GB2429236A - A handle signage mounting clip - Google Patents

Abstract

Convenient attachment of signage for beer handles is difficult in view of the necessary robustness in use whilst provision of nuts and bolt type bracket assemblies is time consuming. By providing a signage mounting which comprises a clip 24 to extend substantially around a handle 21 in use and then utilising a plaque 22, typically used for beer notes to resiliently retain that clip in position a robust mounting for the beer handle is achieved. The clip 24 supports a plaque 23 via an adhesive pad 26 ( or by welding or adhesives) and has arms 29 which flex at junction 28 to fit over the handle. Ears 31 engage into apertures 32 in plaque 22 to secure the clip in position. Alternatively one ear may be permanently connected to the plaque 23.

Description

A Handle Signacie Mount[g The present invention relates to handle signage

mountings and, more particularly, to mountings used with respect to beer engine handles in a public house.

It is traditional within a British pub to serve cask beers through a socalled beer engine. Whether that beer engine is a traditional beer engine or modern facsimile, there is generally an elongated lever to act as the handle so that a pint of beer can be pulled.

It will be understood that cask beers through their conditioning in the cask lend themselves to individual stylising and formulation so that there are a wide range of so-called "real beers" which have individual characteristics flavours and heritage. In such circumstances, individual beers can be specifically marketed and promoted by brewers and publicans in order to enhance variety for their customers and, hopefully, sales for themselves. In these circumstances, it is not uncommon for a number of guest beers to be available in a bar or public house with the publican receiving one cask of that particular beer which, when exhausted, is replaced with another guest beer.

Clearly, distinctive and original names are created for these cask beers and some through their reputation will be known by potential purchasers.

However, as indicated, cask beers can be produced for seasonal or simply promotional purposes and so are relatively short-term. Nevertheless, customers will ask with regard to the nature of a beer and so it is common for the Publican to be provided with so-called "tasting notes". These tasting notes should be associated with the beer handle and normally the particular plaque upon which the beer's name is represented.

Previously, it has been known to provide brackets which are secured around beer handles and include screws or bolts secured into the plaques upon which the beer notes are secured. These brackets are expensive and it is understood that the brewing company will supply this paraphernalia to the publican, which can add to costs. Equally, brewing companies do not want other companies to use the brackets supplied by themselves with regard to their own beer.

It will also be understood that publicans would like a rapid means for changing brewing notes and plaques with regard to beer engines, particularly in situations where their sole-supplied cask beer is exhausted after only a day or so of trading. It is desirable to provide a way of rapidly mounting product- descriptive plaques about beer engine handles so that the plaques cannot be easily removed by malicious customers wishing to obtain these plaques as souvenirs. It will be understood that simply sticking notes and plaques to the beer engine would be unacceptable for this reason.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a signage mounting for a beer engine handle, the mounting comprising a clip to extending in use about a handle to a plaque, the plaque having an interference fitment for an ear formed on one end of the clip to retain the clip about the handle.

Typically interference fitment is provided by an aperture through which the ear extends.

Preferably, the plaque includes two apertures and the clip has two ears with opposed bias to retain the clip by interference about the handle.

Typically, more than one aperture is provided in order to accommodate different sized handles.

Generally, the clip includes a plinth for signage.

Typically, the plaque is distortable and retained by the ear in a slightly distorted state in use to provide resilient bias for compression of the clip about a beer handle.

Generally, the clip comprises two arms arranged to pivot at a junction end. Normally, the arms are convexed to embrace a handle in use.

lypically, each aperture and ear are reciprocally shaped or positioned.

Possibly, the plaque is reinforced. Normally, such reinforcement is through ribbing.

Typically, the ear comprises an angularly-presented lug extending from the clip.

