Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02465719 2004-04-29
TAP HANDLE DISPLAY SYSTEM
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of physical advertising media used for
advertising brands of beverages, and in particular to advertising media such
as elongate
vertically upstanding tap handles mountable onto beer dispensing spigots.
Background of the Invention
In taverns and other beverage dispensing establishments where beverages were
sold from taps or spigots, operating levers, which were for opening and
closing of the taps or
spigots by the operation of corresponding valves such as slide valves, were
traditionally short
and small easily manipulated handles. The handles were used primarily for the
purpose of
dispensing beverages and advertising of a beer brand on the handle was not an
important
function.
Today it is common for the dispensing handles on taps or spigots to be large
and elongate so as to function as both a dispensing lever as well as
advertising media on which
brands may be displayed prominently. In fact in applicant's experience it is
common for
brewers to supply such dispensing handles (hereinafter "brand handles" or
merely "handles")
to drinking establishments for mounting onto the establishment's taps, or
faucets, or spigots
(collectively hereinafter "taps"). Within each tap is a slide valve which,
when the handle is
leaned from the vertical opens to dispense the beverage. The valve is closed
when the handle
is returned to the upright position. Due to the physical size and weight of
the handle, the slide
valves and atta.ch~ stems may be damaged from repetitive throwing of the
lever. Further yet,
handles may be inadvertently displaced, resulting in loss of beverage and a
loss in profit.
Further, many servers may find it difficult to pour more than a single serving
at one time
without first finding it necessary to put down one receptacle that has been
filled in order to
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have a free hand with which to close the taps. For these reasons, it would be
desirable and
commercially beneficial to have a means of displaying and mounting such tap
handles in a
non-operative display capacity only.
In the prior art Applicant is aware of the following patents and published
patent
applications: United States Patent No. 983,289 which issued February 7, 1911
to Kirby for a
Sign Exhibit Attachment for Faucets; United States Patent No. 1,132,950 which
issued March
23, 1915 to McCallion for a Bar Tap Sign Holder; United States Patent
No.1,225,865 which
issued May 15, 1917 to Schneible for an Electrical Advertising Device; United
States Patent
No. 2,077,847 which issued April 20, 1937 to Meusner for a Beverage Indicator;
United States
Patent No. 2,066,877 which issued January 5, 1937 to Cruver for an Attachment
for Beverage
Dispensing Faucets; United States Patent No. 2,073,986 which issued March 16,
1937 to
Dannenberg et al. for an Advertising Display Device; United States Patent No.
2,340,135
which issued January 25, 1944 to Merritt for a Display Device for Beer Knobs;
United States
Patent No. 3,752,192 which issued August 14, 1973 to Kleppin for a Stanchion
for Beverage
Tap; United States Patent No. 3,762,086 which issued October 2, 1973 to
Horbinski for a
Display Device with Rotatable Motion; United States Patent No. 5,586,691 which
issued
December 24, 1996 to Gotch et al, for a Combination Dispense Tap and Customer
Information
Display; United States Patent No. 6,230,769 B1 which issued May 15, 2001 to
O'Brien for a
Tap-Handle-Assembly Extension to Facilitate One-Handed Operation of Beverage
Taps;
United Kingdom Patent Application No. GB 2,287,569 which was published
September 20,
1995 to Cook for a Beer Engine Pump Clip Badge and United Kingdom Patent
Application
No. GB 2,288,683 which was published October 25, 1995 to Allen for a Display
Device.
As may be seen, in the prior art there have been many devices for exhibiting
advertising of the brands of beverage, predominantly beer, being dispensed
from a tap. Thus
Kirby discloses a sign for attachment to a beer faucet or the like which is
adapted to exhibit a
first sign when the faucet is closed and to automatically exhibit a different
sign when the
faucet is opened, the signs being mounted to a cylindrical portion of the pipe
behind the faucet.
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McCallion discloses a frame or holder for carrying a label or other marking,
the frame or
holder adapted to be attached to the dispensing bar or counter directly in
front of the
corresponding faucet. Schneible illustrates an electrical advertising device
mountable to beer
faucets that provides an electric light, on the bulb of which is displayed a
brand insignia which
is displayed when the bulb is lit, as controlled by the act of withdrawing
beer from the faucet.
