arm; 
       FIG. 5  is a general top view of the upper arm and a vehicle body; 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the vehicle body showing a positional relation between a bracket for a catch pin, an upper rail, and so on; and 
       FIG. 7  is an explanatory drawing showing a behavior of a slide door in case of a side collision of the vehicle. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1  to  FIG. 7  show an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of an appearance of a motor vehicle having a slide door apparatus;  FIG. 2  is a front cross-sectional view of a front portion of a slide door apparatus;  FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of an upper arm;  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the appearance of the upper arm;  FIG. 5  is a general top view of the upper arm and a vehicle body;  FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of the vehicle body showing a positional relation between a bracket for a catch pin, an upper rail, and so on; and  FIG. 7  is an explanatory drawing showing a behavior of a slide door in case of a side collision of the vehicle. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , a vehicle slide door apparatus  1  is used for a one-box type motor vehicle  100  for opening and closing an opening  3  formed on a side of a vehicle body  2  by a square slide door  4  moving in the fore-and-aft direction. The vehicle slide door apparatus  1  is adapted to guide the slide door  4  in the fore-and-aft direction by three rails including an upper rail  5 , a center rail  6 , and a lower rail  7  extending in the fore-and-aft direction. 
   In this embodiment, the upper rail  5  and the lower rail  7  are disposed on the vehicle body  2 , and the center rail  6  is disposed on the slide door  4 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the upper rail  5  extends along an upper side of the opening  3 , and the lower rail  7  extends along a lower side of the opening  3 . The upper rail  5  and the slide door  4  are connected by an upper arm  8  extending in the lateral direction, and the lower rail  7  and the slide door  4  are connected by a lower arm  9  extending in the lateral direction. The center rail  6  and the rear peripheral edge of the opening  3  of the vehicle body  2  are connected by a center arm, not shown. 
   As shown in  FIG. 1 , each one of ends of the upper arm  8  and the lower arm  9  is guided in the fore-and-aft direction by the upper rail  5  and the lower rail  7  respectively. The other ends of the upper arm  8  and the lower arm  9  are fixed to a pillar section  11  which defines the front peripheral edge of the slide door  4 . The pillar section  11  extends in the vertical direction and, as shown in  FIG. 2 , defines a closed cross-section S by an outer panel  12  on the exterior side and an inner panel  13  on the cabin side at the upper end side. Accordingly, rigidity and strength of the peripheral edge of the slide door  4  is efficiently secured. Disposed between the outer panel  12  and the inner panel  13  is a pillar reinforce  14  so as to divide the closed cross-section S. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , the inner panel  13  is formed with an insertion hole  13   a  in which the other end of the upper arm  8  is inserted. The other end of the upper arm  8  is fixed to the pillar reinforce  14 . The upper arm  8  is formed into substantially a flat shape in a front view (see  FIG. 2 ), and is formed so as to increase in a widthwise direction from one end (cabin side) to the other end (exterior side) (see  FIG. 3 ). 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , the upper arm  8  includes an arm body  16  having a roller  15  to be engaged with the upper rail  5  at one end, a fastening portion  18  connected to the other end of the arm body  16  and fastened to the pillar reinforce  14  by a bolt  17 , and an arm guiding member  20  provided on top of the other end of the arm body  16  and having a catch pin  19  projecting obliquely toward the front. 
