Rolls-royce Corporation

Other

Rolls-royce High Temperature Composites Inc.

James Kell

Dragos Aurelian Axinte

Graeme Eric Rigg

Thomas Frederick Danvers

Daniel Clark

Xin Dong

Andrew D Norton

Mark Hugh Raffles

Amir Rabani

David Alatorre Troncoso

Adriano Pulisciano

Adam Nagy

Justin M Burrows

Clive Grafton-Reed

Mark Daine

Samantha Helen Davies

Michael J Whittle

Keith C Sadler

Jeffrey Allen

Peter Russhard

Stephen Harris

John Charles Clifford Day

Iulian Marinescu

John W Allen

Ian J McGill

Salvador Cobos-Guzman

Bilal M Nasser

Alejandro Jeketo

Adam Thomas Clare

Abdelkhalick Mohammad

Shamraze Ahmed

Ming Chu Kong

David I Palmer

Matthew D Thomason

Zhirong Liao

Artem Bogatyrev

Dmitrii I Ushmaev

Monica M Castro Palacios

Yihua Fang

Clive Mark Beech

Ben J Walker

John C C Day

Christopher R J Herbert

Mark Richard Chetwyn

Ralph Graham Anderson

John Marcus Allen

Adam George Antrum Rushworth

John Billingham

Adam G A Rushworth

Erhui Sun

Christopher Herbert

Mark Raffles

Ming Kong

Ian Mcgill

Adam Rushworth

Samantha Davis

Clive Beech

Ben Walker

John Charles Day

A method of forming a protective coating includes providing a substrate including a major surface. The method further includes providing a top coat layer adjacent to the major surface of the substrate. The top coat layer includes a top coat surface distal to the substrate. The method further includes forming a plurality of slots in the top coat layer. The method further includes at least partially heating the top coat surface above a threshold temperature, such that a first portion of the top coat layer extending from the top coat surface partially melts to form a glazed layer, and a second portion of the top coat layer disposed between the glazed layer and the major surface of the substrate is not melted and includes at least a portion of each of the plurality of slots.

Method of forming protective coating and coated article comprising protective coating

A sensing system for a continuum arm robot, the sensing system comprising at least one camera ring system mounted to the continuum robot, the camera ring system having at least two forward-facing cameras that face along the axis of the robot towards the tip.

Sensing in continuum robots

A mechanism () and a method for inserting an elongate member () through an aperture of a body, along a longitudinal axis (), the mechanism comprising a feed portion () comprising a feed actuator () configured to engage with and drive the elongate member along the longitudinal axis; and, a twist portion () comprising a twist actuator () configured to engage with the feed portion and rotate the elongate member about the longitudinal axis.

Mechanism

A method for the removal of debris () from an aperture (), the aperture comprising a first aperture diameter () and extending along a first axis () over a first distance (), the method comprising the steps of aligning a beam of energy () with the first axis such that the beam of energy is coaxially aligned with the aperture, the beam of energy comprising both an energy sufficient to remove the debris, and a first beam diameter () which is less than the first aperture diameter; and, exposing the debris to the beam of energy in order to remove the debris from the aperture.

Debris removal

A universal actuator for driving a continuum arm robot having a plurality of tendons includes; a housing; a power supply pack with a power source; a control pack with an industrial programmable logic controller, a screen, a rotary encoder linked to an analogue input device, a digital output device, a plurality of electronic control cards that connect the programmable logic controller to a user input device, the rotary encoder and an actuator pack for controlling the motion of the continuum arm robot, the programmable logic controller or the screen having a computer program to allow for set up and control of the continuum arm robot.

Actuator

A method of inspecting a surface of a component, e.g. a turbine or compressor blade of a gas turbine engine. The method comprises (a) providing a probe for inspecting the component surface; (b) defining a reference surface that is offset from the component surface; (c) moving the probe so as to contact a plurality of discrete spaced apart inspection points on the component surface, each contact of the probe with an inspection point comprising a first movement of the probe from the reference surface to the inspection point; (d) retracting the probe from the component surface after each contact with an inspection point; and (e) inspecting the component surface each time the probe contacts an inspection point.

