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By the time Farandatos' British Patent was approved, the deal with British Oxygen had
been struck and the "Sparklets Corkmaster" was already in full production since the
1950s. And there had been a significant change. The T-handle was gone and the
cartridge had been mounted vertically. The appearance was more like a conventional
hand pump. The sleek metal housing unscrewed in the middle for insertion of the
cartridge and a simple lever would cause a pin to open the cartridge, filling the chamber
and feeding into the bottle below the cork.
Back in New York, Farandatos was busily massaging his invention. He applied for patents
in 1958, 1960, 1961, and on July 30, 1963. All four applications were abandoned and a
new application was filed October 4, 1963. In addition to citing cork removal,
Farandatos talks about his dispensing apparatus for gas cylinders to "make the charged
water called club soda…spray a room with insecticide…the operation of garden sprays."
Patent 3,203,592 was granted August 31, 1965 with the title "Fluid Dispenser." In
describing the operation he says "The pointed portion at the exterior end of the needle
valve member may used to penetrate a cork…and thus the device is adapted to serve as
cork extractor." This time, however, Farandatos application had been submitted to the
British Patent Office, over three years before the U. S. submission! Robert Oscar
Lightfoot, London, on behalf of Farandatos applied on May 16, 1960 for "Improvements
relating to Gas Dispensing Means." British Patent 953,337 was published March 25,
1964. Neither the American nor the British Patents mentions the other.
U. S. Patent No. 3,203,592, applied for October 4, 1963
