Electro-optical reader

Claim 2

A recognition system for reading encoded data carried by an object and moving with respect to a reading station along a travel path, comprising in combination: first means for receiving energy reflected from the encoded data to provide a first background image area from a first zone at the reading station, a code image area from a second zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the first zone, and a second background image area from a third zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the second zone; second means for electronically deflecting energy reflected from the encoded data of the three zones at the reading station to said first means; third means coupled to said first means and responsive to the three image areas to generate a first electrical signal related to said code image area, and a second electrical signal related to said first and second background image areas; and circuit means connected to receive said first and second electrical signals for combining said first and second electrical signals into a series of code related pulses representing the object carried encoded data.

Claim 3

A recognition system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said circuit means includes a first amplifier means connected to the first electrical signal and a second amplifier means connected to the second electrical signal.

Claim 4

A recognition system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said third means includes multiple columns of energy sensitive sensors with the center columns responsive to energy from the code image area and the outer located columns responsive to energy from the background image areas.

Claim 5

A recognition system for encoded data as set forth in claim 3 wherein said third means includes fiber optic bundles for channeling energy for each column from the image areas.

Claim 6

A recognition system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said circuit means includes first amplifier means connected to receive the first electrical signal and having an output terminals second amplifier means connected to receive the second electrical signal and having an output terminal interconnected to the output terminal of said first amplifier means, and third amplifier means havinG an input connected to the interconnection of the two output terminals and having an output varying as a series of voltage pulses representing the encoded data.

Claim 7

A recognition system for reading and tracking ecoded data carried by an object moving with respect to a reading station along a travel path, comprising in combination: first means for receiving energy reflected from the encoded data to provide a first background image area from a first zone at the reading station, a code image area from a second zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the first zone, and a second background image area from a third zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the second zone; second means for deflecting energy reflected from the encoded data at the three zones of the reading station to said first means; third means connected to said second means to vary the magnitude of deflection imparted to the energy reflected from the three zones; fourth means coupled to said first means and responsive to the three image areas to generate a first electrical signal related to said code image area and a second electrical signal related to said first and second background image areas; circuit means connected to receive said first electrical signal and said second electrical signal, said circuit means being operable to combine said first and second electrical signals into a series of code related pulses representing the object carried encoded data; and fifth means to receive the code related pulses to generate a varying control voltage, said fifth means including means for applying said varying control voltage to said third means to change the deflection angle of reflected energy from the encoded data to position the image areas in said first means.

Claim 8

A recognition system for reading and tracking ecoded data carried by an object moving with respect to a reading station along a travel path, comprising in combination: first means for receiving energy reflected from the encoded data to provide a first background image area from a first zone at the reading station, a code image area from a second zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the first zone, and a second background image area from a third zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the second zone; second means for deflecting energy reflected from the encoded data at the three zones of the reading station to said first means; third means connected to said second means to vary the magnitude of deflection imparted to the energy reflected from the three zones; fourth means coupled to said first means and responsive to the three image areas to generate a first electrical signal related to said code image area and a second electrical signal related to said first and second background image areas; circuit means connected to receive said first electrical signal and said second electrical signal, said circuit means being operable to combine said first and second electrical signals into a series of code related pulses representing the object carried encoded data; and fifth means to receive the code related pulses to generate a varying control voltage, said fifth means including means for applying said varying control voltage to said third means to change the deflection angle of reflected energy from the encoded data to position the image areas in said first means.

Claim 9

A recognition system as set forth in claim 6 wherein said fourth means includes multiple columns of energy sensitive sensors with the center columns responsive to energy from the code image area and generating the first electrical signal and the outer located columns responsive to energy from the background image areas to generate the second electrical signal.

Claim 10

A recognition system as set forth in claim 7 wherein said multiple columns are separated into vertical zones with one such zone selected as a read zone and the sensors of each zone generating a first signal and a second signal.

Claim 11

A recognition system as set forth in claim 8 wherein said circuit means includes a comparator circuit for each first signal of each zone and each second signal of each zone and the control voltage of said fifth means varies in accordance with a displacement from the read zone.

Claim 12

A recognition system as set forth in claim 9 wherein the control voltage of said fifth means changes the deflection angle of said second means to position the image areas in the read zone.

