Cork Extractors.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Jan., 1895-Accepted, 16th Feb., 1895
Cork Extractors.
I, CHARLES MORGAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at
Van Buren Street, Freeport, Stephenson County, Illinois, U.S.A., Gentleman, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
My invention relates to improvements in cork-extractors and is fully described
and explained in this Specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in
which,
Figure 1 is a top plan of a cork-extractor embodying my improvements;
Figure 2 is a partial rear elevation thereof, the view being in the direction
indicated by the arrow, a, Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a side elevation of the cork-extractor, the view being in the direction
indicated by the arrow x¹, Figure 1;
Figure 4 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in central vertical section,
the view being in the same direction as Figure 3 and the worm or corkscrew
proper being in its highest position ;
Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, the worm being, however, in its lowest
position;
Figure 6 is a front elevation of the cork-extractor, the view being in the direction
indicated by the arrow 2, Figure 3;
Figure 7 is a top plan of the bottle-clamping jaws at the lower end of the case
or barrel of the cork-extractor, the parts above the jaws being removed by horizontal
plane passing through the line 7-7, Figure 6 and the jaws being in their position
of greatest separation;
Figure 8 is a view partly in top plan and partly in horizontal section showing
the jaws in their closed position;
Figure 9 is an elevation of the inner face of the lever, which actuates the
clamping jaws and
Figure 10 is an elevation of the clamping jaws in the position illustrated in
Figure 7, the operating lever being removed to show the form and relation of
the jaws.
In these views, A, A' are the two similar parts making up the hollow shell or
frame of my improved cork-extractor, the two parts being connected by suitably
placed transverse screws, S, S, and also preferably by an inclined plate, A2, forming
an ornamental top or cover for a portion of the hollow shell. The two parts, A, A¹,
of the shell are provided, respectively, with partial integrally cast feet, a, a', formed
approximately as shown in Figure 1 and constituting together a base-plate having
screw-holes for fastening it to the top of a counter. The two castings, A, A1, are
of such shape as to leave in the bottom of the shell at the inner end of the base-
plate, a, a', an opening adapted to permit the insertion of one of the jaws of a
clamp, A3, having the usual set screw, S¹, by means of which the shell may be
fastened to the edge of a counter, it being objectionable or impossible in some cases
to fasten the base-plate to the counter by means of screws passing through the
screw-holes.
The front portion of the shell formed by the two castings, A, A¹, is an approxi-
mately cylindrical vertical barrel in which slides freely up and down a corkscrew
carrier, B, preferably formed with lateral flanges, b, sliding in grooves, a², in the
walls of the barrel and adapted to prevent rotation of the corkscrew carrier.
In

page_text: this corkscrew carrier is supported a freely rotating corkscrew or worm, C, secured
against longitudinal movement with reference to the carrier, B, by means of a
head, e, lying in a suitable chamber in the carrier. The corkscrew passes through
and conforms to a nut, D, formed with flanges, d, lying in the groove, a², already
mentioned, and adapted to permit vertical movement of the nut, but to prevent
its rotation, the function of the nut being evidently to cause the rotation of the
corkscrew when the corkscrew and nut move longitudinally with relation to
each other.
In the walls of the shell at a suitable distance from the worm, C, is journaled a
transverse shaft, E, preferably integral with a lever, E', and a crank, E³, both at
right angles to the shaft, the crank being within the shell and the lever without it,
and the lever being provided with a suitable handle, e. The crank, E2, is connected
by a pitman, F, with the corkscrew carrier, B, the latter being provided with a
projecting ear, b', to receive one end of the pitman and the connection of the
piuman with the crank, and the_corkscrew carrier being by suitable transverse
pivots. The transverse shaft, E, may be connected with the lever, E', and
crank, E2, in any desired manner, instead of being formed integrally therewith, but
I prefer to form all of said parts in a single piece, the lever and shaft being
connected by a curved portion as shown in Figure 1, and the shaft being brought
into proper relation to the part, A', of the shell by passing the free end of the lever
outward through the shaft-opening in the shell before the parts of the shell are
fastened together.
