Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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HAND-HELD ELECTRICITY POWERED CORKSCREW
The present invention relates generally to cork
screws for removing a cork from a bottle, and more par
ticularly to hand-held electric corkscrews.
Various electric corkscrews are known for removing
a cork from a bottle. Examples of such appliances are de-
scribed in the following United States Patents .
l0
U.S. Patent n° 4,637,283, Bertram, January 1987 ;
U.S. Patent n° 4,955,261, Chiang, September 1990 ;
U.S. Patent n° 5,079,975, Spencer, January 1992 ;
U.S. Patent n° 5,095,778, Bocsi et al., March 1992 ;
U.S. Patent n° 5,372,054, Federighi, December 1994 ;
U.S. Patent n° 5,503,047, Brockington, April 1996 ;
.~ and U.S. Patent n° 5,724,869, May, March 1998.
However, the proposed corkscrews illustrated in
these patents suffer from a number of defects that reduces
the likelihood of their achieving commercial success.
I~ the case of Bertram ('283) the device is not pow-
ered by a self contained battery, requiring the use of an
inconvenient electrical power cord. Further it precludes
the use of such a device unless it is in the proximity of
an electrical power outlet. The sleeve retracts into the
housing with the attendant risk of an operator's finger
being pinched between these moving parts. The non-integral
exterior surface adds to the difficulty of cleaning the
device. The proposed device has no means to react the
torque generated by the corkscrew other than through the
CONFIRP9ATION COPY
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operator gripping the outer surface which is not provided
with a suitable ergonomic handle.
In the case of Chiang ('261) the battery case-cum-
handle is of a most awkward shape and size, and is quite
unsuited to be readily secured and gripped, while the
right angled projection or the auger tube from the battery
case/handle makes the device ergonomically unsuitable in
that it requires a user to stand over the bottle being
opened, with the "handle" extending substantially horizon-
tally in an inconvenient orientation. The proposed gear
reduction is a non-planetary configuration and to achieve
a suitable gear ratio requires a large volume gearbox. The
sleeve retracts into the housing with the attendant risk
of an operator's finger being pinched between these moving
parts. The non-integral exterior surface adds to the dif-
ficulty of cleaning the device.
Spencer ('975) , Brockington ('047) and Bosci et al
('778) each provides a handle portion comprising a battery
compartment oriented in axially-aligned relation with the
operative position of the respective device. These ar-
rangeme~nts in addition to the resulting undue length of
the devices, are also ergonomically unsuitable, while also
requiring a user to grip the handle sufficiently tightly
to provide the requisite torque necessary to off-set the
reaction torque generated by the action of the bottle
opening auger in penetrating and drawing the cork. Fur-
thermore, a user has to position their operative hand well
above the bottle, in an unusual posture. As with the above
the sleeve retracts into the housing with the attendant
risk of an operator's finger being pinched between these
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moving parts. The non-integral exterior surface adds to
the difficulty of cleaning the device.
Federighi ('054) proposes a table mounted design and
a foil cutter that is manually powered.
May('869) proposes a cylindrical device without any
convenient means for the operator to resist the corkscrew
torque. In addition it proposes a 100 V AC to 6 V trans-
former and the battery pack in the upper part of the han-
dle assembly that will result in a large and top-heavy
design. The proposed design does not indicate a gear re-
duction between the motor and the auger thus a motor of
sufficient torque to extract a full range of corks is
likely to be unduly large to allow comfortable hand-held
operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a light-weight and
compact electrically powered corkscrew appliance, the in-
H clined handle of which facilitates.. the ready application
of a stabilising torque force to the device when in opera-
tion. Portability also is enhanced by the co-linear place-
ment of the small motor, planetary gearbox and auger while
the removable battery pack is stored in the handle.
The subject device is provided with a number of er-
gonomic features, these include .
