Pre-Aligned Screw Holder Block for Faster Guided Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for storing and deploying screws are inefficient, requiring significant time and effort to retrieve and align screws, often resulting in accidental drops and injuries, especially when handling large quantities.
Innovation Solution
A screw support apparatus featuring a block of resilient polymer foam or fiber pulp with embedded screws, guide channels for driver alignment, and a holder with a handle and magnet for convenient storage and tactile guidance, allowing for easy alignment and insertion of screws 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 improved, but retrieval time and effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The block is segmented into multiple guide channels, each channel holding a specific screw. This segmentation allows for organized storage while enabling quick visual identification and retrieval of individual screws without searching through a container.
Solution Approach 2:
Screws are pre-positioned in the block with their heads visible and aligned along guide channels. This preliminary arrangement eliminates the need for fishing screws out of a container, allowing users to directly grab the required screw without time-consuming search and alignment actions.
2Productivity
If screws are stored in a clip for sequential use, then retrieval efficiency is improved, but the number of screws that can be stored is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a one-dimensional clip arrangement to a three-dimensional block structure with multiple guide channels. This dimensional expansion allows storing a significantly larger quantity of screws while maintaining easy access, as users can select screws from different channels simultaneously or sequentially without handling a long unwieldy strip.
3Ease of operation
If manual deployment of screw strips is used, then flexibility is improved, but the strips become unwieldly due to their length
Solution Approach 1:
The block is divided into multiple separate guide channels, each acting as an independent segment. This segmentation allows the block to maintain a compact, manageable size while providing access to numerous screws, eliminating the unwieldly nature of long continuous strips.
4Manufacturing precision
If screws are embedded in a block of material, then alignment and orientation are improved, but the complexity of the storage apparatus increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the physical state of the block material to resilient polymer foam, which naturally deforms and returns to shape. This parameter change allows the block to provide precise alignment through its structural properties without requiring complex mechanical alignment mechanisms, thereby achieving precision without proportional increase in complexity.
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
The apparatus reduces 'fishing and fumbling' time, ensures correct screw orientation, and minimizes finger injuries by providing a convenient, pre-aligned screw holder that can be easily used with various drivers, accommodating multiple screw sizes and types.
Implementation Method 1
the holder further comprises a magnet deployed to facilitate tactile sensing of proximity of the holder to a soft-magnetic material
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus (10) for storing fasteners, typically screws (12), and guiding them during insertion into a surface (100) employs a block (14) of material having a lower face (16) for bringing into proximity with surface (100) and an upper face (18), parallel to the lower face. A set of screws (12) are embedded in the block (14) with their central axes parallel such that the screw heads (20) are accessible to a driver (102) from an upper face (18) and screw tips (22) are located within the block (14) adjacent to a lower face (16). The screws are preferably deployed in side-by-side rows, advantageously in one or more rectangular or hexagonal grid. A driver (102) acting on the head (20) of one of screws (12) is effective to drive the screw through block (14) and into surface (100) to reach a final inserted position.