The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 07, 1990
Filed:
Sep. 12, 1988
Applicant:
Inventor:
Frank H Blitchington, Richmond, VA (US);
Assignee:
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G06F / ; G06K / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
364468 ; 235375 ;
Abstract
Disclosed is a method and apparatus for identifying the lot codes of workpieces, such as printed circuit board panels, as they progress down a manufacturing line. At an initial stage of processing, a hole pattern is drilled along one edge of the pieces. The hole pattern includes the lot code number of that piece in binary form. The hole pattern can be addressed by appropriate optical means such as an LED-phototransistor combination or by a video camera as the pieces pass by in order to determine the lot code or other information at any desired point in the processing.