~ transparent windows on the lower part of each side
of the outer housing that allow the operator to see the
position of the cork during extraction and ejection,
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~ a handle set at an angle to the axis of the auger
that allows the operator to easily resist the reaction
torque from the device, such an handle is designed so that
the appliance may be used in a standing position, with a
bottle supported on a bar or table, or in a sitting posi-
tion with the bottle supported on a table,
~ a switch that drive the motor to extract and to
eject the cork that is located so that it may be actuated
without removing the hand from the handle, and
~ an integral outer housing that is easy to clean,
the outer housing may be easily removed from the drive
assembly and handle to allow the removal of any cork
pieces that may have broken off a cork.
The subject device is provided with a number of
safety features, these include .
~ a child proof end cap,
~ an single actuation switch that is recessed or
conformal with the outer form of the appliance so that it
~, is not switched on by the inadvertent setting down of the
switch on a surface,
~ an auto shut off switch, and
~ an integral outer housing that precludes the pos-
sibility of pinching of the operator's fingers and acts as
a moving safety guard to push away the operator's other
hand if applied too high on the bottle neck.
The main design an its operation features include .
~ a handle that includes a removable battery pack
that is re-chargeable,
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~ the handle is set at an angle to a body housing
which includes a motor, a gearbox, and an auger mecha-
nism, the motor torque/speed characteristics, the gearbox
reduction ratio and the battery assembly are designed to
5 allow for the ability to open over 150 bottles between
charges of the battery pack while minimising overall
weight and volume of the device,
~ the handle is set at an angle to allow the opera-
tor to resist the torque generated by the device easily,
~ the motor drives through a two stage planetary
gearbox an auger device that is co-axial with the motor
and is applied by the operator to the cork of the bottle
to be opened,
~ an auger that engages the cork and in doing so
pulls the outer housing over the top of the bottle and
. then lifts the cork from the neck of the bottle. The cork
is further pulled from the bottle until it is held .within
an inner sleeve in the auger assembly,
~ the operator is able to observe the progress of
the extraction of the cork through the transparent win
., dows in the sides of outer housing of the auger assembly,
As the operator maintains the switch in the
"extract" position then the cork will continue to be
driven up the auger assembly (cork rotation being re-
strained by a number (preferably three or four) of inter-
nal axial ribs affixed to the interior axially sliding
sleeve that engage the sides of the cork) until the cork
trips a micro-switch that first stops the motor when the
cork reaches a point near the end of the auger and then
allows the motor actuator switch to be engaged in a
"eject" or reverse direction, the auger then rotates in
the opposite direction to eject the cork. During the ex-
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traction process a pair of light guided springs are com-
pressed by the motion of the inner sleeve, these springs
assist in the ejection of the cork ensuring that it is
presented at the mouth of the auger assembly. The pair of
springs are designed to accommodate any misalignment of
the device axis to the bottle axis and yet provide a bal-
anced force on the inner sleeve.
In addition to the main corkscrew device there are
two associated accessory items .
~ An electrically driven accessory that performs the
severance of the usual foil cap from the crown of a wine
bottle. This foil cutter can be attached to the butt of
the corkscrew handle. It provides a separate motorised
seal cutter comprising a pair of mutually diametrically
. opposed, inwardly extending cutter blades. The seal cut
ter means is powered electrically from the battery pack
that is stored in the corkscrew handle.
~ A battery recharging unit. This unit provides a
receptacle that holds a single- h-attery pack during its
recharging cycle. The device incorporates an integral AC
plug, transformer, diode assembly, over current protec-
tion and other appropriate charge rate control electron-
ics. A small charge state indication light is incorpo-
rated in the front of the unit to indicate if the battery
is being charged.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Certain embodiments of the invention are described
by way of illustration, without limitation of the inven-
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tion thereto, reference being made to the accompanying
drawings, wherein .
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a corkscrew fixed
on a recharger according to the invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the subject cork-
screw, without the recharger.
Figure 3 is a partial sectional view of the cork-
screw of figure 2.
Figures 4, 5 and 6 show a series of sectional views
of the subject corkscrew as the cork is initially engaged
and subsequently extracted.
Figure 7 is a perspective view that illustrates the
installation of a battery pack into the handle of the
corkscrew.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of the corkscrew and
an associated accessory as a foil cutter.
