Label generation apparatus

Claim 2

Apparatus for automatically producing a set of labels, said set consisting of a plurality of labels, all of which uniquely identify a single entity, each label in said set of labels containing a combination of indicia and template fields that is individual to said label, comprising: means for defining a set of label templates, said set of label templates consisting of a plurality of label templates, each label template having at least one writable indicia field; means for automatically generating a single set of indicia, said single set of indicia including at least one indicia that uniquely identifies said single entity; means for automatically aggregating a subset of indicia from said generated single set of indicia for each of said label templates, each said subset of indicia including at least one indicia that uniquely identifies said single entity; means for automatically generating data representative of each of said plurality of templates and a corresponding subset of indicia, said data defining said set of labels; means, responsive to said means for automatically generating, for producing said set of labels; means for color coding at least one of said excerpted indicia according to a predetermined color to indicia correspondence; and wherein said means for automatically generating data generates data including said color coding of said at least one excerpted indicia.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said defining means comprises: means for delimiting boundaries of said indicia fields.

Claim 4

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said defining means further comprises: means for generating label media registration marks.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said indicia generating means comprises: means for replicating at least one indicia in each of said n sets of indicia to produce both a human readable and a corresponding machine readable indicia in each of said n sets of indicia.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said indicia generating means comprises: means for replicating at least one indicia in each of said n sets of indicia to produce two duplicate indicia in content but different in form.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said producing means comprises: means responsive to said producing means for converting said label template data and said inserted indicia into printing control signals defining individually identified labels.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said producing means further comprises: means for transmitting said printing control signals to a printer.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said printer comprises: computer controlled printing apparatus for converting said printing control signals to printed indicia and template on said label media.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: means for dividing said label media into individual labels.

Claim 13

The method of claim 10 wherein said step of defining comprises: delimiting boundaries of said indicia fields.

Claim 14

The method of claim 11 wherein said step of defining further comprises: generating label media registration marks.

Claim 15

The method of claim 10 wherein said step of indicia generating comprises: replicating at least one indicia in each of said n sets of indicia to produce beth a human readable and a corresponding machine readable indicia in each of said n sets of indicia.

Claim 16

The method of claim 10 wherein said step of indicia generating comprises: replicating at least one indicia in each of said n sets of indicia to produce two duplicate indicia in content but different in form.

Claim 17

The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of: converting said label template data and inserted indicia into printing control signals defining individually identified labels.

Claim 18

The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of: transmitting said printing control signals to a printing apparatus.

Claim 19

The method of claim 16 wherein said step of printing comprises: converting, in a computer controlled printing apparatus, said printing control signals to printed indicia and template on said label media.

Claim 20

The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of: dividing said label media into individual labels.

Claim 21

Apparatus for automatically producing a series of labels, said series consisting of a plurality of labels, all of which uniquely identify a single entity, each label containing indicia individual to said label, comprising: means for defining a sheet template consisting of a matrix of n*m label templates, said matrix of label templates consisting of a plurality of label templates with each of said templates containing at least one writable indicia field and at least one variable template field, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 0 and m is a positive integer greater than 1; means for automatically generating indicia for each of said indicia fields on each of said labels in said matrix of label templates according to a user defined label identification ordering to individually identify each label; means for automatically generating a set of data representative of said at least one variable template field for each label in said series of labels according to a predetermined label ordering; means for combining said sheet template and said generated indicia and data to produce a definition of a series of individually identified labels; means for color coding at least one of said excepted indicia according to predetermined color to indicia correspondence; wherein said means for automatically generating data generates data including said color coding of said at least one excerpted indicia; and means for printing said defined series of labels on label media.

Claim 22

Apparatus for automatically producing a series of labels, said series consisting of a plurality of labels, all of which uniquely identify a single entity, each label containing indicia individual to said label, comprising: means for defining a sheet template consisting of a matrix of n*m label templates, said matrix of label templates consisting of a plurality of label templates with each of said templates containing at least one writable indicia field and at least one variable template field, wherein n is a positive integer greater than 0 and m is a positive integer greater than 1; means for automatically generating indicia for each of said indicia fields on each of said labels in said matrix of label templates according to a user defined label identification ordering to individually identify each label; means for automatically generating a set of data representative of said at least one variable template field for each label in said series of labels according to a predetermined label ordering; means for combining said sheet template and said generated indicia and data to produce a definition of a series of individually identified labels; means for color coding at least one of said excepted indicia according to predetermined color to indicia correspondence; wherein said means for automatically generating data generates data including said color coding of said at least one excerpted indicia; and means for printing said defined series of labels on label media.

