EP0487311A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vibration damper assembly
Assignee: Astemo Ltd
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Filing: 1991-11-19
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-11-19
Abstract
Abstract A damper assembly is disposed between a washing machine frame (3) and a washing container (2) suspended in the frame (3) and housing a rotatable drum (9) as a source of vibration. The damper assembly includes a damper having a cylinder (11) filled with working oil, a piston (15) slidably disposed in the cylinder and having a damping force generating mechanism (16, 17), and a piston rod (14) having an end coupled to the piston (15) and an opposite end extending out of the cylinder (11), a vibration transmission cutoff mechanism (14a, 31) activatable for disabling the damping force generating mechanism (16, 17) to substantially cut off the transmission of vibration between the washing container (2) and the frame (3), and a selective actuator for selectively activating and inactivating the vibration transmission cutoff mechanism (14a, 31) depending on the magnitude of vibration of the washing container (2).
Inventors
- 👤 Tomeo c/o K.K. Showa Seisakusho Fuse
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 06:45
CPC Classifications
D; D06; D06F; D06F37/00; D06F37/20; F; F16; F16F; F16F15/00; F16F15/02; F16F15/023; F16F15/027; F16F9/00; F16F9/32; F16F9/54; G; G05; G05G; G05G5/00; G05G5/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
173 words
A damper assembly for use between a frame and a container suspended in the frame and housing a rotatable drum as a source of vibration, said damper assembly comprising: a cylinder adapted to be supported by either one of the frame and the container, said cylinder being filled with working oil; a piston slidably disposed in said cylinder; damping force generating means on said piston, for generating damping forces against vibration transmitted from the container; a piston rod having an end coupled to said piston and an opposite end extending out of said cylinder and supported by the other of the frame and the container; vibration transmission cutoff means activatable for disabling said damping force generating means to substantially cut off the transmission of vibration between the container and the frame; detecting means for detecting the magnitude of the vibration of the container; and selective actuator means connected to said detecting means, for selectively activating and inactivating said vibration transmission cutoff means depending on the detected magnitude of the vibration of the container.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
36 words
A damper assembly according to claim 1, wherein said selective actuator means comprises means for activating said vibration transmission cutoff means when the magnitude of the vibration of the container is smaller than a predetermined value.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
24 words
A damper assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said detecting means comprises means for detecting the rotational speed of the rotatable drum.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
A damper assembly according to claim 3, wherein said selective actuator means comprises means for activating said vibration transmission cutoff means when the detected rotational speed of the rotatable drum is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
88 words
A damper assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein said vibration transmission cutoff means comprises support means adapted to be coupled between a first member, which is either one of the container and the frame, and a second member, which is either one of one end of said cylinder and said opposite end of said piston rod, for supporting said first and second members for relative movement with respect to each other, and locking means for unlockably locking the first and second members with respect to each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
36 words
A damper assembly according to claim 5, wherein said selective actuator means comprises means for actuating said locking means to unlock the first and second members from each other thereby activating said vibration transmission cutoff means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
45 words
A damper assembly according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said support means comprises a bore defined in one of the first and second members, and a rod member mounted on the other of the first and second members and slidably inserted in said bore.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
A damper assembly according to claim 7, wherein said locking means comprises a groove defined in an outer circumferential surface of said rod member, and a stopper supported on one of the first and second members and movable into said bore for engagement in said groove.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
A damper assembly according to claim 8, wherein said selective actuator means comprises a solenoid having a plunger coupled to said stopper.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
160 words
A damper assembly for use between a frame and a container suspended in the frame and housing a rotatable drum as a source of vibration, said damper assembly comprising: a damper having a cylinder filled with working oil, a piston slidably disposed in said cylinder, and a piston rod having an end coupled to said piston and an opposite end extending out of said cylinder; support means for supporting either one of said cylinder and said piston rod and either one of the frame and the container such that they are normally locked but slidable with respect to each other; detecting means for detecting the magnitude of vibration of the container; and unlocking means connected to said detecting means for unlocking said either one of the cylinder and the piston rod and said either one of the frame and the container from each other when the detected magnitude of the vibration of the container is smaller that a predetermined value.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
A damper assembly according to claim 10, wherein said detecting means comprises means for detecting the rotational speed of the rotatable drum.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
56 words
A damper assembly according to claim 11, wherein said unlocking means comprises means for unlocking said either one of the cylinder and the piston rod and said either one of the frame and the container from each other when the detected rotational speed of the rotatable drum is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
60 words
An electrical appliance such as a washing machine, spin dryer or the like, comprising a rotable drum suspended within a housing and damping means connected between the drum and the housing so as to generate damping forces against vibration transmitted from said drum at low speeds of operation, and means for disabling the damping means at high speeds of operation.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
23 words
An electrical appliance as claimed in claim 13, wherein there is additionally provided spring means which connect the rotable drum to the housing.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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