Patent Application
20130319179
The invention relates, in general, to a device for removing a cork from a container and, in particular, to a corkscrew device having an improved insertion mechanism.
Without limiting the scope of the present invention, its background will be described with reference to corkscrews, as an example.
Various containers are sealed with a stopper such as a cork. The most common use of a cork as a stopper is in a wine bottle. Wine drinking has become a recreation of sorts for many and enjoying high quality wine is no longer a pleasure experienced only by the wealthy. High quality wines are produced by vineyards across the United States. These vineyards offer high quality wines to consumers at reasonable prices. Historically, an earmark of a wine of higher quality is the use of a cork to seal the wine bottle. In the past, less expensive wines may have been equipped with a metal screw cap to close the bottle. Today, however, wine that ranges in price from the very expensive to the very inexpensive are sealed with a stopper made of cork or a synthetic product having the appearance of a cork.
Regardless of the type of cork that is used to seal a bottle of wine, consumers have long been faced with the problem of extracting the cork from the bottle. There have been many devices, typically known as corkscrews, introduced to the marketplace for removing a cork from a wine bottle. These devices include a very simple t-shaped design corkscrew to more elaborate designs. A common corkscrew known in the art is the corkscrew key depicted in
In typical operation, corkscrew key 100 is inserted into a cork sealing a wine bottle by hand. The user places helix 102, and fulcrum 112 in an open position as shown in
While pointed end 104 maintains contact with the exposed end of the cork, the user applies a counterclockwise twisting motion to the helix 102 by rotating lever arm 108 with the hand. At the same time, the user must exert downward force to ensure entry of helix 102 into the exposed end of the cork. This simultaneous turning and downward motion, when performed properly, inserts the helix deep within the center of the cork along the cork's vertical axis.
To remove helix 102 from the cork, fulcrum 112 is rotated to allow the distal end of fulcrum 112 to be placed on the out rim of the bottle's opening. The user then rotates lever arm 108 in an upward direction to pry or force helix 102 and the engaged cork from the bottle. Once the cork is removed from the bottle, it is removed from helix 102 by counterclockwise rotation and may be saved or discarded.
Several models of corkscrews are commercially available. A number of attempts have been made to make a corkscrew that increases the likelihood of successful insertion of the helix into the bottle without damaging the cork. Cork breakage during the removal process can ruin the wine drinking experience. Those opening their own wine bottles with typical corkscrew devices such as the one depicted in
Performing the bottle opening process tableside without the benefit of a table or stable surface on which to place the bottle exposes the waiter to the risk of dropping the bottle or damaging the cork during the removal process causing fragments of cork to contaminate the wine. Also, while most waiters do their best to elegantly insert and remove the helix, the process is often far from elegant. What is needed is a corkscrew device that allows easy and accurate insertion of the helix into the cork while permitting the user to maintain both hands on the bottle.
The present embodiments disclosed herein are directed to an improved corkscrew apparatus. In one aspect, a corkscrew key includes a ratchet member associated with a central portion of a lever arm, a helix having a shaft associated with the ratchet member, a pointed end of the helix, a fulcrum rotatably attached at a first end of the lever arm and a blade rotatably attached at a second end of the lever arm.
In one aspect, the ratchet housing, helix and shaft members may be formed as a single body member of a material such as metal. In another aspect, the ratchet housing may be integrated into the lever arm of the corkscrew key. In another aspect, the ratchet member may be integrated into a rack and pinion cork removal device.
For a more complete understanding of the features and advantages of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments, invention along with the accompanying figures in which corresponding numerals in the different figures refer to corresponding parts and in which:
While the making and using of various embodiments of the present cork removal apparatus are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated that the present cork removal devices provide many applicable inventive concepts which can be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specific embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways to make and use the cork removal devices, and do not delimit its scope.
Referring initially to
Within ratchet assembly 204 is a ratchet member 300 depicted in
A detailed depiction of an embodiment of ratchet assembly 204 is provided in
Rotation of helix 206 during use of device 200 is achieved through rotation of gear 302. Rotation of gear 302 is achieved by rotating lever arm 202. Rotation of lever arm 202 causes rotation of gear 302 by virtue of lever arm interface member 250 of ratchet assembly 204. Lever arm interface member 250 is associated with the top side of housing 240. Lever arm interface member 250 is of a thickness sufficient to associate with a bottom portion of lever arm 202. In one embodiment, lever arm 202 includes pin 210. Lever arm interface 250 includes opening 252 for receiving pin 210 once lever arm interface 250 is engaged with lever arm 202. In the alternative, lever arm interface member of ratchet assembly 204 may be permanently affixed to lever arm 202 by welding, adhesive or other suitable manner.
