The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 08, 2021
Filed:
Sep. 20, 2019
Amazon Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA (US);
Raashid Mohammed, Lynnwood, WA (US);
Amazon Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
Embodiments herein describe a chute for temporarily buffering packages when, for example, a container disposed at the end of the chute has been removed. The chute includes a flap that activates to hold packages in an accumulation area when the container is removed. In one embodiment, the flap is disposed at an end of the chute at a decline so that during normal operation packages slide off the flap into the container. An actuator can rotate the flap from a decline position into a vertical position such that the flap serves as a stop to prevent packages from sliding off the chute when containers are being swapped out. Once a new container is disposed at the end of the chute, the actuator can rotate the flap back to the decline position so that any accumulated packages are then ejected into the container.