Improvements in Cork Pullers.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 12th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 13th Apr., 1895
Improvements in Cork Pullers.
I, EDWIN WALKER, of the City of Erie, in the County of Erie, State of
Pennsylvania, United States of America, Manufacturer, 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 pullers as I shall describe referring
to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a front view of a cork puller according to this invention with part of
the operating lever broken away.
Fig. 2 is a side view partially in section, with the operating lever removed.
Fig. 3 is a rear view of part of the operating lever.
Fig. 4 is a front view of part of the frame embodying a modified construction.
Fig. 5 is a side view of the same, partially in section.
My invention applies to cork pullers of the kind described in my previous
Specification No. 4162 of 1894 and consists chiefly in the addition of a bottle rest
and support to the lower end of the frame, whereby the axis of the cork is more
readily brought into line with the axis of the screw, and breakage of the bottle
neck by the contact of the screw therewith is prevented. It consists also in a
modification of the operating lever, whereby its travel during the operation of the
machine is considerably reduced, and a more advantageous leverage is obtained
for forcing the screw into the bottle cork. A is the base of the frame secured to
a counter or other suitable support by a clamp B or otherwise.
The upper
portion A' of the frame rests upon the base A and is made with a tubular passage
within which the cork screw mechanism operates; this mechanism being the same
in all respects as that described in my said prior Specification.
The tubular portion of the frame is extended downward some distance below
the lowest point of the traverse of the cork screw nut D, so as to form a
tubular extension or sleeve C large enough to receive the neck of a bottle
and within this sleeve C is cut an annular recess c, within which is preferably
secured an annular ring C¹ of rubber or other resilient substance. Within this
ring C¹ the bottle neck E passes, and is thereby prevented from contact with the
metal sides of the sleeve C. From the under side of the tubular portion C a
semi-tubular arm F extends downward some distance, and at its lower end is
preferably provided with a semicircular cushion f of rubber or other suitable
resilient substance secured in a recess f¹. Upon this cushion the lower part E
of the bottle neck rests while the cork G is being withdrawn, being thereby
kept from contact with the metal of the arm F. Thus, in placing a bottle in
position to draw the cork the lower part of the neck rests upon the cushion f,
while the mouth of the neck is pushed into the annular ring C, the cork is
brought substantially_central and in line with the screw H of the cork puller,
so that the screw H passes down through the centre of the cork without
meeting the sides of the bottle neck.
Figs. 4 and 5 shew a modified construction of the parts above referred to.
Here the upper half C of the tubular extension is integral with the frame A',
and has extending downward from each side ears c c in which is pivotted a
semi-tubular lever F¹, the upper end C³ of which forms the one jaw of a
clamp to hold the upper end of the bottle neck, while its lower end F forms
a rest or support for the lower part of the bottle neck. In the inside of the

page_text: parts C and C³ are preferably secured semi-cylindrical cushions c² and c³ of
rubber or other resilient substance between which the upper end of a bottle
neck is received, and in the lower end F2 is preferably secured a semi-cylindrical
cushion 2 to receive the lower part of the bottle neck, and prevent its contact
with the metal of F. This modified construction allows the mouths of bottles of
different sizes to be introduced and held firmly while corks are drawn from them.
The operating lever I is provided with a central stud pin J which rotates freely
in the hole J' in the frame A¹. There is also fixed on the lever a half disc K, in
which are secured two inwardly projecting stud pins L and L', and on the periphery
of K there is also an inwardly projecting cam surface k which extends from the
point round to the point at the pin L, leaving an opening / between the pins L
and L without any cam surface therein. Through this opening the lug n on the
nut carrier N passes up between the stud pins L and L' during a portion of the
stroke of the operating lever I.
When the bottle mouth is placed in position for having the cork drawn, the
operating lever I is normally in substantially the position indicated by the dotted
line in Fig. 2, the stud pin L' being then engaged with the slot m in the
projection M on the cork screw carrier M', the end k¹ of the cam k on the half
disc K being then in engagement with the top of the projection n on the nut
carrier N, and as the lever I is moved upwards and forwards these parts continue
in engagement until the lever has reached the position indicated by the dotted
line in Fig. 2; at this point of its stroke the screw H has been driven into
the cork G, the stud pin L¹ is just passing out of the rear end of the slot m
and the stud pin L is just entering the front end of the slot n' in the
projection N¹ on the nut carrier N, indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, while
at the same instant the end k² of the cam k has passed off the projection or lug n
on the nut carrier N, and, as the lever travels onward and downward the stud
pin L operating in the slot n' in the nut carrier N, raises the nut carrier, the
projection or lug n thereon meanwhile passing up into the opening between the
stud pins L and L', and this movement continues until the lever I is moved forward
and downward to a position substantially parallel with the tubular portion A¹ of
the frame, at which point the forward traverse of the lever I is complete, and the
cork is completely withdrawn from the bottle. Then by simply reversing the
movement of the lever I, and moving it upward and backward, thereby reversing
the action of the parts above described until it reaches its normal position at the
dotted line x, the cork G is automatically removed from the screw H, and the
machine is again ready for operation.
On the base A of the cork puller frame, I have shewn an auxiliary device P for
removing crowns and seals from bottles.
The upper part of P is formed as a curved hook p adapted to engage the staple
in a bottle seal, and the lower part is also formed as a curved hook p¹ adapted to
engage the under edge of a bottle crown.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim as improvements in cork pullers of the kind described in my Specification
No. 4162 of 1894 is :-
1. The extension at the lower end of the frame, to receive the upper end
of a bottle neck, and the arm extending down at its lower side to support the
lower part of the bottle neck, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2. The modified construction of the parts above referred to, the downwardly
extended arm being pivotted so as to adapt the parts to bottle necks of different
sizes substantially as described.
3. The construction of the operating lever, with a stud pin to engage and operate
the cork screw carrier, a stud pin to engage and operate the nut carrier and a cam
surface to engage a lug on the nut carrier substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.

page_text: 4. The combination of the cork screw carrier M' having a projection M and a
slot m in the projection, the nut carrier N having a lug n a projection N' and a
slot n' in the projection, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this 12th day of March 1895.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant.