The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 20, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 19, 1997
Andreas H von Flotow, Hood River, OR (US);
Corydon Roeseler, Hood River, OR (US);
Applied Power, Inc., Bulter, WI (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for absorbing vibrations in a structural member, such as in an aircraft fuselage, has a mounting member for attaching to the structural member. Two masses are coupled in a cantilevered manner to the mounting member by a plurality of flexible rigid members, such as rods or plates, which act as a spring that allows the masses to vibrate with respect to the mounting member. The spring-mass assembly has a resonant frequency that matches the frequency of the vibrations in the structural member. A mechanism, connected between the two masses, exerts a variable force on the plurality of rigid members to compensate for changes in their stiffness due to changes in temperature and thereby maintain the resonant frequency substantially constant. Preferably the mechanism includes a bimetallic element that has a shape which changes with temperature variation to produce the variable force.