JP2022090678A - Door operation assistance device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a door operation assistance device that enables vehicle doors to be opened easily with an inexpensively provided configuration.SOLUTION: A door operation assistance device 100 includes a door knob 10 which is so provided on the outside of a vehicle door as to pivot around a pivot axis at the front end that is one end in the lengthwise direction and is operated by a user when the door is opened or closed, and a cover 20 secured to the doorknob 10 so as to extend the doorknob 10 along the front-rear direction of extension of the doorknob 10 from the rear end that is the other end of the lengthwise direction. The cover 20 is located outside the door knob 10, and the door operation assistance device 100 further includes a fixture that is located inside the door knob 10 and secured to the cover 20 across the door knob 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a door operation assisting device that assists the opening / closing operation of a vehicle door.

As a device of this type, conventionally, a device in which the handle body is moved from the storage position to the pop-up position at the outside of the vehicle and at the rear of the vehicle at the time of use is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The device described in Patent Document 1 has a link mechanism having a first link and a second link, and is configured such that the handle body moves from the storage position to the pop-up position via the link mechanism.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2020-8447

However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, since it is necessary to provide a link mechanism on the door, the structure of the door becomes complicated and the cost increases.

The door operation assisting device according to one aspect of the present invention is provided on the outside of the vehicle door so as to be rotatable with one end in the length direction as a fulcrum, and is a door knob operated by the user when the vehicle door is opened and closed. The doorknob is provided with an extension member fixed to the doorknob so as to extend the doorknob from the other end in the length direction along the extending direction of the doorknob.

According to the present invention, the door operation assisting device can be inexpensively configured without complicating the door configuration.

The perspective view which shows an example of the vehicle to which the door operation assist device which concerns on embodiment of this invention is applied. The figure explaining an example of the problem assumed by the door operation assisting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the main part structure of the door operation assisting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the mounting operation of the door operation assist device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The perspective view which shows the state which passed through the cover constituting the door operation assisting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the door operation assisting device along the VI-VI line of FIG. The figure which shows the use example of the door operation assisting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The cross-sectional view which shows the main part structure of the modification of the door operation assisting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the cover in the modification of FIG. The figure which shows the modification of FIG. 9A. The figure which shows the other modification of the door operation assisting apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a vehicle 1 to which the door operation assisting device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, the front-rear direction (length direction), the left-right direction (vehicle width direction), and the up-down direction (height direction) of the vehicle 1 are indicated by arrows. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 has doors 2 for getting on and off on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle body frame, respectively. Note that FIG. 1 shows only the door 2 on the right side (driver's seat side) of the vehicle 1. In particular, the configuration of the driver's seat door 2 will be described below.

The door 2 is a hinged door that is rotatably supported with the shaft portion 2a at the front end as a fulcrum, and a well-known engaging mechanism 2b that engages with the vehicle body frame is provided at the rear end. The door 2 engages with the vehicle body frame via the engagement mechanism 2b and is maintained in a closed state. A doorknob 10 is provided on the outer panel 3 outside the door 2 in the vicinity of the rear end portion of the door 2. The doorknob 10 extends substantially horizontally in the front-rear direction while the length (width) in the vertical direction remains substantially constant, and a grip portion 11 gripped by the user is provided at the central portion in the front-rear direction.

The outer panel 3 is provided with a recess 3a recessed inward in the left-right direction at a portion facing the grip portion 11. As a result, the gap SP0 between the doorknob 10 and the outer panel 3 becomes large. Therefore, the user can easily insert the hand (fingertip) into the gap SP0 from above or below, and can easily grip the doorknob 10. The doorknob 10 may be formed so as to project in a substantially curved surface toward the outside in the left-right direction, whereby a gap SP0 may be provided between the doorknob 10 and the outer panel 3.

The front end portion 12 of the door knob 10 is rotatably supported by the door 2 with the shaft portion 13 extending in the vertical direction as a fulcrum. The rear end portion 14 of the door knob 10 is located in front of the rear end portion of the door 2. When the user rotates (pulls) the grip portion 11 to the user side (right side of the vehicle), the doorknob 10 rotates outward (to the right) in the left-right direction with the shaft portion 13 as a fulcrum, and the rear end portion 14 moves. It moves in a direction away from the outer panel 3. With the rotation operation of the door knob 10, the engagement mechanism 2b is disengaged and the door 2 can be opened.

