Patent ID: 7222704

Claim:
In a structure having a first structural component that has at least one resonant frequency, and a second structural component that is insensitive to said at least one resonant frequency and is connected or coupled to said first structural component either directly, or indirectly via at least one intermediate structural component, a vibration damping apparatus comprising: at least one sensor mounted for detecting vibration of said first structural component; a controller coupled to said at least one sensor for identifying resonances of the first structural component from characteristics of a signal received from said at least one sensor; and at least one vibration generator coupled to the second structural component for generating vibrations in the second structural component to damp the vibrations of the first structural component; wherein said controller is coupled to said at least one vibration generator to control frequency and phase of vibrations generated by the at least one vibration generator; and the at least one vibration generator generates vibrations that are transmitted through the second structural component to the first structural component to dampen the vibration of the first structural component.