Patent ID: 7213759

Claim:
A method of reading a machine-readable barcode ( 1 ) including a pre-determined number of code elements, in particular bars and spaces, characterized in that a respective picture ( 7 , 9 , 11 ) is taken by means of optical imaging of at least two adjacent and/or mutually overlapping part sections ( 13 , 15 , 17 ) of the barcode ( 1 ), with the individual part sections ( 13 , 15 , 17 ) each including at least one code element and the part sections ( 13 , 15 , 17 ) including in sum all code elements of the barcode ( 1 ); in that the barcode is moved at a constant speed relative to the means of optical imaging for taking of the pictures; in that the pictures ( 7 , 9 , 11 ) are taken sequentially at a constant image frequency and stored in a data store; and in that the stored pictures ( 7 , 9 , 11 ) or parts ( 25 ) thereof are put together for the reconstruction of the information encoded by the barcode ( 1 ), such that their mutual relative positions are calculated from the image frequency of the shots and the speed of the barcode.