Method of inspecting a surface of a component using a probe

An inspection system for mounting on a user's hand. The inspection system comprising: an imaging unit comprising two sub-units, the first sub-unit being configured to provide images from a first point of view and the second sub-unit being configured to provide images from a second point of view; and a measuring unit configured to provide data relating to a physical property measured at a measurement location on the user's hand. The imaging unit has a separation sensor configured to measure the separation between the two sub-units of the imaging unit. A method of inspecting and/or servicing a machine is also disclosed.

Inspection system

A method comprises inspecting a ceramic matrix composite component assembled in a gas turbine engine to determine an extent of damage to the ceramic matrix composite component, determining a repair technique to repair the damage to the ceramic matrix composite component based on the extent of damage to the ceramic matrix composite component, and repairing the ceramic matrix composite component using the repair technique.

Methods for health monitoring of ceramic matrix composite components in gas turbine engines

There is provided a method of controlling a robot within an environment comprising: i) receiving, from a 3D scanner, data relating to at least a portion of the environment for constructing a 3D point cloud representing at least a portion of the environment; ii) comparing the 3D point cloud to a virtual 3D model of the environment and, based upon the comparison, determining a position of the robot; then iii) determining a movement trajectory for the robot based upon the determined position of the robot. Also provided is a control apparatus and a robot control system.

Controlling a robot in an environment

A tool for machining an object including a first part including a rotatable member that is rotatable to cause rotation of a machine tool, a second part, a joint coupling the first part and the second part to enable relative movement between the first part and the second part, and a sensor to sense an object to be machined.

Tool having rotatable member for machining an object and sensor to sense object

A hand-mounted inspection system, configured to be mounted on a user's hand, comprising: an imaging unit, configured to provide images from at least one point of view located on the user's hand; and a measuring unit, configured to provide data relating to a physical property measured at a measurement location on the user's hand. The measuring unit includes a sensor configured to provide a measurement between two measurement locations, each of the two measurement locations being located on a digit of the user's hand, a tip of a digit of the user's hand, on the phalanges of a digit of a user's hand, on the palm of the user's hand or on the back of the user's hand.

Apparatus for insertion into a cavity of an object, the apparatus comprising: a first tube comprising a first end, a second end, a first cavity extending between the first end and the second end, and an aperture at the second end; a member positioned within the first cavity of the first tube and adjacent the aperture of the first tube, the member being configured to enable an action to be performed; a plug coupled to the second end of the first tube; and an actuator configured to move the first tube relative to the object between a first position in which the plug seals the member from the cavity of the object, and a second position in which the member is exposed to the cavity of the object.

Apparatus for insertion into a cavity of an object

Methods of controlling a hyper redundant manipulator, the hyper redundant manipulator including: a plurality of sections comprising a first free end section and a second end section; and a base arranged to receive the plurality of sections in a coiled configuration, the base being coupled to the second end section of the plurality of sections, the method comprising: receiving a trajectory for movement of the plurality of sections; determining an error in position and/or orientation relative to the trajectory for one or more sections of the plurality of sections, the error being caused at least in part by the coiled configuration; and controlling movement of the one or more sections using the determined error to compensate for the error in position and/or orientation of the one or more sections.

Methods, apparatus, computer programs and non-transitory computer readable storage mediums for controlling a hyper redundant manipulator

A method of controlling at least one of a first robot and a second robot to collaborate within a system, the first robot and the second robot being physically separate to one another, the method including: receiving sensed data associated with the second robot; determining position and/or orientation of the second robot using the received sensed data; determining an action for the second robot using the determined position and/or orientation of the second robot; and providing a control signal to the second robot to cause the second robot to perform the determined action to collaborate with the first robot.

Methods, apparatus, computer programs, and non-transitory computer readable storage mediums for controlling at least one of a first robot and a second robot to collaborate within a system

Inspection apparatus for a gas turbine engine, the inspection apparatus comprising: a sensor configured to generate data; a housing having an exterior surface and configured to house the sensor therein; and one or more foam members coupled to the exterior surface of the housing, the one or more foam members being resilient to enable the inspection apparatus to be inserted into a gas turbine engine and secured between at least two surfaces of the gas turbine engine.

Inspection apparatus and methods of inspecting gas turbine engines

Growing community of inventors

Nottingham, United Kingdom

James Kell