Viscous damping apparatus for damping load cells of weighing devices

The present invention is a viscous damping apparatus for damping mechanical shocks discharged on an object. It comprises a container having an inner chamber which has a flat bottom surface, a damping member having a flat lower surface, and means for suspending the damping member such that its flat lower surface is positioned parallel and very close to the flat bottom surface of the inner chamber of the container. The space between the flat lower surface of the damping member and the flat bottom surface of the inner chamber of the container is very narrow and is filled with a body of viscous fluid. When the damping member vibrates and causes its flat lower surface to move toward the flat bottom surface of the inner chamber of the container, the viscous fluid is compressed, which in turn creates an extremely strong resistance force on the damping member that effectively damps the vibration of the damping member. A preferred embodiment of the present invention viscous damping apparatus is incorporated into a weighing device to damp the vibration of the load cell of the weighing device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to the field of viscous damping 
apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to viscous 
damping apparatus incorporated with load cells of weighing devices. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The following most pertinent prior art patents have been uncovered and 
deemed to be relevant to the present invention: 
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,561 issued to Feinland et al. on Oct. 30, 1984 for 
"Weighing Cell" (hereafter referred to as the "Feinland patent"). 
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,081 issued to Bonomo on May 6, 1980 for "Pressure 
Responsive Sensing Device" (hereafter referred to as the "Bonomo patent"). 
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,604 issued to Taber et al. on Mar. 1, 1977 for 
"Pressure Converter For Calibrating Gauges" (hereafter referred to as the 
"Taber patent"). 
4. U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,841 issued to Crawley on Nov. 16, 1976 for "Weighing 
Device" (hereafter referred to as the "Crawley patent"). 
5. U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,738 issued to Meier et al. on Sep. 28, 1976 for 
"Dash-Pot Arrangement For Balance" (hereafter referred to as the "Meier 
patent"). 
6. U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,017 issued to Ziefle on Apr. 8, 1975 for "Scale 
Construction" (hereafter referred to as the "Ziefle patent"). 
7. U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,873 issued to Westwood on Feb. 5, 1974 for 
"Pneumatic Pressure Transmitting Device" (hereafter referred to as the 
"Westwood patent"). 
8. U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,924 issued to Schmitter et al. on Oct. 22, 1974 for 
"Damping Arrangement For A Balance" (hereafter referred to as the 
"Schmitter patent"). 
9. U.S. Pat. No. 1,837,817 issued to Hallead on Dec. 22, 1931 for "Damping 
Mechanism For Scales" (hereafter referred to as the "Hallead patent"). 
The Hallead patent (1931) discloses a damping mechanism for a scale. The 
Hallead patent damping apparatus comprises an inner cylinder 15 having an 
inner chamber for containing viscous fluid, and an outer cylinder 1 
providing an annular outer chamber for by-passing the viscous fluid. The 
inner cylinder 15 has several upper sidewall apertures 21 and a lower 
bottom opening for interchanging the viscous fluid with the annular outer 
chamber. A piston 14 is assembled inside the inner chamber and connected 
to the lever 10 of the scale by a piston rod 12. When the piston 14 moves 
up and down inside the inner chamber, its movement is dampened by the 
vicious fluid, which in turn is forced to pass through the by-pass annular 
outer chamber. The Hallead patent provides one of the basic models of the 
piston-cylinder type viscous damping apparatus for scales and balances. 
For the piston-cylinder type damping apparatus to function properly, it is 
essential to have the piston well conform with the cylinder, i.e., the 
diameter of the piston plate should be very close to the diameter of the 
inner chamber of the cylinder. 
The Schmitter patent (1974) discloses a damping arrangement for a balance. 
The Schmitter patent damping apparatus comprises two identical dashpots 9a 
and 9b. The dashpot 9a includes a glass tube 19 and a plunger 12 carrying 
two annular piston rings 14, which are free to move radially into direct 
contact with the inner surface of the glass tube 19. The arrangement of 
the piston rings 14 regulates the air passage between the inside and 
outside of the glass tube for providing pneumatic damping to the plunger 
12, which is further connected with the balance arm. 
