(19) United States
`(12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2010/0078480 A1
`AKER
`(43) Pub. Date:
`Apr. 1, 2010
`
`US 2010.00784.80A1
`
`(54) METHOD OF POSITIONING THE BARCODE
`
`Publication Classification
`
`(75) Inventor:
`
`Wynn L.AKER, Manorville, NY
`(US)
`
`Correspondence Address:
`MOTOROLA, INC.
`1303 EAST ALGONQUINROAD, IL01/3RD
`SCHAUMBURG, IL 60196
`
`(73) Assignee:
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`
`SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES,
`INC. Schaumburg, IL (US)
`s
`s
`12/240,335
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Sep. 29, 2008
`
`(51) Int. Cl.
`(2006.01)
`G06K 7/10
`(2006.01)
`B65D 85/00
`(52) U.S. Cl. .................. 235/462.08: 206/459.5: 235/494
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`A method of associating a barcode with a product that has a
`product body with a round ending section. The method
`includes positioning the barcode repetitively along a circle
`sharing a common center with an outer-ring of the round
`ending section. A method of reading such a barcode on Such
`a product includes positioning at least a portion of the round
`ending section of the product within a field of view of a
`barcode reader Such that a complete barcode can be construed
`from a portion of a first instance of the barcode and a portion
`of the second distance of the barcode.
`
`45
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 1, 2010 Sheet 1 of 9
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`At 7 G. 74
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`Patent Application Publication
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`50A
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`At ZG 24
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 1, 2010 Sheet 3 of 9
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`At A G BAB
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`40
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 1, 2010 Sheet 4 of 9
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`42
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`At A G BC
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 1, 2010 Sheet 5 of 9
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`US 2010/00784.80 A1
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`58
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`44
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`60 AB
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`50A
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`At A G. 44
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 1, 2010 Sheet 6 of 9
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`58
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`44
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`50A
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`AvAG 4 AB
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 1, 2010 Sheet 7 of 9
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`US 2010/00784.80 A1
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`44
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`52AB
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`t
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`50A
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`52HA
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`7
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`5OH
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`At ZG 4C
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 1, 2010 Sheet 8 of 9
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`44
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`At A G. ada
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`Patent Application Publication
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`Apr. 1, 2010 Sheet 9 of 9
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`US 2010/00784.80 A1
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`44
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`80
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`US 2010/00784.80 A1
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`Apr. 1, 2010
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`METHOD OF POSITONING THE BARCODE
`
`FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
`
`0001. The present disclosure relates generally to barcodes.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`0002 Many beverage pods have generally cylindrical
`shapes and can be rotationally symmetric. Some times, these
`beverage pods are physically keyed to break the rotational
`symmetry So that these beverage pods can be placed in a
`brewer in only one orientation. FIG. 1A-FIG. 1B illustrate a
`keyed beverage pod 40 with a barcode 50 printed on the
`surface of a round ending section 45. The keyed beverage pod
`40 is keyed with some physical extension 48 to break the
`generally rotational symmetry of the beverage pod. When a
`keyed beverage pod is placed in a multi-beverage brewer with
`a fixed orientation, a barcode reader in the multi-beverage
`brewer can repeatedly find the barcode and decode the infor
`mation in the barcode to allow the multi-beverage brewer to
`handle the keyed beverage pod accordingly. Many beverage
`pods, however, are not keyed and it is still desirable for a
`barcode reader in a brewer to find the barcode on the beverage
`repeatedly and reliably.
`0003 Generally, if a product is somewhat cylindrically
`symmetric and has some of its information coded with bar
`codes, when Such product is to be handled by certain han
`dling-machine, it may be desirable for a barcode reader in the
`handling-machine to find the barcode on Such product repeat
`edly and reliably.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`0004. In one aspect, the invention is directed to a product.
`The product includes a product body with a round ending
`section, and a barcode repetitively positioned along a circle
`sharing a common center with an outer-ring of the round
`ending section.