In operation, helix 206 is inserted into cork 220 of bottle 230 as follows. The pointed end 208 of helix 206 is directed to a substantially central point of exposed end 222 of cork 220. While maintaining a substantially perpendicular relationship between helix 208 and lever arm 202, a force in a direction y is exerted on lever arm 202 and in turn on helix 206. In order to engage the pointed end 208 of helix 206, lever arm 202 is placed in the user's hand and rotated in a clockwise direction. At the same time, bottle 230 is held to prevent significant movement or rotation. The clockwise turning of lever arm 202 coupled with the force exerted in the y-direction causes pointed end 208 of helix 206 to enter cork 220 at a central point of exposed end 222.
At the completion of a single clockwise turn of lever arm 202, pointed end 208 of helix 206 may only have minimally entered cork 220. A single turn of lever arm 202 typically spans between 90 and 180 degrees. After this single turn of lever arm 202, additional turns of lever arm 202 are typically required to engage helix 206 into cork 220 at a depth sufficient to allow removal of cork 220 from bottle 230. At this juncture, without removing the hand from lever arm 202, the user may rotate lever arm 202 in a clockwise direction back to the original point of rotation. The single direction (counterclockwise) rotation of gear member 302 within ratchet member 300 allows for a resetting of lever arm 202 to a position where additional clockwise turns of lever arm 202 may be made without the user removing the hand from the lever arm. Thus, deeper penetration of helix 206 into cork 220 results without the awkward process of shifting hand positions associated with prior art corkscrew keys.
After the process described above is repeated a number of times, helix 206 penetrates cork 220 to a depth making removal of cork 220 from bottle 230 possible. Removal is achieved by extending fulcrum 212 away from lever arm 202 and positioning the end 214 of fulcrum 212 on the rim 232 of bottle 230. Next, downward pressure is exerted on the distal end of lever arm 202 to pry cork 220 from bottle 230. Once removed, the cork 220 may be removed from helix 206 and saved or discarded. The ratchet member 208 allows for smooth entry and removal of cork 220 from bottle 230 in an efficient and elegant manner.
At an end of lever arm 202 opposite from the end on which fulcrum 212 is pivotably attached is blade 216. Blade 216 serves to cut the foil placed on bottle 230 by the bottler to protect the top of bottle 230 and cork 220. Blade 216 may be folded into the body of lever arm 202 when not in use to provide user safety.
In another embodiment of the present cork removal device, ratchet assembly 204 includes a switch that permits reversal of the rotation of gear 302. In other words, in one state, the switch permits only counterclockwise movement of gear 302 by rotating lever arm 202. In the other state, the switch permits only clockwise movement of gear 302. The advantage of the switch is to take advantage of the ratchet assembly to both insert helix 206 into cork 220 and remove helix 206 from cork 220.
In another aspect of the present cork removal apparatus, ratchet assembly 204 and lever arm 202 may be of a single construction. In the alternative, ratchet assembly 204 may be permanently attached to lever arm 202 with a pin 210 as discussed above or removably attached to lever arm 202 through use of a clip or other suitable fastener.
In another aspect of the present cork removal apparatus, a stop mechanism is inserted between the pointed end 208 of helix 206 and ratchet assembly 204. Stop mechanism 218 may take the form a bar 218 that extends in a substantially perpendicular direction from the vertical axis of helix 206. Upon rotation of lever arm 202 in the appropriate direction, ratchet assembly 204 causes helix 206 to enter cork 220 at exposed end 222. Rotation and return of lever arm 202 and in turn ratchet assembly 204 causes helix 206 to continue to penetrate cork 220. It is desired that helix 206 enter cork 220 at an appropriate depth where fulcrum 212 may be placed at rim 232 of bottle 230 at such a position where leverage exerted on lever arm 202 effectively causes removal of cork 220 from bottle 230. If helix 206 is over-inserted or under-inserted into cork 220, then fulcrum 212 may not be positioned in a manner that permits easy removal of cork 220 by applying vertical force to lever arm 202. To avoid this occurrence, bar 218 is positioned at a substantially central position along the vertical axis of helix 206 to inform the user that an ideal penetration depth of helix 206 has been achieved.
In use, as ratchet assembly 204 is repeatedly turned and returned, helix 206 and associated bar 218 moves in a downward direction into cork 220 along the vertical axis of helix 206. Once bar 218 comes into contact with rim 232 of bottle 230, the contact causes resistance that informs the user that the ideal depth of helix 206 has been achieved. At this point, the user stops turning lever arm 202 and removal of cork 220 may be performed through positioning fulcrum 212 and exerting downward force on lever arm 202.
In another embodiment, stop mechanism may take the form of a circular or semi-circular disk about the vertical axis of helix 208. The circular or semi-circular disk, like bar 218, will come into contact with rim 232 of bottle 230, informing the user that proper helix depth has been achieved. In yet another embodiment, stop mechanism may simply take the form of contrasting the color of an upper portion and a lower portion of helix 206. In this manner, the user may observe the entry into cork 220 of helix 206 and halt turning of lever arm 202 and associated ratchet assembly 204 when the entire lower portion of helix 206 disappears into cork 220. The contrasting colors of helix 206 allow the user to easily see the when the ideal point of entry has been achieved.
In another embodiment, lever arm 202 may include an extendable body member 280. Extendable body member 280 may be maintained in a closed position during the process of inserting helix 206 into cork 220. Once helix 206 has been inserted into cork 220 at the necessary depth for effective removal, extendable body member 280 may be drawn from within lever arm 202 in a telescoping fashion. Alternatively, extendable body member 280 may be rotatably attached to an end of lever arm 202, through use of a hinge or rivet. Extending extendable body member 280 effectively increases the length of lever arm 202. When fulcrum 212 is positioned properly, this lengthening of lever arm 202 makes removal of cork 220 through the exertion of upward force on lever arm 202 less difficult.
In another aspect of the present cork removal system, ratchet assembly 208 and a ratchet member 300 are integrated into the frame of a rack and pinion type corkscrew. A typical rack and pinion type corkscrew is depicted in
In one aspect of the cork removal apparatus, a ratchet assembly similar to the assembly discussed with regard to
Referring to
In another aspect of the present cork removal apparatus, a stop member 618 is inserted between pointed end 606 of helix 602 and ratchet assembly 620. Stop mechanism 618 may take the form a bar that extends in a substantially perpendicular direction from the vertical axis of helix 602. Upon rotation of handle 604 in the appropriate direction, ratchet assembly 620 causes helix 602 to enter cork 220 at exposed end 222. Rotation and return of handle 604 and in turn ratchet assembly 620 causes helix 602 to continue to penetrate cork 220. It is desired that helix 602 enters cork 220 at an appropriate depth where upward force exerted on handle 604 causes cork 220 to be removed from bottle 230. If helix 602 is over-inserted into cork 220, then cork 220 may split, introducing debris to the contents of bottle 230. If helix 602 is under-inserted, upward force on handle 604 may cause helix 602 to be removed from cork 220, but not removal of cork 220 from bottle 230. After such an occurrence, re-insertion of helix 602 into cork 220 may be difficult. To avoid these occurrences, stop member 618 is positioned at a substantially central position along the vertical axis of helix 602 between a pointed end 606 of helix 602 and ratchet assembly 620 to inform the user that an ideal penetration depth of helix 602 has been achieved.
In use, as ratchet assembly 620 is repeatedly turned and returned through handle 604, helix 602 and stop member 618 move in a downward direction into cork 220 along the vertical axis of helix 602. Once stop member 618 comes into contact with rim 232 of bottle 230, the contact causes resistance that informs the user that the ideal depth of helix 602 has been achieved. At this point, the user stops turning handle 604 and removal of cork 220 may be performed by exerting upward force or pulling handle 604.
In another embodiment, stop mechanism may take the form of a circular or semi-circular disk about the vertical axis of helix 602. The circular or semi-circular disk, like a bar, will come into contact with rim 232 of bottle 230, informing the user that proper helix depth has been achieved. In yet another embodiment, stop mechanism 618 may simply take the form of contrasting the surface appearance of an upper portion and a lower portion of helix 602. This may be achieved by coating helix 602 with different colors or manufacturing the upper and lower portions of helix 602 from different materials, such as metal or plastic. In this manner, the user may observe the entry into cork 220 of helix 602 and halt turning of handle 604 and associated ratchet assembly 620 when the entire lower portion of helix 602 disappears into cork 220. The contrasting appearance of helix 602 allow the user to easily see the when the ideal point of entry has been achieved.
While the aspects of the present cork removal apparatus previously discussed contemplate manual operation, the features disclosed herein may be easily incorporated into a motorized or battery operator cork removal apparatus.
While the present cork removal apparatus has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments as well as other embodiments of the in, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description. It is, therefore, intended that the appended claims encompass any such modifications or embodiments.
