Drinking vessel with indicator activated by inertial switch
DCFirst Claim
1. An illuminated drinking vessel, comprising:
- a drinking vessel having a top and bottom and a longitudinal axis therethrough; and
an impact-responsive indicator circuit contained within said drinking vessel, said indicator circuit including a direction-sensitive inertial switch having a stationary contact and a movable contact, said inertial switch having greater sensitivity to force applied axially to the bottom of said drinking vessel than to force applied in other directions, said indicator circuit further including an indicator and a signal generator responsive to said inertial switch and having an output connected to said indicator, whereby said indicator circuit is particularly responsive to downward impact of said drinking vessel in an upright position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A shot glass with flashing light source or sound source activated by a low-profile, direction-sensitive inertial switch having a cantilevered coil spring contact. The shot glass has a body and a two-part hollow base, the base having upper and lower walls and a side wall together defining a compartment for an impact-responsive indicator circuit including the inertial switch, an LED or speaker, and a signal generator circuit responsive to the inertial switch, an LED or speaker. The inertial switch is a caseless switch consisting of a stationary contact and a cantilevered coil spring contact both mounted directly to a surface of a printed circuit board. The coil spring is preferably suspended over the stationary contact such that the switch is most sensitive to force applied axially to the bottom of the shot glass, and the longitudinal axis of the coil spring is preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shot glass.
101 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An illuminated drinking vessel, comprising:
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a drinking vessel having a top and bottom and a longitudinal axis therethrough; and
an impact-responsive indicator circuit contained within said drinking vessel, said indicator circuit including a direction-sensitive inertial switch having a stationary contact and a movable contact, said inertial switch having greater sensitivity to force applied axially to the bottom of said drinking vessel than to force applied in other directions, said indicator circuit further including an indicator and a signal generator responsive to said inertial switch and having an output connected to said indicator, whereby said indicator circuit is particularly responsive to downward impact of said drinking vessel in an upright position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A shot glass with indicator activated by a cantilever-type inertial switch, comprising:
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a shot glass having a body and a hollow base, said base having upper and lower walls and a side wall together defining a compartment having a maximum interior height of less than 15 mm, and an impact-responsive indicator circuit contained within said compartment, said indicator circuit including a low-profile, direction-sensitive inertial switch, an indicator, and a signal generator responsive to said inertial switch and having an output connected to said indicator, said inertial switch having a stationary contact and a cantilevered spring contact, said cantilevered spring contact having a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said shot glass and having a maximum height within said compartment of less than 5 mm. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An illuminated drinking vessel, comprising:
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a drinking vessel; and
an impact-responsive indicator circuit contained within said drinking vessel, said indicator circuit including an inertial switch, an indicator, a signal generator responsive to said inertial switch and having an output connected to said indicator, and a printed circuit board having said inertial switch and signal generator mounted thereon, wherein said inertial switch is a caseless switch consisting of a stationary contact and a movable contact both mounted directly to a surface of said board. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification