Patent Application
20170305000
The invention relates generally to a screwdriver. More particularly, the invention relates to a screwdriver having a retention mechanism which prevents a screw from prematurely disengaging from the screwdriver.
Various publications, including patents, published applications, technical articles and scholarly articles are cited throughout the specification. Each of these cited publications is incorporated by reference herein, in its entirety and for all purposes.
A screwdriver is a tool for turning screws and typically includes a handle, a shaft, and a shaped tip that a user inserts into the screw to turn it. Screwdrivers are classified according to the size and shape of their tips, which correspond to driving surfaces (e.g., slots, grooves, recesses, etc.) on the screw head. The tip can have a wide range of known shapes and sizes, including for example flat, phillips, hexagonal, star-shaped, pentalobe, and hexalobe.
One common problem with screwdrivers is a tendency for the screw to prematurely disengage from the screwdriver before the screw is secured in the desired substrate. This is particularly an issue when the screw is being installed in tight spaces or at extreme angles. In such conditions, the user may be unable to stabilize the screw while it is turned. Surgical procedures are an example of a situation in which screws are used and tight spaces or extreme angles are encountered. A screw becoming disengaged from the screwdriver prematurely during surgery potentially causes frustration, an inability to insert the screw, or even injury to the patient in rare cases. Other possible situations where premature disengagement is problematic include automotive, aerospace, underwater, and high wind environments.
Accordingly, a screwdriver which includes a retention mechanism that is able to prevent premature disengagement of a screw from the screwdriver is desirable.
The invention features a screwdriver which reduces the likelihood of premature disengagement of a screw from the screwdriver.
In one embodiment, the screwdriver includes a shaft having a central axis; a tip radially aligned with the central axis of the shaft having an end opposite the shaft, at least one radial protrusion extending away from the, central axis, and a notch; and a screw retention mechanism including a flexible member aligned with the notch and attached to either the tip or the shaft. The flexible member has an unattached end which is separated from the second end of the tip. When the tip is inserted into a recess of a screw, the flexible member bends toward the central axis and creates an opposing elastic force which holds the screw to the tip. The tip may be integral with the shaft, or may be detachable from the shaft. The tip may have six lobe-shaped protrusions. The flexible element may be a separate element from the tip and the shaft, or may be integral with the tip and the shaft. The notch may be in the radial protrusion, or may be in a valley adjacent to the at least one radial protrusion. The valley is defined by a radial height less than the radial height of the at least one radial protrusion.
In another embodiment, the screwdriver includes a shaft having a shaft having a central axis; a tip radially aligned with the central axis of the shaft having an end opposite the shaft, at least one regular protrusion, and at least one notched protrusion; and a flexible member aligned with the notched protrusion and attached to either the tip or the shaft. The flexible member has an unattached end which is separated from the end of the tip and a raised section adjacent to the unattached end. When the flexible member is in an unstressed position, a leading edge of the unattached end has a radial height less than a radial height of the at least one regular protrusion and the raised section has a radial height greater than the radial height of the at least one regular protrusion. When the tip is inserted into a recess of a screw, the flexible member bends toward the central axis and creates an opposing elastic force which holds the screw to the tip. The tip may be integral with the shaft, or may be detachable from the shaft. The tip may have six lobe-shaped protrusions, one of which is the notched protrusion. The flexible element may be a separate element from the tip and the shaft, or may be integral with the tip and the shaft.
In another embodiment, the screwdriver includes a shaft having a central axis; a tip radially aligned with the central axis of the shaft having an end opposite the shaft, at least one radial protrusion, a regular valley on a first side of the at least one radial, protrusion, and a notched valley on, a second side of the at least one radial protrusion opposite the first side; and a flexible member aligned with the notched valley and attached to either the tip or the shaft. The flexible member has an unattached end which is separated from the end of the tip and a raised section adjacent to the unattached end. When the flexible member is in an unstressed position, the unattached end has a radial height less than a radial height of the regular valley and the raised section has a radial height greater than the radial height of the at regular valley. When the tip is inserted into a recess of a screw, the flexible member bends toward the central axis and creates an opposing elastic farce which holds the screw to the tip. The tip may be integral with the shaft, or may be detachable from the shaft. The tip may have six lobe-shaped protrusions. The flexible element may be a separate element from the tip and the shaft, or may be integral with the tip and the shaft.
It is to be understood that both, the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, but are not restrictive, of the invention.
The invention is best understood from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing. It is emphasized that, according to common practice, the various features of the drawing are not to scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. Included in the drawing are the following figures:
When referring to the drawing, like reference numbers refer to like elements throughout the various figures that comprise the drawing.
Various terms are used throughout the specification and claims. Such terms are to be given their ordinary meaning in the art, unless otherwise indicated. Other specifically defined terms are to be construed in a manner consistent with the definition provided herein.
As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless expressly stated otherwise.
