Systems, methods and articles related to machine-readable indicia and symbols

• US 8,888,207 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2013
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visualant, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Visualant, Inc.
• Inventors: Furness, Thomas A. III, Schowengerdt, Brian T.
• Primary Examiner(s): FEGGINS, KRISTAL J
• Application Number:
  US13/762,090
• Publication Number:
  US 20130215168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 347/5, 347/6, 347/9, 347/14, 347/16, 347/19
• US Class Current: 347/6
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17546 electronically
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/205 for printing a discrete number of tones B41J2/21 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06056 the marking comprising a further embedded marking, e.g. a 1D bar code with the black bars containing a smaller sized coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0614 the marking being selective to wavelength, e.g. color barcode or barcodes only visible under UV or IR methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers using a selected wavelength, see G06K7/12

Abstract

A system employs combinations of marking media, each with respective distinguishing spectral characteristics to encode human comprehensible information in, and read human comprehensible information from, machine-readable indicia or symbols. Machine-readable indicia may be a single dot encoding information only in the combinations. Machine-readable symbols may be linear or two dimensional, spatially encoding information in the combinations, as well as spatially. A symbology may map at least the combinations to human-readable symbols or characters. A printer may form indicia or symbols with combinations of marking media. A reader may read indicia or symbols and decode information from at least the combinations of marking media. Different combinations may be visually homogenous, for example gray.

Claims

1. A printer, comprising:

a number of media receptacles to respectively receive respective ones of a number of consumable marking media, each of the marking media having at least one respective spectral distinguishing characteristic, the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of each one of the marking media different from the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of the other ones of the marking media;

at least one printhead operable to selectively form one or more marks with the marking media on a substrate media; and

a control subsystem which, for each of a number of pieces of information, selects from the number of marking media available in the printer based on the respective piece of information to be represented and controls the at least one printhead to form the marks on the substrate media with the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information, at least one of the marks including a combination of at least two of the marking media which are not spatially separably distinguishable from one another by an unaided human.

2. The printer of claim 1, further comprising:

at least one combining chamber in which the selected marking media are combined before forming the marks on the substrate media.

3. The printer of claim 1 wherein the control subsystem controls the printhead to apply a first one of the selected marking media to a first area of the substrate media, and subsequently apply a second one of the selected marking media to the first area of the substrate media.

4. The printer of claim 1 wherein the printer is an ink jet printer and the marking media includes a plurality of inks or is a laser printer and the marking media includes a plurality of toners.

5. The printer of claim 1 wherein the control subsystem further, for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selects from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media masks the marks.

6. The printer of claim 1 wherein the control subsystem further, for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selects from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media for the respective mark renders the respective mark effectively not visually humanly discernable from other ones of the marks by an unaided human observer.

7. The printer of claim 1, further comprising:

a transport mechanism communicatively coupled to the control subsystem to be controlled thereby and operable to transport the substrate medium relative to the printhead.

8. The printer of claim 7 wherein the transport mechanism is one of a sheet feed transport mechanism including at least one roller and at least one motor coupled to drive the at least one roller and operable to transport sheets of substrate medium past the printhead or a continuous web transport mechanism including at least one roller and at least one motor coupled to drive the continuous web of substrate medium past the printhead.

9. A method of operating a printer, comprising:

for each of a number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selecting from a number of consumable marking media available in the printer based on the respective piece of information to be represented, each of the marking media having at least one respective spectral distinguishing characteristic, the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of each one of the marking media different from the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of the other ones of the marking media; and

for each of a number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, forming a mark on the substrate media with the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information, at least one of the marks including a combination of at least two of the marking media which are not spatially separably distinguishable from one another by an unaided human.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

combining the selected marking media before forming the mark on the substrate media.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein forming a mark on the substrate media with the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information includes applying a first one of the selected marking media to a first area of the substrate media, and subsequently applying a second one of the selected marking media to the first area of the substrate media.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein forming the mark on the substrate media includes at least one of ejecting or depositing the selected marking media on the substrate media.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the number of marking media takes the form of a plurality of ink or a plurality of toners, and forming the mark on the substrate media includes applying to the substrate media the inks or the toners that correspond to the selected marking media.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selecting from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media masks the mark.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selecting from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media for the respective mark renders the respective mark effectively not visually discernable from other ones of the marks by an unaided human observer.

