Abstract:
The present invention a bit holder for use with a drill chuck includes a shaft adapted at one end for releasably mounting to the drill chuck, and at the other end for releasably mounting tool bits therein; and, a housing connected operably to said shaft, said housing defining bit compartments for releasably receiving tool bits therein. The bit holder further including a sleeve for positioning relative to said housing for selectively retaining or for selectively releasing tool bits in said bit compartments. Wherein said housing and said sleeve operably rotate relative each other, wherein said housing or sleeve rotate about a longitudinal shaft axis such that rotating said housing or said sleeve relative each other selectively retains or releases said bits from said bit compartments.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/243,751, filed Oct. 30, 2000. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to power tools and more particularly to a bit holder adapted to be received in a drill chuck. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A number of devices are available on the market for releasably holding and storing tools bits in various containers. The major draw back with the existing devices is that each time a tool bit is selected to be inserted into a drill chuck for example, the chuck must be released and the tool bit must be inserted. There are adapters on the market presently which allow for magnetically receiving and releasing tools bits once such an adapter is placed in a chuck of a drill bit. The draw back of these devices is that the tool bits are held separately from the adapter. 
     Therefore, it is desirable to have a device which combines both the adapter and the tool bit holding container, such that tool bits are readily available any time and in close proximity to the drill chuck and are similar to existing adapters on the market magnetically received in an adapter for easy insertion and removal. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention a bit holder for use with a drill chuck comprises: 
     (a) a shaft means adapted at one end for releasably mounting to the drill chuck, and at the other end for releasably mounting tool bits therein; and, 
     (b) a means for releasably storing tool bits in nested fashion around said shaft such that said shaft means and said storing means rotate in unison with said drill chuck. 
     Preferably wherein said storing means comprises a framework rigidly attached to said shaft means, said framework defining bit compartments for releasably receiving tool bits therein. 
     Preferably wherein said framework further includes at least two dividers extending radially from said shaft wherein said dividers define side walls of said bit compartments. 
     Preferably wherein said framework further includes a circular base and cylindrical retainer wherein said retainer base and dividers define the space of each bit compartment. 
     Preferably wherein said retainer further includes a means for holding said tool bits within each bit compartment and also for selectively releasing a tool bit. 
     Preferably wherein said hold meanings includes a retainer opening operable to be positioned for selectively releasing a tool bit. 
     Preferably wherein said retainer rotates about said base for selectively positioning said opening to release a tool bit. 
     In an alternate embodiment the invention is a bit holder for use with a handle and comprises: 
     (a) a shaft means adapted at one end for mounting to the handle, and at the other end for releasably mounting tool bits therein; and, 
     (b) a means for releasably storing tool bits in nested fashion around said shaft such that said shaft means and said storing means rotate in unison with said handle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The invention will now be described by way of example only, with references to the followings drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 2 is a side plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 8 is a side plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 10 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the retainer removed from the bit holder. 
     FIG. 11 is a upright perspective view of the bit holder showing the tool bits nested in their bit compartments. 
     FIG. 12 is a upright perspective view showing one tool bit inserted in the socket and in shadow the tool bit being removed from an empty bit compartment. 
     FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the bit holder taken along lines  14 — 14  in FIG.  13 . 
     FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view of the bit holder shown mounted in a drill chuck of a drill. 
     FIG. 16 is a schematic front perspective view of an alternate embodiment of a bit holder  200 . 
     FIG. 17 is a rear perspective schematic view of the alternate embodiment bit holder  200  shown in FIG.  16 . 
     FIG. 18 is a top plan view of the bit holder shown in FIG.  16 . 
     FIG. 19 is a side elevational view of the bit holder shown in FIG.  16 . 
     FIG. 20 is a bottom plan view of the bit holder shown in FIG.  16 . 
     FIG. 21 is a side elevational view of the bit holder shown in FIG.  16 . 
     FIG. 22 is a cross sectional view taken along lines  22 — 22  of FIG.  21 . 
     FIG. 23 is a cross sectional view taken along lines  23  shown in FIG.  21 . 
     FIG. 24 is a cross sectional view taken along lines  24 — 24  shown in FIG.  21 . 
     FIG. 25 is an assembly drawing shown the presently preferred bit holder  200  for mounting onto a handle. 
     FIG. 26 is a front schematic perspective view of a handle for mounting of bit holder  200  thereon. 
     FIG. 27 is an assembled schematic perspective front view of bit holder  200  mounted onto handle  230 . 
     FIG. 28 is an alternate embodiment of the handle shown in FIG.  26 . 