The Westwood patent (1974) discloses a pneumatic pressure transmitting 
device utilizing a damping apparatus for damping the movement of the cover 
4 of its pneumatic pressure chamber 1. The Westwood patent damping 
apparatus comprises an annular damping plate submerged in oil 16 contained 
at the bottom of a cup 14. 
The Ziefle patent (1975) discloses a scale construction utilizing a 
piston-cylinder type damping apparatus. The Ziefle patent piston-cylinder 
type damping apparatus comprises a cylinder 1 containing oil 5 and a 
piston 7 connected with a balance lever 12 through a piston rod 8. The 
diameter of the piston 7 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of 
the cylinder 1 for providing proper damping. 
The Meier patent (1976) discloses a dashpot arrangement for a balance. The 
Meier patent damping apparatus comprises a piston 24 which is immersed in 
a body 10 of oil enclosed in a cylindrical vessel 12. The diameter of the 
piston 24 is, again, slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the 
cylindrical vessel 12 for providing proper damping. 
The Crawley patent (1976) discloses a weighing device having a damping 
apparatus. The Crawley patent damping apparatus comprises a container 9 
containing viscous fluid, and a rod 4 extending into the container 9. A 
washer 10 is fitted at the bottom of the rod 4 and submerged in the 
viscous fluid for damping the movement of the rod 4. The size of the 
washer 10 does not match the size of the inner chamber of the container 9. 
The Taber patent (1977) discloses a pressure converter which can be used 
between a load cell and a gauge. The Taber patent apparatus is not a 
damping apparatus for the load cell, but rather a calibrating apparatus 
for the gauge. 
The Bonomo patent (1980) discloses a pressure responsive sensing device. 
The Bonomo patent apparatus is merely a pressure transducer. 
The Feinland patent (1984) discloses a weighing cell having a platform 3, a 
self-contained base 4 and a load cell 1 operatively connected 
therebetween. Shims 11 and 14 are provided on the upper and lower surfaces 
of the load cell 1 to maintain pre-determined partial gaps between the 
load cell 1, the platform 3 and the base 4. 
Most of the prior art patents utilize piston-cylinder type viscous damping 
apparatus for damping the weight head or load cells of scales. The general 
features of such prior art damping apparatus are illustrated in FIG. 1 at 
10. The damping apparatus 10 is used for damping the vibration of an 
external object such as a load cell 11. It comprises a cylindrical shaped 
container 12 containing a body of viscous fluid 14. A damping plate 16 is 
positioned in the middle of the container and connected to the load cell 
11 through a piston rod 18. To provide adequate damping effect, the 
damping plate 16 of this prior art piston-cylinder type damping apparatus 
10 has to match the inner circumferential size of the vicious fluid 
container 12, which often results in inaccurate reading on the load cell 
11 because of the friction due to the physical contact between the damping 
plate 16 and the inner sidewall of the viscous fluid container 12. It is 
desirable to have a damping device, wherein the contact between the 
damping plate and the inner sidewall of the viscous fluid container is 
completely avoided; but which still provides adequate damping effect. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a viscous damping apparatus for damping load cells 
of weighing devices. 
Generally, the present invention comprises a container containing viscous 
fluid. A damping plate is horizontally disposed and slidably supported 
within the container. The damping plate is connected to an external member 
through a vertical shaft, where the external member may be subject to 
sudden impacting forces or shocks. The damping plate is surrounded by the 
viscous fluid contained in the container and positioned very close to the 
bottom of the container. When a sudden impacting force or shock is applied 
on the external member, the damping plate will move down toward the bottom 
of the container, which will force the viscous fluid flow away from the 
narrow area between the damping plate and the bottom of the container. 
