GB2420965A

GB2420965A - Mounting bracket for liquid dispensers

Info

Publication number: GB2420965A
Application number: GB0525100A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Luckcuck; Cris Hunt
Original assignee: IMI Cornelius Inc
Current assignee: Cornelius Inc
Priority date: 2004-12-09
Filing date: 2005-12-09
Publication date: 2006-06-14
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-09
Also published as: GB2420965B; GB0426972D0; GB0525100D0

Abstract

A bracket 1 for supporting a bottle 22 in an inverted position with an outlet of the bottle 22 connected to a dispenser 4 for dispensing a measured volume of liquid from the bottle 22 is provided with a bottle holder 21 to support the bottle 22 in the inverted position. The dispenser 4 is mounted at the lower end of an elongate bar 2 provided with a clamp 3 for securing the bracket 1 to a support surface and the bottle steady 21 has a clip (24 fig 1) that is adhesively secured to the bar 2 spaced from the dispenser 4 and a ring 23 in which the bottle 22 is located and supported.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO MOUNTINGS FOR

LIQUID DISPENSERS

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to mountings for liquid dispensers. More especially this invention concerns mountings for liquid dispensers of the type adapted to support a container such as a bottle in an inverted upright position with its outlet for dispensing liquid lowermost.

Alcoholic beverages such as spirits are traditionally dispensed in measured portions by a measuring device mounted in the open end of the neck of the bottle containing the beverage. A common type of measuring device often referred to as an OPTIC (registered trademark) is operable to dispense measured portions of the beverage when the bottle is supported upside down by means of a bracket attached to a support fixture such as a shelf or rail on the wall at the back of a bar or other point of sale location.

Figure 9 shows a known type of wall mounting bracket 1 comprising a bar 2 provided with an adjustable clamp 3 at the lower end for attaching the bar 2 to a support fixture so that the bar 2 extends substantially vertically. A measuring device 4 such as an OPTIC (RTM) fitted into the outlet of a bottle 5 is mounted on the lower end of the bar 2 to support the bottle 5 in an upright inverted position with the outlet lowermost. A support arm 6 slidably mounted on the bar 2 has a locating pad 7 spaced above the measuring device 4 and is resiliently biased towards the measuring device 4 so that the pad 7 engages the base of the bottle 5 which is uppermost to hold the bottle 5 in position between the measuring device 4 and the pad 7.

Bottles of spirits come in a wide range of different sizes, e.g.70d, 1 litre, 1.5 litre, 2 litre, 4 litre etc and the brackets are normally sized according to the size of bottle to be mounted. The spring loading of the arm 6 in the known brackets allows some adjustment to be made to the spacing between the measuring device 4 and the pad 7 but does not allow bottles of widely different sizes to be mounted on the same bracket. For example, a 4 litre bottle cannot be mounted on a bracket for a 70d bottle or vice versa.

This can be a problem when brackets have been mounted for a particular size of bottle and the retailer wants to mount a different size of bottle, for example if a bottle of the correct size is not available. Some retailers have attempted to overcome this problem and mount bottles that are smaller than the size the bracket is designed to mount by securing the base of the bottle that is uppermost with an elastic band secured to the bar.

This method of securing the bottle is unsightly and does not provide sufficient support for the bottle, especially when full. As a result, an increased strain may be placed in the part of the measuring device fitted into the bottle and this may lead to the device breaking. Also spirits are high value products with well known brand names that the owners do not want to be seen associated with what may be perceived as a less than satisfactory method of presenting their product to the consumer.

