Patent Description:
Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a handle device having a flash surface specification, which is accommodated in a recess formed in a vehicle door or the like when not in use and is moved to a projecting position by an electric actuator when in use.

The handle device of Patent Literature <NUM> includes an outer handle (handle body) that is rotatable about a rotation axis, a handle lever that is rotatable about a predetermined rotation axis and includes a link hole into which a linking protrusion formed in the handle body is fitted, and a drive lever that is rotationally driven by an electric motor.

When the electric motor is driven when the handle body is held at an initial portion when not in use, the drive lever rotates, and an abutment pin is pushed against a pin provided on the drive lever to rotate the handle lever, whereby the handle body moves from the initial position to a pop-up position.

When the handle body is further rotated from the pop-up position, a pressure receiving portion is pushed by a latch mechanism side arm portion provided in the drive lever in accordance with rotation of the drive lever, whereby a latch release lever is rotated, and a latch mechanism connected to the latch release lever is unlocked.

An inertia lever is rotatably connected to a support case to which the handle body is attached. When an impact due to a collision is applied, the inertia lever rotates to a restriction position and restricts an operation of the handle body at the initial position to prevent an inadvertent release operation of a door lock and an accompanying opening operation of a door.

In the handle device of Patent Literature <NUM>, the latch release lever is pushed by the handle lever to operate, and can rotate independently from the handle lever toward a latch unlocking operation direction. Therefore, in a case where an impact due to a collision is applied, for example, even if the handle lever is provided with movement restriction means against a collision impact force and thus the handle lever is not operated, only the latch release lever may rotate due to an inertia force to release the door lock, so the reliability against collision is low. Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a rip device for a closure device for a movable part, such as a door, lid or the like, of a vehicle, comprising a grip part, which is movably mounted relative to the movable part, wherein the closure device can be connected to the grip part via a connecting element and the grip part is used to actuate the closure device. Patent Literature <NUM> discloses a retractable handle arrangement that comprises a handle movable between stowed, deployed and operative states, wherein movement is controlled by a mechanism having first and second links each connected to a supporting structure and to the handle.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, in the handle device for a vehicle, it is possible to prevent an inadvertent door lock releasing operation due to an independent operation of the latch release lever alone in the event of an impact being applied due to a collision.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, a handle device for a vehicle includes a handle body <NUM>, a latch release lever <NUM>, a door latch device in a door <NUM>, an electric actuator <NUM>, and a push portion forming member <NUM>. The handle body <NUM> is configured to be driven from an initial position to a pop-up position by the electric actuator <NUM> and is manually operated to a latch operation position beyond the pop-up position, and the handle device is configured such that a latch of the door latch device <NUM> is released by the latch release lever <NUM> being rotationally driven to a latch release position. The push portion forming member <NUM> is configured to move from an initial corresponding position to a latch operation corresponding position in accordance with an operation of the handle body <NUM>, the initial corresponding position corresponding to the initial position of the handle body <NUM> and the latch operation corresponding position corresponding to the latch operation position of the handle body <NUM>. The push portion forming member <NUM> has a lever push portion <NUM> configured to, at the latch operation corresponding position, push the latch release lever <NUM> and rotate the latch release lever <NUM> to the latch release position. The push portion forming member <NUM> has a restriction wall <NUM>. The restriction wall <NUM> prevents the latch release lever <NUM> from rotating toward the latch release position within a region from the initial corresponding position to a pop-up corresponding position corresponding to the pop-up position of the handle body <NUM>.

In the present invention, when the handle body <NUM> having been driven to the pop-up position by the electric actuator <NUM> is further operated to the latch operation position, the push portion forming member <NUM> operating in accordance with the operation of the handle body <NUM> moves from the initial corresponding position corresponding to the initial position of the handle body <NUM> to the latch operation corresponding position via the pop-up corresponding position corresponding to the pop-up position. With movement of the push portion forming member <NUM>, the lever push portion <NUM> formed in the push portion forming member <NUM> pushes the latch release lever <NUM> to rotate the latch release lever <NUM> to the latch release position, thereby operating the door latch device <NUM>.

