Patent Publication Number: US-2022218541-A1

Title: Control device of vehicle, vehicle, and method of activating door to open and close and slope plate to deploy

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-003189 filed on Jan. 13, 2021, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a configuration of a control device that is installed in a vehicle including a door and a slope plate to open and close the door and deploy the slope plate, a structure of a vehicle equipped with this control device, and a method of activating a door to open and close and a slope plate to deploy in a vehicle. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Recently, a structure has been disclosed in which a slope device is housed under an entrance of a vehicle and a slope plate is deployed to a lateral side of the vehicle to allow people in wheelchairs to get on and out of the vehicle more easily (e.g., see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-116112 (JP 2019-116112 A)). 
     SUMMARY 
     In the electric vehicle described in JP 2019-116112 A, an opening through which the slope plate is deployed to the lateral side of the vehicle is covered by the door when the door is closed, and therefore the slope plate is deployed after the door is opened. Thus, there is a possibility that passengers may come into contact with the slope plate while the slope plate is deploying. 
     The present disclosure aims to reduce the likelihood that passengers may come into contact with a slope plate while the slope plate is deploying. 
     A control device of a vehicle of the present disclosure is installed in a vehicle including: a body having a vehicle cabin in which a passenger rides and a floor panel constituting a floor of the vehicle cabin; a door opening-closing mechanism that drives a door mounted on the body to open and close; and a slope deploying mechanism that deploys a slope plate housed under the floor panel to the outside of the body. The control device coordinates the operation of the door opening-closing mechanism and the slope deploying mechanism. The control device opens the door by the door opening-closing mechanism after deploying the slope plate toward the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism. 
     Thus, the door is opened after the slope plate is deployed, which can reduce the likelihood that passengers may come into contact with the slope plate while the slope plate is deploying. 
     The control device of the vehicle of the present disclosure may deploy the slope plate to the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism to eject the slope plate, push the door out toward the outside by the door opening-closing mechanism to slightly open the door, then immediately raise the slope plate by the slope deploying mechanism until an upper surface of a body-side end of the slope plate reaches the level of an upper surface of the floor panel, ground a leading end of the slope plate, and then fully open the door by the door opening-closing mechanism. 
     Thus, the door is fully opened after the positions of the leading end and the body-side end of the slope plate are established, which can reduce the likelihood that passengers may start to cross the slope plate before the position of the slope plate is established. In the control device of the vehicle of the present disclosure, either one of the two actions of ejecting the slope plate and slightly opening the door may be performed first or both actions may be performed at the same time. 
     The control device of the vehicle of the present disclosure may be installed in the vehicle that further includes a ground clearance adjusting mechanism that adjusts the ground clearance. When deploying the slope plate to the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism, the control device may reduce the ground clearance by the ground clearance adjusting mechanism. 
     Since the slope plate is deployed and the ground clearance is adjusted at the same time, even when the ground clearance needs to be adjusted, the time from when the vehicle stops until passengers start to get on and out of the vehicle can be shortened. 
     When deploying the slope plate to the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism, the control device of the vehicle of the present disclosure may reduce the ground clearance by the ground clearance adjusting mechanism before the position of the center of gravity of the slope plate is sent out to the outside of the body. 
     Since the ground clearance is adjusted with the leading end of the slope floating without being grounded, the action of deploying the slope plate and the action of adjusting the ground clearance are less likely to interfere with each other. 
     The control device of the vehicle of the present disclosure may deploy the slope plate to the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism and, at the same time, reduce the ground clearance by the ground clearance adjusting mechanism to eject the slope plate, push the door out toward the outside by the door opening-closing mechanism to slightly open the door, then immediately raise the slope plate by the slope deploying mechanism until an upper surface of a body-side end of the slope plate reaches the level of an upper surface of the floor panel, ground a leading end of the slope plate, and then fully open the door by the door opening-closing mechanism. 
