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The sharp, thin memory alloy pick is pressed through the cork, keeping it above the surface of the wine. At the push of a button, the tip heats up causing it to bend sideways. Pull out the cork.
The competition.
http://froogle.goog...&tab=ff&oi=froogler
[daseva, Jun 03 2005]
[link]
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Yeah, cause I was getting really sick of those "rabbit" corkscrews. |
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How does the tip get heated? |
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Much like a soldering iron, I'd imagine. |
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Resistive heating of nitinol, for instance, causes it to shrink in linear dimension by 5-10%. I'm not so sure that it can be made to "bend sideways" with enough strength to pull a cork. Might require a hinged tip of (for instance) stainless steel, actuated sideways by the nitinol. |
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Thin strips of Nitinol have resistances on the order of a few Ohms, suitable to create a few Watts from a few Volts (i.e. AA batteries.) This should be able to create a 40-50 degree C temperature rise, and suitable shrinkage. |
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