An Improved Cork-screw.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Mar., 1893-Accepted, 2nd June, 1893
An Improved Cork-screw.
I, THOMAS FRANCIS EDGEWORTH, of 3 Stokes Croft, Bristol, Surgeon, 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 :-
The improved cork-sorew in which this invention consists is constructed, arranged
and operated as follows.
The screw for penetrating the corks is fitted at its root or upper end with a
ratchet wheel formed in one piece therewith or rigidly fixed thereto. Above the
ratchet wheel the screw spindle is continued upwards inside a coarsely-threaded
screw fitted to work in the upper end of a cup or thimble and terminating at top
in a suitable handle. The spindle of the cork-screw is extended upwards beyond
the top of the screw through which it is passed and is furnished at the upper end
with a suitable head. The cork-screw is made to penetrate a cork by turning the
hollow screw in the requisite direction, the said hollow screw and the cork-screw
being coupled through the medium of the ratchet wheel which, during penetration
of the cork, is locked by a pawl, thus preventing independent rotation of the cork-
Bcrew. In this manner the mouth of the cup or thimble aforesaid is brought to
bear on the top of the bottle neck. Or, the cork-screw may first be drawn up
into the cup, and when the latter has been made to rest on the top of the bottle
neck, the cork-screw is driven into the cork, as aforesaid. When, after the cork-
screw has been driven into the cork, the hollow screw is turned in the reverso
direction in order to draw the cork, the pawl runs over the teeth of the ratchet
wheel without rotating it and the hollow screw being thus no longer locked by the
ratchet wheel and pawl to the cork-screw is screwed up in the cup or thimble
without turning the cork-screw. The hollow screw being thus rotated about the
spindle of the cork-screw, draws the latter and the cork upwards out of the bottle
into the cup or thimble. The cork is removed from the cork-screw by screwing it
off, the cork-screw being meantime prevented from rotating with it by firmly
grasping the spindle head.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings,
Fig. 1 represents, partly in clevation and partly in vertical section, a cork-
screw constructed in accordance with this invention.
Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the liner, z, Fig. 1.
The cork-screw a is fitted at its root or upper end with a ratchet wheel b
contained within a chamber provided at the lower end of a coarsely-threaded
screw carranged to work in the upper end of the cup d as a nut. The spindle a¹
of the cork-screw is carried up inside the screw c and, extending above the top
thereof, terminates in a suitable head such as a². To the side of the chamber in
which the ratchet wheel b is contained is a spring pawle rivetted or otherwise
secured to the wall of the chamber. The pawl c is so set in relation to the teeth
of the ratchet wheel b that when the screw is turned in the direction necessary
to drive the cork-screw a into a cork, the cork-screw and the screw c are locked
together through the ratchet wheel and pawl, and, accordingly, the screws a and c
rotate in conjunction. The cork-screw is driven into the cork until the cup d
rests towards its lower end on the top of the bottle neck. Or, the cork-screw
may, prior to being driven into the cork, be drawn up in the cup d so as to enable
the latter to rest towards its lower end on the top of the bottle neck. When,
after the cork-screw has been driven into the cork the screw o is turned in the
reverse direction for the purpose of drawing the cork, the pawle runs idly over the

page_text: teeth of the ratchet wheel b. Consequently, the cork-sorew a does not rotate but
is drawn up vertically in the cup d, bringing the cork with it.
The cork is removed from the cork-screw by screwing it back in the usual way;
the cork-screw being meanwhile restrained from rotating by firmly grasping the
head a' of the spindle a¹.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
In an appliance for drawing corks, the combination with a cork-sorew such as a
(with spindle a' and head a²) of a driving screw such as c arranged to work in the
cup d (or its equivalent) as a nut, through which driving screw the spindle of the
cork-screw is passed; the two screws being, during the operation of driving
the cork-screw into a cork, locked or coupled so as to rotate together by means of
a ratchet wheel such as band pawl e, but becoming unlocked when the driving
screw is turned in the cork-extracting direction so that the driving Borew then
rotates about the spindle of the cork-screw without causing the latter to turn, sub-
stantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying sheet of
illustrative drawings.
Dated this 14th day of March 1893.
NICHOLAS WATTS,
Chartered Patent Agent.