Claims
- 1. A vibration control system for use between a first mass and a second mass said system comprising:(a) a liquid spring operably interposed between said first and second masses, said liquid spring having a housing including a chamber in which a first volume of compressible liquid is disposed and restriction means slidably disposed within said housing, said restriction means having a surface in contact with said first volume of compressible liquid, said compressible liquid having a spring rate, wherein said spring rate is an inverse function of volume further wherein said liquid spring provides damping by causing said compressible liquid to flow about said restriction means; (b) a second volume of compressible liquid in a second chamber, said second volume removably connected to the first volume by a fluid passage; (c) valve means coupled to said fluid passage, said valve means selectively operable to place said second volume in communication with said first volume; and (d) control means for varying at least one of spring and damping forces in response to a sensed vibration by operating said valve means to place into communication said first volume with said second volume, said communication combining first and second volume into one active volume producing a change in spring rate.
- 2. The vibration control system of claim 1 wherein said restriction means is a plunger.
- 3. The vibration control system of claim 1 wherein said restriction means is a piston, wherein said piston divides the chamber into a jounce chamber and a rebound chamber.
- 4. The vibration control system of claim 3 wherein said piston further comprises a flow bypass passage across said piston.
- 5. The vibration control system of claim 1 wherein said first mass comprises a first structural support and said second mass comprises a second structural support.
- 6. The vibration control system of claim 5 wherein said first structural support is a building foundation and the second structural support is a building.
- 7. The vibration control system of claim 5 wherein said first structural support is a pad and the second structural support is a column.
- 8. The vibration control system of claim 5 wherein said first structural support is a column and the second structural support is a beam.
- 9. The vibration control system of claim 1 wherein said first mass comprises a vehicle frame and the said second mass comprises a vehicle cabin.
- 10. The vibration control system of claim 1 wherein said first mass comprises a stable platform and the said second mass comprises a vibration producing device.
- 11. The vibration control system of claim 10 wherein said vibration producing device is a motor.
- 12. The vibration control system of claim 10 wherein said vibration producing device is a pump.
- 13. The vibration control system of claim 10 wherein said vibration producing device is an engine.
- 14. The vibration control system of claim 10 wherein said vibration producing device is a fan.
- 15. The vibration control system of claim 10 wherein said vibration producing device is a compressor.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This is a Rule 1.62 Continuation of application Ser. No. 08/671,951, filed Jun. 28, 1996, now abandoned which is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/371,005, now abandoned.
The application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/280,619 filed Jul. 26, 1994 and now abandoned and entitled “Liquid Spring Vehicular Suspension System and Associated Control Apparatus” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated.
US Referenced Citations (15)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2227981 |
Aug 1990 |
GB |
0179315 |
Sep 1985 |
JP |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08/671951 |
Jun 1996 |
US |
Child |
08/895637 |
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US |
Parent |
08/371005 |
Jan 1995 |
US |
Child |
08/671951 |
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US |