Figure 9 is a sectional view of the foil cutter.
Figure 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the
recharges of figure 1.
Figure 11 is a front perspective view of the re-
charger of figure 10.
Referring to figures 1 and 2 the electrically pow-
ered hand-held corkscrew has a tubular body portion 5
with a longitudinal axis and a handle 4 extending later-
ally therefrom, said body portion 5 having an outer bar-
rel 36 with a free opening at one end to receive the neck
of a bottle in entered relation therein and rotatable
30 cork auger means 10 substantially co-extensive and co-
axial with said barrel. The body portion 5 has a cylin-
drical outer barrel of uniform section.
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According to the invention, the handle 4 is in
clined from said body portion at an angle to the longitu
dinal axis less than 90 degrees to afford comfortable er
gonomic use of the corkscrew.
As shown more particularly in the figure 2, the
handle 4 is mounted at one end of the tubular body 5 with
an angle a in the range of 46 to 89 degrees from the lon-
gitudinal axis. More specifically, the angle is in the
range of 60 to 75 degrees and for a better ergonomic use
the angle is about 70 degrees.
Referring to figures 2 and 7, the handle 4 is also
tubular and contains an electric power means such as a
removable battery pack 21. This pack is locked in place
by a simple hook 18 that is located on the end of a can
tilevered flexible extension to the battery pack end
housing and which is engaged in a location 3A of the han
dle 4.
H
As it appears on figure 2, the body portion 5 com-
prises-an electric motor 3 that drives through a gear box
3' the auger means 10. The gear box is a two-stage plane-
tary gear box in which the motor pinion 7 engages with an
input stage 8 of the planetary reduction gear which is
itself engages with an output stage assembly 9. The gear
box is enclosed in a gear box housing 17 secured to the
tubular housing 5.
The out put stage assembly 9 is connected directly
to the auger means 10. Said auger means is of usual spi-
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ral shape and is mounted along the main axis of cork
screw.
Moreover, the outer barrel 36 of the body portion 5
comprises at least one transparent window 36' that allows
to see the position of the cork during its extraction and
rejection. Preferably, there are two opposed transparent
windows 36'.
According to a further feature of the invention,
the body portion 5 includes bottle stop means within said
outer barrel. Said bottle stop means is mounted axially
movable along a predetermined distance within said outer
barrel 36.
Referring more particularly to figure 3, said bot-
.~ tle stop means comprises in combination a cork restraint
means located within said outer barrel 36 to limit rota
tion of a cork relative to said barrel when the cork is
penetrated and engaged by the auger means 10.
The cork restraint means includes an inner barrel
38 located within the outer barrel 36 and movable axially
therein. For such a displacement the cork restraint means
comprises a connection 52 constituted by a tongue 54 and
a groove 56 and located between the inner 38 and the
outer 36 barrels, to permit relative axial displacement
therebetween while substantially precluding relative ro-
tation thereof. The bottle stop means comprises not only
the inner barrel 38 but also a longitudinal thrust 43 in
the shape of a collar which slides in a circular recess
45 in the gear housing 17 up to a stop point designated
by X in figures 4 to 6.
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In the construction shown in these figures, the
bottle stop means is further formed by an axial outer end
portion 40 of said inner barrel 38. Said portion 40 has
5 preferably a conical entry by which the crown portion 31
of a bottle neck portion is centred in the outer barrel
36.
The inner barrel and more specifically the outer
10 end portion 40 is further tapered at 42 to provide a
conical guidance surface by which the cork 16 enters the
bore 46 of the inner barrel 38.
The bore 46 of said cork restraint means includes
at least two axially extending ribs 48 in diametrically
opposed relation to engage the cylindrical outer surface
of cork 16, said ribs being of shallow depth to permit
guide displacement of cork axially there along.