Although detailed illustration is omitted, at the rear end of the door 2, a lock mechanism 4 for locking the door 2 in a closed state and an unlock mechanism 5 for unlocking the door 2 are provided. It will be provided. Inside the grip portion 11 of the door knob 10, a capacitance type unlock sensor 15 for detecting the operation of the grip portion 11 when the user tries to open the door 2 is provided. A capacitance type lock sensor 16 for detecting an operation of a user who intends to lock the door 2 is provided on the outside of the door knob 10.

Locking and unlocking of the door 2 is commanded via a vehicle key carried by the user. This vehicle key is a wireless key (so-called FOB key) configured to be able to communicate with an electronic control unit (called an in-vehicle device) mounted on the vehicle 1. When the unlock sensor 15 detects the operation of the unlock command by the unlock sensor 15 while the door 2 is locked, the vehicle-mounted device collates the ID of the wireless key with the ID of the vehicle 1. Then, when it is determined that the IDs match, an unlock command is output to the unlock mechanism 5. As a result, the unlock mechanism 5 is activated and the door 2 is unlocked.

On the other hand, when the lock sensor 16 detects the operation of the lock command by the lock sensor 16 while the door 2 is unlocked, the in-vehicle device collates the ID of the wireless key with the ID of the vehicle 1. Then, when it is determined that the IDs match, a lock command is output to the lock mechanism 4. As a result, the lock mechanism 4 is activated and the door 2 is locked.

By the way, when a user gets on a vehicle 1, generally, after gripping the grip portion 11 of the door knob 10 on the right side of the door 2 (driver's seat door) to open the door 2, the outside of the rear end portion of the door 2 is pressed. Detour, move to the rear of the door 2, turn the door 2 further to the right, and board in this state. However, when the user is using a wheelchair, for example, the door 2 and the wheelchair may interfere with each other and the door 2 may not be sufficiently opened.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating this point. As shown in FIG. 2, when the user PS using the wheelchair W operates the doorknob 10, the wheelchair W or the foot of the user PS interferes with the door 2, and the door 2 cannot be sufficiently opened. Therefore, it is necessary to move the wheelchair W rearward (in the direction of arrow A) to a position where it does not interfere with the door 2, and operate the doorknob 10 in that state. However, in this case, since the distance from the user PS to the doorknob 10 is long, it is difficult to reach the doorknob 10, and it is not easy to operate the doorknob 10. Not only when the user PS uses the wheelchair W, but also when another vehicle is parked on the right side of the vehicle 1, the outside of the rear end of the door 2 is bypassed to the right of the door 2 (driver's seat door). Similarly, it is not easy for the user PS to operate the door knob 10 to open the door 2 even when there is not enough space to do so.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the door 2 can be easily opened when the user using the wheelchair W opens the door 2 or when the door 2 is opened when there is not enough space on the side of the door 2. The door operation assist device is configured as follows.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the door operation assisting device 100 according to the present embodiment, and is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the door knob 10 of the door 2 of the driver's seat, that is, a view seen from diagonally right front. As shown in FIG. 3, the door operation assisting device 100 has a cover 20 made of a resin surrounding the doorknob 10, and the entire doorknob 10 is covered by the cover 20.

The cover 20 is connected to the front cover portion 21 and the front cover portion 21 which are formed in a substantially curved shape along the right surface of the doorknob 10 from the front end portion 12 of the doorknob 10 to the grip portion 11, and the rear end portion 14 of the doorknob 10 is connected. It has a rear cover portion 22 extending beyond and rearward. The entire cover 20 is configured to be substantially vertically symmetrical, and an upper cover portion 23 and a lower cover portion 24 are provided on the upper surface and the bottom surface of the cover 20, respectively. The upper surface and the bottom surface of the doorknob 10 are covered by the upper cover portion 23 and the lower cover portion 24, respectively.