When an impact force due to a collision such as a side collision is applied to the handle device, it is not possible to prevent the latch release lever <NUM> from operating independently toward a direction of the latch release position due to an inertia force even if the push portion forming member <NUM> is provided with appropriate movement restriction means for the time of a collision impact to restrict an operation by the inertial force, the latch release lever <NUM> operating in response to a push operation from the lever push portion <NUM> and being not directly connected to the push portion forming member <NUM>.

In the present invention in which the restriction wall <NUM> is provided in the push portion forming member <NUM> to restrict the independent operation of the latch release lever <NUM>, the latch release lever <NUM> does not operate alone due to an impact load to an extent that the push portion forming member <NUM> does not operate, or due to a bound by the impact load, and thus it is possible to prevent inadvertent door opening.

The push portion forming member <NUM> may be formed integrally with the handle body <NUM> as long as the push portion forming member <NUM> is movable from the initial corresponding position to the latch operation corresponding position in accordance with the operation of the handle body <NUM>, or may be formed as a link member having one end thereof rotatably connected to the handle body <NUM>.

The handle device for a vehicle may further include a handle base <NUM>, a drive arm <NUM>, and an operation link <NUM>. The drive arm is configured such that one end of the drive arm <NUM> may be rotatably connected to one end of the handle body <NUM>, the other end of the drive arm <NUM> may be rotatably connected to the handle base <NUM>, and the drive arm <NUM> may be driven by the electric actuator <NUM>. The operation link <NUM> may form a link mechanism together with the handle body <NUM>, the drive arm <NUM>, and the handle base <NUM>. One end of the operation link <NUM> may be rotatably connected to the other end of the handle body <NUM>, and the other end of the operation link <NUM> may be rotatably connected to the handle base <NUM>. The operation link <NUM> may include the push portion forming member <NUM>.

In this aspect, when the drive arm <NUM> is rotationally driven by the electric actuator <NUM> such as a motor, the handle body <NUM>, which is connected to the operation link <NUM> at one end and to the drive arm <NUM> at the other end and forms the link mechanism as a whole, moves from the initial position to the pop-up position. Thereafter, when the handle body <NUM> is further operated and moved to the latch operation position, the push portion forming member <NUM> provided in the operation link <NUM> and the latch release lever <NUM> are driven to operate the door latch device <NUM>.

The link mechanism can be configured as a four-joint link mechanism by the handle base <NUM>, the drive arm <NUM>, the operation link <NUM>, and the handle body <NUM>, and in this case, a latch release operation of the door latch device <NUM> can be performed by manually pulling out the handle body <NUM> having been driven to the pop-up position by the electric actuator <NUM> further to the latch operation position.

When the four-joint link mechanism is configured as a parallel link mechanism, the handle body <NUM> moves in parallel from the initial position, and thus usability is improved.

In the handle device for a vehicle, a connection portion between the operation link <NUM> and the handle body <NUM> may have a sliding pair. The handle body <NUM> may be configured to move from the pop-up position to the latch operation position by a rotation operation of the handle body <NUM> about a rotation center of the handle body <NUM> and the drive arm <NUM>.

In the handle device for a vehicle, the lever push portion <NUM> may be in a non-contact state with the latch release lever <NUM> from the initial corresponding position to the pop-up corresponding position. Since a non-contact region set between the lever push portion <NUM> and the latch release lever <NUM> can absorb an unauthorized operation due to error accumulation or the like of the lever push portion <NUM>, operation reliability can be improved.

The handle device for a vehicle may further include an inertia stopper. The inertia stopper may be configured to, when a collision impact load is applied, rotate to a stop position and prevent the push portion forming member <NUM> from moving toward the latch operation corresponding position. It is possible to reliably prevent unauthorized door opening due to the collision impact load.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent an inadvertent door lock releasing operation due to an independent operation of the latch release lever alone in the event of an impact due to a collision.

