ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,351,307, issued on July 8, was assigned to The Boeing Co. (Arlington, Va.).
"Shortening wingspan of an aircraft" was invented by Monica Thommen (Woodinville, Wash.) and Mark Steven Good (Seattle).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an apparatus for shortening a wingspan of an aircraft is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a first link extending from a wingtip of the aircraft and moveably coupled to a fixed wing of the aircraft. A second link also extends from the wingtip and is moveably coupled to the fixed wing. An actuator is coupled to the fixed wing and to the second link. The actuator is c...