One-Way Hinge Damper

1. Field of the Invention

This invention pertains to a hinge damper with damping in one direction of rotation. The damper includes a gel-filled housing in which a rotor rotates, and a clutch which is affixed to the output shaft. The rotor and the clutch abut each other and have a series of alternating flat surfaces and ramped surfaces to provide for engagement and subsequent damping in one direction of rotation of the clutch, and disengagement or ramping over with no damping in the other direction of rotation of the clutch.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In the prior art, rotary dampers or hinge dampers are known. However, two-way damping can be undesirable in such applications as an automotive glovebox as unwanted resistance is encountered when closing the door of the glovebox. One-way rotational dampers as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,574,423 entitled "Rotary Damper Having a Clutch Spring and Viscous Fluid" issued to Ito et al. on Mar. 11, 1986 have relied on a coil spring for the one-way rotational damping characteristics. This has not been satisfactory in that the manufacturing costs have been high and the device has not been mechanically satisfactory. Additionally, with the small amount of viscous fluid included in this device, a smooth feel, such as is desired in an automotive application, such as a glovebox, has not been satisfactorily achieved.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a hinge damper with unidirectional rotational damping.

It is therefore a further object of this invention to provide a hinge damper with a smooth feel.

It is therefore a still further object of this invention to provide a hinge damper with reliable mechanical characteristics.

It is therefore a final object of this invention to provide a hinge damper with low manufacturing costs.

These and other objects are attained by providing a hinge damper with a housing filled with silicone in which a rotor rotates. The output shaft is affixed to a clutch. The rotor and the clutch abut each other and both include a series of molded flat surfaces and ramped surfaces to provide for rotational engagement and subsequent damping in one direction of rotation. However, in the opposite direction of rotation of the clutch and output shaft, the ramped surfaces on the clutch and rotor ramp over each other and the rotor does not turn. The clutch is urged against the rotor by a wave spring which is held in place by a cap.

The housing, rotor, clutch and cap can be made from molded plastic which reduces manufacturing expenses.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view, partly in phantom, of the hinge damper of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along plane 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front plan view of the clutch of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along plane 4--4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front plan view of the cylindrical rotor of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the engagement of the rotor to the clutch.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like numerals refer to like elements throughout the several views, one sees that FIG. 1 is an exploded view of one-way hinge damper 10 of the present invention.

Housing 12 is generally cylindrical and is formed from cylindrical wall 14, closed end 16 and open end 18. Closed end 16 is affixed to cylindrical detent stub 17 which is affixed to one of the structures (not shown) for which rotational damping is desired, such as the instrument panel of an automobile (not shown), to which the glovebox door (not shown) is rotationally damped. Similarly, longitudinally oriented support 20 is affixed to cylindrical wall 14 to aid in the handling or securing of housing 12. The interior of cylindrical wall 14 can be smooth, but can optionally include longitudinal grooves 22 in order to increase the damping function of silicone 24 or other similar viscous damping fluid or gel which fills housing 12 (see FIG. 6).

Open end 18 includes widened mouth 26. Cylindrical rotor 34 is received with cylindrical wall 14 of housing 12 with a small gap 36 therebetween (see FIG. 6) which is filled with silicone 24. The exterior of cylindrical rotor 34 is preferably smooth, but can optionally include longitudinal passageways 38 leading to the hollow interior of cylindrical rotor 34 to increase the damping function of silicone 24. The forward end 40 of cylindrical rotor 34 includes portion 42 of slightly reduced diameter in order to be engaged by seal 32. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, forward end 40 of cylindrical rotor 34 further includes central pin 43 about which flat or longitudinally level sections 44, 46, 48, 50 rotationally alternate with ramped (or sloped) sections 45, 47, 49, 51. In the configuration shown in FIG. 3, ramped sections 45, 47, 49, 51 ramp upwardly in the counter-clockwise direction. Hence, radially extending walls 52, 53, 54, 55 are formed at the intersection of flat and sloped sections 44, 45, sections 46, 47, sections 48, 49, and sections 50, 51, respectively.

