Dispensing – With illuminator or burner
Patent
1995-04-17
1996-12-24
Huson, Gregory L.
Dispensing
With illuminator or burner
222192, 362399, 40332, B65D 566
Patent
active
055866913
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to dispense taps for beverages and other fluids and particularly relates to customer information displays for such dispense taps.
Taps for pressure-fed beer dispense systems are conventionally attached to a bar counter by a so-called counter fitting that comprises a bracket mounted under or clamped to a bar counter and to which the shank of a dispense tap is attached. Such dispense taps have a tap handle pivoted to a tap body and arranged to open and close a valve in the tap body as the tap handle is operated between an open and a closed position. Typically an attractive display, a counter mount, is fitted to the top of the bar counter; to hide the dispense tap and advertise the beer available from that tap, on the like customer information. The counter mount is often illuminated, conventionally by a 12 or 24 volt festoon lamp; supplied by a mains transformer, provided under the counter.
It is known to illuminate the handle of a dispense tap, see for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,295,468, 2,631,393, 3,286,385, 3,321,861 and 4,894,647; in each case the light generating means, an incandescent light bulb, is contained within the tap handle. This raises problems of supplying electric power to the light bulb, of overheating the handle, of safety and requires a specially designed dispense tap; i.e. it is not possible to retrofit or convert existing dispense taps to have an illuminated handle.
It is one object of the present invention to provide a combination of customer information display apparatus and dispense tap wherein the tap handle is illuminated in such manner as to overcome the above-stated problems.
According to the present invention, customer information display apparatus in combination with a dispense tap, for beverages and other fluids, and wherein the dispense tap has a tap body, for attachment to a counter fitting, and an operating lever assembly with an illuminated tap handle, connected to a tap opening and closing mechanism in the tap body, the operating lever assembly includes a tap handle formed at least in part of light transparent and/or light reflective material and a tap handle holder connected to the tap opening and closing mechanism; and, the display apparatus includes a light generator mounted externally to the tap handle, and means to direct light from the light generator into or onto the tap handle; whereby, in use, the tap handle can be illuminated to display customer information. Thus, by the present invention, light is directed from an external source into or onto the handle and this obviates the above-given disadvantages of known illuminated tap handles. Also, the present invention provides a neat, attractive dispense tap that does not need a large, cumbersome counter mount for a customer information display; this further has the advantage that counter space, which is often at a premium can be saved and dispense taps mounted closer to one another behind to counter.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the tap handle is formed at least in part of light transparent material and the light director means are arranged to direct light from the light generator into the interior of the tap handle. Thus the tap handle will appear to glow by virtue of internal transmission of light through the handle and back-printed or etched designs on the handle will generate eye-catching displays.
In another variant, the light generator is a lamp contained within a light box mounted on the tap body; the light box having a window directed towards the tap handle and the tap handle has a transparent part and a root, said root being socketed in the handle holder such that said transparent part of the tap handle faces the light box window when the tap is closed; whereby, in use, the tap handle can radiate light until the tap is opened and tap handle transparent part no longer faces the light box window. Thus, an existing dispense tap may simply be modified by replacing the existing operating mechanism with a tap handle holder and a tap handle in accordance with this aspect
REFERENCES:
patent: 2295468 (1942-09-01), Haley
patent: 2631393 (1953-03-01), Hetherington
patent: 3286385 (1966-11-01), Tate, Jr.
patent: 3321861 (1967-05-01), Tate, Jr.
patent: 4226343 (1980-10-01), Fling
patent: 4493443 (1985-01-01), Bailey
patent: 4736890 (1988-04-01), Wallington
patent: 4894647 (1990-01-01), Walden
Gotch Henry E.
Hyde Roger J.
Alumasc Limited
Hinds William R.
Huson Gregory L.
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