Vehicle door stopping apparatus

A vehicle door stopping apparatus to stop a vehicle door at a position between a fully closed position where a door opening defined in a vehicle body is fully closed and a fully opened position where the door opening is fully opened, the vehicle door being selectively opened and closed between the fully closed position and the fully opened position, the vehicle door stopping apparatus comprising:

• a drum that rotates in a first rotation direction during opening of the vehicle door and rotates in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction during closing of the vehicle door;
• a locking member that shifts between a locking position where the locking member allows rotation of the drum in the second rotation direction while preventing rotation of the drum in the first rotation direction and an unlocking position where the locking member allows the rotation of the drum in the first rotation direction and the rotation of the drum in the second rotation direction;
• and
• a shifting mechanism that shifts a position of the locking member from the unlocking position to the locking position when a shifting operation is performed when the locking member is located at the unlocking position and maintains the position of the locking member at the locking position when the shifting operation is performed and the locking member is located at the locking position, the shifting operation rotating the drum in the second rotation direction and then rotating the drum in the first rotation direction, the shifting mechanism including:
• a movable body that moves in a first direction during the rotation of the drum in the second rotation direction in accordance with the shifting operation and move in a second direction opposite to the first direction during the rotation of the drum in the first rotation direction in accordance with the shifting operation,
• a tubular body including a first engagement portion and a second engagement portion arranged in a circumferential direction, and
• a rotator including an engagement piece that comes into engagement with the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion of the tubular body, the rotator moving in the first direction by being pressed by the movable body during movement of the movable body in the first direction in accordance with the shifting operation and returns in the second direction by being urged by an urging member during movement of the movable body in the second direction in accordance with the shifting operation.