16. A printer, comprising:

a number of media receptacles to respectively receive respective ones of a number of consumable marking media, each of the marking media having at least one respective spectral distinguishing characteristic, the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of each one of the marking media different from the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of the other ones of the marking media;

at least one combining chamber in which the selected marking media are combined;

at least one printhead operable to selectively form one or more marks with the combined marking media on a substrate media; and

a control subsystem which, for each of a number of pieces of information, selects from the number of marking media available in the printer based on the respective piece of information to be represented and controls the at least one printhead to form the marks on the substrate media with the combined marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information, at least one of the marks including a combination of at least two of the marking media which are not spatially separably distinguishable from one another by an unaided human.

17. The printer of claim 16 wherein a first number of the marking media are combined for a first one of the pieces of information, and a second number of the marking media are combined for a second one of the pieces of information, the second number different than the first number.

18. The printer of claim 16 wherein for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, the control subsystem further selects from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media masks the mark.

19. The printer of claim 16 wherein for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, the control subsystem further selects from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media for the respective mark renders the respective mark effectively not visually discernable from other ones of the marks by an unaided human observer.

20. A method of operating a printer, comprising:

for each of a number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selecting from a number of consumable marking media available in the printer based on the respective piece of information to be represented, each of the marking media having at least one respective spectral distinguishing characteristic, the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of each one of the marking media different from the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of the other ones of the marking media;

for at least one of the pieces of information, combining a combination of at least two of the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information; and

for each of a number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, forming a mark on the substrate media with the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein mixing a combination of at least two of the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information includes combining a combination of two of the marking media for a first one of the pieces of information, and combining a combination of five of the marking media for a second one of the pieces of information.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selecting from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media masks the mark.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selecting from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media for the respective mark renders the respective mark effectively not visually discernable from other ones of the marks by an unaided human observer.

24. A printer, comprising:

a number of media receptacles to respectively receive respective ones of a number of consumable marking media, each of the marking media having at least one respective spectral distinguishing characteristic, the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of each one of the marking media different from the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of the other ones of the marking media;

at least one printhead operable to selectively form one or more marks with the marking media on a substrate media; and

a control subsystem which, for each of a number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selects from the consumable marking media available in the printer based on the respective piece of information to be represented, and selects from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media for the respective mark renders the respective mark effectively not visually discernable from other ones of the marks by an unaided human observer.

25. The printer of claim 24, further comprising:

a combining chamber in which the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information and the additional marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information are combined; and

wherein, for each of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, the control subsystem controls the at least one printhead to form a respective mark on the substrate media with the combination of marking media and additional marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information.

26. The printer of claim 24 wherein combining the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information and the additional marking media includes combining at least two of the marking media selected for a first one of the pieces of information and at least one of the additional marking media selected for the respective first one of the pieces of information.

27. The printer of claim 24 wherein selecting from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media includes selecting the additional marking media to produce a respective combination of marking media that results in markings which are effectively humanly visually indiscernible in color for each different piece of information.

28. The printer of claim 24 wherein selecting from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media includes selecting the additional marking media to produce a respective combination of marking media that results in markings which are gray in color for each different piece of information.

29. A method of operating a printer, comprising:

for each of a number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selecting from a number of consumable marking media available in the printer based on the respective piece of information to be represented, each of the marking media having at least one respective spectral distinguishing characteristic, the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of each one of the marking media different from the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of the other ones of the marking media;

for each of at least some of the number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, selecting from the number of consumable marking media available in the printer at least one additional marking media that in combination with the other selected marking media for the respective mark renders the respective mark effectively not visually discernable from other ones of the marks by an unaided human observer.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

combining the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information and the additional marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information; and

for each of a number of pieces of information to be represented on one or more substrate media, forming a mark on the substrate media with the combination of marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein combining the marking media selected for the respective one of the pieces of information and the additional marking media includes combining at least two of the marking media selected for a first one of the pieces of information and at least one of the additional marking media selected for the respective first one of the pieces of information.

32. The method of claim 29 wherein the control subsystem selects the additional marking media to produce a respective combination of marking media that results in markings which are effectively humanly visually indiscernible in color for each different piece of information.

33. The method of claim 29 wherein the control subsystem selects the additional marking media to produce a respective combination of marking media that results in markings which are gray in color for each different piece of information.

