Patents by Inventor Timothy W. Schoenharl

Timothy W. Schoenharl 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).

  • Removal of expiring items from inventory
    Patent number: 8447665
    Abstract: Systems and methods for the removal of expiring items from inventory are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method includes determining a breakeven holding time for an inventory item and calculating, based at least in part on a demand forecast for the inventory item and on the breakeven holding time, a first quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory. The method also includes identifying an expiration time corresponding to the given inventory item and, in response to the expiration time being shorter than the breakeven holding time, calculating a second quantity of the inventory item, where a difference between the second and first quantities represents an additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory. The method further includes causing at least one portion of the additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory according to an inventory removal function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 21, 2013
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy W. Schoenharl, Chun-Ning Poon, Andrew T. Bass, Youjiang Wu, Bhagyalaxmi Bethala, Bhaskar Maddala, Dongui Zhuo, Oley Y. Palyvoda