Improvements in Corkscrews.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 28th July, 1891-Accepted, 29th Aug., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Corkscrews.
We JOSEPH BARTLETT DAVIES of Victoria Buildings Swanston Street in
the City of Melbourne and Colony of Victoria Australia, Gentleman, and
HERBERT LESLIE MANTON of No. 454 Collins Street Melbourne aforesaid
Gentleman 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 :-
This invention has for its object the cutting or otherwise severing of the wires
which hold corks in their bottles especially those containing ale porter or other
liquids which have to be wired down. At present considerable inconvenience is
caused through the want of a safe and easy means of severing these wires and
vexatious delays are experienced by people who desire to open bottles in haste.
By the use of our invention the wires holding the cork are cut or torn away
simultaneously with the full insertion of the screw into the cork, the latter being
then ready for drawing.
The action which is necessary to make the screw penetrate the cork also causes
the wires to be cut or torn apart during the latter revolutions of the screw.
The invention consists of knives or analogous dependents (preferably three in
number) affixed to or made part of the guard plate or flange of the corkscrew,
the said knives or dependents being made in such a form that they will engage
with and cut or tear away the wires at the proper points and time.
Reference may now be made to the accompanying drawings in which :-
Figure is an elevation of our invention applied to an ordinary corkscrew,
whilst
Figure 2 is an inverted plan of the novel parts.
In these drawings A is the corkscrew on butt B of which is the guard plate
or flange C; to this guard plate (C) are affixed, or made part thereof, the
peculiarly claw-shaped knives or analogous dependents (D) formed with an edge
and suitably pointed.
The modus operandi of our invention is as follows:-—
Without removing the capsule (should there be one) the screw A is inserted to
the necessary depth in the cork desired to be drawn by which action the knives D
will have arrived at a cutting or tearing contact with the wires holding the cork
and by the final radial travel of the knives or dependents D the wires will be
either cut or torn asunder and the cork can be pulled. out in an expeditious and
clean manner.
It will thus be seen that the severing of the capsule, the cutting or tearing
away of the wires and the drawing of the cork is accomplished, practically speaking,
simultaneously and consequently less time is occupied and with neater results than
by the clumsy and inefficient method necessarily adopted when ordinary corkscrews
are used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
:-
1. In corkscrews:-
Metal claw-shaped lugs knives or analogous dependents (attached to a plate on
the butt of a corkscrew) with or without knife edges and shaped and set in such
a manner as to engage with and cut or break away the wire holding the cork
whilst the screw is being rotated in the latter substantially as and for the purpose

page_text: 2. in corkscrews :-
The combination of the above claimed metal lugs knives or dependents with
any existing corkscrews substantially as and for the purposes herein before described
and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 22nd day of June 1891.
W. H. Beck,
J. BARTLETT DAVIES.
H. L. MANTON.
115, Cannon Street, London, E.C., Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.