A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR DRAWING CORKS FROM BOTTLES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry John Sanders, of Brighouse, in the County of
York, Commercial Traveller, for the Invention of "A NEW OR IMPROVED
MACHINE FOR DRAWING CORKS FROM BOTTLES."
Sealed the 17th April 1866, and dated the 4th November 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry John Sanders at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th November 1865.
I, HENRY JOHN SANDERS, of Brighouse, in the County of York, Commercial
Traveller, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW
OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR DRAWING CORKS FROM BOTTLES," to be as follows:-
This machine consists of a stand, to which is cast or fixed a socket or
bearing. In the upper part of this socket a nut with an internal thread is
fitted in such wise that the nut will move up and down vertically without
revolving. In this nut I fit a spindle with a screw cut upon its periphery;
this screw is of the same or nearly the same pitch as the corkscrew, which is
formed upon or attached to the lower end of the spindle. The spindle is
connected by rods or links to a lever. This lever is jointed to the stand, and
has its fulcrum a convenient distance from the end, so that when the front
part of the lever is pulled downwards the opposite end moves upwards. To

page_text: the back or opposite end of this lever is attached a connecting rod or spring,
the lower end of which is connected to a lever or apparatus, on which the
table for the bottle stands. This table is so arranged that when the lever is
pulled down the table is lifted up. When it is intended to draw a cork the
bottle is placed upon the table; the attendant then pulls down the lever and
the spindle with it. When the spindle descends the nut into which it is fitted
descends also until the corkscrew is brought into or nearly into contact with
the cork; as the lever and spindle continue to descend, the nut, when it has
ceased to descend, causes the spindle and screw to revolve, and while the screw
is revolving the corkscrew penetrates into the cork. When the lever is down
the motion is reversed to extract the cork from the bottle. As the lever is
moved upwards the nut before referred to in rising comes against a shoulder
or other stop piece; but the upward motion of the lever being continued while
the nut is stationary the spindle and corkscrew begin to revolve in the
contrary direction, and the cork being held against the socket the corkscrew
relieves itself, and on the removal of the bottle the cork' drops down, The
machine is then ready to repeat the operation.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Henry John Sanders in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd May 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
JOHN SANDERS, of Brighouse, in the County of York, Commercial Traveller,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Henry John Sanders, Her special license that I, the said
Henry John Sanders, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Henry John Sanders, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an In-
vention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED MACHINE FOR DRAWING CORKS FROM BOTTLES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Henry John Sanders;

page_text: my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same.
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months. next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry John Sanders, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the fol-"
lowing statement (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists of a new or improved machine for
drawing corks, in which the various operations of bolding the bottle, inserting
the corkscrew, drawing the cork, releasing the cork and the bottle when the
cork is drawn by one up-and-down motion of a lever or treadle, or by
tuming 0 handle Os com
Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation; Figure 2, a front elevation; and
Figure 3, a plan of a machine for drawing corks constructed according to
my Invention.
In these views A is the pillar or stand; B, the main lever; C, the socket
containing the spindle D; E is a moveable table on which the bottle stands. -
The pillar A is provided with a cap F. a, a, are connecting links jointed
below to the lever B, and above to the cross head or hollow socket b; c
is a steel washer forming the bottom of the hollow socket b; d is a pin
fitting through the spindle D, upon which pin two small steel bowls or runners.
e are fitted; f is a steel plate forming the top of the hollow socket b; 9 is a
washer or collar screwed into the top of the socket C, to act as a bearing
for the spindle D, and also for a shoulder for the nut h to stop against; this
nut fits in the upper part of the socket C; h', a collar on the top of the
nut h, or the nut may be made without the collar hand work between the
washer 9 and a shoulder made within the socket. The nut h is tapped to
fit the thread D' on the spindle D; a corkscrew i is attached to or made
with the spindle D, a recess C¹ is formed in the lower part of the socket C,
into which the cork of the bottle passes while being drawn. The taper or
bell-mouth part * is formed at the lower end of the socket C, against which
the neck of the bottle presses while the corkscrew penetrates the cork and
whilst the cork is being drawn. j is a joint or fulcrum for the lever B; near
the end of the lever B I attach a spring k, the lower end of which is attached