Claim 23

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said generating means comprises: means for generating n*m sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to both human readable and machine readable entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label.

Claim 24

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said generating means comprises: means for generating n*m sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series where said entries consist of two duplicate indicia in content but different in form, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label.

Claim 25

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said generating means comprises: means for generating k*(n*m) sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label, where k is a positive integer greater than zero.

Claim 26

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said defining means comprises: means for delimiting boundaries of said indicia fields.

Claim 27

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said defining means further comprises: means for generating label media registration marks.

Claim 28

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said generating means comprises: means for replicating at least one indicia in each of said n sets of indicia to produce both a human readable and a corresponding machine readable indicia in each of said n sets of indicia.

Claim 29

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said indicia generating means comprises: means for replicating at least one indicia in each of said n sets of indicia to produce two duplicate indicia in content but different in form.

Claim 30

The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising: means responsive to said inserting means for converting said label template data and said inserted indicia into printing control signals defining individually identified labels.

Claim 31

The apparatus of claim 27 further comprising: means for transmitting said printing control signals to said printing means.

Claim 32

The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said printing means comprises: computer controlled printing apparatus for converting said printing control signals to printed indicia and template on said label media.

Claim 33

The apparatus of claim 19 further comprising: means for dividing said label media into individual labels.

Claim 36

The method of claim 31 wherein said step of generating generating n*m sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to both human readable and machine readable entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label.

Claim 37

The method of claim 31 wherein said step of generating comprises: generating n*m sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series where said entries consist of two duplicate indicia in content but different in form, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label.

Claim 38

The method of claim 31 wherein said step of generating comprises: generating k* (n*m) sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label, where k is a positive integer greater than zero.

Claim 39

The method of claim 31 wherein said step of defining comprises: delimiting boundaries of said indicia fields.

Claim 40

The method of claim 35 wherein said step of defining further comprises: generating label media registration marks.

Claim 41

The method of claim 31 wherein said step of generating comprises: replicating at least one indicia in each of said n sets of indicia to produce both a human readable and a corresponding machine readable indicia in each of said n sets of indicia.

Claim 42

The method of claim 31 wherein said step of generating comprises: replicating at least one indicia in each of said n sets of indicia to produce two duplicate indicia in content but different in form.

Claim 43

The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of: converting said label template data and inserted indicia into printing control signals defining individually identified labels.

Claim 44

The method of claim 38, further comprising the step of: transmitting said printing control signals to a printing apparatus.

Claim 45

The method of claim 39 wherein said step of printing comprises: converting, in a computer controlled printing apparatus, said printing control signals to printed indicia and template on said label media.

Claim 46

The method of claim 31 further comprising the step of: dividing said label media into individual labels.

Claim 47

Apparatus for automatically producing a sequence of individually identified labels, said set consisting of a plurality of labels, all of which uniquely identify a single entity, each label in said set of labels containing a combination of indicia and template fields that is individual to said label, comprising: means for defining a label set template comprising an n*m pattern of individual label templates, each of which includes k writable information fields and at least one variable template field; means for generating an ordered sequence of n*m indicia, each of said n*m indicia consisting of k characters, where n and k are positive integers greater than 0 and m is a positive integer greater than 1; means for inserting data representative of said variable template field into said defined label template for each label in said series of labels according to a predetermined label ordering; and means for inserting the k characters of each successive one of said n*m indicia in the corresponding writable information fields of successive individual label templates.

Claim 48

Apparatus for automatically producing a sequence of individually identified labels, said set consisting of a plurality of labels, all of which uniquely identify a single entity, each label in said set of labels containing a combination of indicia and template fields that is individual to said label, comprising: means for defining a label set template comprising an n*m pattern of individual label templates, each of which includes k writable information fields and at least one variable template field; means for generating an ordered sequence of n*m indicia, each of said n*m indicia consisting of k characters, where n and k are positive integers greater than 0 and m is a positive integer greater than 1; means for inserting data representative of said variable template field into said defined label template for each label in said series of labels according to a predetermined label ordering; and means for inserting the k characters of each successive one of said n*m indicia in the corresponding writable information fields of successive individual label templates.

