Bar code field and bar code reader
First Claim
1. An article of manufacture including a substrate for supporting a first bar code field, said first bar code field being self-timing and including optically encoded machine readable information, said first bar code field comprising bar elements of different widths separated by background elements, wherein at least said bar elements each comprise an optically-diffractive microscopic relief structures with a spatial frequency of over 10 lines per mm and a predetermined orientation defined by an azimuth angle.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An article of manufacture contains a substrate which contains a bar code field containing bar elements and background elements. The bar code elements have embossed, optically-reactive, microscopic periodic, relief structures which are suitable for optical-machine readout. A readout device generates an incident light beam and contains photosensors to detect the diffracted light beams.
93 Citations
20 Claims
- 1. An article of manufacture including a substrate for supporting a first bar code field, said first bar code field being self-timing and including optically encoded machine readable information, said first bar code field comprising bar elements of different widths separated by background elements, wherein at least said bar elements each comprise an optically-diffractive microscopic relief structures with a spatial frequency of over 10 lines per mm and a predetermined orientation defined by an azimuth angle.
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13. The article of manufacture is a valuable document, and wherein said bar code field contains information relating to said document and is located at a predetermined region of said valuable document.
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14. An apparatus for readout of a self-timing bar code field having a predetermined sequence of bar code elements of different widths separated by background elements for encoding information, each of said bar code elements having an optically-diffractive, microscopic periodic relief structure comprising a plurality of lines with a predetermined spatial frequency and a predetermined angular orientation for diffracting incident light, said readout apparatus, comprising:
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a light source for generating a readout light beam and for directing said light beam onto said bar code field, photosensor means for sensing a first diffracted light beam diffracted by said optically-diffractive, microscopic periodic relief structures of said bar code field, said photosensor means being located in a first plane defined by said readout light beam and said first diffracted light beam at a point where said photosensor means will intercept said first diffracted light beam, said photosensor means serving to convert said first diffracted light beam into an output signal. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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- 18. An article of manufacture comprising a substrate for supporting a self-timing bar code field, said bar code field comprising a first sequence of bar code elements of different widths superimposed on a second sequence of bar code elements for encoding information, said bar code elements each having an embossed, optically-diffractive, microscopic periodic relief structure characterized by first and second independent physical criterion, said first independent physical criterion corresponding to said first sequence of bar code elements and said second independent physical criterion corresponding to said second sequence of bar code elements.
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20. An apparatus for readout of a self-timing bar code field having a predetermined sequence of bar code elements of different widths separated by background elements for encoding information, each of said bar code elements having an optically-diffractive microscopic relief structure comprising a plurality of lines with a predetermined spatial frequency and a predetermined angular orientation for diffracting incident light, said apparatus comprising:
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a housing, having an axis of symmetry; a light source located within said housing on said axis so that an incident light beam, collinear with said axis is incident on said bar code field; a first photosensor located on said axis so that said light source is between said bar code field and said first photosensor; a second photosensor located on said axis so that said first photosensor is between said light source and said second photosensor, and axially symmetric optic means for directing a first diffracted light beam, diffracted at a first angle with said incident light beam, onto said first photosensor, and for directing a second diffracted light beam, diffracted at a second angle with said incident light beam, onto said second photosensor.
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Specification