Method of and apparatus for encoding and recording identifying indicia for arrays of rod-shaped commodities

Abstract

Packs of rod-shaped smokers' products comprise containers of a material which permits monitoring of their contents by a suitable detector serving to generate signals which indicate the presence of characteristic indicia on one or more packed smokers' products. Such signals are encoded and the encoded information is applied to the respective containers. The information can be decoded and compared with signals furnished by the detector in order to ascertain whether or not the smokers' products are genuine, i.e., made by the manufacurer whose trademark(s) and/or other identifying information appear or appears on the containers.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of facilitating identification of the contents of a container for a group of commodities, comprising the steps of: 
 providing the group with at least one identifying indicium;    confining the group in a container;    generating at least one signal which is indicative of the at least one indicium;    encoding the at least one signal; and    applying to the container at least one decodable symbol which is indicative of the encoded at least one signal.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the group is a block-shaped array of rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry, said confining step including draping the array into at least one blank of wrapping material.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one identifying indicium is a composite indicium, and further comprising the step of making the commodities, said providing step including furnishing at least some of the commodities with portions of identifying indicia in the course of said making step.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one indicium is a composite indicium and said providing step includes furnishing at least some of the commodities with portions of a composite indicium, said signal generating step including generating at least one signal which is indicative of mutual positions of portions of the composite indicium in the group.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one identifying indicium is detectable through the container and said signal generating step includes monitoring the group subsequent to said confining step.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said providing step includes applying to at least one commodity of the group at least one foreign object which is detectable through the container.  
     
     
         7 . A method of ascertaining the integrity of the contents of a container which confines at least one discrete commodity, comprising the steps of: 
 associating the at least one commodity with at least one identifying indicium;    confining the thus identified at least one commodity in the container;    monitoring the at least one indicium to gather information denoting the thus detected identifying indicium;    encoding the thus gathered information; and    applying the encoded information to the container.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said monitoring step is carried out subsequent to said confining step and said at least one identifying indicium is detectable through the container.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the contents of the container consist of an array of smokers' products, said associating step including providing at least some smokers' products of the array with portions of a composite encoded information.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said associating step includes providing the commodity with a pattern of randomly distributed portions of a composite identifying indicium.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said monitoring step is carried out prior to said confining step.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said monitoring step includes ascertaining at least one of (a) the position and (b) the characteristics of the at least one indicium.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising the steps of decoding the applied information and comparing the decoded information with the information obtained as a result of said monitoring step.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said monitoring step includes ascertaining the position of the at least one indicium.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said monitoring step includes generating a plurality of first signals and further comprising the step of generating a second signal denoting the sum of said first signals, said encoding step including encoding said second signal.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said associating step includes associating the at least one commodity with an indicium which is detectable through the container by at least one of acoustic, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, high-frequency, microwave and X-ray detectors.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said associating step includes providing the at least one commodity with at least one internal identifying indicium.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein said associating step includes providing the at least one commodity with at least one external identifying indicium.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one commodity exhibits at least one criterion and said associating step includes depriving the at least one commodity of said at least one criterion.  
     
     
         20 . Apparatus for facilitating identification of the contents of a container for a group of commodities at least one of which exhibits at least one identifying indicium, comprising: 
 means for generating at least one signal indicative of the at least one identifying indicium;    means for encoding the at least one signal; and    means for applying to the container at least one decodable symbol which is indicative of the encoded at least one signal.    
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , further comprising means for decoding the applied at least one symbol, and means for comparing the at least one decoded symbol with the at last one signal generated by said signal generating means.  
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , further comprising means for providing the at least one commodity of the group with at least one feature which causes the at least one commodity to exhibit the at least one identifying indicium.  
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 22  for facilitating identification of the contents of a container for a group of nonmetallic commodities, wherein said providing means includes means for combining said at least one commodity with at least one metallic particle.  
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the nonmetallic commodities comprise tubular envelopes and said at least one metallic particle is provided at the envelope of the at least one commodity.  
     
     
         25 . A smokers' product comprising a first portion and a second portion constituting at least one identifying indicium for the first portion.  
     
     
         26 . The smokers' product of  claim 25 , wherein said second portion includes at least one piece of a metallic material.  
     
     
         27 . The smokers' product of  claim 26 , wherein the first portion includes a filter for tobacco smoke and said at least one piece of metallic material is integrated into a haphazardly chosen part of said filter.