Door actuation system having a variable damping device

摘要

The damper is comprised of a set of core rotor magnets arranged in an opposing north/south configuration. A conducting material cylindrically encircles the rotor magnets. A set of stator magnets laterally encircle the conducting material and are arranged in the same manner as the rotor magnets. A system of gears are coupled to the damper shaft and control the rotation of the rotor magnets such that they can be positioned relative to the stator magnets to set up the desired damping torque. As the rotor and stator magnets of opposite polarity approach each other, the eddy-current in the rotating conducting material increases causing the conducting material to generate a field in response to the eddy-current. The damping torque is caused by the magnetic force generated when the induced field in the material and the stator/rotor field attempt to line up.