A door handle device includes a handle base <NUM>, a handle body <NUM>, a drive arm <NUM> connecting the handle body <NUM> to the handle base <NUM>, and an operation link <NUM>, and is to be fixed to a door of a vehicle at the handle base <NUM>.

With the handle base <NUM> fixed to the door, the handle body <NUM> can be moved from an initial position shown in <FIG> and <FIG> to a pop-up position shown in <FIG> and further to a latch operation position at which one end of the handle body <NUM> is pulled up from the pop-up position as shown in <FIG>.

The door handle device has a flush surface specification in which the handle body <NUM> is accommodated in the door and a surface of the handle body <NUM> is substantially in the same plane as a door surface when not in use. The initial position of the handle body <NUM> corresponds to a non-use posture. The handle base <NUM> is formed with a handle accommodating recess 8a to accommodate the handle body <NUM> when the handle body <NUM> is at the initial position (see <FIG>).

As shown in <FIG>, the drive arm <NUM> and the operation link <NUM> are connected to the handle base <NUM> so as to be rotatable about rotation centers C98 and C108. The rotation centers C98 and C108 of the drive arm <NUM> and the operation link <NUM> with respect to the handle base <NUM> are appropriately spaced apart from each other in a front-rear direction, that is, in a longitudinal direction of the handle base <NUM>, and the rotation center C98 of the drive arm <NUM> is disposed in front of the rotation center C108 of the operation link <NUM>.

In this description, a left side of <FIG> is referred to as "front", a right side is referred to as "rear", a direction directed out of the page of <FIG> is referred to as a "front surface" direction, and an opposite direction thereof is referred to a "back surface" direction.

An electric actuator <NUM> such as a motor is to be fixed to the handle base <NUM>, and as shown in <FIG>, power of the motor <NUM> is transmitted to a cam <NUM> rotatably connected to the handle base <NUM> via a worm 1a, a worm wheel 1b, and a reduction gear 1c.

A pressed portion 9a is formed on the drive arm <NUM> so as to correspond to the cam <NUM> to be rotationally driven around a rotation center C11 and is pushed by the cam <NUM>, and thus the drive arm <NUM> rotates about the rotation center C98 from an initial corresponding position corresponding to the initial position of the handle body <NUM> to a pop-up corresponding position corresponding to the pop-up position of the handle body <NUM> in accordance with rotation of the cam <NUM>.

In order to ensure the contact of the pressed portion 9a with the cam <NUM>, a torsion spring 9b is mounted around a connection portion C98 between the handle base <NUM> and the drive arm <NUM> to bias the drive arm <NUM> counterclockwise in <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, the cam <NUM> comes into contact with the pressed portion 9a at a start point P1 when the handle body <NUM> is at the initial position, and rotates counterclockwise by an angle θ about the rotation center C11 in <FIG> while maintaining the contact with the pressed portion 9a. When the cam <NUM> comes into contact with the pressed portion 9a at an end point P2, the handle body <NUM> moves to the pop-up position.

<FIG> are explanatory views showing a state in which the drive arm <NUM> is operated by the cam <NUM>. <FIG> shows a state in which the drive arm <NUM> is at the initial corresponding position, <FIG> shows a state in which the drive arm <NUM> is at the pop-up corresponding position, and <FIG> shows a state in which the drive arm <NUM> is on the way from the initial corresponding position to the pop-up corresponding position. A reference numeral H shown in <FIG> denotes a movement amount of a connection point C29 of the drive arm <NUM> with the handle body <NUM>. <FIG> is a cam diagram of the cam <NUM> for obtaining the movement amount. A horizontal axis represents a rotation angle θ of the cam <NUM>, and a vertical axis represents the movement amount H in a height direction of the connection point C29 with the handle body <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the cam <NUM> is configured such that an increment in a movement distance of the connection point C29 of the drive arm <NUM> with the handle body <NUM> in a height direction per unit angle is small in an initial stage of rotation and gradually increases as the cam <NUM> approaches the end point. Immediately after starting to be driven by the motor <NUM>, the cam <NUM> slowly ascends in a vertical direction, and is driven so as to gradually increase an ascending speed as the handle body <NUM> approaches the pop-up position.

