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A “Cork Removal Apparatus” invented by

Helmut Reinbacher, Canoga Park, California,

was designed to use either an air pump (see the

United States air ejector section) or gas. By the

time he filed for a patent on his on February 5,

1990, the “Cork Pops” had gained a strong

foothold on the market. His patent application

includes details for a means for removing the

cork from the needle once it was inside the

“safety shield.” He accomplished this by

placing a disk with two ears on the needle and

riding up and down on the slots in the shield.

Once the cork was ejected, the two tabs could

be pushed down to get a head start on removing

the cork from the needle. This had already been

done with the Cork Out in the early 1980s and

on late 1980s Cork Pops.

In his patent background data he badmouths the

corkscrew with “For many years corks were

typically removed from bottles, such as wine bottles, through the use of a cork screw.

This practice had many drawbacks, including being cumbersome, and inefficient.

Additionally, the cork screw would often times break or crumble the cork, contaminating

the contents of the bottle.”

Reinbacher licensed his invention to Pop A Cork, Inc., Los

Angeles, California who sold it as “Quick, Easy &

Irresistible” with a notation that “it injects a food grade

gas” (the same A-108 propellant used in the Cork Out)

thus dispelling any concerns about spoiling the wine. They

made no guarantee that it would work every time and even

stated in their instructions: “Depress button…If cork has

not risen after 6 seconds, use a conventional corkscrew” –

a product that Reinbacher said was cumbersome and

inefficient!