The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 13, 1998
Filed:
Oct. 03, 1995
John E Thomas, River Falls, WI (US);
Jody A Toetschinger, Crystal, MN (US);
John E McCall, Jr, St. Paul, MN (US);
Eric R Balz, Eagan, MN (US);
Ecolab Inc., St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
Disclosed is an indicator (15, 35) for determining the level of contents in an opaque, plastic container (10, 30, 40). The container (10, 30, 40) is filled with a solid chemical (11), such as a detergent. A spray of warm or hot water (19) impinges upon the eroding surface (16) of the solid chemical (11) to produce a chemical solution. The container (10, 30, 40) is provided with a thermo-chromatic strip (15, 35) or thermo-chromatic surface (41) for detecting the level of solid chemical (11) within the plastic capsule (10). A method of manufacturing the dispensing container (10, 30, 40) is also disclosed.