Patents by Inventor Rodney Keith Hale
Rodney Keith Hale 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).
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Patent number: 11448561Abstract: Embodiments are directed to a drive shaft apparatus comprising a first rotary member and a second rotary member arranged coaxially with said first rotary member. The rotary members are fixedly connected at a first end so that they rotate together. Each rotary member has a set of elements spaced apart around its circumference at a second end. The elements on the first rotary member are spaced apart from the elements on the second rotary member at rest. The first rotary member undergoes torsion when a load is applied during rotation, which causes the first rotary member elements to move closer to the second rotary member elements. The first elements engage the second elements when a torque load less than a yield torque is applied to the first rotary member, which transfers at least a portion of the torque load to the second rotary member.Type: GrantFiled: April 5, 2019Date of Patent: September 20, 2022Assignee: Textron Innovations Inc.Inventors: Rodney Keith Hale, Ron L. Woods
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Publication number: 20200319042Abstract: Embodiments are directed to a drive shaft apparatus comprising a first rotary member and a second rotary member arranged coaxially with said first rotary member. The rotary members are fixedly connected at a first end so that they rotate together. Each rotary member has a set of elements spaced apart around its circumference at a second end. The elements on the first rotary member are spaced apart from the elements on the second rotary member at rest. The first rotary member undergoes torsion when a load is applied during rotation, which causes the first rotary member elements to move closer to the second rotary member elements. The first elements engage the second elements when a torque load less than a yield torque is applied to the first rotary member, which transfers at least a portion of the torque load to the second rotary member.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 5, 2019Publication date: October 8, 2020Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventors: Rodney Keith Hale, Ron L. Woods
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Patent number: 10643405Abstract: A method, system, and device for diagnosing an anomaly of a monitored component in a drive train, the method including obtaining original data based on samples of a vibration signal; converting the original data to an analytical signal having a real component and an imaginary component; determining complex magnitudes of the analytical signal; processing the complex magnitudes of the analytical signal to produce a frequency-domain signal; and determining complex magnitudes of the frequency-domain signal to generate a shock spectrum.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 2017Date of Patent: May 5, 2020Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: Rodney Keith Hale
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Patent number: 10464689Abstract: A method, system, and device for diagnosing an anomaly of a monitored component in a drive train, the method including: obtaining original data based on samples of a tachometer signal; processing the original data to obtain rotational information; processing the original data to produce a sine spectrum; determining complex magnitudes of the sine spectrum; removing dominate torsional mode residuals from the complex magnitudes of the sine spectrum to produce a frequency spectrum; and determining a condition indicator from the frequency spectrum.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 2017Date of Patent: November 5, 2019Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: Rodney Keith Hale
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Patent number: 10424134Abstract: There is a method, system, and device for diagnosing an anomaly of a monitored component in a drive train, the method including obtaining original data based on samples of a vibration signal and a tachometer signal; generating a time synchronous average vibration signal; processing the time synchronous average vibration signal to produce a frequency-domain spectrum; determining the complex magnitudes of the frequency-domain spectrum; selecting a sub-synchronous band of the complex magnitudes of the frequency-domain spectrum to generate a sub-synchronous spectrum; and determining the mean of the sub-synchronous spectrum to generate a condition indicator.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 2017Date of Patent: September 24, 2019Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: Rodney Keith Hale
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Patent number: 10380810Abstract: A method, system, and device for diagnosing an anomaly of a monitored component in a drive train, the method including obtaining rotational information associated with the component; receiving original data indicating the toothmesh frequency of the drive train; filtering the original data to remove energy above the toothmesh frequency; interpolating the filtered original data to generate an integer number of samples per tooth passage; and generating an amplified differential coherence (ADC). In some embodiments, an amplified differential coherence gearbox arrangement value (ADCT) is generated.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 2017Date of Patent: August 13, 2019Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: Rodney Keith Hale
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Patent number: 10259572Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining failure diagnosis of drive systems of rotorcrafts through measuring the spectral characteristics of rotational oscillations and torsional oscillations and steady windup of a drive shaft. Mechanical anomalies of the drive system will alter the spectral characteristics of rotational oscillations and torsional oscillations and steady windup as detected by a pair of variable reluctance sensors in conjunction with a radial grating mounted on the drive shaft.Type: GrantFiled: April 16, 2015Date of Patent: April 16, 2019Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventors: Rodney Keith Hale, Steven Kirk Spears, Brian Tucker
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Publication number: 20180165897Abstract: There is a method, system, and device for diagnosing an anomaly of a monitored component in a drive train, the method including obtaining original data based on samples of a vibration signal and a tachometer signal; generating a time synchronous average vibration signal; processing the time synchronous average vibration signal to produce a frequency-domain spectrum; determining the complex magnitudes of the frequency-domain spectrum; selecting a sub-synchronous band of the complex magnitudes of the frequency-domain spectrum to generate a sub-synchronous spectrum; and determining the mean of the sub-synchronous spectrum to generate a condition indicator.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2017Publication date: June 14, 2018Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: Rodney Keith Hale
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Publication number: 20180162548Abstract: A method, system, and device for diagnosing an anomaly of a monitored component in a drive train, the method including: obtaining original data based on samples of a tachometer signal; processing the original data to obtain rotational information; processing the original data to produce a sine spectrum; determining complex magnitudes of the sine spectrum; removing dominate torsional mode residuals from the complex magnitudes of the sine spectrum to produce a frequency spectrum; and determining a condition indicator from the frequency spectrum.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2017Publication date: June 14, 2018Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: Rodney Keith Hale
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Publication number: 20180053359Abstract: A method, system, and device for diagnosing an anomaly of a monitored component in a drive train, the method including obtaining original data based on samples of a vibration signal; converting the original data to an analytical signal having a real component and an imaginary component; determining complex magnitudes of the analytical signal; processing the complex magnitudes of the analytical signal to produce a frequency-domain signal; and determining complex magnitudes of the frequency-domain signal to generate a shock spectrum.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2017Publication date: February 22, 2018Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: Rodney Keith Hale
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Publication number: 20180053358Abstract: A method, system, and device for diagnosing an anomaly of a monitored component in a drive train, the method including obtaining rotational information associated with the component; receiving original data indicating the toothmesh frequency of the drive train; filtering the original data to remove energy above the toothmesh frequency; interpolating the filtered original data to generate an integer number of samples per tooth passage; and generating an amplified differential coherence (ADC). In some embodiments, an amplified differential coherence gearbox arrangement value (ADCT) is generated.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 15, 2017Publication date: February 22, 2018Applicant: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.Inventor: Rodney Keith Hale
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Publication number: 20160304192Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining failure diagnosis of drive systems of rotorcrafts through measuring the spectral characteristics of rotational oscillations and torsional oscillations and steady windup of a drive shaft. Mechanical anomalies of the drive system will alter the spectral characteristics of rotational oscillations and torsional oscillations and steady windup as detected by a pair of variable reluctance sensors in conjunction with a radial grating mounted on the drive shaft.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 16, 2015Publication date: October 20, 2016Applicant: BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON INC.Inventors: Rodney Keith Hale, Steven Kirk Spears, Brian Tucker