JP2002173054A - Vehicle trunk lid opening and closing assist mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) A trunk lid opening / closing auxiliary mechanism (16) is mounted on a vehicle body (11) side to support torsion bars (22) and (23).
A bush 37 attached to the other bracket 27 for rotatably supporting the intermediate portion of the torsion bar 22 having one end fixed to the other bracket 27, and a free roller rotatably attached to the other end of the torsion bar 22 52
And a guide rail 21 attached to the trunk lid 15 for guiding the free roller 52 with the other end of the torsion bar 22 bent toward the trunk lid 15. [Effect] The hinge can be installed irrespective of the installation location, and the trunk lid can be opened and closed smoothly and with a small operating force for a long time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an auxiliary mechanism for opening and closing a trunk lid of a vehicle, which can be mounted at any location of a trunk lid hinge and can smoothly open and close the trunk lid for a long time with a small operating force. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A trunk lid of a vehicle includes an opening / closing assist mechanism for assisting the opening / closing operation to facilitate the opening / closing operation. As the opening / closing assist mechanism, for example, a technique shown in FIG. 9 and a technique described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 44-24241, "A top-opening support device for an automobile" is known. First,
The technology will be described.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are perspective views of a rear portion of a vehicle for explaining a conventional trunk lid opening / closing assist mechanism.
(A) is a rear perspective view (perspective view) of the vehicle, and (b) is an enlarged side view of the hinge. 1A, a trunk lid 100 is attached to an inner wall of a trunk room 102 at a rear portion of a vehicle body 101 via a pair of left and right hinges 103 and 104.
A trunk lid opening / closing auxiliary mechanism 105 (hereinafter, referred to as an “auxiliary mechanism 105”) is passed between these hinges 103 and 104.
It is written. ) Is shown.

The auxiliary mechanism 105 includes two torsion bars 106 and 107, and one of the torsion bars 106
Is attached at one end to a vehicle body side hinge member 108 constituting the back side hinge 104, the other end is attached to a trunk lid side hinge member 111 constituting the front side hinge 103, and the other torsion bar 107 is attached at one end to the front side. Side hinge 1
03, and the other end is attached to a trunk lid side hinge member 113 constituting the rear hinge 104.

In FIG. 1B, a trunk lid side hinge member 111 indicated by a solid line of the hinge 103 indicates a fully opened position, and a trunk lid side hinge member 111 indicated by an imaginary line of the hinge 103 indicates a fully closed position. Show. The torsion bar 106 is twisted by an angle α in a side view from the fully opened state to the fully closed state of the trunk lid 100 (see (a)).

Next, the technique disclosed in the above publication will be described.
In FIG. 1 of the above publication, the upper door 3 is attached to the vehicle body 1 by hinges 4 and 4.
, A support bracket 8 is attached to the upper door 3, one end of the torsion bar 5 is fixed to the support bracket 8, a support bracket 9 is attached to the vehicle body 1, and an intermediate portion of the torsion bar 5 is attached to the support bracket 9. An upper door support device is described, which is rotatably supported, the other end of the torsion bar 5 is bent at a right angle, and the other end of the torsion bar 5 is applied to a seat 12 fixed to the vehicle body 1.

[0007]

The above-mentioned auxiliary mechanism 10
5, the hinges 103 and 104 are
Although it is attached to the inner wall, for example, when the hinge is attached to the outer wall of the trunk room 102, it is difficult to prevent the torsion bar interposed between the hinges from interfering with the vehicle body 101 as the trunk lid 100 opens and closes. .
That is, such an auxiliary mechanism 105 is not suitable for a trunk lid having a hinge externally attached, and the installation location of the hinge is limited.

