Method and apparatus for the identification of articles
US4424587A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 13, 1981 |
| Grant date | Jan 3, 1984 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 13, 2001 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06V30/10
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for identifying objects (e.g. consumer products in a supermarket) appearing in random positions and orientations and for random times on an image window and having an identification on the surface facing the image window in the form of a data field having contrasting indicia in at least one data track. The data field is first scanned with a scanning raster until a product identification code is recognized denoting the position and orientation of the data track. The data track is then read with a closely-spaced reading raster and converted to a videosignal. The amplitude of the videosignal is coded into binary digits at discrete time points and the digits are stored in a memory matrix organized into columns and rows in such a manner that an image of the data track is stored in the memory. Mutually overlapping partial regions of the memory are then read out in a pre-arranged sequence and fed to a decoder capable of accepting and decoding the information in this form. In this way, the information is converted from a row-by-row sequence produced by the reading raster into a succession of digits corresponding to individual partial regions …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.