Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Mohan Sundar

Michael D Hanna

Mark T Riefe

Brent D Lowe

Omar S Dessouki

Andrew Schertzer

James Gregory Schroth

Patrick J Monsere

Thomas C Zebehazy

Chia N Yang

Nancy L Johnson

Alan L Browne

Paul W Alexander

Andrew Leslie Bartos

Richard Murray Kleber

Richard Harry Hammar

Nicholas William Pinto

David B Antanaitis

Kevin M Thompson

Rao Mallikarjuna Chalasani

One embodiment includes a damped product including a first portion, a second portion, a first cavity formed in one of the first portion or the second portion, and a frictional damping insert at least partially received in the first cavity so that the first portion and the second portion completely enclose the frictional damping insert and so that vibration of the product is damped by the insert.

Method of manufacturing a damped part

One embodiment of the invention may include a product including a body portion including a first face and a frictional damping insert overlying the first face of the body portion. The body portion may include a second face overlying the insert. The insert may have a throughhole and a portion of the body portion may extend from the first face through the throughhole and the insert to the second face of the body portion.

Damped part with insert

An exemplary embodiment includes an automotive brake component, such as a brake drum or a brake rotor, and an inlay coupled to the automotive brake component. The inlay constituting at least a portion of a braking surface that is acted upon during a braking event. The inlay damping vibrations in the automotive brake component when the component is vibrated.

Component with inlay for damping vibrations

A brake assembly includes a brake pad, a bracket supporting the brake pad and having a first portion, a second portion spaced apart from the first portion, and a linkage interconnecting the first and second portions. The linkage is configured to transfer tensile loads between the first and second portion, but is characterized by the absence of any bending modes. The absence of bending modes prevents excitation of the linkage, thereby reducing sound generated during application of the brake assembly.

Brake assembly

A method including positioning an insert in a vertical mold including a first mold portion and a second mold portion; and casting a material including a metal around at least a portion of the insert.

Method of casting damped part with insert

One exemplary embodiment may include a product including a first brake rotor cheek having a first body and at least a first outer surface. A first hardened region may extend from the first outer surface towards the center of the body. In one embodiment, the first hardened region may include a nitro-carburized ferrous metal.

Mass reduction of brake rotors

A multi-piece sound dampened brake rotor comprises a relatively light weight hub with a hub flange and a heavier rotor body with a sound damping insert and a rotor body flange. The hub and rotor body are attached at their flanges. The flanges may be mechanically attached such as with bolts. Or the hub and rotor may be attached by casting the hub of a lower melting metal alloy against the rotor body and rotor body flange. The rotor body may have vanes for air cooling and a sound damping insert may be incased in either or both body portions sandwiching the vanes.

Low mass multi-piece sound dampened article

A friction damped brake drum for reducing vibrations in a brake drum.

Friction damped brake drum

A light-weight, sound-damped, composite brake rotor for a vehicle braking system includes a rotor hat and an annular rotor cheek supported by, and cast around, the rotor hat. The rotor hat includes an axially-protruding central hub and an integral flange that extends radially from and circumferentially around the central hub. The rotor cheek includes a top ledge and a bottom ledge that overly a top annular surface and a bottom annular surface, respectively, of the integral flange. An annular interfacial boundary present between an underside of the top and/or bottom ledges and their respective adjacent annular surfaces of the integral flange includes a vibration damping interface. The brake rotor derives its vibration-deadening and sound-damping effects from the vibration damping interface through the occurrence of relative frictional contacting movement.

Light-weight and sound-damped brake rotor and method of manufacturing the same

A light-weight and sound-damped brake rotor for a vehicle braking system includes a rotor hat and a rotor cheek supported by the rotor hat. The rotor hat includes an axially-protruding central hub and a flange that extends radially from and circumferentially around the central hub. The rotor cheek, which provides at least one braking surface, is formed from two or more separate and distinct pieces which are fixedly secured to the flange of the rotor hat. Located within the rotor cheek underneath the at least one braking surface is a vibration damping element. The brake rotor derives its vibration-deadening and sound-damping effects from the vibration damping element through the occurrence of relative frictional contacting movement.

One exemplary embodiment includes a method that calls for supporting an insert in a mold cavity of a casting die by way of one or more spacers, introducing a molten material into the mold cavity such that the one or more spacers are melted and consumed by the molten material, and wherein the one or more spacers and the molten material are of the same composition.

Method of making a brake component

A method of and actuator/device for passively actuating or protecting a system, body or circuit during a lightning strike or other high voltage/current generation event, utilizing an active material element activated by the spike in current or voltage potential, and preferably a barrier connected in series to the element and configured to be overcome by the voltage/current event, so that the element is activated only during the event.

Actuation and protection utilizing active material activation during lightning strikes and similar events

Various embodiments of the invention include products and parts including a frictional damping means and methods of making and using the same.

Growing community of inventors

Troy, MI, United States of America

Mohan Sundar