EP1388520B1

EP1388520B1 - Corkscrew with articulated arm

Info

Publication number: EP1388520B1
Application number: EP20030380189
Authority: EP
Inventors: Francisco José Traspuesto Miguel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-08-06
Filing date: 2003-08-06
Publication date: 2005-04-06
Anticipated expiration: 2023-08-06
Also published as: ES1052655U; ES1052655Y; PT1388520E; DE60300472D1; EP1388520A1; DE60300472T2

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

This invention refers to a corkscrew of the type incorporating an arm that rests on the lip of the bottle, and more specifically, of the type in which said arm is joined in an articulated manner to the handle of the corkscrew.
The object of the invention is to achieve, between the two articulated components of the corkscrew, the means to maintain the relative position chosen for these components stable, and for them to perform their role indefinitely over time.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A typical solution for a corkscrew consists of a spiral, intended to be inserted axially into the cork, joined to a handle in an articulated manner, which in its working position forms a "T" with said spiral; an arm which rests on the rim of the bottle is joined to one of the ends of the handle, forming a second-class lever, which significantly facilitates the extraction of the cork.
Normally, the axis through which the arm is joined to the handle in an articulated manner suffers wear and tear, causing a slackness that prevents the handle and arm from staying aligned, so that said arm swings toward a vertical position through mere gravity, hindering the action of placing the spiral in the cork and hurting the hand that holds the bottle.
In an attempt to obviate this problem, the Spanish utility model E S 1 046 877-u, whose owner is the applicant himself, describes a corkscrew according to the preamble of claim 1, and which, in the area of the axis of the articulated joint between the arm and the handle, a transverse spring is set, whose ends form coaxial, opposing pivots that emerge substantially to the outside of the handle and that act on the inner face of the lateral branches corresponding to the articulated arm, which in turn have a plurality of grooves that form a circumferential alignment concentric to the swing axis itself of the arm on the handle. These grooves, in a radial arrangement, form internal retaining teeth for the aforementioned pivots on the end of the referenced transverse spring, so that they maintain stability in any relative position between the arm and the handle, especially to prevent wear and tear of the connecting axis.
This solution, while perfectly valid from a theoretical point of view, has proven to be ineffective in practice, as the aforementioned pivots cause wear and tear on the grooves over time through use, forming a circumferential channel on the areas where they come into contact with them, so that the pivots end up being inoperative, as does the arm's locking system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The corkscrew proposed by the invention incorporates a means of coupling the handle to the arm that resolves the problem that was discussed above, indefinitely ensuring relative stability between these two components, in any position chosen for them, in other words, during the corkscrew's useful life.
To do this, and more specifically, starting with the same grooves in a circumferential alignment on the inner face of the lateral branches of the arm, in an arrangement concentric to the arm's swing axis with respect to the handle, the invention consists of replacing the referenced transverse spring with a pair of toothed washers, specifically toothed in a radial direction, joined to each other by means of a small transverse, peripheral bridge, which makes them a one-piece assembly, with a "U" shape, in which said washers form the lateral branches, appreciably parallel, but tending to diverge because of the effect of the elastic nature of the bridge between them.
This means that, instead of the two moving components being connected to each other by what practically amounts to a single point, the connection is through the large number of grooves, or teeth; thus, wear and tear through rubbing is markedly distributed, and becomes minimal per surface unit, practically negligible. This enables their useful life to be significantly extended, practically coinciding with the useful life of the corkscrew as a whole.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement this description and for the purpose of allowing for better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, in accordance with an example of its preferred embodiment, a set of drawings of an illustrative and non-restrictive nature, in which the following items are represented, is attached as an integral part of this description:
Figure 1: Shows an exploded perspective view of the articulated arm of a corkscrew embodied in accordance with the object of this invention, together with the pair of toothed washers through which said arm is connected to the handle.
Figure 2: Shows, also from a perspective view, a detail of the assembly from the preceding figure, properly assembled in the context of a corkscrew, partially represented.
Figure 3: Shows a partial detail in profile, at the level of the articulated joint.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In light of the figures described, it can be seen how the invention is applicable to a corkscrew of the type incorporating a handle (1), to which the spiral (not shown) for extracting the cork is joined in an articulated manner; said handle (1), through a swing axis (2), receives an arm (3), also in an articulated manner. This arm is partially represented in the drawings, and is designed to rest on the rim of the bottle during the process of extracting the cork. Thus, the corkscrew as a whole acts as a second-class lever, as previously mentioned.
The arm (3), at the end where it is joined in an articulated manner to the handle (1), on which some holes (4) are established to allow the aforementioned swing axis (2) to pass through, incorporates a plurality of grooves (5) on the inner face of each of its lateral branches, circumferentially aligned around each hole (4) in a radial arrangement, designed to form part of the means for locking the arm (3) into place with respect to the handle (1).
In accordance with the invention, the corkscrew incorporates a pair of toothed washers (6-6'), with their respective coaxial holes (7) to allow the swing axis (2) to pass through, so that said washers (6-6') are designed to be established between the handle (1) of the corkscrew and the respective lateral branches of the arm (3), as especially seen in figure 2.
The teeth (8) on each of these washers, which are also in a radial arrangement, correspond in position with the grooves (5) on the arm (3), and produce an interlocking effect on these grooves, stabilizing the arm (3) in any angular position with respect to the handle (1).
The pair of washers (6-6') are connected to each other as one piece by means of a lateral bridge (9) which plays a dual role: on the one hand, it facilitates assembly of the washers (6-6'), as it forces them into a coaxial arrangement and at a pre-set distance from each other; and on the other hand, it acts as a component that immobilizes said washers in an angular direction with respect to the handle (1), as it forms a stop against the inner, curved and concave edge of the latter, as can also be seen in figure 2; so that while the washers (6-6') are kept stable in an angular direction, the grooves (5) on the arm (3) must move over the teeth (8) of the washers when the angular position of said arm (3) tries to change with respect to the handle (1).

Claims

Corkscrew with an articulated arm, of the type incorporating a handle (1) to which the spiral for extracting the cork is connected; this handle (1), on one of its ends and with the collaboration of a swing axis (2) (2), receives a support arm (3) in an articulated manner, forming a lever, in which the articulated arm also incorporates circumferential alignments of grooves (5) on each of the inner faces of its lateral branches, in a radial arrangement with respect to the hole (4) allowing the swing axis (2) to pass through, characterized in that it incorporates a pair of toothed washers (6-6'), which are also connected to the swing axis (2) between the handle and the support arm (3), specifically being located between said handle (1) and each of the lateral branches of the arm (3), so that their teeth (8), also in a radial arrangement, are aligned with the grooves (5) on the support arm (3).
Corkscrew with articulated arm, according to claim 1, characterized in that the two washers (6-6') are joined to each other as one piece by means of a lateral bridge (9) that makes these washers (6-6') parallel and coaxial, as if the lateral branches were a "U" whose middle section is the bridge itself (9), which also forms a stop immobilizing the angle of the washers (6-6') with respect to the handle (1).