Patents by Inventor Edward A. MacDonald

Edward A. MacDonald 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).

  • Publication number: 20250128881
    Abstract: An automated storage and retrieval system for filling goods in containers, the system including multilevel container storage, each level with transport area and storage area, storage area including storage shelves configured to hold containers, transport area being arranged to connect storage shelves to each other, transport area including picking aisles and a container transfer deck autonomous guided container transport vehicle, located on each level of the multilevel storage and configured to traverse the container transfer deck and picking aisles and transport containers to one goods operation station, a putwall of more than one levels of goods container stations, wherein the putwall communicates with the one goods operation station to receive goods from one goods operation station in the goods container stations and a controller configured to effect operation of one autonomous guided container transport vehicle between the container storage locations and goods container located at goods container station
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2024
    Publication date: April 24, 2025
    Inventors: Jeffrey Adam Traina, Edward Macdonald
  • Patent number: 12280953
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, a lift includes at least one load handling device configured so as to reciprocate along a lift axis, the load handling device including a frame forming a payload section with a payload support surface having a common elevation configured to hold one or more pickfaces at the common elevation of the payload support surface, at least one transfer arm movably mounted to the frame, and a drive section connected to the load handling device and being configured to move the load handling device along the lift axis, wherein the one or more pickfaces carried in unison by the payload support surface of the at least one load handling device, define an order sequence of pickfaces on the at least one load handling device according to a predetermined case out order sequence of mixed cases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2025
    Assignee: Symbotic LLC
    Inventors: Kirill K. Pankratov, Juergen D. Conrad, Robert Hsiung, William Johnson, Jr., Edward A. Macdonald, Larry M. Sweet
  • Publication number: 20250091848
    Abstract: An autonomous transport robot for transporting a payload, autonomous transport robot including, frame with integral payload support that has a payload seat surface defining a payload datum position that determines predetermined payload position relative to autonomous transport robot, transfer arm connected to the frame and configured for autonomous transfer of payload to and from the frame, one caster wheel mounted to frame, drive section with a pair of traction drive wheels astride the drive section, drive section being connected to the frame, wherein the one caster wheel and one traction drive wheel of the pair of traction drive wheels roll, on a rolling surface effecting autonomous transport robot traversal over the rolling surface, each having a fully independent suspension, and are disposed on the frame astride the integral payload support so that the payload seat surface at the payload datum position is disposed at minimum distance above the rolling surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 26, 2024
    Publication date: March 20, 2025
    Inventors: Akram ZAHDEH, Todd KEPPLE, Edward MACDONALD
  • Publication number: 20250011086
    Abstract: A product order fulfillment system of mixed product units, the system includes a storage array, an automated transport system, with at least one asynchronous transport system, for level transport, and a lift for between level transport, communicably connected to the storage array so as to automatically retrieve and output, from an output of the storage array, product units distributed in cases in a common part of the storage array. The at least one asynchronous transport system, and the lift are configured so as to form more than one transport echelon, each echelon being communicably connected with the common part and the output, and each effecting orthogonal sortation, corresponding to the transport echelon, of the product units distributed in the common part, so that sorted mixed output product units of the corresponding transport echelon are in predetermined sequence.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2024
    Publication date: January 9, 2025
    Inventors: Matthew Medford, Elizabeth Clark-Polner, Jeffrey Adam Traina, Edward Macdonald, Colton Ebersold
  • Publication number: 20250008050
    Abstract: Multiple framings of a video may define different positionings of a viewing window at different moments within the video. The positionings of the viewing window defined by the multiple framings may be used as fixed positionings of the viewing window in a viewing path. The viewing path may define changes in the positioning of the viewing window between the fixed positionings. A presentation of the video may be generated to include the extents of the video within the viewing window.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2024
    Publication date: January 2, 2025
    Inventors: Daryl Stimm, Kyler William Schwartz, William Edward MacDonald
  • Patent number: 12168572
    Abstract: A warehousing system includes a multilevel container storage array each level of which has a transport area and a storage area, a container transport vehicle located on each level to transport containers to and from container storage locations on each storage shelf on each level of the multilevel storage array to a breakpack operation station, a putwall of more than one levels of breakpack goods container stations distributed along each level with a corresponding breakpack goods transfer deck at each level of the putwall, a breakpack goods transport vehicle that transports breakpack goods along the corresponding breakpack goods transfer deck, and between corresponding breakpack goods transfer decks at different levels of the putwall, to each breakpack goods container station, and a controller effecting operation of the container transport vehicle between the container storage locations, the breakpack operation station, and a breakpack goods container located at a breakpack goods container station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2024
    Assignee: Symbotic LLC
    Inventors: Jeffrey Adam Traina, Edward Macdonald
  • Patent number: 12162682
