Patent ID: 7699270
Filing Date: 2010-04-20
Classification: B64C

Abstract:
1. A wing with a changeable wing profile, wherein the wing is bounded by a wing leading edge, a wing trailing edge, and a wing outboard end edge that extends in a wing chord direction from the wing leading edge to the wing trailing edge, and wherein the wing comprises a leading edge region along the wing leading edge and a trailing edge region along the wing trailing edge opposite one another with respect to a wing chord direction, a first cover skin and a second cover skin spaced apart from one another by spars therebetween, a wing tip region that is arranged at an outboard end of the wing with respect to a wingspan direction and that is bounded by the wing outboard end edge and the wing trailing edge, and a flexible region by which the wing tip region is connected with a main wing body of the wing and by which the wing profile of the flexible region is adjustable by changing a curvature or camber thereof about at least one curvature axis extending essentially perpendicularly to the leading edge region and obliquely non-parallel relative to the wing chord direction in a direction that includes both a first component in the wing chord direction and a second component in the wingspan direction, characterized in that the flexible region comprises several longitudinally extending torsion boxes that are arranged next to one another and that are each respectively formed of the first cover skin, the second cover skin and at least one of the spars, and further comprising an adjusting mechanism adapted to change a shape of the torsion boxes and therewith change the curvature or camber of the wing profile of the flexible region in response to a corresponding control signal, wherein the wing tip region comprises an end piece arranged and adapted to permit a compensation of a mutual relative sliding displacement of the first cover skin relative to the second cover skin with the change of the curvature or camber of the flexible region due to the change of the shape of the torsion boxes, wherein the flexible region extends from the leading edge region to the trailing edge region of the wing and between the main wing body and the wing tip region, and wherein the leading edge region extends with a positive oblique sweepback angle relative to the wing chord direction, and the flexible region is arranged with the spars thereof extending longitudinally essentially perpendicularly to the leading edge region, and angled obliquely non-parallel to the wing outboard end edge and the wing chord direction.