Since the viscous fluid creates viscous force on the damping plate, the 
vibrational movement of the damping plate and the external member is 
properly damped. Since the viscous force is created by the viscous fluid 
flowing away from the narrow area between the damping plate and the bottom 
of the container, it is not necessary to have the circumferential edge of 
the damping plate substantially conformed with the inner surface of the 
sidewall of the container, such as those found in many piston-cylinder 
arrangements of the conventional damping apparatus. 
Particularly, the present invention is incorporated with weighing devices. 
In a weighing device, sudden forces or shocks impacted on its load cell 
will cause the load cell to vibrate undesirably. In one embodiment of the 
present invention, the load cell of the weighing device is attached to the 
damping plate of the viscous damping apparatus, so that the vibrational 
movement of the load cell is properly damped by the viscous damping 
apparatus. Therefore a particular application of the present invention is 
the viscous damping apparatus for weighing devices for damping the 
vibration of the load cells upon impacting forces or shocks. 
It has been discovered, according to the present invention, that when a 
damping plate is positioned very close to the bottom of a viscous fluid 
container, the viscous fluid will create a significant resistance force 
onto the damping plate if the damping plate is moved closer to the bottom 
of the container, because it forces the viscous fluid to flow away from 
the narrow area between the damping plate and the bottom of the container. 
It has also been discovered, according to the present invention, that 
particularly in weighing devices, the prior art piston-cylinder type 
damping apparatus often fail to provide sufficient damping because the 
amplitude of the oscillation of a load cell in a weighing device is 
typically very small. 
It has further been discovered, according to the present invention, that 
unlike the prior art piston-cylinder damping apparatus, the damping plate 
positioned very close to the bottom of the viscous fluid container works 
very well for the small scale movement of the load cell in the weighing 
devices, since the damping plate can be positioned very close to the 
bottom of the container without the risk of contacting the bottom of the 
container, but still subject to sufficient damping force created by the 
viscous fluid. 
It has been additionally discovered, according to the present invention, 
that since the viscous fluid can create sufficient damping forces on the 
damping plate positioned very close to the bottom of the container of the 
viscous fluid, it is not necessary to have the outer circumference of the 
damping plate conformed with the interior surface of the container. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new type of 
viscous damping apparatus superior to the traditional piston-cylinder type 
of viscous damping apparatus. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a viscous 
damping apparatus, wherein a damping plate is positioned very close to the 
bottom of a viscous fluid container, such that when the damping plate is 
moved closer to the bottom of the container, the viscous fluid will create 
a great resistance force against the damping plate, because the damping 
plate forces the viscous fluid to flow away from the narrow area between 
the damping plate and the bottom of the container. 
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a viscous 
damping apparatus particularly for damping load cells of weighing devices, 
wherein the amplitude of the oscillation of the load cell is typically 
very small, since traditional piston-cylinder type damping apparatus do 
not provide sufficient damping to the load cell. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a viscous 
damping apparatus, wherein the possibility of having the damping plate 
contact the inner sidewall of the viscous fluid container is eliminated. 
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a viscous damping 
apparatus for damping vibrations of objects which move in very small 
displacements. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a viscous damping 
apparatus, which eliminates the small amplitude oscillation of an object 
in a very short period of time. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a viscous damping 
apparatus incorporated with a weighing device, which substantially 
increases the working life of the weighing device. 
Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will 
become apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and 
the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Although specific embodiments of the present invention will now be 
described with reference to the drawings, it should be understood that 
such embodiments are by way of example only and merely illustrative of but 
a small number of the many possible specific embodiments which can 
represent applications of the principles of the present invention. Various 
changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the 
present invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and 
contemplation of the present invention as further defined in the appended 
claims. 
Referring to FIG. 2, shown at 20 there is the present invention viscous 
damping apparatus for damping the vibration of an external object such as 
a load cell 21, which may be subject to sudden impacting forces or shocks. 
The present invention viscous damping apparatus 20 essentially comprises a 
container 22 containing viscous fluid 24. A damping plate 26 is 
horizontally disposed and slidably supported within the container 22 by a 
damping plate tie bar 28, and connected to the load cell 21. The damping 
plate 26 is submerged in the viscous fluid 24 contained in the container 
22, and positioned very close to the bottom 32 of the container 22, which 
leaves a very narrow space 34 between the damping plate 26 and the bottom 
32 of the container 22. When a sudden impacting force or shock is applied 
on the load cell 21, the damping plate 26 will move downwardly toward the 
bottom 32 of the container 22, which will force the viscous fluid 24 to 
flow away from the narrow space 34 between the damping plate 26 and the 
bottom 32 of the container 22. Since the viscous fluid 24 has to be 
compressed away through that very narrow space 34, it creates a great 
resistance on the damping plate 26. Consequently, the vibrational movement 
of the damping plate 26, and in turn the load cell 21, is properly damped. 
Since the damping force is created by the viscous fluid flowing away from 
the narrow space 34 between the damping plate 26 and the bottom 32 of the 
container 22, it is not necessary to have the circumferential edge 36 of 
the damping plate 26 substantially conformed with the inner surface 38 of 
the sidewall of the container 22, such as those found in the 
piston-cylinder arrangement of the conventional damping apparatus 10 shown 
in FIG. 1. 
The resistance created by the viscous fluid 24 and exerted on the damping 
plate 26 in the present invention viscous damping apparatus 20 is much 
greater than that in the prior art piston-cylinder type damping apparatus 
10. Referring to FIG. 3, assuming that the damping plate 26 is a round 
disc shaped plate, the damping force F is: 
##EQU1## 
where: F is the damping force; 
K is a constant; 
R is the radius of the damping plate 26; 
.mu. is the viscosity of the viscous fluid 24; 
.delta..sub.o is the initial distance between the lower surface 42 of the 
damping plate 26 and the bottom 32 of the container 22; 
X is the momentary distance between the current location of the damping 
plate 26 and its initial position .delta..sub.o ; and 
S is the speed of the damping plate 26. 
From Equation [1] it can be seen that the damping force F is proportional 
to the reverse of the cube of the momentary distance (.delta..sub.o -x) 
between the lower surface 42 of the damping plate 26 and the bottom 32 of 
the container 22. In Formula [1] KR.sup.4 may be substituted by K'A.sup.2, 
where K' is another proportional constant, A is the area of the lower 
surface of the damping plate which is proportional to R.sup.2, so that 
Formula [1] is generally suitable for damping plates with other shapes. 
Since (.delta..sub.o -X) is a very small quantity, the damping force F is 
very large, and increases dramatically as the damping plate 26 moves 
closer to the bottom 32 of the container 22. 
One of the numerous possible embodiments of the present invention is 
incorporated in a weighing device 100. Shown in FIG. 4, the weighing 
device 100 has a generally rectangular shaped housing 110 that has a 
hollow chamber 112. Inside the hollow chamber 112 there are a couple of 
steps 120 and 122, which provide two possible mounting areas for a load 
cell mounting plate 124, which in turn mounts a load cell 102 to the 
housing 110. 
A cover 130 is placed on top of the housing 110. The cover 130 has a large 
opening 132 at one location. A loading adaptor 140 is placed on top of the 
load cell 102 and extends through the large opening 132 of the top cover 
130. The cover 130 also has a small opening 134 at another location. An 
access plug 150 is positioned through the small opening 134 of the top 
cover 130 and connected to an adjusting screw 152 that is located inside 
the hollow chamber 112. 
A circular seal 160 is placed around the loading adaptor 140 and covers the 
large opening 132 of the top cover 130. An internal circular washer 162 
and an external circular washer 164 are placed on the circular seal. The 
seal is held in position by an external seal holding nut 166. A seal 
protective cover 168 is provided for protecting the seal 160. 
