Photosensitive code reading system

Claim 1

A CODE READING SYSTEM FOR SCANNING OBJECTS, EACH OF WHICH HAS A PLURALITY OF BITS OF INFORMATION CODE THEREON AND EACH OF WHICH HAS A PLURALITY OF BITS OF GATE CODE THEREON, AND FOR PRODUCING SIGNALS INDICATIVE OF SAID INFORMATION CODE, COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF LIGHTSENSITIVE INFORMATION SCANNING DEVICES RESPECTIVELY ARRANGED TO CORRESPOND WITH AND TO SCAN SAID BITS OF INFORMATION CODE SIMULTANEOUSLY AND TO PRODUCE FIRST SIGNALS RESPECTIVELY INDICATIVE OF SAID BITS OF INFORMATION CODE, AN INFORMATION READOUT CIRCUIT RESPECTIVELY COUPLED TO EACH OF SAID INFORMATION SCANNING DEVICES FOR PRODUCING AN INFORMATION SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF ITS RESPECTIVE FIRST SIGNAL, SAID READOUT CIRCUITS BEING NORMALLY INCAPABLE OF PRODUCING SAID INFORMATION SIGNALS IN THE ABSENCE OF A GATE SIGNAL APPLIED THERETO AND IN THE ABSENCE OF A START SIGNAL APPLIED THERETO, A PLURALITY OF LIGHT-SENSITIVE GATE SCANNING DEVICES RESPECTIVELY ARRANGED TO CORRESPOND WITH AND TO SCAN SAID BITS OF GATE CODE SIMULTANEOUSLY AND TO PRODUCE SECOND SIGNALS RESPECTIVELY INDICATIVE OF SAID BITS OF GATE CODE, A GATE CIRCUIT COUPLED TO SAID GATE SCANNING DEVICES FOR PRODUCING A GATE SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO SAID SECOND SIGNALS AND TO A PREDETERMINED ARRANGEMENT OF SAID BITS OF GATE CODE, SAID GATE CIRCUIT BEING NORMALLY INCAPABLE OF PRODUCING SAID GATE SIGNAL IN THE ABSENCE OF A START SIGNAL, MEANS COUPLING SAID GATE CIRCUIT TO SAID READOUT CIRCUITS FOR APPLYING SAID GATE SIGNAL THERETO AND RENDERING SAID READOUT CIRCUITS OPERABLE IN RESPONSE TO SAID GATE SIGNAL, A START CIRCUIT, SAID START CIRCUIT BEING ARRANGED TO PROVIDE A START SIGNAL IN RESPONSE TO THE PRESENCE OF SAID OBJECT, AND MEANS COUPLING SAID START CIRCUIT TO SAID GATE CIRCUIT AND TO SAID READOUT CIRCUITS FOR RENDERING SAID GATE CIRCUIT AND SAID READOUT CIRCUITS OPERABLE IN RESPONSE TO SAID START SIGNAL.