     FIG. 29 is a schematic front perspective view of the bit holder shown being assembled into the chuck of a drill. 
     FIG. 30 is the adapter shaft required for mounting bit holder onto a drill chuck. 
     FIG. 31 is a partial front schematic perspective view of a drill chuck together with a portion of the drill. 
     FIG. 32 is an assembled view of the bit holder mounted onto a drill chuck of a drill. 
     FIG. 33 is a schematic perspective view of a power drill body with the chuck removed. 
     FIG. 34 is a schematic ghost outline of a drill chuck removed from a drill. 
     FIG. 35 is a schematic perspective view of a threaded shaft joining a drill with a drill chuck. 
     FIG. 36 is a schematic front perspective view of the bit holder. 
     FIG. 37 is an assembly drawing showing the bit holder replacing a conventional drill chuck on a drill. 
     FIG. 38 is a cross sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention, namely bit holder  300 . 
     FIG. 39 is a cross sectional view of bit holder  300  showing shaft  306  in place. 
     FIG. 40 is a front, side and bottom plan view of a shaft which is part of bit holder  300 . 
     FIG. 41 is a top, side and rear plan view of a sleeve which is part of bit holder  300 . 
     FIG. 42 is a front, side and rear plan view of a housing which is part of bit holder  300 . 
     FIG. 43 is a front, side and rear plan view of a tool bit which is part of bit holder  300 . 
     FIG. 44 is a cross sectional view of a sleeve. 
     FIG. 45 is a cross section view through a housing. 
     FIG. 46 is a front elevational view of the sleeve shown in FIG.  44 . 
     FIG. 47 is a front elevational view of the housing shown in FIG.  45 . 
     FIG. 48 is an alternate embodiment of a bit holder shown in the assembled state from the components depicted in FIGS. 44 through 47, wherein bit holder  400  is a cross sectional view of the bit holder with a shaft in place including a housing sleeve and bit. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. 11 and 14 in particular, the present invention of bit holder shown generally as  100  and includes the following components: shaft  110  having a hex portion  111  and a hollow shaft  112 . 
     Preferably hex driver  110  and hallow shaft  112  are metal components which either can be intragally formed out of one piece of metal and/or are rigidly mounted together as shown in FIG.  14 . Which ever construction of hex driver  110  combined with hollow shaft  112  is selected, the end results must ensure that when torque or rotational forces are applied to hex driver  110 , hollow shaft  112  is rigidly secured enough to hex driver  110  in order to transmit the torque from hex driver  110  to hollow shaft  112 . 
     Magnet  132  is imbedded into driver top  142  as shown in FIG.  1  and FIG.  14  and normally there is an interference fit wherein magnet  132  is pressed into a aperture formed in driver top  142 . The purpose of magnet  132  is to hold a tool bit  116  into socket  114  and prevent it from falling out of socket  114 . 
     Preferably hex driver  110  is hexagonally shaped of the standard ¼ inch hexagonal driver found on the market place, however it can be dimensioned to other sizes depending upon the application. Similarly socket  114  is a female hexagonal socket adapted to receive hexagonally shaped tool bits  116  having standard dimensions of approximately ¼ inch measured from face to face. 
     Connected and mounted to the combination of hollow shaft  112  and hex driver  110  is frame work  140  as best shown in FIG. 10 which consists of base  126  and dividers  118 . In practice, dividers  118  and base  126  are preferably made by plastic injection moulding, plastic around hex driver  110  and hollow shaft  112 . 
     Once frame work  140  is in place, retainer  130  is placed over bit holder  100  as shown in FIG. 1 whereby a female groove  150  in the outer diameter of base  126  cooperates with male ridge  152  found in the inner diameter of retainer  130 , thereby locking retainer  130  onto base  126 . It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many other methods can be used to attach retainer  130  to base  126 . The example shown is one of many that can be used to effectively mount retainer  130  onto base  126 . 
     With retainer  130  mounted onto base  126  in this manner, enables retainer  130  to be rotated about a longitudinal axis  160  shown in FIG.  14 . 
     Retainer  130  has a retaining portion  122  which tapers inwardly towards tool bits  116  either impinging upon or coming very close to the tapered shoulders of  162  of tool bits  116  thereby ensuring that tool bits  116  remain within a bit compartment  120 . 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the retainer  130  can take on various mechanical arrangements not necessarily shown in the diagrams herein. For example the retainer portion  122  may be separate and distinct from the retainer  130 . For example a simple rotatable ring having an opening  124  not connected to retainer  130  is possible. 
