Damper

Claim 2

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter spaced from said hub and having at least oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; a ring-shaped elastic spacer and tuning element within the space between the hub and the inertia ring; viscous damping fluid in said working chamber; and annular spacer flanges of said elastic element extending into and maintaining the shear film spaces between the axial faces of the inertia ring and the housing.

Claim 3

A damper according to claim 1, said elastic element and said flanges serving as sealing means against leakage of damping fluid from said housing and being unattached to the housing except at said hub.

Claim 4

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having members attached together at a joint and providing an annular working chamber; viscous damping fluid in said chamber; an inertia ring in said chamber and having working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to surfaces of the housing in said chamber, having regard to the viscosity of said fluid; and an annular elastomeric element maintaining a spaced relation between said housing and said inertia ring and sealing said joint against egress of said fluid.

Claim 5

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having members attached together at a joint and providing an annular working chamber; viscous damping fluid in said chamber; an inertia ring in said chamber and having working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to surfaces of the housing in said chamber, having regard to the viscosity of said fluid; and an annular elastomeric element maintaining a spaced relation between said housing and said inertia ring and sealing said joint against egress of said fluid.

Claim 6

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter spaced from said hub and having at least oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; an elastic spacer and tuning element within the space between the hub and the inertia ring; viscous damping fluid in said working chamber; and spacer flanges of said elastic element extending into and maintaining the shear film spaces between the axial faces of the inertia ring and the housing; said hub having rabbets and the housing comprising members having radially extending portions seated in said rabbets; said rabbets having respective oppositely axially facing surfaces which are spaced apart substantially equal to the spacing of the housing portions and greater than the width of the inertia ring and said elastic element extending the full width of said hub portion between said rabbet faces.

Claim 7

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter spaced from said hub and having at least oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; an elastic spacer and tuning element within the space between the hub and the inertia ring; viscous damping fluid in said working chamber; and spacer flanges of said elastic element extending into and maintaining the shear film spaces between the axial faces of the inertia ring and the housing; said hub having rabbets and the housing comprising members having radially extending portions seated in said rabbets; said rabbets having respective oppositely axially facing surfaces which are spaced apart substantially equal to the spacing of the housing portions and greater than the width of the inertia ring and said elastic element extending the full width of said hub portion between said rabbet faces.

Claim 8

A damper according to claim 4, in which said housing portions comprise complementary shell members having outer peripheral joining flanges which are welded together to seal said chamber hermetically.

Claim 9

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter spaced from said hub and having at least oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; an elastic spacer and tuning element within the space between the hub and the inertia ring; viscous damping fluid in said working chamber; spacer flanges of said elastic element extending into and maintaining the shear film spaces between the axial faces of the inertia ring and the hoUsing; said hub having rabbets; said housing comprising members seated in said rabbets; and means selected from welding, rivets, and bolts, securing said housing members in said rabbets.

Claim 10

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter spaced from said hub and having at least oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; an elastic spacer and tuning element within the space between the hub and the inertia ring; viscous damping fluid in said working chamber; spacer flanges of said elastic element extending into and maintaining the shear film spaces between the axial faces of the inertia ring and the hoUsing; said hub having rabbets; said housing comprising members seated in said rabbets; and means selected from welding, rivets, and bolts, securing said housing members in said rabbets.

Claim 11

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter spaced from said hub and having at least oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; a ring-shaped elastomeric spacer element within the space between the hub and the inertia ring; said element being normally wider than the space between said axially facing working surfaces and being maintained under axial compression by engagement by and between portions of the housing providing said confronting working surfaces.

Claim 12

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter spaced from said hub and having at least oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; a ring-shaped elastomeric spacer element within the space between the hub and the inertia ring; said element being normally wider than the space between said axially facing working surfaces and being maintained under axial compression by engagement by and between portions of the housing providing said confronting working surfaces.

Claim 13

A damper according to claim 7, including spacer flanges of said spacer element extending into the shear film spaces between the working surfaces of the inertia ring and the housing and thereby maintaining said shear film spaces.

Claim 14

A damper according to claim 7, the opposite ends of said elastomeric element being in freely slidable relation with the portions of the housing maintaining the element under compression.

Claim 15

A damper according to claim 7, in which said housing has flange portions extending into face-to-face engaged relation to end portions of said hub, and said elastomeric spacer element by virtue of its compressed condition serving as a seal against leakage of the damping fluid from said chamber through the joints between said flange portions and said hub.

Claim 16

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter about said hub and having not only oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber but also an outer perimeter working surface in shear film-spaced relation to a confronting inner perimeter working surface of said housing; said hub having rabbets and the housing comprising members having radially extending portions seated in said rabbets, said rabbets having respective oppositely axially facing surfaces which are spaced apart substantially equal to the spacing of the housing portions and greater than the width of the inertia ring so as to afford said shear film spacing between said confronting surfaces and the axially facing working surfaces of the inertia ring when the radially extending portions are fixedly secured against said hub, and the inner ends of said housing portions seating against radially facing portions of said rabbets and thus assuring concentricity of said inner perimeter of the housing with respect to the outer perimeter of the inertia ring.

Claim 17

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing having a hub and enclosing an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having an inner perimeter about said hub and having not only oppositely axially facing working surfaces in shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber but also an outer perimeter working surface in shear film-spaced relation to a confronting inner perimeter working surface of said housing; said hub having rabbets and the housing comprising members having radially extending portions seated in said rabbets, said rabbets having respective oppositely axially facing surfaces which are spaced apart substantially equal to the spacing of the housing portions and greater than the width of the inertia ring so as to afford said shear film spacing between said confronting surfaces and the axially facing working surfaces of the inertia ring when the radially extending portions are fixedly secured against said hub, and the inner ends of said housing portions seating against radially facing portions of said rabbets and thus assuring concentricity of said inner perimeter of the housing with respect to the outer perimeter of the inertia ring.

Claim 18

A damper according to claim 11, including elastomeric spacer and sealing ring means engaged between said hub and said inertia ring and said housing portions.

Claim 19

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing defining an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having at least certain surfaces thereof in spaced parallel shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; a viscous damping fluid in said chamber; and an elastomeric ring-shaped spacer between another surface of said inertia ring and said housing and having opposite ends sealingly engaging said confronting surfaces of the housing.

Claim 20

A torsional vibration damper comprising: a housing defining an annular working chamber; an inertia ring in said working chamber having at least certain surfaces thereof in spaced parallel shear film-spaced relation to confronting working surfaces of said housing within said chamber; a viscous damping fluid in said chamber; and an elastomeric ring-shaped spacer between another surface of said inertia ring and said housing and having opposite ends sealingly engaging said confronting surfaces of the housing.

Claim 21

A damper according to claim 13, including annular flanges of said ring-shaped spacer projecting a limited distance into the shear film spaces between said working surfaces.

Claim 22

A damper according to claim 13, in which said inertia ring has a radially facing surface, and said spacer is located along said radially facing surface.

Claim 23

A damper according to claim 13, in whiCh said working surfaces of the inertia ring and the housing face both axially and radially, said spacer being of L-shape and located between other axially and radially facing surfaces of the inertia ring and the housing.