In the above case, the frictional force between the support bracket 8 and the torsion bar 5 increases for a long period of time, and the opening and closing of the upper door 3 cannot be performed smoothly.
The support bracket 8 and the torsion bar 5 may be worn, and the assisting force for opening and closing is not sufficiently transmitted from the torsion bar 5 to the upper door 3, so that a large operating force is required to open and close the upper door 3. There is.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a trunk lid opening / closing assisting mechanism for a vehicle that can be installed regardless of the installation location of a trunk lid hinge and that the opening / closing of the trunk lid can be performed smoothly and for a long period of time. The object is to enable the operation with a small operation force.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a trunk lid is attached to a vehicle body via a hinge so as to be openable and closable, and a trunk lid opening and closing auxiliary mechanism is attached to the trunk lid. In a vehicle that facilitates opening and closing of a trunk lid, a trunk lid opening and closing assist mechanism includes a pair of left and right brackets attached to a vehicle body side to support a torsion bar, and an intermediate portion of a torsion bar having one end fixed to one bracket. A bush attached to the other bracket to be rotatably supported by the other bracket, a free roller rotatably attached to the other end of the torsion bar, and a state in which the other end of the torsion bar is bent toward the trunk lid. And a guide rail attached to the trunk lid to guide the free rollers.

A bracket is provided separately from the hinge, and the torsion bar is supported by the bracket and the trunk lid, so that the hinge can be mounted regardless of the installation location. Furthermore, as the trunk lid is opened and closed, the guide roller attached to the trunk lid guides the free roller attached to the torsion bar, so the trunk lid can be opened and closed smoothly with the free roller and the guide rail. Further, since the torsion bar is rotatably supported by the bush attached to the bracket, the torsion bar can be smoothly twisted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the bracket is provided with a detent part for detenting one end of the torsion bar and a bush mounting part for mounting the bush. The rotation stop of the torsion bar and the fixing of the bush can be performed by one bracket, and the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the rotation stop of the torsion bar and the fixing of the bush are performed by another part.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a joint member having a roller supporting portion whose diameter is freely reduced is interposed between the other end of the torsion bar and the free roller to rotatably support the free roller. Features.

The free roller can be easily fitted to the joint member by reducing the diameter of the joint member. After the free roller is fitted to the joint member, the free member is fitted to the other end of the torsion bar. By doing so, the joint member cannot be reduced in diameter, so that the free roller can be prevented from coming off from the joint member.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings should be viewed in the direction of reference numerals. FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a vehicle employing a trunk lid opening / closing assisting mechanism according to the present invention. The trunk lid 15 is opened / closed via hinges 13 and 14 on a vehicle body 11 of a vehicle 10, more specifically, on an opening edge of a trunk room 12. A trunk lid opening / closing auxiliary mechanism 16 (hereinafter referred to as “auxiliary mechanism 1”) is mounted between the trunk lid 15 and the vehicle body 11.
6 ". ) Is shown.

The auxiliary mechanism 16 includes a pair of left and right guide rails 21 and 21 (one reference numeral 21 is not shown) mounted on the back surface of the trunk lid 15 and a torsion bar 22 for generating an elastic force in a direction in which the trunk lid 15 is opened. , 23. 24 and 25 are torsion bars 22 and 2
3 are arm portions.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention. A pair of left and right brackets 27, 2 are provided on the inner wall of the trunk room 12 (see FIG. 1) of the vehicle body 11 (see FIG. 1).
8 shows that the two torsion bars 22, 23 are supported by these brackets 27, 28. In addition,
Reference numerals 31 and 32 denote straight portions of the torsion bars 22 and 23, respectively. The above-described arm portions 24 and 25 are portions that are bent at substantially right angles from the respective linear portions 31 and 32.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a bracket part of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention. Since the bracket 27 and the bracket 28 are symmetrical members, the bracket 28 has the following components. Sign bracket 2
7 and the detailed description is omitted. Bracket 27
Is a member having an L-shaped cross section composed of an upper flat plate portion 34 and a side flat plate portion 35. Mounting holes 36, 36 for mounting the vehicle body 11 on the upper flat plate portion 34 are formed.
A torsion bar support portion 38 as a bush attachment portion for rotatably supporting the torsion bar 22 via a bush 37 and a detent portion for preventing the end portion 23a of the torsion bar 23 bent in a U shape from rotating. Are provided. In addition, 22a is an end of the torsion bar 22.

