Air Flap Stop Component Design for High-Torque Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing air flap arrangements in motor vehicles face mechanical overload due to increasing torque requirements from rotary drives, leading to premature failure of the counter-stop component, which affects the operational lifetime and component quality.
Innovation Solution
The counter-stop component is designed separately from the air flap component, using a material with higher tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, such as polyamide with glass fibers, to manage the increased torque without increasing installation space or material costs, while maintaining economical production methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the counter-stop is configured in one piece with the air flap, then manufacturing is simplified, but the component fails early under high torque from increasing rotary drives
Solution Approach 1:
The air flap assembly is segmented into separate components: the air flap body and the counter-stop component. This allows the counter-stop to be optimized for high torque resistance using materials with higher tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, while the air flap body can be manufactured separately. The segmented design resolves the contradiction by enabling specialized material selection for the counter-stop to prevent premature failure under increasing rotary drive torques.
Solution Approach 2:
The counter-stop component is made from composite materials with higher tensile strength and modulus of elasticity compared to the air flap body material. This material differentiation allows the counter-stop to withstand the mechanical overload from high torque rotary drives while maintaining the manufacturing simplicity of the overall assembly. The composite material approach resolves the reliability issue without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.
2Reliability
If a separate counter-stop component with higher tensile strength material is used, then operational lifetime is extended, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the counter-stop from the air flap body, the design isolates the high-strength material requirement to only the counter-stop component. This minimal segmentation extends operational lifetime without significantly increasing overall device complexity, as the separation is functional rather than structural throughout the entire assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The high tensile strength material is applied locally only to the counter-stop component where it is critically needed for withstanding torque loads, rather than throughout the entire air flap assembly. This local quality approach extends reliability at the critical failure point while minimizing the increase in device complexity and material costs.
3Ease of manufacture
If the air flap is made as one-piece by injection moulding, then production costs are reduced, but the counter-stop cannot withstand high torque loads
Solution Approach 1:
The one-piece injection moulding approach is maintained for the air flap body to preserve production cost efficiency, while the counter-stop is segmented as a separate component that can be manufactured using different processes optimized for high strength. This selective segmentation resolves the contradiction by applying cost-effective manufacturing to the non-critical components and specialized manufacturing only where strength is critical.
Solution Approach 2:
The counter-stop component uses composite materials with higher tensile strength to withstand high torque loads, while the main air flap body can be produced from standard materials using economical injection moulding. This material differentiation allows the system to achieve both cost efficiency in production and sufficient torque resistance where needed.
4Reliability
If the stop and counter-stop contact engagement is made robust, then rotation angle limiting is reliable, but the counter-stop component is prone to mechanical overload
Solution Approach 1:
The counter-stop is made from materials with higher tensile strength and modulus of elasticity specifically to handle the mechanical stresses from robust contact engagement with the stop. This material selection allows the rotation angle limiting function to remain reliable while preventing the counter-stop from failing under the resulting mechanical loads from increasing rotary drive torques.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention comprises an air flap arrangement (10) for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one air flap (16), an air flap carrier (12), on which the at least one air flap (16) is mounted rotatably about an air flap rotational axis (L), and a rotary drive (14), of which the torque-delivering drive shaft (32) is coupled to the at least one air flap (16) in a torque-transmitting manner, wherein a rotation angle limiting device is provided, which has a stop (38) secured to the air flap carrier and which has a counter-stop (28) that can be rotated with the at least one air flap (16), wherein the stop (38) and counter-stop (28), in a relative end position of the at least one air flap (16), are configured for contact engagement with one another, wherein the counter-stop (28) is configured on a counter-stop component (26) and an air flap face formation (20) is configured on an air flap component (18) configured separately from the counter-stop component (26), the counter-stop component (26) being formed of a material, which has a higher tensile strength than the material of the air flap component (18).