Tech papers
Not a hair out of place, even at 100 miles.
POSTED 09/06/2013
With the AIRCAP®, Mercedes-Benz offers for its E-Class Convertible an automatic draft stop that can be activated at the push of a button, thus greatly reducing turbulence in the interior. Actuated is the AIRCAP® by a maxon drive system.
The AIRCAP® distinctively differentiates from conventional angular wind deflectors. It is entirely embedded into the car body and completely concealed into the windshield frame whe
The Drive System
A drive system, designed by maxon motor GmbH in Sexau, Germany, takes care of moving the AIRCAP®. Its core piece is a motor/gear combination especially designed for the application based on a maxon A-max 22 DC motor and a customized gearbox with three separate reduction stages. Prominent characteristics are compact, robust design; high-capacity, silent, highly dynamic ganging, self-locking output in both end positions and handling-optimized, screwless assembly into the windshield frame. Behind the concept stand extraordinary high requirements related to comfort, miniature installation space and screwless assembly technique suitable for high volume production.
Result is a drive system that claims just 22 mm of installation height and drives the three outputs for bracing, adjustment of the lamella module and latching of the AIRCAP® in a fix, coordinated and synchronized ratio. In retracted position, the lamella module is being braced and interlocked flush to the car body’s surface, in extended end position it is being mechanically interlocked. While being deployed, the drive overcomes wind ram pressures well beyond 250 km/h (155 mph) by torques of up to 7 Nm.
As to acoustics and ganging, the drive fulfills the same high requirements, as Mercedes-Benz requires for interior passenger compartment instruments. Besides the high-end demands on power density, dependability and comfort, the drive also complies to the rigid constraints on optimized serial production. Thus, the entire drive assembly can be mounted into the windshield frame without the use of screws. Alike, the individual components, such as anti-vibration motor receptacle, motor, gear pinion, bipartite hull etc. are assembled with in an especially designed procedure.