The bush 37 has a support hole 43 for supporting the torsion bar 22, a split groove 44 connected to the support hole 43 and capable of opening the torsion bar 22 into the support hole 43, and a torsion of the bracket 27. It has a groove portion 45 for fitting into the bar support portion 38 and a large diameter portion 46 for preventing the torsion bar 22 from coming off in the extending direction when attached to the torsion bar support portion 38.
As a material of the bush 37, a resin is preferable.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 1, and the guide rail 2 is attached to the inner panel 48 of the trunk lid 15.
1, 21 (one reference numeral 21 is not shown) is attached, and joint members 51 are attached to the torsion bars 22, 23 (reference numeral 23 is not shown) and bent into L-shaped tips 22b, 23b (reference numeral 23b is not shown). Free roller 5 through the roller
2 and 2 show the auxiliary mechanism 16 for mounting the free rollers 52 and 52 with guide rails 21 and 21. The material of the joint member 51 is preferably resin, and the material of the free roller 52 is preferably resin or metal.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the guide rail and the free roller of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention.
1 is a torsion bar 22, 23 (reference numeral 23 is not shown)
Holding part 53 for holding the joint member 51 itself
Is provided. The guide rail 21 has one end,
A stopper member 54 is attached to the free roller 52 to regulate the fully open position of the trunk lid 15 (see FIG. 4).

FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory views of a joint member of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 5A is a perspective view, and a joint member 51 includes a free roller 52 (FIG. 5).
The roller support 56 has a central portion bulging outward in a radial direction to rotatably support the roller support 56, a base 57 following the roller support 56, and a right angle from an end of the base 57. And the torsion bars 22, 2 are attached to the roller support 56 and the base 57.
3 (see FIG. 3), an insertion hole 58 into which the tip portions 22b and 23b (reference numeral 22b is shown in FIG. 4, reference numeral 23b is not shown) is inserted.
Is opened. Incidentally, 57a and 57b are base portions 57.
Are the small diameter part and the large diameter part. Roller support 56
The small-diameter portion 57a is a portion in which a plurality of split grooves 59 communicating from the outer surface to the inner surface are formed in order to allow the roller support portion 56 to be freely reduced in diameter.

(B) is a sectional view taken along the line bb of (a),
The holding portion 53 includes a flat plate portion 61, a J-shaped cross-section portion 62, and a split groove for pushing the arm portions 24 and 25 (see FIG. 3) of the torsion bars 22 and 23 (see FIG. 3) into the holding portion 53. 63.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view for explaining the operation of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention. In the fully closed position of the trunk lid 15 indicated by an imaginary line, the arm 24 of the torsion bar 22 is attached to the back of the trunk lid 15. The free roller 52 is substantially parallel to the guide rail 21 and the free roller 52 is on the rear end side of the guide rail 21.

In the fully opened position of the trunk lid 15 shown by the solid line, the arm portion 24 of the torsion bar 22 is tilted by an angle β from the position shown by the imaginary line about the torsion bar support portion 38 of the bracket 27. In
The free roller 52 is in a state of contact with a stopper member 54 attached to the guide rail 21.

The procedure for assembling the auxiliary mechanism 16 described above will now be described. FIGS. 8A to 8D are explanatory diagrams for explaining the assembling procedure of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention, and illustrate the procedure for assembling the free roller 52 to the tip of the torsion bar 22. FIG. First, in (a), the joint member 5
The free roller 52 is fitted into the first roller supporting portion 56. Since the roller supporting portion 56 of the joint member 51 has a hollow structure including the split groove 59, the diameter of the free roller 52 is reduced when the free roller 52 is fitted, so that the free roller 52 can be easily fitted.

In (b), a joint member 51 with a free roller 52 is fitted to the tip 22b of the torsion bar 22. In (c), after fitting the joint member 51 to the distal end portion 22b of the torsion bar 22,
The holder 53 of the joint member 51 is rotated as shown by the arrow, and the split groove 63 of the holder 53 is brought into contact with the arm 24 of the torsion bar 22, and the arm 24 is pushed into the holder 53 from the split groove 63.

Since the holding portion 53 has flexibility, the split groove 63 can be easily expanded by the arm portion 24, and after the split groove 63 is expanded and the arm portion 24 is pushed into the holding portion 53, The split groove 63 is narrowed, and the holding portion 53 tightens the arm portion 24, so that the joint member 51 can be securely fixed to the arm portion 24.

Since the split groove 63 extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axis of the roller support portion 56, the torsion bar 2
After the joint member 51 has been attached to the
The joint member 51 does not come off the torsion bar 22 even if an external force acts on the joint member 51 in the axial direction.

