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:
Mar. 12, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 23, 2000
Neal Milch, Woodmere, NY (US);
Ragnar Jawerth, Ljungby, SE;
Aktiebolaget Electrolux, Stockholm, SE;
Abstract
In accordance with the invention, an appliance is provided with a controller that stores “points” representing payments made towards the purchase or use of the appliance. Every time the appliance, for example, a washing machine, performs a cycle, a portion of the stored points are debited from a stored balance. The institution purchasing the washing machine thus pays for the machine over each wash cycle. When the balance of the stored points reaches zero, or is less than the number of points needed to perform a particular machine function, the machine becomes inoperable. In order for the institution to regain use of the machine additional points must be added to the stored point balance.
Data source: USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) public patent records. Weekly synchronization. How IDiyas builds this profile