CA2304836A1 - Corkscrew - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a unique decorative corkscrew for opening bottles having corks therein. The design and function is unique in that the corkscrew secures the neck of the bottle rather than the rim and uses a rotator with a spiral-female thread therein adapted to receive a spiral screw. Not only is the cork easily removed from the bottle, but the device is also adapted to self-remove the spiral from the cork and discard it.

Description

CORKSCREW
Field of invention This invention relates to corkscrews for opening bottles and more particularly to automatic corkscrews adapted to easily remove the cork from any neck size wine bottle and to also automatically remove the spiral screw from the cork.
Background Corkscrews and automatic corkscrews have been in use almost as long as man has been making wine and putting corks in wine bottles.
For example, in French Patent 723,652, the Nurnberg scissor is used to obtain the mechanical advantage to not only secure the cork but to discard it once it has been removed from the bottle.
A more recent example of an automatic corkscrew is found in United States Patent 4253351 issued March 3, 1981 to Herbert Allan assigned to the Allan Company. The device disclosed in the '351 Patent is similar to that of the present invention, with the exception that it is somewhat more complex, has more parts, and is less decorative.
Although the function of the device in the '351 Patent is generally the same as the present invention, the mechanics are different. Therefore, there appears to be a need for an improved corkscrew which is novel, decorative and simple in construction and which is capable of depositing a cork after removing it from the bottle.
Summarv of invention Therefore, this invention seeks to provide a corkscrew adapted for insertion, removal, retention and discard of a cork from a bottle of fermented beverage; said corkscrew including a rotator comprising tapered outside circular walls; an inner spiral passageway adapted to receive and allow to pass therethrough a spiral worm; and a plurality of projections on a lower surface of said rotator adapted to secure said cork; said rotator being housed within a casing; said casing including tapered inner walls and a plurality of spring loaded hooks on its outer walls; said corkscrew further comprising a sleeve, said sleeve being adapted to secure said hooks inwardly during the cork removal and retention and to release said hooks during discard of said cork.
The corkscrew of the present invention basically consists of two (2) body parts which are adapted to fit together and be secured in place with a body sleeve. Attached to the body is a downwardly extending arm having a rubber grip pad thereon. It is attached by a horizontally disposed pin. The body sleeve also has a lower portion with a grip pad which is positioned opposite to the arm grip pad. The lower grip portions of the arm and body sleeve are adapted to fit around the neck of the bottle below the rim and are so constructed that any bottle of any rim size in which wine is produced can be accommodated.
Within the body is a circular or annular inner body sleeve which is free moving. A two-part casing fits into the sleeve. The casing, being tapered upwardly and outwardly, is adapted to retain a rotator which has a female inner spiral worm thread adapted to permit a typical corkscrew or spiral to pass therethrough.
The rotator has outer walls which are also tapered upwardly and outwardly. The rotator has downward extending projections which are adapted to grip the top of a cork. On top of the rotator is a split ring and thereupon is placed a washer which abuts the underside of the roof of the casing.
On top of the spiral screw or worm is a metal head which secures the spiral worm. On top of the head is a small tiny ball bearing which is adapted to abut a metal disk at the bottom of a lower carrier. On top of the lower carrier is an upper carrier which is adapted to pivotally attach to a handle or lever which is used to provide the action for securing a cork, removing a cork and depositing a cork. The handle or lever is attached to a link arm which is, in turn, attached to the body sleeve.
A slot on top of the upper carrier secures the handle by way of a horizontally disposed pivot pin which is secured through both carriers.

The link arm which is pivoted to the handle has a remote end which is pivoted to body parts 1 and 2 (or left and right) and the body sleeve.
The casing has a pair of spring loaded hooks which are generally secured in an inward retained position when the device is placed on the neck of a bottle. The hooks are secured by a small sleeve.
As previously mentioned, when the cork is in the bottle and the device is secured over the neck of the bottle, the small moveable sleeve inhibits the hooks from moving outwardly which prohibits the rotator from turning.
Thus, when the spiral screw is moved downwardly, it rotates into the cork in a clockwise direction. However, once the cork is removed from the bottle, the small sleeve no longer abuts the lip of the bottle and is permitted to move downwardly. This permits the small hooks to move outwardly and allows the rotator to rotate.
Generally, there are four (4) cycles: firstly, the corkscrew is placed on the bottle and the handle is moved downwardly, causing the spiral screw to turn clockwise into the cork. The rotator does not turn during this cycle.
During the second cycle, the handle is moved upwardly, thereby removing the cork from the bottle. At the end of the second cycle, the arm is released from the rim of the bottleneck and the small sleeve falls downwardly.

