Patent ID: 8552313

Claim:
A system for reducing weighing errors of an item being weighed on a weigh platter of a scale associated with a data reader installed in a checkout counter surface or other fixed object, the system comprising: a weigh platter including a top surface adjacent the checkout counter surface or other fixed object, the top surface of the weigh platter including a lateral edge that is adjacent an edge of the checkout counter surface or other fixed object; a data reader configured to detect a change in light reflected off a region of the top surface of the weigh platter proximate the lateral edge of the top surface of the weigh platter; and a controller coupled to the data reader, the controller configured to determine whether an item rests partially on the checkout counter or other fixed object and partially on the weigh platter based on whether the item blocks a portion of the light that would otherwise reflect off of said region proximate the lateral edge; a reference pattern positioned on the top surface of the weigh platter proximate and along the lateral edge, wherein the data reader is configured to detect the pattern when the pattern is unobstructed by an item and the controller is configured to determine whether an item blocks a portion of the light that would otherwise reflect off of the region proximate the lateral edge of the top surface of the weigh platter based on whether the item interrupts the reference pattern.