A damping plate 170 is positioned very close to the bottom 114 of the 
housing 110 and submerged in a body of viscous fluid 180. The damping 
plate 170 is attached with the loading adaptor 140 and the load cell 102 
through two tie bars 172, so that the loading impact exerted on the 
loading adaptor 140 and transferred to the load cell 102 is also 
transferred to the damping plate 170. Overload stop screws 174 and 176 are 
mounted on the upper and bottom surface of the damping plate respectively. 
Positive overload stop screw 174 will prevent the damping plate 170 from 
contacting the bottom 114 of the housing 110, and negative overload stop 
screw 176 will prevent the damping plate 170 from contacting the load cell 
mounting plate 124. 
The load cell 102 is assembled with a tare offset mechanism. The tare 
offset mechanism for the load cell 102 includes the tare offset adjustment 
screw 152 and its access plug 150, a tare offset screw holder 154 which is 
mounted inside the inner chamber 112 of the housing 110 and holds the tare 
offset screw 152, a tare offset slide 156 threaded on the tare offset 
screw 152 and a tare offset spring 158. The tare offset slide 156 is also 
engaged with the load cell 102, such that by turning the tare offset screw 
152, the vertical position of the load cell 102 is adjusted, which in turn 
adjusts the tension of the tare offset spring 158, so that the tare 
measured by the load cell 102 can be properly offset. 
The unique feature of the damping apparatus of this weighing device is that 
the damping plate 170 is positioned very close to the bottom 114 of the 
housing 110. The clearance 190 between the bottom surface of the damping 
plate 170 and the bottom 114 of the housing 110, in one preferred 
embodiment of the present invention, is only sixty mils (60 mils). Of 
course this is only a preferred value. The range of the clearance 190 may 
be up to four-hundred mils (400 mils). Filled in the space between the 
bottom surface of the damping plate 170 and the bottom 114 of the housing 
110 is a very thin layer of viscous fluid. When a loading shock is 
transferred to the load cell 102 and causes the load cell 102 to vibrate, 
the initial movement of the damping plate 170 is a downward movement. As 
the damping plate 170 moves downwardly, it compresses the very thin layer 
of viscous fluid which is located in the space between the bottom surface 
of the damping plate 170 and the bottom 114 of the housing 110. The 
viscous fluid in turn creates an extremely strong resistance force on the 
damping plate 170. This process effectively damps the oscillation of the 
load cell 102. 
This type of weighing device is particularly useful in the high speed 
packing industry. For example, in a high speed automatic breakfast cereal 
box packing line, an empty box is placed on the load adaptor, and an 
automatic dispensing machine will dispense cereal into the box. The load 
cell must measure the weight quickly in order to control the automatic 
dispensing machine to cause it to stop dispensing cereal once the correct 
weight is reached. However, the drop shock of the cereal discharged on the 
load adaptor will cause the load cell to vibrate, which slows down the 
weighing process and makes the weighing inaccurate. With the present 
invention viscous damping apparatus installed, the vibration of the load 
cell is quickly damped in less than a fraction of a second. 
A particular embodiment of the weighing device has been a test to determine 
the effectiveness of the present invention viscous damping apparatus. This 
particular model of the weighing device has a 3 kg capacity. An 
approximately one inch diameter steel ball, having an approximate weight 
of 70 gm, is dropped from a height of about 700 mm onto the load adaptor, 
which is about 150 mm from the mounting point of the load cell. The 
vibration of the load cell is recorded and diagramed in FIGS. 5 and 6, 
where the vertical dimensions represent the amplitude of the vibration of 
the load cell, and the horizontal dimensions represents the setting time 
of the load cell. The vibration of the load cell without damping is shown 
in FIG. 6, and the vibration of the load cell with damping is shown in 
FIG. 5. The amplitudes of the initial vibration of the load cell, which 
represent the strength of the original shock transferred to the load cell, 
are the same in both figures. However, without the damping provided by the 
present invention viscous damping apparatus, the amplitude of the 
vibration of the load cell drops very slowly and the setting time is more 
than 2 seconds, whereas with the damping provided by the present invention 
viscous damping apparatus, the amplitude of the vibration of the load cell 
drops almost at once and the setting time is less than 1/10 second. 