`0005 Implementations of the invention can include one or
`more of the following features. The product body can be
`cylindrically symmetric. The product body can have the
`shape of a cylinder, or the shape of a conic cylinder. The
`diameter of the circle can be substantially equal to or smaller
`than the diameter of the outer-ring of the round ending sec
`tion. Two instances of the barcode can be separated by a gap,
`can be adjoining to each other, or can be overlapping with
`each other.
`0006. In another aspect, the invention is directed to a
`method of associating a barcode with a product that has a
`product body with a round ending section. The method
`includes positioning the barcode repetitively along a circle
`sharing a common center with an outer-ring of the round
`ending section of the product body.
`0007 Implementations of the invention can include one or
`more of the following advantages. A barcode reader can read
`the information coded in the barcode on a product regardless
`of the rotational orientation of the somewhat cylindrically
`symmetric product body.
`0008. These and other advantages of the present invention
`will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading
`
`of the following specification of the invention and a study of
`the several figures of the drawings.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
`0009. The accompanying figures, where like reference
`numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements
`throughout the separate views, together with the detailed
`description below, are incorporated in and form part of the
`specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of
`concepts that include the claimed invention, and explain vari
`ous principles and advantages of those embodiments.
`(0010 FIG. 1A-FIG. 1B illustrate a keyed beverage pod
`with a barcode printed on the Surface of a round ending
`section.
`FIG. 2A-FIG.2B illustrate a product with a product
`(0011
`body that is somewhat cylindrically symmetric and some
`information of the product is coded with barcodes in accor
`dance with some embodiments.
`(0012 FIG. 3A-FIG. 3C illustrate several different shapes
`of the product body that is somewhat cylindrically symmet
`ric
`0013 FIG. 4A-FIG. 4C, illustrate several different
`embodiments in which the barcode is repetitively positioned
`along a circle sharing a common center with an outer-ring of
`the round ending section of the product body.
`0014 FIG.5A-FIG. 5B illustrate that a barcode reader can
`read the information coded in the barcode even if the orien
`tation of the product body is not fixed, in accordance with
`Some embodiments.
`0015 Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the
`figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not
`necessarily been drawn to Scale. For example, the dimensions
`of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated
`relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of
`embodiments of the present invention.
`0016. The apparatus and method components have been
`represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in
`the drawings, showing only those specific details that are
`pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present
`invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that
`will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
`having the benefit of the description herein.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`(0017 FIG. 2A-FIG.2B illustrate a product with a product
`body 40 that is somewhat cylindrically symmetric and some
`information of the product is coded with barcodes in accor
`dance with some embodiments. In FIG. 2A, the product body
`40 is generally in the shape of a conic cylinder. The product
`body 40 is terminated with around ending section 45. FIG.2B
`is a top view of the product body 40. In FIG. 2B, a barcode is
`repetitively positioned along an out-ring 46 of the round
`ending section 45. Multiple instances of the same barcode,
`50A-50H, are printed on the surface of the round ending
`section 45. In other implementations, the barcode can be
`repetitively positioned along a circle sharing a common cen
`ter with an outer-ring of the round ending section, and the
`diameter of such circle can be smaller than the diameter of the
`outer-ring. In general, the product body 40 can be in the shape
`of a conic cylinder as shown in FIG. 3A, in the shape of a
`cylinder as shown in FIG. 3B, or in any other shape that is
`somewhat cylindrically symmetric as shown in FIG.3C.
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`0018. In one implementation, as shown in FIG. 4A, two
`instances of the barcode are separated by a gap. For example,
`instance 50A of the barcode is separated from instance 50B of
`the barcode with a gap 60AB, and instance 50A of the barcode
`is separated from instance 50H of the barcode with a gap
`6OHA.
`0019. In another implementation, as shown in FIG. 4B,
`two instances of the barcode are positioned adjoining to each
`other such that there is no gap between the two instances of
`the barcode. For example, instance 50A of the barcode is
`positioned adjoining to instance 50B of the barcode, and
`instance 50A of the barcode is also positioned adjoining to
`instance 50H of the barcode.
