The Virtual Corkscrew Museum's Daily Newspaper
Thursday, April 17, 2003 |
The Yokes on Walker
Erie, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1900 - Erie resident Edwin Walker has come up with yet another invention. On March 23, 1897 he patented a stopper extractor for what he then called the "yoke" of his corkscrew. He is now simply calling the attachment to the shank of the corkscrew a "head" and has added a bottle cap lifter to it. Back in September of last year he received a Design Patent (No. D31,505) for this head and now the mechanics have been formally recognized in United States Patent No. 647.775 issued today.
Walker says that his new patent covers the hook to break a wire seal on the bottle, an opening to grasp a bottle cap for removal, and a better grip on the collar to facilitate use of the hook. He describes this in his patent with "It will be observed that by my construction the handle and the shank of the corkscrew form a convenient and sufficient lever not only to operate the blade in removing the wires from a bottle top, but also for operating the hook of the seal removing mechanism of the device." He adds that it is also "made with arms between the collar and the ring portions so that a firm grasp may be maintained when using the blade or the hook."
©2003 Don Bull, Editor |