Abstract
Recently, minivans have been gaining in popularity across many generations,
not just conventional family users. An abundant variety of models are available to satisfy
users with different requirements.
The Toyota Isis, launched on September 20, 2004, was developed as an ideal minivan to
provide users with a flexible space that can be used as freely as possible, regardless of users´
ages or family structures. The concept of the Isis is to maximize the advantages of "the
innovative utility produced by free access and space." In order to achieve this innovative
utility, Panorama Open Doors are used to create a large opening with no center pillar when
the front door and rear sliding door on the passenger side are open. The combination of
Panorama Open Doors with a wide variety of seat layouts achieves a completely new style of
vehicle access and loading.
However, in order to develop these structures, many technical issues had to be addressed.
The first was passive safety. The issue was resolved by building the function of the
conventional center pillar into the front and rear doors. In addition, an electric center lock in
each door and a sub-latch at the bottom of the front door improve safety by dispersing the
energy absorbed during a side impact not only to the doors, but to the body as well.
The second issue was driving stability. Using new CAE evaluation measures, we analyzed the
differences in rigidity between the left and right sides of the vehicle that result from the
differences in structure. Stable driving performance was ensured by balancing the rigidity
between the two sides.
The third issue was the door weather strip structure. A structure was developed that ensures
stable sealing performance and allows the front and rear doors to be opened and closed
independently.
The Panorama Open Doors have helped to make the Isis very popular.
Keywords: utility, Panorama Open Doors, passive safety, driving stability, door weather
strip