Patent 8015900 was granted and assigned to Sikorsky Aircraft on September, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A split torque gearbox system provides a multiple path, three stage power gear train that transmits torque from a high-speed engine to a low speed output shaft, while providing equal gear load distribution with a floating pinion in the second stage of reduction. The number of the split modules in the gearbox depends on gearbox configuration, number of high speed input shafts, and transmitted power. The split modules are located around a last stage output gear that combines power from each module and transmits the power to an output such as a main rotor system.