Quick-change system for power feed and positive feed drill motors

A quick-change system for power feed and positive feed drill motors having quick-change capabilities whereby a nosepiece may be separated from the drill motor employing a quick-release coupling that does not utilize threaded means. The quick-change system utilizes a quick-change nosepiece, chuck and shank adapter means such that the oil line to a fluid inducer remains attached during nosepiece removal.

This invention relates to motor quick-change chuck systems for tools having 
cylindrically-shaped tool shank adapters, and, more particularly, to a 
motor quick-change chuck system including a nosepiece for permitting the 
cutting oil line to remain on the drill chuck while disconnecting the 
nosepiece from the drill motor. 
Heretofore, power feed and positive feed drill motors have required a 
nosepiece for locking the drill motor to a drilling plate, a fluid inducer 
which couples the drill or reamer to the drill motor and through which the 
cutting oil is introduced and fed to the drill or reamer which reamer and 
drills contained oil holes and were attached to the fluid inducer by means 
of a threaded shank adapter. To change a drill or reamer, most of these 
elements were required to be separated, a task which was labor intensive 
due to the threaded means of fastening employed. 
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a 
quick-change system for power feed and positive feed drill motors having a 
rapid tool change system. 
In current state-of-the-art efforts, if an oil hole drill or reamer is 
required to be removed from a power feed or positive feed drill motor, the 
operator is required to: disconnect the oil line to the fluid inducer, 
unlock the nosepiece from the drilling plate, unscrew the nosepiece from 
the drill motor, and unscrew the drill or reamer from the fluid inducer. 
The reverse of this tedious process is required when installing the 
replacement tool. The procedure is slow because of the several threaded 
connections. 
Exemplary of the patent literature showing drill apparatus having various 
types of couplings and connections permitting change of various drill 
elements are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,197,886 and 2,452,386. 
It is, accordingly, a further object of the present invention to provide 
means in a quick-change system for power feed and positive feed drill 
motors which includes circumferential clamping for providing disassembly 
of the drill guide from the drive motor, thereby permitting rapid drill 
change. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide ring clamping 
means for holding a drill motor body to a nosepiece in a manner allowing 
the cutting oil line to remain on the drill chuck while disconnecting the 
nosepiece from the drill motor.

Turning now to FIG. 1, it will be noted that the the present quick-change 
system for power feed or positve feed drill motor 9 includes a cutting oil 
line 13 coupled through an axially disposed elongated slot 12 in nosepiece 
member 1 to internally disposed fluid inducer member 14. 
Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 3, it will be seen that the present quick-change 
system for power feed and positive feed drill motors includes quick-change 
nosepiece member 1, a quick-change chuck 2, and a quick-change shank 
adapter 3. Quick-change chuck 2 corresponds identically with chuck 12 of 
FIGS. 2 and 4 shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,041, also assigned to The 
Boeing Company, herein incorporated by reference, with the exception of 
actually disposed circumferential slot 177 disposed on the inner 
cylindrical surface of cylindrically-shaped body member 118 (denoted as 
numeral 18 in FIG. 4 of aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,041). Actually 
disposed circumferential slot 177, as seen hereinafter, is utilized to 
seat O-ring seal member 17 therein upstream of detente balls 18 to provide 
an oil-tight seal when quick-change chuck adapter 3 is inserted into 
quick-change chuck 2, for instance, as seen in FIG. 3. Quick-change 
adapter 3, shown herein in FIGS. 2 and 3, is identical to adaptor 26 of 
hereinbefore mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,041 except that quick-change 
chuck adapter 3, as seen in the present application in FIG. 3, includes a 
coaxially disposed hole 16 which extends through the rear portion of 
adapter 3 to provide an oil passage between fluid inducer 14 and exit 
aperature 100 in the forward end of drill 15. 
Nosepiece member 1, as seen in FIG. 3, comprises first and second 
cylindrically-shaped members 1 and 4, having corresponding mating of 
flange portions 5 and 6, mating flange portions 5 and 6 being locked 
together by means of quick-release coupling 7, viz. toggle release ring 
clamping means. Nosepiece adapter flange member 5 includes an internal 
threaded surface 8 for threading onto and coupling to power feed or 
positive feed drill motor 9. For subsequent assembly and disassembly, only 
quick-release coupling means 7 is required to be actuated by the operator 
since, in contrast to the hereinbefore described prior art, there is no 
requirement for the operator to use a screwing action or maneuver in order 
to separate nosepiece member 1 from locking drill bushing 11 while 
removing drill motor 9. Nosepiece member 1, as hereinabove described, 
includes an axially disposed elongated slot portion 12 which permits 
cutting oil line 13 to remain coupled to internally disposed fluid inducer 
means 14 during nosepiece separations. Oil hole reamers and drills 15 are 
thus seen to provide oil passage exit through coaxially disposed hole 16 
in adapter 3 from fluid inducer 14 located downstream. Quick-change chuck 
2, utilized with quick-change drills 15 is seen to include an internally 
disposed O-ring seal member 17 upstream of detente balls 18 for providing 
an oil tight seal when the quick-change oil hole adapter 3 is snapped into 
quick-change chuck 2. Quick-change chuck 2 is also seen to include a 
threaded end portion 19 (seen in FIG. 3) and circumferentially disposed 
tapered seating portion 20 which allows quick-change chuck 2 to attach to 
fluid inducer means 14 and prevent oil leakage. Release of quick-change 
chuck adapter member 3 from quick-change chuck 2 is accomplished by 
sliding spring-loaded sleeve 21 (as shown in the sliding action of FIG. 4 
at collar member 32 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,041) which allows detente balls 
18 to disengage from detente holes 22 equiangularly disposed about the 
outer circumference of quick-change adaptor 3. 
DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION 
To gain access to tool 15, nosepiece member 1 can remain locked to drilling 
plate 10, and cutting oil inlet line 13 can remain attached to fluid 
inducer 14. By actuating quick-release coupling means 7, power feed drill 
motor 9, along with attached fluid inducer 14, quick-change chuck 2, 
quick-change adapter 3 which drives tool 15, can all be removed as a unit 
from nosepiece member 1. Cutting oil inlet line 13 is free to move with 
fluid inducer means 14 because of axially disposed elongated slot 12 in 
nosepiece member 1. To remove tool 15, the operator actuates quick-change 
chuck 2, thereby releasing quick-change adapter 3 along with attached tool 
15.