The rear cover portion 22 is formed to be longer, that is, wider in the vertical direction than the front cover portion 21. The rear cover portion 22 projects rearward from the upper cover portion 23 and the lower cover portion 24. Therefore, behind the doorknob 10, a gap SP1 is formed between the rear end portion of the rear cover portion 22 and the outer panel 3 from above to the rear and below. That is, a gap SP1 is formed in which the upper, rear, and lower sides are open. As a result, the user PS can insert his / her hand into the gap SP1 from behind the door 2 and operate the rear end portion of the cover 20.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the operation when the cover 20 is attached to the doorknob 10. As shown in FIG. 4, when attaching the cover 20, a metal plate 25 (for example, an aluminum plate) is attached to the doorknob 10 in advance. The metal plate 25 is formed by bending a substantially rectangular flat plate into a substantially U-shaped cross section, and is hooked and locked to the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10 from above. An operating portion 10a facing the unlock sensor 15 is provided on the inner surface (left surface) of the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10. The metal plate 25 is arranged with its left end in contact with the operation unit 10a, and the unlock sensor 15 detects that the operation of the operation unit 10a, that is, the hand of the user PS touches the operation unit 10a. To the rear end portion of the metal plate 25, the front end portion of the harness 26 whose circumference is covered with an insulator is connected to the outside of the grip portion 11 in a conductive state.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the cover 20 in the mounted state (a perspective view showing the cover 20 in a transparent state). As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a metal plate 27 (for example, an aluminum plate) is attached to the inner surface of the rear cover portion 22, that is, the left surface (back surface) of the cover 20 in the mounted state. As shown in FIG. 5, an operation unit 10b facing the lock sensor 16 is provided behind the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10, and the operation unit 10b is operated by the lock sensor 16, that is, the hand of the user PS is the operation unit 10b. It is detected that you touched.

The metal plate 25 is arranged in front of the lock sensor 16, and the metal plate 27 is arranged behind the lock sensor 16. That is, the metal plates 25 and 27 are arranged apart from the lock sensor 16 so as to be in a non-conducting state with the lock sensor 16. The rear end portion of the harness 26 is connected to the front end portion of the metal plate 27 in a conductive state. As a result, the metal plate 25 and the metal plate 27 are brought into a conductive state via the harness 26. As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 20 is provided with an opening 28 penetrating the cover 20 at a position corresponding to the operation portion 10b, and the operation portion 10b is exposed through the opening 28.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the door operation assisting device 100 along the VI-VI line of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a fixture 30 for fixing the cover 20 is arranged between the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10 and the recess 3a of the outer panel 3. The fixture 30 has a substantially box shape as a whole, and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 31 are provided inside. As shown in FIG. 6, the height (vertical length) of the fixture 30 is substantially equal to the length from the upper cover portion 23 to the lower cover portion 24 of the cover 20. The thickness (horizontal length) of the fixture 30 is shorter than the horizontal length of the gap SP0 between the grip portion 11 and the recess 3a. As shown in FIG. 5, the length of the fixture 30 (length in the front-rear direction) is substantially equal to the length in the front-rear direction of the grip portion 11, and the right surface of the fixture 30 is formed in a curved surface along the left surface of the grip portion 11. Will be done.

A pair of front and rear screw holes 32 are provided on the upper surface and the bottom surface of the fixture 30, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of front and rear through holes 29 are formed in the upper cover portion 23 and the lower cover portion 24 of the cover 20 corresponding to the screw holes 32, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the bolt 33 penetrating the through hole 29 is inserted in a state where the fixture 30 is in contact with the metal plate 25 so as to sandwich the metal plate 25 between the grip portion 11 and the fixture 30. When screwed into the screw hole 32, the upper surface and the bottom surface of the fixing tool 30 are fixed to the cover 20, and the fixing tool 30 is held inside the cover 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the head of the bolt 33 is covered with the cap 34.

