Two-Dimensional Identification Pattern Using Multi-State Symbols
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional two-dimensional identification patterns, such as data matrices, are not robust enough due to dependence on the substrate and print quality, making them vulnerable to degradation and easy to decrypt, and require visible detection areas that can damage the article's appearance.
Innovation Solution
A two-dimensional identification pattern using an arrangement of symbols with multiple states, including valid and invalid states, that is invisible to the user but detectable by a suitable system, which increases the number of possible combinations and requires no specific detection area, enhancing robustness and security through complex symbol arrangements and uniform ink distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional two-dimensional identification patterns (data matrices) are used, then the article can be identified, but the pattern is not robust enough due to substrate dependence and print quality issues
Solution Approach 1:
The identification pattern is divided into multiple symbols arranged in a grid, where each symbol can be independently decoded. This segmentation allows the system to tolerate damage or degradation of individual symbols while maintaining overall identification capability, directly addressing the robustness issue with conventional patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses symbols with multiple states (e.g., different arrangements of white and black pixels) rather than simple binary data matrix elements. This parameter expansion increases the information content and redundancy of each position, making the pattern more resilient to print quality variations and substrate unevenness.
2Ease of operation
If visible identification patterns with detection areas are used, then the pattern can be easily detected and oriented, but the detection area damages the article's general appearance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds orientation and detection information within the symbols themselves rather than adding separate detection areas. Each symbol contains structural information that enables both identification and orientation, eliminating the need for visible quiet zones or detection frames that would compromise article appearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection, orientation, and identification functions are merged into a single integrated pattern structure. The same symbols that carry identification data also provide orientation references and detection cues, eliminating the need for separate detection areas and reducing visual impact.
3Reliability
If conventional data matrices are used, then the identification can be performed, but the pattern is easy to decrypt and lacks security
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs symbols with multiple states and complex internal structures rather than simple binary elements. This increases the combinatorial complexity and information density, making statistical analysis and decryption significantly more difficult while maintaining a regular overall pattern structure for ease of detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The identification pattern combines multiple layers of information encoding within a single visual structure. The pattern integrates orientation references, error correction data, and identification information in a composite format that requires sophisticated analysis to decode, thereby enhancing security without requiring physically complex implementation.
4Reliability
If data matrices with error correction are used, then some robustness is provided, but the pattern remains vulnerable to substrate unevenness and printing defects
Solution Approach 1:
The pattern is segmented into multiple independent or semi-independent symbols distributed across the article surface. This segmentation allows error correction to operate at the symbol level, where local degradation affects only individual symbols rather than the entire pattern, significantly improving resilience to substrate and printing issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates redundant information and error correction mechanisms within each symbol structure in advance. The multi-state symbols contain built-in redundancy that cushions against degradation from substrate unevenness and printing defects, allowing reliable decoding even when some information is lost or corrupted.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for marking an article with an identification pattern which may include information relating to the article and/or to the use thereof, the method including: defining an alphabet of a plurality of symbols; defining, for each symbol, at least two valid states and at least one invalid state; developing a reference pattern including a set of symbols from the alphabet; developing at least one representation of the reference pattern by allocating a specific valid state to each symbol of the reference pattern; and applying a marking, reproducing the representation of the reference pattern, onto the article.