Apparatus for absorbing torque fluctuations produced by an internal combustion engine

• US 4,002,043 A
• Filed: 05/07/1975
• Issued: 01/11/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Akio
• Primary Examiner(s): Scott, Samuel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Heald, Randall
• Application Number:
  US05/575,233
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: 64/1 V, 64/15 R, 64/15 C, 64/27 R, 64/27 C, 64/27 CS, 64/27 F, 64/23.7, 64/9 A, 74/574, 74/572
• US Class Current: 464/63.1
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/124 Elastomeric springs F16F15/123, F16F15/127 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/137 the elastic members consisting of two or more springs of different kinds, e.g. elastomeric members and wound springs

Abstract

A damped vibration system includes a plurality of rotationally inert bodies arranged on a common axis of rotation facing each other with a small gap therebetween. Spring elements are provided between the facing bodies that are displaceable circumferentially with respect to the axis of rotation. Damping elements, preferably in the form of steel balls disposed in radial or circular grooves having sufficient clearance to permit relative angular movement between the facing inert bodies, are provided between the facing bodies. The apparatus is directly connectable to the crank-shaft of the internal combustion engine and also engageable with the drive train of a vehicle. The damped vibration system has a resonant angular frequency preselected to be a certain value below the angular frequency of ignition of the internal combustion engine.

Claims

1. An apparatus capable of being disposed between an internal combustion engine and a drive train mechanism, and adapted for use as a damped vibration system in absorption of a fluctuating torque present in an output torque produced by the engine, comprising:

a plurality of rotationally inert bodies arranged on a common axis of rotation facing each other with a small gap therebetween, an outermost one of said inert bodies being connectable to a crank-shaft of said engine and the other outermost one of said inert bodies being connectable to said drive train mechanism,

spring elements provided between the facing inert bodies and displaceable circumferentially with respect to the axis of rotation, each of the elements having one end thereof connected to one of said facing inert bodies and the other end thereof connected to another of said facing inert bodies, and

damping elements provided between said facing inert bodies, each of the damping elements having engagement with two adjacent bodies of said facing inert bodies, the values of the moment of inertia, spring constant, and damping coefficient of the system being preselected for averaging the torque output of the engine.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said rotationally inert bodies comprises a round disc member having a plurality of circumferentially extending grooves formed in its surface facing an adjacent disc member, said grooves being provided for receiving said spring elements.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said rotationally inert bodies comprises a round disc member, and further wherein said damping elements comprise a multiplicity of ball bearings having equal diameters and rotatably supported in grooves formed in at least one of said facing disc members.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of said spring elements comprises a helical spring received in circumferentially extending grooves formed in the opposing surfaces of the facing disc members.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising second spring elements in addition to said circumferentially displaceable first spring elements, said second spring elements being supported between said facing bodies and capable of displacing in a circumferential direction with respect to said common axis of rotation, each of said second spring elements having one end thereof connected to one of said facing bodies and the other end apart from but engageable with another of said facing bodies whereby said first and second spring elements provide for said apparatus a combined spring characteristic exhibiting a relatively low spring constant until said other end of said second spring elements engages with said another of said facing bodies, but a larger spring constant after engagement of said second spring elements with said another of said facing bodies.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said one of said facing bodies and said another of said facing bodies are provided with at least a pair of opposing grooves formed in opposing faces thereof and having the same length, and a seat member secured to the intermediate part of one of said grooves and projecting into the other of said grooves thereby a pair of said second spring elements is received in said opposing grooves, each said one end of said second spring elements being connected to the seat member and each said other end thereof being spaced from the respective end wall of said respective groove by a predetermined distance.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said rotationally inert bodies is provided with a dynamic torsional vibration absorber means.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein said dynamic torsional vibration absorber means comprise an outer inert body radially spaced from the periphery of said rotationally inert body, and resilient means connecting said outer inert body and said rotationally inert body.

9. A vehicle provided with a fluctuating torque absorbing apparatus as claimed in claim 1.

10. A vehicle as claimed in claim 9, wherein said fluctuating torque absorbing apparatus has a resonant angular frequency predetermined to be a certain value below the angular frequency of ignition of said internal combustion engine when said engine is operated at its lowest practical number of revolutions per unit time.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rotational moment of inertia of the inert bodies, the spring constant of the spring elements, and the damping coefficient of the damping elements being predetermined to create a damped vibration system having a resonant angular frequency equal to or less than 1/√

2 times the angular frequency of ignition of said internal combustion engine when said engine is operated at its lowest practical number of revolutions per unit time.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said damped vibration system means comprises:

a plurality of disc members arranged for coaxial rotation, one of the disc members being adjacent to the crank-shaft and provided with means for connection to said crank-shaft and another of said disc members being adjacent to the drive train and provided with means for engagement to said drive train;

resilient means linking adjacent disc members for permitting relative angular movement of said adjacent disc members about the axis of coaxial rotation, and damping means provided between said adjacent disc members for damping said relative angular movement of said adjacent disc members.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said connecting means of the one of said disc members adjacent to said crank-shaft comprise screw bolts providing screw connection between a flange formed on said crank-shaft and the said one of said disc members and wherein said engaging means of the another of said disc members to said drive train comprise an axially outside surface of said disc member frictionally engageable with a clutch disc of said drive system.

14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said resilient means comprise helical springs arranged to be circumferentially displaceable with respect to the axis of said coaxial rotation of said disc members and wherein said damping means comprise a number of steel balls having equal diameters and rotatably supported in grooves formed in the opposing surfaces of said disc members.