Abstract: An inspection system for detecting excessive particulate matter in serially presented liquid filled vials. Vials are advanced by an in-feed star wheel, a rotating vial deck and an out-feed star wheel having the same number of vial locations and vial orbit speed. Along the vial deck orbit, each vial is successively clamped to a rotatable puck, spun momentarily to swirl the liquid therein, inspected for particulate content, and unclamped. Further rotating decks carry circumferentially arranged television cameras and light sources, respectively. Each camera looks radially inward, axially through an orbiting periscope and then radially outward to inspect a vial. Light from each light source passes radially inward and then axially to bottom light its vial. A separation unit enhances the camera video portion corresponding to swirling particles in the vial.

Abstract: A compact, self-clocking bar code has a multi-width acquisition bar and a plurality of contiguous data spaces. Data bars occupy selected data spaces to define a code. The bar code is emplaceable on an article or label for identification or other purposes. Scanning means redundantly line scan across the bars and produce a video signal having an amplitude pattern corresponding to the scanned bar code. A decoder includes window logic confining video processing to a read window in the video field in which the scanned bar code is to appear. The decoder includes a high frequency clock circuit and means initially processing, or "digitizing", the raw video signal. A strobe circuit incorporates a side loading up-down counter which initially counts and stores clock pulses in proportion to the scanned width of the acquisition bar.