Torsional damper for air conditioning compressor

An air conditioning compressor assembly of the type for compressing a recirculated refrigerant fluid, said assembly comprising:

• a fluid pump having a forward end and a rearward end;
• a drive shaft rotatably supported about a central axis and operatively connected to said fluid pump;
• a generally circular hub fixedly secured to said drive shaft adjacent said forward end;
• a pulley adjacent said forward end of said fluid pump and supported for rotation about said central axis independently of said drive shaft and including a clutch surface;
• a solenoid adjacent said forward end of said fluid pump for selectively generating a field of magnetic flux passing through at least a portion of said clutch surface of said pulley;
• an armature plate disposed in facing relation to said clutch surface and within said field of magnetic flux for frictionally engaging said clutch surface;
• a generally annular outer ring disposed concentrically about said central axis and fixedly secured to said armature plate;
• an annular elastomeric torque cushion extending radially between and bonded to each of said outer ring and said hub;
• said torque cushion including an inner forward surface adjacent said hub and disposed in a plane generally perpendicular to said central axis, an intermediate forward surface extending frustoconically and radially from said inner forward surface, an outer forward surface adjacent said outer ring and extending in a plane generally perpendicular to said central axis, an inner rearward surface adjacent said hub and having an inverted frustoconical shape inclined at a predetermined acute first angle measured relative to said central axis, and an outer rearward surface adjacent said outer ring having an inverted frustoconical shape inclined at a predetermined acute second angle greater than said first angle.