Removable chuck

Abstract: A removable chuck (20) has a chuck member (52) for holding a drill bit (56). Also, a mechanism is coupled with the chuck body to retain the chuck body to a drill spindle (24). The retention mechanism, in a first position, retains the chuck (20) on the drill spindle (24) and in a second position the chuck is enabled to be removed from the spindle.

Description: The invention relates to rotatable tools such as drills, hammer drill, screwdrivers, and other power tools. More particularly, the present invention relates to a removable chuck for a hand-held tool. In the consumer market, it is desirable to use rotatable tools with a drill bit to form holes in a workpiece. Also, it is desirous to insert fasteners, such as screws with a regular or Phillips (Registered Trade Mark), head into these holes to retain multiple workpieces together. Ordinarily, one uses the tool to drill the holes in the workpiece. After drilling the holes in the workpiece, the drill bit is removed from the chuck and a tool bit is inserted into the chuck for driving the fastener. While this has been an effective method for driving fasteners into the workpiece, it is burdensome and time consuming to continually drill holes remove the drill bit from the chuck and insert a tool bit to drive the fastener. Generally, this process is continued while connecting several workpieces together. Further, this process has been carried out in the professional power tool devices. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a chuck with the drill bit, which is removable from the tool to expose a spindle, with a tool bit, on the tool to drive the fasteners. US 5342154 discloses a machine tool in which a chuck is removably locked to a rotating spindle by means of a pair of spring wire members. US 4824298 discloses a tool in which a chuck is removably mounted to a rotating spindle by means of an annular spring urging locking balls into engagement with the spindle. A further chuck assembly, on which the preamble of claim 1 is based, is shown in US 5 586 847. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a removable chuck assembly embodying the foregoing design objectives. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removable chuck assembly for a tool, the assembly comprising:- a chuck for connection with a rotating spindle of a tool, the chuck adapted to receive a first tool member adapted to be rotated by said spindle; and a locking mechanism for locking the chuck relative to the rotating spindle for rotation therewith, the locking mechanism comprising a locking member for seating in a first recess, said first recess fixed relative to the spindle, wherein the locking mechanism in use has a first condition, in which the chuck is coupled with said first recess, and a second condition, in which said locking member is capable of moving out of said first recess, and wherein the locking mechanism in use is biased towards said first condition; characterised by latching means for retaining said locking mechanism in said second condition when the chuck is removed from the spindle, and release means for returning said locking mechanism to the first condition when the chuck is mounted to the spindle. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hand tool assembly comprising: a hand tool having a rotatable spindle, said spindle including a recess; and a chuck assembly as defined above. Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, and the appended claims and accompanying drawings, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same parts. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tool with the removable chuck of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view of Figure 1 with the chuck removed from the spindle. Figure 3 is a cross-section view of Figure 1 along line 3-3 thereof. Figure 4 is a view like that of Figure 3 during an intermediate removal step of the chuck. Figure 5 is a cross-section view like that of Figure 3 in a removable position. Figure 6 is a front plan view of the locking sleeve. Figure 7 is a cross-section view of Figure 6 along line 7-7 thereof. Figure 8 is a rear plan view of the locking sleeve. Figure 9 is a front plan view of the spud. Figure 10 is a side plan view of the spud. Figure 11 is a cross-section view of Figure 10 along line 11-11 thereof. Figure 12 is a cross-section view of Figure 9 along line 12-12 thereof. Figure 13 is a cross-section view like Figure 3 of an alternate embodiment of the spindle. Turning to the figures, particularly Figures 1-12, a removable chuck 20 is illustrated on a tool 22. In this particular embodiment, the tool 22 is a rotary drill, however a hammer drill or power screwdriver would work equally well. The drill 22 includes a spindle 24 which, in turn, includes an aperture 28 to receive a tool bit 30. The spindle 24 includes a circumferential