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AmazonGranted patentRobots & automationInterest 4/10

Amazon patents wedge mechanism to unstick packages in sorting chutes

Amazon has patented a system for its package sorting machines that uses a mechanical wedge to clear stuck boxes. Sensors detect when packages get jammed in a chute, triggering an actuator to push the wedge into the gap to free the items.

Why it mattersThis improves the reliability of automated warehouses by reducing downtime caused by stuck packages, though it is a specific mechanical fix rather than a new consumer feature.

In the filing’s own words

A system including a one or more de-jamming mechanisms having a wedge configured to move from a retracted state to an extended state in which the wedge is at least partially disposed within a material handling equipment (MHE) in which packages are processed. The system receives data associated with the packages in the MHE, and causes, at a first instance in time, the wedge to move from the retracted state to the extended state, and causes, at a second instance in time, the wedge to move from the extended state to the retracted state.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A system comprising: a chute configured to divert packages from a first conveyor to a second conveyor, the chute including a first slot and a second slot; one or more sensors configured to generate sensor data associated with the packages in the chute; a first de-jamming mechanism including: a first wedge disposed at least partially within the first slot, a first arm coupled to the first wedge, a second arm hingedly coupled to the first arm, and a first actuator disposed between the first arm and the second arm, the first actuator configured to extend the first wedge into the chute and retract the first wedge from within the chute; one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising: receiving the sensor data associated with the packages in the chute, determining, based on the sensor data, that the packages are jammed within the chute, and based on the packages being jammed within the chute, causing the first actuator to extend the first wedge into the chute at a first instance in time.

Facts

Company
Amazon (Amazon Technologies, Inc.)
Official title
Mechanism(s) for de-jamming packages within material handling equipment (MHE)
Patent number
US12741819B1
Application number
18598771
Filed
Mar 7, 2024
Granted
Sep 22, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
20

Classified under

B65G 11/203 Operations & transportB65G 43/08 Operations & transportB65G 37/00 Operations & transportB65G 45/00 Operations & transportB65G 2201/025 Operations & transport
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.