It will be appreciated that the present invention viscous damping apparatus 
may be incorporated into many other types of weighing devices, no matter 
how simple or complex. For example, it may be incorporated into a simple 
balance to damp the vibration of the balance bar. It may be also 
incorporated into many other types of mechanical devices where the 
vibration of a componential member needs to be damped. It will also be 
appreciated that one of the unique features of the present invention is to 
have the damping plate positioned very close to the bottom of the viscous 
fluid container, such as within 400 mils, preferably 60 mils. 
The present invention viscous damping apparatus has many advantages over 
the traditional viscous damping apparatus, including: (a) it is 
particularly effective for damping load cells of weighing devices, where 
the amplitude of the oscillation of the load cell is very small; (b) it 
substantially increases the working life of the load cell of the weighing 
device; (c) it eliminates the possibility of having the damping plate 
contact the inner sidewall of the viscous fluid container; (d) it provides 
an adequate viscous damping apparatus for damping the vibration of some 
objects which vibrate in very small displacements; and (e) it damps 
oscillations with very small amplitude oscillation in a very short period 
of time. In addition, the present invention viscous damping apparatus 
requires neither complicated fluid-tight assemblies, nor heavy and 
expensive components. It is very cost effective, and very easy to install, 
use and maintain. 
Defined in detail, the present invention is a viscous damping apparatus for 
damping mechanical shocks discharged on an object, comprising: (a) a 
container having a circumferential sidewall and a bottom, the 
circumferential sidewall having an inner surface, and the bottom having a 
substantially flat upper surface, such that the inner surface of the 
circumferential sidewall and the substantially flat upper surface of the 
bottom form a resevoir; (b) a damping member having a circumferential side 
surface and a substantially flat lower surface; (c) the circumferential 
dimension of said damping member being smaller than the circumferential 
dimension of said reservoir; (d) means for attaching said damping member 
to said object and suspending said damping member in said reservoir, such 
that said circumferential side surface of said damping member is clear 
from said inner surface of said circumferential sidewall of said 
container, but said substantially flat lower surface of said damping 
member is positioned parallel and very close to said substantially flat 
upper surface of said bottom of said container, which leaves a very narrow 
space between said substantially flat lower surface of said damping member 
and said substantially flat upper surface of said bottom of said 
container; and (e) a body of viscous fluid contained in said reservoir and 
being adequate such that at least said substantially flat lower surface of 
said damping member is submerged thereby; (f) whereby when a mechanical 
shock is discharged on said object and causes the object to vibrate, the 
vibration will be transferred to said damping member and cause said 
substantially flat lower surface of said damping member to move toward 
said substantially flat upper surface of said bottom of said container, so 
that said viscous fluid between said substantially flat lower surface of 
said damping member and said substantially flat upper surface of said 
bottom of said container is compressed and creates and extremely strong 
resistance force on said damping member that effectively damps the 
vibration of said object. 