    Abstract: A storage array system including an open undeterministic transport surface, a navigation array disposed in connection with the transport surface, the navigation array includes a distributed feature, a first waypoint at a first position of the distributed feature, a second waypoint displaced from the first waypoint along the distributed feature and offset with respect to the first waypoint in a direction angled to the distributed feature, and a guided bot, arranged to traverse the transport surface, with a non-holonomic steering system, the guided bot having a bot pose determination system employing sensor data detecting the distributed feature, wherein the guided bot includes a controller configured to generate a substantially smooth curved bot traverse path on the transport surface connecting the first and second waypoints with a predetermined optimal trajectory of the guided bot along the traverse path determined based on a bot dynamic model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: Symbotic LLC
    Inventors: Edward A MacDonald, Forrest Buzan, John F Keating, Juergen D Conrad, Armin Ataei-Esfahani
  • Publication number: 20240406652
    Abstract: Devices and methods for determining a direction of audio arrival from Ambisonics channels using azimuth and elevation segments is described herein. A method includes generating multiple blocks of samples from Ambisonics signals for a time interval, determining an azimuth angle estimate and an elevation angle estimate for the time interval when a defined number of blocks in the multiple blocks of samples are valid, generating the azimuth angle estimate based on maximum number of azimuth angle estimates present in an azimuth segment amongst a defined number of azimuth segments, and generating the elevation angle estimates based on maximum number of elevation angle estimates present in an elevation segment amongst a defined number of elevation segments, where the direction of arrival of the Ambisonics signals is based on the azimuth angle estimate and the elevation angle estimate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2023
    Publication date: December 5, 2024
    Inventors: Hakim Mesiwala, Eric Steven Penrod, Erich Tisch, Mark Hardin, Timothy Dick, William Edward MacDonald
  • Patent number: 12151922
    Abstract: An autonomous transport robot for transporting a payload is provided and includes a frame with an integral payload support, a transfer arm connected to the frame for autonomous transfer of payload to and from the frame, and a drive section with at least a pair of traction drive wheels astride the drive section, the drive section being connected to the frame. The at least the pair of traction drive wheels have a fully independent suspension coupling each traction drive wheel of the at least the pair of traction drive wheels to the frame, with at least one intervening pivot link between at least one traction drive wheel and the frame configured to maintain a substantially steady state traction contact patch between the at least one traction drive wheel and a rolling surface over rolling surface transients throughout traverse of the at least one traction drive wheel over the rolling surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 26, 2024
    Assignee: Symbotic LLC
    Inventors: Akram Zahdeh, Todd Kepple, Edward MacDonald
  • Patent number: 12116205
    Abstract: An automated storage and retrieval system including at least one autonomous rover for transferring payload within the system and including a communicator, a multilevel storage structure, each level allowing traversal of the at least one autonomous rover, at least one registration station disposed at predetermined locations on each level and being configured to communicate with the communicator to at least receive rover identification information, and a controller in communication with the at least one registration station and configured to receive the at least rover identification information and at least one of register the at least one autonomous rover as being on a level corresponding to a respective one of the at least one registration station or deregister the at least one autonomous rover from the system, where the controller effects induction of the at least one autonomous rover into a predetermined rover space on the level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: Symbotic LLC
    Inventors: Forrest Buzan, Edward A. MacDonald, Taylor A. Apgar, Thomas A. Schaefer, Melanie Ziegler, Russell G. Barbour
  • Patent number: 12101574
    Abstract: Multiple framings of a video may define different positionings of a viewing window at different moments within the video. The positionings of the viewing window defined by the multiple framings may be used as fixed positionings of the viewing window in a viewing path. The viewing path may define changes in the positioning of the viewing window between the fixed positionings. A presentation of the video may be generated to include the extents of the video within the viewing window.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignee: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventors: Daryl Stimm, Kyler William Schwartz, William Edward MacDonald
  • Patent number: 12091247
    Abstract: A product order fulfillment system of mixed product units, the system includes a storage array, an automated transport system, with at least one asynchronous transport system, for level transport, and a lift for between level transport, communicably connected to the storage array so as to automatically retrieve and output, from an output of the storage array, product units distributed in cases in a common part of the storage array. The at least one asynchronous transport system, and the lift are configured so as to form more than one transport echelon, each echelon being communicably connected with the common part and the output, and each effecting orthogonal sortation, corresponding to the transport echelon, of the product units distributed in the common part, so that sorted mixed output product units of the corresponding transport echelon are in predetermined sequence.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2024
    Assignee: Symbotic LLC
    Inventors: Matthew Medford, Elizabeth Clark-Polner, Jeffrey Adam Traina, Edward Macdonald, Colton Ebersold
  • Publication number: 20240144414
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for image processing of spherical content via hardware acceleration components. In one embodiment, an EAC image is subdivided into facets via existing software addressing and written into the memory buffers (normally used for rectilinear cubemaps) in a graphics processing unit (GPU). The EAC facets may be translated, rotated, and/or mirrored so as to align with the expected three-dimensional (3D) coordinate space. The GPU may use existing hardware accelerator logic, parallelization, and/or addressing logic to greatly improve 3D image processing effects (such as a multi-band blend using Gaussian blurs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2024
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Applicant: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventors: William Edward MacDonald, Kyler William Schwartz, David A. Newman