Possibly, the clip is permanently secured to one side of the plaque.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a beer pump handle with attached tasting note plaque and badge; Fig. 2 is a cross-section of a mounting arrangement in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a clip utilised in the mounting depicted in Fig 2; Fig. 4 is a front-end view of the clip depicted in Fig 3; Fig. 5 is a side view of the clip depicted in Figs. 3 and 4; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the clip depicted in Figs. 3 to 5; and, Fig. 7 is a plan view of a plaque utilised in a mounting arrangement in accordance with the present invention.

As indicated above, it is important both for marketing as well as for barstaff training that there is appropriate signage to distinguish one beer engine handle from another. It will be understood that a bar-staff must be able to readily identify the particular handle of a beer engine for the customer's choice of cask ale as well as have some ability to provide information to that customer as to the style and taste of the beer. Clearly, the customer must be able to identify which beers are available so brewers and publicans generally have a distinctive logo for each of their cask beers. It will be understood with regard to cask beers there is a desire to taste a wide variety of beers and, therefore, publicans attempt to offer a number of different cask beers as guest beers. Such offerings require regular changing of the signage associated with beer handles and a simple, but effective, way of providing that signage is required.

Fig. 1 provides a schematic side view of a beer engine handle 1 to which a tasting note plaque 2 is secured on one side of handle 1 and a beer name badge or plaque 3 secured on the other side. It is important that the plaques 2, 3 are appropriately presented both to the customer generally on one side 4 of the handle 1 and the publican or bar staff on the other side 5.

The mounting arrangement should ensure the plaques 2, 3 remain in place, despite pulling in the direction of arrow-head A of the handle 1 and also to ensure that the plaques 2, 3 cannot be readily detached by customers pulling on the badge or plaque 3 to remove the plaque as a souvenir.

With rapid turnover of cask beers, the mounting should also be easy to place with the plaques 2, 3 around the handle 1 at an appropriate location, either at a waisted section as depicted in Fig. 1 or simply about the length of a straight cylindrical handle. In view of the above, it will be appreciated that there are conflicting objectives with regard to the mountings for the handle 2, 3. The traditional approach of a fixed bracket with screws to enable the plaque to be secured is acceptable for a long-term use but is cumbersome for the publican when regular changing of the plaques 2,3 is required and, in addition, is relatively expensive. Furthermore, there may be differences in the brackets provided by different brewers which may result in the whole bracket requiring detachment from the handle to accept the beers of a different brewer.

Fig. 2 provides a cross-section or illustration of a mounting arrangement in accordance with the present invention. Thus, a tasting note plaque 22 is secured on one side of a beer handle 21 with a beer badge or plaque 23 secured on the other. The mounting includes a clip 24 which extends around the handle 21 and is locked in place by the plaque 22. It will be appreciated that it may be possible to arrange for the clip 24 to be locked by the plaque 23 which is duly presented towards the customer but, as will be described later, use of clip winged-ears which extend through apertures in the plaque may be unsightly. To avoid such a situation it may be necessary to provide locking recesses rather than apertures.

In the embodiment depicted in Fig. 2, the plaque 23 is secured to a plinth 25 generally through an adhesive pad 26. However, alternatives could be provided including permanent securing of the plaque 23 through a weld or adhesive to the plinth 25.

A clip 24 essentially has a Y construction with an end 27 presented to the plinth 25 upon which the badge 23 is secured. The end 27 acts as a stem towards a pivot junction 28 from which arms 29 extend around the handle 21. It will be appreciated in use that these arms 29 are deflected about the pivot junction 28 so that the arms 29 embrace the handle 21, normally in a compression fit.

At the ends of the arms 29, wing elements 30 extend at an angular orientation to present ears 31. These wings 30 and ears 31 engage the plaque 22 in order to lock the clip 24 in association with the handle 21.

Typically, the plaque 22 is formed from a section of sheet plastics material and is arranged to flex such that there is a slight compression upon the wings to further compress the engagement between the arms 29 and the handle 21.

