ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 25 -- United States Patent no. 12,337,551, issued on June 24, was assigned to THE BOEING COMPANY (Arlington, Va.).
"Automated fiber placement roller" was invented by Julie Frances Murphy (Puyallup, Wash.), Adam La Gorce (Maple Valley, Wash.), Kevin F. Malik (Seattle), Alexandra K. Dillon (Seattle) and Richard V. Phillips (Preston, Idaho).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A roller for automated fiber placement includes a flexible rim member arranged about a central axis. The flexible rim member has an inner side and an outer side, and the central axis is closer to the inner side than to the outer side. The roller also includes a hub member arranged substantially concentric wi...