Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Kevin Senh Ly

William Scott Kalm

Jon Stuart Battles

Dinesh Mahadevan

Peter A Grant

Kent Belden Meiswinkel

Kevin W Keck

Thomas Felis

Bob Samac

Systems and methods are disclosed for flexible container pods for use with robotic systems. In one embodiment, an example flexible container pod may include a center plate having a plurality of apertures, a first member coupled to an upper end of the center plate, a second member coupled to the upper end of the center plate, and a base coupled to the center plate. The flexible container pod may include a first net extending from the first member to the base, a second net extending from the second member to the base, a first shelf member coupled to the first net, and a second shelf member coupled to the second net. A container can be removably positioned on the first shelf member and the second shelf member.

Flexible container pods for use with robotic systems

A loading system (e.g., in a warehouse or other item-fulfillment environment) can include a rotary hub that supports one or more chambers. In a first orientation of the rotary hub, one of the chambers may be in a first position aligned for item receipt (e.g., through an open top of the chamber by feeding from a conveyor belt or other feeding system). The rotary hub can rotate to a second orientation in which the chamber is in a second position aligned for item discharge (e.g., through an open end of the chamber and into a receiving zone of a packaging machine or other system).

Automatic rotary inserting machine

An insertion system (e.g., in a warehouse or other item-fulfillment environment) can include a chassis. A bottom conveying surface, a first side conveying surface, and a second side conveying surface may be fastened to the chassis respectively along the chassis's bottom face, first lateral face, and second lateral face. A chamber may be bounded by the conveying surfaces and by a rear wall defined at least in part by the front face of the chassis. A linear actuator coupled with the chassis may move the chassis from a home position and toward an extended position to advance the bottom conveying surface, the first side conveying surface, and the second side conveying surface along with the rear wall of the chamber to decrease a size of the chamber and advance contents of the chamber in a depth direction toward a receiving zone.

Item loading by chamber bounded by synchronized conveying surfaces

A dispensing system (e.g., in a warehouse or other item-fulfillment environment) can include a tray holder sized for releasably receiving a tray. A rotational actuator may operate to pivot the tray holder between a first position aligned for receipt in the tray holder of a tray in a recumbent orientation and a second position in which the tray is arranged in an upended orientation. When the tray is in the upended orientation, an opening system may engage a door on an end of the tray to move the door from a closed state in which items contained in the tray are prevented from falling out of the tray and to an open state in which the items are allowed to fall out of the tray.

Automatic tray dispensing

A container sorting system can receive a container on a conveyance surface and convey the container in a conveyance direction. A linear induction motor positioned relative to the conveyance surface (e.g., below) can generate a magnetic field that causes movement of a shoe coupled to the conveyance surface. The shoe can move relative to the conveyance surface and engage the container to change the movement direction of the container. The movement direction of the container can be changed to move the container off of the conveyance surface.

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Seattle, WA, United States of America

Kevin Senh Ly