IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,083,561
Granted Patent B2
US 12,083,561 · App. 18/120,562 · Granted Sep 10, 2024

Correlating information to facilitate automated sortation

Inventors: Timothy Ryan (San Francisco, CA); David Leo Tondreau, III (San Francisco, CA); Erik Trewitt (Santa Clara, CA)
Assignee: Dexterity, Inc.
B07C5/362B07C3/082G06K7/1404G06V30/10
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,083,561
App. No.
18/120,562
Granted
Sep 10, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present application discloses a system, a method, and a computer system for correlating information to facilitate automated sortation. The method includes (i) receiving, by one or more processors, a first optical sensor data comprising a first element of routing data required to route an item but not a second element of routing data required, in addition to the first element, to route the item, (ii) obtaining the second element of routing data from a second optical sensor data, and (iii) causing the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data.

Claims (87)

1. A system, comprising:

a communication interface; and

one or more processors configured to:

receive via the communication interface a first optical sensor data comprising a first element of routing data required to route an item but not a second element of routing data required, in addition to the first element, to route the item;

obtain the second element of routing data from a second optical sensor data; and

cause the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data;

wherein:

causing the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data comprises placing the item in a singulation destination; and

the item is placed in the singulation destination before the second element of routing data is known.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first optical sensor data comprises output of a first optical scanner.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first optical sensor data is obtained based on scanning an optical code associated with the item.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the optical code comprises the first element of routing data and second element of routing data.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein a first optical sensor obtains the first element of routing data but not the second element of routing data.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the second element of routing data was not successfully scanned.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the first optical sensor data is obtained based on scanning an optical code associated with the item; and

the optical code comprises first element of routing data and second element of routing data; and

the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine that the second element of routing data is not included in the first optical sensor data.

8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain the second optical data in response to determining that the second element of routing data is not included in the first optical sensor data.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the second optical sensor data comprises an image.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the image comprises a representation of a label on the item.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the image includes alphanumeric data.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the alphanumeric data is human readable.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein: the one or more processors are further configured to:

perform optical character recognition (OCR) with respect to the image; and

obtain the second routing data based at least in part on the OCR performed with respect to the image.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the image is obtained using the same sensor that obtained the first optical sensor data.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first element of routing data is obtained from a first optical code in a first region of the image, and the second element of routing data is obtained from another region of the image.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein causing the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data comprises:

generating, based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data, a control signal for a singulation system to route the item.

17. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a robotic arm;

wherein causing the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data comprises:

controlling the robotic arm to perform a pick and place operation with respect to the item to route the item.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the controlling the robotic arm to perform a pick and place operation with respect to the item comprises picking the item from a pick up zone and placing the item in a tray within a workspace of the robotic arm.

19. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or both of the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data are associated with a tray or segment of a conveyance structure as the item proceeds downstream via the conveyance structure.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the one or both of the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data are associated with the tray or segment before the item is routed according to the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data.

21. The system of claim 19 , wherein the second element of routing data is obtained from second optical sensor data captured by a downstream sensor that is downstream from a robotic arm that placed the item into the tray or segment.

22. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second element of routing data is obtained based on an image captured at an induction station before the item is placed in the singulation destination.

23. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first element of routing data corresponds to a part of destination information.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the second element of routing data completes the destination information.

25. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first element of routing data indicates a destination, and the second element of routing data indicates a service class.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein:

the first optical sensor data is obtained from a first optical sensor;

the second optical sensor data is obtained from a second optical sensor; and

the second optical sensor data is indicative of an item attribute.

27. The system of claim 26 , wherein the service class is determined based at least in part on the item attribute.

28. A method, comprising:

receiving, by one or more processors, a first optical sensor data comprising a first element of routing data required to route an item but not a second element of routing data required, in addition to the first element, to route the item;

obtaining the second element of routing data from a second optical sensor data; and

causing the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data;

wherein:

causing the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data comprises placing the item in a singulation destination; and

the item is placed in the singulation destination before the second element of routing data is known.

29. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving, by one or more processors, a first optical sensor data comprising a first element of routing data required to route an item but not a second element of routing data required, in addition to the first element, to route the item;

obtaining the second element of routing data from a second optical sensor data; and

causing the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data;

wherein:

causing the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data comprises placing the item in a singulation destination; and

the item is placed in the singulation destination before the second element of routing data is known.

30. A system, comprising:

a communication interface; and

one or more processors configured to:

receive via the communication interface a first optical sensor data comprising a first element of routing data required to route an item but not a second element of routing data required, in addition to the first element, to route the item;

obtain the second element of routing data from a second optical sensor data; and

cause the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data;

wherein the first optical sensor data is obtained based on scanning an optical code associated with the item.

31. A system, comprising:

a communication interface; and

one or more processors configured to:

receive via the communication interface a first optical sensor data comprising a first element of routing data required to route an item but not a second element of routing data required, in addition to the first element, to route the item;

obtain the second element of routing data from a second optical sensor data;

determine that the second element of routing data is not included in the first optical sensor data; and

cause the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data;

wherein:

the first optical sensor data is obtained based on scanning an optical code associated with the item; and

the optical code comprises first element of routing data and second element of routing data.

32. A system, comprising:

a communication interface; and

one or more processors configured to:

receive via the communication interface a first optical sensor data comprising a first element of routing data required to route an item but not a second element of routing data required, in addition to the first element, to route the item;

obtain the second element of routing data from a second optical sensor data; and

cause the item to be routed based at least in part on the first element of routing data and the second element of routing data;

wherein the first element of routing data indicates a destination, and the second element of routing data indicates a service class.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 16, 2023
From: RYAN, TIMOTHY; TONDREAU III, DAVID LEO; TREWITT, ERIK
To: DEXTERITY, INC.
Reel/Frame 063652/0517 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63319523 · Mar 14, 2022
Related Publication 20230286019A1 · Sep 14, 2023