  • Patent number: 11939161
    Abstract: An autonomous rover including a frame having a first end and a second end longitudinally spaced from the first end and forming a payload bay, the payload bay being sized to support a pickface, a common active registration surface configured to engage the pickface, and a drive section connected to the common active registration surface, the drive section being configured to variably position the common active registration surface relative to at least one storage shelf of an automated storage and retrieval system to effect placement of the pickface on the storage shelf so that pickfaces are substantially continuously arranged along the at least one storage shelf with a predetermined storage spacing between the pickfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Symbotic LLC
    Inventors: Forrest Buzan, Michael Cyrulik, Aria Reynolds, Jason S. Sirois, Larry Sweet, Edward A. MacDonald, Taylor A. Apgar, Timothy Perrault, Stephen C. Toebes
  • Publication number: 20240051754
    Abstract: In accordance with one or more aspects of the disclosed embodiment, a lift includes at least one load handling device configured so as to reciprocate along a lift axis, the load handling device including a frame forming a payload section with a payload support surface having a common elevation configured to hold one or more pickfaces at the common elevation of the payload support surface, at least one transfer arm movably mounted to the frame, and a drive section connected to the load handling device and being configured to move the load handling device along the lift axis, wherein the one or more pickfaces carried in unison by the payload support surface of the at least one load handling device, define an order sequence of pickfaces on the at least one load handling device according to a predetermined case out order sequence of mixed cases.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2023
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Inventors: Kirill K. PANKRATOV, Juergen D. CONRAD, Robert HSIUNG, William JOHNSON, JR., Edward A. MACDONALD, Larry M. SWEET
  • Patent number: 11887210
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for image processing of spherical content via hardware acceleration components. In one embodiment, an EAC image is subdivided into facets via existing software addressing and written into the memory buffers (normally used for rectilinear cubemaps) in a graphics processing unit (GPU). The EAC facets may be translated, rotated, and/or mirrored so as to align with the expected three-dimensional (3D) coordinate space. The GPU may use existing hardware accelerator logic, parallelization, and/or addressing logic to greatly improve 3D image processing effects (such as a multi-band blend using Gaussian blurs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventors: William Edward MacDonald, Kyler William Schwartz, David A. Newman
  • Publication number: 20240025640
    Abstract: A storage array system including an open undeterministic transport surface, a navigation array disposed in connection with the transport surface, the navigation array includes a distributed feature, a first waypoint at a first position of the distributed feature, a second waypoint displaced from the first waypoint along the distributed feature and offset with respect to the first waypoint in a direction angled to the distributed feature, and a guided bot, arranged to traverse the transport surface, with a non-holonomic steering system, the guided bot having a bot pose determination system employing sensor data detecting the distributed feature, wherein the guided bot includes a controller configured to generate a substantially smooth curved bot traverse path on the transport surface connecting the first and second waypoints with a predetermined optimal trajectory of the guided bot along the traverse path determined based on a bot dynamic model.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2023
    Publication date: January 25, 2024
    Inventors: Edward A MACDONALD, Forrest BUZAN, John F KEATING, Juergen D CONRAD, Armin ATAEI-ESFAHANI
  • Publication number: 20230412788
    Abstract: A viewing direction may define an angle/visual portion of a spherical video at which a viewing window is directed. A trajectory of viewing direction may include changes in viewing directions for playback of spherical video. Abrupt changes in the viewing directions may result in jerky or shaky views of the spherical video. Changes in the viewing directions may be stabilized to provide stabilized views of the spherical video. Amount of stabilization may be limited by a margin constraint.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2023
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Inventors: Daryl Stimm, William Edward MacDonald, Kyler William Schwartz
  • Publication number: 20230410251
    Abstract: Apparatus and methods for optimized stitching of overcapture content. In one embodiment, the optimized stitching of the overcapture content includes capturing the overcapture content; producing overlap bands associated with the captured overcapture content; downsampling the produced overlap bands; generating derivative images from the downsampled overlap bands; generating a cost map associated with the generated derivative images; determining shortest path information for the generated cost map; generating a warp file based on the determined shortest path information, the generated warp file being utilized for the optimized stitching of the overcapture content. Camera apparatus and a non-transitory computer-readable apparatus are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 30, 2023
    Publication date: December 21, 2023
    Applicant: GoPro, Inc.
    Inventors: Daryl Stimm, David Newman, Kyler William Schwartz, William Edward MacDonald
  • Publication number: 20230394570
    Abstract: Provided is a financial transaction arrangement 1 which generally comprises a distributed processing arrangement and includes an identification service computing system 2, a financial institution computing system 3, a property registry computing system 4, a lender computing system 5, an appraiser 6, and a mortgage brokering computing system 8. All of these computing systems 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 are interconnected by means of communications network 200 which incorporates a blockchain. Via a number of transactions, the mortgage brokering computing system 8 generates aggregate blockchains on the network 200 able to provide a demonstrable and auditable history for captured identification details and subsequent transactions required for automatically brokering a mortgage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2023
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Inventors: Ruth Hatherley, Jonathan Edward Macdonald