Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Felix F Antony

Donald Lloyd Kaufman

Jeffrey D Evarts

Weiling Yang

Francois M Rouaix

Jeffrey P Bezos

Xiao Li

François M Rouaix

Cynthia L Elliott

Gregory Michael Hart

Ryan Justin Snodgrass

Jonathan J Shakes

Devesh Mishra

Steven Kessel

James C Slezak

Mackenzie Smith

Hong Tian

Matthew E Goldberg

Laurent E Sellier

Philipp K Janert

Hugh Finnan

Jeremie Leproust

Guillaume Jeulin

Roberta M Braum

Jason Seung Jin Lee

Techniques are described for automatically and dynamically determining how to handle items being returned from customers while the items are in transit. Various factors may be considered to determine appropriate item return handling, including by assessing current conditions at the time of the determination. In addition, the dynamic item return handling may include selecting one of various potential return destinations for each item being returned and one of various types of return routing for the return. In some situations, the item return handling is performed for an item being returned from a customer while the item is at an intermediate shipping location, such as a selected location to which the customer was directed to send the item. This abstract is provided to comply with rules requiring an abstract, and with the intention that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Dynamic determination of item returns during transit

A visible-light based display system may be used to project visual guidance to picking and/or stowing agents in a materials handling facility dependent on their current location. The system may comprise a plurality of fixed-location display devices and/or mobile display devices coupled to a control system. The control system may send messages to particular ones of the display devices for projection of visual guidance usable to direct an agent to a particular inventory area in which an item is to be stowed or from which an item is to be picked, to identify a particular position within an inventory area, and/or to identify a particular item stored within an inventory area. The messages may include location, position, and/or descriptive information associated with an item to be stowed or picked. The projected visual guidance may include light or laser beams, text, graphics and/or images, and may be agent-specific, item-specific, and/or order-specific.

Light emission guidance

An electronic book distribution system encrypts distributed electronic books ('eBooks') with a content key. The content key is in turn encrypted with a voucher key. The voucher key for a particular eBook is generated based on a combination of (a) an ID or serial number of an eBook reader device to which the eBook is being distributed, (b) a user account secret associated with a user of the eBook reader device, and (c) metadata associated with the eBook itself.

Ebook encryption using variable keys

Electronic devices may find and test wireless networks present at a location, and may display available networks to a user for selection and use. The finding and testing may vary based upon the location of the device, including such factors as previously determined networks for the area, time at the location, and so forth.

Wireless networking selection techniques

A computer-implemented method for automatically determining estimated item dimensions may facilitate operations of a materials handling facility when exact dimensions of items are not known. Such a method may involve determining dimensions of a container, portal, or dimensionally constrained path in which an instance of a given item is handled and determining estimated dimensions of the item dependent on dimensions of the container, portal, or path. In some embodiments, the method may include determining dimensions of a second container, portal, or path in which an instance of the item is handled and updating the estimated item dimensions dependent on the dimensions of the second container, portal, or path. In some embodiments, the method may include recommending a container, portal, or path suitable for storing or transporting one or more items dependent on the estimated dimensions. In some embodiments, the estimated dimensions may facilitate identifying items in an inventory area.

Product dimension learning estimator

A method and system for inventory placement according to expected item picking rates. In one embodiment, a method may include determining a respective expected picking rate for each of a number of inventory items, and dependent upon the expected picking rate, selecting a corresponding one of a number of zones of an inventory storage area for each of the items. The zones may be physically arranged within the inventory storage area such that a first, innermost zone is successively and at least partially surrounded by one or more other zones. The method may further include storing each of the items within the corresponding zones, such that the expected picking rates of members of a given group of items stored in a given zone are less than the expected picking rates of members of another group of items stored in a successive zone that at least partially surrounds the given zone.

Method and system for inventory placement according to expected item picking rates

Methods and systems for customer-transparent inventory fulfillment costs. A method may include an enterprise detecting a customer's selection of a given one of a number of inventory items, and in response to detecting the selection, the enterprise generating a display and instructing that the display be displayed to the customer. The display may include fulfillment options for the given item, where each of the options includes an indication of a corresponding fulfillment entity within a fulfillment network and an indication of a corresponding price. The price may be determined dependent upon fulfillment costs of completing order fulfillment of the given item for the customer from the corresponding fulfillment entity. The method may further include the enterprise detecting placement by the customer of an order specifying the given inventory item and a particular fulfillment option, and the enterprise conveying fulfillment instructions to the fulfillment entity corresponding to the particular fulfillment option.

Fulfillment network with customer-transparent costs

A method and system for agent exchange-based materials handling. According to one embodiment, a method of agent exchange-based order fulfillment may include a number of agents moving along respective paths through an inventory storage area of a materials handling facility. While moving through the inventory storage area, a portion of the number of agents may respectively select one or more of a number of items stored within the inventory storage area, where each one of the selected items is specified in a corresponding customer order or materials request. The method may also include conveying the selected items to one or more corresponding processing areas of the materials handling facility in order to fulfill the corresponding customer orders. Further, at least some of the selected items may be exchanged one or more times among the agents in the course of being conveyed to corresponding processing areas.

Method and system for agent exchange-based materials handling

A release schedule for an order having a single addressee address is described. The schedule specifies, for each of two or more shipments making up the order, each of the shipments having a different origin location, a release time at which the shipment is to be released from its origin location. The indicated release times are selected on the basis of typical carrier delivery durations from each of the origin locations to the addressee address, in order to cause all of the shipments of the order to be delivered to the addressee address at the same time. The release schedule may be used to schedule the release of the shipments of the order.

Coordinating the delivery of two or more packages shipped from different source locations

A computer-implemented method for automatically correcting item dimension values may facilitate operations of a materials handling facility. Such a method may include recommending a container for handling one or more items dependent on currently stored item dimension values and determining if any of the item values are inaccurate dependent on an actual container used to handle the one or more items. In some embodiments, the method may include calculating a volumetric utilization of an actual and a recommended container and comparing the two utilizations to determine if the recommended container was too large or too small. If the recommended container was too large or too small, the method may include flagging one or more of the items for measurement and/or correcting item dimensions for one or more of the items. Items may be flagged for measurement in response to a single mismatch between recommended and actual containers or multiple mismatches.

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Issaquah, WA, United States of America

Felix F Antony