Patent ID: 7052073

Claim:
A sliding door apparatus comprising: a sliding door configured to be slidable with respect to a vehicle body and having a window hole configured to be opened/closed; a restricting unit having an abutting portion configured to advance from and retract back to the sliding door to and from the vehicle body and to restrict the sliding door from fully opening when the abutting portion advances so as to abut on a predetermined portion of the vehicle body; a forcing unit configured to apply a force on the abutting portion so as to keep the abutting portion retracted from the vehicle body; wherein the abutting portion abuts the vehicle body and a driving unit configured to drive the abutting portion such that the abutting portion advances to the vehicle body against the force applied by the forcing unit when an openness of the window hole is greater than a threshold, wherein the driving unit has a displacing mechanism configured to be displaced according to the openness of the window hole, the abutting portion has a first movable member configured to swing in accordance with a displacement of the displacing mechanism and in cooperation with the displacing mechanism via a restiform member; and a second movable member configured to swing between an advanced position relative to the vehicle body and a retracted position relative to the vehicle body, and the sliding door apparatus further comprises a permitting unit configured to elastically connect the first movable member and the second movable member, so that the first movable member and the second member move in cooperation with each other when the second movable member swings from the retracted position to the advanced position, and the first movable member is allowed to swing with respect to the second movable member when the second movable member has swung to the advanced position.