Improvements in Cork-screws.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd May, 1895-Accepted, 29th June, 1895
Improvements in Cork-screws.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT MAUD, of Market Place Pontefract, in the County of
York, a Justice of the Peace, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
what manner the same is to be performed. to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to improvements in cork-screws, and its object is to enable
corks to be drawn from the necks of beer, wine, and other bottles more readily
than at present, by causing the corks to be simply twisted from their beds or
positions in the necks of the bottles with ease and safety, thereby reducing the
liability of breakage, either of the cork or neck of the bottle, to a minimum, and
at the same time preventing the corkscrew pulling through the cork without
drawing it.
The above object is attained by combining with, say an ordinary corkscrew
above its worm or twisted thread, an attachment consisting of a disc or washer
capable of being automatically locked and unlocked by any convenient means with
the stem or handle of the corkscrew; the said disc or washer being also armed on
its underside with any desired number of pendent pins arranged to enter the top of
the cork as the twisted thread or worm passes into and through it.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown two ways of carrying the invention
into practice but I wish it to be distinctly understood that the illustrations therein
given are to be taken as examples only, of simple, ready, and inexpensive methods
that might be employed for automatically locking and unlocking the disc or washer
with the stem of the corkscrew.
In the drawings
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a cockscrew with my invention applied.
Figure 2 is an end elevation of the same corkscrew.
Figures 3 to 7 are respectively elevations and plans of details.
Figures 8 and 9 are respectively a part front elevation and a part end elevation
of another method of applying the invention.
Figures 10 to 13 are respectively elevations and plans of details of same
arrangement.
Like parts in all the views are marked with similar letters of reference.
A is a twisted metal thread or worm hereafter termed the worm, provided with
a pointed end or other suitable end for entering the cork. B is the handle or top
of the corkscrew armed at its lower end with any desired number of inclined or
other projecting pieces b, two are shown in the drawings and are hereafter termed
locking pieces. The handle B may be of any convenient or suitable shape or
configuration and may be made of metal or other suitable material, and it is employed
for turning or forcing the worm into the cork.
The above described two parts, with the exception of the locking pieces, may be
of ordinary construction and connected or fixed together in the ordinary or any
convenient way, such as for instance by screwing them together.
Above the worm A and below the locking pieces is a shank C which may be
either square or round, or of any other convenient and suitable shape or length.
The shank C may be formed by either slightly reducing the upper end of the
worm A as shown, or by forming on or fixing thereto by any suitable means a
collar. On the shank are mounted and arranged to slide freely any desired
number of discs or other suitably shaped washers two are shown in the drawings
marked D and E, each of which are respectively provided with a central hole d

page_text: and e of the same contour as the shank C. The washer D is provided with two or
more holes d. The washer D is also armed on its edge as shown, or on its under-
side, with any desired number of downwardly projecting pins or pegs D¹ for
entering the cork and they may be arranged, if desired to pass through the guide
holes or recesses E' provided in the washer E. The washer E is also armed on its
upper surface with a number of pins E corresponding in number with the holes d'
through which they pass. The pins E' may be slightly inclined as shown and in
addition to forming guides, also act as teeth over which the locking pieces ride,
and when the pins D have been forced entirely into the cork,, act as stops for
meshing with the locking pieces b, whereby the handle and other parts of the cork-
screw are automatically locked together for enabling the cork, to be twisted from
its bed or position in the neck of the bottle for withdrawal purposes.
It will readily be understood that the parts D and E which are made of metal
or other convenient material may be cheaply manufactured, as for instance by
stamping, and thereby add very little to the cost of the corkscrew, whilst greatly
increasing its efficiency.
To withdraw a cork from the neck of a bottle, the pointed end of the worm A is
placed in or about the centre of the cork and pressed therein until it forms a nut
for the screw thread of the worm, which will, (as soon as the points of the pins D¹
touch the top of the cork) cause the washer D first to rise, but when the cork
comes in contact with the washer E, this also is pressed upwards or rises and
causes the pins on its upper surface to come into contact with the locking pieces b.
When by the continued turning or rotation of the handle B and worm A, the
pins D' have been forced or driven home into the cork until the top of the cork is
in contact with the underside of the washer E, the pins E2 and locking pieces h
thus become automatically meshed or locked together. By then continuing to turn
or rotate the handle B and at the same time slightly raising it, the cork may be
turned in the neck of the bottle, and readily withdrawn therefrom.
I would have it understood that any other mechanical and equivalent locking
device such as for instance a clutch, or a single disc or washer armed on its edge
or underside with pendent pins such as D', and on its upper surface with projecting
inclines or teeth such as E2, may be employed in place of the herein described
arrangement.
Having now particularly described and ascertained, the nature of the sard
invention, and in what manner the same is to be, performed, I declare that I
claim only ;-
1. In a corkscrew substantially such as herein set forth and illustrated the
combination with the worm A and, handle B of the discs or washers such as D
and E mounted and sliding on the stem such as one of said discs being provided
on its edge or lower face with downwardly projecting pins such as D and the
other washer armed on its upper face with pins such as E² arranged so as to
automatically lock with the locking pieces b whenever the pins D₁ are driven home
into the cork as set forth.
2. The combination in a corkscrew such as herein described of a worm mounted
in a handle having a disc or discs or washers sliding on a stem between the top of
the said worm and the base of the said handle, one of said discs or washers being
armed on its edge or underside with pendent pins and the other washer or disc
provided on its upper face with pins arranged to pass through the first named dise
or washer and to automatically lock or mesh with the locking pieces on the handle
of the corkscrew whenever the pendent pins are driven home into the cork as set
forth.
Dated this 23rd day of May 1895