page_text: to a rack; the rack I moves up and down in the bearing m and on the
stud m³. On the table E a socket n is formed, which fits loosely on the
rack 1. This socket has a projection a¹, which takes into the teeth of the
rack ; o is a slot cast or formed in the stand or pillar A, in which the stem
of the socket on the table E fits loosely; p is a spring to hold up the lever B.
When it is desirable to draw a cork from a bottle, the table E having been
placed at a convenient height on the rack I, the bottle is placed upon it. The
lever B is then pulled downwards (as shown in the dotted lines), this lever
in its downward movement forces down, by means of the connecting links a,
the cross head b, which presses by the steel plate f against the bowls or
runners e, the bowls or runners being fitted upon the pin d, which passes
through the spindle D, forces it down. As the lever B is passing downwards
the spring k is pulled upwards, and with it the rack and also the table E.
By this upward movement of the table E the neck of the bottle is pressed
tightly against the bell-mouthed or taper part h. When the table is raised
sufficiently to press the bottle neck against the taper part *, the lever B
still descends, but the spring k yields sufficiently to allow the lever B to
move as low down as desired. When the attendant pulls down the lever B
the spindle D is pulled down, as before described, and as the lower end of
the spindle has a thread D¹ cut upon it, which takes into or fits in the nut h,
the nut moves downwards with the spindle until the collar h¹ comes in
contact with the shoulder h² in the socket C, which arrests the further down-
ward movement of the nut. By this time the corkscrew is ready to pene-
trate the cork, and as the lever B is at this point only about half way down,
it will be clearly seen that the further downward movement of the lever forces
the spindle with it, and as the nut h cannot move any lower or revolve, the
spindle turns round as it is forced down and the corkscrew penetrates the
cork. The lever has now performed its work of drawing the bottle against
the lower end of the socket, and of causing the screw to penetrate the cork,
and is ready for the next part of the operation, namely, drawing the cork,
lowering the table, and unscrewing the corkscrew from the cork. The
attendant after having pulled the lever to the bottom, as shewn in dotted
lines, reverses the action and lifts it up to the position it was in before the
operation commenced. During the first part of the upward movement of
the lever the nut h rises in the socket C until its upper end comes in contact
with the collar g, during which movement the cork is drawn. As the cork is
drawn from the bottle it rises with the screw into the recess C¹ at the lower
end of the socket C until it comes in contact with the shoulder at the top
of the recess in the lower end of the socket C; as the lever is further raised

page_text: the spindle rises with it, and as the nut h is now stationary, the spindle and
corkscrew revolve in a contrary direction to that in which they revolved in
their downward movement, by which means the corkscrew relieves itself from
the cork, which falls down, and the machine is ready for operating again.
The small steel runners or bowls in the socket 6 press against the steel
plates c and fat the top and bottom of the socket, and prevent some friction,
which allows the spindle to revolve more freely.
Although I have described my machine placed vertically, it may be arranged
to be placed horizontally or diagonally, and instead of actuating the machine
with a lever by hand, it can be arranged to be worked by the foot, or by a
handle, or cam, or wheels, or otherwise.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that at the commencement
of the operation the bottle is securely held between the table E and the bell-
mouthed part of the socket C, that the spindle D does not revolve during the
first part of its descent or ascent, that the corkscrew relieves itself from the
cork, and at the same time the table E is lowered to release the bottle, con-
sequently the operations are performed with great rapidity.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I declare that I claim the improved combinations of
machinery described and shewn in the Drawing for holding and releasing
the bottle, for inserting the corkscrew, and drawing the cork, and for relieving
the cork.
I also claim the application of antifriction bowls or runners for reducing
the friction of the spindle D.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry John Sanders, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-six.
H. J. SANDERS. (L.S.)