The present invention has been made from a consideration of the foregoing problems and disadvantages of the known mounting brackets for liquid dispensers and seeks to provide an improved mounting that overcome or mitigates at least some of the aforementioned problems and disadvantages.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided means for mounting a container from which a liquid is to be dispensed, the container having a base at one end and an outlet for liquid at the opposite end, the means comprising a bar to be mounted substantially vertically to a fixture, a measuring device attached to the bar and adapted to be fitted into the outlet of the container with the outlet lowermost and the base uppermost, and a mounting adaptor spaced along the bar from the measuring device to support the container in position, the mounting adaptor comprising a support member for the container and a connector member by means of which the support member is secured to the bar.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a mounting adaptor for use with a mounting bracket for supporting a container in an inverted, substantially vertical position with an outlet of the container lowermost and a measuring device fitted in the outlet, the mounting adaptor comprising a support means to receive the bottle and connector means for attaching the support means to the bracket at a position spaced from the measuring device.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a method of supporting a container in an inverted, substantially vertical position with an outlet of the container lowermost, the method comprising providing a bracket for mounting on a fixture with a measuring device fitted in the outlet, providing a support member to hold the container in position, and providing a connector member for securing the support member to the bracket spaced from the measuring device.

The invented mounting adaptor enables a conventional bottle mounting bracket to be converted to support a bottle of different size and/or shape by fitting the appropriate adaptor to the bracket.

The adaptor may be secured to the bracket by any suitable means but in a preferred arrangement, the adaptor is adhesively secured, for example double sided adhesive tape or pad may be provided that allows the adaptor to be located at any desired position without the use of tools.

The support member preferably extends around the bottle and has a shape to match the shape of the bottle, for example circular, triangular, rectangular, and may be formed with a split to facilitate fitting to the bottle.

The connector member is preferably arranged to locate and maintain the support member in a desired orientation relative to the bracket. For example, the bracket may comprise an elongate bar and the connector member may comprise a clip with formations to locate the clip on the bar and to locate the support member on the clip. For example, the clip may have a channel to receive the bar and lugs or ribs to locate the support member. Where provided, the double sided adhesive tape or pad is preferably located in the channel.

In a preferred arrangement the mounting adaptor may also carry information about the contents of the bottle. For example, the adaptor may be provided with a plaque or the like to display the information such as a logo, brand name or other advertising material. Preferably the plaque is attached to the support member so as to visible when the support member is holding the bottle in position.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention there is provided a mounting adaptor for securing to a mounting bracket for supporting a bottle in an inverted, substantially vertical position with an outlet of the container lowermost and a measuring device fitted in the outlet, the adaptor being provided with means for adhesively securing the adaptor to the mounting bracket at a position spaced from the measuring device.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided means for displaying information about the contents of a container supported on a bracket in an inverted, substantially vertical position with an outlet of the container lowermost and a measuring device fitted in the outlet, the display means including a panel for carrying the information, a support for mounting the panel on the bracket, and means for adhesively securing the support to the bracket.

The adhesive means may comprise a double sided adhesive tape or pad that can be attached to the bracket at any position.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, there is provided a bracket for supporting a bottle in an inverted position with an outlet of the bottle connected to a dispenser for dispensing liquid from the bottle, the bracket having an elongate bar adapted for securing to a support surface to extend substantially vertically, a liquid dispenser connected to a lower end of the bar and adapted for connection to an outlet of an bottle, and a bottle holder connected to the bar above the dispenser and adapted to support the bottle while connected to the dispenser, the bottle holder comprising a clip that is secured to the bar and a ring in which the bottle is located and supported.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:- Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an adapter for a bottle mounting bracket according to a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows the adapter of Figure 1 in use; Figure 3 shows an alternative support ring for the adapter of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 shows yet another support ring for the adapter of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 5 shows a modification to the adapter of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view of the modified adapter of Figure 6; Figure 7 shows a bottle mounting bracket and adapter according to a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 8 shows a bottle mounting bracket and adapter according to a third embodiment of the invention; and Figure 9 is a side view of a mounting bracket according to the

prior art.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, there is shown a mounting adapter 21 for use with the mounting bracket 1 of Figure 7 to support a bottle 22 that is shorter than the minimum distance between the measuring device 4 and the pad 7 such that the bottle 22 is not held in a stable manner between the measuring device 4 and the pad 7.