In the third cycle, the handle is again moved downwardly at which time the pair of spring loaded hooks are permitted to move outwardly, thereby trapping the casing.
During the fourth cycle, the handle is moved upwardly.

5 The spiral screw or worm cannot turn and therefor applies upward pressure to the enclosed rotator which turns clockwise in a fixed vertical position allowing the spiral to go upwardly while the rotator turns and pushes the cork off.
Brief description of the drawings The invention will now be fully described in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the corkscrew with the handle or lever in the lowered position;
Figure 2 is a side view of the corkscrew with the handle or lever in the upper position;
Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross section view of the corkscrew secured to the neck of a bottle;
Figure 4 is a similar longitudinal cross section view wherein the lever has been moved slightly downwardly with the spiral corkscrew entering the cork;
Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross section view wherein the handle is fully lowered and the spiral corkscrew has fully entered the cork in the bottle;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal cross section view wherein the cork has been partially removed from the neck of the bottle as the handle moves upwardly;
Figure 7 is a similar side view wherein the handle has been fully raised and the cork has been fully removed from the bottle;
Figure 8 is a side view of the corkscrew having been removed from the bottle;
Figure 9 is a longitudinal cross section view wherein the handle and the cork, along with the spiral therein, are pressed downwardly; and Figure 10 is a longitudinal cross section view of the corkscrew wherein the handle is raised and the cork discarded.
Detailed description of the invention Figure 1 shows the basic components of the corkscrew of the present invention. There is a handle or lever 3, a top carrier 6 (to which the handle pivots) a body sleeve 2a and an arm 5 which pivots about pivot point 5a. One notes the gripper portion of the inner sleeve 12;
however, the gripping portion on the arm 5 is not visible.
In Figure 2, the handle 3 is shown in an upper position.
It pivots about pivot point 3a which also is used to secure a pivot pin (not shown) to both the upper carrier 6 and the lower carrier 7. The handle 3 has a plastic gripping portion 24. Also illustrated in Figure 2 is a bottle neck 29 with a cork therein 30.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross section of the corkscrew of the present invention. Figure 3, and succeeding figures, show the operation of the corkscrew during different cycles for the operation of removing a cork.
Beginning at the top of drawing 3, the lever 3 is secured to the upper carrier 6 and lower carrier 7 by a pin 23.
Abutting the carrier 7 is a steel disk 17 which comes in contact with a ball bearing 21, which is positioned within the top of a metal head 20. The metal head 20 secures the top of the spiral corkscrew 19.
The link arm 4 pivots on handle 3 by way of a pivot 4a and at its remote lower end, pin 22 secures the link arm to the body sleeve 2a and body parts 1 and 2. Body parts 1 and 2 are semi-circular and hollow and are secured together in mating relationship by means of body sleeve 2a.
Arm 5 is secured by pin 28. A bottle 29 with its cork 30 intact is shown abutting the bottom of the internal mechanism.
A rotator 10 is shown with its downward protrusions l0a pressing into the cork 30. The rotator 10 has outer walls that are tapered outwardly and upwardly. The rotator is annular in configuration and has a female clockwise spiral thread therein adapted to permit the spiral screw 19 to spiral its way clockwise therethrough when the rotator is in a fixed non turnable position.
The rotator 10 is held within an annular casing 8 which is made of two (2) portions mated together. The casing has an upper roof 8a. Between the underside of the roof Sa is located a washer 13 which sits upon an annular rotator ring 14 which in turn, is placed on top of the rotator. The casing 8 is equipped with a pair of spring hooks 15 which are pivotally mounted to the casing 8. In Figure 3, these spring arms are inwardly biased against the casing wall by a sleeve 11. One notes how pads 12 and 12a securely grip the neck of the bottle.
In Figure 4, the handle 3 has commenced its downward journey. Ball bearing 21 is now touching upper carrier disk 17. The screw 19 turns in a clockwise direction downwardly. The rotator 10 remains stationary, not turning. The inner female thread of the rotator causes the screw 19 to turn in a clockwise direction. Thus, downward pressure produced by the handle 3 and the carrier disk 17 on head ball bearing 21 causes the screw to turn clockwise (looking downwardly). The turning is caused by the screw proceeding through the spiral female pathway within the rotator 10.
As illustrated in Figure 5, the spiral worm 19 has turned fully into the cork 30. The handle 3 is in a downward position and the link arm 4 is vertical. In this position, the bottle is ready to be opened and the rotator 10 is in a lowered position sticking on the casing wall.

