ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,296,984, issued on May 13, was assigned to The Boeing Co. (Arlington, Va.).
"Assembly line fabrication and assembly of aircraft wings" was invented by Daniel R. Smith (Woodinville, Wash.) and Darrell D. Jones (Mill Creek, Wash.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Systems and methods are provided for assembling a wing. Methods include suspending an upper wing panel of an aircraft beneath a shuttle, translating a rib to a position it, and placing the rib into contact with, then affixing the rib to, the upper wing panel, while suspended. Some methods include installing ribs and spars to the upper wing panel, and joining a lower wing panel to the...