U.S. patent application number 11/272681 was filed with the patent office on 2007-05-17 for arrangement of rack and corkscrew.
Invention is credited to Edward Kilduff.
Application Number | 20070108143 11/272681 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38039671 |
Filed Date | 2007-05-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070108143 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kilduff; Edward |
May 17, 2007 |
Arrangement of rack and corkscrew
Abstract
An arrangement includes a rack and a corkscrew. The rack is
configured to be capable of holding plural bottles. The rack
includes a holder formed in the rack. The corkscrew has a size and
shape to render it detachably attachable to the holder.
Inventors: |
Kilduff; Edward; (New York,
NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MILLEN, WHITE, ZELANO & BRANIGAN, P.C.
2200 CLARENDON BLVD.
SUITE 1400
ARLINGTON
VA
22201
US
|
Family ID: |
38039671 |
Appl. No.: |
11/272681 |
Filed: |
November 15, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/74 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B 73/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
211/074 |
International
Class: |
A47B 73/00 20060101
A47B073/00 |
Claims
1. An arrangement comprising a rack and a corkscrew, wherein: the
rack is configured to be capable of holding plural bottles; the
rack includes a first holder formed therein; and the corkscrew has
a size and shape to render it detachably attachable to the first
holder.
2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the rack includes:
a back piece having a top edge and a bottom edge; a front piece
having a top edge and a bottom edge; the top edge of the front
piece being hinged to the top edge of the back piece; and an
extension mechanism coupled between the bottom edge of the back
piece and the bottom edge of the front piece.
3. An arrangement according to claim 2, wherein: the extension
mechanism is capable of selectively expanding between a first
extent and a second extent; the front piece and back piece are
splayed at a first splayed angle defined to have a vertex where the
top edges of the front and back pieces are hinged when the
extension mechanism is expanded to the first extent; the front
piece and back piece are splayed at a second splayed angle defined
to have a vertex where the top edges of the front and back pieces
are hinged when the extension mechanism is expanded to the second
extent; and the first splayed angle is less than the second splayed
angle.
4. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first holder
includes: a first recess formed therein conformal to the size and
the shape of the corkscrew; and a first restraint capable of
holding the corkscrew in the first recess.
5. An arrangement according to claim 4, wherein: the first restrain
includes flexible resilient tabs fixed to a perimeter of the first
recess; and the flexible resilient tabs are sized and positioned
within the first recess to permit the corkscrew to be pressed into
the first recess manually, to render the corkscrew held within the
first recess with sufficient force to prevent it from falling out
of the first recess, and to permit the corkscrew to be manually
urged out of the first recess.
6. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the rack includes:
a back piece has a plurality of apertures formed therein sized to
accommodate a corresponding plurality of bottles; the back piece
includes a restraint disposed to protrude into each aperture in the
back piece in a way that provides friction between the restraint
and a bottle that might be passed through the aperture; a front
piece having a plurality of apertures formed therein sized to
accommodate a corresponding plurality of bottles, each aperture in
the front piece corresponding to an aperture in the back piece; and
the front piece includes a restraint disposed to protrude into each
aperture in the front piece in a way that provides friction between
the restraint and a bottle that might be passed through the
aperture.
7. An arrangement according to claim 6, wherein: the restraint in
each aperture of the front piece includes plural round rubbery
washers fixed to the front piece and disposed to partially protrude
into the aperture; and the restraint in each aperture of the back
piece includes plural round rubbery washers fixed to the back piece
and disposed to partially protrude into the aperture.
8. An arrangement according to claim 1, further including a foil
cutter, wherein: the rack includes a second holder formed therein;
and the foil cutter has a size and shape to render it detachably
attachable to the second holder.
9. An arrangement according to claim 1, further including a
reusable bottle stopper, wherein: the rack includes a second holder
formed therein; and the reusable bottle stopper has a size and
shape to render it detachably attachable to the second holder.
10. An arrangement according to claim 9, further including a foil
cutter, wherein: the rack includes a third holder formed therein;
and the foil cutter has a size and shape to render it detachably
attachable to the third holder.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to racks for bottles. In
particular, the invention relates to racks for wine bottles that
have self storage for wine accessories.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Many different types of wine racks are known. Corkscrews for
wine bottles are also known. However, wine has become a popular
pastime, and is still becoming even more popular, and this
popularity has fueled an ever increasing variety of wine
accessories. For example, a portable wine rack may be desired for
bringing an assortment of wines to a family picnic. It is also
desired to keep the wine accessories, such as a corkscrew, foil
cutter and reusable stopper, together with the wine rack.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An arrangement includes a rack and a corkscrew. The rack is
configured to be capable of holding plural bottles. The rack
includes a holder formed in the rack. The corkscrew has a size and
shape to render it detachably attachable to the holder.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0006] The invention will be described in detail in the following
description of preferred embodiments with reference to the
following figures.
