Self-aligning rotary damper assembly

• US 9,382,965 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2012
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
• Original Assignee: Illinois Tool Works Inc.
• Inventors: Calby, Daniel, Zhang, Miao
• Primary Examiner(s): Siconolfi, Robert A
• Assistant Examiner(s): HSIAO, JAMES K
• Application Number:
  US14/355,849
• Publication Number:
  US 20140284155A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,338 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E05F 3/14 with fluid brakes of the rotary type
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2600/11 by automatically acting means
• CPC Class Codes: E05Y 2600/53 Snapping
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 9/12 Devices with one or more rotary vanes turning in the fluid any throttling effect being immaterial, i.e. damping by viscous shear effect only F16F9/53 takes precedence; pivoting supports for apparatus or articles placed on stands or trestles F16M11/06
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 9/54 Arrangements for attachment grommet-type rubber mounting springs per se F16F1/3732; construction of cylinder ends F16F9/3242; attachments to vehicles B60G13/001, B60G15/00

Abstract

A rotary damper with a toothed wheel gear projecting away from a housing having snap-in connection structures disposed on opposing sides of the wheel gear. The wheel gear may be inserted through a panel opening having a pair of opposing transverse slots. In the assembled condition, the housing with the connected wheel gear may slide linearly in the longitudinal direction of the slots to permit self-adjustment relative to an operatively connected mating gear. Proper meshing relation between the wheel gear and the mating gear is thereby maintained.

Claims

1. A rotary damper adapted to engage a mating gear to dampen the rate of relative movement between a support panel supporting the rotary damper and an opposing structure supporting the mating gear, the rotary damper comprising:

a rotatable wheel gear projecting away from a housing containing a damping fluid, the housing including a pair of upwardly projecting snap-in connection structures disposed on opposing sides of the wheel gear;

the snap-in connection structures comprising pairs of opposing legs projecting away from the housing in the same direction as the wheel gear;

the wheel gear being sized for insertion through a through hole in the support panel and the legs being adapted for insertion in snap-in relation through slots within the support panel substantially aligned with one another on opposing sides of the through hole, and wherein said slots are characterized by a width dimension which is smaller than the through hole, wherein the opposing legs in each snap-in connection structure are spaced at a distance which is smaller than the through hole such that the opposing legs are adapted for insertion in snap-in relation through slots having a width less than the through hole such that portions of the legs are supported in sliding relation on a surface of the support panel at positions outboard from the slots with all portions of the snap-in connection structures maintained outboard from the through hole and the housing is slidable relative to the support panel along a substantially linear travel path defined by the slots;

the wheel gear being spaced apart from at least one of the snap-in connection structures at a predefined distance selected to retain the mating gear in operative connection to the wheel gear during reciprocating sliding movement of the housing.

2. The rotary damper as recited in claim 1, wherein the mating gear is supported at a surface of a rotatable storage bin, and the support panel supporting the rotary damper is a containment wall of a bin opening housing the storage bin.

3. The rotary damper as recited in claim 1, wherein the housing includes a fluid well holding the damping fluid, and the upwardly projecting snap-in connection structures are disposed on opposing sides of the fluid well.

4. The rotary damper as recited in claim 3, wherein at least one of the snap-in connection structures comprises a pair of resilient, spaced-apart legs, the legs having ramped outer surfaces defining nose projections extending outwardly away from one another with shoulders disposed below the nose projections, the ramped outer surfaces being adapted to snap behind the surface of the support panel following insertion of the leas through the slots with the shoulders extending away from the slots in transverse relation to the length dimension of the slots.

5. The rotary damper as recited in claim 4, wherein the housing further includes a plurality of radially extending paws at an elevation below the shoulders, the elevation difference between the paws and the shoulders being equal to or greater than the thickness of the support panel, such that the paws are disposed below the support panel following insertion of the legs through the slots.

9. The rotary damper as recited in claim 1, wherein the mating gear is a ring gear.

10. The rotary damper as recited in claim 9, wherein the wheel gear comprises a plurality of teeth extending away from a hollow hub, and wherein a rotor is held in keyed relation at the interior of the hub, the rotor including a plurality of vane elements adapted to rotate within a fluid well holding the damping fluid when the wheel gear rotates.

6. The rotary damper as recited in claim u, wherein each of the snap-in connection structures comprises a pair of resilient, spaced-apart legs, the legs having ramped outer surfaces defining nose projections extending outwardly away from one another with shoulders disposed below the nose projections, the ramped outer surfaces being adapted to snap behind the surface of the support panel following insertion of the legs through the slots with the shoulders extending away from the slots in transverse relation to the length dimension of the slots.

7. The rotary damper as recited in claim 6, wherein the housing further includes a plurality of radially extending paws at an elevation below the shoulders, the elevation difference between the paws and the shoulders being equal to or greater than the thickness of the support panel, such that the paws are disposed below the support panel following insertion of the legs through the slots.

