Patent Application
20070209472
The present invention relates to a viscous damper having a housing and a cover, the housing and/or the cover being manufactured, for example, from sheet metal, a moveable flywheel ring mounted floatingly, preferably in a fluid, such as a viscous fluid, being arranged within the housing and the viscous damper having a bearing bore.
Viscous dampers of the abovementioned type are known and are used for the damping of, for example, crankshafts of engines.
In this context, the viscous dampers are centered onto a corresponding shaft via their bearing bore.
The present invention provides a viscous damper of the generic type which is equipped with additional centering possibilities.
This is achieved, according to the invention, using at least two centering projections lying on a common circle circumference that are provided on the housing and/or, if appropriate, on the cover, if present.
Via these centering projections, a viscous damper can also be easily centered on a larger diameter than on that of the bearing bore, and there is the possibility of additional centering via the centering projections.
An embodiment is preferred, in which three centering projections lie on a common circle circumference.
In one exemplary embodiment, centering is possible even with two centering projections, but this is markedly improved by the arrangement of three centering projections, in which case these may be arranged uniformly so as to be angularly offset with respect to one another.
The use of more than three centering projections may be expedient in certain cases, but is not absolutely necessary.
Particularly with respect to manufacturing, it is especially simple if the centering projections are formed by cut-out, punched-out or stamped-out portions or the like.
In this case, the cut-out, punched-out or stamped-out portions or the like may be arranged so as to run both radially and tangentially.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and is described in more detail below.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
In
The viscous damper 1 according to this embodiment, may be equipped with a bearing bore 5 and may be centered in the usual way via the center bore 5 on a shaft 6, which is indicated only generally.
According to the present invention, in the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the cover 3 has provided on it centering projections 7, which make it possible to center the viscous damper 1 on a larger diameter than the shaft diameter, or to allow a centering of the viscous damper 1 in addition to the centering on the shaft 6.
In this embodiment, at least two centering projections 7 are provided on the cover so as to lie on a common circle circumference. Additional centering projections 7 may, optionally, also be provided on the housing 2.
In other embodiments, it is also possible to arrange on the cover 3 or on the housing 2 centering projections 7 which lie on different circle circumferences.
In each case, three projections 7 on a common circle circumference are preferred, since this results in an extremely good ratio between the cost of producing the centering projections 7 and the centering reliability and precision.
The centering projections 7 may be formed by stamped-out or punched-out portions or the like, in a region of the cover 3 or of the housing 2. In this case, the centering projections may be provided on the cover 3 and/or on the housing 2, so as to run both radially and tangentially.
In an embodiment different from the exemplary embodiment illustrated above, it is also possible to fasten the centering projections 7 as separate components to the cover 3 or to the housing 2. In this case, it is possible to select both a releasable and an unreleasable type of connection. For example, separately manufactured centering projections 7 could be fastened by screwing them to the cover 3 and/or to the housing 2. However, the centering projections 7 could also be fastened unreleasably to the cover 3 or to the housing 2 by welding or other types of connection.
Nonetheless, it may be preferable to form the centering projections 7 on the sheet metal housing 2 and/or the sheet metal cover 3 by stamping out, punching out or other like processes, from the standpoint of overall economic criteria.
In addition to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, it is also conceivable to form on the housing 2 of the viscous damper 1 a plurality of centering projections 7, which lie on circles having different diameters.
This increases the possible application for use of a viscous damper 1 according to the invention.
The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2004 042 942.1 | Sep 2004 | DE | national |
| 10 2005 032 639.0 | Jul 2005 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2005/009374, filed Aug. 31, 2005, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to German Patent Application Nos. 10 2004 042 942.1 filed Sep. 2, 2004 and 10 2005 032 639.0 filed Jul. 13, 2005, the entire disclosures of which are herein expressly incorporated by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP05/09374 | Aug 2005 | US |
| Child | 11712447 | Mar 2007 | US |
