Horizontal folding wingtip
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsGregory M. Santini, Seiya Sakurai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus of an aircraft, the apparatus may include a wing comprising an unfixed portion and a fixed portion. The unfixed portion movably may connect to the fixed portion. The unfixed portion may include a rotating portion to rotate the unfixed portion between a flight position and a folded position. The fixed portion may connect to the unfixed portion of the wing. A joint may allow rotation of the unfixed portion of the wing with respect to the fixed portion of the wing about a rotation axis.
Claims10
A method of folding a wing of an aircraft comprising an unfixed portion and a fixed portion, the method comprising:
- actuating a fold actuator, the fold actuator being connected to the unfixed portion and the fixed portion;
- rotating about a joint, responsive to the fold actuator actuating, a rotating portion of the unfixed portion between a flight position and folded position, such that the rotating is about a rotation axis of the joint, the rotation axis being one or more of:
- substantially vertical, and supporting a track extension of a first member in a track of the fixed portion;
- guiding, via the track, the first member transitioning between the flight position and the folded position, such that the track extension of the first member maintains contact with the track throughout the fold operation;
- and
- simultaneously rotating, about a substantially horizontal axis with respect to the rotating portion, a drop portion of the unfixed portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.