End-of-life indicator
First Claim
1. An end-of-life indicator comprising an indicator circuit including a fusible link that severs to provide notice to the user that a consumable component has exhausted its useful life.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This inventive end-of-live indicator is useful to provide notice of the degree of exhaustion of a consumable component of a device or appliance. The end-of-live indicator provides an indicator circuit, which upon receiving an electrical signal from a sensing circuit causes polarization of a simple transistor, thereby facilitating a current flow in the indicator circuit sufficient to exceed the current flow capacity of a fuse link. By exceeding the current flow capacity of the fuse link the current potential of the indicator circuit becomes zero. A plurality of indicator circuits permits indication of a plurality of degrees of exhaustion of the consumable component.
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Citations
13 Claims
- 1. An end-of-life indicator comprising an indicator circuit including a fusible link that severs to provide notice to the user that a consumable component has exhausted its useful life.
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2. The end-of-live indicator according to claim wherein the fusible link severs to further preclude operation of the device.
- 3. An end-of-life indicator comprising an indicator circuit including a plurality of fusible links that sever in sequence to provide notice to the user that a consumable component is approaching the end of its useful life.
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8. The end-of-life indicator according to claim I wherein the indicator circuit is integrated with a replaceable consumable component.
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12. An end-of-life indicator comprising an indicator circuit including a plurality of fusible links that sever in sequence to provide notice to the user that a consumable component of a device is approaching the end of its useful life;
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at least one of the plurality of fusible links being designed to sever when the consumable component has been substantially consumed; and
at least one of the plurality of fusible links being designed to sever when the consumable component has reached the end of its life.
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Specification