Patent Publication Number: US-6981431-B2

Title: Cork extractor for corks of bottles of champagne, sparkling wine, prosecco, cider or the like

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to a cork extractor for corks of bottles of champagne, sparkling wine, prosecco, cider or the like, wherein a build-up portion of the cork surrounds the front side of the bottleneck while a driving collar of the cork extractor engages the build-up portion of the cork from beneath for pulling out the cork, wherein the driving collar is liftable by means of an actuating means shaped as a lever or spindle drive in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the bottle relative to an abutment collar supported by the bottle. 
   2. Background Art 
   Cork extractors of this type having a swivel lever are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,613 and EP 0 291 546. EP 0 229 560 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,761,338 describe cork extractors of this type, wherein the actuating means is designed as a thread arrangement. 
   All known solutions share the disadvantage of either not allowing an attractive design or being difficult to handle. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cork extractor of the type described above which is inexpensive to manufacture, has an attractive design and at the same time is easy to handle so that users having relatively small hands and little force can effortlessly and safely use the corkscrew. 
   According to the present invention, this object is achieved by arranging the driving collar on a first half-cylinder shell, forming the abutment collar on a second complementary half-cylinder shell, and providing each of the two half-cylinder shells with a recess, respectively, for the build-up portion of the cork, wherein the driving collar is liftable by means of the actuating means to pull out the cork, wherein during the lifting action the cork is guided along the second half-cylinder shell. 
   The design according to the present invention provides a symmetrical force distribution so that tilting moments are avoided during handling. The cork is always safely guided and fixed after being pulled out of the bottleneck so as to be easily removable. 
   In another embodiment of the invention, the actuating means is shaped as a swivel lever, wherein a swivel bearing for the swivel lever is provided at the upper end of each half-cylinder shell so that an inner lever portion of the swivel lever bridges the two swivel bearings. 
   Preferably, the corkscrew is made of metal, wherein it is possible to provide the inner side of the swivel lever and/or the outer side of the second half-cylinder shell with a plastic coating or plastic lining. 
   For securely guiding and gripping the cork head, an engaging collar roughly corresponding to the height of the cork build-up may be formed above the driving collar in such a manner that the cork build-up is arranged between the driving collar and the engaging collar when the cork extractor is applied. 
   In order to accomplish a defined guidance during the pulling-out action, a guiding collar may be arranged on the second half-cylinder shell below the abutment collar. 
   According to a preferred embodiment, it is envisaged that each swivel bearing comprises a swivel bearing bolt arranged between two fork-like swivel bearing flanges, wherein the swivel bearing flanges are arranged with recesses in the surface of the inner portion of the swivel lever so that the borders of the recesses act as stops for the swivelling motion. 
   Now, the invention will be described in greater detail with respect to a preferred example embodiment with reference to the drawing. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  shows a longitudinal section through a complete cork extractor according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  shows an inside view of a first half-cylinder shell; 
       FIG. 3  shows an inside view of a second half-cylinder shell; 
       FIG. 4  shows a section along the line IV—IV in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  shows a lateral view of a second embodiment of a cork extractor according to the present invention; and 
       FIG. 6  shows a view of the second half-cylinder shell in the direction of the arrow VI in  FIG. 5 . 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   A cork extractor as shown in the drawing comprises a first half-cylinder shell  1 , a second half-cylinder shell  2  and a swivel lever  3  as actuating means. 
   A swivel bearing flange  4  having a swivel bearing bore  5  is arranged on the upper side of the first half-cylinder shell  1  while a swivel bearing flange  6  having a swivel bearing bore  7  is arranged on the upper side of the second half-cylinder shell  2 , which bores each receive swivel bearing bolts (not shown) arranged on the swivel lever. 
   A driving collar  8  projecting towards the inside and an engaging collar  9  being arranged above the former at a distance roughly corresponding to the height of the build-up of a champagne cork are formed on the first half-cylinder shell  1 . 
   In the initial position shown in  FIG. 1 , in which the champagne cork is gripped, an abutment collar  10  is formed on the second halt-cylinder shell  2  at the height of the driving collar  8  with a guiding collar  11  being formed below the former to engage the bottleneck of the bottle from which a cork is to be extracted. 
   Each of he first half-cylinder shell  1  and the second half-cylinder shell  2  comprises a recess  12 ,  13 , respectively, roughly corresponding to the size and shape of the build-up portion of the champagne cork to be pulled out. 
   A plastic lining  14  is provided on the inner side of the swivel lever  3  while a plastic lining  15  is provided on the outer side of the second half-cylinder shell  2 . 
   The corkscrew is used as described below. 
   As the swivel lever  3  is gripped by the user&#39;s first hand , the outer side of both half-cylinder shells  1 ,  2  is gripped by the user&#39;s second hand. Thereafter, the driving collar  8  and the abutment collar  10  are pressed into the gap between the bottom end of the build-up of the cork and the top end of the bottleneck so that the abutment collar  10  is supported on this top end while the driving collar  8  engages the bottom end of the cork build-up. 
   Thereafter, when the swivel lever  3  is swivelled upwards in the direction of the arrow  16 , a downward force is exerted on the second half-cylinder shell  2  via the swivel bearing  7  in the direction of the arrow  17  so that the abutment collar  10  is supported on the top end of the mouth of the bottle and an upward force exerted on the first half-cylinder shell  1  in the direction of the arrow  18  are applied so that the build-up portion of the cork and with it the cork itself is driven upwards in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the bottle and pulled out of the mouth of the bottle, wherein the portion of the second half-cylinder shell  2  above abutment collar  10  serves as a guide for the cork and at the same time fixes it in a defined manner after having been removed from the mouth of the bottle so that the cork cannot fly off. 
   In the second embodiment shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , it is envisaged that swivel bearing bolts  19 ,  20  for bearing the swivel lever  3  are arranged in fork-shaped swivel bearing flanges  4 ′,  6 ′. The end portion  21  of the swivel lever  3  comprises a recess  22  for the swivel bearing flanges  4 ′,  6 ′, wherein the borders  23 ,  24  of the recess  22  act as stops for the swivelling motion of the swivel lever  3 .