Robot delivery method

• US 10,520,948 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2017
• Issued: 12/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autonomy Squared LLC
• Original Assignee: Autonomy Squared LLC
• Inventors: Sibley, Gabriel T
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peche, Jorge O
• Application Number:
  US15/707,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20180327237A1
• Time in Patent Office: 834 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 2029/149 with central server link
• CPC Class Codes: A47G 29/141 comprising electronically controlled locking means
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/007 mounted on wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1694 characterised by use of sensors other than normal servo-feedback from position, speed or acceleration sensors, perception control, multi-sensor controlled systems, sensor fusion
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 1/04 with a tipping movement of load-transporting element dredgers or soil-shifting machines E02F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 3/007 for delivery of small articles, e.g. milk, frozen articles
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/063 Automatically guided
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/0755 Position control; Position detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41895 using automatic guided vehicles [AGV] control of position or course of AGV's G05D1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0225 involving docking at a fixed facility, e.g. base station or loading bay parking aids B62D15/027
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/667 Delivering or retrieving payloads
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0832 Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0837 Return transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00 Franking apparatus printing aspects B41
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/0092 for cargo, freight or shipping containers and applications therefore in general
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

A computer-implemented robot delivery method including receiving a request from a user to pick up an article. A robot having a transport container is directed to the first location to receive the article. The robot navigates over an outdoor transportation network from the first location to a second location. The robot removes the article from the transport container and delivers the article to a recipient container at the second location. The recipient container moves the article inside the recipient container.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising receiving a request from a user to deliver an article from a first location to a second location, directing a robot configured to travel along roads, bike paths and sidewalks to pick up the article at the first location, wherein the robot has a transport container for receiving the article at the first location, autonomously navigating the robot over an outdoor transportation network from the first location to the second location, directing the robot to autonomously translate the transport container in at least one of a vertical direction and a sideways direction to align the transport container with a recipient container, autonomously removing the article from the transport container and autonomously delivering the article to the recipient container at the second location and directing the recipient container to autonomously move the article inside the recipient container at the second location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the recipient container has an interior and a door for accessing the interior and the directing the recipient container includes directing the recipient container to cause the door to open for permitting the recipient container to move the article to the interior of the recipient container.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the directing the recipient container includes directing the recipient container through the robot.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the directing the recipient container includes powering the recipient container through the robot.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising directing the robot to autonomously pivot the transport container about at least one axis when aligning the transport container with the recipient container.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the robot is a driverless wheeled vehicle.

7. A computer-implemented method, comprising receiving a request from a user to pick up an article at a first location, directing a robot configured to travel along roads, bike paths and sidewalks and having a transport container to receive the article within the transport container at the first location, autonomously navigating the robot over an outdoor transportation network from the first location to a second location, directing the robot to autonomously translate the transport container in at least one of a vertical direction and a sideways direction to align the transport container with a recipient container, causing the robot to autonomously remove the article from the transport container and autonomously deliver the article to the recipient container at the second location and causing the recipient container to autonomously move the article inside the recipient container at the second location.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the robot is a wheeled vehicle free of a human driver compartment.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the robot has a delivery mechanism inside the transport container for autonomously removing the article from the transport container for delivery to the second location.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the delivery mechanism is a conveyor mechanism.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the causing the robot to autonomously remove the article from the transport container includes causing the robot to open the transport container.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the causing the robot to autonomously deliver includes causing the robot to deliver the article to an additional robot at the second location, wherein the recipient container at the second location is a transport container of the additional robot, further comprising navigating the additional robot over the outdoor transportation network from the second location to a third location, causing the additional robot to deliver the article to an additional recipient container at the third location and causing the additional recipient container to move the article inside the additional recipient container.

13. The method of claim 7, further comprising directing an additional robot having an additional transport container to receive the article within the additional transport container from the recipient container at the second location, navigating the additional robot over the outdoor transportation network from the second location to a third location, causing the additional robot to remove the article from the additional transport container and deliver the article to an additional recipient container at the third location and causing the additional recipient container to move the article inside the additional recipient container.

14. The method of claim 7, further comprising causing the transport container of the robot to receive the article from a pickup container at the first location and causing the transport container to move the article inside the transport container at the first location.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the pickup container has a delivery mechanism for removing the article from the pickup container for delivery to the transport container of the robot.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the receiving includes purchasing the article by the user.

17. The method of claim 7, wherein the transport container has an interior and an opening communicating with the interior of the transport container and the recipient container has an interior and an opening communicating with the interior of the recipient container and the directing the robot to autonomously translate includes causing the robot to align the opening of the transport container with the opening of the recipient container.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the robot has a first assembly for causing the transport container to translate in three orthogonal directions relative to the recipient container and a second assembly for causing the transport container to rotate about three orthogonal axes relative to the recipient container for permitting alignment of the opening of the transport container with the opening of the recipient container.