Beverage container with temperature sensitive marking

A product container having a wall defining a receptacle for a product, and first structure on the wall changeable from a first state to a second state as an incident of the first structure being heated above a first predetermined temperature. The first structure is changeable from the second state to the first state as an incident of the first structure being cooled below a second predetermined temperature below the first predetermined temperature. The first structure remains in the first state with the first structure in a temperature range including temperatures above the second predetermined temperature.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to containers for beverages and, more particularly, 
to a container that changes state in response to the introduction of a 
beverage at or above/below a predetermined temperature. 
2. Background Art 
Sales of positioned quantities of beverages, such as beer and soda, may be 
highly profitable. This is particularly true with concessions at stadiums 
and ballparks where tens of millions of containers of these beverages may 
be sold for a particular sporting season. While beverage sales in this 
environment may be highly profitable, they are also very difficult to 
monitor. In the most basic beer and soda dispensing systems, there is no 
provision for flow control or monitoring. The individual dispensing the 
beverage can simply take an empty container and dispense the beverage by 
pulling down a lever or pressing a button, visually monitoring the pour to 
fill the particular container to the desired level. There is basically no 
way to keep tabs on the individuals dispensing the beverage, as a 
consequence of which these persons may offer free refills or refills for a 
small gratuity which does not find its way to the establishment. 
The inventor herein has been involved in the development of dispensing 
units which are programmable to provide a metered pour, which are simply 
set to fill different size containers. In the latest version of this 
device, the pressure of liquid from a supply is monitored so that accurate 
pours are made, even in spite of pressure variations in the liquid supply. 
This latter device is the subject of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 
08/681,326 U.S. Pat. No. 5,730,323 entitled "Automatic Pressure Regulated 
Liquid Dispensing Device. 
While these systems have made possible monitoring of individual portions 
and gross volumes, the problem of free pouring still persists. In a 
typical situation, the customer will purchase a single container of 
beverage, exhaust the beverage, and offer the empty container to the 
individual dispensing the beverage to be refilled. The empty container, 
particularly in the chaotic environment often surrounding a concession, 
will be indistinguishable from an empty, unused container that is being 
properly filled. This refill may go undetected even by a manager 
supervising a concession area. 
While the losses attributable to the above dishonest activity may appear 
trivial at any one station, when these losses are multiplied by the number 
of concession stands and the number of events/games in a particular 
season, the losses become very significant. For example, in an environment 
where tens of millions of beverage pours are made over the course of a 
season, the losses may be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. To 
date, no technology is known to the inventor herein that is available to 
address this problem. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In one form of the invention, a product container is provided having a wall 
defining a receptacle for a product, and first structure on the wall 
changeable from a first state to a second state as an incident of the 
first structure being heated above a first predetermined temperature. The 
first structure is changeable from the second state to the first state as 
an incident of the first structure being cooled below a second 
predetermined temperature below the first predetermined temperature. The 
first structure remains in the first state with the first structure in a 
temperature range including temperatures above the second predetermined 
temperature. 
In one form, the first structure in the first state has a first color and 
the first structure in the second state has a second color that is 
different than the first color. 
In one form, the container wall has an exposed surface and the first 
structure is a coating applied to the container wall so that the first 
structure in the first state visibly contrasts with the exposed surface of 
the container wall. 
The coating may be at least one of a) applied to the entire exposed surface 
of the container wall, b) applied to only a portion of the exposed surface 
of the container wall, and c) selectively applied to the exposed surface 
of the container wall to produce a predetermined contrasting shape with 
the coating in the first state. The contrasting shape may be a written 
message or design. 
The coating may be a thermo chromic ink that may be applied as by using a 
silk screening process. 
The inventive container may be provided in combination with a scanner 
having structure for sensing the presence of the first structure in the 
first state and for producing a first signal as an incident of the sensing 
structure sensing the presence of the first structure in the first state, 
with the sensing structure one of a) producing a second signal that is 
different than the first signal and b) producing no signal as an incident 
of the sensing structure sensing the presence of the first structure in 
the second state. 
The inventive container may also be provided in combination with a 
dispensing system for a liquid including a dispensing valve having an open 
state in which liquid from a supply is allowed to flow through the 
dispensing valve to a point of use and a closed state, with there being 
structure on the dispensing system for receiving the first signal and as 
an incident thereof at least one of changing the dispensing valve from the 
open state into the closed state and b) preventing the dispensing valve 
from being changed from the closed state into the open state. 
The inventive product container may also be provided in combination with a 
product in a receptacle, which product is at least one of a liquid, a 
solid, and an edible article. 
In another form of the invention, a product container is provided having a 
wall defining a receptacle for a product, and first structure on the wall 
changeable from a first state to a second state as an incident of the 
first structure realizing a first predetermined temperature. The first 
structure is changeable from the second state to the first state as an 
incident of the first structure realizing a second predetermined 
temperature that is different than the first predetermined temperature. 
The first structure remains in the first state with the first structure in 
a temperature range including temperatures between the first and second 
predetermined temperatures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
One form of product container, according to the present invention, is shown 
at 10 in FIG. 1. The product container 10 has a continuous peripheral wall 
12 and a bottom wall 14 cooperatively defining a receptacle 16 for in this 
case a supply of a beverage 18, shown filled up to a line 20. 
