Abstract:
A winged corkscrew has a lock box that prevents a non-stick coated worm from turning in a reverse direction and slipping out of a cork when two wings of the corkscrew are closed. The lock box locks onto a collar on a main shaft of the cork screw, and thereafter, a cam on the main shaft forms a one way rotational ratchet with the lock box. When the worm is fully inserted, the wings are lowered to remove the cork, but the ratchet prevents the worm from turning in reverse and slipping out of the cork. The corkscrew also has catches that center the corkscrew on the bottle and align the worm into the center of the cork. After the cork has been removed from the bottle, the lock box is unlocked to allow the cork to be removed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to winged corkscrews having non-stick coated worms. In particular, the invention relates to mechanisms that prevent the worm from turning in a reverse direction and slipping out of a cork when a user attempts to remove the cork. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Winged corkscrews conventionally include a worm, which may be in the form of a wire wound helically about an axis, having a point at a lower end for initial insertion into a cork and having a handle at the upper end to aid rotation. The corkscrew conventionally has two similar wings (sometimes called arms) extending symmetrically outwardly on opposite sides of the axis and engagingly attached to rings about the axis. As the worm is inserted into the cork, the rings move downward with the worm and the wings are raised upwards. Then, to remove the cork from the bottle, the wings are lowered to their original position against the corkscrew, thus raising the worm and the cork. 
     In order for the worm to more smoothly enter the cork and to minimize the possibility that the cork might crumble, the worm may be enameled or coated with a non-stick surface coat, such as Teflon™. However, if the worm is slick-coated, when the wings of the corkscrew are lowered, the worm may turn in a reverse direction and slip out of the cork without raising the cork from the bottle. Furthermore, known corkscrews lack a means to center the worm on diverse size bottle necks that may come in various bottle neck diameters. As a result, the worm sometimes obliquely enters a cork or enters the cork at an offset. A cork is likely to be broken or crumbled when the worm enters at an oblique angle or an offset axis. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention prevents a non-stick coated worm from slipping out of a cork when the cork is pulled from the bottle and also helps to center the corkscrew onto the bottle and align the worm in the center of the cork. The term “cork” as used here means any bottle stopper material that may be used as a cork. 
     An improved winged corkscrew has a lock box that prevents a non-stick coated worm from turning in a reverse direction and slipping out of a cork when wings of the corkscrew are closed to raise the cork. In one example of the operation of the invention, the lock box locks onto a collar on a main shaft of the cork screw. In another example of the operation of the invention, a cam on the main shaft forms a one way rotational ratchet with the lock box. When the worm is fully inserted, the wings are lowered to remove the cork, but the ratchet prevents the worm from turning in reverse and slipping out of the cork. In another example of the invention, the corkscrew has catches that are fitted to ordinarily accept small bottle necks, but have the flexibility to enlarge to accept wide bottle necks. This helps to center the corkscrew on the bottle and align the worm into the center of the cork. After the cork has been removed from the bottle, the lock box is unlocked to allow the cork to be removed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The invention will be described in detail in the following description of preferred embodiments with reference to the following figures wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a corkscrew; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main shaft of the corkscrew; 
     FIG. 3 is a section view of the cam portion of the main shaft; 
     FIG. 4 is a front view of the corkscrew showing the interaction of the main shaft and the wing teeth; 
     FIG. 5 is a front view of the lock box; 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of the lock box showing the interaction of the main shaft and the protruding portion; 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of the main lever of the lock box; 
     FIG. 8 is a side view of the protruding portion of the main lever of the lock box; 
     FIG. 9 is side view of the lock box showing the interaction of the main shaft and the protruding portion; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the body of the corkscrew; 
     FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the body of the corkscrew; and 
     FIG. 12 is a section view of the resilient catches of the corkscrew along the line XII—XII of FIG.  10 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In FIG. 1, a corkscrew  10  has a body  20 , a main shaft  100 , two wings  30 , two hinge axles  40 , and a lock box  200 . The body  20  of the corkscrew  10  may be plastic or metal and may be wholly formed or may be formed in several pieces which are attached together, such as by screws. 
