Patent ID: 7134368

Claim:
A screwdriver comprising: a housing having a first axis therealong and an outer manual grasping surface which generally coaxially surrounds the axis and which provides a surface which can be grasped by a user for rotating the housing about the first axis; an elongate tube attached to the housing for rotation therewith having a hollow interior and extending through the housing along the first axis to a forward presentation end of the tube; the housing having a generally cylindrical receptacle defining a second axis adjacent to and parallel to the first axis; a rotatable storage holder mounted in the generally cylindrical recepticle of the housing and containing a plurality of tool bits and arranged to rotate about the second axis; the rotatable holder including a plurality of receptacles each containing a respective one of the tool bits, the receptacles being arranged parallel to the second axis and in angularly spaced relation around the second axis; the rotatable holder and the first and second axes being arranged such that rotation of the holder causes each receptacle in turn to move from an operating position aligned with the first axis to a storage position spaced from the first axis; an end cap slidable longitudinally relative to the housing for movement from a retracted position to a forward position; a plunger carried on the end cap and mounted within the tube for forward and rearward movement therein from the retracted position, in which a forward end of the plunger is retracted rearwardly of the holder, to the forward position adjacent the forward presentation end; the plunger having a magnetic bit carrying head at the forward end for carrying a bit from that receptacle of the holder which is in the operating position from the receptacle forwardly along the tube to the presentation end; the holder being rotatable in the housing when the plunger is moved to the retracted position to move the receptacles to carry the bits from the operating position to the storage positions; the elongate tube having an interior surface which is polygonal in cross-section and matches an outer surface of each of bits such that rotation of the housing causes rotation of the elongate tube and driving rotation of the bit; the holder being mounted in the generally cylindrical receptacle of the housing so that it is held in position in the generally cylindrical receptacle of the housing while the holder rotates about the second axis; the housing having an opening in the generally cylindrical receptacle of the housing to one side of the second axis such that the holder is readily removable from and replaceable in the generally cylindrical receptacle of the housing by movement of the holder through the opening in a direction at right angles to the second axis and therefore at right angles to the receptacles in the holder; and an ejection member mounted on the housing and manually operable for applying an ejection force to the holder for rejecting the holder from the housing for replacement.