Appeal No. 2000-0229
Application No. 08/603,005 Page 16
to the photosensors passes to produce signals to the circuit
means.”
We find that Hellsberg (col. 1, lines 10-15) is directed to
a reader for coded price tags. The price tags have machine
readable code, normally in the form of a hole code. The tags are
fixed to merchandise sold in retail stores and are referred to as
Kimball tags. The tags are brought one by one in front of a row
of photo detectors, which receive light through code holes which
are punched in the tags (col. 1, lines 47-49). As shown in
figure 3, there are 12 rows, each containing 10 different
positions for holes, which are read by 10 light sensors 18 (col.
5, lines 35-42), such that each of up to 10 holes in a row is
read by a separate sensor. Hellsberg further discloses (col. 2,
lines 1-8) that;
It is also an object to obtain a machine of the safe
type which can read tags of other kinds, e.g. the code
type called UPC in the USA and EAN in Europe, and which
is a bar code. According to a special aspect of the
invention, it is also an object to make changes in price
easy in a shop where the merchandise is marked with tags,
e.g. when there is a sale or promotional event.
From the teaching of Hellsberg that it is an object of the
invention to read tags of other kinds, i.e., UPC bar code tags,
in addition to hole code tags, we find that an artisan would have
been taught the interchangeability of hole code and bar code
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