Cork puller

• US 4,399,720 A
• Filed: 05/17/1982
• Issued: 08/23/1983
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Towle Manufacturing Company
• Original Assignee: Towle Manufacturing Company
• Inventors: Cuppett, Darrell J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Parker, Roscoe V.
• Application Number:
  US06/379,252
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• Field of Search: 81/3.37, 81/3.1 A, 74/422, 74/524, 74/534, 74/536, 74/535, 403/157, 403/159, 403/163, 254/12, 254/95, 29/434, 29/453
• US Class Current: 81/3.37
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 7/0441 whereby the supporting means abut around the whole periphery of the neck of the bottle
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4984 Retaining clearance for motion between assembled parts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/1967 Rack and pinion

Abstract

A cork puller of the kind wherein a puller shaft is supported in a sleeve for vertical movement by means of pivotally mounted levers provided with toothed sectors which mesh with rack teeth on the puller shaft and, more particularly, to a bearing structure for supporting the levers which enables easy assembly of the levers with their toothed sectors in engagement with the rack teeth of the puller without the aid of rivets or screws visible from the outside and without having to distort the lever-supporting structure.

Claims

1. A cork puller comprising a structure having a bottom part of annular configuration adapted to rest on the top rim of the corked bottle and a top part comprising a sleeve, spaced, parallel bearing supports at equal radial distances from the axis of the sleeve and extending laterally from opposite sides of the axis of the sleeve, said bearing supports being integral with the sleeve, a puller reciprocally and rotatably mounted in the sleeve, a worm fixed to the lower end of the puller, means at the upper end of the puller for effecting its rotation, and means for raising and lowering the puller relative to the bottom part comprising racks at opposite sides of the puller and levers, provided with teeth, pivotally mounted on the bearing supports with their teeth engaged with the racks, the improvement comprising that one half of the sleeve taken on a diameter midway between the bearing supports and the bearing support integral therewith is integral with the bottom part and the other half and bearing support integral therewith is not and there are interengaged means on the confronting sides of the bearing supports confined exclusively to the confronting sides which define bearings for rotatably receiving the levers.

2. A cork puller according to claim 1 wherein the interengageable means comprise pins projecting from the confronting face of one of the bearing supports and bosses containing holes for receiving the pins projecting from the confronting face of the other of the bearing supports.

3. A cork puller according to claim 1 wherein the bosses are of circular cross section and define cylindrical bearing surfaces upon which the levers are pivotally mounted.

4. A cork puller according to claim 2 wherein the pins and bosses are force-fitted into engagement.

5. A cork puller according to claim 2 wherein the length of the bosses and pins perpendicular to the confronting surfaces of the bearing supports constitute spacers which hold the bearing supports at a spacing corresponding substantially to the thickness of the levers with a clearance to permit free rotation thereof.

6. A cork puller according to claim 1 wherein the means at the upper end of the puller is a key.

7. The method of making a cork puller of the kind comprising a bottom part of annular configuration adapted to rest on the top rim of a corked bottle and a top part comprising a sleeve, spaced, parallel bearing supports at equal radial distances from the axis of the sleeve and extending laterally from the opposite sides of the axis of the sleeve, said bearing supports being integral with the sleeve, a puller reciprocally mounted in the sleeve, a worm fixed to the lower end of the puller, means at the upper end of the puller for effecting its rotation, and means for raising and lowering the puller relative to the bottom part comprising racks at opposite sides of the puller and levers provided with teeth pivotally mounted on the bearing supports with their teeth engaged with the racks comprising die-casting the lower part and one-half of the upper part comprising one-half of the sleeve and the integral bearing support as a unitary part, die-casting the other half of the upper part comprising the other half of the sleeve and integral bearing support as a separable part and, when die-casting the separate parts, die-casting bosses containing holes on the confronting surface of one of the bearing supports and pins on the confronting surface of the other bearing support, mounting the levers on the bosses, aligning the bearing supports with the pins in alignment with the holes in the bosses and pressing the parts together to engage the pins within the holes.