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US 12,042,824 B1Granted
Automated, single level, package sortation system
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorsJulie Mitchell, Vikas Reddy Enti, Andrea Thelen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automated, single level, package sortation system may include a conveyance mechanism, a package induct station with a first robotic arm, a first drive unit, a cart building station with a second robotic arm, a cart, and a cart transfer station. Each package and cart of the system may have an associated destination. A package may be transferred by a first robotic arm from a conveyance mechanism to a first drive unit, and then transferred by a second robotic arm from a first drive unit to a cart associated with the same destination as the package. Then, the cart may be transferred via a cart transfer station to the destination associated with the cart and all packages contained therein.
Claims20
An automated package sortation method, comprising:
- causing transfer, via a conveyor, of a plurality of packages to a package induct station;
- causing picking, by a first robotic arm, of an individual package from the plurality of packages on the conveyor, the individual package being associated with a destination;
- causing placement, by the first robotic arm, of the individual package directly onto an upper surface of a first robotic drive unit;
- causing movement, by the first robotic drive unit, of the individual package from the package induct station to a cart building station;
- causing movement, by a second robotic drive unit, of a cart from a sortation field to the cart building station, the cart being associated with a same destination as the individual package;
- causing picking, by a second robotic arm, of the individual package directly from the upper surface of the first robotic drive unit;
- causing placement, by the second robotic arm, of the individual package onto the cart;
- causing movement, by the second robotic drive unit, of the cart with the individual package from the cart building station to the sortation field;
- and
- causing movement, by a third robotic drive unit, of the cart with the individual package out of the sortation field via a cart transfer station;
- wherein the sortation field comprises at least one wall surrounding the sortation field, and the cart transfer station is associated with the at least one wall and configured to enable movement of the third robotic drive unit and the cart out of the sortation field.
8 more elements
A method, comprising:
- causing transfer, by a first robotic arm at a package induct station, of a package from a conveyance mechanism directly to an upper surface of a first drive unit;
- causing movement, by the first drive unit, of the package from the package induct station to a cart building station;
- causing transfer, by a second robotic arm at the cart building station, of the package directly from the upper surface of the first drive unit to a cart;
- causing movement, by a second drive unit, of the cart with the package from the cart building station to a sortation field;
- determining to eject the cart out of the sortation field;
- and
- responsive to determining to eject the cart, causing movement, by a third drive unit, of the cart with the package out of the sortation field via a cart transfer station;
- wherein the package and the cart are associated with a same destination;
- and
- wherein the sortation field comprises at least one wall surrounding the sortation field, and the cart transfer station is associated with the at least one wall and configured to enable movement of the third drive unit and the cart out of the sortation field.
7 more elements
An automated package sortation system, comprising:
- a conveyance mechanism configured to transfer a plurality of packages to a plurality of package induct stations;
- the plurality of package induct stations including respective first robotic arms, the first robotic arms configured to transfer respective packages from the conveyance mechanism directly to respective upper surfaces of a plurality of first drive units, respective packages being associated with respective destinations;
- the plurality of first drive units configured to transfer respective packages between the plurality of package induct stations and a plurality of cart building stations;
- the plurality of cart building stations including respective second robotic arms, the second robotic arms configured to transfer respective packages directly from the respective upper surfaces of the plurality of first drive units to a plurality of carts moved by a plurality of second drive units, respective ones of the plurality of carts being associated with respective destinations;
- the plurality of second drive units configured to move respective carts between the plurality of cart building stations and a sortation field configured to receive and store the plurality of carts;
- and
- a plurality of cart transfer stations configured to eject respective carts out of the sortation field or to inject empty carts into the sortation field;
- wherein the sortation field comprises at least one wall surrounding the sortation field, and the plurality of cart transfer stations are associated with the at least one wall and configured to enable movement of respective carts and associated second drive units out of the sortation field and empty carts and associated second drive units into the sortation field.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.