According to Rybczynski, the one that stuck came from inventor John P. Thompson and businessman Henry F. Phillips. A Phillips is, arguably, not a better screw than a Robertson. The Phillips® design was a great solution for the automobile production lines since it was designed to “cam-out” after a certain torque was reached to prevent over-tightening of the screw. They needed screws that could take greater torque and could provide tighter fastenings. [2] Phillips' major contribution was in driving the crosshead concept forward to the point where it was adopted by screwmakers and automobile companies. The Phillips head screw was compatible with the automated screwdrivers used in an assembly line. Phillips-head screws have a deeper, more positively engaging slot. That’s because Henry Ford wanted to use Robertsons in all of his plants, and he wanted more control over how they were made. However, there's one bit that looks like a Phillips head that's inverted or backwards, and I can't figure out its function. Patents #2,046,837 to 2,046,840) for the American Screw Company of Providence, Rhode Island, Phillips succeeded in bringing the design to industrial manufacturing and promoting its rapid adoption as a machine screw standard. Phillips is a trademark used for a screw with a head having two intersecting perpendicular slots and for a screwdriver with a tip shaped to fit into these slots. However, too much torque and the screwdriver will slip. In the early 1930s, the Phillips head screw was invented by Oregon businessman Henry Phillips (1889–1958). A power tool that does the same job is a power screwdriver; power drills may also be used with screw-driving attachments. In 1933, Henry Phillips purchased the rights to a socket screw and redesigned the screw with a cruciform recess. It’s a brilliant design—Robertson screws won’t easily cam out, and the socket shape helps center the screwdriver, making one-handed operation easy. Today the Phillips is the standard, except in Canada, where the Robertson remains popular, and in Japan, which has its own cruciform screw, the Japanese Industrial Standard. Yes, the same ones used for Phillips screwdrivers! The Phillips screw and driver, originally invented by Portlander John P. Thompson, dramatically increased the speed of manufacturing and made the Phillips screwdriver a necessity in every toolbox. In its modern form, the flat-head screwdriver was probably invented in about 1744 in England, where it was known as a "turn-screw"—a type of bit used as an attachment in a carpenter's brace-and-bit tool. Standardized screw heads and screwdrivers emerged later. Road & Track participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. The flat head or slotted screwdriver was the first known head for a screwdriver. However, the Phillips head screw and screwdriver combination was designed specifically to cam out, as at the time of its invention torque sensing automatic screwdrivers did not exist. The Robertson screw is better in multiple ways, but Henry Ford sealed its fate in the U.S. They needed screws that could take greater torque and could provide tighter fastenings. The tool's original names in German and French were Schraubendreher (screwturner) and tournevis (turnscrew), respectively. Phillips licensed his design to the giant American Screw Company, which got General Motors to use the screw in the 1936 Cadillac. a type of screwdriver (= tool that turns a screw) with an end shaped like a cross. It’s a common misconception that the Phillips screwdriver was named after its inventor. Henry F. Phillips (1890 – 1958) was a U.S. businessman from Portland, Oregon, and inventor of the Phillips-head screw and screwdriver. Robertson, by most accounts a stubborn man, wouldn’t agree. He later sold it to Henry F. Phillips who formed the Philips Screw Company, giving the screw drive the name it is known by to this day. These earliest screwdrivers had pear-shaped handles and were made for slotted screws (diversifi… What is Philips screwdriver? Henry Frank Phillips (June 4, 1889 – April 13, 1958) was an American businessman from Portland, Oregon. Around then, gunsmiths developed purpose-built tournevis (French for “screwdriver”) for use in the intricate workings of early firearms. The earliest documented screwdrivers were used in the late Middle Ages. The Robertson was perfect for the burgeoning auto industry. Supposedly, Phillips screwdrivers were designed that way. The first documentation of the tool is in the medieval Housebook of Wolfegg Castle, a manuscript written sometime between 1475 and 1490. The history of man has generally followed a long and illustrious timeline of discovery. The screwdriver is made up of a head or tip, which is It was invented in the early 20th century by John P. Thompson. JIS Vs Phillips Screwdrivers : Mini Skills - Duration: 5:00. Meanwhile, other engineers worked on their own types of screw heads. Henry Phillips invented and patented the Phillips ® design in 1936. They Support Over a Half-Dozen Drive Types. The Torx screwdriver, which first appeared in 1967, introduced a star shape that has become fairly common in certain technical uses, such as cars, bikes, and consumer electronics. The 1936 Phillips patent states that only two sizes of Phillips driver are required for screw sizes from number 5 to number 16. John P. Thompson invented a crosshead screw design in 1932. 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