science · 07 July 1936 · 88 years ago
In 1936, several U.S. patents were issued for the Phillips-head screw and screwdriver to its inventor, Henry F. Phillips (Nos. 2,046,343, 2,046,837 -40). They describe a fastening system involving a shallow cruciform recess and a matching driver with a tapering tip that conveniently self-centers in the screw head. Phillips founded the Phillips Screw Company to license his patents. After three years of rejection, he finally persuaded the American Screw Company to spend $500,000 developing a manufacturing process and manufacture the screws. General Motors was convinced to use the screws on its 1936 Cadillac. By 1940 virtually every American automaker had switched to Phillips screws.
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