Nail-screw holder

Claim 2

A holder for releasably retaining fasteners during driving operations comprising: a tool engaging portion with leading and trailing ends, and a fastener-head receiving member secured to the leading end of the tool engaging portion, said receiving member including a sleeve in surrounding relation to said tool engaging portion and a flexible membrane across the leading end of said sleeve and spaced from the leading end of the tool engaging portion to define a shallow receptacle therein, said flexible membrane provided with at least one slotted portion forming a selfclosing opening therethrough dimensioned for insertion of the head of a fastener into engagement with the leading end of the tool engaging portion, said slotted portion located centrally of said membrane and terminating short of the leading end of said sleeve, the resiliency of the receiving member being such as to grip the fastener and yieldingly maintain it in engagement with the leading end of the tool engaging portion.

Claim 3

The holder of claim 1 wherein said membrane is convex and has intersecting slotted portions defining flexible flaps in said membrane to allow the head of a fastener to be inserted through the opening and into engagement with the leading end of the tool engaging portion.

Claim 4

The holder of claim 1 wherein the leading end of the tool engaging portion is concave defining a seat for the head of the fastener.

Claim 5

The holder of claim 3 wherein the concave leading end of the tool engaging portion has a centrally located indentation for receiving small sized fastener heads.

Claim 6

The holder of claim 1 wherein said sleeve tightly surrounds the leading end of the tool engaging portion.

Claim 7

The holder of claim 5 wherein said receiving member is made of a rubber-like material.

Claim 8

The holder of claim 6 wherein said tool engaging portion is made of a hardened steel material.

Claim 9

A holder for releasably retaining nails and the like during nail-driving operations comprising: an elongated cylindrical shank of hardened steel having a trailing end adapted to be contacted with a driving tool and a leading end adapted to seat the head of a nail, said leading end having a forwardly directed concave face with a centrally located indentation in the concave face, and a knurled intermediate portion to facilitate gripping of the holder, and an axial extension sleeve member of a rubber-like material bonded to and circumscribing the leading end of the shank, a resilient retainer portion extending across the leading end of said extension sleeve member axially spaced from the concave leading end of the shank and having intersecting slotted portions forming a self-closing opening in said retainer portion, said slotted portions terminating short of the leading end of said sleeve and defining adjacent circumferentially spaced resilient flap means of limited flexibility to allow the head of a nail to be inserted through the opening and into engagement with the leading end of the shank whereby the head is releasably retained by the resilient flaps in the axial space between the retainer portion and the leading end of said shank.

Claim 10

A holder for releasably retaining nails and the like during nail-driving operations comprising: an elongated cylindrical shank of hardened steel having a trailing end adapted to be contacted with a driving tool and a leading end adapted to seat the head of a nail, said leading end having a forwardly directed concave face with a centrally located indentation in the concave face, and a knurled intermediate portion to facilitate gripping of the holder, and an axial extension sleeve member of a rubber-like material bonded to and circumscribing the leading end of the shank, a resilient retainer portion extending across the leading end of said extension sleeve member axially spaced from the concave leading end of the shank and having intersecting slotted portions forming a self-closing opening in said retainer portion, said slotted portions terminating short of the leading end of said sleeve and defining adjacent circumferentially spaced resilient flap means of limited flexibility to allow the head of a nail to be inserted through the opening and into engagement with the leading end of the shank whereby the head is releasably retained by the resilient flaps in the axial space between the retainer portion and the leading end of said shank.