Holsters or holders for fluid dispensing apparatuses, including bar guns.
Bar guns are typically comprised of a handle having a multiplicity of buttons thereon and a nozzle situated typically perpendicular to the handle, for dispensing a pre-selected fluid. Bar guns are well-known in the art. Nozzles of bar guns are typically cylindrical and are attached at a near end to the handle and have a fluid dispensing opening at a removed end thereof.
It is known in the art to provide a holster for engaging a bar gun, typically for encircling the nozzle of a bar gun, when the bar gun is not in use. The use of a holster, with a nozzle opening dimensioned slightly larger than the nozzle of a typical bar gun, allows the bar gun user to “holster” or place the bar gun in a non-use position, in much the same way the holster of a handgun will engage at least a portion of the barrel and leave the handle exposed, for use by the wearer.
Unlike handgun holsters, however, bar gun holsters are typically mounted to a rigid support surface, such as a sink, table or underside of a bar. Typical prior art bar gun holders include a mounting plate for engaging screws, which screws would be threaded into the underside of a support surface, and typically include a surround portion or bar gun nozzle receiving portion which extends laterally spaced away from the underside of the support surface.
Typical bar gun holsters may also include a pan portion spaced apart from the surround or nozzle opening portion, which pan member is designed to receive liquids that may drip off the end of the bar gun nozzle. That is to say, when a bartender is finished dispensing a drink, they will typically holster the nozzle of the bar gun and, even though the bartender may have finished dispensing the drink, there may still be fluid dripping from the nozzle. When the bar gun is holstered, the fluid may leak into the pan.
Bar gun holsters have included removable drain portions, separate from the mounting plate, for ease of washing and clean-up. These drain portions may include a lower drain opening and an upper perimeter. A drain hose is in fluid communication with the drain portion for carrying away waste fluid in a drain line.
Among advantages of Applicants' novel holster assembly set forth herein is the ability to maintain the bar gun nozzle tip sufficiently spaced apart from a base or bottom of a drain pan so as to prevent contamination of the removed end of the nozzle by fluid accumulating in the pan of the holster assembly.
Another advantage of Applicants' novel holster assembly is structure to adapt a large drain tube thereto, typically ½ inch ID or greater, which helps prevent backup into the pan of the assembly.
Another advantage of Applicants' novel holster assembly is a multi-piece assembly that toollessly and removably couples to a support base or mounting plate, allowing the portions of the holster assembly that may be contaminated, to be easily removed from the mounting plate and washed, even while the drain hose remains attached to an uncontaminated portion of the assembly.
Applicants further provide a holster assembly for a bar gun having a holster portion for receiving a nozzle of a bar gun, with a gap or space between the nozzle and the bar at the nozzle receiving member.
That is to say, Applicants provide a novel holster assembly that largely avoids contamination of a nozzle and a holster assembly that may be toollessly removed from the mounting plate for easy washing.
While prior art holsters have certain advantages, Applicants provide these advantages with other advantages in a novel bar gun assembly.
It is the object of Applicants' novel holster assembly for a bar gun to provide a convenient, sanitary, easy to use, and easily cleaned bar gun assembly for use with the bar gun having a nozzle.
Applicants achieve the advantages and objects set forth herein by providing a multi-piece assembly that may be easily assembled and disassembled without the use of tools.
Applicants further achieve the advantages and objects set forth herein and others by providing a three-piece assembly, including: a mounting plate, a holster, and a drain body. The drain body and holster slideably engage one another and are easily uncoupled (without the use of tools) for washing. The assembled or coupled sub-unit defining the drain body and the holster is slidably mounted to a mounting plate, which is in turn mounted by fasteners to a support surface, such as the underside of a table or bar.
Another object is provided in Applicants' novel holster and drain assembly that includes a pan portion, which is spaced apart from a nozzle receiving member so that a nozzle, nested in the nozzle receiving member has its tip spaced apart from the pan. The pan includes, at an upper surface thereof, an upper drain portion or opening to ensure that no fluid is accumulated in the pan above the fluid level of the upper drain portion and therefore to the level of the nozzle tip.
