Two dimensional code for processing data

In a system for reading two-dimensional code marks on an article including a camera for imaging the marks, signal processing means coupled to the camera for processing information contained in the marks, and a surface of the article bearing the code marks thereon, wherein the code marks are contained in a fixed-size marking zone of the surface and each of the code marks further comprises a pattern of light and dark areas;

• the improvement comprising:
• the code marks being non-contiguous within the marking zone;
• each one of the code marks further comprising a pattern of n distinct contiguous triangular areas, the areas selectively being light and dark;
• the code marks being arranged in at least one unit block as a row-column matrix;
• and
• rows and columns of the unit block each including at least one position code, the position code further comprising code marks denoting an address code, a start code, an end code, and a line feed code.

A device including code marking for automatic data reading of a surface of an article by a camera-computer system, comprising:

• a fixed-size marking zone on the surface of the article;
• code marks deployed in a unit block matrix pattern within the zone, the pattern including lines of code marks in two perpendicular directions;
• each of the code marks further comprising a two-by-two checkerboard pattern of 4 distinct contiguous squares, each one of the squares being divided by one diagonal line extending between opposite square corners, such that 8 distinct contiguous areas are within each of the code marks;
• the areas selectively being light and dark;
• each of the code marks being individually adapted to 256 distinct configurations of light and dark,
• whereby the camera-computer system may assign corresponding particular meanings to each one of the configurations, and the meanings may include selectively data and non-data messages of position within the zone.