Hydro-Elastic engine mount
AssigneeThe Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
InventorsRobert C. Schisler, George W. Eisenzimmer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An engine mount for motor vehicles having two enclosed chambers containing hydraulic fluid, which chambers are separated from each other by a partition containing a damping channel passing therethrough to permit hydraulic fluid to flow back and forth between the chambers to damp vibrations imparted to the mount. The engine mount is equipped with a decoupling unit within one of the hydraulic chambers for coupling and decoupling the damping action of the mount in response to varying driving conditions and engine performance. The decoupling unit has a rigid member forming a cavity into which a flexible diaphragm is deflected when vibrations occur when the decoupling unit is set in a decoupling mode to prevent fluid from being pumped back and forth through the damping channel.
Claims11
A hydro-elastic engine mount for mounting an engine on a vehicle frame said mount comprising:
- (A) a first end member;
- (B) a second end member spaced in an axial direction from the first end member;
- (C) an annular elastomeric spring element sealingly attached to the first end member;
- (D) an annular sidewall extending between the elastomeric spring element and the second end member to form an enclosed chamber between the first and second end members;
- (E) a fixed partition inside the enclosed chamber dividing it into a main fluid chamber and an auxiliary fluid chamber;
- (F) said partition containing a damping channel therethrough which permits fluid to flow back and forth between the main fluid chamber and the auxiliary fluid chamber when certain vibration conditions occur to provide relative vibration damping between the first and second end members;
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- (G) a coupling/decoupling means mounted inside the main fluid chamber to alternately couple and at least partially decouple the vibration damping action of the fluid flow through the damping channel said coupling/decoupling means comprising:
- (1) a rigid annular body member having a concave wall forming a cavity with an open side facing on the inside of the main fluid chamber,
- (2) a flexible extensible elastomeric diaphragm sealingly attached to the rigid body member and covering the open side of the cavity at a spaced distance from the concave wall of the body member, said diaphragm being deflectable into the cavity a distance relative to the pressure differential between the fluid pressure in the main fluid chamber and the air pressure in the cavity, one surface of the diaphragm facing the cavity and the opposite surface thereof lying within the main fluid chamber and being directly exposed to the interior of said chamber,
- (3) the body member having a port extending through the concave wall thereof and in communication with the exterior of the engine mount to permit the flow of air in and out of the cavity, and
- (4) means to control the flow of air through the port in and out of the cavity to effect pressure changes within the cavity and thereby change the amount of deflection of the diaphragm.
In a fluid filled vibration isolator enclosed by an annular wall, an annular elastomeric spring and a pair of opposed end members, and having a fluid compression chamber and a fluid expansion chamber separated by a fixed partition except for a damping channel in said partition, through which fluid flows back and forth from one chamber to the other to provide vibration damping in response to certain vibration conditions imparted to the vibration isolator, the improvement comprising:
- (A) coupling/decoupling means mounted inside the compression chamber to alternately couple and at least partially decouple the vibration damping action of the fluid flow through the damping channel said coupling/decoupling means comprising:
- (1) a rigid annular body member extending around at least part of the distance around the inside of the compression chamber;
- (2) said body member having a concave wall forming a cavity with an open side facing on the inside of the compression chamber;
- (3) the body member having a port extending through the concave wall thereof and in communication with the exterior of the vibration isolator to permit the flow of air in an out of the cavity.
- (4) a flexible extensible elastomeric diaphragm sealingly attached to the body member and covering the open side of the cavity at a spaced distance from the concave wall of the body member, one surface of the diaphragm facing the cavity and the opposite surface thereof lying within the main fluid chamber and being directly exposed to the interior of said chamber,
- (5) said diaphragm being deflectable into the cavity a distance relative to the pressure differential between the pressure in the compression chamber and the pressure in the cavity thus to decrease the fluid pressure level, thereby decreasing the quantity of fluid being pushed through the damping channel;
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- (6) means regulating the deflection of the diaphragm in response to pressure variations within the compression chamber, to effect the coupling or the desired amount of decoupling of vibration damping by the vibration isolator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.