CODING PATTERN HAVING MERGED DATA SYMBOLS

• US 20100084481A1
• Filed: 08/11/2009
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Lapstun, Paul
• Application Number:
  US12/539,599
• Publication Number:
  US 20100084481A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/494
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10772 Moved readers, e.g. pen, wand
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes

Abstract

A substrate having a coding pattern disposed on a surface thereof. The coding pattern comprises a plurality of merged data symbols, each merged data symbol being represented by a plurality of data elements disposed on the surface. Each merged data symbol encodes a first individual data symbol and a second individual data symbol.

Claims

1. A substrate having a coding pattern disposed on a surface thereof, said coding pattern comprising a plurality of merged data symbols, each merged data symbol being represented by a plurality of data elements disposed on said surface, wherein each merged data symbol encodes at least a first individual data symbol and a second individual data symbol.

2. The substrate of claim 1, wherein said first and second individual data symbols are different from each other.

3. The substrate of claim 1, wherein each merged data symbol encodes a first data symbol from a first codeword and a second data symbol from a second codeword.

4. The substrate of claim 3, wherein each merged data symbol encodes a coordinate data symbol from a coordinate codeword and a common data symbol from a common codeword.

5. The substrate of claim 3, wherein each merged data symbol encodes an x-coordinate data symbol from an x-coordinate codeword, a y-coordinate data symbol from a y-coordinate codeword and a common data symbol from a common codeword.

6. The substrate of claim 4, wherein said common codeword encodes information common to an extended region of the surface, wherein said information is selected from the group consisting of:

a region identity, an encoding format, a region flag, a pattern scale identifier and a CRC.

7. The substrate of claim 1, wherein said first and second individual data symbols are symbols from different error-correcting codes.

8. The substrate of claim 7, wherein said different error-correcting codes are selected from the group consisting of:

Reed-Solomon codes, binary codes, simplex codes and cyclic position codes.

9. The substrate of claim 8, wherein said cyclic position codes use a cyclic code sequence, and wherein a w-bit subsequence of said cyclic code sequence defines a codeword.

10. The substrate of claim 9, wherein the cyclic code sequence is an m-sequence or a simplex code.

11. The substrate of claim 9, wherein said cyclic code sequence has a length n and a dimension k, and wherein:

n>

w>

k.

12. The substrate of claim 9, wherein the w-bit subsequence of said cyclic code sequence defines a coordinate codeword.

13. The substrate of claim 12, wherein each merged data symbol in a set of said merged data symbols encodes a coordinate data symbol from said coordinate codeword, each coordinate data symbol encoding one bit of said w-bit subsequence.

14. The substrate of claim 13, wherein said merged data symbol further encodes a multi-bit Reed-Solomon symbol from a Reed-Solomon common codeword.

15. The substrate of claim 1, wherein each merged data symbol is represented by said data elements using pulse position modulation (PPM).

16. The substrate of claim 15, wherein said data elements are macrodots, and wherein each merged data symbol is represented by m macrodots, each of said macrodots occupying a respective position from a plurality of predetermined possible positions p within said merged data symbol, the respective positions of said macrodots representing one of a plurality of possible data values, wherein m is an integer value of 1 or more, and p>

m.

17. The substrate of claim 16, wherein said coding pattern comprises a plurality of target elements defining a target grid, said target grid comprising a plurality of cells, each cell defining a symbol group containing one or more of said merged data symbols, wherein neighboring symbol groups share target elements.

18. The substrate of claim 17, wherein said coding pattern comprises a plurality of tags, each tag being square and comprising M²symbol groups, each symbol group containing R symbols.

19. The substrate of claim 18, wherein a tag encoding strategy for each tag is in accordance with a tag encoding strategy (1) to (4) described in Table A:

tag configuration (M² ×

R) = No. of PPM coordinate common available tag merged encoding merged codeword codeword data encoding symbols per (m- symbol symbol symbol capacity strategy tag pPPM) size size size per tag (1) 2² ×

8 = 32 2-9PPM 5b 1b 4b 160b (2) 2² ×

8 = 32 3-9PPM 6b 1b 5b 192b (3) 3² ×

8 = 72 2-9PPM 5b 1b 4b 360b (4) 3² ×

8 = 72 3-9PPM 6b 1b 5b 432b

20. The substrate of claim 19, wherein a codeword configuration for each of said tag encoding strategies (1) to (4) is in accordance with one of the codeword configurations described in Table B:

Common Codeword Coordinate Codeword Configuration(s) for each tag Configuration(s) for each tag encoding strategy encoding strategy total total data data capacity Common capacity tag Coordinate of codewords Reed- of encoding codewords Cyclic coordinate per Solomon coordinate strategy per tag Code codewords tag Code codeword(s) (1) 2 (X, Y) (16,

     8) 2 ×

8 ×

1b = 2 (A, B) (15,

     7) 2 ×

7 ×

4b = 16b 56b (2) 2 (X, Y) (16,

     8) 2 ×

8 ×

1b = 2 (A, B) (16,

     8) 2 ×

8 ×

5b = 16b 80b 2 (X, Y) (16,

     8) 2 ×

8 ×

1b = 1 (A) (31,

     23) 1 ×

23 ×

16b 5b = 115b 2 (X, Y) (32,

     16) 2 ×

16 ×

2 (A, B) (15,

     7) 2 ×

7 ×

4b = 1b = 32b 56b (3) 2 (X, Y) (36,

     20) 2 ×

20 ×

4 (A, B, (15,

     7) (4 ×

7 ×

1b = 40b C, D) + (12,

     4) 4b) + (1 ×

1 (E) 4 ×

4b) = 128b (4) 2 (X, Y) (36,

     20) 2 ×

20 ×

4 (A, B, (18,

     10) 4 ×

10 ×

1b = 40b C, D) 5b = 200b 2 (X, Y) (36,

     20) 2 ×

20 ×

3 (A, B, (24,

     16) 3 ×

16 ×

1b = 40b C) 5b = 240b 2 (X, Y) (36,

     20) 2 ×

20 ×

2 (A, B) (31,

     23) 2 ×

23 ×

1b = 40b 5b = 230b