FIG. 3D shows a state in which a free roller 52 is attached to the torsion bar 22 via a joint member 51. By fitting the joint member 51 to the distal end portion 22b of the torsion bar 22, the diameter of the roller supporting portion 56 of the joint member 51 does not decrease, so that the free roller 52 does not come off from the joint member 51. in this way,
By using the joint member 51, the free roller 52
Can be easily and reliably attached to the distal end portion 22b of the torsion bar 22.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, according to the present invention, the trunk lid 15 is attached to the vehicle body 11 via the hinges 13 and 14 so as to be openable and closable. The vehicle 1 in which the opening and closing of the trunk lid 15 is facilitated by adding the opening and closing assist mechanism 16
At 0, the trunk lid opening / closing auxiliary mechanism 16 is fixed to a pair of left and right brackets 27, 28 attached to the vehicle body 11 side to support the torsion bars 22, 23, and one end is fixed to one bracket 28 (or bracket 27). A bush 37 attached to the other bracket 27 (or bracket 28) for rotatably supporting an intermediate portion of the torsion bar 22 (or torsion bar 23) on the other bracket 27 (or bracket 28); Or a free roller 52 rotatably attached to the other end of the torsion bar 23),
(Or torsion bar 23) at the other end
The guide rail 21 attached to the trunk lid 15 to guide the free roller 52 while being bent to the side 5
And, it consisted of.

In addition to the hinges 13 and 14, the bracket 2
Since the torsion bars 22 are supported by the brackets 27 and 28 and the trunk lid 15 side, the hinges 13 and 14 can be mounted regardless of the installation location. That is, the hinges 13 and 14 can be attached to either the inner wall or the outer wall of the trunk room 12 at the peripheral edge of the opening of the trunk room 12.

Further, with the opening and closing of the trunk lid 15,
Since the guide roller 21 attached to the trunk lid 15 guides the free rollers 52 attached to the torsion bars 22 and 23, the trunk lid 15 can be smoothly opened and closed by the free rollers 52 and the guide rails 21. Further, since the torsion bar 15 is rotatably supported by the bush 37 attached to the brackets 27, 28, the torsion bars 22, 23 can be smoothly twisted.

Therefore, the frictional force of the movable parts such as the torsion bars 22 and 23, the guide rail 21 and the free roller 52 can be reduced, and the opening and closing of the trunk lid 15 can be performed smoothly for a long time. In addition, wear of the movable part can be suppressed.

As a result, the opening / closing assisting force is sufficiently transmitted from the torsion bars 22 and 23 to the trunk lid 15,
The operating force for opening and closing the trunk lid 15 can be reduced, and the trunk lid 15 can be more reliably held when fully opened. In addition, the opening / closing feeling of the trunk lid 15 can be improved, and the marketability can be improved.

Further, the torsion bar 2 is moved with respect to the positions of the hinges 13 and 14 serving as the center of rotation of the trunk lid 15.
The center positions of the twists 2 and 23 can be freely set by changing the positions of the brackets 27 and 28.

As a result, the degree of freedom in setting the moment acting on the trunk lid 15 can be increased by the torsion bars 22 and 23. For example, when the trunk lid 15 is fully closed, the operating force can be reduced. When the trunk lid 15 is fully opened, the trunk lid 15
Can be enhanced, and the trunk lid 15 can be more reliably held.

Further, according to the present invention, the brackets 27, 28
In addition, the torsion bars 22 and 23 are provided with elongated holes 41 and 42 for preventing one end of the torsion bars 22 and 23, and a torsion bar support 38 for mounting the bush 37. One bracket 27 (or bracket 28) is used for the torsion bar 2
3 (or torsion bar 22) detent and bush 3
7 can be fixed, and the torsion bars 22 and 2 can be fixed.
The number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the rotation stopper 3 and the bush 37 are fixed with separate parts. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the auxiliary mechanism 16 can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, as described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 8, between the free end 52b of the torsion bar 22 and the free roller 52, the free roller 52 is rotatably supported. The present invention is characterized in that a joint member 51 having a roller supporting portion 56 whose diameter can be freely adjusted is interposed.

The free roller 52 includes a joint member 51.
Can be easily fitted to the joint member 51 and the free roller 5
By fitting the joint member 51 to the distal end portion 22b of the torsion bar 22 after fitting the joint member 2, the joint member 51 cannot be reduced in diameter. Can be prevented.

