Patent ID: 7856765

Claim:
A seismic damper for permitting relative movement of supported and supporting structures in a first direction due to seismic forces, said seismic damper comprising: an upper bracket adapted to be secured to the supported structure, and including a horizontal bracket, and a pair of vertical bracket members, each of which is formed with an upper hole therethrough; a lower bracket spaced apart from said upper bracket in a second direction transverse to the first direction, adapted to be secured to the supported structure, and including a pair of vertical bracket members, each of which is formed with a lower hole therethrough; an intermediate bracket disposed between said upper and lower brackets, adapted to be secured to the supporting structure, and including a pair of vertical bracket members, each of which is aligned with a respective one of said vertical bracket members of said upper bracket and a respective one of said vertical bracket members of said lower bracket in the second direction and each of which is formed with an intermediate hole therethrough; and a link mechanism including a first support link that is disposed between said vertical bracket members of each of said upper, lower, and intermediate brackets, and that has first and second ends, each of which is formed with a through-hole therethrough, and an intermediate portion, which is disposed between said first and second ends thereof and which is formed with a through-hole therethrough, a first pivot joint that extends through said upper hole in each of said vertical bracket members of said upper bracket and said through-hole in said first end of said first support link, a second pivot joint that extends through said lower hole in each of said vertical bracket members of said lower bracket and said through-hole in said second end of said first support link, and a third pivot joint that is disposed between said first and second pivot joints, and that extends through said intermediate hole in each of said vertical bracket members of said intermediate bracket and said through-hole in said intermediate portion of said first support link, wherein said upper hole in each of said vertical bracket members of said upper bracket has a size larger than that of said through-hole in said first end of said first support link.