Method of and apparatus for damping the vibration of a building

Claim 1

A method of damping the vibration of a building, comprising the steps of: providing a passive vibration-damping unit including a lower member fixed integrally on a building and having on its upper surface an upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, an upper member having on its lower surface a downwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, said upper member being placed on the upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface of said lower member with a roller member interposed therebetween, such that said upper member is capable of moving in a shaking manner in a vibrating direction of the building, and a weight mounted on said upper member, an amount of movement of said weight being restricted by a stopper member in a range in which said weight is not dislocated from said lower member, and an active vibration-damping unit having a motor for moving said weight of said passive vibration-damping unit in a damping direction with respect to said lower member in response to driving said motor; operating said active vibration-damping unit, including driving said motor to move said weight of said passive vibration-damping unit, with a control force corresponding to the velocity of the vibration and displacement of the building when the building is vibrated; and stopping the operation of the motor of said active vibration-damping unit and operating only said passive vibration-damping unit when one of (1) a relative displacement of said weight to the lower member by means of said active vibration-damping unit, and (2) a torque of said motor required for the displacement of said weight has reached a given limit value.

Claim 2

A method of damping the vibration of a building, comprising the steps of: providing a passive vibration-damping unit including a lower member fixed integrally on a building and having on its upper surface an upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, an upper member having on its lower surface a downwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, said upper member being placed on the upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface of said lower member with a roller member interposed therebetween, such that said upper member is capable of moving in a shaking manner in a vibrating direction of the building, and a weight mounted on said upper member, an amount of movement of said weight being restricted by a stopper member in a range in which said weight is not dislocated from said lower member, and an active vibration-damping unit having a motor for moving said weight of said passive vibration-damping unit in a damping direction with respect to said lower member in response to driving said motor; operating said active vibration-damping unit, including driving said motor to move said weight of said passive vibration-damping unit, with a control force corresponding to the velocity of the vibration and displacement of the building when the building is vibrated; and stopping the operation of the motor of said active vibration-damping unit and operating only said passive vibration-damping unit when one of (1) a relative displacement of said weight to the lower member by means of said active vibration-damping unit, and (2) a torque of said motor required for the displacement of said weight has reached a given limit value.

Claim 3

A method of damping the vibration of a building, comprising the steps of: providing a passive vibration-damping unit including a lower member fixed integrally on a building and having on its upper surface an upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, an upper member having on its lower surface a downwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, said upper member being placed on the upwardly-oriented concaved arcuate surface of said lower member with a roller member interposed therebetween, such that said upper member is capable of moving in a shaking manner in a vibrating direction of the building, and a weight mounted on said upper member, an amount of movement of said weight being restricted by a stopper member or the like in a range in which said weight is not dislocated from said lower member, and an active vibration-damping unit having a motor for moving said weight of said passive vibration-damping unit in a damping direction with respect to said lower member by means of driving of the motor; operating said active vibration-damping unit, including driving said motor to move said weight of said passive vibration-damping unit, with a control force corresponding to the velocity of the vibration and displacement of the building when the building is vibrated; stopping the operation of the motor of said active vibration-damping unit and operating only said passive vibration-damping unit when one of (1) a relative displacement of said weight to the lower member by means of said active vibration-damping unit, and (2) a torque of said motor required for the displacement of said weight has reached a given limit value; and operating the motor of said active vibration-damping unit again when the relative displacement of said weight to the lower member by means of said active vibration-damping unit and the torque of said motor required on the displacement of said weight has dropped below the limit value and when continuous active damping is possible.

Claim 4

A method of damping the vibration of a building, comprising the steps of: providing a passive vibration-damping unit including a lower member fixed integrally on a building and having on its upper surface an upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, an upper member having on its lower surface a downwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, said upper member being placed on the upwardly-oriented concaved arcuate surface of said lower member with a roller member interposed therebetween, such that said upper member is capable of moving in a shaking manner in a vibrating direction of the building, and a weight mounted on said upper member, an amount of movement of said weight being restricted by a stopper member or the like in a range in which said weight is not dislocated from said lower member, and an active vibration-damping unit having a motor for moving said weight of said passive vibration-damping unit in a damping direction with respect to said lower member by means of driving of the motor; operating said active vibration-damping unit, including driving said motor to move said weight of said passive vibration-damping unit, with a control force corresponding to the velocity of the vibration and displacement of the building when the building is vibrated; stopping the operation of the motor of said active vibration-damping unit and operating only said passive vibration-damping unit when one of (1) a relative displacement of said weight to the lower member by means of said active vibration-damping unit, and (2) a torque of said motor required for the displacement of said weight has reached a given limit value; and operating the motor of said active vibration-damping unit again when the relative displacement of said weight to the lower member by means of said active vibration-damping unit and the torque of said motor required on the displacement of said weight has dropped below the limit value and when continuous active damping is possible.

Claim 5

An apparatus for damping the vibration of a building, comprising: a passive vibration-damping unit including a lower member fixed on a building and having on its upper surface an upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, an upper member having on its lower surface a downwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, said upper member being placed on the upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface of said lower member with a roller member interposed therebetween, such that said upper member is capable of moving in a shaking manner, a weight mounted on said upper member, and a stopper member provided at each opposite end of said lower member for restricting the shaking range of said upper member; an active vibration-damping unit including a motor fixed to at least one of the building and said lower member, a ball screw disposed horizontally in a vibrating direction of the building, said ball screw being rotated by an activation of said motor, and a connecting member having a nut member meshing with said ball screw, said connecting member being engaged with said upper member in such a manner as to be capable of undergoing relative movement in a vertical direction; a vibration detecting sensor disposed at an appropriate position in the building and a movable section of said passive vibration-damping unit; and a control circuit for computing an optimum damping speed on the basis of values of measurement from said vibration detecting sensor so as to drive said motor of said active vibration-damping unit in a vibration suppressing direction.

Claim 6

An apparatus for damping the vibration of a building, comprising: a passive vibration-damping unit including a lower member fixed on a building and having on its upper surface an upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, an upper member having on its lower surface a downwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface, said upper member being placed on the upwardly-oriented concave arcuate surface of said lower member with a roller member interposed therebetween, such that said upper member is capable of moving in a shaking manner, a weight mounted on said upper member, and a stopper member provided at each opposite end of said lower member for restricting the shaking range of said upper member; an active vibration-damping unit including a motor fixed to at least one of the building and said lower member, a ball screw disposed horizontally in a vibrating direction of the building, said ball screw being rotated by an activation of said motor, and a connecting member having a nut member meshing with said ball screw, said connecting member being engaged with said upper member in such a manner as to be capable of undergoing relative movement in a vertical direction; a vibration detecting sensor disposed at an appropriate position in the building and a movable section of said passive vibration-damping unit; and a control circuit for computing an optimum damping speed on the basis of values of measurement from said vibration detecting sensor so as to drive said motor of said active vibration-damping unit in a vibration suppressing direction.