Methods and Systems for Unit of Use Product Inventory

ChangeBridge: Patent Grants - Business Methods (G06Q)

Published March 31st, 2026

Detected March 31st, 2026

Summary

The USPTO granted Patent US12591849B2 to Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc. on March 31, 2026. The patent covers methods and systems for unit of use product inventory management, including an inventory surface unit retaining products in an unordered state, an inventory identification unit disposed above the surface to acquire orientation and location information, and an inventory pick unit adapted to pick products based on that information. The patent contains 20 claims.

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What changed

USPTO granted Patent US12591849B2 titled 'Methods and systems for unit of use product inventory' to Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc. The patent, invented by Charles E. Eller, covers an inventory management system with three main components: an inventory surface unit for retaining products in an unordered state, an inventory identification unit positioned above the surface to acquire orientation and location data, and a pick unit that selects products based on the acquired information. The patent was filed on December 18, 2023, under Application No. 18542874.

Patent holders should review the claims to identify potential licensing opportunities or competitive implications. Companies developing similar inventory management systems should assess whether their products fall within the scope of the 20 granted claims. Inventors and R&D teams may reference this patent for prior art purposes when developing new inventory technologies.

Source document (simplified)

← USPTO Patent Grants

Methods and systems for unit of use product inventory

Grant US12591849B2 Kind: B2 Mar 31, 2026

Assignee

Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc.

Inventors

Charles E. Eller

Abstract

Method and systems for product inventory are described. In one embodiment, an inventory surface unit retains a plurality of products in an unordered state. An inventory identification unit acquires information for an orientation, and location of the plurality of products on the inventory surface unit. The inventory identification unit is disposed above the inventory surface unit. An inventory pick unit is adapted to pick a product among the plurality of products from the inventory surface unit based on the orientation and location acquired by the inventory identification unit. The inventory pick unit is disposed proximal the inventory surface unit, and the inventory pick unit is communicatively connected to the inventory identification unit. Additional methods and systems are disclosed.