ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,276,230, issued on April 15, was assigned to RTX Corp. (Farmington, Conn.).

"Variable transmission driven fuel pump for a gas turbine engine" was invented by Neal R. Herring (East Hampton, Conn.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A fuel system for a gas turbine engine includes a fuel pump to provide fuel flow during engine operation and a transmission system that includes an output shaft coupled to drive the fuel pump, and an input shaft driven through a mechanical link to a shaft of the gas turbine engine. The output shaft drives the fuel pump at a variable speed that is independent of a rotational speed of the input shaft."

The patent was ...