Patents Examined by Thomas Randazzo
  • Patent number: 12290841
    Abstract: A package sort cell includes a robot with an end of arm tool for transporting packages from an in-feed conveyor to a selected one of a plurality of out-feed conveyors or bins, the robot receiving instruction from the package reader as to which of the plurality of conveyors or bins to hand-off the package. An end of arm tool may be in the configuration of a conveyor which may be aligned with the out-feed conveyor on a bottom up movement. The end of arm tool may also be in the configuration of a hanging carriage frame suspending a conveyor in a top down movement. A worker platform may be provided which may be movable between in-use and out-of-use positions whereby upon robot downtime, the platform may move into the in-use position for a worker to temporarily takeover the transfer functions of the robot. A plurality of sort cells may be arranged in side by side relation adjacent a like plurality of package delivery points (e.g.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2024
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: InTunes Products, LLC
    Inventors: Michael Marseglia, Michael Fisher, Scott Baube, Christopher Angevine, Greggory Bartoo, Dennis O'Neill, Austin Smith
  • Patent number: 12279918
    Abstract: A surgical tray efficiency system comprising a vertical rack assembly for holding and displaying a plurality of surgical instrument trays, a sterile barrier covering the vertical rack assembly and including tray location identifiers, and a standardization software platform including a customizable interactive planogram is described. The customizable interactive planogram software helps operating room staff arrange the instrument trays on the vertical rack assembly according to a predetermined customizable location ID, and create/load/access information related to the surgical procedure/trays/instruments before, during, and after the surgery.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Flex Operating Room, LLC
    Inventor: Jeffrey Gerstner
  • Patent number: 12282321
    Abstract: A processing system for processing objects using a programmable motion device is disclosed. The processing system includes a perception unit for perceiving identifying indicia representative of an identity of a plurality of objects received from an input conveyance system, and an acquisition system for acquiring an object from the plurality of objects at an input area using an end effector of the programmable motion device. The programmable motion device is adapted for assisting in the delivery of the object to an identified processing location. The identified processing location is associated with the identifying indicia and the identified processing location is provided as one of a plurality of processing locations. The system also includes a delivery system for receiving the object in a carrier and for delivering the object toward the identified processing location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Wagner, Kevin Ahearn, John Richard Amend, Jr., Benjamin Cohen, Michael Dawson-Haggerty, William Hartman Fort, Christopher Geyer, Jennifer Eileen King, Thomas Koletschka, Michael Cap Koval, Kyle Maroney, Matthew T. Mason, William Chu-Hyon Mcmahan, Gene Temple Price, Joseph Romano, Daniel Smith, Siddhartha Srinivasa, Prasanna Velagapudi, Thomas Allen
  • Patent number: 12283064
    Abstract: A control apparatus includes a first information acquiring section that acquires three-dimensional information of a first region of surfaces of a plurality of objects, the information being obtained by imaging or scanning the plurality of objects from a first location; a second information acquiring section that acquires three-dimensional information of a second region of surfaces of the plurality of objects, the information being obtained by imaging or scanning the plurality of objects from a second location; and a combining section that generates information indicating three-dimensional shapes of at least a portion of the surfaces of the plurality of objects, based on the three-dimensional information of the first region acquired by the first information acquiring section and the three-dimensional information of the second region acquired by the second information acquiring section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: MUJIN, INC.
    Inventors: Rosen Diankov, Xutao Ye, Ziyan Zhou
  • Patent number: 12276131
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a management system includes a vehicle management device configured to manage parking of a vehicle in a parking space and delivery of the vehicle from the parking space, and a vehicle conveying device configured to be able to convey the vehicle in forward-backward and widthwise directions of the vehicle. The vehicle management device includes a controller configured to control the vehicle conveying device so that the vehicle is conveyed to the parking space when a request for parking the vehicle located within a section where parking in the parking space is able to be requested has been received.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naoto Shikano, Tomoki Murozono, Shuhei Kondo, Koji Masuda, Ryoma Taguchi
  • Patent number: 12275606
    Abstract: A facility including a loading dock having a plurality of dock doors to accommodate vehicles or trailers for loading pallets, a staging area located proximate to the loading dock, and a plurality of loading zones. The staging area includes a plurality of staging lanes of finished products. Each staging lane is stocked with the finished products from the facility. Each of the plurality of loading zones includes a subset of the plurality of dock doors and a corresponding subset of staging lanes located proximate to the subset of the plurality of dock doors for supplying pallets for loading into vehicles docked at the subset of the plurality of dock doors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: Niagara Bottling, LLC
    Inventor: Andrew Dimitri Peykoff, Sr.
