A Shipping Label That Becomes a Parachute: 10 Amazon Delivery Patents

What is it?

Follow the downward arrows from the large airship in FIG. 3. The patent proposes storing inventory in an airborne fulfillment center and releasing unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, to carry orders toward customers below.

Separate shuttle routes connect the airship with ground facilities. The document describes these shuttles replenishing inventory and carrying drones back up, while the delivery drones use gravity for part of their descent.

What is it?

The small openings around the tower in FIG. 1A are access points for UAVs. The proposed fulfillment center stacks storage and handling space vertically, making a compact urban site an alternative to a sprawling warehouse.

Notice the trucks at the base and drones around the upper floors. Goods can enter through conventional loading bays, then leave directly from elevated UAV ports after being moved through the building.

What is it?

In FIG. 1, the main conveyor continues toward other destinations while a side branch climbs toward the house. A diverter at the junction directs the selected package onto that branch.

The patent describes a dedicated delivery network separate from public roads. Conveyors, rail systems and other transport mechanisms are possible arrangements; the underground conveyor shown here is one example.

What is it?

Look above the light fitting in FIG. 1A: the wide platform holds two UAVs. FIG. 1B adds examples of different drone sizes, showing that the proposed docking network is not limited to one silhouette.

The document describes stations on existing structures that can support charging, temporary waiting and other services. A drone could use an intermediate stop instead of completing every trip on a single uninterrupted flight.

What is it?

Trace the drone path in FIG. 3 from the fulfillment center to a truck and then toward a delivery location. The marked meeting and departure points divide its journey into flying and vehicle-carried sections.

The patent describes selecting transportation vehicles and arranging UAV landings so that a vehicle carries the drone for part of the trip. The aim is to conserve flight energy by using transport already moving along a useful route.

What is it?

The sequence in FIG. 1 begins with packing an item and attaching a parachute shipping label. It then shows the parcel being loaded onto a UAV and released near a delivery location.

FIG. 2 shows the deployed canopy and its attachment to the box. The patent describes a label assembly containing parachute components under a cover, allowing the assembly to carry shipping information before it becomes descent equipment.

What is it?

Compare FIG. 5F with FIG. 5G. The top view has four vertical fins, with two deployed and two stowed; the side view shows multiple parachutes above the package.

The patent describes monitoring a package after release and commanding features that change its trajectory. These drawings show alternative mechanisms for adjusting the final descent rather than requiring the UAV to carry the parcel all the way down.

What is it?

The waving arms and speech bubbles in FIG. 1 represent possible inputs to the UAV. The patent describes detecting human gestures, comparing them with stored gesture information and selecting a response.

Responses can include changing elevation, continuing toward the destination or aborting a delivery plan. The proposal covers bodily and voice gestures, including signals that a person wants the drone to approach or move away.

What is it?

The arrows in FIG. 7A link three residences to small autonomous ground vehicles, or AGVs. The vehicles gather beside a transportation vehicle at a meeting area, then can return to their respective delivery locations.

The document also describes arranging the AGVs to match the order of items in the truck. That detail makes the meeting a coordinated transfer, rather than simply a group of robots waiting by the road.

What is it?

In FIG. 1D, Unit 38 and Unit 24 meet with their internal transport surfaces aligned. The box in the taller unit can be moved onto the neighboring robot without a person lifting it.

The patent describes robots that accept, sort and discharge items through onboard transfer systems. Robots can rendezvous to hand over a package, letting different machines handle different parts of a delivery route.