Patent · US Expired

Template or reticule for quality control of a hexagonal code having an acquisition target and an alignment target

US5552593A · kind A · utility

23Cited by
1References
28Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMay 17, 1995
Grant dateSep 3, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 17, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06K19/06
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A print quality, see-through template determines if a hexagonal coded symbol area imprinted on a package falls within allowable limits. The template includes boundaries corresponding to a minimum allowable coded symbol areas and boundaries corresponding to a maximum allowable coded symbol areas. When placed on top of the coded symbol area of the package, it can be determined if the encoded symbol area falls within the bounds shown on the template. The template also includes alignment hexagons for lining up to orientation hexagons that exist on hexagonal code labels. Once these hexagons are lined up, a bull's eye center on the coded symbol area is compared to a dual-size, inverse-color bull's eye on the template, to ensure that the bull's eye meets the specified requirements of the hexagonal code. The template can also be used with a magnifier to make it easier for an operator to align the alignment hexagons on the template with the orientation hexagons on the encoded symbol area, and to allow for the bull's eye pattern to be viewed at a greater size.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.