Claims
- 1. A mass damper for suppressing a source of vibration, comprising:
a housing adapted for coupling to the source of vibration; a mass within the housing; a first spring having a first end coupled to a surface of the mass; and an actuator coupled to a second end of the first spring for altering compression on the first spring.
- 2. The mass damper of claim 1, wherein altering compression of the first spring changes a resonant center frequency of the mass damper.
- 3. The mass damper of claim 1, further including a controller coupled for receiving a sense signal representative of the source of vibration and providing a control signal to the actuator.
- 4. The mass damper of claim 1, wherein the actuator includes a piston assembly coupled to the first spring and moveable to alter the compression of the first spring.
- 5. The mass damper of claim 1, wherein the mass is attached to the housing at a plurality of contact points.
- 6. The mass damper of claim 1, further including a second spring coupled between an upper surface of the mass and the housing.
- 7. The mass damper of claim 1, further including:
a first hinge coupled to an upper surface of the mass and having a socket; a second hinge coupled to the housing and having a socket; and a rod having a first ball-shaped end for mating with the socket of the first hinge and a second ball-shaped end for mating with the socket of the second hinge.
- 8. The mass damper of claim 1, further including:
a transducer having an arm continuously in contact with the mass and providing a transducer signal; and a controller coupled for receiving the transducer signal and providing a control signal to the actuator.
- 9. A mass damper, comprising:
a housing adapted for receiving a vibration; a mass within the housing; a restoring force mechanism coupled to the mass; and a force applying mechanism coupled to the restoring force mechanism for altering a center frequency of the mass damper.
- 10. The mass damper of claim 9, wherein the restoring force mechanism includes a spring coupled between the mass and the force applying mechanism.
- 11. The mass damper of claim 10, wherein the force applying mechanism includes an actuator operating in response to a control signal and coupled to one end of the spring for altering compression on the spring which changes the center frequency of the mass damper.
- 12. The mass damper of claim 11, further including a controller coupled for receiving a sense signal representative of the vibration and providing the control signal to the actuator.
- 13. The mass damper of claim 12, wherein the actuator includes a piston assembly coupled to the spring and moveable to alter compression of the spring.
- 14. The mass damper of claim 9, wherein the mass is attached to the housing at a plurality of contact points.
- 15. The mass damper of claim 9, wherein the restoring force mechanism includes one of a group of mechanical, electromechanical, capacitive, and piezoelectric.
- 16. A method of dampening a vibration, comprising:
providing a mass within a housing; providing a spring having a first end coupled to a surface of the mass; and applying a force to a second end of the spring to alter compression on the spring and change a center frequency of the dampening.
- 17. The method of claim 16, further including sensing a physical characteristic of the vibration and generating a control signal in response thereto.
- 18. The method of claim 17, further including activating an actuator operating in response to the control signal to move a piston assembly coupled to the second end of the spring.
- 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the mass is attached to the housing at a plurality of contact points.
- 20. A method of suppressing a vibration, comprising:
providing a housing adapted for receiving the vibration; providing a mass within the housing such that the mass moves in response to the vibration; providing a restoring force mechanism coupled to the mass and acting to return the mass to a neutral position; and applying a force to the restoring force mechanism to alter a center frequency of the suppression of the vibration.
- 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the restoring force mechanism includes a spring having a first end coupled to the mass and a second end coupled for receiving the force.
- 22. The method of claim 21, further including sensing a physical characteristic of the vibration and generating a control signal in response thereto.
- 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of applying a force includes activating an actuator operating in response to the control signal and coupled to the second end of the spring for altering compression on the spring.
CLAIM TO DOMESTIC PRIORITY
[0001] The present non-provisional patent application claims priority to the provisional application serial No. 60/291,157, entitled “Nonlinear Mass Damper with Active Centerband Control”, filed on May 15, 2001, by Zoltan A. Kemeny.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60291157 |
May 2001 |
US |