In Figure 6, the handle 3 has begun its upward movement causing the cork to be pulled from the bottle neck. The screw spiral 19, of course, remains within the cork 30.
In Figure 6, the cork 30 is approximately half out of the neck. The sleeve 11 continues to abut the top of the neck of the bottle while the rotator 10, casing 8 and hooks 15 ride upwardly above the cork 30.
In Figure 7, the handle is fully raised and the cork 30 has been removed entirely from the bottle. The ball bearing 21 is no longer in contact with disk 17. Neither the spiral screw 19, nor the rotator 10 turn. It is also clear in Figure 7 that the sleeve 11 which previously encompassed hooks 15, rotator 10 and casing 8 has descended and remains seated on the lip of the bottle.
In Figure 8, the bottle is released from the device of the present invention as the arm 5 moves outwardly. The bottom sleeve pad 12 and arm pad 12a are no longer in contact with the neck of the bottle.
In Figure 9, the handle 3 is moved downwardly and the hooks 15 are released from their abutted position near the outer casing wall. The hooks 15 are in an outward position and abut the top of the sleeve 12. The assembly has moved downwardly and the casing 8 becomes trapped during this cycle. The screw does not turn and the rotator 10 does not turn.
The last cycle is shown in Figure 10. The handle 3 is raised upwardly. The rotator 10, now free from the casing, is permitted to rotate along with the cork 30.
The worm 9 does not turn but is pulled upwardly causing the rotator 10 to turn along with the cork 30. This obviously releases the cork 30 since it turns against the 5 spiral of the spiral worm 19.
The hooks 15 remain in their outward position until the the next bottle is placed under the sleeve 11. It is to be noted that the ball bearing 21 does not touch the top 10 carrier disk 17 at this time.
In summary, there are five (5) cycles. The first is applying the corkscrew to the bottle. The second is inserting the spiral within the cork. The third is removing the cork from the bottle and thus releasing the bottle . The fourth is pressing the cork along with the spiral downwardly. And the fifth is moving the spiral upwardly by rotation of the rotator 10 along with the cork 30 thus releasing the cork 30.

Claims (3)

1. A corkscrew adapted for insertion, removal, retention and discard of a cork from a bottle of fermented beverage; said corkscrew including a rotator comprising: tapered outside circular walls;
an inner spiral passageway adapted to receive and allow to pass therethrough a spiral worm; and a plurality of projections on a lower surface of said rotator adapted to secure said cork; said rotator being housed within a casing; said casing including tapered inner walls and a plurality of spring loaded hooks on its outer walls; said corkscrew further comprising a sleeve, said sleeve being adapted to secure said hooks inwardly during the cork removal and retention and to release said hooks during discard of said cork.

2. A corkscrew as claimed in claim 1 including an outer body sleeve and right and left inner bodies; said outer body sleeve adapted to secure said bodies and grip a portion of the neck of said bottle, said bodies being adapted to secure inner components;
said corkscrew further comprising an arm adapted to grip a portion of said bottle and an handle and link arm; said handle and link arm being adapted to raise and lower said spiral worm.

3. A corkscrew as claimed in claim 2, further including an upper and lower carrier; said upper and lower carrier being attached by a pivot pin to said handle; said lower carrier including a metal seat on its underside; said seat adapted to contact a ball bearing on a head; said head being attached on its underside to said spiral worm; said head and said spiral worm being rotatable during insertion of said worm into said cork and being non-rotatable during removal, retention and discard of said cork.