GB2309376A - Drinks organiser - Google Patents

Abstract

There is described a drinks organiser comprising a display which can be set to record the characteristics of a drink, and means operable to associate the organiser with a beverage receptacle. The organiser may be either a coaster on which a drinking vessel may stand, a tray to accept a number of vessels, or a an attachment capable of being fixed to a part of a drinking vessel. The display may be a mechanical device wherein a movable element bearing various alternative information indicia can be positioned to display one of the indicia through a viewing window, or may comprise an electronic display programmable to display the required information. In the latter case, memory means may be associated with the display to store information correlating an individual's name and preference.

Description

DRINKS ORGANISER The present invention relates to an aid for serving drinks, and more particularly concerns an identifying means including an information display to assist in matching drinks to their intended recipients.

When one serves a number of drinks to a group of people, it is often an onerous task to ensure that the drinks are prepared to the tastes of the people, and thereafter served to the correct recipients. The present invention has as its objective the provision of a device to assist in the preparation and serving of drinks.

According to the present invention, a drinks organiser comprises a display which can be set to record details of the characteristics of a drink, and means operable to associate the organiser with a beverage receptacle. The organiser may thus be embodied either as a coaster, on which a drinking vessel may stand, as a tray to accept a number of vessels, or as an attachment capable of being fixed to a part of a drinking vessel.

The display may be a mechanical device wherein a movable element bearing various alternative information indicia can be positioned to display one of the indicia through a viewing window, or may comprise an electronic display programmable to display the required information. In the latter case, memory means may be associated with the display to store information correlating an individual's name and preference.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a perspective view of a drinks organiser tray.

Referring now to the drawing, there is seen a tray having a support surface 1 and an upstand 2 extending along one edge of the support surface 1. The support surface 1 is delineated with a number of areas 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d on which drinking vessels may be placed. Along the front edge of the support surface, as seen in the drawing, is a row of displays 4, each display being associated with one of the areas 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d, and comprising a pair of information bearing areas 4a and 4b, and a movable blanking element 5 which can overlie one or other of the areas 4a and 4b. In the embodiment shown, the area 4a bears the legend 'Tea' while the area 4b is marked 'Coffee'. The blanking element can be positioned to obscure either one of the areas, to display the required information.

The upstand 2 is likewise formed along its top edge with a further row of displays, one display associated with each area 3a to 3d.

The displays 6 are constituted by windows 7 formed in the upstand 2, through which windows the surfaces of rotatable drums 8 mounted within the upstand are visible. The rotatable drums 8 are moved by turning the handwheels 9, one handwheel 9 being attached to each drum 8.

Advantageously, the drums are mounted so as to rotate between six positions in which they can be releaseably secured, and in each position a different legend is displayed in the window 7. Conveniently, the legends may indicate 'white' or 'black' and a number from 0 to 2 of spoons of sugar.

In an alternative arrangement, a display similar to the displays 4 may be used to display 'black' or 'white', and a dial may be provided with a pointer settable to indicate a number of spoons of sugar or other additive.

In use, as each person's preference for tea or coffee, and their preferred recipe is requested, the user simply sets the display 4 and 6 associated with one of the areas 3a to 3d so that each person's preference is recorded. The organiser tray can then be taken to the kitchen, and the drinks prepared to the indicated recipes. The organiser tray may then be used to serve the drinks, thus ensuring that each person receives a drink prepared to his or her requirements.

A calendar 10 is illustrated as being incorporated in the upstand, as an example of an additional display for general use. This additional display may alternatively be a clock. The upstand 2 may carry a decoration such as a pastoral scene for enhanced aesthetic effect.

The embodiment illustrated is a mechanical device, but it will readily be understood that the displays 4, 6 and 10 may be electrical or electronic, for example they may be LED or liquid crystal type displays such as are used in electronic watches and calculators. A programming device such as a keypad may be incorporated into the organiser, and a memory may be included so that by inputting information through the keypad, the displays 4 and 6 associated with the areas 3a to 3d can show the required characteristics. Clearly, by using alphanumeric displays, a wider range of drinks can be catered for, making the organiser more widely applicable. Suitable electronic circuitry can operate a memory associated with each display so that if more information than can be shown at one time is needed, the display can scroll through the information, allowing the user to read the entire text.

As a further development, a memory may be used to store correlations between names of people and their drinks preferences. For example a memory may be programmed to store, in a section devoted to 'Jim', the details of Jim's preferred recipes for tea, coffee, gin and tonic, etc., so that the user need only know whether Jim wishes for tea or coffee to have the full information displayed.

In yet further embodiments, (not shown) the organiser may be a drinks coaster with a mechanical or electronic display, or may be simply a display in a casing adapted to be attached to a drinking vessel by a band, clip or the like.

The organiser is expected to find utility in public houses for facilitating the ordering of large rounds of drinks of diverse types, particularly when waiting time at the bar gives rise to the opportunity to forget the order. In such embodiments, advertising material or other messages may be displayed in the electronic types, or audible output signals may be incorporated.

Claims (10)

1. A drinks organiser comprising a display which can be set to record details of the characteristics of a drink, and means operable to associate the organiser with a beverage receptacle.

2. A drinks organiser according to claim 1, wherein the organiser comprises a coaster, on which an associated drinking vessel may stand.

3. A drinks organiser according to claim 1, wherein the organiser comprises a tray adapted to accept a number of vessels, and has a like number of displays associable with respective vessels.

4. A drinks organiser according to claim 1, wherein the organiser comprises an attachment capable of being fixed to a part of a drinking vessel.

5. A drinks organiser according to any preceding claim, wherein the display includes a movable element bearing various indicia, the element being selectively positionable in one of a number of positions to display one of the indicia through a viewing window.

6. A drinks organiser according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display includes an element movable over a surface bearing various indicia, the element being selectively positionable in one of a number of positions to obscure all but a predetermined one of the indicia.

7. A drinks organiser according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display comprises an electronic display programmable to display the required information and an input device for programming the display.

8. A drinks organiser according to claim 7, wherein memory means are associated with the display to store information correlating an individual's name and preference.

9. A drinks organiser according to claim 7, wherein the memory means stores a number of alternative characteristics, and an input device allows the contents of the memory to be displayed sequentially until the desired characteristic is shown on the display.

10. A drinks organiser substantially as herein described, with reference to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.