US 11,840,361 B1
Magnetic handling systems for hat stringers and related methods
Jonathan Young Ahn, Seattle, WA (US); Christopher Robert Brown, Seattle, WA (US); Ricardo Andreas Fritzke, Sammamish, WA (US); Shuonan Dong, Seattle, WA (US); Bonnie Ann Keefe, Everett, WA (US); and Jonathan Alejandro Santiago, Seattle, WA (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Aug. 15, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/888,381.
Int. Cl. B64F 5/10 (2017.01); B25J 15/06 (2006.01); B64C 1/06 (2006.01)
CPC B64F 5/10 (2017.01) [B64C 1/064 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A magnetic handling system for a hat stringer which comprises a wall having a plurality of wall portions that define a stringer interior volume, the magnetic handling system comprising:
a bladder configured to be received within the stringer interior volume of the hat stringer and comprising a magnetic insert,wherein the magnetic insert comprises a plurality of magnetic walls each being positioned and oriented to extend at least substantially aligned with a respective wall portion of the plurality of wall portions of the hat stringer,
a magnetic carriage system comprising a carriage configured to be coupled to a support structure and comprising a magnetic head, wherein the magnetic head comprises a bracket and a plurality of magnetic sources supported by the bracket, wherein each magnetic source is configured to magnetically couple with a respective magnetic wall of the magnetic insert to produce an attractive magnetic force therebetween; and
wherein the plurality of magnetic sources and the plurality of magnetic walls are configured to magnetically couple with one another to produce a plurality of attractive magnetic forces therebetween that are oriented along a plurality of different directions.