Tap handle display system

Abstract

A tap handle display system for mounting tap handles to a beverage dispensing tower includes a front-mounting tap handle display mounted to the beverage dispensing tower for inoperably mounting tap handles to the customer-facing side of the tower. Branding on the tap handles is displayed towards a customer sitting in opposed facing relation to the customer-facing side of the tower. The tap handles are thus not mounted on brew-dispensing taps mounted to the tower.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/483,175 filed Jun. 30, 2003 entitled 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 attached 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 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: U.S. Pat. No. 983,289 which issued Feb. 7, 1911 to Kirby for a Sign Exhibit Attachment for Faucets; U.S. Pat. No. 1,132,950 which issued Mar. 23, 1915 to McCallion for a Bar Tap Sign Holder; U.S. Pat. No. 1,225,865 which issued May 15, 1917 to Schneible for an Electrical Advertising Device; U.S. Pat. No. 2,077,847 which issued Apr. 20, 1937 to Meusner for a Beverage Indicator; U.S. Pat. No. 2,066,877 which issued Jan. 5, 1937 to Cruver for an Attachment for Beverage Dispensing Faucets; U.S. Pat. No. 2,073,986 which issued Mar. 16, 1937 to Dannenberg et al. for an Advertising Display Device; U.S. Pat. No. 2,340,135 which issued Jan. 25, 1944 to Merritt for a Display Device for Beer Knobs; U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,192 which issued Aug. 14, 1973 to Kleppin for a Stanchion for Beverage Tap; U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,086 which issued Oct. 2, 1973 to Horbinski for a Display Device with Rotatable Motion; U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,691 which issued Dec. 24, 1996 to Gotch et al. for a Combination Dispense Tap and Customer Information Display; U.S. Pat. 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 Sep. 20, 1995 to Cook for a Beer Engine Pump Clip Badge and United Kingdom Patent Application No. GB 2,288,683 which was published Oct. 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. 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 turn 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.

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 FIG. 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.

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.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is, in front elevation view, a prior art beverage dispensing tower.

FIG. 2 is, in perspective view, a beverage dispensing tower employing the tap handle mounting system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is, in front perspective view, a tap handle mount according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is, in rear perspective view, the tap handle mount of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is, in partially exploded bottom perspective view, the tap handle mount of FIG. 3, tap handles being mounted thereon.

FIG. 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 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 FIG. 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.

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.

Claims

1. A tap handle display system for mounting tap handles to a beverage dispensing tower having a front customer-facing side and an opposite rear beverage-dispensing side comprising:

front-mounting tap handle display means mounted to a beverage dispensing tower 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 and so that the tap handles are not mounted on brew-dispensing taps mounted to the tower.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said display means is 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.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said display means comprises a mounting bracket mounted to the tower.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said mounting bracket includes an elongate mounting member.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein said mounting bracket includes a curvilinear collar.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein said mounting bracket includes means for fastening said mounting bracket to the tower.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein said display means includes tap handle mounting projections extending away from the tower.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said projections are cantilevered arms.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein said cantilevered arms are formed is a spaced array radially spaced around a portion of the tower.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein each projection of said projections has a substantially vertically aligned bore therethrough for receiving a tap handle fastener for mounting the tap handles onto said projections.

11. A tap handle display system for mounting tap handles to a beverage dispensing tower having a front customer-facing side and an opposite rear beverage-dispensing side comprising:

front mounting tap handle display means mountable to the tower 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 and so that the tap handles are not mounted on brew-dispensing taps mounted to the tower.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said display means is 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 when said display means is mounted on the tower.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said display means comprises a mounting bracket mountable to the tower.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said mounting bracket includes an elongate mounting member.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein said mounting bracket includes a curvilinear collar.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein said mounting bracket includes means for fastening said mounting bracket to the tower.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein said display means includes tap handle mounting projections extending away from the tower when said display means is mounted on the tower.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein said projections are cantilevered arms.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein said cantilevered arms are formed is a spaced array radially spaced around a portion of the tower when said display means is mounted on the tower.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein each projection of said projections has a substantially vertically aligned bore therethrough for receiving a tap handle fastener for mounting the tap handles onto said projections.