Claim 49

The apparatus of claim 43 wherein said generating means comprises: means for generating n*m sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to both human readable and machine readable entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label.

Claim 50

The apparatus of claim 43 wherein said generating means comprises: means for generating n*m sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series where said entries consist of two duplicate indicia in content but different in form, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label.

Claim 53

The method of claim 46 wherein said step of generating comprises: generating n*m sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to both human readable and machine readable entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label.

Claim 54

The method of claim 46 wherein said step of generating comprises: generating n*m sets of indicia, each of said sets of indicia corresponding to entries in said indicia fields on one of said labels in said series where said entries consist of two duplicate indicia in content but different in form, according to a predetermined label identification ordering to individually identify each label.

Claim 55

Apparatus for automatically producing a series of labels, said set consisting of a plurality of labels, all of which uniquely identify a single entity, each label containing indicia individual to said label comprising: one or more processor means, each of which includes: means for defining a set of label templates, said set of label templates consisting of a plurality of label templates, each label template having at least one writable indicia field; means for automatically generating a single set of indicia, said single set of indicia including at least one indicia that uniquely identifies said single entity; means for inserting data representative of a one of said at least one indicia into each said defined label template for each label in said series of labels according to a predetermined label ordering; means for combining said label template and said generated indicia; means for printing said combined template and indicia, including: printer apparatus for printing labels on a label medium; means for converting said combined template and indicia into printer control signals; means for transmitting said printer control signals to said printer apparatus.

Claim 56

Apparatus for automatically producing a series of labels, said set consisting of a plurality of labels, all of which uniquely identify a single entity, each label containing indicia individual to said label comprising: one or more processor means, each of which includes: means for defining a set of label templates, said set of label templates consisting of a plurality of label templates, each label template having at least one writable indicia field; means for automatically generating a single set of indicia, said single set of indicia including at least one indicia that uniquely identifies said single entity; means for inserting data representative of a one of said at least one indicia into each said defined label template for each label in said series of labels according to a predetermined label ordering; means for combining said label template and said generated indicia; means for printing said combined template and indicia, including: printer apparatus for printing labels on a label medium; means for converting said combined template and indicia into printer control signals; means for transmitting said printer control signals to said printer apparatus.

Claim 59

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said indicia generating means comprises: means for automatically generating n sets of indicia, wherein each set of indicia is ordered according to a user-defined ordering, where n is a positive integer at least equal to 1.

Claim 60

The apparatus of claim 51 wherein said data generating means comprises: means for storing m sets of data, each of said m sets of data defining a label template having at least one writable indicia field, where m is a positive integer greater than 1.

Claim 61

The apparatus of claim 52 wherein said producing means comprises: means, responsive to said generating means and said m sets of data, for producing m individually identified labels for each of said n sets of indicia received from said generating means.

Claim 62

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said producing means comprises: means for automatically printing said individually identified label on to label media.

Claim 63

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said producing means comprises: means for inserting each of said subsets of indicia, individual to each label in said set of labels, into said at least one writable indicia fields for each label in said set of labels; and means for automatically printing each of said individually identified labels in said set of labels on to label media.

Claim 64

The method of claim 10 wherein said step of indicia generating comprises: automatically generating n sets of indicia, wherein each set of indicia is ordered according to a user-defined ordering, where n is a positive integer at least equal to 1.

Claim 65

The method of claim 56 wherein said step of data generating comprises: storing m sets of data, each of said m sets of data defining a label template having at least one writable indicia field, where m is a positive integer greater than 1.

Claim 66

The method of claim 57 wherein said step of producing comprises: producing m individually identified labels for each of said n sets of indicia received from said step of generating.

Claim 67

The method of claim 10 wherein said step of producing comprises: automatically printing said individually identified label on to label media.

Claim 68

The method of claim 10 wherein said step of producing comprises: inserting each of said subsets of indicia, individual to each label in said set of labels, into said at least one writable indicia fields for each label in said set of labels; and automatically printing each of said individually identified labels in said set of labels on to label media.