     An example of a main shaft  100  that includes a collar  120  is depicted in FIG.  2 . In FIG. 2, the main shaft  100  of the corkscrew  10  includes a collar  120 , and on one side of the collar  120 , a cam  114 . Preferably, on a side of the cam  114  that is distal to the collar  120 , a knob  112  is located at one end of the main shaft  100 . Preferably on the other side of the collar  120 , the main shaft  100  has several ridges  104  along a length of the main shaft as well as a worm  102  on an end. The worm  102  is a helically shaped wire, has a sharp end, and is preferably non-stick coated, typically by Teflon™, or equivalent, to easily penetrate a cork. The worm  102  may be integral with the entire main shaft  100  or may be attached, such as by wedging, gluing, or an equivalent. The collar  120  preferably has a larger diameter than the diameter of the ridges  104 . The cam  114  has several cam crowns  116  (see FIG. 3) which extend from the center  118  of the main shaft  100  but do not extend as far as the edge of the collar  120 . The knob  112  is a handle for the corkscrew and may be in a decorative shape, for example in a substantially rectangular or oval shape, and may include indicia such as a trade name or trademark or an advertisement. 
     In FIG. 4, each wing  30  has several wing teeth  32  which extend into spaces between the ridges  104  of the main shaft  100 , allowing the wings  30  and the main shaft  100  to move reciprocally. The wings  30  advantageously interact with the ridges  104  of the main shaft  100  such that when the main shaft  100  moves axially, then the wings  30  rotate as well, and vice versa. The wings  30  are attached to the body  20  by the hinge axles  40 . 
     An example of the lock box  200  as it interacts with the collar  120  and the cam  114  is depicted in FIGS. 5-9. In FIGS. 5-9, the lock box  200  has a main lever  210  installed in box housing  250 . The main lever  210  includes a button  212 , an end portion  230  and a lever  216  (between the end portion  230  and the button  212 ) that pivots around a pivot  214 . The pivot  214  may be part of the lever  216  or may be attached to the lever  216 . On one end of the main lever  210  is a button  212  that extends out of the box housing  250  of lock box  200 . The button  212  is arranged so that, when operated, it presses against a spring  270  that is, in this example, disposed between button  212  and a portion of the box housing  250  (see FIG.  9 ). The spring  270  may be a spiral compression spring, leaf spring, resilient material, a torsion spring, or an equivalent, and the exact location of the spring may be corresponding relocated based on spring type. On the other end of the main lever  210  is an end portion  230  (see FIG.  7 ). The spring  270  holds the button  212  in an ordinarily raised position as depicted in FIG. 9, and holds the end portion  230  of the main lever  210  in an ordinarily lowered position as also depicted in FIG.  9 . 
     In FIG. 7, two axes of the main lever  210  are defined to be a lever axis  218  and a transverse axis  232 . In the end portion  230 , a protruding portion  220  extends along the transverse axis  232  and interacts with the collar  120  of the main shaft  100  as further discussed below. The protruding portion  220  has a chamfered bevel  222  on a distal side of portion  220  and a substantially right angle  224  (lateral view angle  224 ), on a proximal side of portion  220  (see FIG.  7 ). The chamfered bevel  222  is angled to allow the collar  120  of the main shaft  100  to pass by the protruding portion  220  in one direction (i.e., inserting the worm into the cork), while the lateral view angle  224  is angled to resist the collar  120  from passing the protruding portion  220  in the opposite direction (i.e., removing the worm from the cork). 
     In operation, as the worm  104  turns into the cork, the main shaft  100  is drawn toward the cork past the lock box  200 . In particular, the collar  120  of the main shaft  100  is drawn past the protruding portion  220  of the lock box  200 . As the collar  120  passes the protruding portion  220 , the collar  120  slidably urges against the chamfered bevel  222  to move the protruding portion  220  upward (as depicted in FIGS.  7  and  8 ), causing the main lever  210  to pivot around the pivot  214  and compress the spring  270  (see FIGS.  7  and  9 ). 
     When the collar  120  has moved past the protruding portion  220 , the spring  270  urges the main lever  210  to pivot about the pivot  214  so that the protruding portion  220  forcibly urges against the cam  114  on the distal side of the collar  120  (see FIG.  2 ). The protruding portion  220  hooks over the distal edge of the collar  120 . The lateral view angle  224  (see FIG. 7) on the protruding portion  220  is substantially a right angle to resist the lock box  200  from being able to be pulled back over the collar  120  in the opposite direction. 
     FIG. 8 depicts an end view of the main lever  210  with the protruding portion  220  extending into the aperture  252  of the box housing  250 . A central axis of the main shaft  100  (FIG. 2) passes through a center of the aperture  252  in the box housing  250 . A line that is normal to the plane of the chamfered bevel  222  and interests the central axis of the main shaft  100 , also preferably passes through a central area of the chamfered bevel  222 . With this geometric relationship, the chamfered bevel  222  even further facilitates movement of the lock box  200  past the collar  120  as described above. 