As shown, the mounting adapter 21 comprises a support ring 23 of a size and shape to fit around the bottle. In this embodiment, the bottle 22 has a cylindrical body and the ring 23 is annular. The ring 23 is split at 23a to facilitate fitting the ring 23 to the bottle 22.

The ring 23 is made of metal although other materials could be employed and the adapter 21 further comprises a mounting clip 24 secured to the ring 23 by a grub screw 25. The clip 24 is a moulding of plastics such as polyethylene or polypropylene although other materials could be used.

The clip 24 is of channel-section sized to fit over the bar 2 of the mounting bracket 1 and is secured to the front face of the bar 2 by double sided adhesive tape 26 attached to the base of the channel 27. The clip 24 locates on either side of the bar 2 to prevent the clip 24 twisting relative to the bar 2.

The screw 25 extends through a hole 28 in the base of the channel 27 and engages a tapped hole 29 in the ring 23. The clip 24 has a pair of ribs 30,31 that locate above and below the ring 23 to prevent the ring 23 twisting relative to the clip 24 and the portion of the clip 24 between the ribs 30,31 may be curved to match the curvature of the ring 23 for enhanced contact between the ring 23 and clip 24.

In use, the mounting adapter 21 is secured to the bar 2 at a suitable position spaced above the measuring device 4 to locate and support the base end of the bottle 22. In this way the bottle 22 is held in a stable manner between the measuring device 4 and the adapter 21.

As will be appreciated, the adapter 21 provides a simple and effective means for converting the bracket 1 to support the bottle 22 in a neat and tidy manner that is also aesthetically pleasing.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, there is shown two alternative support rings 32,33 that can be used in place of the support ring 23 to fit bottles of different shape. The ring 32 is of triangular shape and the ring 33 is of rectangular shape. Again both rings are split to facilitate fitting the rings to the appropriate bottles. It will be understood that other shapes of support ring may be employed depending on the shape of the bottle to be supported.

Referring now to Figures 5 and 6 there is shown a modification to the mounting adapter of Figures 1 and 2 in which a plaque 34 for displaying information about the contents of the bottle such as a brand name, logo or advertising etc is secured to the ring 23. As shown the plaque 34 is of rectangular shape although other shapes such as circular could be employed. The plaque 34 may be flat as shown or curved.

The plaque 34 is secured to the ring 23 opposite the clip 24 by a Connector plate 35. It will be understood that the plaque 34 may be secured in like manner to either of the rings 32,33 shown in Figures 3 and 4.

The plate 35 is attached at one end to the ring 23 by a grub screw 36 extending through a hole 37 in the plate 35 and a plastic seating member 38 that conforms to the curvature of the ring 23.

The seating member 38 has ribs 39,40 on one side that locate above and below the ring 23 and ribs 41,42 on the other side that locate on each side of the plate 35. In this way, the plate 35 is prevented from twisting relative to the ring 23 to maintain the plaque in the desired orientation.

The other end of the plate 35 is located between the plaque 34 and a bracket member 43 attached to the rear face of the plaque 34 and is secured by a grub screw (not shown).

In a modification (not shown), the support ring 23 is replaced by an arm arranged to position the plaque 34 to display the information without holding the bottle 22 in position. In this arrangement, the adaptor can be fitted to an existing bracket 1 to provide information on the contents of the bottle only with the bottle supported by other means.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that, the mounting adapter 21 is suitable for retro-fitting to an existing bracket 1 to convert the bracket 1 to mount a different bottle. In the illustrated example, the bracket 1 is converted to mount a bottle smaller that the bracket 1 is designed to support and the support arm 6 can be left in situ.

