Patent ID: 8544369

Claim:
An apparatus for driving with a power driver a screwstrip comprising threaded screws, which are joined together in a strip comprising: a housing; an elongate drive shaft for operative connection to a power driver for rotation thereby and defining a longitudinal axis; a bit at a forward end of the drive shaft for engagement with a head of a screw, a slide body coupled to the housing for displacement parallel to the axis of the drive shaft between an extended position and a retracted position; the slide body having: (a) a guide channel for said screwstrip extending through said slide body generally transverse to the axis; (b) a screw feed activation mechanism coupled between the slide body and the housing whereby displacement of the slide body relative the housing between the extended position and the retracted position advances successive screws through the guide channel to an initial screw position axially in alignment with said drive shaft for engagement in driving of each screw by the bit carried at the forward end of the drive shaft forwardly into a workpiece; (c) a socket with a forwardly directed interior surface to engage a rearwardly directed surface of a head of a screw axially in alignment with said drive shaft and urge the screw forwardly, and (d) a forwardly directed touch down foot to engage the workpiece; wherein with the slide body in the extended position relative the housing the screw in the initial screw position extends forwardly beyond the touch down foot for engagement of a tip of the screw with the workpiece, wherein from the extended position with the screw in the initial position with the tip of the screw engaging the workpiece, on moving the housing forwardly toward the workpiece the forwardly directed interior surface of the socket engages the rearwardly directed surface of the head of the screw and pinches the screw between the socket and the workpiece causes the housing to move relative the slide body towards the retracted position such that the bit engages the head of the screw rotating the screw and the screw is driven sufficiently forwardly into the workpiece that the touch down foot engages the workpiece, whereupon with continued forward movement of the housing toward the workpiece engagement of the touch down foot with the workpiece causes the housing to move relative the slide body further towards the retracted position such that the bit in continued engagement with the head of the screw drives the screw further into the workpiece.