Immediately beneath the lower end of the barrel of the shell or frame are two
co-acting bottle-clamping jaws, G, G, swinging about a common joint formed by
rearwardly projecting co-acting ears, g, g, formed on the jaws respectively, these
ears being cylindrical segments and being partially encircled and held in place by
two dependent flanges, G, G', formed on the castings, A, A', respectively, and
constituting a partial socket for the ears. The inner faces of the jaws, G, G, are
provided with rubber cushions, g', whose ends lie in the slightly undercut walls
of the jaws and are thus secured against accidental displacement and the front
ends of the jaws are normally held apart or in the position shown in Figure 5, by
means of a spring; s, whose free ends rest in suitable openings in the inner faces of
the jaws.
The two parts, A, A', of the shell are provided with corresponding forwardly
projecting lugs, as, a³, and between these lugs is pivoted a lever, H, provided at its
lower end with curved or cam-shaped fingers, h, h, engaging lugs, 2, 2, on the
front ends of the jaws, G, G, the shape of the fingers, h, h, being such that when
the lever, H, is in the position shown in Figure 3, its upper end being at its
rearward limit of movement, the fingers are in such relation to the lugs, 9, 9², as
to permit the greatest possible separation of the front or free ends of the jaws, G, G,
as illustrated in Figure 7. When, however, the upper end of the lever, H, is
swung forward, or in the direction indicated by the arrow thercon in Figure 3,
the fingers, h, k, are moved approximately upward about the pivot of the lever
and force the lugs, g², 92, toward each other, thereby bring the jaws toward or into
the position shown in Figure 8. The force of the spring, s, is sufficient to hold
the front ends of the jaws normally in their position of greatest separation, and,
consequently, to hold the lever, H, in the position shown in Figure 3, the lower
portion of the lever being in contact with the front of the barrel of the case.
On the inner end face of the lever, H, is formed a lug, H', of such shape and
so placed as to pass through an opening, a', in the front wall of the shell, A, A',
and to lie immediately above the nut, D, when the lever, H, is in its normal
position and the jaws, G, G. are in their position of greatest separation. When the
lug, H', lies above the nut, D, it forms a stop preventing upward movement of the
nut, but when the lever, H, is thrown forward to the position shown in Figures 4, 5,
for the purpose of drawing the jaws, G, G, together, the lug, H', is withdrawn
from its position above the nut and leaves the latter free to rise in the barrel in
which it lies.

page_text: The position of the parts of the cork-extractor at the beginning of the operation
of drawing a cork from a bottle is illustrated in Figure 2, the lever, E, being
thrown back, the corkscrew being in its highest position, and the lever, H, being
thrown forward to draw the jaws, G, G, together and clamp the neck of the bottle
so as to hold it in place beneath the barrel and the corkscrew therein. The first
movement of the operation of drawing the cork is that of throwing the lever, E'.
forward in the direction indicated by the arrow thereon in Figure 4, the result of
this movement being to press the corkscrew downward through the nut, D, and
into the cork, the corkscrew being rotated by means of the nut in its downward
movement. As soon as the corkscrew fully enters the cork, the movement of the
lever E', is reversed and the corkscrew carrier and corkscrew are raised again to
the position shown in Figure 4, but as the cork is immediately beneath the nut,
the latter rises with the corkscrew, which thus moves upward without rotation and
draws the cork from the bottle. Upon the extraction of the cork the bottle is
removed from the jaws, G, G, and the lever, H, is released and is pressed by the
spring, s, to its normal position, in which the lug H', passes through the opening, a*,
and projects into the path of the nut, D. The lever, E', is again swung forward
pressing the corkscrew carrier, the corkscrew, the nut and the cork downward
together, the lug, H', being pressed outward as the nut, D, passes it and being
pressed inward by the spring immediately thereafter to form a stop for holding the
nut in its lowest position. As soon as the nut reaches its lowest position, the
movement of the lever, E', is again reversed and the corkscrew carrier and cork-
screw are raised to their highest position, the corkscrew being rotated in this
upward movement by means of the stationary nut and being thus withdrawn from
the cork.
In the use of a cork-extractor, a simple wire-stripping device attached to the
extractor and adapted to strip the wires from the cork and neck of the bottle is a
great convenience and such a device is shown in Figures 1 and 2, K being a plate
of sheet-metal fastened to the rear face of the shell, A, A', and formed with a
downwardly projecting point, K, adapted to engage the wire. The position of the
bottle during the stripping of the wire is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, the
side of the neck of the bottle being in contact with the point of the stripper and
the neck being supported upon a shoulder, k, at the upper end of the plate, A³,
which forms part of the shell as herein before set forth. The shoulder, &, forms a
fulcrum upon which the bottle neck may be rotated and drawn away from the
stripper, thereby drawing the wire from the bottle neck and cork.