groove 26 as well as a plurality of raised members 32 separated by axial channels 33. Also, a retaining ring 36 is received in a notch 40 in the spindle to prohibit additional forward movement of the chuck 20 onto the spindle 24. A magnet 38 is positioned in the spindle 24 to magnetize the tool bit 30 as well as to retain the tool bit in the bore. Likewise, the raised members 32 and channels 33 provide the drive connection with the chuck 20. The chuck 20 includes a body 50, jaw members 52 with a locking sleeve 54, which are conventional, to retain a drill bit 56 within the chuck 20. A retaining mechanism 60 is at the rear of the chuck body 50 to enable the chuck 20 to be secured with and removed from the spindle 24. The retention mechanism 60 includes a drive sleeve or spud 62. The spud 62 (best seen in Figures 9-12) has a first tubular portion 64 which may have splines or the like 66 which are press-fit into an aperture 68 in the rear of the chuck body 50 to secure the spud 62 with the chuck body 50. The second tubular portion 70 of the spud has bore 72 with corresponding raised members 74 and axial channels 75 to mate with the spindle 24. Channels 77 are formed on the exterior surface of the second tubular portion to enable axial non-rotatable movement of the sleeve 90 with respect to the spud 62. The spud second portion 70 includes an aperture 78 which receives a detent locking ball 80. The locking ball 80 seats in the spindle groove 26. A first biasing spring ring 82 is positioned about the exterior of the drive spud second portion 70. The spring ring 82 is circular with a gap between the ends and has an aperture 84 which is positioned on top of the detent ball 80. The spring ring 82 is in a constricted position retaining the ball 80 within the groove 26 as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. The spring ring 82 radially expands to a second position as illustrated in Figure 5 when the retention mechanism 60 is in a release or second position which enables the chuck 20 to be pulled off the spindle 24. To accomplish this, the detent ball 80 is moved from the groove 26 to apply a force onto the spring ring 82. The force expands the spring ring 82 as the detent ball 80 rolls out of the recess 26 which, in turn, enables removal of the chuck. The retention mechanism 60 also includes a first and second sleeve 90 and 91. The first sleeve 90 (best seen in Figures 6-8) includes an inner boss 92 which defines a central bore 93 that surrounds the spring ring 82 to prohibit expansion of the spring ring 82 when the first sleeve 90 is in a first or retaining position as illustrated in Figure 3. The boss 92 has a pair of openings 94 which enables a latching mechanism 100 to project through the boss 92. The latching mechanism 100 maintains the first sleeve 90 in its second position once the chuck is removed from the spindle. With the first sleeve 90 maintained in its second position, it easily enables the chuck 20 to be positioned back onto the spindle 24 after removal. The central bore 93 is stepped and has projections 95 which are received in spud channels 77. This meshing of the projections 95 with the channels 77 prohibits rotational movement of the locking sleeve 90 and enables axial movement of the sleeve 90. This prohibits rotation which would dislodge the retention mechanism from its position and function. The latch mechanism 100 includes a latching spring 102 which has a circular collar 104. The collar 104 is fixed between the spud 62 and rear of the chuck when the spud 62 is press-fit into the chuck body 50. Two fingers 106 extend into the pair of boss openings 94. Latch pins 108 are secured in an opening of the split fingers 106. The pins 108 enable the locking sleeve to be retained in a second position. The pins 108 have conical ends 109 which enable the pins to ride upon the tapered spindle end when the chuck is returned onto the spindle. The fingers 106 include angled feet 110 which contact a ring portion 112 within the boss apertures 94. The pins 108 extend through bores 114 in the second tubular portion 70 of the spud 62. The pins 108 ride or slide on the spindle 24 in a locked position as illustrated in Figure 3. As the chuck 20 is removed from the spindle 24, the pins 108 move inward into the bore 114 of the spud 62 which, in turn, enable the angled feet 110 to be latched with the inner ring 112. Thus, this maintains the locking sleeve 90 in its second or released position. If the fingers 106 become released from ring portions 112 when the chuck is removed from the spindle 24, the angled feet 110 enable the fingers to lift up, grasping the ring portions 112 and returning the first sleeve 90 to its second position. A coil spring 118 is positioned between the first and second sleeves 90, 91 to return the first sleeve 90 to its first position after the chuck 20 is returned to the spindle 24. Also, the spring 118 maintains the second sleeve 91 on the spud. When the pins 108 contact the spindle 24, the pins 108 move outwardly which, in turn, releases the angled feet 110 from the portion 112 to enable the first sleeve 90 to return to its first position. Also, the coil spring 118 maintains the first sleeve 90 in its first position to maintain the detent ball 80 within the recess 26 and the boss 92 covering the spring ring 82. To actuate the first sleeve 90, to remove the chuck 20 from the spindle 24, the first sleeve 90 is moved from the first position illustrated in Figure 3 axially, to a telescoping position over second sleeve 91 as shown in Figure 4. As the first sleeve 90 moves axially, the boss 92 uncovers the spring ring 82. As the drive spud 62 is moved away from the retaining ring 38, the detent ball 80 begins to roll out of the groove 26 and apply a force onto the spring ring 82 which expands the spring ring and in turn enables the detent ball 80 to be removed from the spindle groove 26. As this occurs, the chuck can then be removed from the spindle as illustrated in Figure 5. Turning to Figure 13, an additional embodiment of the tool is shown. Here, the removable chuck is the same as disclosed above. However, the spindle is different. The spindle 24' includes a deeper central bore 28' and a transverse aperture 130. A detent ball 132 is positioned in the aperture 130 and is held in the aperture by a spring ring 134, like spring ring 82. Here, the spud 62 is positioned over the ball 132 when the chuck 20 is positioned onto the spindle 24'. After the chuck 20 has been removed from the spindle 24', the tool bit 30' with its circumferential recess 136 may be withdrawn from the spindle 24' by initiating a pull-out force on the tool bit 30' which, in turn, pushes the detent ball 132 against the spring ring 134 to expand the spring ring 134 to enable the tool bit 30' to be removed from the spindle 24'. While the above detailed description describes the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the invention is susceptible to modification, variation, and alteration within the scope of the subjoined claims.

Claims: A removable chuck assembly for a tool, the assembly comprising:- a chuck (20) for connection with a rotating spindle (24) of a tool, the chuck adapted to receive a first tool member (56) adapted to be rotated by said spindle; and a locking mechanism (90, 118, 80, 82) for locking the chuck relative to the rotating spindle for rotation therewith, the locking mechanism comprising a locking member (80) for seating in a first recess (26), said first recess fixed relative to the spindle, wherein the locking mechanism in use has a first condition, in which the chuck is coupled with said first recess, and a second condition, in which said locking member is capable of moving out of said first recess, and wherein the locking mechanism in use is biased towards said first condition; characterised by latching means (102) for retaining said locking mechanism (80) in said second condition when the chuck is removed from the spindle, and release means (108) for returning said locking mechanism to the first condition when the chuck is mounted to the spindle. A chuck assembly according to claim 1, wherein said chuck includes a second recess (72) for receiving a second tool member (30) mounted to said rotating spindle when said chuck is connected to said spindle. A chuck assembly according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a drive sleeve (62) for connecting with said rotating spindle, wherein said chuck is adapted to be coupled with said drive sleeve, the locking mechanism is adapted to retain said drive sleeve on the rotating spindle, and said locking member is adapted for seating in a recess (26) in the spindle, wherein said locking member is movable from a first position thereof, coupling the sleeve with the spindle recess, to a second position thereof, where said locking member is out of the spindle recess, said locking member biasing between said first position, where said sleeve is locked with said spindle, to said second position, enabling said sleeve to be removed from the spindle. A chuck assembly according to claim 2 or 3, wherein said locking mechanism includes a housing, an activation member (90), and a biasing member (118), said activation member moving said biasing member between first and second positions thereof for locking and enabling removal of said drive sleeve from the spindle. A hand tool assembly comprising: a hand tool (22) having a rotatable spindle (24), said spindle including a recess (26); and a chuck assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.

Inventors: HARMAN WILLIAM G JR, WHEELER DALE K, HARMAN, WILLIAM G., JR., WHEELER, DALE K.
Applicants: BLACK & DECKER INC, BLACK & DECKER INC.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B25F3
IPC codes: B25F3, B25B21, B23Q3