ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,441,547, issued on Oct. 14, was assigned to Amazon Technologies Inc. (Seattle).
"Direct drop-off and pick-up for container transfer" was invented by Scott Hogan (Mukilteo, Wash.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A transfer apparatus can include a laterally movable frame moveable in a lateral direction, an upright frame supported by the laterally movable frame, and a header movably coupled to the upright frame and configured to move in a vertical direction. The header can include an extractor. The header can also include a claw assembly configured to open and close. The extractor can pull an item over the claw assembly in a closed state, and...