Liquid pourer with illumination efects

Abstract

A liquid pourer for a container of liquid includes a circuit actuable in response to inversion of the bottle during pouring to activate one or more LEDs that illuminate the liquid in the container.

1 . A liquid pourer adapted for attachment to a container of liquid comprising: 
 an electronic component housing;    electronic components disposed in said electronic component housing and including a voltage source, and an integrated circuit connected for receiving current from said voltage source;    a light source disposed in said component housing and comprising at least one LED coupled to the electronic assembly in order to emit light in response to actuation of said integrated circuit; and    an actuator switch disposed in said component housing and coupled to the integrated circuit to selectively apply actuation voltage from the voltage source to the light source in response to inversion of said housing;    wherein said light source is positioned to direct its emitted light into the liquid in said container.    
   
   
       2 . The liquid pourer of  claim 1  wherein said actuator switch is of the type that is actuated by movement thereof such that inversion of said housing closes said actuator switch.  
   
   
       3 . The liquid pourer of  claim 1  further comprising a selectively actuable power switch disposed in said component housing to selectively block and unblock application of voltage from said voltage source to said integrated circuit during transportation and storage of said pourer.  
   
   
       4 . A method of pouring a liquid from a bottle comprising the step of illuminating the poured liquid from a location inside the bottle during pouring.  
   
   
       5 . A pouring spout assembly adapted to be employed in a pour opening of a container such as a bottle, said assembly comprising: 
 a pouring passage defined through said assembly for conducting liquid out from said container;    an electronic component housing disposed in said assembly and having at least one boundary wall portion capable of transmitting light therethrough;    a light source disposed in said component housing and responsive to an actuation signal applied thereto for emitting light through said boundary wall portion;    a voltage source disposed in said component housing;    an electronic circuit disposed in said component housing and responsive to voltage applied thereto for applying said actuation signal to said light source; and    an actuator switch disposed in said component housing and coupled to the integrated circuit to selectively apply voltage from the voltage source to the electronic circuit in response to inversion of said assembly.    
   
   
       6 . The pouring spout assembly of  claim 5  wherein said component housing is water-tight sealed.  
   
   
       7 . The pouring spout assembly of  claim 6  wherein said actuator switch is of the type that is actuated by movement thereof such that inversion of said bottle closes said actuator switch.  
   
   
       8 . The pouring spout assembly of  claim 6  further comprising a selectively actuable power switch disposed in said component housing to selectively block and unblock application of voltage from said voltage source to said integrated circuit during transportation and storage of said assembly.  
   
   
       9 . The pouring spout assembly of  claim 6  wherein said light source comprises a plurality of LEDs, each LED emitting a different color.  
   
   
       10 . The pouring spout assembly of  claim 9  wherein the integrated circuit includes an oscillator for cyclically individually actuating said LEDs.