Maplebear Inc. Patent for Warehouse Item Location Inference, Granted Apr 21
Summary
The USPTO granted Patent US12608679B2 to Maplebear Inc. on April 21, 2026. The patent covers a method for optimizing order fulfillment in a warehouse by receiving an item catalog with location data from an inventory system, obtaining a taxonomy organizing items hierarchically by attributes, and inferring missing item locations by identifying alternative items with shared attributes. The system also optimizes a picking sequence to minimize travel distance and transmits the sequence to a shopper's device for fulfillment. The patent names six inventors: Benjamin Knight, Darren Johnson, Daniel Haugh, Saumitra Maheshwari, Qi Xi, and Conor Woods.
“A method for optimizing order fulfillment in a warehouse by an online system.”
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GovPing monitors USPTO Patent Grants - Business Methods (G06Q) for new banking & finance regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 32 changes logged to date.
What changed
The USPTO issued Patent US12608679B2 to Maplebear Inc., granting exclusive rights to a method for inferring item locations within a warehouse using a taxonomy of items and locations of other items. When an item's location is missing from the catalog, the system identifies alternative items sharing attributes and uses those locations as proxies. The patent also covers optimized picking sequence generation to minimize warehouse travel distance.
Warehouse operators and logistics technology providers should be aware that this patent establishes intellectual property protection for taxonomy-based item location inference in fulfillment systems. Companies developing similar warehouse optimization or order fulfillment systems may need to evaluate whether their methods fall within the scope of the 20 claims granted in this patent.
Archived snapshot
Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Inferring a location of an item within a warehouse from a taxonomy of items offered by the warehouse and locations of other items within the warehouse
Grant US12608679B2 Kind: B2 Apr 21, 2026
Assignee
Maplebear Inc.
Inventors
Benjamin Knight, Darren Johnson, Daniel Haugh, Saumitra Maheshwari, Qi Xi, Conor Woods
Abstract
A method for optimizing order fulfillment in a warehouse by an online system. The system receives an item catalog from an inventory system, which includes item locations. The system also obtains a taxonomy that organizes items into hierarchical levels based on attributes. When an order is placed by a user, the system checks whether the item catalog contains location data for each item. If an item's location is missing, the system identifies alternative items from the taxonomy with shared attributes and uses the location of a selected alternative item as a proxy. The system determines a picking sequence for the items in the order, optimized to minimize travel distance within the warehouse, and transmits the sequence to a shopper's device for fulfillment.
CPC Classifications
G06Q 10/087 G06Q 30/0629 G06Q 30/0641 G06Q 30/0601 G06Q 30/0603 G06Q 30/0633 G06Q 30/0635 G06Q 30/0639
Filing Date
2024-10-15
Application No.
18916477
Claims
20
Parties
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