Applicants' novel structure achieves several advantages. It may be seen that Applicants' holster and drain assembly 10 includes a holster portion or a holster 18 for engaging a drain body 20 and a mounting plate 22. More specifically, the Figures illustrate the manner in which Applicants' holster and drain assembly or assembly 10 may be comprised of three pieces, with the mounting plate 22 mounted to a support surface, a subassembly comprising of the holster 18 and the drain body 20, which subassembly is toollessly and removably assembled, and which can be removed from mounting plate 22 for subsequent cleaning.
Put another way, Applicants provide a sub-assembly comprising a holster and drain body, which are joined together, the two elements joined slideably without tools to a mounting plate. Applicants' drain body and holster may then be disassembled and separately washed separately. Typically, the drain body portion 20, which includes a pan portion 40 for receipt of extraneous liquids dripping from the holster nozzle, will need to be cleaned. Easy and slideable disassembly from the holster and mounting plate facilitates such ease of washing. Further details of Applicants' novel assembly 10 may be appreciated with reference to the foregoing description.
Turning first to drain body 20, it is seen from the Figures to be in an integral body having land portions 19 and 24 laterally spaced apart from one another, which land portions have lower edges 21 and 23. Drain body 20 is seen to have walls defining an upper edge 26, which upper edge may include upper edges 27 and 29 of the land portions 19 and 24, as well as upper edge 31 of curved front wall 30.
Applicants' drain body 20 typically includes a pair of spaced apart sidewalls 28, which sidewalls join land portions 19 and 24, and which sidewalls curve and define the curved front wall 30.
Applicants' drain body 20 includes a curved bottom wall 32 and a flat rear wall 34. At the bottom of rear wall 34 is lower drain channel 36. Part of curved front wall 30 includes overflow opening 38. An imaginary horizontal line drawn between the lower edge of overflow opening 38 extending across drain body 20 to rear wall 34 defines an imaginary line below which the pan portion 40 of drain body 20 exists, to receive fluids dripping from nozzle tip 16a, as best seen in
Bottom wall 32 typically is angled downward from curved front wall 30 to lower drain channel 36, such that fluid accumulated in the pan will flow to lower drain channel 36. Moreover, with reference to
Turning now to Applicants' mounting plate 22, it is seen to be generally comprised of a horizontal tabular portion 42 integral to and joined with a vertical portion 44, the two portions which may be braced by a pair of laterally spaced apart diagonal brace portions 46. Turning now to tabular portion 42, it is seen that tabular portion 42 comprises an upper wall 48, which is typically the uppermost part of assembly 10, which upper wall 48 is flat so as to fit flush against the underside of the support surface. A multiplicity of fastener holes 50 are provided in the upper wall for receipt of fasteners, such as screws therethrough, to fixedly and rigidly maintain tabular portion and mounting plate 22 to a support surface. Upper wall 48 is also seen to include retainer slot 52 (
Vertical portion 44 of mounting plate 22 includes a front wall 58, including a lower portion 60, the lower portion including a channel 62 therein. Channel 62 has a drain member portion 66 that typically extends rearward from vertical portion 44 (that is to say, opposite from the tabular portion 42, which extends forward from the upper portion of vertical portion 44). Channel 62 has an ID of typically ⅜ inch or greater to avoid clogging (one actual ID may be 0.425″). Drain member portions 66 of channel 62 is adapted to receive a drain line DL thereon. Channel 62 joins a lower drain channel receiving portion 64, which has an outer diameter slightly larger than channel 62, which outer diameter is dimensioned to receive lower drain channel 36 of drain body 20 therein. Typically a few O-rings are located between lower drain channel 36 (outer walls) and the walls defining lower drain channel receiving portion 64 for a fluid tight couple. Channel 62 includes a drain member portion 66 acting to receive a drain line DL extending outward and rearward from lower member 60, which channel 62 also includes a lower drain channel receiving portion 64, as best seen in
Turning now to holster member or holster 18, it may be seen with reference to the Figures that holster member includes a top wall 70 typically having a tabular or flat portion 72 designed to slideably receive and lay flush against the underside of upper wall 48 when the two parts are joined and in use as seen in
Holster member 18 includes a pair of sidewalls 76 depending from top wall 70. Sidewalls 76 curve and join to define a nose portion 78 which may bear a similar curve, though a larger radius of curvature, when compared to curved front wall 30 of drain body 20.