  • Patent number: 12275587
    Abstract: A control device is provided to more quickly and efficiently verify which item has been grasped by a robot system whilst also providing a solution which is scalable. Verification of the item which has been grasped is achieved by measuring a dynamics property of the item. A control unit for operation with a robot system a sensor unit, the robot system arranged to grasp an item from a container. The control unit includes a verification unit arranged to receive identifying information of an item expected to be in the container, receive information from the sensor unit indicative of a dynamics property of the item grasped by the robot system and verify that the item grasped by the robot system matches the item expected to be in the container based on the received identifying information and the received dynamics property information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 15, 2025
    Assignee: OCADO INNOVATION LIMITED
    Inventors: Graham Deacon, Osemwaro Jeremiah Pedro, Christos Makris
  • Patent number: 12269679
    Abstract: A customisable modular storage system is described where goods are stored in containers and the containers are stored in stacks. The stacks are contained within towers formed of stacks of bin receiving units. A grid network of tracks is provided on the top of the bin receiving units upon which load handling devices run. The load handling devices take containers from the stacks and deposit them at alternative locations in the stacks or deposit then at stations where goods may be picked out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: OCADO INNOVATION LIMITED
    Inventors: Lars Sverker Ture Lindbo, Paul Clarke, Andrew John Ingram-Tedd
  • Patent number: 12264011
    Abstract: This document generally describes warehousing systems that can, in certain instances, improve the efficiency of warehousing operations and improve utilization of available space in a warehousing facility. The warehousing system may be implemented in an automated warehouse, such as an automated cold-storage facility, that uses programmable equipment to automate tasks associated with warehousing operations, such as transporting inbound storage items to specified storage positions of storage racks in the warehouse and removing outbound storage items from storage so that they may be loaded onto trucks for delivery away from the warehouse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Assignee: Lineage Logistics, LLC
    Inventors: Elliott Gerard Wolf, Christopher Eckman, Brian Gutschow
  • Patent number: 12265941
    Abstract: Disclosed are a checking apparatus, a backend apparatus, a checking management system, and a checking method. The checking apparatus comprises: a navigation trolley and a liftable checking module, wherein the liftable checking module is arranged on the navigation trolley, the liftable checking module moves under control of the navigation trolley so as to obtain, through the movement, depth information of an article pile to be checked, and the navigation trolley is used for determining side length information of the article pile based on the depth information, determining a checking result for the article pile based on the side length information, and sending the checking result to the backend apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2025
    Assignees: LINGDONG TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO. LTD., DSC LOGISTICS (BEIJING) CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Liang Sui, Jiale Qian
  • Patent number: 12258212
    Abstract: An automated biological or chemical sample processing system includes a dock frame and at least one dock frame module. The dock frame includes at least one docking interface that operably couples and interfaces the dock frame with laboratory equipment. The dock frame defines a spine structure of the system alongside which a variable number of laboratory equipment are arrayed. The dock frame extends longitudinally and has a variable elongated configuration and longitudinal length. The at least one dock frame module includes the docking interface, where each module is interchangeable with another module, and has control features with a predetermined relationship to a reference datum of the dock frame module and with a reference datum of the dock frame so that the at least one dock frame module is interchangeably coupled in linear configuration with at least the other dock frame module to select the variable elongated configuration and longitudinal length.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2025
    Assignee: HIGHRES BIOSOLUTIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Louis Guarracina, Ulysses Gilchrist
  • Patent number: 12251829
    Abstract: A method of processing objects using a programmable motion device is disclosed. The method includes the steps of providing an input conveyance system by which input bins of objects may be provided to a processing station that includes the programmable motion device that includes an end effector, perceiving at the processing station identifying indicia representative of an identity of a plurality of objects at an input area of the input conveyance system, grasping the an acquired object using the end effector, moving the acquired object toward an identified processing container using the programmable motion device, the identified processing container being associated with the identifying indicia and said identified processing container being provided as one of a plurality of processing containers at the processing station, and providing an output conveyance system in communication with the processing station, by which processing containers that contain processed objects may be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: Berkshire Grey Operating Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Thomas Wagner, Kevin Ahearn, Benjamin Cohen, Michael Dawson-Haggerty, Christopher Geyer, Victoria Hinchey, Thomas Koletschka, Kyle Maroney, Matthew T. Mason, Gene Temple Price, Joseph Romano, Daniel Smith, Siddhartha Srinivasa, Prasanna Velagapudi, Thomas Allen
  • Patent number: 12252338
    Abstract: A method for turning robots at an intersection of tracks. The robot moves in a first motion mode to reach a first position at the intersection. The robot turns over a corner of the intersection that includes continuous tracks connecting a vertical track and a horizontal track, whereby reaching a second position at the intersection. The robot moves in a second motion mode towards a designated direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2025
