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AmazonGranted patentRobots & automationInterest 3/10

Amazon patents fabric bins for robotic warehouses

Patent drawing
Patent drawing from the official filing.

Amazon describes a storage system using fabric sleeves and simple bins that fit onto a frame. The bins have tilting doors with accordion-style connectors that limit how far they open, allowing them to snap shut securely.

Why it mattersIt offers a low-cost, flexible way to organize items in automated warehouses, potentially making it easier to swap out storage containers for different products.

In the filing’s own words

An inventory holder assembly can include a fabric sleeve and a simple bin. The fabric sleeve can be installed on a frame. The fabric bin can include a plurality of compartments, and engagement tabs can be disposed within a first compartment of the plurality of compartments. Each compartment can include a set of mounts arranged to facilitate modular arrangement of bins. The simple bin can be disposed in the first compartment. The simple bin can include a base releasably coupled to the set of mounts of the first compartment, and a tiltable door pivotably attached to the base. The tiltable door can include a releasable fastener engageable with the engagement tabs of the first compartment to securely close the simple bin and disengageable by tilting the tiltable door to open the simple bin.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A simple bin system including a simple bin comprising: a base including a front edge; and a tiltable door comprising: a panel including a releasable fastener disposed along at least one side portion of the panel; and a bottom edge pivotably coupled along the front edge of the base, wherein the panel extends upward from the base; and collapsible connectors attached to and extending at least partially along opposite side portions of the panel toward the base, wherein in an open state, the panel is configured to partially tilt with respect to the base while the collapsible connectors limit tilting of the panel to a specified degree, wherein each of the collapsible connectors is an accordion connector having an arcuate length configured to limit tilting of the panel to the specified degree, and wherein in a closed state, the panel is configured to stay closed via the releasable fastener while the collapsible connectors are collapsed.

Facts

Company
Amazon (Amazon Technologies, Inc.)
Official title
Modular fabric pod for changing seasons and fashion trends in robotic micro-fulfillment
Patent number
US12745864B1
Application number
18122034
Filed
Mar 15, 2023
Granted
Sep 29, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
12

Classified under

A47F 7/19 Human necessitiesA47F 3/063 Human necessitiesA47F 5/0081 Human necessitiesA47F 3/02 Human necessitiesA47F 3/06 Human necessitiesA47F 5/0018 Human necessities

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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.