Patent ID: 6941847

Claim:
A screwdriver assembly to drive with a power driver, threaded screws from a screwstrip comprising screws collated together on a strap spaced from each other, the screwdriver comprising: a housing; an elongate drive shaft for operative connection to a power driver for rotation thereby and defining a longitudinal axis; a slide body coupled to the housing for displacement parallel to the axis of the drive shaft between a forwardmost extended position and a retracted position; the slide body comprising: a guideway to receive a screw coaxially therein, a screwstrip entranceway opening generally radially into the guideway on a first side thereof, and a strap exitway opening generally radially out of the guideway on a second side thereof, opposite the entranceway, the guideway, the entranceway and the exitway juxtapositioned to permit a screwstrip comprising screws collated on a strap spaced from each other to be advanced through the entranceway radially into the guideway to locate each successive screw coaxially within the guideway with a portion of the strap from which screws have been driven extending from the guideway through the exitway, the slide body having a rear portion and a forward nose portion, the nose portion coupled to the rear portion for displacement parallel to the axis of the drive shaft between a forward position and a rear position; the driver shaft having at a forward end a bit, the shaft relatively reciprocally movable axially in the guideway to engage with the bit a screw disposed coaxially within the guideway and drive the screw axially forwardly from the guideway into a workpiece, the rear portion carrying an axially, forwardly directed rear strap support surface axially in line with the exitway rear of the strap, the rear strap support surface forming a rearwardmost perimeter of the exitway, the nose portion carrying an axially, rearwardly directed forward strap support surface axially in line with the exitway forward of the strap, the nose portion permitting with sufficient forward sliding of the nose portion relative the rear portion towards the rear position, for the strap in the exitway to be engaged by the forward strap support surface and urged rearwardly into engagement with the rear strap support surfacer clamping the strap between the forward strap support surface and the rear strap support surface.