Bar code and reading and decoding device

Claim 1

A record medium having a background of a given sensible characteristic and having sensible indicia located thereon in a plurality of zones of substantially equal area; each zone representing a predetermined value and comprising a plurality of elements each selected from a group comprising a first element in the form of a bar having a first length, a different sensibility than said background and a given width; a second element in the form of a bar having a different length than said first element, a different sensibility than said background and having a width substantially the same as said given width; and a third element in the form of a space having a width substantially the same as said given width and having the sensible characteristic of said background.

Claim 19

A device for reading and decoding bar code, said bar code comprising three different types of bar code elements, said device comprising, in combination: a plurality of sensing means for sequentially sensing each bar code element in a data-representing group; logic circuit means coupled to said sensing means and including first and second gating means for producing a combined signal representing one of said three different types of bar code elements in response to sequential sensing of each code element by said plurality of sensing means; a plurality of storage means, each one coupled to said first and second gating means for storage of said combined signals, and each having a plurality of outputs on which storage output signals representing said combined signals are produced; sequential means for causing successive ones of said storage means sequentially to store combined signals representing sequentially sensed bar code elements; and decoding means coupled to said outputs of said plurality of storage means for producing decoded data from successive groups of storage output signals from said plurality of storage means.

Claim 20

A device for reading and decoding bar code, said bar code comprising three different types of bar code elements, said device comprising, in combination: a plurality of sensing means for sequentially sensing each bar code element in a data-representing group; logic circuit means coupled to said sensing means and including first and second gating means for producing a combined signal representing one of said three different types of bar code elements in response to sequential sensing of each code element by said plurality of sensing means; a plurality of storage means, each one coupled to said first and second gating means for storage of said combined signals, and each having a plurality of outputs on which storage output signals representing said combined signals are produced; sequential means for causing successive ones of said storage means sequentially to store combined signals representing sequentially sensed bar code elements; and decoding means coupled to said outputs of said plurality of storage means for producing decoded data from successive groups of storage output signals from said plurality of storage means.

Claim 25

A device for reading and decoding bar code characters, each of which characters includes a plurality of elements selected from a group comprising a first element in the form of a bar having a first length, a first sensibility and a given width; a second element in the form of a bar having a different length than said first element, said first sensibility, and a width substantially the same as said given width; and a third element in the form of a space having a width substantially the same as said given width and having a sensible characteristic different than said first sensibility, comprising in combination: means for imparting motion to a record member bearing bar code characters; a plurality of sensing means for sensing said bar code elements from said record member as it is moved relative to said sensing means; a plurality of temporary storage devices corresponding in number to said sensing means and coupled thereto for temporarily storing signals derived by said sensing means from sensing a bar code element; a first gating means coupled to at least one of said temporary storage devices; a second gating means coupled to the remainder of said temporary storage devices; the combined signal from said first and second gating means representing one of said first, second and third code elements in each instance; control means for producing a sequential control signal; a plurality of further storage devices, each having two inputs coupled respectively to the outputs of said first and second gating means for receiving said combined signal from said first and second gating means, and being sequentially operable by said sequential control signal for the storage in successive devices of successive signals corresponding to the sensing of successive bar elements from the record member being sensed, the plurality of further storage devices corresponding in number to the plurality of elements in a character; and decoding means coupled to said plurality of further storage devices for determining the character represented by the storage condition of said plurality of further storage devices.

Claim 26

A device for reading and decoding bar code characters, each of which characters includes a plurality of elements selected from a group comprising a first element in the form of a bar having a first length, a first sensibility and a given width; a second element in the form of a bar having a different length than said first element, said first sensibility, and a width substantially the same as said given width; and a third element in the form of a space having a width substantially the same as said given width and having a sensible characteristic different than said first sensibility, comprising in combination: means for imparting motion to a record member bearing bar code characters; a plurality of sensing means for sensing said bar code elements from said record member as it is moved relative to said sensing means; a plurality of temporary storage devices corresponding in number to said sensing means and coupled thereto for temporarily storing signals derived by said sensing means from sensing a bar code element; a first gating means coupled to at least one of said temporary storage devices; a second gating means coupled to the remainder of said temporary storage devices; the combined signal from said first and second gating means representing one of said first, second and third code elements in each instance; control means for producing a sequential control signal; a plurality of further storage devices, each having two inputs coupled respectively to the outputs of said first and second gating means for receiving said combined signal from said first and second gating means, and being sequentially operable by said sequential control signal for the storage in successive devices of successive signals corresponding to the sensing of successive bar elements from the record member being sensed, the plurality of further storage devices corresponding in number to the plurality of elements in a character; and decoding means coupled to said plurality of further storage devices for determining the character represented by the storage condition of said plurality of further storage devices.