Textron Innovations Inc. won a patent in July for a tiltrotor aircraft that carries its rotor assemblies at the front and back of the fuselage rather than on the wingtips. The filing says the arrangement is more structurally efficient and creates less drag than a conventional setup. [Composite image: Sources, U.S. Patent No. 12,679,535-B2, Fig. 1; DI Studio]
Textron Innovations Inc. won a patent for a tiltrotor aircraft that carries its rotor assemblies at the front and back of the fuselage rather than on the wingtips. All six listed inventors work in North Texas.
Tiltrotors swivel their rotors between a vertical position for takeoff and landing and a horizontal position for forward flight, so the aircraft can lift off like a helicopter and cruise like an airplane. This patent covers a tandem layout, with rotor assemblies at the forward and aft ends of the fuselage, built in modules that can be swapped to configure the aircraft for a particular job rather than for general use.
The filing says the arrangement is more structurally efficient and creates less drag than a conventional tiltrotor. It also says it delivers more control authority and lifting capacity than hybrid-quad and tail-sitter designs, and travels farther than a helicopter or multirotor. The aircraft can circle and search over a broad area or hover for long stretches, according to the patent.
Textron Innovations is the patent-holding subsidiary of Textron Inc., whose Bell aircraft unit is headquartered in Fort Worth. The inventors are Alan Hisashi Steinert, Matthew Edward Louis and Steven M. Loveland of Fort Worth, John Robert Wittmaak Jr. of Newark, Joshua Allan Edler of Bedford and Stephen Yibum Chung of Keller.
Aerospace remains one of North Texas’ signature industries, and the tiltrotor filing was not the company’s only one that week. Textron drew two more patents from Fort Worth-area teams: a modular battery system for aircraft that links stackable battery modules through plugs and receptacles (No. 12679226-B2), and a flight control method that automatically adjusts trim for steady winds during low-speed maneuvers (No. 12681480-B2).
The tiltrotor application was filed Oct. 27, 2020, and issued as Patent No. 12679535-B2 after 2,086 days, the second-longest wait among patents granted in the region that week.
Beyond Textron, other organizations with notable patents granted the week of July 14 include:
Texas Instruments (Dallas), which led the region with 16 patents that week, including a method for cutting individual chips out of a semiconductor wafer using a plasma etch instead of a blade (No. 12685060-B2) and a circuit that shortens the startup time of a crystal oscillator (No. 12683550-B2).
Traxxas (McKinney), with seven design patents covering radio-control model vehicle bodies, frame rails, axle carriers, suspension arms and wheels. McKinney’s Adam Cole Ewing was the region’s most prolific inventor for the week with six.
WildStar LLC (Arlington), with a satellite (No. 12679079-B2) built with a deformable outer structure that absorbs the impact of space debris and captures it on contact.
Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (Plano), with a platform (No. 12678630-B2) for remote clinical sessions that records patients performing tasks and uses machine-learning models to help clinicians assess a condition and adjust treatment.
Accresa Health (Carrollton), with a system (No. 12682329-B2) that bundles healthcare invoices from multiple providers, splits the charges among the responsible payors and routes the funds.
Patent information is provided by Joe Chiarella, founder of patent analytics company Patent Index and publisher of The Inventiveness Index. For additional details on the patents granted below, search the USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database.
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