Tiled embedded data block-types for generic embedded data block systems

Claim 1

A two dimensional parallelogram shaped data block structure for tiling a machine readable, symbolic encoding of logically ordered digital values onto a recording medium; said data block structure comprising a spatially periodic lattice of centers; a spatially periodic pattern of symbols written on certain of said centers for subdividing said data block into frames in accordance with a predetermined frame size; said pattern of symbols including symbolic encodings of a first pair of counterpropagating machine digital sequences which are written in alternating sequence and at a predetermined duty ratio on centers that are distributed substantially uniformly within said block structure in substantial parallel alignment with one axis of said block structure and symbolic encodings of a second pair of counterpropagating machine identifiable digital sequences which are written in alternating sequence and at a predetermined duty ratio on centers that are distributed substantially uniformly within said block structure in substantial parallel alignment with a transverse axis of said block structure; each of said digital sequences originating in said data block and being selected to have a uniquely identifiable positional index that incrementally increases when propagating from one member to the next of the sequence, such that said digital sequences spatially reference said data block to their respective origins and distributively label said data block with a data block size parameter; and an encoding of a machine recognizable label which uniquely identifies said data block as a tiled data block, said encoding being written on selected ones of said centers that are distributed throughout said data block to provide distributed instances of said label at a granularity that is approximately equal to said frame size; said symbolic encoding of said logically ordered digital values being written, together with symbolic encodings of other information, in accordance with a predetermined spatial formatting rule on the remainder of said centers, such that symbols are written on each center within said data block to provide a self-clocking code.