As shown in figures 2 and 3, the cork restraint
means comprises compression spring means 57-58 extending
" axially relative to the inner 38 and outer 36 barrels in
off-ceritred relation therewith, and connecting with said
inner barrel in rotation inhibiting relation. The off-
centred spring means comprises a pair of compression
springs 57, each having a guide rod 58 extending there
through. The guide rods 58 are fixed at one end in the
gear box housing 17 and project within axially extending
recesses 59 of the inner barrel 38 to preclude rotation
of said inner band.
In a preferred embodiment, the corkscrew comprises
an auto shut-off switch 14 located adjacent to the end
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cap of the gear box in the gear box housing 17. This auto
shut-off has a function of stopping the electric motor 3
when the cork has moved to the fully extracted position
(see figure 5) .
In order to enhance the ergonomically shape of the
corkscrew, it is provided a single reversible actuator
switch 2 located preferably in the intermediate section
60 between handle 4 and body portion 5 so that it may be
actuated without removing the hand from.the handle. In
figures 7 and 8, we can see the actuator with two printed
marks indicating the rotation of the auger 10 in a first
sense and an opposite sense.
Moreover, referring now to figures 2 and 7, the
body portion, namely its free opening, is equipped with
.~ an end protection cap 6 and comprises a security coupling
that requires a simultaneous push and turn release fea
ture. Such a security coupling is already used by child
proof medicine containers.
In order to facilitate.the use of the corkscrew, it
is provided, as shown in figures 8 and 9, a foil cutter
assembly 22 attached to the free end of the handle 4 with
a bayonet style fitting and comprising a pair of mutually
diametrically opposed inwardly extending cutter blades 24
made on flexible spring steel. Preferably, the blades 24
are motorised by an electric motor 23. In an alternate
embodiment not described in the drawings, the blades may
be fixed in a recess located in the free end of the han-
dle 4.
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Considering the electric power means with a remov-
able battery pack 21, and with reference to figures 1, 10
and 11, the corkscrew of the present invention further
comprises a recharger means 12 having a body to receive
said corkscrew in a secured battery charging relation and
a pair of electrical spade contacts 66 to suspend the re-
charger and corkscrew from a wall-mounted standard elec-
trical outlet. The body has a semi-circular laterally ex-
tending recess 68 to receive and matche with the inclined
handle 4. So, the handle 4 is secured in ,charge-receiving
relation to the recharger means 12 by way of a pair of
resilient charge transfer contacts 18.
USE AND OPERATION OF THE INVENTION
In a first step, in operation ,de-briding of the
foil protective cover from the bottle crown 33 of the
neck 30 is first carried out by applying the foil cutter
assembly 22 and actuating the switch 2. Then, the child
protection cap 6 is removed and also the foil cutter as-
sembly 22. --
Referring now again to figures 4 to 6, this set of
figures demonstrates the sequential operational phases of
the electric corkscrew. Figure 4 shows the appliance po-
sitioned over a bottle 15 with a cork 16 that is to be
extracted. Figure 5 shows the first phase of cork ex-
traction. After the actuation of switch 2 the auger 10
drives into the cork and draws the bottle into the outer
barrel 36 and compresses the springs 57. This continues
until the inner barrel 38 comes in contact (at point X in
figure 4) with the axially fixed gearbox housing 17. At
this point further rotation of the auger 10 withdraws the
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cork 16 from the bottle 15. Initial rotation of the cork
being resisted by its internal pressure on the bottle.
Further extraction of the cork allows engagement of the
cork with two axially located internal ribs 48 that pre-
y vent any rotation of the cork with respect to the inner
barrel 38 and thus the outer barrel 36. Figure 6 shows
the position of the cork 16 after it has been fully ex-
tracted from the bottle and has been allowed to ride up
the auger 10 until it has made contact with the auto
shut-off switch 14. This switch cuts the, current to the
motor in the forward extraction direction. After the mo-
tor 3 stops, the operator reverses the actuator switch 2
and reverses the direction of rotation of the auger 10 so
that the cork is ejected from the corkscrew.
Thanks to the inclined handle 4 and the compact tu-
bular construction of the body, the torque force applied
to the handle is stabilised when in operation.