`0020. In another implementation, as shown in FIG. 4C,
`two instances of the barcode are overlapping each other Such
`that the two instances of the barcode share at lestone common
`bar. For example, instance 50A of the barcode is overlapping
`with instance 50B of the barcode and the two instances share
`common bars 52AB, and instance 50A of the barcode is also
`overlapping with instance 50H of the barcode and the two
`instances share common bars 52HA. In one implementation,
`when the barcode is in the form of the Universal Product Code
`(UPC), two instances of the same UPC code can share the
`guard bars which normally areappended at each end of a UPC
`code.
`0021. In FIG.4A-FIG. 4C, the barcode is repetitively posi
`tioned along a circle 44 sharing a common center with an
`outer-ring of the round ending section of the product body.
`The diameter of the circle 44 can be substantially equal to the
`diameter of the outer-ring 46 as shown in FIG. 2A-2B. The
`diameter of the circle 44 can be smaller than the diameter of
`the outer-ring 46.
`0022. As shown in FIG. 5A-FIG. 5B, when a barcode is
`repetitively positioned along a circle 44, a barcode reader can
`read the information coded in the barcode even if the orien
`tation of the product body is not fixed. In FIG. 5A, one
`instance 50A of the barcode is completely within the view 80
`of the barcode reader, the barcode reader certainly can read
`and decode this instance of barcode. In FIG. 5B, the orienta
`tion of the product body is changed by an angle 0 as compared
`with the orientation in FIG. 5A. Because of such orientation
`change, a portion of the instance 50A is moved out of the view
`80 of the barcode reader, whereas a portion of another
`instance 50B is moved into the view 80 of the barcode reader.
`While neither the instance 50A nor the instance 50B can
`provide the complete information of the barcode indepen
`dently, the combination of both the instance 50A and the
`instance 50B may possibly provide enough information to
`construe the barcode completely, provided that the view 80 of
`the barcode reader covers sufficient portion of the instance
`50A and sufficient portion of the instance 50B. Consequently,
`a barcode reader can read the information coded in the bar
`code regardless of the rotational orientation of the somewhat
`cylindrically symmetric product body.
`0023. In the foregoing specification, specific embodi
`ments have been described. However, one of ordinary skill in
`the art appreciates that various modifications and changes can
`be made without departing from the scope of the invention as
`set forth in the claims below. Accordingly, the specification
`and figures are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a
`restrictive sense, and all such modifications are intended to be
`included within the scope of present teachings.
`0024. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and
`any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or
`
`Solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be
`construed as a critical, required, or essential features or ele
`ments of any or all the claims. The invention is defined solely
`by the appended claims including any amendments made
`during the pendency of this application and all equivalents of
`those claims as issued.
`0025. Moreover in this document, relational terms such as
`first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used
`solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity
`or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual
`Such relationship or order between such entities or actions.
`The terms “comprises.” “comprising.” “has”, “having.”
`“includes”, “including.” “contains”, “containing or any
`other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive
`inclusion, Such that a process, method, article or apparatus
`that comprises, has, includes, contains a list of elements does
`not include only those elements but may include other ele
`ments not expressly listed or inherent to such process,
`method, article or apparatus. An element proceeded by “com
`prises... a”, “has... a”, “includes... a”, “contains...a does
`not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of addi
`tional identical elements in the process, method, article or
`apparatus that comprises, has, includes or contains the ele
`ment. The terms “a” and “an are defined as one or more
`unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms “substan
`tially”, “essentially”, “approximately”, “about' or any other
`version thereof, are defined as being close to as understood by
`one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting
`embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, in another
`embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1%
`and in another embodiment within 0.5%. The term “coupled
`as used herein is defined as connected, although not neces
`sarily directly and not necessarily mechanically. A device or
`structure that is "configured in a certain way is configured in
`at least that way, but may also be configured in ways that are
`not listed.
`0026. It will be appreciated that some embodiments may
`be comprised of one or more generic or specialized proces
`sors (or “processing devices”) Such as microprocessors, digi
`tal signal processors, customized processors and field pro
`grammable gate arrays (FPGAs) and unique stored program
`instructions (including both Software and firmware) that con
`trol the one or more processors to implement, in conjunction
`with certain non-processor circuits, some, most, or all of the
`functions of the method and/or apparatus described herein.
