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:
Aug. 22, 2000
Filed:
Jun. 04, 1998
Barton V White, Oregon City, OR (US);
SEH America Inc., Vancouver, CA;
Abstract
A level detector detects the level of an approximately flat surface of a substance in a container. The level detector illuminates a portion of the surface, and detects the location of the illuminated portion on the surface. Based on detecting the location of the illuminated portion, the level detector generates a signal related to the level of the surface, which can represent the level of the surface in a direction perpendicular to the surface. A method for determining a level of a surface of a substance in a container includes illuminating a portion of the surface, detecting a location of the illuminated portion on the surface, and generating a signal related to the level of the surface based on the result of detecting the location of the illuminated portion.