Patents by Inventor Larry L. Herrick

Larry L. Herrick 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: 6089502
    Abstract: An airplane having a fuselage (11), opposed main wings (12), and blunt-leading-edge raked wingtips (8) is provided. Each main wing includes an outboard end (9) and a leading edge (14) having an outboard end leading-edge nose and nose radius. One blunt raked wingtip (8) is located at each main wing outboard end (9) and includes a leading edge (20) swept back from the main wing leading edge (14). Each blunt raked wingtip (8) further includes a plurality of local airfoils each having a leading-edge nose radius and a chord. The nose radius is greater than about 2% of the local chord for the majority of the airfoils. The relative bluntness of the raked wingtips minimizes boundary-layer separation, drag associated with boundary-layer separation, and premature buffeting of the aircraft during low speed flight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2000
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Larry L. Herrick, C. Byram Bays-Muchmore, Michael S. Hoffman, Louis L. LeGrand, Steven S. Ogg, Bernard P. Paul, Jr., Kenneth D. Visser, Stephen L. Wells