   The arm body  16  is formed into a plate shape extending substantially in the lateral direction, and is formed with flanges  16   a  projecting downward from the front edge and the rear edge. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the arm body  16  includes one end portion  16   b  extending at one end substantially in the lateral direction, the other end portion  16   c  formed on the rear side of the one end portion  16   b  and extending substantially in the lateral direction at the other end, and a curved portion  16   d  connecting the one end portion  16   b  and the other end portion  16   c . In this embodiment, the curved portion  16   d  is formed so as to increase in widthwise dimension toward the other end. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , two stopper pins  21  extending substantially in parallel with each other are secured on the lower portion on the one end of the arm body  16  so as to project rearward at a distance in the lateral direction. Formed at the front portion on the one end of the arm body  16  is a projecting pin  22  projecting obliquely forward toward the cabin. A cap  23  is attached to the projecting pin  22  so as to come into contact with a panel on the side of the vehicle body  2 , when the slide door  4  is moved to the frontmost position as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
   Provided on top of the one end of the arm body  16  is a roller  15  to be engaged with the upper rail  5 . In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the upper rail  5  is provided with a portion opening downward and the roller  15  projecting from the upper surface of the upper arm  8  through the opening is fitted inside the upper rail  5 . The roller  15  comes into abutment with the side wall of the upper rail  5  and rotates about substantially the vertical direction. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , a bolt insertion hole  24  and a weld nut  25  for fixation with the fastening portion  18  are provided on the other end of the arm body  16 . The fastening portion  18  is formed with two long holes  26  elongated in the longitudinal direction of the arm  8  corresponding to the insertion hole  24  and the weld nut  25 . A bolt  27  to be inserted into the bolt insertion hole  24  is screwed into a weld nut  28  secured to the lower surface of the arm guiding member  20 . A bolt  29  to be inserted into a different long hole  26  from the long hole  26  in which the bolt  27  is inserted is screwed into the weld nut  25  secured to the lower surface of the arm body  16 . In other words, the arm body  16  and the fastening portion  18  can be assembled by shifting longitudinally by an amount corresponding to the length of the respective long holes  26 . 
   As shown in  FIG. 3 , the fastening portion  18  includes a joint portion  30  formed with the respective long holes  26  and a fixed portion  31  located adjacently to the joint portion  30  on the side of the other end, and the joint portion  30  and the fixed portion  31  are free to rotate with respect to each other about an axis extending in the fore-and-aft direction. The fixed portion  31  is formed with extending portions  32  extending outward in the fore-and-aft direction from the front and the rear portions at the other end thereof. Each extending portion  32  is formed with a bolt hole  33 , and is adapted to be screwed to the pillar reinforce  14  by the bolt  17 . 
   The arm guiding member  20  is secured to the arm body  16  side also by spot welding in addition to the aforementioned bolt  27 . The arm guiding member  20  includes a first plate-shaped portion  34  having the weld nut  28  secured thereto and fixed to the other end portion  16   c  of the arm body  16 , and a second plate-shaped portion  35  to be fixed to the curved portion  16   d  of the arm body  16 . The first plate-shaped portion  34  and the second plate-shaped portion  35  are fixed to the arm body  16  by spot welding respectively. The respective plate-shaped portions  34 ,  35  are connected forwardly of the other end portion  16   c  of the arm body  16  and the connecting portion is provided with the aforementioned catch pin  19  extending substantially in parallel with the stopper pin  21 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the catch pin  19  is fitted into a holder  37  of a bracket  36  provided on a reinforce of the vehicle body  2  when the slide door  4  is moved to the frontmost position of the movable range. The portion of the second plate-shaped portion  35  projecting from the arm body  16  is formed with a rectangular-shaped square hole  35   a . In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the square hole  35   a  as the engaging section penetrates in the vertical direction. 
   As shown in  FIG. 5 , the reinforce of the vehicle body  2  extends substantially in the fore-and-aft direction, and the upper rail  5  extending substantially in the fore-and-aft direction is provided on the interior side of the reinforce along the outer edge of the upper surface thereof, and the holder  37  is disposed on the front portion of the exterior side of the reinforce on the upper surface thereof together with the bracket. In this embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the bracket  36  is formed into a substantially box shape opened in front and the holder  37  is fixed to the back surface thereof.  FIG. 6  schematically shows a arrangement state of the upper rail  5  and the bracket  36  for the purpose of description. The holder  37  assumes a substantially cylindrical shape to which the catch pin  19  is fitted. Since the slide door  4  moves toward the front while inclining toward the cabin in the vicinity of the front most point of the movable range, the front end side of the upper rail  5  extends toward the front while inclining toward the cabin. The bracket  36  is disposed so that the back surface is substantially orthogonal to the direction of fore-and-aft movement of the upper arm  8 . Accordingly, the impact applied from the upper arm  8  can be efficiently received. 
