ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 10 -- United States Patent no. 12,291,409, issued on May 6, was assigned to Tompkins Robotics Inc. (Orlando, Fla.).
"Vehicle and material handler" was invented by Michael C. Futch (Raleigh, N.C.) and James M. Serstad (Raleigh, N.C.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Robot includes a propulsion system configured to transport the robot and a controller in communication with the propulsion system. A material handler is carried by the robot and configured for depositing articles into one or more destination containers. The material handler has a tilt tray having sections that are configured for tilting in any number of directions relative to a vertical of the robot. Each section...