Multi-readable information system

• US 4,889,367 A
• Filed: 10/07/1988
• Issued: 12/26/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Frito-Lay Incorporated (PepsiCo Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Frito-Lay Incorporated (PepsiCo Incorporated)
• Inventors: Miller, L. Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Watts, Douglas D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HEYRANA, PAUL
• Application Number:
  US07/254,845
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• Field of Search: 283/87, 283/88, 283/89, 283/90, 283/92, 283/81, 235/462, 235/468, 235/491, 346/76 PH, 400/103, 400/120, 400/104, 400/110, 364/900, 364/928
• US Class Current: 283/88
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/08 using markings of different kinds or more than one marking of the same kind in the same record carrier, e.g. one marking being sensed by optical and the other by magnetic means

Abstract

A multi-readable information system includes a substrate material and one type of printed information that is readable by a first entity, such as information in machine readable bar code that is printed on an area of the substrate material. A different type of printed information occupies the same field area of the substrate material, such as information in human-readable symbology that is printed in at least a portion of the area occupied by the bar code. The bar code is printed in a first ink that can be read utilizing energy of a first wavelength and the human-readable symbols are printed in a second ink that can be read in a humanly visible wavelength. The humanly visible ink absorbs insufficient energy in the first wavelength to prevent reading of the bar code by a bar code-reading machine and the bar code does not interfere with the readability of the human-readable symbols.

Claims

1. A multi-readable information system, comprising a substrate on which there is printed information in the form of human-readable symbology, and printed information in the form of machine-readable symbology, wherein the machine readable symbology differs from the human-readable symbology, the human-readable symbology occupies at least a portion of an area that is also occupied by the machine-readable symbology without either symbology interfering with the readability of the other, the machine-readable symbology is printed in a first ink that can be read utilizing energy of a first wavelength, the human-readable symbology is printed in a second ink that differs from the said first ink and can be read in a humanly visible wavelength that differs from said first wavelength, which second ink does not absorb sufficient energy in said first wavelength to prevent reading of the machine readable symbology by a compatible machine, and wherein the substrate material reflects both said first wavelength and said humanly visible wavelength.

2. The multi-readable information system of claim 1 wherein one of said symbologies is printed over the other. wherein said first wavelength is an infrared wavelength.

5. The multi-readable information system of claim 1 wherein the area occupied by the machine-readable symbology is substantially larger than the area occupied by the human readable symbology.

6. The multi-readable information system of claim 1 wherein the area occupied by the machine-readable symbology is about the same as the area occupied by the human-readable symbology.

7. The multi-readable information system of claim 1 further including a second machine-readable symbology having printed information different from the printed information contained in the first machine-readable symbology.

3. The multi-readable information system of claim 3 wherein said first wavelength is an infrared wavelength.

4. The multi-readable information system of claim 3 wherein the human-readable symbology is selected from the group consisting of logos, service marks, trademarks and color codes.

8. A multi-readable information system, comprising a substrate material, information in machine-readable bar code that is printed on an area of the substrate material, and information in human-readable symbology that occupies at least a portion of the area occupied by the bar code;

wherein the bar code is printed in a first ink that can be read utilizing energy of a first wavelength and the human-readable symbology is printed in a second ink that differs from said first ink and can be read in a humanly visible wavelength that differs from said first wavelength, which second ink does not absorb sufficient energy in said first wavelength so as to prevent reading of the bar code by a bar code-reading machine, and the bar code does not interfere with the readability of the human-readable symbology; and

wherein the substrate material reflects both said first wavelength and said humanly visible wavelength.

9. A multi-readable information system, comprising a substrate on which there is a printed information in the form of a first type of machine-readable symbology combined with printed information in the form of a different type of machine-readable symbology, wherein the first type of machine-readable symbology occupies at least a portion of an area that is also occupied by said different type of machine readable symbology without either type of symbology interfering with the readability of the other, the first type of machine-readable symbology is printed in a first ink that can be read utilizing energy of a first wavelength, said different type of machine-readable symbology is printed in a second ink that differs from said first ink and can be read utilizing energy of a different wavelength from said first wavelength, which second ink does not absorb sufficient energy in said first wavelength to prevent reading of the first type of machine-readable symbology by a first machine compatible therewith;

which first ink does not absorb sufficient energy in said different wavelength to prevent reading of said different type of machine readable symbology by a different machine compatible therewith, and wherein the substrate material reflects both said first wavelength and said different wavelength.