In the embodiment depicted in Fig. 2, the wings 30 extend through apertures 32 in the plaque 22. In such circumstances with the plaque 22 in place, there is an interference between the wings 30 and the plaque 22 retaining compression and locking the clip 24 about the handle 21. This interference between the wings 30 and the plaque 22 is retained by the ears 31. Thus, if the badge is pulled in the direction B, the clip 24 is retained by the plaque 22 about the handle 21 so that even if the badge 23 is ripped from its plinth 25, the tasting note plaque 22 is retained about the handle and bar staff can still identify each handle with its associated cask beer.

It will be understood that different sizes of handle 21 should be accommodated by the clip 24 and, more particularly, by the plaque 22. In such circumstances, generally there are pairs of apertures 32 provided in the plaque so that the clip 21 can be placed around the waist of a skittle beer engine handle or the stem of a straight cylindrical beer handle as required.

As indicated, the plaque 22, in addition to providing tasting notes for bar staff essentially locks the clip 24 and, therefore, the mounting arrangement about the beer handle 21.

There may be situations where, in order to avoid mis-matching between the plaques 22, 23 some form of union association is desirable. In such circumstances it will be understood that clips 24 may be manufactured with different angular presentations of respective wings 30a, 30b, and sizes of ear 31a, 31b, such that similarly uniquely placed and paired apertures 32 in the plaque 22 can be combined so that only one of the appropriate combinations of wings 30, ears 31 and apertures 32 can be accepted for positioning of the plaque 22 to be read by bar staff and also to lock the clip 24 in place.

It will be appreciated that similarly the plinth 25 may be uniquely shaped to provide a recessed tray having a particular distinct geometric shape, such as a square, triangle, star or oval of a certain size will only match with a similarly reciprocally shaped entrant back of the plaque 23, so that through this matching only particular plaques 23 can be secured to a reciprocal plinth 25.

Figs. 3 to 6 illustrate the clip 24 depicted in Fig. 2 in isolation from the remainder of the mounting arrangement. As can be seen, the clip 24 is generally formed from a plastics material or a moulding process in order to create the arms 29 which can envelop a beer engine. The pivot junction 28 provides sufficient flexibility for the arms 29 to allow them to be deflected as the clip 24 is moved around the beer handle. This flexing is shown by arrow- heads C in Figs. 3 and 6. Once clipped around the beer handle, it will be appreciated that clip 24 can be removed by a simple pulling of the clip 24 in the direction of arrow-head D. Thus, in order to prevent such removal, a plaque (not shown) is placed across the wings 30 and retained in place by the ears 31. In such circumstances, it will be understood that pulling in the direction of arrow-head D will not create flexing of the arms 29 outward via the direction of arrow-head C in order to release the clip from around the beer handle. As described previously, the plaque generally incorporates apertures through which the wings 30 and ears 31 extend to prevent this outward flexing of the wings 30 which in turn is accentuated by the lever length from the pivot junction 29.

The plinth 25 as can be seen is generally a rectangular shape and provides a flat surface upon which a beer logo badge can be secured for presentation to a user.

Although it is preferred that the wings 30 and ears 31 extend through apertures in a plaque to lock their association about a beer handle, it will be understood that other forms of association may be provided. Thus, for example, one wing or particularly an ear 31, may be permanently secured to a plaque with the locking procedure provided by a single aperture in such circumstances through which the wing and ear of the other arms extend in use. Further, or alternatively, as depicted in Fig. 3 by broken lines 40, at least one ear 31 may be secured in a pocket recess 41 with Possibly the other ear and wing secured in an aperture or Permanently attached to a locking plaque (not shown). However, both these approaches may render assembly more difficult and reduce the strength of the locking association about a beer engine handle.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a locking plaque 50 in accordance with the present invention. Thus, as can be seen, apertures 52 are arranged as pairs 52a, 52aa and 52b, 52bb, in order to receive wings and ears of clips, as described Previously in order to lock those clips (not shown) about a beer engine handle. The wings and ears, as described Previously, simply extend through these apertures 52 so that they are laterally opposed and sprung- biased against the plaque 50, in order to provide good locking retention about a beer engine handle. A central part 51 of the plaque 50 S arranged to receive details of the particular beer and its tasting characteristics so that these can be read and used by bar staff when requested by customers As the present mounting arrangement is Principally formed from plastics materials, it will be understood that through typical moulding processes the mounting arrangement is relatively cheap to produce.

