1. Technical Field
This disclosure is generally related to vibration dampeners, and more particularly, to adjustable vibration reduction devices that reduce or isolate vibration to maintain performance of electronic equipment attached to structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous systems having electrical and optical components require minimal vibration in order to maximize operability and performance. Such systems include, for example, audio equipment, medical devices, and vehicles such as airplanes, automobiles, helicopters, boats and the like. Vibration caused by internal or external forces can affect the performance of these systems, thereby reducing the quality of images and video. Premature equipment failure may also result if vibration is not reduced or isolated. Many devices and systems exist that incorporate features to counteract the effect of vibration on such equipment. There are faults, however, with many of such devices and systems, such as the lack of adjustability and the lack of control over displacement when the system experiences unusual forces and vibration. Furthermore, many systems merely control displacement of the components of the system in one or two axes when fully constrained control is required to reduce or isolate vibration and prevent chatter.
Embodiments of the present invention provide a device and system that assist with damping or absorbing vibration experienced by a system. More particularly, a vibration reduction device is provided to maintain performance of electronic equipment attached to a particular structure or system, such as a vehicle that causes or transfers vibration to electronic equipment when in operation. A plurality of vibration reduction devices may be installed in such structure or system. Each vibration reduction device includes at least one resilient vibration dampener, such as an o-ring or plurality of o-rings, which provides the ability to “tune” the device to a desired stabilization by selectively including the number and type of o-rings in the device. Such feature provides the ability to tune the plurality of devices attached to the structure or system to reduce or isolate vibration caused by motors, for example, while the structure or system is in use. Each vibration reduction device further includes stop and travel limit features that limit and control the displacement of each device to improve functionality of the vibration reduction device and components of the system. It will be appreciated that the vibration reduction devices and systems described herein may be used in conjunction with filming equipment, vehicles, optical devices, imaging devices, and electrical equipment applications. In particular, the vibration reduction devices may be used in motorized or remote control vehicles, such as helicopters, airplanes, cars, trucks, and the like. Moreover, the vibration reduction devices may be used in non-motorized vehicles and other applications, such as on bicycles, sporting and recreational equipment, helmets, and the like.
In one embodiment, a vibration reduction device includes at least one resilient vibration dampener, an upper assembly, and a lower assembly. The lower assembly and the upper assembly are removably coupled to one another by the at least one resilient vibration dampener, which is at least partially positioned between the upper assembly and lower assembly. The upper assembly is adapted to fixedly attach to a structure and the lower assembly configured to fixedly attach to a mount frame when the vibration reduction device is installed for use on a vehicle, for example. The mount frame includes at least one electronic equipment mounted thereto, which may include at least one of a camera, a global positioning satellite device, a computing system, or an electrical system which may operate remotely or locally to the vehicle. The structure of the vehicle may include at least one mechanical assembly that causes vibration when the vehicle is in use, such as at least one of an electric motor having a rotor attached thereto, a combustion engine, or mechanical device configured to fly or move the vehicle. The mount frame and the structure, therefore, are elastically coupled to one another by the at least one resilient vibration dampener. For purposes of the embodiments described herein, an elastic o-ring is provided as the at least one resilient vibration dampener. It will be appreciated, however, that many other suitable resilient vibration damping devices may be incorporated into the embodiments discussed herein, whether presently known or hereafter.
Turning now to the upper assembly, the upper assembly includes an upper retainer member and an upper spacer member attached to one another with an upper fastening device. An upper portion of the o-ring is coupled and closely held between portions of the upper retainer member and the upper spacer member. Similarly, the lower assembly includes a lower retainer member and a lower spacer member attached to one another with a lower fastening device. A lower, opposing portion of the o-ring is coupled and closely held between portions of the lower retainer member and the lower spacer member. The upper fastening device is removably attached to the mount frame and the lower fastening device is removably attached to the structure. Thus, a portion of the upper spacer member is disposed through an upper area of an aperture in the o-ring and a portion of the lower spacer member is similarly disposed through a lower area of the aperture of the o-ring. It will be appreciated that the upper assembly and the lower assembly may be constructed of any rigid material, such as metal, polymer, fiberglass, carbon, or other suitable materials presently known or later developed.
In another embodiment, the vibration reduction device includes at least one stop member fastened to the upper assembly. The at least one stop member is adapted to act as a stop (or travel limit) when the vibration reduction device is installed for use to control relative movement of the upper assembly relative to the lower assembly and to control displacement of the at least one resilient vibration dampener. In a further embodiment, the at least one stop member comprises a pair of stop members that each comprise a portion of the upper fastening device. The lower assembly includes a pair of stop portions through which the pair of stop members are spatially positioned adjacent to and through respective stop portions of the lower assembly. In this example, the stop portions are corresponding apertures in the lower retainer member and lower spacer member that act as a travel limit when one of the upper assembly or lower assembly is displaced relative to the other one of the upper assembly or lower assembly. The size and shape of the stop members and corresponding apertures are determined by a desired displacement distance of the vibration reduction device. For example, the corresponding apertures may vary in shape and size to accommodate a desired displacement distance.
This system of stop members and corresponding apertures control the amount of movement of the upper assembly relative to the lower assembly (or vice versa) in order to prevent over displacement, while experiencing axial forces, of one of the upper or lower assemblies when the vehicle is in use. In one embodiment, the pair of stop members are each a mounting device that is adapted to removably attach the upper assembly to the mount frame. The mounting device may be a hex nut with a threaded bore for receiving a bolt attached to the mount frame. It will be appreciated that the stop members may be included on the lower assembly and the corresponding apertures may be formed on the upper assembly while still achieving the desired result.