     Since the slope plate is deployed and the ground clearance is adjusted at the same time, even when the ground clearance needs to be adjusted, the time from when the vehicle stops until passengers start to get on and out of the vehicle can be shortened. Moreover, since the door is fully opened after the positions of the leading end and the body-side end of the slope plate are established, passengers are less likely to start to cross the slope plate before the position of the slope plate is established. 
     A vehicle of the present disclosure includes: a body having a vehicle cabin in which a passenger rides and a floor panel constituting a floor of the vehicle cabin; a door opening-closing mechanism that drives a door mounted on the body to open and close; a slope deploying mechanism that deploys a slope plate housed under the floor panel to the outside of the body; and a control device that coordinates the operation of the door opening-closing mechanism and the slope deploying mechanism. The control device opens the door by the door opening-closing mechanism after deploying the slope plate toward the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism. 
     In the vehicle of the present disclosure, the control device may deploy the slope plate to the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism to eject the slope plate, push the door out toward the outside by the door opening-closing mechanism to slightly open the door, then immediately raise the slope plate by the slope deploying mechanism until an upper surface of a body-side end of the slope plate reaches the level of an upper surface of the floor panel, ground a leading end of the slope plate, and then fully open the door by the door opening-closing mechanism. In the vehicle of the present disclosure, the control device may perform either one of the two actions of ejecting the slope plate and slightly opening the door first or perform both actions at the same time. 
     A method of activating a door to open and close and a slope plate to deploy of the present disclosure is a method of activating a door to open and close and a slope plate to deploy in a vehicle including: a body having a vehicle cabin in which a passenger rides and a floor panel constituting a floor of the vehicle cabin; a door opening-closing mechanism that drives a door mounted on the body to open and close; and a slope deploying mechanism that deploys a slope plate housed under the floor panel to the outside of the body. The method involves opening the door by the door opening-closing mechanism after deploying the slope plate toward the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism. 
     The method of activating a door to open and close and a slope plate to deploy of the present disclosure may involve deploying the slope plate to the outside of the body by the slope deploying mechanism to eject the slope plate, pushing the door out toward the outside by the door opening-closing mechanism to slightly open the door, then immediately raising the slope plate by the slope deploying mechanism until an upper surface of a body-side end of the slope plate reaches the level of an upper surface of the floor panel, grounding a leading end of the slope plate, and then fully opening the door by the door opening-closing mechanism. In the method of activating a door to open and close and a slope plate to deploy of the present disclosure, either one of the two actions of ejecting the slope plate and slightly opening the door may be performed first or both actions may be performed at the same time. 
     The present disclosure can reduce the likelihood that passengers may come into contact with a slope plate while the slope plate is deploying. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote like elements, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a vehicle equipped with a control device of an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view showing details of a slope deploying mechanism installed in the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 , and is a section taken along line A-A shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a system diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing an action of deploying a slope, an action of adjusting a ground clearance, and an action of opening a door that are performed by the control device of the vehicle of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a state where a slope plate is being deployed and the ground clearance is being adjusted in the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along line B-B shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken along line B-B shown in  FIG. 5 , in a state where the slope plate has been ejected; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing a state where the door is slightly opened after the slope plate has been ejected in the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a sectional view taken along line C-C shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view showing a state where a body-side end of the slope plate is lifted and a leading end thereof is grounded on a sidewalk with the door slightly opened in the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a sectional view taken along line D-D shown in  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view showing a state where the slope plate is deployed and the door is fully opened in the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 13  is a flowchart showing another operation by the control device of the vehicle of the embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view showing a state where the door is slightly opened in the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 15  is a sectional view taken along line E-E shown in  FIG. 14 ; 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective view showing a state where the slope plate is being deployed and the ground clearance is being adjusted with the door slightly opened in the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 17  is a sectional view taken along line F-F shown in  FIG. 16 ; 
         FIG. 18  is a perspective view showing a state where the slope plate has been ejected in the vehicle shown in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 19  is a sectional view taken along line G-G shown in  FIG. 18 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     A vehicle  100  and a control device  40  installed in the vehicle  100  of an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. Arrows FR, UP, RH shown in the drawings indicate a frontward direction (advancing direction), an upward direction, and a rightward direction, respectively, of the vehicle  100 . Directions opposite to the arrows FR, UP, RH indicate a rearward direction, a downward direction, and a leftward direction, respectively, of the vehicle. Unless otherwise noted, the directions front and rear, right and left, and up and down used alone in the following description mean front and rear in a vehicle front-rear direction, right and left in a vehicle right-left direction (vehicle width direction), and up and down in a vehicle height direction. 
