Elastomeric torsional drive coupling with secondary damping element
AssigneeLord Corporation
InventorsRobert J. Michael, Andrew B. Swoyer, Jr., Wallace C. Flower
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An auxiliary torsional damper of the surface-effect type capable of damping torsional spikes which may occur during operational transition through the system's resonance frequency. Preferably, the auxiliary damper will be designed with a decoupling feature such that the damper will only provide auxiliary torsional damping for torsional oscillations which surpass a threshold amplitude. Since the surface-effect damper is deflection dependent, the larger the magnitude of the torsional spike, the larger the damping that will be applied thereto.
Claims20
In a torsional damping system having an elastomeric primary damping element through which drive torque is transmitted between an outer first member and an inner second member, a secondary damping element for producing an auxiliary damping force for large amplitude torsional vibrations, said auxiliary damping force being transmitted between said first and second members along a path which is parallel to and axially offset from a path through said primary damping element, said secondary damping element comprising
- a) a first rigid surface portion fixedly attached to, for movement with, said first member;
- b) a second rigid surface portion fixedly attached to, for movement with, said second member;
- c) a first elastomeric layer bonded to only one of said first and second rigid surface portions;
- d) protrusions formed only on the other of said first second rigid surface portions and adapted to engage said elastomeric layer;
- whereby when said first member experiences sufficient relative rotation with respect to said second member resulting from a large amplitude torsional vibration, engagement between said protrusions and said first elastomeric layer will frictionally and hysteretically damp said relative rotation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.