Furthermore, in terms of assembly, it is simply necessary as described above to force the clip in terms of deflecting the arms 29 (Figs. 2 to 6) about the beer handle and then the plaque 22, 50, secured by hooking the ears and wings on one side of the clip through an aperture 32, 52, and then flexing the plaque 22, 50, and pulling such that the ears and wings on the other side of the clip extend through the other aperture of its pair. The plaque 22, 50, as indicated previously, is generally formed from a sheet plastics materials so that is possible that the plaque 22, 50, slightly flexes in order to provide a resilient bias holding the ears and wings in place through the apertures 32, 52. It will also be understood that the plaque 22, 50, when formed from a sheet plastics material allows ready printing of beer tasting notes on the plaque 22, 50, but it may be possible to form plaques 22, 50, from resilient, possibly laminated, cardboard or paper.

In order to provide further resilience for the plaque 22, 50, it will be appreciated that reinforcing ribs may be provided on the reverse side of the plaque 22, 50.

As indicated above, it is possible that it may be necessary to provide a security feature with regard to mountings. Clearly, such security features may not deter an ardent thief or vandal but may show tampering. Thus, for example, where a publican or brewer does not wish their label removed from a beer handle other than by authorised personnel, it may be possible to provide through the securing of the wings and ears upon the plaque a facility whereby once the wings and ears are passed through the apertures 32, 52, it is necessary to break the plaque or the clip in order to release the mounting about the beer engine. This may allow a brewer to confirm that his beer has been made available in the pub consistently over a period of time between inspections.

Alterations and modifications to the embodiments of the present invention described above will be understood by those skilled in the technology. Thus, the plaques may be provided in a number of different shapes including square, oval or triangular. A clip may be provided which has two pairs of arms which extend to embrace a beer handle at spaced vertical positions upon the beer handle such that the wings and ears extend

V

through apertures or into other fixings in the plaque at unique positions to ensure that only the correct plaque, which as indicated will generally include tasting details with regard to a beer, is used. In such circumstances, the right tasting notes on the plaque can be associated with the correct beer label badge presented to the customer.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance, it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings, whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims (14)

1. Claims 1 A signage mounting for a beer engine handle, the mounting

   comprising a clip to extend in use about a handle to a plaque, the plaque having an interference fitment for an ear formed on one end of the clip to retain the clip about the handle in use.
2. 2. A mounting as claimed in claim 1 wherein the interference fitment is provided by an aperture through which the ear extends in use.
3. 3. A mounting as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the plaque includes two apertures and the clip has two ears with opposed bias to retain the clip by interference in use about the handle.
4. 4 A mounting as claimed in any of claims 1, 2 or 3 wherein more than one aperture is provided in order to accommodate different sized handles.
5. 5. A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the clip includes a plinth for signage.
6. 6. A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the plaque is distortable and retained by the ear in a slightly distorted state in use to provide resilient bias for compression of the clip about a beer handle.
7. 7 A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the clip comprises two arms arranged to pivot at a junction end.
8. 8. A mounting as claimed in claim 7 wherein the arms are convexed to embrace a handle in use.
9. 9. A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each aperture and ear are reciprocally shaped or positioned.
10. 10. A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the plaque is reinforced by reinforcement means.
11. 11. A mounting as claimed in claim 10 wherein such reinforcement means is through ribbing.
12. 12. A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the ear comprises an angularly-presented lug extending from the clip
13. 13. A mounting as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the clip is 1 5 permanently secured to one side of the plaque.
14. 14. A signage mounting for a beer engine handle substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

    15 Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed herein, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.