According to the invention, a coating 22 is applied to the exposed surface 
24 of at least the peripheral wall 12. The coating 22 is preferably a 
thermo chromic ink identified in its commercial form as COLORTELL 
HYSTERISIS TYPE 2.0AQC WATER BASE SILK SCREEN INK NO. 13-41. 
This coating 22 has two different states which are visibly discernible. By 
heating the coating 22 above a first predetermined temperature, 
approximately 106.degree. F., the coating 22 changes from a first state 
into a second state. In the first state, the coating has a first color and 
in the second state it has a second color that is different than the first 
color. When the coating is cooled below 56.degree. F., it changes from the 
second state back to the first state. The first state will be maintained 
until the coating is reheated to 106.degree. F. 
Since beverages, such as beer, are commonly served between 36.degree. and 
43.degree. F., introduction of beer at this temperature to the receptacle 
16 will cause heat conduction to the coating 22, thereby changing the 
coating 22 from the second state back into the first state. This state 
will be maintained until the coating 22 is reheated to 106.degree. F. 
which will normally not occur in the consuming environment without 
applying heat from an external source. 
Accordingly, a purveyor of beverages can monitor the container 10 to 
determine whether the container 10 is being filled for the first time or 
being refilled by visually observing the state of the coating 22. By 
prominently applying the coating to a significant area of the exposed 
surface 24 as in FIG. 1, the state of the coating 22 can be determined 
from a distance. While the coating 22 is shown on only a portion of the 
exposed surface 24, the coating 22 could cover the entire exposed surface 
24. 
In another form of the invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the container 10 has 
the coating 22 selectively applied thereto in a predetermined form, in 
this case as a written message and design that warns the person dispensing 
the beverages not to refill the container 10. In this case, an exemplary 
message is shown with a specific warning "DO NOT REFILL". 
A further modification, according to the present invention, is shown on the 
container 10 in FIG. 3 wherein the bottom wall 14 has the coating 22 
applied thereto in the form of a scannable pattern 26. A scanner 28 has 
means for sensing the pattern 26 with the coating 22 in the first state. 
As an incident of sensing the presence of the coating 22 in the first 
state, a signal 30 is generated by the scanner 28 and received by a 
processor 32. The processor 32 may take a wide variety of forms and may 
produce useable data, such as recording which of a plurality of networked 
dispensing stations is refilling containers, and what quantity is being 
refilled throughout an entire establishment. 
The scanner 28 and associated sensing structure can be constructed to not 
detect the pattern 26 in the second state or, alternatively, could produce 
a second signal upon sensing the coating 22 in the second state usable for 
another purpose. 
The inventive container 10 can be incorporated into a dispensing system as 
shown at 40 in FIG. 4. The dispensing system 40 includes a dispensing 
valve 42 that is selectively placed in an open state, wherein a beverage 
is allowed to flow from a supply 44 to a discharge conduit 46 into the 
container 10. The container 10 is supported on a surface 48 through which 
a pattern 26, as shown in FIG. 3, can be detected by the scanner 28. A 
scanning signal 30 resulting from sensing the presence of the coating in 
the first state can be sent to the processor 32 as previously described. 
Additionally, or alternatively, the scanner 28 can, upon sensing the 
pattern 26 with the coating 22 in the first state, produce a signal 50 
relayed to the dispensing valve 42, causing the valve 42 to change from an 
open state to a closed state, as a result of which discharge of beverage 
from the supply 44 is prohibited. Alternatively, a signal indicative of 
sensing the pattern 26 with the coating 22 in the first state is relayed 
to a closure valve 54 which blocks a feed line 56 communicating from the 
supply 44 to the dispensing valve 42. 
With this arrangement, unauthorized refilling of the containers 10 can be 
prohibited. At the same time, attempted refilling of containers can be 
made known to the establishment by identifying and/or recording the same 
through the processor 32. 
In FIGS. 5 and 6, a modified form of the invention is shown. More 
particularly, a product container 60 is shown which is a bag-like element 
defining a receptacle 62 for a product, in this case a vegetable 64. It 
should be understood that while edible products are shown, the invention 
can be utilized in other types of containers for products that are 
temperature sensitive. 
In this case, the coating 22 is applied to the external surface 66 of the 
container 60. Again, the coating 22 could be applied over the entire 
surface 66, or a part thereof, or controllably applied in a predetermined 
fashion, as to produce a message or design. 
With this arrangement, the coating will change from the first state, shown 
in FIG. 5, to the second state, shown in FIG. 6, to give the user a visual 
indication that the temperature has dropped below a predetermined level, 
which could jeopardize the condition of the product. 
According to the invention, product delivery and product temperature may be 
conveniently monitored. The coating 22 is such that it can be readily 
applied to any type of container, be it plastic, paper, wax coated, etc. 
Application can be facilitated by a silk screening process, as is well 
known to those skilled in the art. 
The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is intended to be 
illustrative of the broad concepts comprehended by the invention.