     The vehicle  100  will be described as an electric vehicle in the following description, but the vehicle  100  is not limited thereto. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the vehicle  100  includes a body  101 , a door device  10 , a slope device  20 , a ground clearance adjusting device  30 , the control device  40 , a driving motor  44 , a battery  43 , and wheels  45 .  FIG. 1  shows a state where a door  12  of the vehicle  100  is closed and a slope plate  22  is housed. 
     The body  101  includes a vehicle cabin  102  which is symmetrical in the front-rear direction and in which passengers ride, and a floor panel  103  that constitutes a floor of the vehicle cabin  102 . The floor panel  103  of the vehicle cabin  102  is flat and seats (not shown) for passengers to sit on are disposed inside the vehicle cabin  102 . A part between a left-side end of the floor panel  103  and an inner surface of the door  12  forms a step part  104  (see  FIG. 2 ) of which the level of an upper surface lowers from a front surface of the floor panel  103  toward the door  12 . The control device  40  is installed inside the body  101 . 
     The door device  10  is composed of the double door  12  that is provided on a side surface of the body  101  and slides along the side surface of the body  101 , and door opening-closing mechanisms  11  that open and close the door  12 . The door  12  is hung at an upper part, and one door opening-closing mechanism  11  is mounted at the upper part of each half of the double door  12 . The door opening-closing mechanism  11  includes a motor and a gear or a link. The door opening-closing mechanism  11  detects the degree of opening of the door  12  based on the position of the motor or the gear and outputs the detected degree of opening to an outside. 
     The slope device  20  is provided under the floor panel  103 . The slope device  20  will be described in detail later with reference to  FIG. 2 . The ground clearance adjusting device  30  is composed of hydraulic cylinders  32  that are each mounted between a suspension (not shown) of a corresponding wheel  45  and a structural member (not shown) under the body  101 , and a ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  that sends control oil to the hydraulic cylinders  32 . The ground clearance adjusting device  30  adjusts the ground clearance of the vehicle  100  as the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  adjusts the levels of the hydraulic cylinders  32 . The ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  calculates the ground clearance based on the levels of the hydraulic cylinders  32  and outputs the calculated ground clearance to the outside. Instead of the hydraulic cylinders  32 , the ground clearance adjusting device  30  may include pneumatic cylinders. 
     The battery  43  is disposed next to the slope device  20  under the floor panel  103 . The driving motor  44  of the vehicle  100  is an in-wheel motor built inside the wheel  45 . Instead of being an in-wheel motor, the driving motor  44  may drive the wheel  45  by being installed in the body  101 . 
     Next, the detailed configuration of the slope device  20  will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 . The slope device  20  is composed of a slope plate  22  that is deployed toward an outside of the body  101  in the vehicle width direction, a casing  29  that houses the slope plate  22 , and a slope deploying mechanism  21  that deploys and retracts the slope plate  22 . The casing  29  is a thin box mounted on rockers  105  that are disposed under the floor panel  103 , on both sides of the body  101 , and an opening  29   a  through which the slope plate  22  is moved in and out is provided at an end of the casing  29  on the vehicle left side where the door  12  is provided. 
     The slope deploying mechanism  21  is composed of a slider main body  24 , a connection body  23 , a rotary link  28 , and a connection bar  27 . The slider main body  24  has rollers  25 ,  26  mounted at ends thereof on the vehicle left side and the vehicle right side that are ends in a deploying direction of the slope plate  22 , so as to be rotatable relatively to the slider main body  24 . The roller  25  at the end on the vehicle left side is mounted on the lower side relatively to the center of the slider main body  24  in the up-down direction, and a lower side of the roller  25  is in contact with an inner surface of a bottom plate  29   c  of the casing  29 . Meanwhile, the roller  26  at the end on the vehicle right side is mounted on the slider main body  24  such that an upper side of the roller  26  is in contact with an inner surface of a top plate  29   b  of the casing  29 . The slider main body  24  is connected to a motor and a gear device that are disposed inside the casing  29 , and moves in the vehicle width direction as the motor rotates. The motor and the gear device are not shown. The slope deploying mechanism  21  detects the position of deployment of the slope plate  22  based on the position of the motor or the gear and outputs the detected position of deployment to the outside. 
     The connection body  23  is mounted at the vehicle right side on the slider main body  24  so as to be movable in the vehicle width direction relatively to the slider main body  24 . The rotary link  28  is rotatably mounted with a pin  28   a  at an end of the connection body  23  on the vehicle left side. A body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  is rotatably connected with a pin  28   c  to a left-side end of the rotary link  28 . A right-side end of the rotary link  28  and a left-side end of the slider main body  24  are connected to each other by the connection bar  27 . A left-side end of the connection bar  27  is rotatably connected with a pin  28   b  to the right-side end of the rotary link  28 . 
     The slope plate  22  is a plate-shaped member and is connected at the body-side end  22   b  to the slider main body  24  through the rotary link  28  and the connection body  23 . A leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22  has a smaller plate thickness. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the door  12  is composed of a door outer panel  12   a  and a door inner panel  12   b , and a weather seal  13  is mounted at a lower end of the door  12 . A lip of the weather seal  13  is disposed so as to be located on the upper side relatively to the top plate  29   b  of the casing  29  of the slope device  20 , and in a state where the door  12  is closed, a tip of the lip of the weather seal  13  is in contact with a left-side end of the step part  104  of the floor panel  103 . Thus, the slope plate  22  can be deployed to the outside in the vehicle width direction with the door  12  closed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the door opening-closing mechanism  11 , the slope deploying mechanism  21 , the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31 , the battery  43 , and the driving motor  44  are connected to the control device  40  and operate in accordance with commands from the control device  40 . Data on the degree of opening of the door output by the door opening-closing mechanism  11 , data on the position of deployment of the slope output by the slope deploying mechanism  21 , and data on the ground clearance output by the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  are input into the control device  40 . 
     The control device  40  is a computer internally including a CPU  41  that processes information and a memory  42  that stores control programs, control data, etc. 
     Next, the operation of the control device  40  installed in the vehicle  100  will be described with reference to  FIG. 4  to  FIG. 12 . 
     When the vehicle  100  stops at a predetermined place, such as a bus stop, where passengers get on and out of the vehicle  100 , as shown in step S 101  of  FIG. 4 , the CPU  41  of the control device  40  outputs a command for starting to deploy the slope plate  22  to the slope deploying mechanism  21 . Further, the CPU  41  of the control device  40  outputs a command for reducing the ground clearance of the vehicle  100  to the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31 . In accordance with the command from the control device  40 , the slope deploying mechanism  21  drives a built-in motor to move the slider main body  24  toward the vehicle left side as shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 . Here, the slider main body  24  and the connection body  23  are prevented by a lock mechanism (not shown) from moving relatively to each other in the vehicle width direction, and the slider main body  24  and the connection body  23  move integrally toward the vehicle left side. When the slider main body  24  and the connection body  23  have moved toward the left side, as indicated by arrow  91  in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , the leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22  is sent out through the opening  29   a  of the casing  29  toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. Thus, the slope plate  22  is ejected toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. While a position  22   g  of the center of gravity of the slope plate  22  in the vehicle width direction is inside the casing  29 , the slope plate  22  is deployed substantially horizontally toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. During this process, the slope deploying mechanism  21  outputs a signal indicating the position of deployment of the slope plate  22  to the control device  40 , and the control device  40  ejects and deploys the slope plate  22  while detecting the position of deployment of the slope plate  22 . 
     Meanwhile, the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  reduces the oil pressures of the hydraulic cylinders  32  and lowers the levels of the hydraulic cylinders  32  in accordance with the command from the control device  40 . During this process, the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  detects the ground clearance and outputs the detected ground clearance to the control device  40 , and the control device  40  reduces the ground clearance as indicated by arrows  92  in  FIG. 5  while detecting the ground clearance. When the ground clearance has been reduced to a predetermined clearance, the control device  40  ends the adjustment of the ground clearance as shown in step S 102  of  FIG. 4 . 
     The time taken to adjust the ground clearance is about one third of the time taken to deploy the slope plate  22 . Therefore, when the control device  40  has adjusted the ground clearance by the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31 , about one third of the slope plate  22  has been ejected through the opening  29   a  of the casing  29  to the outside in the vehicle width direction while about two thirds thereof are still housed inside the casing  29 . Thus, as shown in  FIG. 6 , when the ground clearance has been adjusted, the position  22   g  of the center of gravity of the slope plate  22  is located inside the casing  29  and the slope plate  22  is being deployed substantially horizontally toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. 
     Also after the ground clearance has been adjusted, the control device  40  continues the action of ejecting the slope plate  22  to deploy the slope plate  22  to the outside in the vehicle width direction as indicated by arrow  93  in  FIG. 7 . When the position  22   g  of the center of gravity of the slope plate  22  reaches the outside of the opening  29   a  of the casing  29  in the vehicle width direction, the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  is engaged with a lock mechanism (not shown) and thereby locked so as not to rotate around the pin  28   c . Then, ejection of the slope plate  22  in the substantially horizontal direction continues. 
     As shown in step S 103  of  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 7 , when the slope plate  22  has been ejected to the outside in the vehicle width direction, the rotary link  28  has protruded through the opening  29   a  to the outside in the vehicle width direction. The connection body  23  is engaged with an engaging member (not shown) of the casing  29  and locked on the casing  29  so as not to move further toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. When the rotary link  28  protrudes through the opening  29   a  toward the outside in the vehicle width direction, the lock mechanism (not shown) between the slider main body  24  and the connection body  23  is released, so that the slider main body  24  becomes able to move relatively to the connection body  23  in the vehicle width direction. Here, the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  remains in the state of being locked by the lock mechanism (not shown) so as not to rotate around the pin  28   c.    
     When the slope plate  22  has been ejected to the outside in the vehicle width direction, the control device  40  starts opening the door  12  as shown in step S 104  of  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , the control device  40  outputs a command for slightly opening the door  12  to the door opening-closing mechanism  11 . Based on this command, the door opening-closing mechanism  11  rotates the motor to slightly open the door  12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the door  12  is pushed out toward the outside in the vehicle width direction and slightly opened in the vehicle front-rear direction as indicated by arrows  81  in  FIG. 8  and arrow  82  in  FIG. 9  by a guide rail (not shown) and a link (not shown) of the door  12 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , when the door  12  is slightly opened, the door  12  is pushed out toward the outside in the vehicle width direction and a gap is left between the tip of the seal lip of the weather seal  13  mounted at the lower end of the door  12  and the end of the step part  104  on the vehicle left side. 
     After slightly opening the door  12  so as to leave a gap between the tip of the seal lip of the weather seal  13  and the end of the step part  104  on the vehicle left side as shown in step S 104  of  FIG. 4 , the control device  40  lifts the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  as shown in step S 105  of  FIG. 4 . The control device  40  outputs a command for lifting the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  to the slope deploying mechanism  21 . When this command is input, the slope deploying mechanism  21  rotates the motor to move the slider main body  24  toward the outside in the vehicle width direction relatively to the connection body  23 . 
