Granted Patent B2

US 12,649,647 · App. 18/352,128 · Granted Jun 9, 2026

Inventors: Edward F. Houston (Bristow, VA); Leung Man Shiu (Gaithersburg, MD); Michael Joseph Goldberg (Portland, OR); Mark David Bittenbender (Baltimore, MD); William Patrick McConnell (Woodstock, MD)

Assignee: United States Postal Service

B66F9/07504B60D1/07B60D1/363B66F9/063B66F9/0755B66F9/24B60D2001/001

Abstract

Claims (36)

1 . An automatic coupling system for an automated guided vehicle (AGV), the system comprising:

a coupling hitch assembly comprising

a frame adapted to attach to the AGV;

a rotational shaft rotationally connected to the frame;

a coupling hitch connected to the rotational shaft, the coupling hitch configured to rotate relative to the AGV, the coupling hitch comprising a plurality of coupling features, each of the plurality of coupling features configured to couple to a different type of connection feature; and

a sensor coupled to the coupling hitch; and

one or more processors configured to

receive sensor input from the sensor;

generate a digital representation of an item container based on the received sensor input;

extract a point cloud of a connection feature of the item container from the digital representation of the item container;

determine, based on the extracted point cloud, a location of the connection feature;

determine, based on the extracted point cloud, a type of the item container;

identify, based on the determined type of item container, one of the plurality of coupling features configured to couple to the coupling feature on the determined type of item container; and

rotate, based on the determined location of the coupling feature and the identified one of the plurality of coupling features, the coupling hitch relative to the AGV to align the identified one of the plurality of coupling features of the coupling hitch with the connection feature of the item container.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine a type of the connection feature based on the extracted point cloud.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the coupling hitch assembly further comprises a vertical actuator, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to actuate the vertical actuator to move the coupling hitch relative to the AGV along a vertical axis to couple the coupling feature of the coupling hitch to the connection feature of the item container.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the coupling hitch assembly further comprises a rotational actuator, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to actuate the rotational actuator to rotate the coupling feature to align the coupling feature under the connection feature of the item container.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine a size of the connection feature based on the extracted point cloud.

6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a vertical actuator, wherein the one or more processors are configured to vertically maneuver the coupling hitch using the vertical actuator.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the AGV is a forklift, and wherein the vertical actuator comprises a lifting mechanism of the forklift.

8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a rotational actuator, wherein the one or more processors are configured to rotatably maneuver the coupling feature with the rotational actuator.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is further configured to perform a three-dimensional scan of the item container.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is further configured to scan the item container using stereo infrared vision with an internal dot projector.

11 . A method of automatically coupling an automated guided vehicle (AGV) to an item container, the method comprising:

scanning the item container with a sensor on a coupling hitch of an AGV, wherein the coupling hitch on the AGV comprises a plurality of coupling features, each of the plurality of coupling features configured to couple to a different type of connection feature;

receiving sensor input from the scanning of the item container;

generating a digital representation of the item container based on the received sensor input;

extracting a point cloud of a connection feature of the item container from the digital representation of the item container;

measuring, in the extracted point cloud, the connection feature of the item container;

identifying, based on the measuring, a type of the item container;

determining, based on the extracted point cloud, a location of the connection feature of the item container;

identifying, based on the determined type of item container, one of the plurality of coupling features configured to couple to the coupling feature on the determined type of item container; and

directing movements of the coupling hitch relative to the AGV to couple the identified one of the plurality of coupling features of the coupling hitch with the connection feature of the item container.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the AGV is a forklift, and wherein the moving the coupling hitch along a vertical axis comprises vertically moving a lifting mechanism of the forklift.

13 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising rotatably maneuvering the coupling hitch with a rotational actuator.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the scanning the item container with the sensor comprises scanning utilizing stereo infrared vision with an internal dot projector.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (83)