Meusner teaches mounting a vertically actuating sign to the pipe being a beer
faucet, the beer
dispensing handle upon rotation actuating a linkage which in teen actuates the
vertical
translation of the sign so that as beer is dispensed, the corresponding brand
signage is elevated
above the bar counter. Cruver similarly is concerned with a patron being able
to identify the
actual faucet from which the beer paid for is being dispensed, and thus
discloses a fixed
cantilevered sign mounted to the handle on the faucet, the brand label or sign
on the end of the
arm cantilevered from the faucet, displaying the type of beer being dispensed.
Dannenberg et
al. teaches an electrically actuated display sign which is lit whenever, and
for as long as, a
particular beer is being dispensed. Merritt teaches angling display surfaces
on beer knobs
mounted atop faucets so that the brand advertising surfaces on the knob are
more easily
readable from the customer's side of the bar. Kleppin discloses the use of a
decorative
stanchion for improving the appearance of tap faucets, a backlit copy bearing
strip being
provided for mounting around the stanchion once assembled around the faucet
tower.
Horbinski discloses a tap valve knob which includes a visually attractive
spinning portion
responsive to operation of the tap. Cook illustrates an illuminating beer
engine pump clip
badge mounted to the vertical handle of the beer engine. Gotch discloses
lighting a tap handle
having beer advertising on the handle by directing light from a light
generator external to the
tap handle so that the tap handle will glow by internal transmission of the
light through the
handle and back-printed or etched designs on the handle. O'Brien discloses a
tap handle
adapted for operation with one hand by a tap handle assembly extension
extending from the
base of the tap handle towards the operator, the extension being adapted for
mounting of small
brand indicating signs thereon. Lastly, Allen discloses mounting a plaque to a
beer pump
handle, font pillars, and other parts of beer dispensing equipment so as to
provide an
interchangeable plaque having advertising or other display material in locked
engagement
thereon.
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Thus as may be seen in a review of the prior art, it has long been established
as
desirable to advertise the brand name of a particular beverage such as beer
being dispensed
from a particular tap. This apparently arises historically from the then
conventional placement
of taps below the level of the bar counter and the corresponding concern of
the consumer that
the bartender is fraudulently dispensing a lesser quality of beverage than
that paid for. Thus,
historically the notion is found of elevating into the field of view of the
consumer the brand of
beverage being dispensed from a particular tap. Many mechanical solutions are
described in
the above referenced prior art and as illustrated in Figure 1. As will be
appreciated, now that it
is conventional for beer taps to be mounted on towers so that the tap itself
is in plain view of
the consumer, the addition of a grossly elongated tap handle to identify the
brand being
dispensed to the consumer is merely a historical anachronism so that the
remaining merely
advertising function of the tap handle may be equally served by, and it is an
object of the
present invention to provide, moving the brand advertising tap handles to a
decorative holder
on the front of the tower. The tap handles may there be displayed in
vertically upstanding
parallel array in the brand order corresponding to the array of taps disposed
from the rear of
the tower.
Summary of the Invention
The object of the present invention is to provide a system which enables brand
handles to be mounted on dispensing towers in a non-operative display on the
customer side of
the tower. This is accomplished by a bracket system consisting in one
embodiment of a collar,
which holds the brand handles, and a strap and clamp that securely attaches
the collar to a
dispensing tower.
The collar has cantilevered stems or arms extending outwardly of the collar in
a
radially spaced array therearound. Brand handles are mounted to the stems or
arms, for
example by counter sunk bolts that are inserted through holes or bores in the
stems and into
threaded apertures in the handles.
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North American tap handles are manufactured to fit a standard bolt and thread
size, thus providing for interchanging of handles when necessary. The collar
or bracket if it '
does not extend around the tower completely, may be fitted with straps or
other fasteners for
mounting the collar to the dispensing tower. The fasteners, if straps, may
encircle the tower '
and clamp the collar firmly onto the tower. The radial array of arms is
disposed on the tower
so that the arms extend oppositely to the taps on the tower. Thus, with brand
handles mounted
so as to extend upwardly from the arms on the collar, brand handles are
effectively
repositioned from the taps on the rear of the tower, to the front or customer
side of the tower,
giving a premium branding opportunity to the beverage manufacturer.
In summary, the tap handle display system of the present invention for
mounting tap handles to a beverage dispensing tower having a front customer-
facing side and
an opposite rear beverage-dispensing side includes front mounting tap handle
display means
for inoperably mounting tap handles to the customer-facing side of the tower
so as to display
branding on the tap handles in a direction disposed from the customer-facing
side of the tower
towards a customer sitting in opposed facing relation to the customer-facing
side of the tower.
