Embedded Screw Holder With Magnetic Alignment Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual deployment of screws is inefficient due to the time spent fishing and aligning screws, and existing screw strips are either limited in capacity or unwieldy for manual use.
Innovation Solution
A fastener support system with embedded screws, a magnet configuration for tactile feedback, and a holder with adjustable features to facilitate hands-free use and correct alignment, allowing screws to be easily inserted into a surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If screws are stored in a box or container, then storage capacity is high, but time and effort are spent on fishing and aligning screws
Solution Approach 1:
The screws are pre-loaded into the fastener support in the correct orientation and spacing before use. The fastener support is pre-configured with guide channels that automatically align the screws as they are deployed, eliminating the need for manual fishing and alignment during the fastening operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple screws are nested within the fastener support structure, with each screw positioned in a designated slot or channel. The fastener support itself is nested within or attached to the holder, creating a hierarchical nesting arrangement that consolidates multiple fasteners into a single deployable unit.
2Quantity of substance
If screw strips are made longer to hold more screws, then storage capacity increases, but they become unwieldy for manual use
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener support is divided into multiple modular sections or compartments, each capable of holding a specific number of screws. This segmentation allows the overall system to hold many screws while maintaining a compact, manageable form factor that is easy to handle manually, as opposed to a single long continuous strip.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of arranging screws in a single linear dimension (long strip), the fastener support utilizes two or three dimensions by arranging screws in rows and columns within a compact block or grid structure. This dimensional transformation increases storage capacity while keeping the overall footprint small and easy to handle.
3Manufacturing precision
If screws are embedded in a block of material, then alignment and orientation are ensured, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The block of material is made from a flexible or semi-flexible polymer that can deform elastically during screw deployment. This flexibility simplifies the overall device structure by eliminating the need for rigid, complex mechanical alignment mechanisms, while still ensuring precise screw orientation through the molded guide channels and recesses in the flexible material.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces the time and effort required for screw deployment by providing a convenient, hands-free method for aligning and inserting screws, minimizing the risk of injury and ensuring correct orientation.
Implementation Method 1
a magnet configuration comprising a magnet, the magnet configuration disposed adjacent to the tips of the at least one fastener so as to provide tactile feedback when the fastener support is in alignment with a soft magnetic material
Implementation Method 2
Another object of the invention is to disclose magnet which is an effective magnet to support the apparatus in contact with the surface for hands-free use
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for storing fasteners, typically screws, and guiding them during insertion into a surface employs a block of material having a lower face for bringing into proximity with surface and an upper face, parallel to the lower face. A set of screws are embedded in the block with their central axes parallel such that the screw heads are accessible to a driver from an upper face and screw tips are located within the block adjacent to a lower face. The screws are preferably deployed in side-by-side rows, advantageously in one or more rectangular or hexagonal grid. A driver acting on the head of one of screws is effective to drive the screw through block and into surface to reach a final inserted position.