US 11,745,956 B2
Tray handling autonomous robot
Zhouwen Sun, Redwood City, CA (US); Cyril Nader, East Palo Alto, CA (US); Varun Uday Nayak, Palo Alto, CA (US); Alberto Leyva Arvayo, Palo Alto, CA (US); Michael Root, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Andrew Lovett, San Mateo, CA (US); and Kevin Jose Chavez, Redwood City, CA (US)
Assigned to Dexterity, Inc., Redwood City, CA (US)
Filed by Dexterity, Inc., Redwood City, CA (US)
Filed on Mar. 29, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/216,503.
Prior Publication US 2022/0306402 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. B25J 9/16 (2006.01); B65G 47/90 (2006.01); B25J 13/08 (2006.01)
CPC B65G 47/905 (2013.01) [B25J 9/1612 (2013.01); B25J 9/1633 (2013.01); B25J 9/1661 (2013.01); B25J 9/1664 (2013.01); B25J 9/1679 (2013.01); B25J 9/1697 (2013.01); B25J 13/082 (2013.01); B65G 2201/0258 (2013.01); B65G 2203/041 (2013.01)] 24 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An autonomous tray handling robotic system, comprising:
a memory configured to store data indicating a set of output stacks to be assembled, each output stack including an associated set of trays each of a corresponding tray type; and
a processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
control operation of one or more robots, each configured to grasp, move, and place one or more trays at a time, according to a plan, to iteratively pick trays from source stacks of trays and assemble the set of output stacks, including by building each output stack by successively placing on the output stack trays picked from one or more corresponding source stacks;
pick a tray at least in part by using position control based on image data to move at least a passive side member of a tray handling end effector into a position adjacent to a first structure; and
use force control to insert into the first structure a protrusion comprising or attached to the passive side member, wherein each of the robots comprises a robotic arm and the tray handling end effector configured to grasp, move, and place one or more trays without assistance from another robot, wherein the tray handling end effector comprises a lateral member coupled to the robotic arm, the passive side member coupled to the lateral member at a first distal end and configured to engage mechanically with the first structure on a first side of the tray, and an active side member coupled to the lateral member at a second distal end opposite the first distal end and configured to engage mechanically with a second structure on a second side of the tray opposite the first side of the tray.