Marine propulsion – Inboard engine mount
Patent
1998-02-18
1999-11-02
Basinger, Sherman
Marine propulsion
Inboard engine mount
248562, 26714011, 26714013, 440 52, B63H 2130
Patent
active
059759720
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vibration damper comprising a housing formed by a shell part and a base part and having therein a pressure cavity which at least partially is delimited by a membrane of an elastomer material, such as rubber, arranged in the housing and extending between the side wall(s) of the shell part, and comprising a fixing pin for transmitting vibrations to be damped to the membrane, one end of the fixing pin protruding out of the housing via an opening made in the base of the shell part and the other end of the pin being fixed to the membrane by means of at least one plate which is enclosed within the membrane and roughly runs parallel to the base of the shell part.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A vibration damper of this type is disclosed in German Offenlegungsschrift DE-A1 3 146 679. This publication describes an elastic engine support consisting of a housing formed by a shell part and a base part, the base part likewise being shell-shaped. A membrane is stretched in the housing by clamping said membrane between the shell part and the base part. This creates a pressure cavity between the membrane and the base part, by means of which pressure cavity air damping is created for vibrations transmitted to the membrane by means of the fixing pin. The membrane itself is made of rubber and likewise contributes to the vibration damping. The fixing pin is fixed to the membrane by means of a plate which is partially enclosed within the membrane and the function of which is exclusively to transmit forces exerted on the connecting pin to the membrane.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The aim of the present invention is to provide a vibration damper which has good vibration-damping characteristics, can be manufactured without great difficulty or high cost and is preferably very suitable for use in the suspension of ships' engines.
This aim is achieved with a vibration damper of the type mentioned at the outset, in that the membrane is fixed at the transition between the base of the shell part and the side wall(s) of the shell part by bonding to said side wall(s) and said base, in that the bonding of the membrane to the base extends towards the middle of the base over a distance such that the region of bonding to the base partially overlaps the region in which the at least one plate enclosed within the membrane extends.
The bonding of the membrane to the shell part can be realized relatively easily and the overlap between the bonding region and the plate enclosed within the membrane provides for relief of the bonded joint at that end thereof which faces towards the middle of the shell part. The bond between the membrane and the shell part is further relieved by applying a sufficiently high overpressure in the pressure cavity. Because the membrane is arranged at the base of the shell part, and as a result of the fixing of the membrane fixing pin by means of an enclosed plate, the movement of the vibration damper is limited to a short distance in one direction, that is to say the direction in which the fixing pin moves outwards from the housing. This small distance can be adjusted, optionally even to 0 mm, by adjusting the pressure in the pressure cavity in such a way that, in the assembled state, the membrane in the middle of the shell part is at a certain distance, corresponding to the stroke limit in said one direction, from the base of the shell part when in the rest position. The damping action in the case of a vibration damper of this type is, on the one hand, to be ascribed to the pressure cavity, which is preferably filled with air or another gas, and, on the other hand, to be ascribed to the elastic and/or damping characteristics of the membrane.
In this context the membrane is not understood to be a thin sheet-like element but is understood to be a relatively thick body having a thickness of from, for example, 0.5 cm up to a few cm.
When the membrane is made of rubber, the bond between the membrane and the shell part can, according to the invention, advantageously be
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patent: 2275966 (1942-03-01), Julien
patent: 4757982 (1988-07-01), Andra et al.
patent: 5265552 (1993-11-01), Taylor
patent: 5284315 (1994-02-01), Hofmann et al.
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