Information recording medium

• US 5,874,718 A
• Filed: 10/17/1996
• Issued: 02/23/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsui, Shinzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien Minh
• Application Number:
  US08/730,845
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• Field of Search: 235/441, 235/456, 235/494, 235/462, 235/472, 235/454, 235/455, 235/469
• US Class Current: 235/494
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding

Abstract

An information recording medium includes a dot pattern recorded thereon and optically readable, and the dot pattern is formed of a group of blocks arranged in matrix. Each of the blocks has both a data dot pattern constituted of a plurality of dots arranged in accordance with the content of data and a block address pattern representing an address of the block arranged in a predetermined position in relation to the data dot pattern. The dot pattern is formed such that the same blocks in predetermined areas of the block group are overlapped in the scanning direction.

Claims

1. An information recording medium comprising:

a sheet-shaped medium; and

a dot pattern recorded on at least one surface of said sheet-shaped medium and optically readable, said dot pattern including a block group having a plurality of blocks arranged in matrix, and each of the blocks having both a data dot pattern formed of a plurality of dots arranged in accordance with a content of data and a block address pattern arranged in a predetermined position in relation to the data dot pattern and representing an address of said each of the blocks of the block group,

wherein said dot pattern includes same blocks overlapped in a scanning direction.

2. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes same blocks recorded continuously.

3. The information recording medium according to claim 2, wherein said dot pattern is reproduced from a plurality of images picked up by an image pickup unit of an information reproduction apparatus;

said image pickup unit has an image pickup range capable of picking up images of at most M blocks in the scanning direction and picking up images of at least (M-1) blocks, where M is an integer larger than 2; and

K pairs of blocks each including N different blocks arranged continuously in the scanning direction are recorded in the scanning direction, where N is an integer smaller than M and equal to or larger than 2, and K is an integer equal to or larger than 2.

4. The information recording medium according to claim 2, wherein said dot pattern includes a plurality of rows of same blocks overlapped in the scanning direction with overlaps of the same blocks varying in number from row to row.

5. The information recording medium according to claim 2, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning speed at which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.

6. The information recording medium according to claim 5, wherein said scanning speed becomes higher as the number of overlaps of blocks increases.

7. The information recording medium according to claim 2, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks whose arrangement varies from data to data.

8. The information recording medium according to claim 2, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks whose overlaps vary in number from data to data.

9. The information recording medium according to claim 2, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning amount by which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.

10. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes pairs of same blocks recorded continuously.

11. The information recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said dot pattern is reproduced from a plurality of images picked up by an image pickup unit of an information reproduction apparatus;

said image pickup unit has an image pickup range capable of picking up images of at most M blocks in the scanning direction and picking up images of at least (M-1) blocks, where M is an integer larger than 2; and

K pairs of blocks each including N different blocks arranged continuously in the scanning direction are recorded in the scanning direction, where N is an integer smaller than M and equal to or larger than 2, and K is an integer equal to or larger than 2.

12. The information recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said dot pattern includes a plurality of rows of same blocks overlapped in the scanning direction with overlaps of the same blocks varying in number from row to row.

13. The information recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning speed at which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.

14. The information recording medium according to claim 13, wherein said scanning speed becomes higher as the number of overlaps of blocks increases.

15. The information recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks whose arrangement varies from data to data.

16. The information recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks whose overlaps vary in number from data to data.

17. The information recording medium according to claim 10, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning amount by which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.

18. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes same blocks recorded periodically.

19. The information recording medium according to claim 18, wherein said dot pattern is reproduced from a plurality of images picked up by an image pickup unit of an information reproduction apparatus;

said image pickup unit has an image pickup range capable of picking up images of at most M blocks in the scanning direction and picking up images of at least (M-1) blocks, where M is an integer larger than 2; and

K pairs of blocks each including N different blocks arranged continuously in the scanning direction are recorded in the scanning direction, where N is an integer smaller than M and equal to or larger than 2, and K is an integer equal to or larger than 2.

20. The information recording medium according to claim 18, wherein said dot pattern includes a plurality of rows of same blocks overlapped in the scanning direction with overlaps of the same blocks varying in number from row to row.

21. The information recording medium according to claim 18, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning speed at which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.

22. The information recording medium according to claim 21, wherein said scanning speed becomes higher as the number of overlaps of blocks increases.

23. The information recording medium according to claim 18, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks whose arrangement varies from data to data.

24. The information recording medium according to claim 18, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks whose overlaps vary in number from data to data.

25. The information recording medium according to claim 18, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning amount by which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.

26. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes same blocks overlapped in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction.

27. The information recording medium according to claim 26, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning amount by which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.

28. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern is reproduced from a plurality of images picked up by an image pickup unit of an information reproduction apparatus;

said image pickup unit has an image pickup range capable of picking up images of at most M blocks in the scanning direction and picking up images of at least (M-1) blocks, where M is an integer larger than 2; and

K pairs of blocks each including N different blocks arranged continuously in the scanning direction are recorded in the scanning direction, where N is an integer smaller than M and equal to or larger than 2, and K is an integer equal to or larger than 2.

29. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes same blocks overlapped with overlaps of the same blocks increasing in number toward a halfway portion of the dot pattern in the scanning direction.

30. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes a plurality of rows of same blocks overlapped in the scanning direction with overlaps of the same blocks varying in number from row to row.

31. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning speed at which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.

32. The information recording medium according to claim 31, wherein said scanning speed becomes higher as the number of overlaps of blocks increases.

33. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks whose arrangement varies from data to data.

34. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks whose overlaps vary in number from data to data.

35. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said dot pattern includes blocks overlapped, the number of overlaps of blocks being determined in accordance with a scanning amount by which a reading unit scans the dot pattern.