2. Prior Art
Prior art methods of removing a broken cork typically require that the remaining cork be pushed into the bottle. The cork is then either retrieved with various wire or net devices, or filtered from the wine.
FIG. 1 is a side view of the side portion of a typical prior art corkscrew. In one embodiment, the current invention provides a substantially larger diameter of the spiral portion in order to avoid the crumbled middle portion of a broken cork, so that the spiral portion may be inserted near the side wall of the cork.
FIGS. 2A-2C is a side view of various prior art cork removal devices which comprise a prior art spiral portion as illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2A shows an example “screwpull” device, FIG. 2B shows an example “waiter's friend” device, and FIG. 2C shows an example “butterfly” device.