As a result, a driving force is maximized at an initial stage of driving when the ascending speed is low, that is, when the handle body <NUM> starts to move from the initial position. By virtue of this configuration, for example, even when thin ice is formed around the handle body <NUM>, it is possible to expect a sufficient driving force for crushing the ice and prevent an operation failure due to freezing.

When the handle body returns from the pop-up position to the initial position, since a descending speed decreases in a vicinity of the initial position, it is possible to prevent a collision with the handle base <NUM>, packing, or the like, and it is possible to prevent an occurrence of collision noise, rebound, or the like.

Further, as shown in <FIG>, when the drive arm <NUM> is at the pop-up corresponding position, the rotation center C11 of the cam <NUM> is disposed in a vicinity of a normal line N drawn down from a contact point with the pressed portion 9a. Therefore, a horizontal component when a force is applied from the pressed portion 9a to the contact point P2 of the cam <NUM>, that is, a force to rotate the cam <NUM>, is small.

Therefore, even if a load toward the initial position, that is, a force for pushing the handle body <NUM> is applied to the handle body <NUM> when the handle body <NUM> is at the pop-up corresponding position, only a force directed toward the rotation center is generally applied to the cam <NUM>, and a force in a direction perpendicular to the force is small. Therefore, a rotational operation force applied to the cam <NUM> is small, and a force applied to a worm from a worm wheel can be small.

As shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, the handle body <NUM> is provided with link connection portions 2a protruding toward a back-surface side and provided at both front and rear end portions of the handle body, and a handhold recess 2b serving as a handhold when the handle body <NUM> is operated is formed between the front and rear link connection portions 2a.

The other end of the drive arm <NUM>, which is connected to the handle base <NUM> at one end, is rotatably connected to the front link connection portion 2a of the handle body <NUM>, and the other end of the operation link <NUM> is connected to the rear link connection portion 2a.

The connection between the operation link <NUM> and the handle body <NUM> is rotatable and slidable. In this example, a connection pin <NUM> that is fixed to the rear link connection portion 2a and provides a rotation center C210 is inserted into a long hole 10a formed in an end portion of the operation link <NUM>, and thus the rotation center C210, that is, the connection pin <NUM> is slidable. The connection pin <NUM> is inserted into the long hole 10a and then retained by retaining means as appropriate.

As shown in <FIG>, the rotation center C98 of the drive arm <NUM> with the handle base <NUM>, the rotation center C29 of the drive arm <NUM> and the handle body <NUM>, the connection pin <NUM> of the handle body <NUM>, and the rotation center C108 of the operation link <NUM> with respect to the handle base <NUM> are disposed at vertex positions of a parallelogram. The long hole 10a has one end position (initial end position) that is a position of the connection pin <NUM> at the vertex position of the parallelogram, and extends in a rearward and slightly back surface direction, that is, in a direction in which a link length of the operation link <NUM> is extended by sliding of the connection pin <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the operation link <NUM> is biased toward the initial corresponding position corresponding to the initial position of the handle body <NUM> by a torsion spring 10b wound around the rotation center <NUM> of the operation link <NUM> with the handle base <NUM>, the torsion spring 9b that biases the drive arm <NUM> toward the initial corresponding position corresponding to the initial position of the handle body <NUM> is wound around the rotation center C98 of the drive arm <NUM> with respect to the handle base <NUM> as described above, and the torsion spring 10b biases the connection pin <NUM> toward the initial end position in the long hole 10a, that is, toward the vertex position of the parallelogram and holds the connection pin <NUM> at the position.

Therefore, in this example, when the electric actuator <NUM> is driven to rotate the cam <NUM> counterclockwise in <FIG> when the handle body <NUM> is at the initial position shown in <FIG>, the drive arm <NUM> rotates clockwise about the rotation center.

