Hydraulic damping mechanism and use for belt tensioning

A hydraulic damper for providing fluid damping to a tensioner in a drive system comprising:

• a damper cup having an open end and a closed end, wherein said damper cup is operatively associated with a tensioner arm and configured to rotate about a central axle in tandem with said tensioner arm;
• an end plate having a central opening, sealingly engaged with the open end of the damper to form a fluid chamber;
• a ring configured to be mounted on said central axle and disposed within said central opening of said end plate forming a fluid tight seal between said end plate and said central axle;
• a peg attached to said end plate and extending toward said closed end of said damping cup;
• a damping fluid within said fluid chamber;
• a plurality of shear plates housed within the fluid chamber, the plurality of shear plates comprising alternating fixed plates engaged with a fixed component of the tensioner and rotatable plates engaged with a rotatable component of the tensioner;
• wherein the peg extends through openings in each of the fixed plates and rotatable plates,
• wherein the fixed plates each have at least one openings for receiving the peg that allows for rotation of the peg relative to the fixed plate;
• wherein the rotatable plates each have at least one opening for receiving the peg that allows for rotation of the rotatable plate with the rotation of the peg.

A method of hydraulically damping a tensioner in a drive system comprising:

• mounting a damper cup having an open end and a closed end, wherein said damper cup is operatively associated with a tensioner arm and configured to rotate about a central axle in tandem with said tensioner arm;
• mounting a peg on an end plate;
• mounting a plurality of shear plates on said central axle, the plurality of shear plates comprising alternating fixed plates engaged with a fixed component of the tensioner and rotatable plates engaged with a rotatable component of the tensioner;
• sealing and closing said damper cup's open end with said end plate, wherein said peg passes through said rotatable and fixed plates, and wherein said peg is enclosed within a fluid chamber;
• and
• filling said fluid chamber with a damping fluid.