The device above described for gripping the neck of the bottle and holding it in
position while the cork is drawn meets all the requirements of actual use and is a
great addition to the practical effectiveness of the cork-extractor. The operation
of the jaws, G, G, by means of the cam-shaped fingers on the lever, H, insures
their symmetrical movement, so that the neck of the bottle and the cork within it
are always held in a central position with relation to the barrel of the cork-
extractor, and the manipulation of the jaws by the hand of the operator,
independently of the mechanism for extracting the cork affords a perfect adjust-
ment, adapting the jaws to grasp firmly a bottle neck of any size within necessary
limits.
So far as I know these two features of operation are not found in any prior
device of this class.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a cork-extractor, the combination with a suitable case, a corkscrew rotating
and moving longitudinally therein and means for imparting reciprocal longitudinal
movement to the corkscrew, of a non-rotable nut encircling the corkscrew and
having a limited longitudinal movement in the case and a movable stop adapted
to be moved into or out of the path of the nut by means independent of the

page_text: corkscrew-operating mechanism and when in one position to prevent longitudinal
movement of the nut.
2. In a cork-extractor, the combination with a suitable case, a corkscrew rotating
and moving longitudinally in the case, and means for reciprocating the corkscrew
longitudinally, of a non-rotable nut encircling the corkscrew and having a limited
longitudinal movement, and a lever movable independently of the corkscrew-
operating mechanism and provided with a lug adapted when in one position to form
a stop for said uut and prevent the longitudinal movement thereof.
3. In a cork-extractor, the combination with a suitable case, a corkscrew rotating
and moving longitudinally in the case and means for reciprocating the corkscrew
longitudinally, of a non-rotable nut encircling the corkscrew and having a limited
longitudinal movement, a movable stop lying normally in the path of movement of
the nut, a spring exerting its force upon said stop and tending to hold it in its
normal position and means for moving said stop out of the path of movement of
the nut independently of the operation of the corkscrew.
4. In a cork-extractor, the combination with a suitable case, a rotable corkscrew
moving longitudinally therein and means for reciprocating the corkscrew
longitudinally, of a non-rotable nut encircling the corkscrew and having a limited
longitudinal movement, co-acting jaws adapted to clasp the neck of a bottle in the
path of movement of the corkscrew, a lever connected with said jaws and adapted
to draw them together, and a movable stop adapted when in one position to engage
said nut and prevent longitudinal movement thereof, the movement of said lever
in drawing said jaws together being adapted to withdraw said stop from its
engagement with the nut.
5. In a cork-extractor, the combination with a suitable case, a rotable corkscrew
moving longitudinally therein and means for reciprocating the corkscrew
longitudinally, of a non-rotable nut encircling the corkscrew and having a limited
longitudinal movement, co-acting jaws adapted to clasp the neck of a bottle in the
path of movement of the corkscrew, and a lever connected with said jaws and
adapted to draw them together, the lever being provided with a lug adapted, in one
position of the lever, to engage said nut and prevent longitudinal movement
thereof, and the movement of the lever in drawing the jaws together being adapted
to withdraw said lug from engagement with the nut.
6. The combination with the case, the corkscrew supported therein and means
for rotating and reciprocating the screw, of the pivoted jaws, G, G, adapted to
clasp the neck of a bottle and formed at their free ends with lugs, 92, 92, the
swinging lever, H, formed with symmetrical cams or fingers, h, h, impinging upon
the lugs, and means substantially as shown and described for pressing apart the
free ends of the jaws, G, G.
7. In a cork-extractor, the combination with the two-part case, A, A', and the
corkscrew carrier, B, moving longitudinally therein, of the transverse shaft, E,
lever, E, and crank, E2, formed in a single piece and the pitman, F, connecting
the crank and corkscrew carrier, the lever, shaft and crank being formed and the
parts being adapted to be assembled substantially as described.
8. In a corkscrew carrier, the combination with the two-part shell, A, A', having
the dependent flanges, G', G', of the rotable and longitudinally movable corkscrew
within the shell and means for operating the same, the co-acting jaws, G, G, formed
with ears, g,g, lying between the flanges, G, G', and means substantially as shown
and described for operating said jaws to clamp the neck of a bottle in the path of
movement of the corkscrew.
Dated this 14th day of January 1895.
WALLACE FAIRWEATHER,
Chartered Patent Agent,
62, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Agent for the Applicant.