Patent ID: 6185471
Filing Date: 2001-02-06
Classification: G06K

Abstract:
A method of providing an article of manufacture with a coded indication of the article's time of manufacture, the method comprising:a) arranging a physically-ordered sequence of slit cutting knives, based on a sequence of binary digits, wherein:1) a slit cutting knife is provided in the physically-ordered sequence when a corresponding binary digit in the sequence of binary digits is a first binary value;2) a slit cutting knife is omitted from the physically-ordered sequence when a corresponding binary digit in the sequence of binary digits is a second binary value; and3) the binary digits in the sequence of binary digits are arranged in plural fields that represent respective time periods collectively constituting the coded indication of the article's time of manufacture; andb) cutting a coded sequence of slits into the article using the slit cutting knives that have been provided in the arranging step.