Patent ID: 8783604

Claim:
An aircraft wing comprising: plural hinged ribs that are coupled together; and wherein each of the hinged ribs includes: plural rib sections that are hingedly coupled together; and a lock; and wherein for each of the ribs, the rib can be in a stowed state, with a curved chord, or a deployed state, with the rib sections locked together with the lock, and the rib having a straightened chord; wherein the lock includes springs and pins, with the springs and pins running through a series of holes through the rib sections, with the springs and the pins of each of the locks coupled together in series; and wherein the springs pull the pins in place within the holes in the rib sections, causing the pins to move from locations in single of the rib sections when the ribs are in the stowed state, to locations where the pins span pairs of rib sections when the pins are in the deployed state, to maintain the ribs in the deployed state.