Patents by Inventor Steven M. Gunther

Steven M. Gunther 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: 10040222
    Abstract: A collapsible, coiled mandrel, for use in co-curing of a hollow carbon-epoxy structure such as a stringer in aircraft construction, is made of a coil having an outer coil shape resistant to external compression forces when used as a mandrel during lay-up and curing, and is collapsible when an end of the coil is pulled along its longitudinal axis so that it can be easily removed after curing and discarded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Steven M. Gunther, Steven J. Burpo
  • Publication number: 20170297231
    Abstract: A collapsible, coiled mandrel, for use in co-curing of a hollow carbon-epoxy structure such as a stringer in aircraft construction, is made of a coil having an outer coil shape resistant to external compression forces when used as a mandrel during lay-up and curing, and is collapsible when an end of the coil is pulled along its longitudinal axis so that it can be easily removed after curing and discarded.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 5, 2017
    Publication date: October 19, 2017
    Applicant: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: STEVEN M. GUNTHER, STEVEN J. BURPO
  • Patent number: 9724848
    Abstract: A collapsible, coiled mandrel, for use in co-curing of a hollow carbon-epoxy structure such as a stringer in aircraft construction, is made of a fiber stiffened with doping material that maintains an outer coil shape resistant to external compression forces when used as a mandrel during lay-up and curing, and is collapsible when an end of the fiber is pulled along its longitudinal axis so that it can be easily removed after curing and discarded. A method of fabricating a collapsible, coiled mandrel employs a mold with a shaped recess for forming a coil with a fiber wetted with a doping material fed in by an applicator, and rotating the applicator while backing it out to form the coil in the mold. In an alternative embodiment, a collapsible, coiled mandrel may be formed of a metal coil having a mandrel-shaped cross section and sleeved in a protective liner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Steven M. Gunther, Steven J. Burpo
  • Publication number: 20160001467
    Abstract: A collapsible, coiled mandrel, for use in co-curing of a hollow carbon-epoxy structure such as a stringer in aircraft construction, is made of a fiber stiffened with doping material that maintains an outer coil shape resistant to external compression forces when used as a mandrel during lay-up and curing, and is collapsible when an end of the fiber is pulled along its longitudinal axis so that it can be easily removed after curing and discarded. A method of fabricating a collapsible, coiled mandrel employs a mold with a shaped recess for forming a coil with a fiber wetted with a doping material fed in by an applicator, and rotating the applicator while backing it out to form the coil in the mold. In an alternative embodiment, a collapsible, coiled mandrel may be formed of a metal coil having a mandrel-shaped cross section and sleeved in a protective liner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2014
    Publication date: January 7, 2016
    Applicant: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: STEVEN M. GUNTHER, STEVEN J. BURPO
  • Patent number: 9141650
    Abstract: A computer-based method for generating multi-generational relationships within a relational model. The method includes applying, with a processing device, a filter to parent node data and child node data in the relational model, the relational model stored in a computer memory, adding filtered data to a database within a computer memory via instructions executed by the processing device, the filtered data including relational model data that passed through the filter, and applying, through instructions executed by the processing device, a parent node selection process to every child node in the filtered data that is associated with a parent node record not conforming to the filter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Eric L. Nicks, Steven M. Gunther, James Michael Cress, Jr., Robert C. Thompson