| US 7,540,421 B2 | ||
| Method and apparatus for making articles | ||
| Stephen Paul Pinchen, Etwall (United Kingdom); and Jens Jacob Juul Rasmussen, Hellerup (Denmark) | ||
| Assigned to FractureCode Corporation ApS, (Denmark) | ||
| Filed on Feb. 05, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/671,292. | ||
| Application 11/671292 is a continuation of application No. 10/313185, filed on Dec. 06, 2002, granted, now 7,188,774. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 0129369.5 (GB), filed on Dec. 07, 2001. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0200001 A1, Aug. 30, 2007 | ||
| Int. Cl. G06K 7/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 235—435 [235/462.11; 235/487; 235/494] | 5 Claims |
| 1. A method of monitoring the distribution of articles comprising the steps of:
(a) creating a series unique labels by printing a succession of unique composite indicium on a substrate, said labels useful
for labeling each article in a series of articles and formed by feeding said substrate having a first location and successive
locations through a printing apparatus that prints a first indicium having a first pattern at said first location and at said
successive distinct locations on said substrate, feeding said substrate through an apparatus that prints a second indicium
at said first location and at each said successive location, the combination of said first indicium and said second indicium
at said first location and each said successive location comprising a unique composite indicium for each label, at least one
of said first and second indicium being unchanged with each successive label printing, and the other indicium being displaced
relative to the first printed indicium for each successive label to form said series of unique composite indicium;
(b) labeling successive articles with successive labels having a unique composite indicium;
(c) scanning each said unique composite indicium label on the articles;
(d) using an algorithm to derive a unique character string corresponding to each said unique composite indicium; and
(e) storing the character string in a storage means to maintain data associated with the article.
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