Defined alternatively in detail, the present invention is a weight device, 
comprising: (a) a generally rectangular shaped container having a top 
opening opened into a generally rectangular shaped inner chamber defined 
by a circumferential side surface and a substantially flat bottom surface; 
(b) a top cover covering said top opening of said container, the cover 
having an aperture; (c) a generally rectangular shaped load cell placed 
within said inner chamber of said container and mounted on an elevated 
step at one of its two ends, such that a main portion of the load cell is 
suspended and the other one of its two ends is located under said aperture 
of said top cover; (d) a load adaptor attached on top of said other end of 
said load cell and extending upwardly through said aperture of said top 
cover for receiving a load; (e) a damping member having a circumferential 
side surface and a substantially flat lower surface, the circumferential 
dimension of the damping member being smaller than the circumferential 
dimension of said inner chamber; (f) means for attaching said damping 
member to said load adaptor and said load cell and suspending said damping 
member within said inner chamber of said container under said load cell, 
such that said circumferential side surface of said damping member is 
clear from said circumferential side surface of said inner chamber of said 
container, but said substantially flat lower surface of said damping 
member is positioned parallel and very close to said substantially flat 
bottom surface of said inner chamber of said container, which leaves a 
very narrow space between said substantially flat lower surface of said 
damping member and said substantially flat bottom surface of said inner 
chamber of said container; and (g) a body of viscous fluid contained in 
said inner chamber of said container such that said damping member is 
submerged thereby; (h) whereby when the load is discharged on said load 
adaptor and causes said load cell to vibrate, the vibration will be 
transferred to said damping member and causes said substantially flat 
lower surface of said damping member to move downwardly toward said 
substantially flat bottom surface of said inner chamber of said container, 
so that said viscous fluid between said substantially flat lower surface 
of said damping member and said substantially flat bottom surface of said 
inner chamber of said container is compressed and will create an extremely 
strong resistance force on said damping member that effectively damps the 
vibration of said load cell. 
Defined broadly, the present invention is a weighing device, comprising: 
(a) a container having a top opening opened into an inner chamber which 
has a circumferential side surface and a substantially flat bottom 
surface; (b) a weight determining member; (c) a damping member having a 
substantially flat lower surface, the circumferential dimension of the 
damping member being smaller than the circumferential dimension of said 
inner chamber; (d) means for attaching said damping member to said weight 
determining member and suspending said damping member within said inner 
chamber of said container, such that said substantially flat lower surface 
of said damping member is positioned parallel and very close to said 
substantially flat bottom surface of said inner chamber of said container, 
which leaves a very narrow space between said substantially flat lower 
surface of said damping member and said substantially flat bottom surface 
of said inner chamber of said container; and (e) a body of viscous fluid 
contained in said inner chamber of said container such that at least said 
substantially flat lower surface of said damping member is submerged 
thereby; (f) whereby when said weight determining member vibrates and 
causes said substantially flat lower surface of said damping member to 
move toward said substantially flat bottom surface of said inner chamber 
of said container, said viscous fluid between said substantially flat 
lower surface of said damping member and said substantially flat bottom 
surface of said inner chamber of said container will be compressed and 
create an extremely strong resistance force on said damping member that 
effectively damps the vibration of said weight determining member. 
Defined even more broadly, the present invention is a viscous damping 
apparatus, comprising: (a) a container having an inner chamber; (b) said 
inner chamber of said container having a substantially flat bottom 
surface; (c) a damping member having a substantially flat lower surface; 
(d) means for suspending said damping member, such that said substantially 
flat lower surface of said damping member is positioned parallel and very 
close to said substantially flat bottom surface of said inner chamber of 
said container, which leaves a very narrow space between said 
substantially flat lower surface of said damping member and said 
substantially flat bottom surface of said inner chamber of said container; 
and (e) a body of viscous fluid being enough to fill said very narrow 
space and forming a very thin layer of viscous fluid therein; (f) whereby 
when said damping member vibrates and causes said substantially flat lower 
surface of said damping member to move toward said substantially flat 
bottom surface of said inner chamber of said container, said very thin 
layer of said viscous fluid is compressed, which in turn creates an 
extremely strong resistance force on said damping member that effectively 
damps the vibration of said damping member. 
Of course the present invention is not intended to be restricted to any 
particular form or arrangement , or any specific embodiment disclosed 
herein, or any specific use, since the same may be modified in various 
particulars or relations without departing from the spirit or scope of the 
claimed invention hereinabove shown and described of which the apparatus 
shown is intended only for illustration and for disclosure of an operative 
embodiment and not to show all of the various forms or modification in 
which the present invention might be embodied or operated. 
The present invention has been described in considerable detail in order to 
comply with the patent laws by providing full public disclosure of at 
least one of its forms. However, such detailed description is not intended 
in any way to limit the broad features or principles of the present 
invention, or the scope of patent monopoly to be granted.