Patent Application
20200368884
Not applicable.
This invention relates to an apparatus to hold a screw on a screw driver.
Other products on the market utilize a tweezer like device to secure the screw to the screwdriver. This results in an unstable mount as there is no spring to provide additional tension. The prior art utilizes friction fit or clamping to hold the screw. These options do not utilized a compression force that pushes the screw against the tip of the screw driver. Further, other products are not easily disengaged from the screw. This results in difficulty utilizing the screw driver in narrow spaces as the screw mount itself may interfere. Finally, other products have a cumbersome process to attach the screw to the device which requires excessive time to take the device off the screw and attach to the next. A need exists for a device that is stable, easy to engage and disengage, and easy to move out of the way.
The present device utilizes a base, a spring, and a hook to hold a screw onto the tip of a screw driver. The base is secured to the shaft of a screw driver with a locking screw. The spring is connected to the base and to a hook. A screw is placed onto the hook and the spring is stretched to allow the screw to fit onto the screw driver tip. The spring then compresses holding the screw against the screwdriver tip. The user may then rotate the screwdriver while holding onto the screw mount device to get the screw started. Once started, the user then disengages the hook from the screw by pulling the hook against the compression force of the spring. The hook may then be stored on the base.
As seen in
The ring base 10, shown in more detail in
A square projection 23 extends from exterior face 13 of the cylindrical sidewall 11 between the first cutout 19 and second cutout 21. The square projection 23 has a flat top face 24 with an opening 25. A channel 26 extends from the opening 25 through the square projection 23 and through the cylindrical sidewall 11 and terminates at opening 27. The interior surface of channel 26 is threaded 28. In the preferred embodiment the square projection 23 and the ring base 10 are integral and constructed of metal or other suitably hard material. In the preferred embodiment the projection 23 is square but other shapes could be utilized.
The locking screw 30 comprises a head 31 and a shaft 35. The head 31 may a flat bottom surface 32 and a cylindrical sidewall 33 having a textured exterior surface. The head may further have a drive of any shape including but not limited to flat, Phillips, hex or torx. The shaft 35 has threads 36 on the exterior. The locking screw 30 is sized to mate with the threads 28 of the ring base 10. In an alternative embodiment the pin may not have threads and have frictional fit within the channel.
The spring 40 comprises a spring extension body 41, first connection loop 42, and second connection loop 43.
As seen in more detail in
In the preferred embodiment, the locking screw 30 is threaded into the ring base 10 through opening 25. The first connection loop 42 of the spring 40 is secured to the ring base 10 by the portion of the cylindrical sidewall 11 between the first cutout 19 and the beveled second rim 17. Alternatively, the connection loop 42 of the spring 40 may be connected to the portion of the cylindrical sidewall 11 between the second cutout 21 and the beveled second rim 17. The second connection loop 43 of the spring 41 is connected to the connection loop 51 of the hook 50.
In operation, as seen in
The user then twists the screw mount device 1 to start the screw 80 in the desired location. The twisting of the screw mount device 1 causes the shaft 72 of the screwdriver 70 to rotate. Once the screw 80 is started within the hole, the hook 50 is pulled away from the head 81 of the screw 80 and removed. Once the screw mount device 1 has been used to secure the screws, the user will set the screw mount device 1 in the locked position by anchoring the bend 55 of the hook 50 to the beveled first rim 15 as seen in
Each beveled service is intended to serve as a ramp to allow the connections to be made more smoothly such as insertion of the first connection loop 42 to within the first cutout 19. Additionally, the beveled surfaces help prevent the screw mount device 1 from catching on other surfaces.
In alternative embodiment the ring base may not be ring and instead have angled walls. The size of the first and second cutouts are designed to reduce the weight of the base but also allow the spring to move along the rim of the base.
The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations will be possible to the disclosed embodiments without going outside the scope of the invention as disclosed in the claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/851,186 filed May 22, 2019 entitled Mounting Screw and Locking Device which is incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62851186 | May 2019 | US |
