Patents by Inventor Michael H. Shirk

Michael H. Shirk has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4415132
    Abstract: An aircraft having a fuselage and a pair of forward-swept wings includes a wing carry through extending transversely through the fuselage joining the wings together to form a unitary wing structure, two hinge assemblies, each located adjacent a different one of the wings for rotatably mounting the wing structure to the fuselage and located forwardly of the wing carry through and on a spanwise axis intersecting the aerodynamic centers of the wings, and two actuators, each located rearwardly of the hinge assemblies and extending between the fuselage and a different one of the wings for selectively rotating the wing structure about the hinge assemblies. The hinge assemblies attach the wing structure to the fuselage such that the axis of rotation of the wing structure is substantially collinear with the axis intersecting the aerodynamic centers of the wings so that relatively little force is required of the actuators to vary the angle of incidence of the wing structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1981
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1983
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventor: Michael H. Shirk