Fluid-filled cylindrical elastic mount having annular fluid chamber with constant cross sectional area over the entire circumference

A fluid-filled cylindrical mount for flexibly connecting two members, comprising:

• an inner sleeve attached to one of the two members to be flexibly connected;
• an outer sleeve having a circumference and attached to the other of said two members, and disposed radially outwardly of said inner sleeve with a predetermined radial spacing therebetween;
• an elastic body interposed between said inner and outer sleeves for elastically connecting the inner and outer sleeves, said elastic body having a pair of grooves which are opposed to each other in a first diametrical direction of the mount and which are open to an outer surface of said elastic body, and a pair of through-holes which are formed therethrough and which are opposed to each other in a second diametrical direction perpendicular to said first diametrical direction;
• a single intermediate sleeve disposed between said outer sleeve and said elastic body, said intermediate sleeve having a pair of windows which are aligned with said pair of grooves of said elastic body and through which said pair of grooves are open to the outer surface of said elastic body;
• said outer sleeve having an inner circumferential surface which fluid-tightly closes said pair of windows of said intermediate sleeve and said pair of grooves of said elastic body;
• an inner circumferential surface of said outer sleeve and inner wall surfaces of said pair of grooves and said pair of through-holes of said elastic body cooperating with each other to define a generally annular fluid chamber which extends over an entire circumference of the mount, said generally annular fluid chamber defining a fluid passage having an effective length not greater than said circumference of said outer sleeve and which has a substantially constant cross sectional area over the entire circumference thereof, so that said mount exhibits a substantially constant damping effect for vibrations received in all radial directions of the mount;
• and
• said generally annular fluid chamber being filled with a non-compressible fluid having a kinematic viscosity of not higher than 100 centistokes, said annular fluid chamber undergoing substantially no deformation due to a rise in pressure of said fluid upon vibration application.