     As described above, the connection body  23  is locked on the casing  29  so as not to move toward the outside in the vehicle width direction, while the slider main body  24  is movable toward the outside in the vehicle width direction relatively to the connection body  23 . Therefore, when the slider main body  24  moves toward the outside in the vehicle width direction as the motor rotates, the slider main body  24  enters inside the connection body  23  and moves toward the outside in the vehicle width direction as shown in  FIG. 11 . This causes the connection bar  27  of the slider main body  24  to move toward the outside in the vehicle width direction and thereby move the pin  28   b  toward the outside in the vehicle width direction, which in turn causes the rotary link  28  to rotate clockwise as indicated by arrow  98  in  FIG. 11 . As the rotary link  28  thus rotates, the pin  28   c  thereof moves upward as indicated by arrow  99  in  FIG. 11 . As a result, the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  connected to the pin  28   c  moves upward. 
     When the slider main body  24  moves as shown in  FIG. 11 , the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  is disengaged from the lock mechanism and the slope plate  22  becomes able to rotate around the pin  28   c . Since the position  22   g  of the center of gravity of the slope plate  22  is located on the outside of the opening  29   a  of the casing  29  in the vehicle width direction, when disengaged from the lock mechanism, the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  rotates around the pin  28   c  as indicated by arrow  94  shown in  FIG. 10  and  FIG. 11  such that the leading end  22   a  lowers. Then, as indicated by arrow  95  in  FIG. 10  and  FIG. 11 , the leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22  moves downward and the leading end  22   a  is grounded on a sidewalk  50 . 
     The control device  40  moves the slider main body  24  toward the outside in the vehicle width direction until an upper surface of the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  becomes substantially flush with an upper surface of the step part  104  of the floor panel  103 . When the upper surface of the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  becomes substantially flush with the upper surface of the step part  104 , the control device  40  stops lifting the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22 . Thus, deployment of the slope plate  22  has been completed. 
     Upon completion of lifting, the control device  40  moves to step S 106  of  FIG. 4  and outputs a command for fully opening the door  12  that has been slightly opened to the door opening-closing mechanism  11 . In accordance with this command, the door opening-closing mechanism  11  fully opens the door  12  as indicated by arrows  83  in  FIG. 12 . When the door  12  is fully opened, the vehicle cabin  102  with the flat floor panel  103  and an entrance  106  of the body  101  through which passengers get on and out of the vehicle are revealed. Passengers climb into the vehicle cabin  102  by crossing the slope plate  22  from the sidewalk  50 . 
     As has been described above, the control device  40  of the vehicle  100  of the embodiment slightly opens the door  12  after ejecting the slope plate  22 , which can reduce the likelihood that passengers may come into contact with the slope plate  22  while the slope plate  22  is deploying. Further, the control device  40  of the embodiment fully opens the door  12  after raising the slope plate  22 , with the door  12  slightly opened, until the upper surface of the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  reaches the level of the upper surface of the step part  104  of the floor panel  103  and thus matching the levels of these upper surfaces. In other words, the control device  40  fully opens the door  12  after creating a state where the slope plate  22  has been deployed and there is no level difference between the upper surface of the slope plate  22  and the upper surface of the step part  104 . Thus, passengers are less likely to start to cross the slope plate  22  before the position of the slope plate  22  is established. Moreover, even when passengers start to cross the slope plate  22  while the door  12  is not yet fully opened, they are less likely to trip due to a level difference. 