Claim 13

A recognition system as set forth in claim 10 wherein said first means includes an image intensifier tube providing said image areas on a phosphor screen.

Claim 14

A recognition system as set forth in claim 11 wherein said fourth means includes fiber optic bundles for each column of energy sensitive sensors.

Claim 15

A recognition system for reading and tracking encoded data carried by an object moving with respect to a reading station along a travel path, comprising in combination: first means for receiving energy reflected from the encoded data to provide a first background image area from a first zone at the reading station, a code image area from a second zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the first zone, and a second background image area from a third zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the second zone; second means for deflecting energy reflected from the encoded data at the three zones of the reading station to said first means, said second means including horizontal deflector means for providing deflection of the energy in a horizontal direction and vertical deflector means for positioning the energy in a vertiCal direction; third means connected to said horizontal deflector means and vertical deflector means to vary the magnitude of the deflection imparted to the reflected energy in each direction; fourth means coupled to said first means and responsive to said image areas to generate a first signal representing said code image area and a second signal representing said background image areas; circuit means connected to receive the first signal and the second signal for summation into a series of code related pulses representing the encoded data; and fifth means connected to receive the code related pulses to generate a varying control voltage, said fifth means including means for applying said varying control voltage to said third means to change the vertical deflection angle of energy from the encoded data to position the image areas in a designated section of said first means.

Claim 16

A recognition system for reading and tracking encoded data carried by an object moving with respect to a reading station along a travel path, comprising in combination: first means for receiving energy reflected from the encoded data to provide a first background image area from a first zone at the reading station, a code image area from a second zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the first zone, and a second background image area from a third zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the second zone; second means for deflecting energy reflected from the encoded data at the three zones of the reading station to said first means, said second means including horizontal deflector means for providing deflection of the energy in a horizontal direction and vertical deflector means for positioning the energy in a vertiCal direction; third means connected to said horizontal deflector means and vertical deflector means to vary the magnitude of the deflection imparted to the reflected energy in each direction; fourth means coupled to said first means and responsive to said image areas to generate a first signal representing said code image area and a second signal representing said background image areas; circuit means connected to receive the first signal and the second signal for summation into a series of code related pulses representing the encoded data; and fifth means connected to receive the code related pulses to generate a varying control voltage, said fifth means including means for applying said varying control voltage to said third means to change the vertical deflection angle of energy from the encoded data to position the image areas in a designated section of said first means.

Claim 17

A recognition system as set forth in claim 13 wherein said third means includes means for incrementally varying the horizontal deflection of the reflected energy in accordance with a preselected program after an initial detection of encoded data.

Claim 18

A recognition system as set forth in claim 13 wherein said fourth means includes multiple columns of energy sensitive sensors with the center columns responsive to energy from the code image area and the outer located columns responsive to the background image areas.

Claim 19

A recognition system as set forth in claim 15 wherein said multiple columns are separated into vertical zones with one such zone selected as a read zone and the sensors of each zone generating a first signal and a second signal.

Claim 20

A recognition system as set forth in claim 16 wherein said circuit means includes a comparator circuit for each first signal of each zone and each second signal of each zone, and the control voltage of said fifth means varies in accordance with the displacement from the read zone.

Claim 21

A recognition system as set forth in claim 17 wherein said fifth means includes means for generating incremental deflection voltages for the horizontal deflection of reflected energy to reposition the image areas corresponding to a particular data bit of the encoded data in the read zone.

Claim 22

A recognition system as set forth in claim 18 wherein image areas of a particular data bit are horizontally repositioned to the columns of energy sensitive sensors in accordance with a preselected program.

