ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,704,149, issued on Aug. 11, was assigned to CURTISS-WRIGHT ELECTRO-MECHANICAL Corp. (Cheswick, Pa.).
"Flexible shoe for a thrust bearing" was invented by Richard Witten Armentrout (Delmont, Pa.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A shoe for a hydrodynamic thrust bearing is arranged relative to a transverse axis, a lateral axis, and a normal axis that intersect with and are perpendicular to each other. The shoe includes a bearing surface for supporting an axial load along the normal axis; a first flexible portion extending along the transverse axis; and first and second lateral portions extending laterally from opposite sides of the first flex...