`Alternatively, some or all functions could be implemented by
`a state machine that has no stored program instructions, or in
`one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),
`in which each function or some combinations of certain of the
`functions are implemented as custom logic. Of course, a
`combination of the two approaches could be used.
`0027 Moreover, an embodiment can be implemented as a
`computer-readable storage medium having computer read
`able code stored thereon for programming a computer (e.g.,
`comprising a processor) to perform a method as described
`and claimed herein. Examples of Such computer-readable
`storage mediums include, but are not limited to, a hard disk, a
`CD-ROM, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage
`device, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a PROM (Program
`mable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Program
`mable Read Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Eras
`able Programmable Read Only Memory) and a Flash
`memory. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill,
`notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design
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`choices motivated by, for example, available time, current
`technology, and economic considerations, when guided by
`the concepts and principles disclosed herein will be readily
`capable of generating Such software instructions and pro
`grams and ICs with minimal experimentation.
`0028. The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow
`the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical
`disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will
`not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the
`claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it
`can be seen that various features are grouped together in
`various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the
`disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted
`as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments
`require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.
`Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject mat
`ter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodi
`ment. Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into
`the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own
`as a separately claimed Subject matter.
`What is claimed is:
`1. A product comprising:
`a product body with a round ending section; and
`a barcode repetitively positioned along a circle sharing a
`common center with an outer-ring of the round ending
`section.
`2. The product of claim 1, wherein the product body is
`cylindrically symmetric.
`3. The product of claim 1, wherein the product body has the
`shape of a cylinder.
`4. The product of claim 1, wherein the product body has the
`shape of a conic cylinder.
`5. The product of claim 1, wherein the product body is a
`beverage pod container.
`6. The product of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the
`circle is Substantially equal to the diameter of the outer-ring of
`the round ending section.
`7. The product of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the
`circle is smaller than the diameter of the outer-ring of the
`round ending section.
`8. The product of claim 1, wherein two instances of the
`barcode are separated by a gap.
`9. The product of claim 1, wherein two instances of the
`barcode are separated by a white gap having no coded bar
`therein.
`10. The product of claim 1, wherein two instances of the
`barcode are separated by a black gap having no coded space
`therein.
`
`11. The product of claim 1, wherein two instances of the
`barcode are adjoining each other Such that there is no gap
`between the two instances of the barcode.
`12. The product of claim 1, wherein two instances of the
`barcode are overlapping each other Such that the two
`instances of the barcode share at lest one common bar.
`13. The product of claim 1, wherein the barcode is repeti
`tively printed along the circle.
`14. A method of associating a barcode with a product that
`has a product body with a round ending section comprising:
`positioning the barcode repetitively along a circle sharing a
`common center with an outer-ring of the round ending
`section of the product body.
`15. The method of claim 14, wherein the product body is
`cylindrically symmetric.
`16. The method of claim 14, wherein the positioning the
`barcode repetitively comprises:
`separating two instances of the barcode by a gap.
`17. The method of claim 14, wherein the positioning the
`barcode repetitively comprises:
`separating two instances of the barcode by a white gap
`having no coded bar therein.
`18. The method of claim 14, wherein the positioning the
`barcode repetitively comprises:
`separating two instances of the barcode by a black gap
`having no coded space therein.
`19. The method of claim 14, wherein the positioning the
`barcode repetitively comprises:
`adjoining two instances of the barcode Such that there is no
`gap between two instances of the barcode.
`20. The method of claim 14, wherein the positioning the
`barcode repetitively comprises:
`overlapping two instances of the barcode such that the two
`instances of the barcode share at lest one common bar.
`21. A method of reading a barcode associated with a prod
`uct that has a product body with a round ending section
`whereon a barcode is repetitively positioned along a circle
`that shares a common center with an outer-ring of the round
`ending section, the method comprising:
`positioning at least a portion of the round ending section of
`the product within a field of view of a barcode reader
`such that the field of view covers at least a portion of a
`first instance of the barcode and a portion of a second
`instance of the barcode; and
`construing the barcode from the portion of the first instance
`of the barcode and the portion of the second instance of
`the barcode.
`22. The method of claim 21, wherein the product body is
`cylindrically symmetric.
`
`c
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