Tote Based Item Tracking

• US 20140350710A1
• Filed: 05/24/2013
• Published: 11/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gopalakrishnan, Varadarajan, Narasimhan, Subram, Kumar, Dilip, Zakaria, Omar FawazHashim, Boyapati, Sridhar, Kim, Jin Dong
• Granted Patent: US 10,949,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/213
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1375 the orders being assembled on a commissioning stacker-crane or truck
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials

Abstract

This disclosure describes a system for managing inventory as it transitions into a materials handling facility, as it transitions between locations within a materials handling facility and/or as it transitions out of a materials handling facility. In some instances, a user (e.g., picker or picking agent) may retrieve an item from an inventory location and place the item into a tote. The systems described herein detect the item when it is added to or removed from the tote.

Claims

1. A tote configured to identify items contained in the tote, the tote comprising:

a base surface;

a plurality of side surfaces coupled to the base surface and positioned to define a cavity;

a first antenna coupled to at least one of side surfaces and defining a first plane substantially parallel with the base surface, the first antenna configured to detect an interruption of the first plane as an item passes through the first plane;

a second antenna coupled to at least one of side surfaces and defining a second plane substantially parallel with the base surface, the second antenna configured to detect an interruption of the second plane as the item passes through the second plane;

a computing system coupled to the tote and in communication with the first antenna and the second antenna, the computing system including;

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing program instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to;

receive from the first antenna first information, the first information identifying that the first plane was interrupted;

receive from the second receiving component second information, the second information identifying that the second plane was interrupted;

determine, based at least in part on the first information and the second information, that the item was added to the tote or removed from the tote; and

based on a determination that the item was added to the tote, add an item identifier to a tote item list.

2. The tote as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna is a radio frequency loop antenna.

3. The tote as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the first antenna and the second antenna is configured to detect the item identifier as the item passes through one or more of the first plane or the second plane.

4. The tote as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the first information includes a time that the first plane was interrupted;

the second information includes a time that the second plane as interrupted; and

the program instructions further causing the one or more processors to;

determine that the item was added to the tote based at least in part on a determination that the interruption of the first plane occurred prior to the interruption of the second plane.

5. The tote as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the first information includes a time that the first plane was interrupted;

the second information includes a time that the second plane as interrupted; and

the program instructions further causing the one or more processors to;

determine that the item was removed from the tote based at least in part on a determination that the interruption of the second plane occurred prior to the interruption of the first plane.

6. The tote as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a third antenna coupled to the tote, the third antenna configured to detect an item identifier when the item identifier is positioned in the cavity.

7. An apparatus, comprising:

a base surface;

a plurality of side surfaces coupled to the base surface and positioned to define a cavity;

a first receiving component positioned within the cavity and defining a first plane, the first receiving component configured to detect an interruption of the first plane as an item passes through the first plane;

a second receiving component positioned within the cavity and defining a second plane, the second receiving component configured to detect an interruption of the second plane as the item passes through the second plane;

a computing system coupled to the apparatus and in communication with the first receiving component and the second receiving component, the computing system including;

one or more processors; and

a memory coupled to the one or more processors and storing program instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to;

receive from the first receiving component a first information, the first information identifying that the first plane was interrupted;

receive from the second receiving component second information, the second information identifying that the second plane was interrupted;

determine based at least in part on the first information and the second information, whether an item was added to the apparatus or removed from the apparatus; and

based on a determination that the item was added to the apparatus, add an item identifier to a tote item list.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first receiving component and the second receiving component is a loop antenna.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first plane and the second plane are substantially parallel.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first plane is substantially parallel with the base of the apparatus.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first information and the second information include the item identifier that is representative of the item.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein:

the first information includes a first time identifying when the first plane was interrupted;

the second information includes a second time identifying when the second plane was interrupted; and

the program instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine whether the item was added to the apparatus or removed from the apparatus based at least in part on a comparison of the first time and the second time.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein it is determined that the item is added to the apparatus if the first time is prior to the second time.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein it is determined that the item is removed from the apparatus if the second time is prior to the first time.

15. A computer-implemented method for managing a tote item list for a tote, comprising:

under control of one or more computing systems configured with executable instructions,

scanning a cavity of the tote to identify a plurality of item identifiers included in the tote;

identifying an item identifier of the plurality of item identifiers included in the tote that is included in the tote item list;

determining that at least one item identifier of the identified plurality of item identifiers is not included in the tote item list; and

updating the tote item list to include the at least one item identifier.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein identifying an item identifier of the plurality of item identifiers included in the tote that is included in the tote item list, includes increasing a count associated with the item identifier.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the cavity of the tote is scanned using at least one antenna located in the cavity of the tote.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein updating the tote item list includes adding to the tote item list the item identifier of the identified plurality of item identifiers included in the tote that is not in the tote item list.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein determining a difference between the identified plurality of item identifiers included in the tote and the tote item list includes identifying an item identifier of the tote item list that is not in the identified plurality of item identifiers included in the tote.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein updating the tote item list includes removing from the tote item list the item identifier of the tote item list that is not in the identified plurality of item identifiers included in the tote.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein determining a difference between the identified plurality of item identifiers included in the tote and the tote item list further includes decreasing a count for the item identifier included in the tote item list that is not in the identified plurality of item identifiers included in the tote.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein updating the tote item list includes:

determining that the count for the item identifier is less than a threshold; and

removing from the tote item list the item identifier of the tote item list that is not in the identified plurality of item identifiers included in the tote.