Apparatus for absorbing torque fluctuations produced by an internal combustion engine

An apparatus capable of being disposed between an internal combustion engine and a drive train mechanism, and adapted for use as a damped vibration system in absorption of a fluctuating torque present in an output torque produced by the engine, comprising:

• a plurality of rotationally inert bodies arranged on a common axis of rotation facing each other with a small gap therebetween, an outermost one of said inert bodies being connectable to a crank-shaft of said engine and the other outermost one of said inert bodies being connectable to said drive train mechanism,
• spring elements provided between the facing inert bodies and displaceable circumferentially with respect to the axis of rotation, each of the elements having one end thereof connected to one of said facing inert bodies and the other end thereof connected to another of said facing inert bodies, and
• damping elements provided between said facing inert bodies, each of the damping elements having engagement with two adjacent bodies of said facing inert bodies, the values of the moment of inertia, spring constant, and damping coefficient of the system being preselected for averaging the torque output of the engine.