Pneumatic vibration damping apparatus

摘要

A pneumatic vibration isolating suspension is disclosed for supporting a payload on a moving carrier while suppressing the transmission of vibrations in the 1 to 50 Hz band between the carrier and the payload. The disclosed invention can be deployed in the air in a towed carrier or sonde, and operated from aircraft power, making it a suitable platform for airborne geophysical instrumentation. It also has particular application to airborne electromagnetic surveying operating in the same frequency band because the sensor vibrations that result in noise created by the modulation of the sensor coupling with the earth's magnetic field are suppressed. Furthermore, the invention can be constructed from resistive composite materials and non-magnetic metals, so it can be operated without producing significant modification to the ambient electromagnetic field being measured.

主权项

1. A vibration damping system, comprising:
a cylinder having a first coupling joint, a second coupling joint, and a piston separating an upper chamber and a lower chamber; a first pressure regulator in communication with an air supply and the upper chamber to maintain a first pressure in the upper chamber; a second pressure regulator in communication with the air supply and the lower chamber to maintain a second pressure in the lower chamber; an upper accumulator capable of holding pressurized air in communication with the upper chamber; a lower accumulator capable of holding pressurized air in communication with the lower chamber; wherein the first coupling joint couples the cylinder to a frame, and the second coupling joint couples the cylinder to a basket connectable to a payload; and wherein an interaction of the piston with the first pressure in the upper chamber and the second pressure in the lower chamber isolates vibrations of the frame from the basket.