Patents by Inventor Timothy K. Ledbetter

Timothy K. Ledbetter 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).

  • Patent number: 7665969
    Abstract: An assembly for providing flexure to a blade of a rotary blade system, the assembly including an upper support plate having an upper curved surface, a lower support plate having a lower curved surface, and a yoke positioned therebetween. At least one of the upper and lower yoke surfaces having a layer of cushioning material positioned thereon and secured thereto. The layer of cushioning material extending along and following the general contour of yoke surface, and the layer of cushioning material directly contacting a support plate. Another embodiment is an assembly for providing flexure to a blade of a rotary blade system, including, an upper support plate having an upper curved surface, a lower support plate having a lower curved surface, and a yoke positioned therebetween and directly contacting the support plates wherein one of the curved surfaces is a non-circular arc that does not form part of the circumference of a circle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventors: Frank B. Stamps, Patrick R. Tisdale, James L. Braswell, Charles L. Baskin, Jr., Tom Campbell, Timothy K. Ledbetter, Joseph J. Zierer, D. J. Reddy, Mark A. Wiinikka, Ronnie L. Martin, David A. Haynie, Stanley Gene Sadler, Ron Measom, Paul Oldroyd, Tricia Hiros, Jim Harse, Bob Mullins
  • Patent number: 6443273
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an improved vibration cancellation device designed to overcome many of the shortcomings inherent in prior devices. In many embodiments, the vibration cancellation device is smaller in scale than prior designs, facilitating more versatility with respect to design options. The device of the present invention achieves a smaller size partly due to the use of suspension springs having an offset, rather than a parallel arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2002
    Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy K. Ledbetter, Brad Stamps, David Popelka, Christopher M. Bothwell, Michael Reaugh Smith
  • Patent number: 5358381
    Abstract: An improved feathering flexure for a helicopter rotor system yoke includes, in transverse cross section, a relatively thin central web and six relatively thin flanges. Three flanges extend from each of the web's two edges, and the flanges lie in planes which are approximately radial relative to the neutral feathering axis of the feathering flexure. The feathering flexure is constructed of fiberglass material embedded in a polymer matrix. The web's fiberglass material in the web is bias material, that is, material whose glass fibers are oriented at plus or minus 45 degrees relative to the yoke's spanwise axis. In transverse cross section, each of the flanges includes two unidirectional belts disposed on either side of a bias pack. The glass fibers in the unidirectional belts are oriented parallel to the yoke's spanwise axis. The fiberglass material in the bias packs is bias material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 25, 1994
    Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventors: Cecil E. Covington, Timothy K. Ledbetter, Ernest A. Powell, Madison K. Robinson, Ajay Sehgal, Patrick R. Tisdale