SYSTEM FOR DOCUMENT CODING AND IDENTIFICATION

• US 3,703,628 A
• Filed: 03/29/1971
• Issued: 11/21/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Herman L. Philipson Jr
• Original Assignee: Herman L. Philipson Jr
• Inventors: Philipson, Herman L. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilbur, Maynard R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sloyan, Thomas J.
• Application Number:
  US05/129,164
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 340/146.3Z,146.3AH,146.3MA 346/75 235/61.11E,61.12R,61.12N
• US Class Current: 235/432
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/06 Arrangements for sorting, selecting, merging, or comparing data on individual record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26

Abstract

Method and apparatus for sensing human readable intelligence bearing indicia on documents with high resolution, by generating primary signals representatives of said indicia with translation thereof into simplified bar code, printing the simplified code on the document itself, preferably during continuous travel thereof, and sensing the simple bar code for further handling in sorting and in processing of the data imprinted on the document.

Claims

1. In a system for processing documents containing human readable intelligence, the combination comprising:

an optical character reader for reading alphanumeric data on a document presented thereto and for generating primary signals representative of said data, computer means responsive to the primary signals for converting the pertinent elements thereof into a set of signals representative, in a simplified coding system, of said elements, means for projecting droplets of a writing fluid to said document under control of said set of signals for application to the same document as presented to said optical character reader, machine readable, encoded visible symbols representing said pertinent elements while the document moves relative to said optical character reader, a document transport means including a rotating drum and feeder means for bringing documents into said system serially to said optical character reader, and a second document transport means extending from the rotating drum to said means for projecting droplets of writing fluid for uninterrupted travel of a document from the approach to said drum to a point beyond the means for projecting droplets of a writing fluid.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the means for applying a writing fluid includes an element for forming, projecting and electrically charging fine particles of writing fluid and means for applying an electrostatic field for controllably deflecting said charged fine particles from their normal path of projection to produce bar coded elements on the document.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein means are provided for reading an utilizing the simple coded elements for further processing of the document.

4. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the means for applying a writing fluid to the document includes a pressurized source of a fluid marking substance, a conduit therefor, a high frequency vibrating device for said conduit operable at high frequency and low amplitude for breaking the fluid up into very fine droplets, and means for applying differential electrical charges to said droplets in sequence to cause them to be deflected progressively thereby to form bar characteRs on said document.

5. The combination according to claim 4 wherein the document is fed at an angle askew to the normal path of said droplets in order to form bar code elements perpendicular to the path of travel of said document.

6. In a system for coding and processing documents containing human readable intelligence, the combination which comprises:

optical character reading means for reading alphanumeric data on a document as it is moved past a reading station, means responsive to said optical character reader for converting pertinent elements of said alphanumeric data into a simplified indicia code, writing means responsive to said means for converting data for applying a writing fluid to the same document in encoded machine readable visible form, the simplified code representing said pertinent elements as said document moves relative to the optical character reader, a document transport means including a rotating drum and feeder means for bringing documents into said system serially to said optical character reading means, and a second document transport means extending from the rotating drum to said writing means for uninterrupted travel of a document from the approach to said drum to a point beyond the writing means.

7. A method for processing documents containing human readable intelligence in a system including a document supply transport line leading serially through a reading station and a printing station, an optical character reader at the reading station, an ink jet printer at the printing station, and computer means which comprises the steps of:

optically reading the alphanumeric data on a document as it moves past the reading station, generating a set of primary signals representative of the alphanumeric data as read at the reading station, translating signals by said computer means from said set representative of primary elements thereof into a simplified code signal representative of said elements, applying a writing fluid to said document to produce visible symbols representative of simplified code signals as the document passes the printing station, and transporting the documents from the reading station to the printing station.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the simple code is applied by breaking up a liquid marking fluid into droplets in accordance with said simplified code signals and displacing said droplets from their normal path by differential electrical charging forces, thereby to apply multiple droplets in single file groups.

9. A document reencoding system which comprises:

a rotating drum, a document supply transport line leading serially through a reading station and a printing station, means for moving documents serially in said line in a curved path around a curved face of said drum in uninterrupted travel through said printing station, optical character processing means at the reading station for sensing alphanumeric characters on documents moving around said drum and converting to a simplified code the information represented by said alphanumeric characters, an ink jet printer along the path of said documents downstream of said drum and at said printing station, and means coupling said processing means to said printer to impress on documents while at said printing station simplified indicia corresponding to said code.

10. A document reencoding system as set forth in claim 9 wherein said rotating drum includes an arrangement of openings coupled to a vacuum supply to hold a document securely to the drum surface when at the reading station.

11. A document reencoding system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said transport line includes a continuously moving flexible belt for imparting to a document continuous motion through the reading station and subsequently through the printing station.