GB2621166A

GB2621166A - A screw holding device

Info

Publication number: GB2621166A
Application number: GB2211419.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: O'donnell John
Original assignee: John Odonnell
Current assignee: JOHN O'DONNELL
Priority date: 2022-08-05
Filing date: 2022-08-05
Publication date: 2024-02-07
Also published as: GB202211419D0

Abstract

The screw holding device 10 includes a body 12 having a first surface 16 and a base 14 for engaging a surface for which, in use, a screw is to be driven. At least one elongate first aperture 20 is for engaging the screw. The aperture extends through the first surface and the base. The aperture has a flexible slot opening 24a. The first surface may be inclined relative to an axis a1 of the first aperture. The device may have a body with a second surface 18 inclined relative to an axis a2 of a second aperture 26. The apertures may have varying radii. There may be multiple apertures forming a first row 22 and a second row 28, with a central aperture 30 in between. The second apertures may be longer than the first apertures. A method for screwing includes placing the base against a surface, inserting a screw into an aperture, when the head of the screw engages the first surface of the device it exits the aperture through the elongate slot, screwing until the desired insertion is reached, and removing the device from the surface. The device is for helping insert screws correctly into a surface.

Description

A Screw Holding Device The present invention relates to a screw holding device and to a method of screwing a screw into a surface and relates 5 particularly, but not exclusively, to a device to aid screwing a screw into a surface.

When screwing a screw into a surface many difficulties can arise including trying the to keep the screw correctly positioned against the surface and maintaining sufficient force 10 into the head of the screw without it tipping over before the thread has caught into the surface. In many situations for example when fixing several screws into a wall to hold a painting, having the screws straight and perpendicular to the wall is essential. Without the aid of a device it can be difficult to stop the screw from wobbling and going off course.

There are devices available that can aid with keeping a screw straight during this process. However this practice includes an additional step of having to remove the device mid way through screwing. These devices have a tendency to slow down the process of fixing the screw to a surface or when screwing two fixtures together. In many cases when a user has multiple screw fixings to get through this slows down the procedure.

In other cases the device can get in the way making it 25 difficult for the user to see what they are doing, further slowing the process down.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome or alleviate the above described disadvantages of the prior art.

According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a screw holding device comprising: -2 -a body having a first surface and a base for engaging a surface for which, in use, a screw is to be driven; and at least one elongate first aperture for engaging the screw, said aperture extending through said first surface and said 5 base, wherein a first said apecure has a slot opening.

Having a slot opening in the aperture through which the screw is inserted allows the screw to exit through this opening. This prevents the user from having to remove the device from the screw by pulling it back through the aperture.

Once the screw has made contact with the first surface it exits through the flexible slot opening via a cam action force between the screw and that surface. Having a flexible slot opening further enhances the action of the screw exiting the slot. This flexibility further provides smooth and fast exiting of the screw by limiting the force needed to push it through, via the contact between the screw and first surface.

In a preferred embodiment the first surface is inclined relative to an axis of said first aperture.

Having an inclined surface increases the contact surface between the head of the screw and first surface. It enhances the cam action of the head of the screw against the first surface. In particular, where the screw head has a flat bottom surface (one which sits perpendicular to the axis of the screw) the inclined first surface allows a cam operation between the bottom of the screw and the first surface. Furthermore, where the bottom surface of the screw is inclined (a chamfered head screw for recessing into a surface) the inclined first surface and underside of the screw head work most efficiently as cooperating cam surfaces. This limits the screwing force needed to extract the screw through the slot opening. -3 -

Preferably the edges of the first aperture adjacent the slot opening are able to deform to allow the screw to exit the aperture.

In another preferred embodiment the body further comprises 5 a second surface, wherein said second surface has at least one second aperture extending therethrough and said second surface is inclined relative to an axis of said second aperture.

In an additional preferred embodiment the first and second surfaces have a plurality of said first and second apertures 10 having varying diameters.

Having several different aperture diameters enables the user to choose from a range of screws with varying diameters. In particular, the different sized holes can be provided for different diameter screws and the flexible slots also sized to easily allow the screw to exit Through the slot.

In a preferred embodiment the plurality of said first apertures form a first row and said plurality of said second apertures form a second row and said device further comprises a central aperture therebetween.

In another preferred embodiment the second apertures are longer than said first apertures.

This allows the user to use screws of varying lengths. It is important that a correct proportion of the screw is held in the device. A particular problem of screwing longer screws using a power screwdriver or drill is that until sufficient screw thread is engaged into the surface, the screw can start looping instead of rotating purely around its axis. In order to hold a sufficient proportion of a longer screw to prevent this looping a longer aperture is required. However, this longer aperture would be too long to allow a shorter screw to engage the surface. -4 -

According the another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for screwing a screw into a surface, using the device according to any preceding claim comprising the steps: placing said base against a surface into which a screw is to be inserted; inserting a screw into at least one of said first aperture; starting the screwing process; when the head of the screw engages the first surface 10 adjacent the aperture the action of the head of the screw and the first surface causes the screw to exit the aperture through the elongate slot; continue screwing the screw into the surface until it reaches the desired insertion; and removing the device from the surface.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a screw holding device of the 20 present invention; Figure 2 is a side view of the device of figure 1; and Figure 3 is a plan view of the device of figure 1.

