Amazon Technologies, Inc.

John Tan

Jon Stuart Battles

Martin Peter Aalund

Samuel Gardner Garrett

Jayson Michael Jochim

Yan Yan

David Henry Clark

Kaushik Mani

Ned Lecky

Gregory Karl Lisso

Paul Roy Raines, Jr

Samuel Christopher Uhlman

A product to be shipped is placed on a platform. A conveyor belt moves the product and platform toward a packaging station where mold forms at least define a space which encloses the product. Expanding foam is then injected via injector lines into the space. Once the expanding foam has at least partially hardened, the mold forms may be retracted and the package is moved to a next station for at least one of finishing, loading, or storing. The foam thus becomes the shipping package for the product. This eliminates the need to store shipping containers of multiple standardized sizes and shapes, and to fill the standardized shipping containers with dunnage. The mold forms also provide for customized exterior shapes for the shipping package.

Expanded foam shipping container

Disclosed are systems and methods for an automated materials handling facility. The automated materials handling facility uses a series of automated devices, such as automated guidance vehicles, mobile drive units, robotic arms, automated sorters, etc., to facilitate item receive, stow, pick, shipping and other aspects of materials handling. The automated devices are controlled by a materials handling control system that sends instructions to the various devices to coordinate operation of those devices and to coordinate flow of items through the materials handling system.

Automated materials handling facility

Growing community of inventors

Bellevue, WA, United States of America

John Tan