Patents by Inventor Colton James GILLILAND
Colton James GILLILAND 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: 11493121Abstract: A gear system includes a gear assembly having a shaft that is at least partially disposed within a housing of the gear system. A thrust bearing has inner and outer races with the outer race coupled to the housing. A bearing flexure is disposed between the inner race of the thrust bearing and the shaft. The bearing flexure includes a cylindrical cage having at least one shaft journal ring and a plurality of circumferentially distributed axially extending fingers coupled thereto with the shaft journal ring coupled to the shaft. A cylindrical bearing journal has inner and outer surfaces with the outer surface coupled to the inner race of the thrust bearing. Each of a plurality of circumferentially distributed radially extending struts extends between one of the fingers and the inner surface of the cylindrical bearing journal. The bearing flexure has an axial stiffness that is greater than its radial stiffness.Type: GrantFiled: February 9, 2021Date of Patent: November 8, 2022Assignee: Textron Innovations Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Russell Lee Mueller
-
Publication number: 20220252144Abstract: A gear system includes a gear assembly having a shaft that is at least partially disposed within a housing of the gear system. A thrust bearing has inner and outer races with the outer race coupled to the housing. A bearing flexure is disposed between the inner race of the thrust bearing and the shaft. The bearing flexure includes a cylindrical cage having at least one shaft journal ring and a plurality of circumferentially distributed axially extending fingers coupled thereto with the shaft journal ring coupled to the shaft. A cylindrical bearing journal has inner and outer surfaces with the outer surface coupled to the inner race of the thrust bearing. Each of a plurality of circumferentially distributed radially extending struts extends between one of the fingers and the inner surface of the cylindrical bearing journal. The bearing flexure has an axial stiffness that is greater than its radial stiffness.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 9, 2021Publication date: August 11, 2022Applicant: Textron Innovations Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Russell Lee Mueller
-
Patent number: 11370537Abstract: A drivetrain for an aircraft includes an engine, a driveshaft receiving rotational energy from the engine and a gearbox including a planetary gear system receiving rotational energy from the driveshaft. The planetary gear system includes a sun gear, planet gears, a ring gear and an integral carrier forming flexured carrier posts. Each flexured carrier post supports a respective one of the planet gears and has a fixed proximal end and a cantilevered distal end. The planetary gear system includes flexured roller races, each having a fixed end and a cantilevered end. The fixed end of each flexured roller race is coupled to the cantilevered distal end of a respective flexured carrier post. The planet gears engage with the flexured roller races to rotate about the flexured carrier posts. The cantilevered ends of the flexured roller races experience cantilevered motion to absorb loads from the planet gears.Type: GrantFiled: August 12, 2021Date of Patent: June 28, 2022Assignee: Textron Innovations Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Russell Lee Mueller, Tyson T. Henry
-
Patent number: 11358729Abstract: An exemplary tiltrotor aircraft with a hybrid drive system includes a first propulsion system having a first engine and a first supplemental driver operably coupled to a first proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode and a second propulsion system having a second engine and a second supplemental driver operably coupled to a second proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode.Type: GrantFiled: January 28, 2021Date of Patent: June 14, 2022Assignee: Bell Textron Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Mark Alan Przybyla, Eric Stephen Olson
-
Publication number: 20210371098Abstract: A drivetrain for an aircraft includes an engine, a driveshaft receiving rotational energy from the engine and a gearbox including a planetary gear system receiving rotational energy from the driveshaft. The planetary gear system includes a sun gear, planet gears, a ring gear and an integral carrier forming flexured carrier posts. Each flexured carrier post supports a respective one of the planet gears and has a fixed proximal end and a cantilevered distal end. The planetary gear system includes flexured roller races, each having a fixed end and a cantilevered end. The fixed end of each flexured roller race is coupled to the cantilevered distal end of a respective flexured carrier post. The planet gears engage with the flexured roller races to rotate about the flexured carrier posts. The cantilevered ends of the flexured roller races experience cantilevered motion to absorb loads from the planet gears.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 12, 2021Publication date: December 2, 2021Applicant: Textron Innovations Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Russell Lee Mueller, Tyson T. Henry
-
Patent number: 11186381Abstract: A drivetrain for an aircraft includes an engine, a driveshaft to receive rotational energy from the engine and a gearbox including a multistage planetary gear system to receive rotational energy from the driveshaft. The multistage planetary gear system includes an integral multistage ring gear system having flanged and cantilevered ends. The integral multistage ring gear system forms a first stage ring gear at the cantilevered end and a second stage ring gear interposed between the flanged end and the first stage ring gear. The multistage planetary gear system includes a first stage sun gear, first stage planet gears and a first stage carrier. The first stage planet gears mate with the first stage ring gear. The multistage planetary gear system includes a second stage sun gear, second stage planet gears and a second stage carrier. The second stage planet gears mate with the second stage ring gear.Type: GrantFiled: October 11, 2019Date of Patent: November 30, 2021Assignee: Textron Innovations Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Russell Lee Mueller, Tyson T. Henry