     In FIG. 8, two edges of protruding portion  220  extends into the aperture  252 : end edge  226  and side edge  228 . The edges  226  and  228  interact with the cam crowns  116  (see FIG. 6) to provide a one way rotational ratchet effect. When the main shaft  100  is rotated in a direction to screw the worm  102  into a cork, the cam crowns  116  slideably urge the end edge  226  in an upward direction (as depicted in FIGS. 6,  7  and  8 ) causing the button  212  to move down (as depicted in FIG. 7) as the main lever  210  rotates around the pivot  214  and compress the spring  270  (also see FIG.  9 ). As the main shaft  100  is further turned and the protruding portion  220  passes each cam crown  116 , the spring  270  urges the main lever  210  to pivot about the pivot  214  so that the protruding portion  220  returns to its ordinarily lowered position. Thus, the ratchet effect permits the main shaft  100  to rotate in the direction that screws the worm into the cork. However, in contrast, when the main shaft  100  is urged to rotate in the opposite direction to unscrew the worm  102  from the cork, the cam crowns  116  urge against the side edge  228  of the protruding portion  220 , but the protruding portion  220  does not move because the lever  216  is not arranged to pivot in that side direction. Thus, the ratchet effect prevents the main shaft  100  from rotating in the direction that unscrews the worm from the cork. 
     In operation, after the protruding portion  220  has passed the collar  120 , as described above, the end and side edges  226  and  228  of the protruding portion  220  interact with the cam crowns  116  of the main shaft  100  to provide the one way rotational ratchet effect. 
     In FIGS. 10-12, the body  20  of the corkscrew also has resilient catches  22  at the end of the corkscrew  10 . The catches  22  may be integral with the body  20  or may be formed separately and attached, such as by screws, rivets, bonding adhesives or equivalent. The outer edge  24  of the corkscrew  10  is sized to accept oversize bottle necks, while the catches  22  are fitted to ordinarily accept small bottle necks, but have the flexibility to enlarge to accept large bottle necks. The catches  22  flex outward to hold on to bottle necks of any size and center the bottle necks in the corkscrew  10 . When fitted to a bottle, the bottle neck top rests against the shoulder  26 , and the worm  102  passes through the bottom aperture  28  to enter the center of the cork of the bottle. The flexing of the catches  22  aligns the worm  102  into the center of the bottle. 
     In operation, the corkscrew  10  is positioned over the top of a bottle. The resilient catches  22  hold the bottle in the center of corkscrew  10 , while flexing to allow bottles of nonstandard size to fit in the corkscrew  10 . The top of the bottle stops against the shoulder  26  of the corkscrew  10 . The knob  112  of the corkscrew  10  is turned to screw the worm  102  into the cork of the bottle. As the worm  102  is screwed into the cork, the entire main shaft  100  moves downward, moving the teeth  32  of the wings  30  along the ridges  104  of the main shaft  100 . 
     As the worm  102  moves downward, the wings  30  move upward, and the protruding portion  220  of the lock box  200  passes over the ridges  104  until the protruding portion  220  passes over the collar  120  of the main shaft  100 . The collar  120  moves slidably along the chamfered bevel  222  to pass the protruding portion  220 , until the protruding portion  220  lockingly engages the collar  120 . 
     After the lock box  200  has locked onto the collar  120  of the main shaft  100 , the lock box  200  interacts with cam  114  to become a one way rotational ratchet mechanism. The end edge  226  of the protruding portion  220  allows the cam crowns  116  to pass in the rotational direction of turning the worm into the cork, and the side edge  228  of the protruding portion  220  resists the cam crowns  116  from passing in the rotational direction of unscrewing the worm from the cork. Thus, when the lock box  200  is locked, the worm  102  can screw farther into the cork but cannot unscrew or slip out of the cork. 
     After the lock box  200  is locked and the worm satisfactorily turned into the cork, the wings  30  are closed against the body  20  of the corkscrew  10  to raise the main shaft  100  and the cork out of the bottle. As the wings  30  are closed against the body  20  of the corkscrew  10 , the teeth  32  of the wings  30  interact with the ridges  104  of the main shaft  100  to move the entire main shaft  100  and cork upwards. The cork remains on the worm  102  of the main shaft  100  as the main shaft  100  is raised. 
     After the cork has been removed from the bottle, the cork may be removed from the corkscrew  10  by pressing the button  212  to unlock the lock box  200  from the collar  120 . Depressing the button  212  raises the protruding portion  220  from the cam crowns  116  and over the collar  120 , allowing the main shaft  100  to freely move axially exposing the cork on the worm. The cork is then easily removed from the worm  102 . 
     Having described preferred embodiments of a novel bottle stopper extractor (which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention disclosed which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.