[0007] FIG. 1 is a front view of a rack according to the
invention.
[0008] FIG. 2 is a back view of the rack according to the
invention.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a side view of the rack according to the
invention.
[0010] FIG. 4 is an enlargement of a portion of FIG. 3.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a detailed view of holder 22 as depicted in FIG.
1.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a view of a corkscrew according to the
invention.
[0013] FIG. 7 is a view of an aperture formed in the rack depicted
in FIG. 2.
[0014] FIG. 8 is a view of an alternative aperture formed in the
rack depicted in FIG. 2.
[0015] FIG. 9 is a view of an assembled rack in a folded
configuration.
[0016] FIG. 10 is a view of an assembled rack in a mostly folded
configuration.
[0017] FIG. 11 is a view of an assembled rack in a deployed
configuration.
[0018] FIG. 12 is a view of an assembled rack in a deployed
configuration with bottle.
[0019] FIG. 13 is a front view of a rack in a folded
configuration.
[0020] FIG. 14 is a top view of a rack in a folded configuration
revealing hinges among other features.
[0021] FIG. 15 is a side view of a rack in a folded
configuration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] In FIG. 3, a rack 2 includes a back piece 4 and a front
piece 6. FIGS. 9-12 depict the rack in various stages of deployment
ranging from collapsed for packaging to open for use in storing,
for example, wine bottles.
[0023] In FIG. 1, back piece 4 includes a back body 10 in which is
disposed a caddy 20 and in which is formed an aperture 32 adapted
for use as a handle and plural apertures 38 adapted for receiving a
corresponding plural bottles, for example, bottles of wine. The
back body 10 has a top edge 12 and a bottom edge 14. Feet of
resilient material are attached to the bottom edge 14.
[0024] The back body 10 has formed therein an aperture for
receiving the caddy 20. The caddy 20 has formed therein plural
holders. A first holder 22 is adapted for receiving a corkscrew or
similar bottle opener. A second holder 24 is adapted for receiving
a foil cutter as may be used to cut off the protective foil wrapper
formed over corks on traditional wine bottles. A third holder 26 is
adapted for receiving an adjustable bottle stopper. In one example,
the caddy 20 may be separately formed and press fitted into a
corresponding aperture in back body 10. Alternatively, the caddy 20
may be integrally formed with the back body 10 so that the caddy is
just a region on a surface of the back body 10. In still another
alternative, the caddy 20 may be separately formed and attached to
the back body with rivets, screws, adhesive or other similar
methods of attachment.
[0025] In FIG. 2, front piece 6 includes a front body 40. The front
body 40 has a top edge 42 and a bottom edge 44. Feet of resilient
material are attached to the bottom edge 44. The front body 40 has
formed therein an aperture 52 adapted for use as a handle, and
plural apertures 48 adapted for receiving a corresponding plural
bottles, for example, bottles of wine. Front body 40 further has a
dimple 50 formed therein. Dimple 50 provides a concave region on
the side of front body 40 that confronts back body 10 so that a
caddy 20, which has a greater depth, can be accommodated in back
piece 4 when rack 2 is in a fully collapsed position (see FIGS.
9-10 and 14-15).
[0026] The top edges of back body 10 and front body 40 are hinged
together by one or more hinges 16 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Many
different types of hinges may be used. For example as depicted in
FIGS. 3 and 4, the hinges 16 may be formed of a first hinge part 52
and a second hinge part 54 linked by a hinge pin 56. The first part
of the hinge 16 is integrally formed with the back body 10 so as to
have a channel for a hinge pin, and the second part of the hinge 16
is integrally formed with the front body 40 so as to have a channel
for a hinge pin. The hinge pin is inserted in the channels provided
in the first and second hinge parts. Other hinge mechanisms might
be used, for example, a piano hinge or a resilient and flexible
strip of material might be attached by rivets, screws, adhesive or
other similar methods of attachment to the top edge 12 of back body
10 and to the top edge 42 of front body 40. In any case, the top
edge 12 of back body 10 is hinged to the top edge 42 of front body
40.
