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:
Jul. 28, 1998
Filed:
Nov. 18, 1996
William R Ratcliffe, Thousand Oaks, CA (US);
William Blake Ratcliffe, Berwick, CA;
Marpole International Inc., Central Hong Kong, HK;
Abstract
A container having a bottom, a side wall and a rim defining the container top can be filled with a fluid such as water. An enclosure holding an energy source (e.g. a battery) and a switch is disposed at the container bottom, preferably within the container. A resilient cover on the enclosure defines a movable contact of the switch and provides open and closed states with a fixed contact within the enclosure. A member disposed externally of the enclosure and defining an electrical circuit with the energy source and the switch becomes illuminated in accordance with the flexing of the cover. A button disposed at the container bottom extends through the container bottom in a sealed relationship with the container bottom and engages the resilient cover when the container is disposed with a particular force on a support surface or when the container on the support surface becomes at least partially filled with fluid. An emblem on the container side, preferably contiguous to the illuminable member, becomes illuminated when the member becomes illuminated. A second enclosure holding an energy source and a switch has a construction corresponding to that disclosed above. The second enclosure is disposed on a tab of a lid which is pivotably mounted on the container rim. When the tab is manually engaged to pivot the lid to the open position, a light emitting member external of such enclosure becomes illuminated to illuminate an emblem on the lid. The emblem on the lid may be replaceable.