The installation procedure of the door operation assisting device 100 configured as described above will be described. When attaching the door operation assisting device 100, first, the metal plate 25 connected to the metal plate 27 attached to the inside of the rear cover portion 22 via the harness 26 is attached to the door knob 10 as shown in FIG. Hook on the grip portion 11. Next, the fixture 30 (FIG. 5) is inserted into the gap SP0 between the grip portion 11 and the recess 3a, and in that state, the doorknob 10 is covered with the cover 20 from the right side of the vehicle, and between the upper cover portion 23 and the lower cover portion 24. The fixture 30 is fitted into the fitting 30. Finally, bolts 33 (FIG. 5) are inserted into the upper cover portion 23 and the lower cover portion 24 from above the upper cover portion 23 and below the lower cover portion 24, respectively, and screwed into the screw holes 32 of the fixture 30. .. As a result, the cover 20 and the fixture 30 are fixed with the metal plate 25 and the grip portion 11 sandwiched between them.

In the above mounting of the door operation assisting device 100, since the metal plate 25 is simply hooked on the grip portion 11 of the door knob 10 and then the cover 20 and the fixture 30 are fixed, the mounting work is easy. Further, since the cover 20 and the fixing tool 30 are fastened via the bolt 33, the cover 20 and the fixing tool 30 can be firmly fixed, and the door operation assisting device 100 rattles due to vibration during traveling or the like. Can be prevented from occurring.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a usage example of the door operation assisting device 100. As shown in FIG. 7, when the door operation assist device 100 is attached to the door 2 on the right side of the vehicle (for example, the driver's seat door), it is inside (left side) of the rear cover portion 22 behind the grip portion 11 of the door knob 10. , A gap SP1 is formed in which the rear, upper, and lower sides are open. When opening the door 2, the user inserts his / her hand into the gap SP1 from the rear of the vehicle, for example, and touches the metal plate 27 inside the rear cover portion 22. This operation is detected by the unlock sensor 15 (FIG. 1) via the harness 26 and the metal plate 25. As a result, the unlock mechanism 5 (FIG. 1) is activated and the door 2 is unlocked.

After that, when the user rotates the rear cover portion 22 to the right, the doorknob 10 integrated with the cover 20 is also rotated to the right accordingly. As a result, the engagement mechanism 2b (FIG. 1) at the rear end of the door 2 is disengaged, and the door 2 can be opened. Since the rear cover portion 22 is wider than the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10, the cover 20 can be easily rotated. As described above, in the present embodiment, the door 2 can be opened by operating the door 2 from the rear. Therefore, it is easy for the user PS (FIG. 2) who uses the wheelchair W to open the door 2.

When locking the door 2 after closing, the user operates the operation portion 10b on the surface of the door knob 10 through the opening 28 on the upper surface of the cover 20. This operation is detected by the lock sensor 16 (FIG. 1). As a result, the lock mechanism 6 (FIG. 1) is activated and the door 2 is locked.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The door operation assisting device 100 is rotatably provided on the outside of the vehicle door 2 with the shaft portion 13 of the front end portion 12 which is one end in the length direction as a fulcrum, and is rotatably provided by the user when the door 2 is opened and closed. A doorknob 10 operated by the doorknob 10 and a cover 20 fixed to the doorknob 10 so as to extend the doorknob 10 from the rear end 14 which is the other end in the length direction along the extending front-rear direction of the doorknob 10. , (Figs. 1 and 3).

As a result, the doorknob 10 can be rotated from behind the doorknob 10 via the cover 20. Therefore, the door 2 can be easily opened when the user PS who uses the wheelchair W opens the door 2 or when the door 2 is opened when there is not enough space on the side of the door 2. .. Since the door operation assisting device 100 only attaches the cover 20 to the existing door knob 10, it can be inexpensively configured without complicating the configuration of the door 2.

(2) The door 2 is rotatably provided with a shaft portion 2a (rotating shaft) extending in the vertical direction as a fulcrum (FIG. 1). The cover 20 extends in the opposite direction of the shaft portion 2a, that is, rearward (FIG. 7). As a result, the distance from the rotation shaft to the point of action of the force becomes long, and the hinge type door 2 opened by the rotation operation can be easily opened with a small force.

(3) The doorknob 10 extends in the front-rear direction from the front end portion 12 to the rear end portion, and has a grip portion 11 gripped in the vertical direction by the user between the front end portion 12 and the rear end portion 14. (Fig. 1). By attaching the cover 20 to such a door knob 10, the door 2 can be easily opened without operating the grip portion 11.