As described above, since the operation link <NUM> and the handle body <NUM> are held, by actions of the torsion springs 10b and 9b, at the initial corresponding position where the connection pin <NUM> minimizes the link length of the operation link 10b, the drive arm <NUM>, the operation link <NUM>, the handle body <NUM>, and the handle base <NUM> form a parallel crank mechanism having the handle base <NUM> as a fixed link, and the handle body <NUM> moves from the initial position to the pop-up position shown in <FIG> by the rotation of the drive arm <NUM> while holding a parallel posture.

When the handle body <NUM> reaches the pop-up position, the drive of the electric actuator <NUM> is stopped by a switch (not shown), and the handle body <NUM> is held at the pop-up position. When the electric actuator <NUM> is reversely driven from this state, the drive arm <NUM> returns to the initial corresponding position by the torsion spring wound around the rotation center and the handle body <NUM> returns to the initial position.

At the pop-up position, the handle body <NUM> is held in a posture parallel to the door surface. Thereafter, by pulling out a rear end side of the handle body <NUM> to an outside of the door, the handle body <NUM> is rotated about the rotation center with the drive arm <NUM> until the handle body <NUM> comes into contact with a stopper (not shown), and as shown in <FIG>, the handle body <NUM> can be moved to a latch release position inclined from the front-end portion toward the rear end portion.

The rotation of the handle body <NUM> from the pop-up position to the latch release position is performed by a manual rotation operation, and in accordance with the rotation operation of the handle body <NUM> to the latch release position, the operation link <NUM> further rotates beyond the pop-up corresponding position corresponding to the pop-up position of the handle body <NUM> and rotates to a latch operation corresponding position.

In this example, an operation of the door latch device <NUM> is performed by operating the latch release lever <NUM> by the push portion forming member <NUM> fixed to the operation link <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the push portion forming member <NUM> is fixed on the rotation center C108 of the operation link <NUM> with the handle base <NUM>, and rotates around the rotation center C108 in accordance with the rotation of the operation link <NUM>.

The latch release lever <NUM> is rotatably connected to the handle base <NUM> around a rotation center C38 perpendicular to the rotation center C108 of the operation link <NUM> with respect to the handle base <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the latch release lever <NUM> includes a plate-like body portion 3a, a cylindrical portion 3b through which a rotation shaft is inserted, the cylindrical portion 3b protruding from a plate-like body portion 3a, and a cable connecting portion 3c for holding a tip of an inner cable (not shown) of a cable device <NUM>, the cable connecting portion 3c being formed in a vicinity of the cylindrical portion 3b.

The latch release lever <NUM> is biased clockwise in <FIG> by a torsion spring (not shown) wound around the rotation center C38, and is held at an initial position shown in <FIG>.

Further, the latch release lever <NUM> includes a pushed portion 3d. As will be described later, the pushed portion 3d is pushed by the lever push portion <NUM> of the push portion forming member <NUM>, whereby the latch release lever <NUM> rotates counterclockwise in <FIG> to apply a pulling operation force to the cable device <NUM> and operate the door latch device <NUM> (see <FIG>).

As shown in <FIG>, the push portion forming member <NUM> includes a stopper piece 5a at one end portion and a recess 5b configured to receive the plate-like body portion 3a of the latch release lever <NUM> at the other end portion, and the lever push portion <NUM> is formed on a peripheral wall portion of the recess 5b.

The push portion forming member <NUM> moves from a state shown in <FIG> to a state shown in <FIG> in accordance with the rotation of the operation link <NUM> to the pop-up corresponding position, and the lever push portion <NUM> comes into contact with the pushed portion 3d of the latch release lever <NUM>. Thereafter, when the handle body <NUM> is operated to the latch operation position and the operation link <NUM> is rotated to an operation corresponding position, the lever push portion <NUM> of the push portion forming member <NUM> pushes the pushed portion 3d of the latch release lever <NUM>, and the latch release lever <NUM> rotates around the rotation center C38 to operate the door latch device <NUM>.