A pair of spaced apart parallel leg members 80 extend inward from the lower portion of sidewalls 76 to slideably receive lower edges 21 and 23 of land portions 19 and 24 of drain body 20. Holster member 18 will slideably receive drain body 20 through sliding engagement wherein lower edges 21 and 23 track along leg members 80 and upper edges 27/29 slide along the underside of top wall 70 until bumper 41 (optional) or the most removed part of curve on front wall 30 of drain body 20 strikes inner wall of curved nose 78 of holster member as seen in
Turning back to top wall 70, it is seen that a biased or flexible retainer member 84 may be provided with a near end 84a integral with and attached to top wall 70, and a removed end 84b, which is free to be depressed. Depressing may release a raised locking tab 86 near the removed end from an engaged position with retainer slot 52 of mounting plate 22. Channels 85 on either side of retainer member 84 separate the retainer member from the top wall 70, such that the only place the retainer member joins the top wall is at near end 84a. The removed end 84b, since the retainer member 84 is typically a resilient plastic, is capable of flexing. Pressing gently downward at free removed end 84b will allow uncoupling of the locking tab 86 when it resides in slot 52 as seen in
Turning again to holster member 18, structure is defined and set forth herein, which structure provides a function of receiving the nozzle of a bar gun in a manner which maintains the removed or furthermost end 16a of the nozzle at least above pan portion 40. Structure provided by Applicants' novel holster member includes cylindrical nozzle receiving member 88 typically provided in the angled portion 74 of the top wall. Nozzle receiving member 88 may include upper lip 89. Inner walls 90 of nozzle receiving member 88 may include an annular shoulder portion 92 above a lip 94. The lip 94 may define an opening for accommodating the removed end of the nozzle and the annular shoulder portion 92 being dimensioned according to the distance between a corresponding shoulder 16b of a nozzle. That is to say, nozzle receiving member 88 is dimensioned to receive a nozzle. Annular shoulder 92 receives shoulder 16b of the nozzle such that, and according to the distance between shoulder 16b of nozzle and removed end 16a of nozzle, the removed end 16a of nozzle will stay at least above the imaginary line below which defines the pan portion 40 (dash line in
Structure for retaining the removed end of the nozzle above the lower lip of the overflow opening may include locating lip 94 so that its distance above pan portion 40 is greater than the distance of the nozzle (to be used with the holster) that the nozzle extends beyond the lip. In other words, the tip of the nozzle will be maintained above the pan portion 40. In an alternate preferred embodiment, the removed end of the nozzle will be maintained at or above the upper edge 386 of the overflow opening (see
A typical clearance that has worked well to maintain a cylindrical nozzle in the cylindrical nozzle receiving member is about 0.012 inch, range about 0.003-0.070, optimum 0.005-020, preferably the nozzle receiving member is non-elastomeric and may be a rigid plastic, such as ABS. Generally, a clearance fit will have a lower end of about 0.003, the upper range could exceed 0.070, and still achieve the benefits of a clearance fit. That is to say, there should be sufficient clearance between the outer diameter of the bar gun nozzle and the inner diameter of the nozzle receiving member. However, if there is too great a clearance, the nozzle will not stay firmly attached and may work its way out with repeated jostling and nudging.
Typically, extraneous fluid from the nozzle would simply drain out by running down bottom wall 32 (inclined as seen in
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limited sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the inventions will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon the reference to the description of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention.
This is a utility patent application that claims the benefit of, priority from and incorporates herein by reference co-pending U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/126,935, filed May 8, 2008.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61126935 | May 2008 | US |