It will be understood, however, that the bracket 1 could be converted to mount a bottle larger than the bracket 1 is designed to support by removing the support arm 6. Moreover, according to a second embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 7, the bracket 1 could be supplied without the support arm 6 for fitment of the appropriate support ring 23,32,33 to the bar 2 by the retailer to match the size and shape of the bottle to be mounted.

Referring now to Figure 8, there is shown a mounting bracket according to a third embodiment of the invention in which the support arm 6 is omitted and the bar 2 is modified to enable the mounting adaptor 21 to be releasably secured to the bar 2 and the position of the adapter 21 along the bar 1 to be adjusted.

For example, the bar 2 may be provided with a longitudinal rib 44 engageable with a mating formation on the clip 24 to secure releasably the support ring 23 to the bar and allow the clip 24 to be slid along the bar 2 to adjust the position of the support ring 23 to mount different sizes of bottles.

Other variations and modifications to the invention will be apparent to these skilled in the art.

As will be appreciated from the description of the exemplary embodiments, the mounting adaptor provides a steady or holder for a bottle whilst supported in an inverted position for dispense of liquid from the bottle. The adaptor can be used with existing dispense equipment (retro-fitted) or with new dispense equipment.

Claims

1. Means for mounting a container from which a liquid is to be dispensed, the container having a base at one end and an outlet for liquid at the opposite end, the means comprising a bar to be mounted substantially vertically to a fixture, a measuring device attached to the bar and adapted to be fitted into the outlet of the container with the outlet lowermost and the base uppermost, and a mounting adaptor spaced along the bar from the measuring device to support the container in position, the mounting adaptor comprising a support member for the container and a connector member by means of which the support member is secured to the bar.

2. Means according to claim 1 wherein the mounting adaptor is secured to the bar.

3. Means according to claim 2 wherein the mounting adaptor is adhesively secured

4. Means according to any preceding claim wherein the support member extends around the container and has a shape to match the shape of the container.

5. Means according to claim 4 wherein the support member comprises an annular ring.

6. Means according to claim 5 wherein the ring is formed with a split

7. Means according to any preceding claim wherein the connector member is arranged to locate and maintain the support member in a desired orientation relative to the bar.

8. Means according to claim 7 wherein the connector member comprises a clip with formations to locate the clip on the bar and to locate the support member on the clip.

9. Means according to claim 8 wherein the clip has a channel to receive the bar and lugs or ribs to locate the support member.

10. Means according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein double sided adhesive tape or an adhesive pad is located in the channel for attaching the clip to the bar.

11. Means according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the clip is adjustable lengthwise of the bar.

12. Means according to any preceding claim wherein the mounting adaptor carries information about the contents of the container.

13. Means according to claim 12 wherein the mounting adaptor is provided with a plaque or the like to display the information about the contents of the container.

14. Means according to claim 13 wherein the plaque is attached to the support member so as to visible when the support member is holding the container in position.

15. Means for mounting a container from which a liquid is to be dispensed substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16. A mounting adaptor for use with a mounting bracket for supporting a container in an inverted, substantially vertical position with an outlet of the container lowermost and a measuring device fitted in the outlet, the mounting adaptor comprising a support means to receive the bottle and connector means for attaching the support means to the bracket at a position spaced from the measuring device.

17. A bracket for supporting a bottle in an inverted position with an outlet of the bottle connected to a dispenser for dispensing liquid from the bottle, the bracket having an elongate bar adapted for securing to a support surface to extend substantially vertically, a liquid dispenser connected to a lower end of the bar and adapted for connection to an outlet of an bottle, and a bottle holder connected to the bar above the dispenser and adapted to support the bottle while connected to the dispenser, the bottle holder comprising a clip that is secured to the bar and a ring in which the bottle is located and supported.

18. A method of supporting a container in an inverted, substantially vertical position with an outlet of the container lowermost, the method comprising providing a bracket for mounting on a fixture with a measuring device fitted in the outlet, providing a support member to hold the container in position, and providing a connector member for securing the support member to the bracket spaced from the measuring device.