     Since the control device  40  of the embodiment deploys the slope plate  22  and adjusts the ground clearance at the same time, even when the ground clearance needs to be adjusted, the time from when the vehicle  100  stops until passengers start to get on and out of the vehicle  100  can be shortened. Further, when ejecting and deploying the slope plate  22  to the outside of the body  101  by the slope deploying mechanism  21 , the control device  40  completes the adjustment of the ground clearance by the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  before the position  22   g  of the center of gravity of the slope plate  22  is sent out to the outside of the body  101 . Thus, the ground clearance is adjusted with the leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22  floating without being grounded, which can reduce the likelihood of interference between the action of deploying the slope plate  22  and the action of adjusting the ground clearance. Moreover, the control device  40  completes the adjustment of the ground clearance by the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  before the action of deploying the slope plate  22  is completed. Thus, the ground clearance is adjusted in a state where the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  is engaged with the lock mechanism (not shown) and thereby locked so as not to rotate around the pin  28   c , and where the slope plate  22  extends in a substantially horizontal direction and the leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22  is not grounded. This can reduce the likelihood of interference between the action of deploying the slope plate  22  and the action of adjusting the ground clearance. 
     Next, another operation of the control device  40  installed in the vehicle  100  will be described with reference to  FIG. 13  to  FIG. 19 . This operation is an operation in which the door  12  is slightly opened first and then the slope plate  22  is deployed and the ground clearance is adjusted, and when the slope plate  22  has been ejected, the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  is lifted. Actions that are the same as those described with reference to  FIG. 4  to  FIG. 12  will be described in a simplified manner. 
     When the vehicle  100  stops at a predetermined place, such as a bus stop, where passengers get on and out of the vehicle  100 , the CPU  41  of the control device  40  slightly opens the door  12  as shown in step S 201  of  FIG. 13 . The control device  40  outputs a command for slightly opening the door  12  to the door opening-closing mechanism  11 . In accordance with this command, the door opening-closing mechanism  11  rotates the motor and slightly opens the door  12  as shown in  FIG. 14  and  FIG. 15 . Details of an action after slightly opening the door  12  are the same as the action in step S 104  of  FIG. 4  described above. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14  and  FIG. 15 , the door  12  is pushed out toward the outside in the vehicle width direction and slightly opened in the vehicle front-rear direction as indicated by arrows  81   a  in  FIG. 14  and arrow  82   a  in  FIG. 15  by the guide rail (not shown) and the link (not shown) of the door  12 . As shown in  FIG. 15 , when the door  12  is slightly opened, the door  12  is pushed out toward the outside in the vehicle width direction and a gap is left between the tip of the seal lip of the weather seal  13  mounted at the lower end of the door  12  and the end of the step part  104  on the vehicle left side. 
     After slightly opening the door  12  so as to leave a gap between the tip of the seal lip of the weather seal  13  and the end of the step part  104  on the vehicle left side, the CPU  41  of the control device  40  outputs a command for starting to deploy the slope plate  22  to the slope deploying mechanism  21  as shown in step S 202  of  FIG. 13 . Further, the CPU  41  of the control device  40  outputs a command for reducing the ground clearance of the vehicle  100  to the ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31 . Accordingly, as in step S 101  of  FIG. 4  described above, the slope deploying mechanism  21  sends out the leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22  through the opening  29   a  of the casing  29  toward the outside in the vehicle width direction as indicated by arrow  91   a  in  FIG. 16  and  FIG. 17 . Thus, the slope plate  22  is ejected toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. The ground clearance adjusting mechanism  31  reduces the ground clearance as indicated by arrows  92   a  in  FIG. 16 . When the ground clearance has been reduced to a predetermined clearance, the control device  40  ends the adjustment of the ground clearance as shown in step S 203  of  FIG. 13 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 18  and  FIG. 19 , also after the ground clearance has been adjusted, the CPU  41  of the control device  40  continues the action of ejecting the slope plate  22  to deploy the slope plate  22  to the outside in the vehicle width direction as indicated by arrow  93   a  in  FIG. 18  and  FIG. 19 . Here, the slope plate  22  is ejected substantially horizontally as described above with reference to  FIG. 7 . 
     When the slope plate  22  has been ejected to the outside in the vehicle width direction as shown in step S 204  of  FIG. 13 , the CPU  41  of the control device  40  moves to step S 205  of  FIG. 13 . By the same actions as in step S 105  of  FIG. 4  described above, the CPU  41  lifts the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  and grounds the leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22  to complete the deployment of the slope plate  22 . 