The invention provides screwdrivers that include screw retention mechanisms to prevent premature disengagement of a screw from a tip of the screwdriver. The screwdrivers include a shaft having a central axis, a tip, and a flexible member attached either to the tip or the shaft. When the tip of the screwdriver is inserted into a recess of a screw, the flexible member flexes toward the central axis and fits inside the recess. The elastic force supplied by the flexed elastic member provides for a tension fit which hold the screw to the screwdriver. Once the screw is secured in the desired substrate, the user may remove the screwdriver tip from the screw simply by the pulling on the screwdriver parallel to the length of the shaft. Because screwdrivers are designed to fit standard screw shapes and sizes, they further have the advantage of not requiring special fasteners that would increase cost and complexity of use.
Referring to
The tip 120 is shaped to fit a slot or recess on a corresponding screw. For example, the tip 120 may be shaped to fit a corresponding screw having any standard recess shape, including, but not limited to, flat, cross, phillips, pentalobular, hexalobular, etc. The tip 120 includes at least one radial protrusion which extends away from the central axis CL1. In the embodiment depicted in
The screw retention mechanism of the screwdriver 100 includes an elastic member 140 which is aligned with the notch of the truncated protrusion 126. The elastic member 140 may be made of any suitable flexible, elastic material, for example metal or rubber. In the embodiment depicted in
When the tip 120 is inserted into the recess of a corresponding screw, the unattached end 142 will flex, for example, bend down, toward the central axis CL1 to fit the raised section 144 inside the recess, causing the raised section 144 to press against the inside of the recess, creating a tension fit which holds the screw to the tip 120 of the screwdriver 100. The raised section 144 and the truncated protrusion 126 are sized so that the combined height of the raised section 144 and the truncated protrusion 126 (the distance from the central axis CL1) is approximately the same as or less than as the heights of the regular protrusions 128 so that the tip 120 and elastic member 140 are able to;fit in the corresponding screw. To further facilitate attaching the screw to the tip 120, the tip 120 may extend beyond the unattached end 142 of the elastic member 140. This gap between the second end 124 of the tip 120 and the unattached end 142 of the elastic member 140 allows the regular protrusions 128 to enter the screw recess first and ensure proper alignment between the tip 120 and the screw. Otherwise, were the tip 120 and the screw recess misaligned, the flexible member 140 may not enter the recess and instead by splayed out (e.g., forced away from, rather than toward, the central axis CL1).
Once the screw is secured in the appropriate location, the screwdriver 100 may be easily disengaged from the screw by simply pulling away from the screw parallel to the central axis CL1. Although the elastic member 140 generates sufficient tension to prevent premature disengagement of the screw from the screwdriver 100, it does not hold the screw so tightly to the tip 120 that normal operation of the screwdriver (i.e., inserting the tip 120 into the screw, turning the screw in the substrate, and removing the tip 120 from the screw) is not interfered with.
Referring to
The tip 220 is shaped to fit a slot or recess on a corresponding screw. For example, the tip 220 may be shaped to fit a corresponding screw having any standard recess shape, including, but not limited to, flat, cross, phillips, pentalobular, hexalobular, etc. The tip 220 includes at least one radial protrusion which extends away from the central axis CL2. In the embodiment depicted in
The screw retention mechanism of the screwdriver 200 includes the elastic member 240 which is aligned with the notch of the truncated, protrusion 226. The elastic member 240 has an unattached end 242 which is separate from an end 224 of the tip 220 in an unstressed position. The unattached end 242 includes, a raised section 244, in the embodiments pictured in MS. 2A-2C, the raised section 244 is a protrusion extending away from the central axis CL2. In an unstressed position, the raised section 244 has a height (the distance from the central axis CL2) which is greater than the height of the regular protrusions 228. The height of the elastic member 240 at the unattached end 242, however, is less than the height of the regular protrusions 228 in the unstressed position, allowing the unattached end 242 to be inserted along with the tip 220 into a corresponding screw.
When the tip 220 is inserted into the recess of the corresponding screw, the unattached end 242 will flex, for example, bend down toward the central axis CL2 to fit inside the recess, causing the raised section 244 to press against the inside of the recess, creating a tension fit which holds the screw to the tip 220 of the screwdriver 200. The raised section 244 and the truncated protrusion 226 are sized so that the combined height of the raised section 244 and the truncated protrusion 226 (the distance from the central axis CL2) is approximately the same as or less than as the heights of the regular protrusions 228 so that the tip 220 and elastic member 240 are able to fit in the corresponding screw.
Once the screw is secured in the appropriate location, the screwdriver 200 may be easily disengaged from the screw by simply pulling away from the screw parallel to the central axis L2. Although the elastic member 240 generates sufficient tension to prevent premature disengagement of the screw from the screwdriver 200, it does not hold the screw so tightly to the tip 220 that normal operation of the screwdriver (e.g., inserting the tip 220 into the screw, turning the screw in the substrate, and removing the tip 220 from the screw) is not interfered with.
