Scanning system for bar code labels affixed to rods

摘要

A system for identifying a bar code label affixed to a rod wherein the bar code label including each bar thereof generally circumferentially spans on the rod an angle (the bar code angle) greater than 180 DEG and less than 360 DEG about the rod's longitudinal axis. The system includes a bar code reading optical scanner and a rod positioning mechanism. The scanner has a light beam from a single source and creates two scanning lines which superimposingly intersect at an angle which is greater than 360 DEG minus the bar code angle and which is less than or equal to 180 DEG . The rod positioning mechanism colinearly (or close enough to such) aligns the rod's longitudinal axis with the intersection line of the scanning lines so that the bar code label may be identified independent of the rotational position of the rod about its longitudinal axis.