Clutch 56 includes central aperture 58 which receives central pin 43 of cylindrical rotor 34 to maintain radial alignment of clutch 56-and cylindrical rotor 34. Similarly, while not shown, rear end 39 of cylindrical rotor 34 can include structure to rotationally engage an interior surface of closed end 16 of housing 12 to maintain radial alignment of cylindrical rotor 34. Clutch 56 is integral with output shaft 60, which is typically affixed to a structure (not shown) for which rotational damping is desired, such as the door of an automotive glovebox (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, output shaft 60 may have interior aperture 61 with inwardly facing detents 63, although other configurations may be used depending upon the application as would be apparent to those skilled in the art. Face 62 of clutch 56 engages against forward end 40 of cylindrical rotor 34 and, as shown in FIG. 5, includes a similar configuration of flat or longitudinally level sections 64, 66, 68, 70 rotationally alternating with ramped sections 65, 67, 69, 71, and radially extending walls 72, 73, 74, 75 formed between the portions of ramped sections 65, 67, 69, 71 and rotationally adjacent flat sections 64, 66, 68, 70. With this configuration, when viewed from the perspective of output shaft 60 (from the right toward the left in the orientation shown in FIG. 1), when output shaft 60 is turned clockwise, radially extending walls 52, 53, 54, 55 of forward end 40 of cylindrical rotor 34 align with corresponding radially extending walls 72, 73, 74, 75 of face 62 of clutch 56 and cylindrical rotor 34 is rotated through silicone 24 or other similar viscous damping fluid or gel thereby providing damping. However, when output shaft 60 is turned counter-clockwise, ramped sections 45, 47, 49, 51 of forward end 40 of cylindrical rotor 34 "ramp over" or slide over corresponding ramped sections 65, 67, 69, 71 of face 62 of clutch 56 thereby not rotating cylindrical rotor 34 and resulting in essentially no damping of clutch 56 and output shaft 60. A typical application for such a configuration is to have damping as a glovebox door (not shown) is opened, but no damping as the glovebox door is closed.

The positioning of where clutch 56 engages cylindrical rotor 34 can be determined by dividing a circle by the number of ramped sections used. For instance, for engagement every ninety degrees, four ramped sections are used as disclosed herein.

Wave spring 80 includes central aperture (not shown) through which output shaft 60 passes so that wave spring 80 abuts clutch 56. Wave spring 80 has a washer-type shape but includes circumferential undulations or waves to provide a spring function in the longitudinal direction.

Cap 82 includes central aperture 84 through which output shaft passes 60 and circumferential flange 86 which is secured to the outer periphery of open end 18 of housing 12. Additionally, cap 82 secures wave spring 80 in a biased position against clutch 56 thereby biasing clutch 56 against forward end 40 of cylindrical rotor 34.

Typically, housing 12, cylindrical rotor 34, clutch 56 and cap 82 are formed of molded plastic. Seal 32 is typically rubber and wave spring 80 is typically metallic.

To assemble one-way hinge damper 10, the assembler partially fills housing 12 with silicone 24 or other similar viscous damping fluid or gel. The assembler then inserts cylindrical rotor 34 into housing 12 and inserts seal 32 onto portion 42 of slightly reduced diameter of cylindrical rotor 34. Clutch 56 is placed over forward end 40 of cylindrical rotor 34 so that ramped sections 65, 67, 69, 71 of clutch 56 align with ramped sections 45, 47, 49, 51 of cylindrical rotor 34. Wave spring 80 is placed around output shaft 60 and cap 82 is snapped or welded into place.

To install one-way hinge damper 10, cylindrical detent stub 17 is affixed to a first structural element and output shaft 60 is attached to a second structural element so that the desired directional damping characteristics are achieved.

Thus the several aforementioned objects and advantages are most effectively attained. Although a single preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and described in detail herein, it should be understood that this invention is in no sense limited thereby and its scope is to be determined by that of the appended claims.