34. A printer, comprising:

at least one printhead operable to selectively form one or more marks with the marking media on a substrate media; and

a control subsystem which causes the at least one printhead to form a first symbol character of a symbol at a first region of a piece of substrate media; and

at least a second symbol character of the symbol at a second region of the piece of substrate media, the second region spatially distinct from the first region, wherein the second symbol character at the second region is effectively humanly visually indiscernible in color from the first symbol character at the first region.

35. The printer of claim 34 wherein the control subsystem further causes the at least one printhead to form at least a third symbol character of the symbol at a third region of the piece of substrate media, the third region spatially distinct from the first and the second regions, wherein the third symbol character at the third region is effectively humanly visually indiscernible in color from the first and the second symbol characters at the first and the second regions, respectively.

36. The printer of claim 34, further comprising:

a number of reservoirs of marking media available to the at least one printhead, each of the marking media having at least one respective spectral distinguishing characteristic, the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of each one of the marking media different from the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of the other ones of the marking media.

37. The printer of claim 36 wherein the control subsystem causes the at least one printhead to form the first symbol character of the symbol from a first combination of at least two of a plurality of marking media based on the information to be represented;

and form the second symbol character of the symbol from a second combination of at least two of a plurality of marking media based on the information to be represented, the second combination different from the first combination.

38. The printer of claim 36, further comprising:

at least one combining chamber in which the selected marking media are combined before forming the marks on the substrate media.

39. The printer of claim 36 wherein the control subsystem causes the at least one printhead to apply a first one of the marking media of the first combination to a first region of the substrate media, and subsequently apply a second one of the marking media of the first combination to the first region of the substrate media to form the first symbol character on the substrate media.

40. The printer of claim 34 wherein for each of a plurality of symbol characters of the symbol, including the first and the second symbol characters, the control subsystem determines both a respective relative position and a respective combination of marking media for the symbol character based on the information to be encoded in the symbol where information is at least partially encoded in the relative position and the combination of marking media of the symbol characters.

41. The printer of claim 34 wherein for each of a plurality of symbol characters of the symbol, including the first and the second symbol characters, the control subsystem determines a neutralizing marking media that when combined with other marking media will result in a humanly perceptible color that renders the respective symbol character effectively humanly visually indiscernible in color from all other symbol characters which form the symbol.

42. The printer of claim 34 wherein the printer is an ink jet printer and the marking media includes a plurality of inks or the printer is a laser printer and the marking media includes a plurality of toners.

43. A method of operating a printer to form symbols which encode information, comprising:

forming a first symbol character of a symbol at a first region of a piece of substrate media; and

forming at least a second symbol character of the symbol at a second region of the piece of substrate media, the second region spatially distinct from the first region, wherein the second symbol character at the second region is effectively humanly visually indiscernible in color from the first symbol character at the first region.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising:

forming at least a third symbol character of the symbol at a third region of the piece of substrate media, the third region spatially distinct from the first and the second regions, wherein the third symbol character at the third region is effectively humanly visually indiscernible in color from the first and the second symbol characters at the first and the second regions, respectively.

45. The method of claim 43 wherein forming a first symbol character includes forming the first symbol character of the symbol from a first combination of at least two of a plurality of marking media available in the printer based on the information to be represented, each of the marking media having at least one respective spectral distinguishing characteristic, the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of each one of the marking media different from the at least one spectral distinguishing characteristic of the other ones of the marking media;

and wherein forming a second symbol character includes forming the second symbol character of the symbol from a second combination of at least two of a plurality of marking media available in the printer based on the information to be represented, the second combination different from the first combination.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein forming the first and the second symbol characters on the substrate media includes at least one of ejecting or depositing the respective combination of marking media on the substrate media.

47. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

mixing the marking media of the first combination before forming the first symbol character on the substrate media.

48. The method of claim 45 wherein forming a first symbol character on the substrate media with the first combination of marking media includes applying a first one of the marking media of the first combination to a first region of the substrate media, and subsequently applying a second one of the marking media of the first combination to the first region of the substrate media.

49. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

for each of a plurality of symbol characters of the symbol, including the first and the second symbol characters, determining both a respective relative position and a respective combination of marking media for the symbol character based on the information to be encoded in the symbol where information is at least partially encoded in the relative position and the combination of marking media of the symbol characters.

50. The method of claim 45 wherein determining a respective combination of marking media for the symbol character based on the information to be encoded in the symbol includes determining a neutralizing marking media that when combined with other marking media will result in a humanly perceptible color that renders the respective symbol character effectively humanly visually indiscernible in color from all other symbol characters which form the symbol.