An Improved Oyster Opener.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 5th July, 1898-Accepted, 8th Oct., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Oyster Opener.
We, WILLIAM HICKS, of St. James' Road, Waverley, Sydney, in the Colony of
New South Wales, Decorator, and ROBERT HICKLING, of Oxford Street, Paddington,
Sydney aforesaid, Hotel Proprietor, 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: —
Our invention relates to improvements in oyster opening appliances, in which
the oyster to be opened is tightly gripped, and when thus securely held, opened
by means of an ordinary oyster opening knife.
The objects of our invention are: -to hold the oyster to be opened rigidly in
the most suitable position; to provide an appliance to hold rigidly, any sized
oyster which it is desired to open; to obviate the danger customarily attending the
opening of oysters; to prevent grit from entering the shell; and to perform this
operation expeditiously.
In conjunction with an ordinary oyster opening knife, I attain these objects,
by the appliance illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:-
Figure 1 is a plan;
Figure 2 a side view;
Figure 3 a view of one end; and
Figure 4 a view of the opposite end.
Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.
-
The invention consists of the bars a and b, of iron, or any other suitable metal
or material, on which are the jaws c and d respectively, and the feet e and f
respectively, the foot e may be pierced to enable it to be rigidly secured to a table.
At one end of the bar a, a lock f is rigidly secured, and at the other end is rigidly
secured the rack g, which may be toothed either at the back or front. A metal
sliding piece h fits loosely on the rack g, and has the loop into which one end j
of the bar is hooked, the opposite end of said bar being free.
The jaws c and d, when the appliance is resting on anything horizontal, are
inclined from the vertical as shewn in Figure 2, to enable the operator to obtain
a good purchase.
To use the invention, an oyster is placed with its edges between the jaws c and d,
the bar b being brought into the requisite position, by sliding the piece h along
the rack g, the end of the rod is pulled towards the rod a and locked in one
of the teeth of the lock f¹, the sliding piece engaging with one of the teeth in the
rack g, thus securely holding the oyster in a suitable position for opening, and
leaving both hands free, when by means of an ordinary oyster opening knife, the
oyster is opened, and cut free from the shell.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is:
1. In an oyster opening appliance, the combination of the bar a on which is

page_text: the jaw c, and to which are rigidly secured the lock f¹ and rack 9, with the bar b
on which are the jaw d and the hook j, and with the sliding piece h, substantially
as described and shewn on the drawings.
2. The appliance as a whole, in combination with an ordinary oyster opening
knife, substantially as described and shewn on the drawings and for the purpose
herein set forth.
Dated this 5th day of July 1898
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.