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

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/596,762 filed Jun. 19, 2000; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/167,305 filed on Oct. 6, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,716 issued Jun. 27, 2000; which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/989,715 filed on Dec. 12, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,951,026 issued Sep. 14, 1999, the specifications and drawings are herein expressly incorporated by reference.  
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    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.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    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 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 to drive 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.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a removable chuck assembly embodying the foregoing design objectives.  
           [0005]    In accordance with a first aspect of the invention, a removable chuck comprises a collar to connect with a rotatable spindle. The collar includes a retention member extending from the collar. A chuck is coupled with the collar. A locking member is adapted to couple with a spindle. The locking member includes a receiving member to couple with the collar extending retention member. A rotatable member couples with the locking member. The rotatable member is movable between two positions. In a first position, the rotatable member enables coupling of the extending member and the receiving member. In a second position, the rotatable member locks the extending member in the receiving member. The collar preferably includes three extending members and the locking member includes three receiving members. Each extending member includes a first portion axially extending from the chuck and a second portion transverse to the first portion. Each receiving member is a cut-out in a circular locking member. The rotatable member has an annular body and an extending skirt. The skirt includes three recesses to receive the second portion of the extending members. The recess has an open portion which enables receiving of the second portion in the first position of the rotatable member. The recess has a closed or slot portion to lock the second portion when the rotatable member is in the second position.  
           [0006]    In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, a hand tool comprises a hand tool with a rotatable spindle. A removable chuck comprises a collar to connect with a rotatable spindle. The collar includes a retention member extending from the collar. A chuck is coupled with the collar. A locking member is adapted to couple with a spindle. The locking member includes a receiving member to couple with the collar extending member. A rotatable member couples with the locking member. The rotatable member is movable between two positions. In a first position, the rotatable member enables coupling of the extending member and the receiving member. In a second position, the rotatable member locks the extending member in the receiving member. The collar preferably includes three extending members and the locking member includes three receiving members. Each extending member includes a first portion axially extending from the chuck and a second portion transverse to the first portion. Each receiving member is a cut-out in a circular locking member. The rotatable member has an annular body and an extending skirt. The skirt includes three recesses to receive the second portion of the extending members. The recess has an open portion which enables receiving of the second portion in the first position of the rotatable member. The recess has a closed or slot portion to lock the second portion when the rotatable member is in the second position.  
           [0007]    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.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    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.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tool with the removable chuck of the present invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of FIG. 1 with the chuck removed from the spindle.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the chuck retention member.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of FIG. 1 along line  4 - 4  thereof in an unlocked position.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 5 is a cross-section view like that of FIG. 4 in a locked position.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 6 is a cross-section view of FIG. 4 along line  6 - 6  thereof.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0015]    Turning to the figures, particularly FIGS.  1 - 6 , 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 . 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.  
         [0016]    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 .  
         [0017]    The retention mechanism  60  includes a collar attached to the chuck. The collar  61  has a disc-shaped body  62  with a tube  64  passing through the center of the body. The tube  64  has a first portion  66  which may include threads or the like to secure with the chuck  20 . The tube has a second portion  68  projecting from the other side of the disc body  62  which enables alignment in the spindle bore  84 . Also, the tube is hollow to enable passage of the tool bit  30  as seen in FIG. 6.  
         [0018]    The body  62  includes at least one extending member  70 . Preferably, there are three extending members  70  which are spaced 120°apart from one another around a circle. The extending members extend axially with respect to the chuck. The extending members  70  include a first leg portion  72  which is axially positioned along the chuck and a second foot portion  74  which extends transverse to the first leg portion  72 . The foot portion  74  may include a cam surface  76 .  
         [0019]    A locking member  80  is retained on the spindle  24 . The locking member  80  has an overall circular shape with at least one cut-out  82 . Preferably, there are three cut-outs  82  to receive the extending members  70  of the collar  61 . The cut-out portions  82  are spaced at 120°apart along the circumference of the locking member  80 . The locking member has a bore  84  to receive the tubular portion  68  of the collar  61  for alignment purposes.  
         [0020]    A rotatable locking ring  90  is positioned adjacent the locking member  80 . The rotatable locking ring  90  includes a body  92  and an extending skirt  94 . The body  92  includes a central aperture  96  which enables the body  92  to fit around the spindle  24 . The skirt  94  includes at least one, and preferably three, recesses  98 .  
         [0021]    Each recess has an open portion  100  and a closed circumferential portion  102  providing an L-shape opening on the skirt. The open portion  100  enables the second portion  74  of the extending members  70  to be inserted into the skirt  94 . Upon rotation of the ring  90 , a skirt finger  1   04 , which projects into the closed slot  102 , moves along cam surface  76  of the second portion  74  of the extending member  70 . As this occurs, the second portion  74  is moved into the closed slot portion of the recess  102 . As the closed recess portion  102  surrounds the second portion  74 , the collar  61  is locked onto the spindle  24  by the ring  90 . A cover  106  may surround the skirt. The cover  106  may have a textured surface to provide a better grasping surface to enhance rotation of the rotating member  90  by the user.  
         [0022]    Once the collar  61  is secured on the chuck  20 , the extending members  70  are inserted into the receiving cut-outs  82  of the locking member  80 . The extending members  70  positioned in the cut-outs  82  provide drive to the chuck  20 . Once the second portion  74  has passed into the open portion of the recess  100 , the ring  90  is rotated to capture the second portion  74  in the closed portion  102  of the recess  98 . After this has occurred, the collar  61  is locked onto the locking portion and the spindle is able to rotate the chuck. To remove the chuck, the ring  90  is rotated in the opposite direction until the open portion  100  of the recess  98  is aligned with the second portion  74  of the extending member  70 . Then, the chuck may be pulled axially away from the spindle. This enables removal of the chuck. As this occurs, the tool bit  30  would be visible and would be open for use by the user as seen in FIG. 2.