27
Some interesting comments in his application are:
...the cork-screw to be used in the conventional manner and then permit the cork
to be removed without breaking or mutilating it further...
...prevent the gassed contents from sprouting out excessively and otherwise
causing inconvenience...
...provide a more attractive device...
...provide a device for the removal of corks that will prevent the bottle
injuriously breaking in the hands of the user...
...to remove the cork from the bottle in such a way as to cover it up or hide it
effectively from observation that the users may not see the condition at the time
of the dispensing of champagne or liquid...
...prevent breakage of corks during uncorking...
...Should the bottle break under the action of the uncorking, the neck of the bottle
is covered and held by the hood and prevents damage and injury to the user and
surrounding objects...
With all of the fine corkscrews and champagne cork removers on the market at
the time, Miller
‟
s copy certainly leads one to wonder what his restaurant waiters
were using to remove corks at the time of Miller
‟
s application. And one really
would wonder what they used after he
“
invented
”
this corkscrew.
Finally, the two claims in the patent both lead off with
“
A cork remover for
liquor
bottles....
”
On February 22, 1944, John Henry Miller of Baltimore, Maryland, was granted
United States Patent 2,342,156 for his
“
Stopper Extractor
”
. He applied for the
patent on August 14, 1940 and later applied for patents in England and Canada.
He applied for a British patent on September 16, 1943 and number 570,680 was
accepted July 18, 1945. The British application showed his home address at 7228
Park Heights Avenue. He filed for a Canadian patent on August 25, 1943 and
number 421,337 was issued July 11, 1944.
There does not appear to be anything new in Miller
‟
s patent. The mechanism had
already been produced in Europe for many years yet it was the first patent
application for a
“
Club
”
type corkscrew since the 1875 French patent of Jean
Picard. It appears that Miller was simply putting known technology on paper