US 5602377

Analysis of U.S. Patent 5,602,377

As of April 28, 2026, this report provides a concise summary of United States Patent 5,602,377. A search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database confirms the following details. Additionally, a search of the 2026 dockets for the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) for litigation involving this patent yielded no results.

Title: Bar code dataform scanning and labeling apparatus and method

Assignee: The original assignee is listed as Metanetics Corp. The patent has since been assigned to Symbol Technologies, LLC, and subsequently to Meta Holding Corp.

Inventors:

• William E. Beller
• Ynjiun P. Wang

Filing Date: March 1, 1995

Issue Date: February 11, 1997

Abstract:
The patent describes a bar code scanning and labeling apparatus and method. The system is designed to scan and decode a product's existing bar code and then generate a new, two-dimensional bar code. This new "modified" bar code incorporates selected data, which includes at least some of the information from the original bar code, plus additional product-related data. The apparatus includes a microprocessor with data selection circuitry to retrieve and assemble the data for encoding. The patent also covers the method for creating this modified bar code dataform, which involves scanning the original, selecting data (including the original and new data), and then using that selected data to produce the new bar code.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

U.S. Patent 5,602,377 has three independent claims: 1, 8, and 14. A plain-language summary of each is provided below.

Independent Claim 1: This claim outlines a method for creating a new, two-dimensional bar code for a product that already has a bar code. The process involves several steps:

1. Scanning the product's existing bar code.
2. Decoding the scanned bar code to get the product-related data.
3. Choosing the data to be included in the new two-dimensional bar code. This selection must include at least some of the data from the original bar code, plus some new, additional product-related information.
4. Encoding all the selected data to create the new two-dimensional bar code.
5. Printing this new two-dimensional bar code onto a label that can be attached to the product.

Independent Claim 8: This claim also describes a method for generating a new, two-dimensional bar code for a product. The steps are as follows:

1. Scan the first bar code associated with the product.
2. Decode this first bar code to get the product-related data.
3. Store this decoded data in a memory.
4. Select the data that will be in the new two-dimensional bar code, which must include some of the stored data from the first bar code and some additional product-related data.
5. Retrieve the selected decoded data from the memory.
6. Obtain the selected additional data.
7. Generate the new two-dimensional bar code based on all the selected data.
8. Print this new bar code on a label to be associated with the product.

Independent Claim 14: This claim focuses on the physical apparatus for scanning and labeling. It describes a device that can generate a new two-dimensional bar code for a product. The apparatus is comprised of:

• A microprocessor that has circuitry to select and retrieve data from the device's storage and assemble it for encoding.
• A scan engine connected to the microprocessor for scanning the original bar code.
• Encoding and decoding circuitry that can decode the scanned bar code into machine-readable data and encode the selected data (including the additional information) to generate the new two-dimensional bar code.
• An interface (like a keypad or trigger) for operating the scanner and specifying the data to be included in the new bar code.
• Communication technology to send and receive data from a remote device, with at least some of the additional data coming from this remote device.
• A data storage system (like memory) to store the decoded data and the data received from the remote device.
• A printing mechanism to print the newly generated two-dimensional bar code onto a label.