Sumitomo Rubber Industries Limited

Sumitomo Gomu Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Akemi Kawanabe

Teruo Sasaki

Kazuhiro Fujisawa

Seinosuke Kato

Yoshiaki Miyamoto

This invention is intended to provide a vibration damping device having a high degree of freedom of design of damping performance. This device includes rolling bodies (4) interposed between an upper structure (1) and a lower structure (2) to horizontally swingably support the upper structure (1) and elastomeric members (5) disposed between the rolling bodies (4) and the upper and lower structures (1, 2). In this device, rolling surfaces for the rolling bodies (4) are formed by elastomeric members (5) and rigid members (6). For example, the elastomeric and rigid members (5, 6) are disposed respectively in association with the opposite end regions and central regions of the rolling bodies (4). The elastomeric members (5) may be made of any desired material provided that it has viscoelasticty and the rigid member 6 may be made of any desired material provided that the rolling friction of the rolling bodies (4) thereon differs from that on the elastomeric members (5). For example, metal, ceramic material, rigid plastic material, FRP, FRM, and PTFE are preferable.

Vibration damping device

The present invention relates to a vibration-proofing device which supports an upper structure, such as a building, computers and other machines or a floor having such machines mounted thereon, on a lower structure, as a foundation, to allow the upper structure to swing, thereby isolating earthquakes, traffic vibrations and vibrations from the equipment installed in another room so as to protect the upper structure from vibrations. The invention is to provide a bearing type of vibration-proofing device which is simple in construction and capable of reliably absorbing not only horizontal but also vertical components of earthquakes, traffic vibrations and other vibrations, whether they are weak or strong, and which properly operates under low load and produces little vibration during operation. The invention provides an arrangement wherein interposed between upper and lower structures are rolling bodies for horizontally supporting the upper structure for swing movement. The rolling bodies are in the form of cylindrical rollers, elastomeric bodies are interposed between the cylindrical rollers and the upper and lower structures. It is desirable that the cylindrical rollers be stacked in n rows and that these rows of cylindrical rollers form an angle of 180.degree. /n. An air spring or coil spring device is disposed vertically of the cylindrical rollers and a plurality of taper rollers is radially arranged in a horizonial plane vertically of the cylindrical rollers.

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Nishinomiya, Japan

Akemi Kawanabe