Further, a weight portion 5c is formed in a vicinity of the lever push portion <NUM> of the push portion forming member <NUM> to adjust the moment of inertia of the push portion forming member <NUM>. A value of the moment of inertia is set to such a magnitude that, when an impact force due to a collision is applied to the vehicle, an inertia force generated in the push portion forming member <NUM> by inertia and directed toward a direction to operate the latch release lever <NUM> will be canceled by inertia and the rotation in the direction will not be generated. A weight of the weight portion 5c, an arm length from the rotation center C108, and the like are determined based on the moment of inertia required for the push portion forming member <NUM>.

Therefore, in this example, even when a collision impact force is applied, an operation force generated in the push portion forming member <NUM> is canceled by the moment of inertia of the push portion forming member <NUM>, and thus, the latch release lever <NUM> is not pushed and inadvertent door opening is prevented.

Further, the push portion forming member <NUM> is provided with a restriction wall <NUM>, and the latch release lever <NUM> is provided with a restriction protrusion 3e.

As shown in <FIG>, the restriction protrusion 3e is erected from the plate-like body portion 3a, and the restriction wall <NUM> is formed as a wall surface of the recess 5b as shown in <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, when the push portion forming member <NUM> is at the initial corresponding position, the rotation of the latch release lever <NUM> in a direction toward the latch release position, that is, counterclockwise rotation in <FIG> is impossible because the restriction wall <NUM> blocks a movement path of the restriction protrusion 3e, and it is possible to prevent the latch release lever <NUM> from moving independently to the latch release position due to an impact force such as a collision and from operating the door latch device <NUM>.

The restriction of the rotation of the latch release lever <NUM> by the restriction wall <NUM> continues even at an intermediate position between the initial corresponding position and the pop-up corresponding position of the push portion forming member <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, and is eliminated when the push portion forming member <NUM> reaches the pop-up corresponding position as shown in <FIG>. Thereafter, the latch release lever <NUM> can be rotated by pushing the pushed portion 3d by the lever push portion <NUM> of the push portion forming member <NUM>.

Further, an inertia stopper <NUM> for restricting the movement of the push portion forming member <NUM> when a collision load is applied to the vehicle is incorporated in the handle device. The inertia stopper <NUM> is rotatably connected to the handle base <NUM>, rotates between a standby rotation position shown in <FIG> and a stop position shown in <FIG>, and is biased toward the standby rotation position by a torsion spring (not shown) wound around the rotation center C148.

The inertia stopper <NUM> is formed as a cylindrical body whose gravity center position is set so as to move from the standby rotation position to the stop position by inertia when a collision force due to a collision is applied. As shown in <FIG>, since a movement path (clockwise rotation around the rotation center C108 in <FIG>) of the stopper piece 5a of the push portion forming member <NUM> is opened at the standby rotation position, the rotation following an rotation operation of the operation link <NUM> to the latch operation corresponding position is allowed.

Claim 1:
A handle device for a vehicle, comprising:
a handle body;
a latch release lever (<NUM>);
a door latch device (<NUM>) in a door;
an electric actuator (<NUM>); and
a push portion forming member (<NUM>),
wherein the handle body (<NUM>) is configured to be driven from an initial position to a pop-up position by the electric actuator (<NUM>) and is manually operated to a latch operation position beyond the pop-up position, and the handle device is configured such that a latch of the door latch device (<NUM>) is released by the latch release lever (<NUM>) being rotationally driven to a latch release position,
wherein the push portion forming member (<NUM>) is configured to move from an initial corresponding position to a latch operation corresponding position in accordance with an operation of the handle body (<NUM>), the initial corresponding position corresponding to the initial position of the handle body (<NUM>) and the latch operation corresponding position corresponding to the latch operation position of the handle body (<NUM>),
wherein the push portion forming member (<NUM>) has a lever push portion (<NUM>) configured to, at the latch operation corresponding position, push the latch release lever (<NUM>) and rotate the latch release lever (<NUM>) to the latch release position, characterized in that
the push portion forming member (<NUM>) has a restriction wall (<NUM>), and
wherein the restriction wall (<NUM>) prevents the latch release lever (<NUM>) from rotating toward the latch release position within a region from the initial corresponding position to a pop-up corresponding position corresponding to the pop-up position of the handle body (<NUM>).