[0027] The bottom edges of back body 10 and front body 40 are
coupled by extension mechanism 18 (see FIG. 3) that is comprised of
hinges 60, 62 and 66 and hinge members 64 (visible in FIG. 2) and
68 (visible in FIG. 1). Many different types of extension
mechanisms may be used. For example, as depicted in FIG. 3,
extension mechanism 18 includes hinges 60, 62 and 66. Hinge 60 and
hinge 62 are linked by member 64. Hinge 62 and hinge 66 are linked
by member 68. With extension mechanism 18, the base of rack 2 may
be expanded to be fully extended in order to provide stability to
rack 2 when used to store bottles (see FIGS. 11 and 12). At other
times, the base of rack 2 may be folded so that back piece 4 and
front piece 6 are parallel, or nearly parallel, in order to
facilitate packing rack 2 into a smaller format, or for easy
carriage using handgrip apertures 32 and 52 (see FIGS. 9 and 10).
Back piece 4 and front piece 6 are splayed at an angle, depicted in
FIG. 3 as ANGLE, defined to have a vertex where the top edges of
the front and back pieces are hinged. In the fully extended
position of extension mechanism 18, the ANGLE of rack 2 is
maximized, and in the folded position of extension mechanism 18,
the ANGLE of rack 2 is minimized, possibly to zero or even
negative. There are many other extension mechanism that have a
fully extended position and a fully folded position that would have
equivalent functionality.
[0028] In an embodiment of the invention, an arrangement includes a
rack 2 (FIG. 3) and a corkscrew 78 (FIG. 6). Rack 2 is configured
to be capable of holding plural bottles. Rack 2 includes a first
holder 22 (FIG. 1) formed therein. The corkscrew 78 has a size and
shape to render it detachably attachable to the first holder
22.
[0029] In a first variant of the embodiment, rack 2 includes a back
piece 4 having a top edge 12 and a bottom edge 14 and a front piece
6 having a top edge 42 and a bottom edge 44. The top edge of the
front piece is hinged to the top edge of the back piece. Rack 2
further includes an extension mechanism 18 coupled between the
bottom edge of the back piece and the bottom edge of the front
piece.
[0030] In an example of the first variant of the embodiment, the
extension mechanism is capable of selectively expanding between a
first extent and a second extent. Back piece 4 and front piece 6
are splayed at a first splayed angle defined to have a vertex where
the top edges of the front and back pieces are hinged when the
extension mechanism is expanded to the first extent. Back piece 4
and front piece 6 are splayed at a second splayed angle defined to
have a vertex where the top edges of the front and back pieces are
hinged when the extension mechanism is expanded to the second
extent. The first splayed angle is less than the second splayed
angle.
[0031] In a second variant of the embodiment, first holder 22
includes a first recess and a first restraint. The first recess is
formed in the holder conformal to the size and the shape of the
corkscrew 78. The first restraint is capable of holding the
corkscrew in the first recess. Such restraint may be spring clips,
bolts, etc.
[0032] As depicted in FIG. 6, corkscrew 78 has two parts. First
part 84, with worm 86 attached can be pulled out of the surrounding
second part 88. By flipping the first part 84 in an end-to-end
fashion, the first part is again inserted into the second part 88.
The second part 88 functions as a torque amplifier to enable an
operator to have better control of inserting the worm 86 into the
cork of a bottle, for example, a wine bottle.
[0033] In an example of the second variant of the embodiment, the
first restraint includes flexible resilient tabs 80 (FIG. 5) fixed
to a perimeter of the first recess of holder 22. The flexible
resilient tabs are sized and positioned within the first recess to
permit the corkscrew to be pressed into the first recess manually.
The flexible resilient tabs are sized and positioned within the
first recess to render the corkscrew held within the first recess
with sufficient force to prevent it from falling out of the first
recess. The flexible resilient tabs are sized and positioned within
the first recess to permit the corkscrew to be manually urged out
of the first recess. See FIG. 5 where finger pull areas 82 are
reserved within the first recess of holder 22 so that corkscrew 78
does not block access to finger pull areas.
[0034] In a third variant of the embodiment, rack 2 includes a back
piece 4 and a front piece 6. The front piece has a plurality of
apertures 48 formed therein sized to accommodate a corresponding
plurality of bottles. The front piece includes restraints 94 (FIG.
7) disposed to protrude into each aperture in the front piece in a
way that provides friction between the restraint and a bottle that
might be passed through the aperture. The back piece has a
plurality of apertures 38 formed therein sized to accommodate a
corresponding plurality of bottles. The back piece includes
restraints (similar to 94 of FIG. 7) disposed to protrude into each
aperture in the back piece in a way that provides friction between
the restraint and a bottle that might be passed through the
aperture. Each aperture in the front piece corresponds to an
aperture in the back piece. Many types of frictional restraints may
be used.
