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US4662587A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Composite for aircraft wing and method of making

Assignee: Boeing Co
•
Filing: 1985-06-10
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Granted: 1987-05-05
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Expires: 2005-06-10
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Abstract

Abstract A pair of specially reinforced skin-spar joints in combination with a honeycomb core are used to build up a wing spar for a composite airplane wing. A series of contoured mandrels with a covering of fuel resistant material and a wrapped reinforced plastic are aligned one above the other. The wing spar materials are placed between the mandrels, honeycomb core is located alongside as well as wing skins to form a wing buildup. The buildup is placed in a mold, pressure applied to each mandrel forcing all the parts together, and the buildup heated to cure the resins and form a composite wing structure.

Inventors

  • 👤 Philip C. Whitener

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-04 00:17
CPC Classifications
B; B64; B64C; B64C3/00; B64C3/18; B64C3/185; B29; B29C; B29C70/00; B29C70/04; B29C70/06; B29C70/08; B29C70/10; B29C70/16; B29C70/24; B29C70/28; B29C70/40; B29C70/50; B29D; B29D24/00; B29D24/001; B29D24/002; B29D24/005; B29D24/008; B29D99/00; B29D99/0003; B29C53/00; B29C53/56; B29C53/58; B29L; B29L2031/00; B29L2031/30; B29L2031/3076; B29L2031/3085; B29L2031/767; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T50/00; Y02T50/40; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/24; Y10T428/24058; Y10T428/24074; Y10T428/24091; Y10T428/24099; Y10T428/24149; Y10T428/24174

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 4
Claim 1
Independent Claim 185 words
A contoured composite structure comprising: a contoured outer skin, a series of longitudinally extending spars each having an integral load bearing skin-spar joint at extremities adjacent the skins and honeycomb core between the joints, honeycomb core adjacent the skins to extend between the joints, a cell of reinforced plastic coating each space between adjacent spars and the honeycomb alongside the skins, a plastic liner inside each cell, and the parts all bonded together into a composite structure wherein each skin-spar joint comprises: an elongated essentially T-shaped cross section having a wide body and thick arms, a resin impregnated woven fabric panel to extend straight across the underside of the arms and interwovenly intersecting a pair of resin impregnated woven fabric panels along the outside of the body that extend through the arms, a reinforcing core contacting all the panels in the body area, a second reinforcing core contacting all the panels in the area of the extension of the pair of panels, a pair of reinforcing chords in the arms adjacent the second core, and the resins cured to make up a composite skin-spar joint.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 185 words
A contoured composite structure comprising: a contoured outer skin, a series of longitudinally extending spars each having an integral load bearing skin-spar joint at extremities adjacent the skins and honeycomb core between the joints, honeycomb core adjacent the skins to extend between the joints, a cell of reinforced plastic coating each space between adjacent spars and the honeycomb alongside the skins, a plastic liner inside each cell, and the parts all bonded together into a composite structure wherein each skin-spar joint comprises: an elongated essentially T-shaped cross section having a wide body and thick arms, a resin impregnated woven fabric panel to extend straight across the underside of the arms and interwovenly intersecting a pair of resin impregnated woven fabric panels along the outside of the body that extend through the arms, a reinforcing core contacting all the panels in the body area, a second reinforcing core contacting all the panels in the area of the extension of the pair of panels, a pair of reinforcing chords in the arms adjacent the second core, and the resins cured to make up a composite skin-spar joint.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 27 words
A contoured composite structure as in claim 1, further comprising: the pair of reinforcing chords in the arms having varying load bearing properties in a spanwise direction.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 21 words
A contoured composite structure as in claim 1, further comprising the intermediate second core having crisscrossing reinforcing to resist torsional loads.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US2754915A Cited
US3641230A Cited
US3771748A Cited
US3910531A Cited
US3962506A Cited
US4051289A Cited
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1990-05-04 1990-11-03 1991-05-05 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1994-05-04 1994-11-03 1995-05-05 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1998-05-04 1998-11-03 1999-05-05 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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