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:
May. 31, 2022
Filed:
Oct. 06, 2017
Amazon Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA (US);
John Edwin Johnston, Redwood City, CA (US);
Christopher Clive Jones, San Francisco, CA (US);
Carl Philip Taussig, Woodside, CA (US);
Christopher Lorenzo Dunn, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Mark Greggory Edstrom, San Jose, CA (US);
David Jennings Dostal, Hanover, NH (US);
Jose Arnoldo Marin-McDaniel, New Orleans, LA (US);
AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC., Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
An extensible mast device allows a payload to be supported at a controllable distance from a supporting device. A motor driving a flexible strip provides a force through the flexible strip to extend the mast. The extended strip may have a curved cross section that provides some rigidity. A set of telescoping sections may enclose the strip. One or more of the sections may be flexible. In the event of an impact between the extensible mast and an object, such as a user, the flexible section and the strip yield to the impact and collapse. The extensible mast may be easily reset by lifting it back to a vertical position, with the flexible strip reasserting the curved cross section and the flexible sections resuming substantially the same shape as before the impact. A robot may use the extensible mast to elevate cameras or other sensors to a higher vantage point.