In the present invention, the bush is attached to the bracket. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the bracket may be made of resin and the bush portion may be integrally formed with the bracket. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the structure in which the substantially donut-shaped free rollers are guided by the guide rails is not limited to this, and the substantially rectangular parallelepiped block is rotatably attached to the tip of the torsion bar. Alternatively, the structure may be such that this block is slid in the guide rail.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the free roller is attached to the tip of the torsion bar via the joint member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the free roller is directly attached to the tip of the torsion bar. A retainer may be provided on the torsion bar.

[0043]

According to the present invention, the following effects are exhibited by the above configuration. The auxiliary mechanism for opening / closing the trunk lid of the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary mechanism for opening / closing the trunk lid is provided between a pair of left and right brackets attached to the vehicle body to support the torsion bar, and a torsion bar having one end fixed to one bracket. A bush attached to the other bracket to rotatably support the portion on the other bracket, a free roller rotatably attached to the other end of the torsion bar, and the other end of the torsion bar bent toward the trunk lid. The guide rail attached to the trunk lid to guide the free rollers in the state, so a bracket is provided separately from the hinge, and the torsion bar is supported with this bracket, so the hinge installation location is selected Can be installed without Furthermore, as the trunk lid is opened and closed, the guide roller attached to the trunk lid guides the free roller attached to the torsion bar, so the trunk lid can be opened and closed smoothly with the free roller and the guide rail. Further, since the torsion bar is rotatably supported by the bush attached to the bracket, the torsion bar can be smoothly twisted. Therefore, the opening / closing of the trunk lid can be smoothly performed over a long period of time, and the opening / closing assisting force is sufficiently transmitted from the torsion bar to the trunk lid, so that the opening / closing of the trunk lid can be performed with a small operation force.

In the vehicle trunk lid opening and closing assist mechanism according to the second aspect of the present invention, the bracket is provided with a detent part for detenting one end of the torsion bar and a bush mounting part for mounting the bush. And the bush can be fixed, and the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the rotation of the torsion bar and the bush are fixed by separate parts. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the trunk lid opening and closing assist mechanism can be suppressed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a trunk lid opening / closing assisting mechanism having a reduced diameter roller supporting portion between the other end of the torsion bar and the free roller for rotatably supporting the free roller. Since the joint member is interposed, the free roller can be easily fitted to the joint member by reducing the diameter of the joint member.After the free roller is fitted to the joint member, the joint member is connected to the torsion bar. Since the joint member cannot be reduced in diameter by fitting to the other end, it is possible to prevent the free roller from coming off the joint member.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a vehicle employing a trunk lid opening / closing assist mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of an auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a bracket part of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a guide rail and a free roller of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a joint member of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of an assembly procedure for explaining an assembly procedure of the auxiliary mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a rear portion of a vehicle for explaining a conventional trunk lid opening and closing assist mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 vehicle, 11 body, 13, 14 hinge, 15
Trunk lid, 16 ... trunk lid opening and closing auxiliary mechanism,
21: guide rail, 22, 23: torsion bar, 2
7, 28 bracket, 37 bush, 38 bush mounting part (torsion bar support part), 41, 42 detent part (long hole), 51 joint member, 52 free roller, 56 roller support part 59 ... Split groove.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle in which a trunk lid is openably and closably attached to a vehicle body via a hinge and a trunk lid opening and closing assist mechanism is attached to the trunk lid to facilitate opening and closing of the trunk lid. The mechanism consists of a pair of left and right brackets attached to the vehicle body to support the torsion bar, and the other bracket to rotatably support the middle part of the torsion bar with one end fixed to one bracket to the other bracket A mounted bush, a free roller rotatably mounted on the other end of the torsion bar, and a guide mounted on the trunk lid for guiding the free roller with the other end of the torsion bar bent toward the trunk lid. Trunk lid opening and closing assist mechanism for vehicles consisting of rails. 2. The trunk lid opening and closing assist mechanism for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the bracket includes a detent part for detenting one end of the torsion bar, and a bush mounting part for attaching the bush. . 3. A joint member having a roller supporting portion whose diameter is freely reduced is interposed between the other end of the torsion bar and the free roller to rotatably support the free roller. The trunk lid opening / closing assisting mechanism according to claim 1 or 2.