   As shown in  FIG. 6 , the bracket  36  is formed with a substantially square column shaped hook  38  corresponding to the square hole  35   a  of the arm guiding member  20  of the upper arm  8  so as to project therefrom. The hook  38  as the engaged device includes a proximal portion  38   a  which projects from the back surface of the bracket  36  in the direction of the fore-and-aft movement of the upper arm  8 , and a vertically extending portion  38   b  extending upward from the distal end of the proximal portion  38   a . The vertically extending portion  38   b  of the hook  38  is disposed so as to be situated substantially below the square hole  35   a  when the slide door  4  is in the closed state, and the upper arm  8  is located at the front most position in the movable range. Accordingly, the square hole  35   a  and the hook  38  are adapted to be engaged with each other in case of side collision of the vehicle. 
   The respective stopper pins  21  are received by a stopper hole of the stopper member provided at a rear end of the upper rail  5 . In this embodiment, two of the stopper holes are formed separately corresponding to the respective stopper pins  21 . The stopper member formed of rubber comes into abutment with the upper arm  8  when the slide door  4  is moved to the rearmost point of the movable range. 
   According to the vehicle slide door apparatus  1  as described above, the vertical center portion of the slide door  4  moves toward the center of the cabin in case of side collision of the vehicle, and the slide door  4  is bent substantially into the angular C-shape. At this time, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the upper portion of the slide door  4  moves downward, and the upper arm  8  is moved downward, whereby the vertically extending portion  38   b  of the hook  38  of the vehicle body is received in the square hole  35   a  of the upper arm  8  (see  FIG. 6 ). Subsequently, the movement of the upper arm  8  with respect to the vehicle body is controlled. 
   In this manner, when the slide door  4  is deformed in case of side collision of the vehicle, the hook  38  formed on the vehicle body  2  so as to project therefrom engages the square hole  35   a  formed on the upper arm  8 , and hence the slide door  4  is arrested by the vehicle body  2 . Since the square hole  35   a  of the upper arm  8  and the hook  38  of the vehicle body  2  are normally in the isolated state, the opening/closing operation of the slide door  4  is not impaired. 
   Therefore, according to the vehicle slide door apparatus  1  of this embodiment, since the square hole  35   a  of the upper arm  8  and the hook  38  of the vehicle body  2  engages in case of side collision of the vehicle, the slide door  4  is arrested by the vehicle body  2  side, and the amount of intrusion of the slide door  4  toward the cabin can be reduced. 
   Accordingly, the safety of the passenger can be improved. Also, the intrusion of the slide door  4  can be controlled effectively without increasing strength of the vehicle body structure of the slide door  4  and the portion near the door. Therefore, reduction of the number of components of the slide door  4  and the vehicle body  2 , and the weight can be achieved, whereby reduction of the vehicle weight and the manufacturing cost is achieved correspondingly. 
   According to the vehicle slide door apparatus  1  of this embodiment, since the hook  38  is formed on the receiving bracket  36  for the catcher pin  19 , the components can be shared and hence further reduction of the weight is achieved. Also, since the receiving bracket  36  has a relatively high strength since it is designed to resist an impact of the opening/closing operation of the door, and is advantageous in terms of strength in case of side collision. 
   Also, since the projecting plate having the catch pin  19  is formed with the square hole  35   a , the hole can be formed easily, and deterioration of rigidity and strength of the upper arm itself due to formation of the hole on the arm body  16  can be avoided, whereby it is very advantageous for a practical use. 
   Although the example in which the present invention is applied to the upper rail  5  and the upper arm  8  is shown in the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to apply the present invention to the lower rail  7  and the lower arm  9 , or the center rail  6  and the center arm, as a matter of course. 
   Although the example in which the square hole  35   a  is provided on the upper arm  8  as the engaging device and the hook  38  is provided on the vehicle body  2  as the engaged device is shown in the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to provide a hook on the upper arm  8  and the square hole on the vehicle body  2 . The combination of the engaging device and the engaged device is not limited to the combination of the hole and the hook, and may be the combination of, for example, a concave and a convex. 
   Also, although an example in which the hook  38  is formed on the receiving bracket  36  of the catcher pin  19  is shown in the above-described embodiment, it is also possible to form the hook  38  on a panel such as a reinforce of the vehicle body, and other detailed structure can be changed as needed, as a matter of course. 
   Although the invention has been explained according to the embodiments, it should also be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments and that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention from the gist thereof.