Electric heating – Metal heating – By arc
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-11
2003-02-11
Heinrich, Samuel M. (Department: 1725)
Electric heating
Metal heating
By arc
Reexamination Certificate
active
06518542
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
None
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
Not applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to product identification and more particularly to laser bar coding of products, such as biopsy cassettes.
There is an identified need for an identifying mark (e.g., bar code) on cassettes commonly used in biopsies (histology). Marking to identify the source of the tissue sample borne by the cassette historically has been done manually with a marking pen or by thermal transfer foil/articulated heat scribed (Triangle Biomedical Services, Durham, N.C.). Neither the manual pen nor the scribe can mark accurate bar codes.
Conceptually, a laser may mark the cassette. Unfortunately, direct laser marking (to an acceptable black) of the typical unmodified cassette material (e.g., DELRIN® brand of a linear polyoxymethylene-type acetal resin, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del.) requires a short wavelength laser (e.g., NdYAG laser @ 1.06&mgr; wavelength), which is far more expensive than an equal powered CO
2
laser (@ 10.6&mgr; wavelength) and beyond the financial resources of the typical histology laboratory. Conceivably, the cassette material might be modified in such a way as to enhance direct laser marking contrast (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,514) when using a lower cost CO
2
laser, but this may affect its molding and chemical survival characteristics and would significantly increase the cost of each cassette.
As tissue sample traceability and automation become increasingly important, there is a need for economically and reliably creating bar codes on low cost cassettes, e.g., which cassettes can be marked by low cost (CO
2
laser) markers without requiring markability enhancing additives.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4514456 (1985-04-01), Deal et al.
patent: 5817243 (1998-10-01), Shaffer
patent: 6007929 (1999-12-01), Robertson et al.
O'Neal Edward S.
Robertson John A.
Speakman Christopher D.
Vaughn Ken R.
Heinrich Samuel M.
Infosight Corporation
Mueller and Smith LPA
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