Eddy current damper for power take-off gear rattle abatement

A power take-off that is adapted to be supported on and rotatably driven by a source of rotational energy so as to rotatably drive a rotatably driven accessory, the power take-off comprising:

• a hollow housing including a mounting surface that is adapted to be supported on the source of rotational energy, the mounting surface having an opening therethrough;
• an input mechanism supported for rotation within the hollow housing and including an input gear that extends through the opening outwardly from the hollow housing and that is adapted to be engaged and rotatably driven by the source of rotational energy;
• an output mechanism supported for rotation within the hollow housing and including an output shaft that is adapted to rotatably drive the rotatably driven accessory;
• a clutch assembly for selectively connecting the output mechanism and the input mechanism for concurrent rotation, the clutch assembly including a first gear that is connected for rotation with the input mechanism, a second gear that is connected for rotation with the output mechanism, and a shifter assembly that is operable in either an engaged condition, wherein the first gear and the second gear are connected for concurrent rotation, or a disengaged condition, wherein the first gear and the second gear are not connected for concurrent rotation;
• and
• an eddy current damper structured and configured to exert a drag torque on either or both of the input mechanism and the output mechanism during operation of the power take-off while the clutch assembly is in the disengaged condition to abate rattling between the first gear and the second gear, wherein the eddy current damper includes:
• (1) a ring that is connected to the input mechanism for concurrent rotation and an electromagnetic coil that is supported on the hollow housing of the power take-off;
• and/or
• (2) a disk that is connected to the input mechanism for concurrent rotation and a permanent magnet that is supported on the hollow housing of the power take-off.