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small-pressurized gas container or hand pump. Reinbacher's Pop-A-Cork was marketed

in the early 1990s.

Although there were several cork ejector inventions between 1914 and the 1950s,

there is no evidence that any of these were produced. The early concepts were all

related to pumping air through a needle which has pierced the bottle cork. It appears,

however, that the first air cork ejector produced was the Corkette based on Robert

Pollak's 1962 patent.

The first gas cork ejector patent was issued in 1950 and it was this patent that led to the

1950s production of the Sparklets Corkmaster well ahead of the air ejector

introduction. The 1960s were a busy time for inventors and producers of gas ejectors.

Seventeen patents were issued during the decade with the last issued in 1966.

Meanwhile twenty air ejector patents were issued in the 1960s with the last in 1968.

The 1950s and 1960s were boom years for the ejectors. And suddenly the inventors

stopped. The market had fallen on tough times. Rumors of bottle breakage and personal

injury were damaging the market. Were these stories real? Had corkscrew

manufacturers become worried about losing market share and did they plant seeds of

doubt concerning these hypodermic type devices?

During the 1970s only one ejector patent was issued. Ted Essig was granted an

American design patent in 1977 for an air ejector. Essig says it was never produced. The

idea was solid but the market was comatose.

Then in the 1980s, there was a revival. Fred Ravreby created a battery operated air

pump for cork ejection in 1982 and Federighi improved his "Cork Pops" with a 1986

patent. Once again cork ejectors nibbled at the corkscrew market yet never growing to

the popularity witnessed in the 1950s and 1960s. Those old rumors of bottle breakage

and personal injury were resurfacing. And Herb Allen's 1981 invention of the Screwpull

could be considered a major reason for cork ejectors not taking a good market share.

Allen's revolutionary corkscrew made cork removal a simple, quick operation and

quickly gained worldwide popularity. It had a very strong foothold on a market that

would soon be inundated with many copycats. Cork ejectors had little chance for great

success.

In spite of the ups and downs of the market, several air cork ejectors survived the tests

of time. The Corkette survived until 2002 with little change since its 1960s introduction.

The Swiss Corky introduced in 1963 continues to do well even in the face of copies

from Italy, Japan, China, and Taiwan. The Swiss Corkex died in the 1980s but was

resurrected in Taiwan through the efforts of the U. S. company Franmara. In Germany,

the Emide and Corklift went through little transformation.

The first gas cork ejector, the Sparklets Corkmaster, was gone by the 1970s.

Wecomatic's German CO2 ejector still survives in the European market. Cork Pops

which uses a food grade propellant underwent several changes since it was first