(4) The door knob 10 has an unlock sensor 15 that detects an unlock command for the door lock by a user operation (FIG. 1). When the unlock sensor 15 detects a door lock unlock command, the door 2 unlocks the door lock by communicating with a wireless key (FOB key) carried by the user and an in-vehicle device. (Fig. 1). The cover 20 includes a metal plate 27 inside the rear cover portion 22 operated by the user when unlocking the door lock, a harness 26 and a metal plate 25 that transmit the operation of the metal plate 27 to the unlock sensor 15. (Fig. 5). As a result, when the entire door knob 10 is covered with the cover 20, the door 2 can be unlocked by using the existing unlock sensor 15.

(5) The unlock sensor 15 and the lock sensor 16 are configured to detect a change in capacitance. The cover 20 has a rear cover portion 22 made of a resin material so as to cover the doorknob 10 (FIG. 3). A conductive metal plate 27 is mounted on the back side of the rear cover portion 22, and is metal by an unlock sensor 15 via a harness 26 connected to the metal plate 27 and a metal plate 25 connected to the harness 26. The operation of the plate 27 is detected. As a result, the metal plate 27 can be arranged apart from the unlock sensor 15 and the lock sensor 16. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sensors 15 and 16 from erroneously detecting the lock operation and the unlock operation, and it is possible to prevent the lock mechanism 4 and the unlock mechanism 5 from malfunctioning.

(6) The doorknob 10 has a lock sensor 16 that detects a door lock command operated by the user (FIG. 1). The door 2 has a lock mechanism 5 that locks the door 2 by communicating with a wireless key (FOB key) carried by the user and an in-vehicle device when a door lock command is detected by the lock sensor 16 (FIG. 1). ). The cover 20 is provided with an opening 28 so that the operation unit 10b corresponding to the lock sensor 16, that is, the operation unit 10b operated by the user when the door lock is operated is exposed (FIG. 7). As a result, when the door 2 is locked, the user operates the existing lock sensor 16, so that the lock operation can be detected accurately and the lock mechanism 5 can be operated stably.

(7) The cover 20 is arranged on the outside of the doorknob 10 (FIG. 3). The door operation assisting device 100 is further provided with a fixture 30 that is arranged inside the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10 and is fixed to the cover 20 with the doorknob 10 interposed therebetween (FIG. 4). As a result, the cover 20 can be firmly fixed to the doorknob 10 without any processing on the doorknob 10.

The above embodiment can be transformed into various forms. Hereinafter, some modification examples will be described. In the above embodiment, the metal plate 25 is hooked on the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10, but such a metal plate 25 may be omitted. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a main part of the door operation assisting device 100A, which is an example thereof. As shown in FIG. 8, a conductive metal plate 40 (for example, an aluminum plate) is attached to the fixture 30. The metal plate 40 is arranged between the vertical plate portion 41 interposed between the fixture 30 and the doorknob 10 and extending substantially in the vertical direction, and the upper surface of the fixture 30 and the upper cover portion 23 of the cover 20. It has a horizontal plate portion 42 extending in a substantially horizontal direction, and has a substantially L-shaped cross section.

A conductive metal plate 43 (for example, an aluminum plate) is interposed between the horizontal plate portion 42 and the upper cover portion 23. The cover 20 and the fixative 30 are fixed by a bolt 33 (FIG. 5) that penetrates the cover 20 and the metal plates 43 and 40 and is screwed into the screw hole 32 (FIG. 5) of the fixator 30. FIG. 9A is a front view showing the configuration inside the cover 20. As shown in FIG. 9A, the metal plate 43 is connected to the metal plate 27 inside (back side) of the rear cover portion 22 via the harness 26. As a result, the operation of the metal plate 27 is transmitted to the inside of the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10 via the harness 26, the metal plate 43, and the metal plate 40, and the unlock command is detected by the unlock sensor 15 (FIG. 1). be able to.

