Container assembly

Abstract

A container assembly is disclosed. The container assembly includes a container that contains a volume. Selected portions of the container assembly may provide indication to a user of features or status of the container assembly.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system to provide an indication to a user regarding a use of a filter assembly, comprising:
 an indicator assembly including an indicator configured to provide an indication to a user;   a first sensor including a light sensor configured to sense an ambient light when a lid of the system is moved to an open position and generate a first signal in response to the ambient light being sensed, wherein the first signal is operable to determine a state of a filter within the system;   a second sensor configured to generate a second signal regarding a state of a container assembly that is movable between a first state and a second state; and   a processor module configured to execute instructions to:
 determine the state of the filter based at least on the first signal, 
 determine the state of the container assembly, and 
 cause the indicator to provide the indication based on the state of the filter during at least the second state of the container assembly. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the indicator is configured to emit at least a first color of visible light and a second color of visible light, the first color of visible light correlated to a first state of the filter and the second color of visible light correlated to a second state of the filter. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a light emitting member; and   a light pipe extending from the light emitting member, wherein the indicator is a portion of the light pipe that extends through the container assembly.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the light pipe includes at least a first section and a second section, the second section being positioned near a pour spout of the container assembly. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the second section is less than about three millimeters from the pour spout. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the light pipe is positioned and configured to direct an emitted light into a stream of a liquid passing through a pour spout of the container assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first sensor is configured to sense when the lid is moved to the open position and includes at least one of a Hall effect sensor, a physical switch, an electrical switch, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor module determines the state of the filter based upon a number of times the ambient light is sensed during a predetermined period of time compared to a predetermined number of light senses. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processor module determines the state of the filter based upon a number of times the lid is sensed open compared to a predetermined number of lid open senses. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the second sensor is a tilt sensor; and   the processor module is configured to determine the state of the container assembly based upon an angle sensed by the tilt sensor.   
     
     
         11 . A system to provide an indication to a user regarding a use of a filter assembly, comprising:
 a container assembly comprising a container member and a lid;   a filter assembly including a filter configured to filter a liquid placed in the container member;   an indicator assembly including an indicator configured to provide an indication to a user;   a first sensor including a light sensor configured to sense an ambient light when the lid is in an open position and generate a first signal in response to the ambient light being sensed, the first signal operable to determine a state of the filter;   a second sensor configured to generate a second signal regarding a state of the container member, which is movable between a first state and a second state; and   a processor module configured to execute instructions to:
 determine the state of the filter based at least on the first signal, 
 determine the state of the container member, and 
 cause the indicator to provide the indication based on the state of the filter during at least the second state of the container member. 
   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the first sensor, the second sensor, and the processor module are provided in an electronics unit that is fixed to the lid. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the lid is configured to be mounted to the container member. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the processor module counts a number of times the first sensor generates the first signal to determine the state of the filter. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein:
 the second sensor is configured to sense a pouring of a fluid from the container member;   the processor module generates an indicator signal to cause the indicator to provide the indication based on a count of a number of times the first sensor generates the first signal; and   the indication includes an emission of visible light.   
     
     
         16 . A method to provide an indication to a user regarding a selected parameter of a filter assembly included in a container assembly, comprising:
 storing a selected parameter of a filter included in the filter assembly, the selected parameter being indicative of a state of the filter;   sensing an occurrence of ambient light when a lid covering the filter assembly is moved to an open position;   transmitting a signal regarding the sensed occurrence to a processor module;   determining an indication signal based on the transmitted signal and the stored selected parameter;   determining a state of the container assembly based on a second signal from a second sensor configured to sense the state of the container assembly; and   upon determining, based on the second signal, that the container assembly is in an active state, operating an indicator based on the indication signal.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein sensing the occurrence relative to the stored parameter includes sensing the ambient light when the lid in the open position for a set period of time. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein determining the indication signal based on the transmitted signal and the stored parameter includes:
 determining a number of ambient light senses; and   comparing the number to the stored parameter.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein determining the indication signal further comprises selecting at least one user perceivable indication regarding the stored parameter of the filter. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the second sensor comprises a tilt sensor and the method further comprises:
 determining that the container assembly is in the active state based on the tilt sensor connected to the container assembly.