Claim 23

A recognition system for tracking and reading binary encoded data carried by a document moving along a track direction past a reading station, comprising in combination: an image intensifier tube receiving energy reflected from the binary encoded data as a document moves along the track direction, said image intensifier tube providing an electron beam data reproduction of the encoded data on a phosphor screen, said electron beam data reproduction including a first background image area from a first zone at the reading station, a code image area from a second zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the first zone, and a second background image area from a third zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the second zone; horizontal deflection coils displaced around the image intensifier tube to vary the deflection angle of the electron beam to, in turn, vary the horizontal positioning of the data reproduction on the phosphor screen; vertical deflection coils displaced around the image intensifier tube to position the data reproduction in a vertical direction on the phosphor screen; control means connected to the horizontal deflection coils and the vertical deflection coils to vary the position of the data reproduction in accordance with a control voltage; light sensors coupled to the phosphor screen and responsive to the data reproduction thereon to generate a first signal representing the code image area and the second representing the first and second background image areas; first circuit means connecteD to receive the first signal and the second signal for summing into a series of a code related pulses representing the binary encoded data; and second circuit means connected to receive the code related pulses to generate a varying control voltage for application to said control means to change the horizontal and vertical positioning of the data reproduction on the phosphor screen.

Claim 24

A recognition system for tracking and reading binary encoded data carried by a document moving along a track direction past a reading station, comprising in combination: an image intensifier tube receiving energy reflected from the binary encoded data as a document moves along the track direction, said image intensifier tube providing an electron beam data reproduction of the encoded data on a phosphor screen, said electron beam data reproduction including a first background image area from a first zone at the reading station, a code image area from a second zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the first zone, and a second background image area from a third zone at the reading station juxtapositioned the second zone; horizontal deflection coils displaced around the image intensifier tube to vary the deflection angle of the electron beam to, in turn, vary the horizontal positioning of the data reproduction on the phosphor screen; vertical deflection coils displaced around the image intensifier tube to position the data reproduction in a vertical direction on the phosphor screen; control means connected to the horizontal deflection coils and the vertical deflection coils to vary the position of the data reproduction in accordance with a control voltage; light sensors coupled to the phosphor screen and responsive to the data reproduction thereon to generate a first signal representing the code image area and the second representing the first and second background image areas; first circuit means connecteD to receive the first signal and the second signal for summing into a series of a code related pulses representing the binary encoded data; and second circuit means connected to receive the code related pulses to generate a varying control voltage for application to said control means to change the horizontal and vertical positioning of the data reproduction on the phosphor screen.

Claim 25

A recognition system as set forth in claim 20 including fiber optic bundles for coupling the light sensitive sensors to the phosphor screen.

Claim 26

A recognition system as set forth in claim 21 wherein said light sensitive sensors are arranged in multiple columns with the center columns responsive to light energy from the code image area and the outer located columns responsive to the background image areas.

Claim 27

A recognition system for encoded data as set forth in claim 22 wherein said multiple columns are separated into vertical zones with one such zone selected as a read zone and the light sensors of each zone generating a first signal and a second signal.

Claim 28

A recognition system as set forth in claim 23 wherein said first circuit means includes comparator circuits for each first signal and each second signal of each zone of the light sensitive sensors and the code related pulses of each such circuit varies in accordance with the displacement from the read zone.

Claim 29

A recognition system as set forth in claim 24 wherein said control means includes circuitry for applying a deflection voltage to the horizontal deflection coils to cause an incremental displacement of the data reproduction on the phosphor screen in accordance with a preselected program.

Claim 30

A recognition system as set forth in claim 23 wherein said light sensitive sensors of said read zone generate an upper data signal and a lower data signal and said first circuit means includes first amplifier means for receiving the upper data signal and a second amplifier means for receiving the lower data signal of the read zone.

Claim 31

A recognition device for reading encoded data carried by an object and moving, with respect to a reading station, along a travel path, the recognition device comprising: means defining first, second and third juxtaposition sensing areas at the reading station for receiving energy from the encoded data; first energy sensing means responsive to said energy at said first and third sensing areas for providing a first electrical signal; second energy sensing means responsive to said energy at said second sensing area for providing a second electrical signal; and means for combining said first and second electrical signals to provide an output signal representative of said encoded data.

Claim 32

A recognition device for reading encoded data carried by an object and moving, with respect to a reading station, along a travel path, the recognition device comprising: means defining first, second and third juxtaposition sensing areas at the reading station for receiving energy from the encoded data; first energy sensing means responsive to said energy at said first and third sensing areas for providing a first electrical signal; second energy sensing means responsive to said energy at said second sensing area for providing a second electrical signal; and means for combining said first and second electrical signals to provide an output signal representative of said encoded data.