US 10,023,393 B2Granted

Robotic tossing of items in inventory system

AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.

InventorsJeremiah David Brazeau, Andrew M. Sweeney, Henry David Garcia, Fred Chen, Brian Michael Lusignan

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Robotic arms or manipulators can be used to toss inventory items within an inventory system. Tossing strategies for the robotic arms may include information about how a grasped item is to be moved and released by a robotic arm to achieve a trajectory for moving the item to a receiving location. A tossing strategy may also use a trajectory that avoids time and/or space reserved for a trajectory of another tossed item. The receiving location can include surfaces and/or other features that can be manipulated for receiving the item based on one or more characteristics of the tossed item and/or a trajectory of the tossed item.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An inventory management system, comprising:

a robotic manipulator configured to grasp any item of a plurality of items, the plurality of items including at least some items that differ from one another;
one or more receiving locations;
and
a management module configured to:
receive information about a particular item of the plurality of items;
utilize the information to identify a set of characteristics of the particular item;
determine, from among the one or more receiving locations, a designated receiving location designated for receiving the particular item, the designated receiving location having a known position relative to the robotic manipulator;
and
determine, based at least in part on the set of characteristics of the particular item and the known position of the designated receiving location, a tossing strategy for operating the robotic manipulator to move the particular item while grasped by the robotic manipulator to a release point and to release the particular item at the release point so as to cause the identified item to move along a trajectory from the release point to the known position of the designated receiving location, the trajectory having a vertical component and a horizontal component.

6 more elements

An inventory management system, comprising:

a first robotic manipulator configured for tossing items to at least one receiving location of a set of receiving locations comprising one or more receiving locations;
a second robotic manipulator configured for tossing items to at least one receiving location of the set of receiving locations;
and
a management module configured to:
determine a first trajectory of tossing a first item by the first robotic manipulator to a first receiving location in the set of receiving locations;
generate a reservation including a space range associated with the first trajectory during a certain time range;
and
generate instructions to cause the second robotic manipulator to toss a second item to the first receiving location or to another receiving location in the set of receiving locations along a second trajectory that avoids the space range associated with the first trajectory during the certain time range of the reservation.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/869,450Filed 29 Sep 2015
Published: US 2017/0088360 A130 Mar 2017
Granted: 17 Jul 2018
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

B65G 31/00
Mechanical throwing machines for articles or solid materials
B25J 9/12
Characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements: electric
B25J 9/1664
Characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators: characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning
B65G 1/1375
For fulfilling orders in warehouses: the orders being assembled on a commissioning stacker-crane or truck