Abstract: A reel for magnetic recording tape includes a hub having axially extending coaxial inner and outer rims joined by a radially extending web, and an intermediate ring on each side of the web extending axially outwardly of the web and a pair of opposed flanges. The flanges are attached to and extend radially outwardly of the respective hub intermediate rings and each flange includes hub support means cooperating with its respectively adjacent hub intermediate ring and the hub outer rim to assist the hub outer rim in resisting radially inward deflection.

Abstract: A scanning system for supermarket check-out counters or the like, in which a package bearing the universal product code symbol is passed over a scanning window where the code symbol is scanned by a laser-generated and galvanometer-deflected light beam. The complex saw toothed laser scanning pattern, produced by a programmable read-only memory controlled galvanometer system, intercepts the coded symbol, regardless of its orientation, at high symbol speeds and permits higher than normal instantaneous laser power while conforming to safety standards prescribed by the Federal Bureau of Radiological Health. The beam reflected from the coded symbol is collected via a low-cost fiber optic bundle in a photomultiplier, and the video signal is processed in simple circuitry into a square wave signal suitable for subsequent digital computing equipment.