8. The rotary damper as recited in claim 6, wherein the housing is a unitary molded construction.

11. A rotary damper adapted to engage a mating gear to dampen the rate of relative movement between a support panel supporting the rotary damper and an opposing structure supporting the mating gear, the rotary damper comprising:

a rotatable wheel gear projecting away from a housing containing a damping fluid;

a rotor operatively connected to the wheel gear, the rotor comprising a rotor shaft and a plurality of vane elements extending radially away from the rotor shaft, wherein the rotor shaft is disposed in substantially fixed, coaxial relation to the wheel gear such that rotation of the wheel gear is translated through the rotor shaft to the vane elements;

the housing including a fluid well holding the damping fluid, the vane elements being disposed in contacting relation to the damping fluid within the fluid well;

the housing further including a pair of upwardly projecting snap-in connection structures disposed on opposing sides of the wheel gear, the snap-in connection structures comprising pairs of opposing legs projecting away from the housing in the same direction as the wheel gear;

the wheel gear being sized for insertion through a through hole in the support panel and the legs being adapted for insertion in snap-in relation through slots within the support panel substantially aligned with one another on opposing sides of the through hole, and wherein said slots are characterized by a width dimension which is smaller than the through hole, wherein the opposing legs in each snap-in connection structure are spaced at a distance which is smaller than the through hole such that the opposing legs are adapted for insertion in snap-in relation through slots having a width less than the through hole such that portions of the legs are supported in sliding relation on a surface of the support panel at positions outboard from the slots with all portions of the snap-in connection structures maintained outboard from the through hole and the housing is slidable relative to the support panel along a substantially linear travel path defined by the slots;

the wheel gear being spaced apart from at least one of the snap-in connection structures at a predefined distance selected to retain the mating gear in operative connection to the wheel gear during reciprocating sliding movement of the housing.

12. The rotary damper as recited in claim 11, wherein the mating gear is supported at a surface of a rotatable storage bin, and the support panel supporting the rotary damper is a containment wall of a bin opening housing the storage bin.

13. The rotary damper as recited in claim 11, wherein the upwardly projecting snap-in connection structures are disposed on opposing sides of the fluid well.

14. The rotary damper as recited in claim 13, wherein at least one of the snap-in connection structures comprises a pair of resilient, spaced-apart legs, the legs having ramped outer surfaces defining nose projections extending outwardly away from one another with shoulders disposed below the nose projections, the ramped outer surfaces being adapted to snap behind the surface of the support panel following insertion of the legs through the slots with the shoulders extending away from the slots in transverse relation to the length dimension of the slots.

15. The rotary damper as recited in claim 14, wherein the housing further includes a plurality of radially extending paws at an elevation below the shoulders, the elevation difference between the paws and the shoulders being equal to or greater than the thickness of the support panel, such that the paws are disposed below the support panel following insertion of the legs through the slots.

16. The rotary damper as recited in claim 13, wherein each of the snap-in connection structures comprises a pair of resilient, spaced-apart legs, the legs having ramped outer surfaces defining nose projections extending outwardly away from one another with shoulders disposed below the nose projections, the ramped outer surfaces being adapted to snap behind the surface of the support panel following insertion of the legs through the slots with the shoulders extending away from the slots in transverse relation to the length dimension of the slots.

17. The rotary damper as recited in claim 16, wherein the housing further includes a plurality of radially extending paws at an elevation below the shoulders, the elevation difference between the paws and the shoulders being equal to or greater than the thickness of the support panel, such that the paws are disposed below the support panel following insertion of the legs through the slots.

18. The rotary damper as recited in claim 16, wherein the housing is a unitary molded construction.

19. The rotary damper as recited in claim 11, wherein the mating gear is a ring gear.

20. A rotatable bin assembly including a rotatable storage bin and a rotary damper adapted to engage a mating gear to dampen the rate of relative movement between a support panel supporting the rotary damper and the rotatable storage bin, the bin assembly comprising:

a rotary damper comprising a rotatable wheel gear projecting away from a housing containing a damping fluid, the housing including a pair of upwardly projecting snap-in connection structures disposed on opposing sides of the wheel gear;

the snap-in connection structures comprising pairs of opposing legs projecting away from the housing in the same direction as the wheel gear;

the wheel gear being sized for insertion through a through hole in the support panel and the legs being adapted for insertion in snap-in relation through slots within the support panel substantially aligned with one another on opposing sides of the through hole, and wherein said slots are characterized by a width dimension which is smaller than the through hole, wherein the opposing legs in each snap-in connection structure are spaced at a distance which is smaller than the through hole such that the opposing legs are adapted for insertion in snap-in relation through slots having a width less than the through hole such that portions of the legs are supported in sliding relation on a surface of the support panel at positions outboard from the slots with all portions of the snap-in connection structures maintained outboard from the through hole and the housing is slidable relative to the support panel along a substantially linear travel path defined by the slots;

the wheel gear being spaced apart from at least one of the snap-in connection structures at a predefined distance selected to retain the mating gear in operative connection to the wheel gear during reciprocating sliding movement of the housing; and

a rotatable storage bin having the mating gear mounted thereon.