    Assignee: GET FABRIC LTD
    Inventors: Shay Cohen, Guy Blotnik, Nadav Laor
  • Patent number: 12246929
    Abstract: A method for operating a gripper includes determining a first transport attachment of a plurality of transport attachments to use for moving a piece good and determining whether the first transport attachment is fixed in a first gripping jaw of the gripper, wherein the gripper includes a drop table having at least one storage and dispensing end face; the first gripping jaw and a second gripping jaw each arranged above the drop table and fastened to a gripping jaw guide arrangement, wherein the first gripping jaw has a gripper coupler at an end portion opposite the gripping jaw guide arrangement; and a transport attachment of the plurality of transport attachments with an attachment coupler, wherein the gripper coupler and the attachment coupler interact with one another so that the transport attachment is releasably fixed at the end portion of the first gripping jaw. Grippers and transport systems are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH
    Inventors: Dietmar Gross, Stephan Brokonier, Heinrich Paul Martini
  • Patent number: 12246918
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for delivering items to a plurality of storage locations is provided. The system includes a plurality of storage locations. The storage locations may be positioned to provide an aisle and a plurality of delivery vehicles may be operable within the aisle to deliver items to the storage locations. The system may include a track that the guides the vehicles to the storage locations. A reorientation assembly may be provided for re-orienting the vehicles relative to the track to reduce misalignment between the vehicles and the track.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: OPEX Corporation
    Inventors: Michael York, Joseph Lakawicz, Stuart Ligo
  • Patent number: 12246920
    Abstract: A tray transport apparatus comprises a reception portion configured to receive a container configured to accommodate a stack formed by stacking a plurality of trays, an accommodation portion configured to accommodate the stack, the accommodation portion being disposed above the reception portion, a transfer unit configured to lift the stack from the container to separate the stack from the container and transfer the stack to the accommodation portion, and a transport unit configured to unload a tray located at a lowermost portion of the stack accommodated in the accommodation portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 11, 2025
    Assignee: HIRATA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Shuichi Komuro, Yoichi Hirasawa
  • Patent number: 12240696
    Abstract: A control unit provided in an automated warehouse system includes a misalignment determination unit that, after storage of an article in a storage rack, determines whether or not an article is estimated to have been subjected to vibration exceeding a predetermined threshold value, and a misalignment correction instruction unit that, if the misalignment determination unit determined that the article is estimated to have been subjected to vibration exceeding the predetermined threshold value, outputs a control signal to a transport device to drive the transport device to execute a misalignment correction operation with respect to the placement position of the article.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: Daifuku Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Wataru Kiyokawa, Kenji Hasegawa
  • Patent number: 12240701
    Abstract: Provided are a container transporting apparatus for storing items such as FOUPs and reticle pods by utilizing the dead zone space located in an upper portion of the semiconductor manufacturing facility built in the FAB, and a container storage system having the same. The container storage system may include a first storage unit installed on a side of a movement path of a transporting device for transporting a container accommodating a substrate and for storing the container; a second storage unit installed on a side of the first storage unit and for storing the container; and a transporting unit moving between the first storage unit and the second storage unit and for transporting the container stored in the first storage unit to the second storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: SEMES Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jun Sang Ahn, Sun Oh Kim, Chan Young Noh
  • Patent number: 12243117
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to verifying an initial object estimation of an object. A two-dimensional (2D) image representative of an environment including one or more objects may be obtained. The 2D image may be inspected to detect edges of an object. The edges may be processed to verify or update an initial object estimation to increase the accuracy of an object detection result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: Mujin, Inc.
    Inventors: Jinze Yu, Jose Jeronimo Moreira Rodrigues
  • Patent number: 12236393
    Abstract: Systems, method and computer readable medium are provided for automated storage and retrieval. User authentication information is received via a user interface for a dynamic storage and retrieval device. The user identity is verified based upon the authentication information and previously stored authentication data. Order information is retrieved for an order associated with the user following the verifying of user identity, the order information indicating one or more locations for items associated with the order. Instructions are transmitted to initiate a physical opening of at least one of the dynamic storage and retrieval device and at least one static storage location to enable the user to retrieve at least one item of the order, the static storage location including a controller controlling a locking mechanism and communicatively coupled to the dynamic storage and retrieval device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2025
    Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC
    Inventors: Paul Edward Durkee, Stuart William Clark, Colin Holmes, Jason D. Shaffer, Mark R. Ibbotson, John Suarez