Referring to figures 1 to 3 there is provided a screw holding device 10. Substantially rectangular in shape the screw 25 holding device 10 has a body 12 and a base 14, a first surface 16 and second surface 18. The body 12 has four sides with the base 14 located at the bottom of the device and the first and second surfaces, 16 and 18 respectively, located at the top. The base 14 is the area that engages with the surface into which a screw is to be driven. -s -

The first surface 16 has a plurality of a first apertures 20 that form a first row 22 and has an inclined surface relative to an axis al of the first apertures 20. In this example the inclined surface is at 55° relative to the al of the aperture, 5 although a variety of angles could be used. These apertures 20 increase in diameter with the first aperture 20a being located on the lefthand side and having the largest diameter suitable for a 6.5mm screw. The screw diameters decrease from 6.5 mm to 4 mm decreasing by increments of 0.5 mm, 20b -20f, allowing for 10 various sized screws to be easily inserted into the corresponding aperture. These screw diameters are marked onto the first surface 16 above the corresponding aperture and an indication line drawn in between. These apertures extend through the first surface 16 to the base 14 and have flexible slot openings 24a that open into a first side 25. The flexible slot openings 24a have curved edges to continue the round shape of the aperture and also extend from the first surface 16 to the base 14. In particular, the edges of the first aperture adjacent the slot opening are able to deform to allow the screw to exit the aperture. That deformation can be the edges of walls that form the aperture flexing to open the slot, that is the walls bend to open the slot wider to accommodate the exit of the screw. Alternatively, the walls can be formed with less ability to flex (for example by being thicker) but are able to compress (for example by being formed from a softer material) this being the deformation which allows the screw to exit.

The second surface 18 also has a plurality of second apertures 26 forming a second row 28 and has an inclined surface relative to an axis a2 of the second apertures 26. In this example the inclined surface is at 550 measure relative to the axis a2 (35° to the surface into which the screw is to be driven) although a variety of angles could be used. Furthermore, these apertures have varying diameters that correspond to the first apertures 20 of the first row 22. The second aperture 26a has -6 -the largest diameter corresponding to a 6.5 mm screw and the second aperture 26f has the smallest diameter for a 4 mm screw. The remaining second apertures 26b -26e decrease in size by 0.5 mm form left to right. The corresponding measurements are also drawn above the second apertures 26 along with an indication line. These apertures similarly extend through the second surface 18 and the base 14 and have flexible slot openings 24b that open into a central aperture 30.

The central aperture 30 is located between the first and second surface, 16 and 18 respectively and is wide enough to contain all of the flexible slot openings 24b of the second apertures 26. This central aperture 30 also has a length large enough to enable screws to comfortably exit through the slot openings (on the second apertures 26) into the central aperture without interacting with the opposite surface of central aperture 30.

To facilitate different lengths of screws that can be used with the device the second apertures 26 are longer than the first apertures, and therefore the second surface 18 is higher 20 than the first surface 16 relative to the base 14.

A third surface 32 extends from the top of the second surface 18 with an angle of 55' to the axis a2 between them, although other angles could be used.

The screw holding device is created using an injection moulding process and is made from a thermoplastic polymer. Preferably the device is made from Polypropylene but other Lhermop1asLic can be used including, buL noL limiLed Lo, nylon and PVC.

Operation of the screw holding device will be described.

Once a user has chosen a suitable screw needed for a particular job, the device 10 is held and the corresponding aperture relative to the screw's diameter and length is located. For the purpose of this description a short screw with a 6.5 mm diameter is being used. The base 14 is placed on a surface and the first aperture 20a is moved over the spot where the screw is to be placed.

The screw is inserted through the first aperture 20a on the 5 first row 22 of the first surface 16 until its point is touching the surface on which the base 14 is placed.

The screw is then screwed into the surface using, for example, a handheld or electric screwdriver.

As the screw burrows into the surface, the thread of the screw draws the screw into the surface until the underside of the screw head makes contact with the incline of the first surface 16. As screwing continues to pull the head of the screw towards the first surface, these two interacting surfaces act as a cam surface. With further driving of the screw into the surface, this force acts on the screw pushing the device away from the screw forcing the screw through the flexible slot opening 24a thereby causing the screw to exit the first aperture 20a. The user does not need to stop and can continue screwing the screw into the surface until the desired insertion is achieved.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the protection which is defined by the appended claims. For example, is the first and second surfaces were not included relaLive Lo Lhe axis of Lhe aperLdres, in oLher words Lhey were parallel to the surface into which the screw was being driven, then the device would still work if using conical headed screws for countersinking as the inclined surface of the underside of the screw head would act as a cam surface against the horizontal upper surface of the device. -8 -

Claims

Claims 1. A screw holding device comprising: a body having a first surface and a base for engaging a surface for which, in use, a screw is to be driven; and at least one elongate first aperture for engaging the screw, said aperture extending through said first surface and said base, wherein a first said aperture has a flexible slot opening.
2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said first surface is inclined relative to an axis of said first aperture.
3. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein said body further comprises a second surface, wherein said second surface has at least one second aperture extending therethrough and said second surface is inclined relative to an axis of said second aperture.
4. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein said first surface has a plurality of said first apertures having varying radii.
S. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein said second surface has a plurality of said second apertures having 20 varying radii.
6. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein said plurality of said first apertures form a first row and said plurality of said second apertures form a second row and said device further comprises a central aperture therebetween.
7. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein said second apertures are longer than said first apertures.
8. A method for screwing a screw into a surface, using the device according to any preceding claim comprising the steps: placing said base against a surface into which a screw is 30 to be inserted; inserting a screw into at least one of said first aperture; -9 -starting the screwing process; when the head of the screw engages the first surface adjacent the aperture the action of the head of the screw and the first surface causes the screw to exit the aperture through the 5 elongate slot; continue screwing the screw into the surface until it reaches the desired insertion; and removing the device from the surface.