Dynamically variable machine readable binary code and method for reading and producing thereof
First Claim
1. An apparatus for reading a dynamically variable machine optically readable code, said code comprising data formed as a plurality of data elements forming a two dimensional array and having a perimeter, said code having a variable number of data elements and including a density indicia for determining the density of data elements contained within the code, said density indicia being disposed in said code independently of the positioning of said data elements comprising said data, said density indicia being a function of the number of data elements comprising data in said code and said apparatus operating on said density indicia to determine the density of data contained within said code.
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Abstract
A machine readable binary code which is dynamically variable in size, format and density of information is provided. The binary code is formed as a matrix having a perimeter and data contained therein. The perimeter is provided with density indicia for indicating the density of data contained within the matrix. The perimeter is also provided with size indicia for indicating the size of the matrix. By utilizing the density indicia and size indicia, a scanning device is able to calculate the size and information density of the binary code.
55 Citations
79 Claims
- 1. An apparatus for reading a dynamically variable machine optically readable code, said code comprising data formed as a plurality of data elements forming a two dimensional array and having a perimeter, said code having a variable number of data elements and including a density indicia for determining the density of data elements contained within the code, said density indicia being disposed in said code independently of the positioning of said data elements comprising said data, said density indicia being a function of the number of data elements comprising data in said code and said apparatus operating on said density indicia to determine the density of data contained within said code.
- 23. An apparatus for reading a machine optically readable code, said code comprising data formed as a plurality of data elements having a perimeter, the perimeter including a size indicia as a first side of the perimeter and a second side of the perimeter, said first side and second side each being formed of a solid line, the first side and second side intersecting at a first corner and corresponding to the orientation of the code relative to a visual field within which said code is disposed, said apparatus having means for reading said code and means for operating on said size indicia and determining the physical size of the code and the distortion of the code.
- 39. An apparatus for reading a machine optically readable code disposed within a visual field, said code comprising data formed as a plurality of data elements having a perimeter and a size indicia indicating the physical size of the code, the apparatus operating on the size indicia to determine the physical size of the code, the code further including an orientation indicia, the apparatus further operating on the orientation indicia to determine the orientation of the code relative to a visual field in which the code is disposed, the orientation indicia including a first side of the perimeter, a second side of the perimeter, said first and second sides each being formed of a solid line, the first side and second side intersecting a first angle, said first angle defining the orientation of the matrix.
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55. A method for determining the density of a dynamically variable machine readable optical symbol having a code formed of a plurality of data elements in a two dimensional array representing coded data and a perimeter including a first side and a second side, the first and second sides forming a density indicia as first and second patterns having alternating light and dark areas, the first side and second side intersecting at a first corner, the product of the number of alternating light and dark areas of the first and second sides corresponding to the density of coded data in the matrix, comprising the steps of:
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scanning the symbol with an optical scanner and converting the scanned image to a bit map representative of the scanned symbol; processing the bit-map and determining therefrom the number of alternating light and dark areas in the first and second sides respectively; and determining the product of the number of alternating cells of the first and second sides as the density of data in the code. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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67. A method for determining the size of a dynamically variably machine optically readable symbol having a code formed of a plurality of data elements in a two dimensional array representing coded data and a perimeter having a first side and a second side, the first side and second side each being formed of a solid line and intersecting at a first corner, and determining the location of each data element of data of the symbol comprising:
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scanning the symbol with an optical scanner and converting the scanned image to a bit map representative of the scanned image of the symbol; processing the bit map and determining the length of the first and second sides and the angle formed between the first and second sides; and determining the location of each data element of coded data in the code by compensating for any linear distortion based on the determined angle. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
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Specification