Damping arrangement

Details Damping arrangement Damping arrangement

2000-11-06

2003-10-07

Butler, Douglas C. (Department: 3683)

Spring devices

Compressed wire mesh

C267S148000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06629688

ABSTRACT:

The present invention relates to a damping arrangement having at least two holding devices that are connected to one another via a damping element.
In one damping arrangement of this type, which is known from DE-GM 7306006.7, the damping element consists of a multitude of wire ropes. A system of this type has the shortcoming that the elastic stiffness is significantly lower in the shearing direction than in the pull or push direction, which may lead to stability problems under a load.
From U.S. Pat. No. 2,778,629, a damping arrangement is known wherein two grid-like elements in the form of spherical segment areas are fixed to one another at the centers of their outer surfaces. In the wedge-shaped gap a coil spring is provided, which is elastically displaced outward when a force presses the two segments together. The two grid-like segments are not secured at their circumferences, so that the entire arrangement can dampen only forces in the push direction but not in the pull direction. Furthermore, the installation of this known damping arrangement is complex and expensive.
It is an object of the present invention to create a damping arrangement that can be implemented very easily and cost effectively and has properly proportioned damping properties in all three spatial directions.
This object is met according to the invention with a damping arrangement having two holding devices that are connected to one another via at least one damping element in the form of a plane element made of wire mesh or wire fabric, said holding devices being secured to two different regions of the damping element, and said damping element having at least two curvatures in opposite directions between the holding devices.
The advantages of the inventive damping arrangement lie especially in the fact that the dual wedging in the two holding devices renders the desired damping properties in all three spatial directions simple and cost effective to implement, and a damping arrangement of this type is well suited for the automated production and also for the mass production. A great number of different shapes and designs can be implemented. The elastic stiffness and the damping properties in the different directions may be adjusted and optimized by the shaping and type of the mesh. The design of the holding devices, too, may be used to achieve that the spacing of the securing locations may vary independently from the elasticity/damping characteristics, thus permitting use of the damping arrangement even where space is limited, i.e., an adjustment to the given installation conditions can be made in an improved fashion. It is easily possible to create identical characteristics for pull and pressure loads, and even identical elastic stiffnesses can be attained in all three spatial directions. During standstill after stress, a relaxation effects sets in, i.e., after a certain period of rest the damping arrangement has regained original properties. Compared to other systems, the inventive damping arrangement is thermally considerably less critical since the conversion of kinetic energy via friction takes place on a large surface and not inside a massive structure, as is the case, for example, in rubber buffer or wire rope dampers.
The measures listed in the subclaims permit advantageous further developments and improvements of the damping arrangement defined in claim 1.
In a first advantageous embodiment, the first ring-like holding device is secured to the edge region of the circumference side of the damping element, which has a circular circumference shape, and the second holding device is secured in the center of the damping element. The second holding device is preferably secured, especially screwed in, at a central holding hole of the damping element, and preferably has a substantially mushroom-like shape.
The damping element forms a kind of dome in such a way that both the horizontal and the vertical stiffness can be changed in opposite directions via the height of the dome. With a constant dome diameter and larger dome height the damping arrangement becomes harder vertically because more friction points are present; horizontally, on the other hand, it becomes softer.
In a further advantageous design, the two ring-like holding devices are secured to the opposite edge regions of the tubular damping element having a circular circumference line.
The circular edge region of the damping element is advantageously wedged in between two regions of the ring-like holding device, with the two regions preferably being formed as ring elements that are screwed, glued, riveted or welded to one another.
In a further design, two holding devices may also be arranged on parallel edge regions of the rectangle-shaped damping element and, depending on the desired damping effect, multiple damping elements may also be arranged side by side and/or perpendicular to one another.
In a simple constructive design, the damping element may also be curved in an S-shape and especially formed tape-like. Furthermore, in an alternative design, a third holding device may be secured substantially centrical and parallel between the two holding devices that are secured to the edge.
Lastly, two holding devices may also be secured to opposite regions of a tubular damping element in the longitudinal direction of the same.
As a particularly simple and cost effective solution, a damping arrangement may be provided that has two holding devices that are connected to one another via at least one damping element in the form of a plane element made from a wire mesh or wire fabric, with the holding devices secured to two opposite parallel edge regions of the damping element, and with the damping element having a semi-circle-like curvature between the holding devices. This solution offers similar advantages as the above-described embodiments, even though the damping element does not have two curvatures in opposite directions.
The holding devices advantageously each consist of two rectangle-shaped regions for wedging in the damping element between them and are preferably screwed, glued, riveted or welded together. As an alternative, in a simpler embodiment, the holding devices may also be designed as sheet metal parts that encompass the respective edge region of the damping element in a U-shape and whose two sides are provided with securing holes that are in alignment with one another.
In an embodiment that has proven particularly advantageous, at least one of the regions of the holding device has a deflection surface that deflects the edge region of the damping element, with the deflection angle preferably being larger than 120°.
The damping element is preferably formed as a plane element having at least one layer, and the wire mesh or wire fabric may consist of metal wire or plastic. The desired properties may be attained by means of the number and arrangement of meshes, as well as by means of the thickness and the spacing of the individual wires.


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