Patent ID: 8905350

Claim:
A stiffened panel comprising: a skin; and at least one stiffener, known as a longitudinal stiffener, extending substantially from one extremity of the panel to another extremity of the panel on a first face of the panel, wherein a trace of the longitudinal stiffener on a surface of the skin follows a path having a non-zero geodesic curvature between the one extremity and the another extremity of the panel, wherein the longitudinal stiffener includes a plurality of plies, each of the plurality of plies including a first ply segment offset from a second ply segment in a direction perpendicular to the trace of the longitudinal stiffener, wherein the first ply segment includes an edge following a contour of the trace of the longitudinal stiffener, wherein an edge of a second ply of the plurality of plies overlays an edge of a first ply of the plurality of plies over a first overlay length substantially centered on the trace of the longitudinal stiffener, wherein an edge of a third ply of the plurality of plies overlays the edge of the second ply of the plurality of plies over a second overlay length substantially centered on the trace of the longitudinal stiffener, and wherein an edge of a fourth ply of the plurality of plies overlays the edge of the third ply of the plurality of plies over a third overlay length substantially centered on the trace of the longitudinal stiffener.