Patent ID: 11919617
Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 16:
17. An aircraft comprising:
a first circumferential section comprising a first skin and first stringers;
a second circumferential section comprising a second skin and second stringers; and
a circumferential splice that affixes the first circumferential section to the second circumferential section;
wherein the first skin includes a lip and a shoulder, and the second skin forms a lap join with the first skin by overlapping the lip of the first skin;
wherein the circumferential splice comprises:
a filler placed on flanges of the second stringers and aligned with an end of the lip such that a combined thickness of the filler and a flange of a second stringer is equal to a combined thickness of the lip and a flange of a first stringer to form a flat plane;
splice fittings straddled across the lap join between the first stringers and the second stringers on the flat plane;
fasteners driven through the first skin, flanges of the first stringers, and the splice fittings; and
fasteners driven through the second skin, the flanges of the second stringers, the filler, and the splice fittings.