[0035] In an example of the third variant of the embodiment (see
FIG. 7), the restraint in each aperture of the back piece includes
plural (in this example 2) round rubbery washers fixed to the back
piece and disposed to partially protrude into the aperture. The
restraint in each aperture of the front piece also includes plural
round rubbery washers fixed to the front piece and disposed to
partially protrude into the aperture.
[0036] In a fourth variant of the embodiment, the arrangement
further includes a foil cutter. The rack includes a second holder
24 formed in the rack. The foil cutter has a size and shape to
render it detachably attachable to second holder 24. The means to
render the foil cutter detachably attachable to second holder 24 is
any one of the means that renders the corkscrew detachably
attachable to the first holder 22.
[0037] In a fifth variant of the embodiment, the arrangement
further includes a reusable bottle stopper. The rack includes
another holder 26 formed in the rack. The reusable bottle stopper
has a size and shape to render it detachably attachable to holder
26. The means to render the reusable bottle stopper detachably
attachable to holder 26 is any one of the means that renders the
corkscrew detachably attachable to the first holder 22.
[0038] In an example of the fifth variant of the embodiment, the
arrangement further includes a foil cutter. The rack includes a
third holder 24 formed in the rack. The foil cutter has a size and
shape to render it detachably attachable to third holder 24. The
means to render the foil cutter detachably attachable to third
holder 24 is any one of the means that renders the corkscrew
detachably attachable to the first holder 22.
[0039] In yet another embodiment of the arrangement that includes
the rack and the corkscrew, the rack includes a back piece having a
top edge and a bottom edge, a front piece having a top edge and a
bottom edge and an extension mechanism. The top edge of the front
piece is hinged to the top edge of the back piece. The extension
mechanism is coupled between the bottom edge of the front piece and
the bottom edge of the back piece.
[0040] In a first variant of this embodiment, the front and back
pieces are formed of stainless steel, polished brass, bright plated
steel (e.g., chrome plated steel) or equivalent. A caddy 20 (see
FIG. 1), formed of a resilient material such as, but not limited
to, rubber, is press fitted into an aperture in the back piece to
be firmly held in the aperture.
[0041] A first holder 22 (FIG. 1) is formed in caddy 20. The
corkscrew has a size and shape to render it detachably attachable
to the first holder. A first recess 22 formed in the caddy
conformal to the size and the shape of the corkscrew so that the
resilient material of the caddy 20 makes the corkscrew attachable
to the caddy 20 with modest urging and equally detachable from the
caddy with modest pulling. Such resilient fit and friction form a
restraint capable of holding the corkscrew in first recess 22.
[0042] In a second variant of this embodiment, the back piece has
plural apertures formed therein sized to accommodate a
corresponding number of bottles. In this variant, the back piece
includes a restraint 98 (see FIG. 8) disposed to protrude into each
aperture in the back piece in a way that provides friction between
the restraint and a bottle that might be passed through the
aperture. Similarly, the front piece has plural apertures formed
therein sized to accommodate a corresponding number of bottles, and
each aperture in the front piece also includes a restraint 98
disposed to protrude into each aperture in the front piece in a way
that provides friction between the restraint and a bottle that
might be passed through the aperture. In this variant, restraint 98
is a resilient channel shaped member adhered to or snapped on lower
side of the apertures in the front and back pieces. For example, a
properly sized rubber channel may be snapped over the metal front
and back pieces in such a way to cover at least the lower portion
of the aperture. In fact, the rubber channel could be made as a
ring that extends around the circumference of the aperture. In
another example, a flexible resilient channel may be fixed to the
metal front and back pieces by application of an adhesive.
Alternatively, a material in liquid form, that can be cured to
become the resilient material that forms restraint 98, may be
painted, screened, sprayed, etc. onto the metal front and back
pieces and cured, for example, RTV (room temperature vulcanizing)
rubber may be applied in liquid form.
[0043] FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 depict the rack in folded configuration
from a front view, a top view and a side view, respectively.
[0044] Having described preferred embodiments of a novel
arrangement of a rack and a corkscrew (which are intended to be
illustrative and not limiting), it is noted that modifications and
variations can be made in light of the above teachings. It is
therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the
particular embodiments of the invention disclosed which are within
the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
[0045] Having thus described the invention with the details and
particularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and
desired protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended
claims.
* * * * *