The tap handles are not mounted on brew-dispensing taps mounted to the tower.
The display
means may be mounted to; or mountable to, the tower. The display means may be
adapted to
mount the tap handles in substantially vertically upstanding spaced array,
radially spaced
around a portion of the tower on the customer-facing side. The display means
may include a
mounting bracket mounted or mountable to the tower. The mounting bracket may
include for
example an elongate mounting member or a curvilinear collar. The mounting
bracket may
also include means for fastening the mounting bracket to the tower.
The display means may include tap handle mounting projections extending
away from the tower. The projections may be cantilevered arms. The
cantilevered arms may
be formed in a spaced array radially spaced around a portion of the tower.
Each projection
may have a substantially vertically aligned bore therethrough for receiving a
tap handle
fastener such as a belt for mounting the tap handles onto the projections.
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Brief Descri ~p ~on of tie Drawings
Figure 1 is, in front elevation view, a prior art beverage dispensing tower.
Figure 2 is, in perspective view, a beverage dispensing tower employing the
tap
handle mounting system according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is, in front perspective view, a tap handle mount according to one
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is, in rear perspective view, the tap handle mount of Figure 3.
Figure 5 is, in partially exploded bottom perspective view, the tap handle
mount
of Figure 3, tap handles being mounted thereon.
Figure 6 is, in perspective view, an alternative embodiment of the tap handle
mounting system of the present invention.
Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention
Thus with reference to the drawings wherein in similar characters of reference
denote corresponding parts in each view, in the tap handle display system 10
according to the
present invention, brand carrying tap handles 12, which may be conventional
tap handles
supplied by brewers, are mounted in vertically upstanding generally parallel
array to the front
or customer side 14a of a tower 14. A customer is a drinking establishment
would then sit or
stand at side 15a of bar 15 in opposed facing relation to customer side 14a
tower 14. In one
embodiment, being the illustrated embodiment which is not intended to be
limiting, tap
handles 12 are mounted on a front display means for mounting the tap handles
to the front side
of the tower, which, in the illustrated embodiment, includes a collar 16,
cantilevered mounting
arms 18, and fastener 20. Fastener 20 merely serves to hold collar 16 onto the
front 14a of the
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tower and so may take many forms including the threaded band coupling
illustrated wherein
an internally helically threaded nut 22 rotatably mounted on solid resilient
band 24 threadably
engages the spaced array of thread engaging apertures 26a in resilient band 26
for the
releasably tightenable clamping of the bands around the circumference of the
upper end of
tower 14. With fastener 20 thereby clamping collar 16 onto front 14a of tower
14, mounting
arms 18 which are rigidly mounted to the outer surface 16a of collar 16 so as
to be cantilevered
outwardly therefrom in radially spaced apart array relative to a longitudinal
centroidal axis of
the tower, are rigidly disposed outwardly for the mounting of handles 12
thereon.
In one conventional form of tap handle 12, the base end 12a of the tap handle
contains a longitudinally extending threaded bore of standard size so as to
receive in threaded
engagement therein a standard sized bolt 28 which may be journalled through a
vertical bolt
hole 18a in the end of a corresponding mounting arm 18.
Thus with bolts 28 journalled vertically upwardly through corresponding bolt
holes 18a in corresponding mounting arms 18 so as to threadably engage the
threaded bores in
the base ends 12a of tap handles 12, the tap handles may be rigidly mounted in
an upright
generally parallel array from the radially spaced apart array of mounting arms
18. Tap handles
12 may be oriented prior to final tightening of bolts 28 so as to orient brand
insignia 30 also to
the front or customer side of tower 14 so as to face away, in oppositely
disposed relation from,
the rear side 14b of the tower from which taps 32 extend. Taps 32 have small
functional
handles 34 thereon for ease of use of the bartender and which reduce the
likelihood of damage
to the valves within the taps.
In the alternative embodiment of Figure 6 not intended to be limiting,
cantilevered mounted arms 18 are mounted on an elongate mounting member 36
instead of
collar 16. Member 36 is mounted, formed as part of, or fastened to tower 14 on
customer side
14a. Member 36 may be fastened for example by fasteners 38 to an upper end of
tower 14.
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As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing
disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of
this invention
without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.
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