Flexured sun gears for planetary gear systems

A multi-stage planetary gear system, comprising:

• a high-speed stage configured to generate a rotational force;
• and
• a low-speed stage coupled to the high-speed stage and configured to receive the rotational force from the high-speed stage, the low-speed stage having a sun gear including:
• a gear section;
• a spline section configured to couple to a carrier gear of the high-speed stage;
• and
• a flexure section configured to couple the spline section to the gear section, wherein the flexure section has a flexure wall and a flexure curve, wherein a thickness of at least a portion of the flexure section is smaller than a thickness of one or more of the spline section and the gear section, and wherein the flexure section enables the gear section to displace radially with respect to the spline section in response to the rotational force.

A method of manufacturing a sun gear for a planetary gear system, comprising:

• configuring a spline section to couple the sun gear to another component;
• configuring a gear section to mesh with at least one other gear of the planetary gear system;
• and
• disposing a flexure section between the spline section and the gear section, wherein the flexure section has a flexure wall and a flexure curve, wherein a thickness of at least a portion of the flexure section is smaller than a thickness of one or more of the spline section and the gear section, and wherein the flexure section enables the gear section to displace radially with respect to the spline section in response to a rotational force.