In a further embodiment, the vibration reduction device is tunable. The operator may selectively include or exclude a plurality of o-rings into the vibration reduction device, or may include or exclude a variety of differing o-rings in a plurality of vibration reduction devices within an entire system. Depending upon the particular application (e.g., overall mass of the vehicle, number of motors, type of electronic equipment, external environment factors), the operator may include one or more o-rings (or other resilient dampeners) having at least one or more of predetermined characteristics. These characteristics may include a deflection rate, size, shape, thickness, color, elasticity, resilience, permeability, material, tensile strength, or compression strength. Many such o-rings are available for purchase; however, custom o-rings may be created to suit particular needs of vibration isolation of a system or vehicle.
The o-ring of the vibration reduction device includes, as with many available o-rings, an aperture, an outer area, an inner area, an upper portion, and a lower portion. The upper portion of the o-ring may be coupled between the upper retainer member and the upper spacer member such that a portion of the inner area of the upper portion of the o-ring is biased between portions of the upper spacer member and the upper retainer member. The upper retainer member may include at least one slot in which to receive said upper portion of the o-ring, and, therefore, a portion of the upper spacer member is positioned through the upper area of the aperture of the o-ring. Similarly, the lower portion of the o-ring is coupled between the lower retainer member and the lower spacer member such that a portion of the inner area of the lower portion of the o-ring is biased between the lower spacer member and the lower retainer member. Additionally, the lower retainer member may include at least one slot in which to receive said lower portion of the o-ring, and, therefore a portion of the upper spacer member is positioned through the lower area of the aperture of the o-ring. In this embodiment, the slots of the upper and lower retainer members are adapted to at least partially expose the upper and lower portions of the o-ring and hold it closely between the upper assembly and the lower assembly (
In the embodiments described above, the plurality of o-rings may include six o-rings annularly aligned in a row and positioned vertically and perpendicularly relative to the horizontal surfaces of the upper and lower assemblies. It will be appreciated that the o-rings may be positioned in a variety of differing configurations while providing the desired functionality of the vibration reduction device to the vehicle or system.
In another embodiment, the vibration reduction device includes at least one stop member comprising a pair of stop members attached to the upper assembly. The pair of stop members are adapted to each extend through corresponding apertures in the lower assembly. Similar to the discussion above, the corresponding apertures of the lower assembly act as a travel limit when one of the upper assembly or lower assembly is displaced relative to the other one of the upper assembly or lower assembly. In this embodiment, the plurality of o-rings are positioned between the upper and lower assemblies in a non-annular configuration. Four pairs of o-rings are each positioned between the upper assembly and the lower assembly at a 90 degree angle relative to adjacent pairs of o-rings (
In another embodiment, a plurality of pairs of o-rings are positioned in a circular shape and evenly distributed throughout the vibration reduction device and at an acute angle relative to adjacent pairs of o-rings (
In yet another embodiment, a vibration reduction device is provided for reducing the amount of vibration transferred from a carrier (such as the structure) to an electronic device to be carried to the carrier. The vibration reduction device includes a lower assembly adapted to be fixedly coupled to the carrier, such that the lower assembly has an upper surface oriented to be facing upward during use of the vibration reduction device. The vibration reduction device may include an upper assembly adapted to be fixedly coupled to the electronic device, such that the upper assembly having a lower surface oriented to be facing downward during use of the vibration reduction device. In this example, at least a portion of the upper assembly may be positioned directly above at least a portion of the lower assembly such that the upper surface and lower surface are facing each other during use. At least one compressible, resilient body is therefore positioned between the upper surface of the lower assembly and the lower surface of the upper assembly, such that the weight of the electronic device is borne by the at least one compressible, resilient body when the vibration reduction device is used to carry the electronic device from the carrier. In this example, at least some the vibration of the carrier may be absorbed by the at least one compressible, resilient body instead of being transferred to the electronic device.
It will be appreciated that any particular system may include a combination of a plurality of the vibration reduction devices described above, including varying types of o-rings and configurations to provide a desired vibration damping effect while vibration is experienced by the system.
Slots 50 in the lower retainer member 32 closely receive lower portions of the o-rings 20. Similarly, slots 48 of the upper retainer member 26 closely receive upper portions of the o-rings 20. It will be appreciated that slots 48 and slots 50 may instead be biased against recessed portions in the upper and lower retainer members, thereby hiding the upper and lower portions of the o-rings 20 from view. Corresponding stop apertures 56 are provided through the lower assembly 24 to allow passage of hex nuts 70 and to act as a transverse travel limit. This is one of the “stop” configurations discussed above. In this embodiment, the o-rings 20 are annularly aligned in a row and positioned vertically and perpendicularly relative to horizontal surface 74 of the upper assembly 22 and horizontal surface 76 of the lower assembly 24 (see
A method of reducing vibration between two or more structures of a vehicle may also be provided in which any of the above embodiments of the vibration reduction devices may be installed. A method of tuning such vibration reduction devices may also be provided by selectively including particular o-rings, as discussed above. A further method of limiting travel between the upper and lower assembly may also be provided by incorporating the stop features discussed above.
These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.
This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/574,971 filed Aug. 12, 2011.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61574971 | Aug 2011 | US |