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On February 5, 1990 Helmut Reinbacher from Canoga Park,

California applied for his patent on a "Cork Removal

Apparatus." Reinbacher had an entirely new concept - a

combination gas or air operated ejector! His invention

explains "In the apparatus of the present invention, a hand

pump is provided which can be used interchangeably with

the pressurized gas container. Accordingly if no gas

container is immediately available the small hand pump can

be used as the pressurizing gas source.

Reinbacher's application includes drawings for both the hand

pump and the gas cartridge. The product was marketed

under the name Pop-A-Cork (same name as the Ravreby

invention).

Reinbacher's Patent No. 5,012,703 was granted May 7, 1991. For further details on the

Reinbacher patent, see the gas ejector section of this book.

_____________

Another invention first introduced into the United

States by a foreigner was from Englishman Francis W.

West. He applied for his "Cork Removal Device"

patent on February 4, 2000 and was granted U. S.

Patent No. 6,223,626 on May 1, 2001.

In referring to the prior art inventions of Federighi,

Reinbacher, Mackey, Hashimoto, Nakayama, and

Makino, West writes, "While these devices fulfill their

respective, particular objectives and requirements, the

aforementioned patents do not disclose a new cork

removal device." For his invention he claims it

"substantially departs from the conventional

concepts…and provides an apparatus primarily

developed for the purpose of injecting air between the cork and the contents of the

bottle to force the cork out of the bottle." With difficulty one can see some practical

differences in this new design.

Here is the patent abstract:

A cork removal device for injecting air between a cork and the contents of a

bottle to force the cork out of the bottle. The cork removal device includes a

base portion and a cap. The base portion has a bottom wall. The bottom wall has

a peripheral edge. A peripheral wall is coupled to and extends away from the

peripheral edge. The bottom wall has an aperture therethrough. A needle for

inserting into a cork has a blunt end and a sharp end. The blunt end of the