-
Publication number: 20210309381Abstract: An exemplary tiltrotor aircraft with a hybrid drive system includes a first propulsion system having a first engine and a first supplemental driver operably coupled to a first proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode and a second propulsion system having a second engine and a second supplemental driver operably coupled to a second proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 28, 2021Publication date: October 7, 2021Applicant: Bell Textron Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Mark Alan Przybyla, Eric Stephen Olson
-
Patent number: 11111014Abstract: A drivetrain for an aircraft includes an engine, a driveshaft receiving rotational energy from the engine and a gearbox including a planetary gear system receiving rotational energy from the driveshaft. The planetary gear system includes a sun gear, planet gears, a ring gear and an integral carrier forming flexured carrier posts. Each flexured carrier post supports a respective one of the planet gears and has a fixed proximal end and a cantilevered distal end. The planetary gear system includes flexured roller races, each having a fixed end and a cantilevered end. The fixed end of each flexured roller race is coupled to the cantilevered distal end of a respective flexured carrier post. The planet gears engage with the flexured roller races to rotate about the flexured carrier posts. The cantilevered ends of the flexured roller races experience cantilevered motion to absorb loads from the planet gears.Type: GrantFiled: October 23, 2019Date of Patent: September 7, 2021Assignee: Textron Innovations Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Russell Lee Mueller, Tyson T. Henry
-
Publication number: 20210122464Abstract: A drivetrain for an aircraft includes an engine, a driveshaft receiving rotational energy from the engine and a gearbox including a planetary gear system receiving rotational energy from the driveshaft. The planetary gear system includes a sun gear, planet gears, a ring gear and an integral carrier forming flexured carrier posts. Each flexured carrier post supports a respective one of the planet gears and has a fixed proximal end and a cantilevered distal end. The planetary gear system includes flexured roller races, each having a fixed end and a cantilevered end. The fixed end of each flexured roller race is coupled to the cantilevered distal end of a respective flexured carrier post. The planet gears engage with the flexured roller races to rotate about the flexured carrier posts. The cantilevered ends of the flexured roller races experience cantilevered motion to absorb loads from the planet gears.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 23, 2019Publication date: April 29, 2021Applicant: Bell Textron Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Russell Lee Mueller, Tyson T. Henry
-
Publication number: 20210107671Abstract: A drivetrain for an aircraft includes an engine, a driveshaft to receive rotational energy from the engine and a gearbox including a multistage planetary gear system to receive rotational energy from the driveshaft. The multistage planetary gear system includes an integral multistage ring gear system having flanged and cantilevered ends. The integral multistage ring gear system forms a first stage ring gear at the cantilevered end and a second stage ring gear interposed between the flanged end and the first stage ring gear. The multistage planetary gear system includes a first stage sun gear, first stage planet gears and a first stage carrier. The first stage planet gears mate with the first stage ring gear. The multistage planetary gear system includes a second stage sun gear, second stage planet gears and a second stage carrier. The second stage planet gears mate with the second stage ring gear.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 11, 2019Publication date: April 15, 2021Applicant: Bell Textron Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Russell Lee Mueller, Tyson T. Henry
-
Patent number: 10906656Abstract: An exemplary tiltrotor aircraft with a hybrid drive system includes a first propulsion system having a first engine and a first supplemental driver operably coupled to a first proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode and a second propulsion system having a second engine and a second supplemental driver operably coupled to a second proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode.Type: GrantFiled: May 1, 2018Date of Patent: February 2, 2021Assignee: Bell Textron Inc.Inventors: Colton James Gilliland, Mark Alan Przybyla, Eric Stephen Olson
-
Publication number: 20190337629Abstract: An exemplary tiltrotor aircraft with a hybrid drive system includes a first propulsion system having a first engine and a first supplemental driver operably coupled to a first proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode and a second propulsion system having a second engine and a second supplemental driver operably coupled to a second proprotor that is operable between a helicopter mode and an airplane mode.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 1, 2018Publication date: November 7, 2019Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventors: Colton James GILLILAND, Mark Alan PRZYBYLA, Eric Stephen OLSON