Patent ID: 6951687

Claim:
A multi-functional product marker which comprises a substantially solid cross-section of a primary polymeric fiber having a longitudinal axis, wherein: (i) said cross-section has substantially parallel first and second faces and at least one additional face substantially-perpendicular to said first face and/or said second face and substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said polymeric fiber; (ii) said cross-section has an aspect ratio of the mean distance across said first face and said second face to the mean distance between said first and second faces of between 1:1 and 200:1; and (iii) said cross-section contains: (a) at least one optically readable identifier for identifying said product, wherein said at least one optically readable identifier comprises at least one void ( 5 ) in said first and second faces of said cross-section, said void extending substantially the entire distance between said first face and said second face and being substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of said primary polymeric fiber, and (b) at least one optically readable orientor for differentiating between said first face and said second face, wherein said optically readable orientor is optically readable on both said first face and said second face and said at least one optically readable orientor comprises a chiral pattern of a plurality of voids ( 5 a ) in said first and second faces of said cross-section, each of said voids being symmetric or asymmetric and extending substantially through said cross-section and being substantially parallel to said longitudinal axis of said primary polymeric fiber.