Automatic screw driver

Claim 2

In a screw driver the combination of an axially movable screw driver sleeve means having a screw feed passage to recieve a charge of individual screws, a plurality of jaws carried by said sleeve means opening in a radial direction to release a headed screw point-first between them and externally defining a wrench surface when closed, rotatable wrench means axially receiving said headed screw and closing said jaws to reciprocably engage said wrench surface in rotationally drive relationship, drive means for rotating said wrench means and thereby said jaws, and means at the end of said closed jaws axially engaging the head of said screw in rotary drive relationship.

Claim 3

The combination called for in claim 1 including a housing enclosing said sleeve means and supporting said wrench means for relative rotation and axial movement thereof, means supported by said housing resiliently urging said sleeve means to move said jaws out of engagement with said wrench means.

Claim 4

The combination called for in claim 1 including screw feed escapement means ahead of the jaws actuated by relative axial movement between said wrench means and sleeve means to feed screws individually to said jaws.

Claim 5

The combination called for in claim 1 in which said rotatable wrench means includes an axially polarized cylindrical magnet.

Claim 6

The combination called for in claim 4 including paramagnetic springs at the mouth of said wrench means to guide the shank of a screw into said wrench means.

Claim 7

The combination called for in claim 1 in which said wrench means includes cam means diverging towards said jaws to close the jaws as they are advanced into said engagement with said wrench means.

Claim 8

The combination called for in claim 3 in which said escapement means comprises a rocking member pivotally mounted on said sleeve means and including longitudinally spaced pallet teeth alternately moved into said screw feed passage and spaced a distance related to the length of the shortest of said screws, said rocking member being actuated in one direction by said wrench means, and resilient means for actuating said rocking member in the opposite direction.

Claim 9

The combination called for in claim 1 in which said drive means comprises a tubular member supporting said sleeve means and defining a compartment in which said jaws are received for expansion, said sleeve means having a reduced lower end portion defining a non-circular section receiving said wrench means for rotary drive purposes, and manually actuated means for actuating said rotating means and reciprocating said sleeve means and said wrench means.

Claim 10

A screw driver comprising, a portable housing means having a handle, a rotary drive means journalled in said housing means, a driven wrench means rotated by and axially movable with respect to said drive means and defining a screw receiving compartment and a wrenching contour, screw driver means having a loose screw magazine through it to feed a screw one at a time to said compartment upon relative reciprocation advanced by said housing means towards a workpiece, and said screw driver Means including a screw driving member to axially interengage and advance said screw from said compartment and interengage said wrenching contour to rotationally drive said axially engaged screw.

Claim 11

A screw driver comprising, a portable housing means having a handle, a rotary drive means journalled in said housing means, a driven wrench means rotated by and axially movable with respect to said drive means and defining a screw receiving compartment and a wrenching contour, screw driver means having a loose screw magazine through it to feed a screw one at a time to said compartment upon relative reciprocation advanced by said housing means towards a workpiece, and said screw driver Means including a screw driving member to axially interengage and advance said screw from said compartment and interengage said wrenching contour to rotationally drive said axially engaged screw.

Claim 12

The screw driver defined in claim 9 comprising, a plurality of jaws which separate in a radial direction when free to do so in said compartment, and means for feeding a screw to said wrenching contour through the separated jaws.

Claim 13

The screw driver defined in claim 10 including cam means between said screw receiving compartment and said wrenching contour to close said jaws and guide said closed jaws into said wrenching contour.

Claim 14

The screw driver in claim 10 in which said screw driver comprises, separable jaws closed to define said screw driver bit on the lower end to interengage the head of said screw and said wrenching contour in rotary relationship, and escapement means actuated by relative movement between said drive means and driven sleeve for feeding screws one at a time between said jaws to said wrenching contour when the jaws are open in said compartment.

Claim 15

The screw driver defined in claim 9 in which manipulation of the handle moves the housing towards and away from a work piece, and including resilient means interconnecting said driven sleeve and said housing to urge retraction of said screw driver means from said wrenching contour on said driven sleeve.

Claim 16

The screw driver defined in claim 9 in which said housing means includes a non-rotative lower cup means enclosing said driven wrench member, a guide sleeve non-rotatively supported reciprocably on the lower cup means and supporting the wrench means with respect to a work piece, bearing means interengaging said lower cup means and said guide for relative rotation and support of said drive means with respect to said work piece, and resilient means between said screw driver means at one end and said housing and screw driver means at the other end to urge said interengagement and retraction of said screw driver means with respect to the work piece.

Claim 17

The screw driver defined in claim 9 in which said screw driver means comprises a tubular lower portion, jaw means having transverse pivot pins adjacent their upper ends and being recessed to receive the shank of a screw between them when closed, escapement means having transverse pivot means intermediate their ends and pallets at their ends with the respective pivot pins and pivot means arranged for portions of the escapement means and jaw means to overlap, slot means in said tubular lower portion adjacent the lower end and having transverse chordal openings in the wall of the tubular portion receiving said pivot pins, resilient means engaging said overlapping portions for urging them each to one of their two alternate positions, and means carried by said driven wrench means actuating said jaw means and escapement means to the other one of said alternate positions.

Claim 18

A portable powered screw driver comprising a housing having a mid portion supported by a handle, ring gear means journalled in said mid portion, drive sleeve means reciprocably engaging said ring gear means in driven relation and defining at its lower end a chamber terminating in a non-circular section defining an opening, driven sleeve means reciprocably journalled in said drive sleeve means and having a screw feed passage through the center thereof, a wrench member supported in said non-circular section for rotation thereby and defining an internal wrenching contour through which screws pass one at a time, a pair of jaws pivoted to the lower end of said driven sleeve means and reciprocable therewith in said chamber to open in said chamber and pass a screw therethrough and close to engage in said wrench member the head of the screw passed and to enter said section to advance said screw and be rotated by said wrench member, screw driver bit means on the lower ends of said jaws To engage and rotate said screw, and escapement means interengaging said drive and driven sleeve means to pass screws one at a time from said screw feed passage into said chamber during said reciprocation of the jaws.

Claim 19

A portable powered screw driver comprising a housing having a mid portion supported by a handle, ring gear means journalled in said mid portion, drive sleeve means reciprocably engaging said ring gear means in driven relation and defining at its lower end a chamber terminating in a non-circular section defining an opening, driven sleeve means reciprocably journalled in said drive sleeve means and having a screw feed passage through the center thereof, a wrench member supported in said non-circular section for rotation thereby and defining an internal wrenching contour through which screws pass one at a time, a pair of jaws pivoted to the lower end of said driven sleeve means and reciprocable therewith in said chamber to open in said chamber and pass a screw therethrough and close to engage in said wrench member the head of the screw passed and to enter said section to advance said screw and be rotated by said wrench member, screw driver bit means on the lower ends of said jaws To engage and rotate said screw, and escapement means interengaging said drive and driven sleeve means to pass screws one at a time from said screw feed passage into said chamber during said reciprocation of the jaws.

Claim 20

The screw driver defined in claim 16 in which said wrench member is a magnet axially polarized.

Claim 21

The screw driver defined in claim 16 in which said wrench member includes spring fingers flexing downwardly in said wrenching coutour to guide the shank of a screw received therein.

Claim 22

The screw driver defined in claim 16 including a screw magazine, a driven sleeve receiving said magazine in said passage and having a radial aperture through the wall thereof, a snap-on spring disposed on said driven sleeve means at the level of said aperture and carrying one member of a two element detent means extending into said aperture, and said magazine carrying the other member of the detent means on the wall thereof a predetermined distance from its discharge end and releasably engaging said one member of detent means.