Patents by Inventor Bruce D. Hansen

Bruce D. Hansen has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20180016650
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a part is provided. The method includes heating a gear in the presence of carbon to carburize a material of the gear to create a carburized gear, the gear having a plurality of gear teeth and which comprises a selected material. Next, the carburized gear is high pressure gas quenched to drive the carbon into the material of the gear to create a quenched gear. Next, the quenched gear is at least one of cavitation peened and laser peened to create a peened gear. Finally, superfmishing is performed on surfaces of the peened gear.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2016
    Publication date: January 18, 2018
    Inventor: Bruce D. Hansen
  • Publication number: 20170227107
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a gear is provided. The method includes forming a plurality of gear teeth in a surface of a gear, the gear teeth having tooth faces defining tooth edges including tooth edge flanks and tooth edge top land and generating a convex contour at an edge break of at least one of the tooth edge flanks and tooth edge top land.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 23, 2017
    Publication date: August 10, 2017
    Inventors: Edward H. Bittner, Bruce D. Hansen, Christopher John Mussel
  • Patent number: 8758527
    Abstract: A surface processing method includes the step of increasing a surface hardness of a metal having a nominal composition that includes about 0.21-0.25 wt % carbon, about 2.9-3.3 wt % chromium, about 11-12 wt % nickel, about 13-14 wt % cobalt, about 1.1-1.3 wt % molybdenum, and a balance of iron from a first hardness to a second hardness. For example, the method is used to produce a surface-hardened component that includes a core section having a first hardness between about 51 HRC and 55 HRC and a case section having a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
    Inventors: Tapas K. Mukherji, Michael E. Dandorph, Bruce D. Hansen, Edward J. Karedes
  • Publication number: 20080277030
    Abstract: Components, such as gears and other power transmission components, are formed by near-net-forging a high strength, high toughness ferrous metal alloy, surface processing metal alloy to form a hardened surface region (28), and coating the surface region with a lubricious coating (84) as shown in FIG. 9.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2005
    Publication date: November 13, 2008
    Applicant: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Clark V. Cooper, Raymond C. Benn, Bruce D. Hansen
  • Publication number: 20080145690
    Abstract: A surface processing method includes the step of increasing a surface hardness of a metal having a nominal composition that includes about 0.21-0.25 wt % carbon, about 2.9-3.3 wt % chromium, about 11-12 wt % nickel, about 13-14 wt % cobalt, about 1.1-1.3 wt % molybdenum, and a balance of iron from a first hardness to a second hardness. For example, the method is used to produce a surface-hardened component that includes a core section having a first hardness between about 51 HRC and 55 HRC and a case section having a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 15, 2006
    Publication date: June 19, 2008
    Inventors: Tapas K. Mukherji, Michael E. Dandorph, Bruce D. Hansen, Edward J. Karedes
  • Patent number: 6918181
    Abstract: A method for improving acoustic and vibrational properties of gears includes determining the transmission errors of intermeshing gears due to stiffness variations in the gear teeth, performing Gear Tooth Topological (GTT) modifications to compensate for the errors, and isotropically processing the gears to produce an ultra-smooth surface finish. Additional errors from isotropic processing, machining, loading, thermal effects and/or load sharing may be summed with the errors from the stiffness variations and used for the GTT modifications. The teachings of the present invention may reduce noise by as much as 13 to 15 dB.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2005
    Assignee: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
    Inventors: Harsh Vinayak, Bruce D. Hansen, Edward J. Karedes, Clark V. Cooper, Lawrence M. Zunski
  • Publication number: 20040088861
    Abstract: A method for producing intermeshing gears having improved acoustic and vibration properties characterized by: examining the transmission errors due to mesh stiffness variations, performing Gear Tooth Topological (GTT) to compensate for such errors, and isotropic processing of the face surfaces of the gear teeth to produce an ultra-smooth surface finish.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2003
    Publication date: May 13, 2004
    Inventors: Harsh Vinayak, Bruce D. Hansen, Edward J. Karedes, Clark V. Cooper, Lawrence M. Zunski
  • Patent number: 5226350
    Abstract: A drive train assembly for a rotor assembly having ducted, coaxial counter-rotating rotors includes a sprag clutch, an engine coupling subassembly, a transmission coupling subassembly, and a drive shaft mechanically interconnected at the ends thereof to the engine and transmission coupling subassemblies, respectively. The drive train assembly is design optimized to maximize the functional capability of the sprag clutch, the engine coupling subassembly including an external crown spline coupling, internal spline coupling combination that is mounted in combination with the sprag clutch so that loads transmitted through the external crown spline coupling react through the center of the sprag clutch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 13, 1993
    Assignee: United Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: James P. Cycon, Vincent F. Millea, Fred W. Kohlhepp, Bruce D. Hansen