US 11,939,055 B2
Winglets with passive aeroelastic tailoring
Rikin Gupta, Ann Arbor, MI (US); Shardul Singh Panwar, Ann Arbor, MI (US); Taewoo Nam, Ann Arbor, MI (US); Ryohei Tsuruta, Ann Arbor, MI (US); and Yufei Zhu, Ypsilanti, MI (US)
Assigned to Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US); and Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota (JP)
Filed by Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Plano, TX (US)
Filed on Apr. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/721,931.
Prior Publication US 2023/0331371 A1, Oct. 19, 2023
Int. Cl. B64C 3/38 (2006.01); B64C 23/06 (2006.01); B64C 31/06 (2020.01); B64D 41/00 (2006.01)
CPC B64C 3/38 (2013.01) [B64C 23/069 (2017.05); B64C 31/06 (2013.01); B64D 41/00 (2013.01); B64C 2031/065 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An aircraft comprising:
a wing, the wing including a tip;
a winglet pivotably connected to the wing proximate the tip; and
a connecting member operatively connected to the wing and the winglet, the connecting member including a flexible material and a super elastic material member operatively connected to the flexible material, the super elastic material member being a wire, the super elastic material member being configured to exhibit a stiffness profile, the stiffness profile being non-linear and including a region of quasi-zero stiffness, whereby the connecting member allows passive movement of the winglet responsive to real-time operational forces acting upon the aircraft, the super elastic material member being arranged in a non-linear pattern on the flexible material, the pattern including a plurality of bends, turns, curves, zig-zags, and/or undulations, the pattern being configured to cause the connecting member to bend, curve, or curl in one or more directions when loaded.