     When deployment of the slope plate  22  is completed, the CPU  41  of the control device  40  moves to step S 206  of  FIG. 13 , and fully opens the door  12  by the same action as in step S 106  of  FIG. 4  described above. 
     In this way, the control device  40  fully opens the door  12  after creating a state where the slope plate  22  has been deployed and there is no level difference between the upper surface of the slope plate  22  and the upper surface of the step part  104 . Thus, passengers are less likely to start to cross the slope plate  22  before the position of the slope plate  22  is established. 
     In the operation of the control device  40  having been described above, the slope plate  22  is deployed and the ground clearance is adjusted after the door  12  is slightly opened. However, the operation is not limited to this example. For example, deployment of the slope plate  22  and adjustment of the ground clearance may be started at the same time as the door  12  is slightly opened. Alternatively, adjustment of the ground clearance may be started at the same time as the door  12  is slightly opened, and deployment of the slope plate  22  may be started after the door  12  is slightly opened. Or deployment of the slope plate  22  may be started at the same time as the door  12  is slightly opened, and adjustment of the ground clearance may be started after the door  12  is slightly opened. 
     In the vehicle  100  having been described above, the control device  40  performs the action of deploying the slope plate  22  and the action of opening the door  12 . However, without being limited to this example, deployment of the slope plate  22  and opening of the door  12  may be performed by manual operation or the like. In this case, the following method of activating the door  12  to open and close and the slope plate  22  to deploy can be used. 
     A method of activating the door  12  to open and close and the slope plate  22  to deploy of the embodiment is used in the vehicle  100  including: the body  101  having the vehicle cabin  102  in which passengers ride and the floor panel  103  constituting the floor of the vehicle cabin  102 ; the door opening-closing mechanism  11  that drives the door  12  mounted on the body  101  to open and close; and the slope deploying mechanism  21  that deploys the slope plate  22  housed under the floor panel  103  to the outside of the body  101 . The method of activating the door  12  to open and close and the slope plate  22  to deploy involves opening the door  12  by the door opening-closing mechanism  11  after deploying the slope plate  22  toward the outside of the vehicle  100  by the slope deploying mechanism  21 . 
     This method of activating the door  12  to open and close and the slope plate  22  to deploy may involve deploying the slope plate  22  to the outside of the body  101  by the slope deploying mechanism  21  to eject the slope plate  22 , pushing the door  12  out toward the outside by the door opening-closing mechanism  11  to slightly open the door, then immediately raising the slope plate  22  by the slope deploying mechanism  21  until the upper surface of the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  reaches the level of the upper surface of the step part  104  of the floor panel  103 , grounding the leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22 , and then fully opening the door  12  by the door opening-closing mechanism  11 . 
     Further, this method of activating the door  12  to open and close and the slope plate  22  to deploy may involve pushing the door  12  out toward the outside by the door opening-closing mechanism  11  to slightly open the door, deploying the slope plate  22  to the outside of the body  101  by the slope deploying mechanism  21  to eject the slope plate  22 , then immediately raising the slope plate  22  by the slope deploying mechanism  21  until the upper surface of the body-side end  22   b  of the slope plate  22  reaches the level of the upper surface of the step part  104  of the floor panel  103 , grounding the leading end  22   a  of the slope plate  22 , and then fully opening the door  12  by the door opening-closing mechanism  11 . 
     In this method of activating the door  12  to open and close and the slope plate  22  to deploy, deployment of the slope plate  22  and adjustment of the ground clearance may be started at the same time as the door  12  is slightly opened. Alternatively, adjustment of the ground clearance may be started at the same time as the door  12  is slightly opened, and deployment of the slope plate  22  may be started after the door  12  is slightly opened. Or deployment of the slope plate  22  may be started at the same time as the door  12  is slightly opened, and adjustment of the ground clearance may be started after the door  12  is slightly opened. 
     The workings and effects of this method of activating the door  12  to open and close and the slope plate  22  to deploy are the same as the workings and effects of the control device  40  described above.