FIG. 9B is a diagram showing a modified example of FIG. 9A. In FIG. 9B, the metal plate 44 is mounted inside the cover 20. The metal plate 44 has plate portions 44a and 44c provided at the same positions as the metal plates 27 and 43 of FIG. 9A, and plate portions 44b connecting the plate portions 44a and the plate portions 44c, respectively. The plate portion 44b is arranged to the left of the doorknob 10 so as not to come into contact with the doorknob 10. With the configuration of FIG. 9B, as in FIG. 9A, the operation of the plate portion 44a is transmitted to the metal plate 43 via the plate portion 44b and the plate portion 44c, and the unlock command is detected by the unlock sensor 15 (FIG. 1). Can be done. According to the configuration of the above modification, the work of hooking the metal plate 25 on the door knob 10 becomes unnecessary, so that the door operation assisting device 100A can be easily attached.

In the above embodiment, the cover 20 is attached to the doorknob 10 via the fixing tool 30, but the fixing tool 30 may be omitted. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the door operation assisting device 100B. As shown in FIG. 10, the door operation assisting device 100B has a resin cover 200 attached to the door knob 10. The cover 200 has a front cover portion 210 extending in the front-rear direction along the surface (right surface) of the grip portion 11, and a rear cover portion 220 extending rearward from the rear end portion of the front cover portion 210.

The rear cover portion 220 is configured in the same manner as the rear cover portion 22 described above, and the metal plate 27 is mounted inside the rear cover portion 220. A strip-shaped metal plate 270 rear end is connected to the front end of the metal plate 27. The metal plate 270 extends forward toward the inside of the front cover portion 210. The metal plate 27 and the metal plate 270 can be integrally molded by, for example, press working. A pair of front and rear through holes 211 are formed in the front cover portion 210. The through hole 211 on the rear side is provided so as to penetrate the metal plate 270. A screw hole 111 is provided on the surface of the grip portion 11 of the doorknob 10 corresponding to the position of the through hole 211.

The cover 200 is attached by screwing a bolt 212 penetrating the through hole 211 into the screw hole 111. The bolt 212 is made of a conductive metal. With the cover 200 attached, the metal plate 27 and the unlock sensor 15 conduct with each other via the metal plate 270 and the bolt 212. Therefore, when the metal plate 27 is operated by the user as shown in FIG. 8, the operation is detected by the unlock sensor 15 and the door 2 can be unlocked. As in the embodiment of FIG. 7, when the door 2 is locked after being closed, the user operates the operation portion 10b on the surface of the door knob 10 through the opening 280 provided on the upper surface of the cover 200.

As described above, in the example of FIG. 10, since the door operation assisting device 100B is configured by omitting the fixture 30, the gap SP0 between the grip portion 11 and the recess 3a of the outer panel 3 is maintained as it is. As a result, the user can insert his / her hand into the gap SP0 from above or below, and the door 2 can be unlocked and the door 2 can be opened by operating the door knob 10. Further, in the example of FIG. 10, since it is not necessary to provide the metal plate 25 to be hooked on the doorknob 10, the increase in the number of parts can be suppressed and the configuration can be simplified.

In the above embodiment, the doorknob 10 is rotatably provided with the shaft portion 13 (rotating shaft) at one end in the front-rear direction extending in the vertical direction as a fulcrum, but the configuration of the doorknob is not limited to this. That is, the doorknob may have any configuration as long as it is rotatably provided on the outside of the vehicle door with one end in the length direction as a fulcrum and is operated by the user when opening and closing the door. In the above embodiment, the cover is fixed to the doorknob 10 so as to extend the doorknob 10 toward the rear end of the door 2, but the doorknob is extended to the other end in the length direction along the extending direction of the doorknob. Any configuration of the extension member may be used as long as it is fixed to the doorknob so as to extend from the fulcrum (opposite the fulcrum).