Referring to FIGS, 3A-38, a screwdriver 300 having a screw retention mechanism is provided according to another embodiment of the invention. The screwdriver 300 includes a shaft 310, a tip 320, and an elastic member 340. The tip 320 is radially aligned with a central axis CL3 of the shaft 310. A first end 322 of the tip 320 is attached to the shaft 310 and a second end 324 is opposite the first end 322. The shaft 310 and the tip 320 may be integral (e.g., formed from a single piece), permanenty attached (e.g., formed from separate pieces but attached in a way does not allow separation), or removably attached (for example, to allow multiple tips to be attached to a single shaft).
The tip 320 is shaped to fit a slot or recess on a corresponding screw. For example, the tip 320 may be shaped to fit a corresponding screw having any standard recess shape, including, but not limited to, flat, cross, phillips, pentalobular, hexalobular, etc. The tip 320 includes at least one radial protrusion 326 which extends away from the central axis CL3. In the embodiment depicted in
The screw retention mechanism of the screwdriver 300 includes an elastic member 340 which is aligned with the notched valley 330. The elastic member 340 may be made of any suitable flexible, elastic material, for example metal or rubber. In the embodiment depicted in
When the tip 320 is inserted into the recess of a corresponding screw, the unattached end 342 will flex, for example, bend down, toward the central axis CL3 to fit inside the recess, causing the raised section 344 to press against the inside of the recess, creating a tension fit which holds the screw to the tip 320 of the screwdriver 300. The raised section 344 and the notch valley 330 are sized so that the combined height of the raised section 344 and the notched valley 330 (the distance from the central axis CL3) is approximately the same or less than as the heights of the regular valleys 328 so that the tip 320 and the elastic member 340 are able to fit in the corresponding screw. To further facilitate attaching the screw to the tip 320, the tip 320 may extend beyond the unattached end 342 of the elastic member 340. This gap between the second end 324 of the tip 320 and the unattached end 342 of the elastic member 340 allows the protrusions 326 to enter the screw recess first and ensure proper alignment between the tip 320 and the screw. Otherwise, were the tip 320 and the screw recess misaligned, the flexible member 340 may not enter the recess and instead by splayed out (e.g., forced away from, rather than toward, the central axis CL3).
Once the screw is secured in the appropriate location, the screwdriver 300 may be easily disengaged from the screw by simply pulling away from the screw parallel to the central axis CL3. Although the elastic member 340 generates sufficient tension to prevent premature disengagement of the screw from the screwdriver 300, it does not hold the screw so tightly to the tip 320 that normal operation of the screwdriver (e.g., inserting the tip 320 into the screw, turning the screw in the substrate, and removing the tip 320 from the screw) is, not interfered with.
Referring to
The tip 420 is shaped to fit a slot or recess on a corresponding screw. For example, the tip 420 may be shaped to fit a corresponding screw having any standard recess shape, including, but not limited to, flat, cross, phillips, pentalobular, hexalobular, etc. The tip 420 includes at least one radial protrusion 426 which extends away from the central axis CL4. In the embodiment depicted in
The screw retention mechanism of the screwdriver 400 includes the elastic member 440 which is aligned with the notched valley 430. The elastic member 440 has an unattached end 442 which is separate from an end 424 of the tip 420 in an unstressed position. The unattached end 442 includes a raised section 444. In the embodiments pictured in
When the tip 420 is inserted into the recess of the corresponding screw, the unattached end 442 will flex, for example, bend down, toward the central axis CL4 to fit inside the recess, causing the raised section 444 to press against the inside of the recess, creating a tension fit which holds the screw to the tip 420 of the screwdriver 400. The raised section 444 and the notched valley 430 are sized so that the combined height of the raised section 444 and the notched valley 430 (the distance from the central axis CL4) is approximately the same as or less than as the heights of the regular valleys 428 so that the tip 420 and elastic member 440 are able to fit in the corresponding screw.
Once the screw is secured in the appropriate location, the screwdriver 400 may be disengaged from the screw by simply pulling away from the screw parallel to the central axis CL4. Although the, elastic member 440 generates sufficient tension to prevent premature disengagement of the screw from the screwdriver 400, it does not hold the screw so tightly to the tip 420 that normal operation of the screwdriver (e.g., inserting the tip 420 into the screw, turning the screw in the substrate, and removing the tip 420 from the screw) is not interfered with.
The screwdrivers 100, 200, 300, 400 may also include a handle (not shown) which is fixably or removably attached to or integral with the shaft 110, 120, 130, 140 of the respective screwdriver on the opposite end of the shaft from the tip. The handle may permit the user to better grip and rotate the shaft in order to turn the screw. Detatchable handle may allow for different sized grips to be attached to the shaft to accommodate different sized hands. The handle may also be integral with the shaft.
The invention is not limited to the embodiments described and exemplified above, but is capable of variation and modification within the scope of the appended claims.
