Belt tensioner for a power transmission belt system
AssigneeDayco IP Holdings, LLC
InventorAnthony Eugene Lannutti
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Belt tensioners for a power transmission belt system are disclosed. The belt tensioners have a support member, an arm, a torsion spring operatively coupled therebetween, and an improved damping assembly. The arm includes a housing section pivotally mounted to the support member for rotation about the arm. This housing section has a rub surface against which the damper assembly is seated. The damper assembly has a body having a friction surface frictionally contacting the rub surface of the arm and a damper spring integrated with the body. The improvement of the damper assembly is that the rub surface of the arm includes a trough concentric about the axis of rotation and the friction surface of the body includes an annular protrusion seated in the trough.
Claims15
A belt tensioner comprising:
- a support member;
- an arm having a housing section pivotally mounted to the support member for rotation of the arm, about an axis of rotation, relative to the support member and having a belt engaging section, the housing section having a rub surface;
- a torsion spring operatively coupled between the support member and the arm and disposed within a cavity defined therebetween, wherein the torsion spring biases the arm to pivot about the support member in a first direction that urges the belt engaging section against a belt;
- a damper assembly comprising a body having a friction surface frictionally contacting the rub surface of the arm and a damper spring integrated with or seated on the body, wherein the damper spring biases at least the friction surface of the body against the rub surface of the arm;
- the improvement wherein the rub surface of the arm includes a trough concentric about the axis of rotation and the friction surface of the body includes an annular protrusion seated in the trough or the friction surface of the body includes a trough concentric about the axis of rotation and the rub surface of the arm includes an annular protrusion seated in the trough.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.