In the above embodiment, the doorknob 10 is provided with a capacitance type unlock sensor 15 that detects a door lock unlock command operated by the user, but the configuration of the unlock command detector is not limited to that described above. .. For example, it may be configured as an unlock command detector that detects the operation of a button. In the above embodiment, the doorknob 10 is provided with a capacitance type lock sensor 16 that detects a door lock command operated by the user, but the configuration of the lock command detector is not limited to that described above. For example, it may be configured as a lock command detector that detects the operation of a button. In the above embodiment, when the door lock unlock command is detected by the unlock sensor 15, the door lock is unlocked by communicating between the wireless key carried by the user and the in-vehicle device. The configuration of the mechanism is not limited to that described above. In the above embodiment, when the door lock command is detected by the lock sensor 16, the door 2 is locked by communicating between the wireless key carried by the user and the in-vehicle device, but the configuration of the lock mechanism is described above. Not limited to things.

In the above embodiment, the operation of the metal plate 27 (second metal plate) at the rear end of the cover 20 is transmitted to the unlock sensor 15 via the harness 26 and the metal plate 25 (first metal l plate). However, the configuration of the operation transmission unit is not limited to that described above. In the above embodiment, the cover 20 is provided so as to cover the doorknob 10 except for the operation portion 16b facing the lock sensor 16. That is, although the cover 20 is provided so as to expose the operation unit 16b, a cover (extension member) may be provided so that at least the operation unit 16b corresponding to the lock command detector is exposed. In the above embodiment, the cover 20 is fixed to the doorknob 10 by using the fixing tool 30, but the structure of the fixing member is not limited to this.

In the above embodiment, an example of applying to a hinge type door 2 rotatably provided with a rotation shaft on the front side as a fulcrum has been described, but the door operation assisting device of the present invention is similarly applied to a sliding door. Can be applied.

The above description is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications as long as the features of the present invention are not impaired. It is also possible to arbitrarily combine one or a plurality of the above-described embodiments and the modified examples, and it is also possible to combine the modified examples.

1 vehicle, 2 doors, 2a rotating shaft, 4 lock mechanism, 5 unlock mechanism, 10 door knob, 11 grip, 15 unlock sensor, 16 lock sensor, 20 cover, 25 metal plate, 26 harness, 27 metal plate, 30 Fixture, 100, 100A, 100B Door operation assist device

Claims (7)

A doorknob that is rotatably provided on the outside of the vehicle door with one end in the length direction as a fulcrum and is operated by the user when the vehicle door is opened or closed.
A door operation assisting device comprising: an extension member fixed to the doorknob so as to extend the doorknob from the other end in the length direction along the extending direction of the doorknob. In the door operation assisting device according to claim 1,
The vehicle door is rotatably provided with a rotation shaft extending in the vertical direction as a fulcrum.
The extension member is a door operation assisting device that is extended in the direction opposite to the rotation axis. In the door operation assisting device according to claim 1 or 2.
The doorknob is characterized in that it extends in the front-rear direction from one end to the other end and has a grip portion that is vertically gripped by the user between the one end and the other end. Door operation assist device. In the door operation assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The doorknob has an unlock command detector that detects a door lock unlock command operated by a user.
When the unlock command for the door lock is detected by the unlock command detector, the vehicle door is unlocked by communicating with the key carried by the user and the in-vehicle device to unlock the door lock. Has a mechanism and
The extension member is characterized by having an operation unit operated by a user when unlocking the door lock, and an operation transmission unit that transmits the operation of the operation unit to the unlock command detector. Door operation assist device. In the door operation assisting device according to claim 4,
The unlock command detector is configured to detect a change in capacitance.
The extension member has a cover portion made of a resin material so as to cover the doorknob, and a first metal plate connected to the release command detector.
The operation portion is composed of a second metal plate having conductivity mounted on the back side of the cover portion.
The operation transmission unit is a door operation assisting device characterized by being composed of a harness connecting the first metal plate and the second metal plate. In the door operation assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The doorknob has a lock command detector that detects a door lock command operated by the user.
The vehicle door has a lock mechanism that locks the vehicle door by communicating with a key carried by the user and an in-vehicle device when the door lock command is detected by the lock command detector.
The extension member is a door operation assisting device provided so that at least an operation unit corresponding to the lock command detector is exposed. In the door operation assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The extension member is arranged on the outside of the doorknob.
A door operation assisting device which is further provided with a fixing member which is arranged inside the doorknob and is fixed to the extension member across the doorknob.

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