     As shown retainer  130  together with frame work  140  defines 6 distinct bit compartments  120  for housing of tool bits  116 . There is no reason why this number could be increased or decreased depending upon the final size required of bit holder  100  and also depending upon the total number of tool bits  116  desired to be housed within bit holder  100 . 
     Retaining portion  122  of retainer  130  also has a cut out or retainer opening  124  which can be aligned with a particular bit compartment  120  thereby aligning it with a particular tool bit  116 . 
     In Use 
     In use driver bottom  144  of bit holder  100  as best shown in FIG. 15 is mounted into a drill chuck  180  and drill  182 . With bit holder  100  mounted in drill chuck  180 , a particular tool bit  116  is selected from bit holder  100  by rotating retainer  130  such that retainer opening  124  aligns with the desired bit compartment housing the desired tool bit  116 . Retainer opening  124  is so dimensioned as to allow removal of tool bit  116  from its bit compartment  120  thereby positioning tool bit  116  into socket  114  where it is retained thereby magnet  132 . 
     The balance of tool bits  116  in this case the five not retained in socket  114  are retained in their perspective bit compartments  120  by retaining portion  122  of retainer  130 . 
     With a tool bit  116  mounted in socket  114 , drill  182  can now be actuated there by rotating the entire bit holder  100  and the end of tool bit  116  can be gauged with a screw or whatever work piece for utilizing the selected tool bit  116 . 
     When none of the tool bits  116  is desired, the tool bit  116  found within socket  114  is removed back to its respective bit compartment  120  and retainer  130  is rotated such that retainer opening  124  aligns with a divider  118  as shown in FIG. 11, thereby locking all of the tools bits  116  and their respective bit compartments  120 . 
     The advantage of bit holder  100  is that the bits are easily selectable since they are located very close to the drill chuck  180  and the work piece being used. It will further be appreciated that a particular tool bit  116  can be easily and quickly selected and placed back into its respective bit compartment  120  such that the tool bits  116  do not become lost. 
     Further, it will appreciated by those skilled in the arts that various lengths of tool bits  116  can be used depend upon the dimensions of bit holder  100  in addition to the tool bits of the type shown, any standard type tool bit can be used, including drill bits and/or other bits as long as they are adapted to be received cooperatively within socket  114 . 
     As drill chuck  180  rotates thereby rotating hex driver  110 , there in turn rotating hollow shaft  112 , which there in turn rotates the tool bit  116  found within socket  114 , the tool bit within socket  114  can impart torque and/or turning forces onto whatever work piece it is applied to. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above described mechanism for the selection of tool bits can also be adapted for use as a manual driver. For manual drivers driver bottom  144  instead of being mounted to chuck  180  would be securely mounted to a handle not shown in the drawings. The handle would be designed to fit comfortably in a hand. Bit holder  100  would be rotated by the manual turning of a handle which rigidly connected to bit holder  100 . 
     Presently Preferred Embodiment FIGS. 16 through 37 
     Referring now to a presently preferred embodiment of the invention which is depicted in FIGS. 17 through 37. The presently preferred invention, a bit holder shown generally as  200  in FIG. 22 includes the following major components, namely housing  202 , tools bits  204 , six bit compartments defined in housing  202 , nested symmetrically about a longitudinal axis  218  of housing  202 , a hexagonal socket defined centrally along longitudinal axis  218  within housing  202  for receiving tools bits  204  therein, magnets  210  located at the base of hex socket  208  and magnets  212  located near the bottom of bit compartments  206  for magnetically retaining tools bits  204  within either bit compartment  206  or hex socket  208 , a threaded aperture in the rear portion of housing  202  and bit compartment openings  216  corresponding to bit compartment  206  for the purpose of enabling the user to slide a tool bit tool four out of its bit compartment  206  by applying finger pressure. 
     In Use 
     Bit holder  200  can be used as a manual screw driver by affixing it to a handle  230  shown in FIG. 26 via threaded shaft  232  located symmetrically along longitudinal axis  218 . Threaded shaft  232  is threadably received within threaded aperture  214  of bit holder  200  thereby securely joining bit holder  200  to handle  230  as shown in the assembled condition in FIG.  27 . This configuration, bit holder  200  can be used as a manual bit driver and tools bits  204  can be selected by slideably removing tool bit  204  out of its bit compartment  206  by using finger pressure to slide the tool bit  204  out of bit compartment  206  and manually positioning it slideably into hex socket  208  until magnet  210  holds tool bit  204  within bit socket  208 . In this manner a total of seven tool bits can be held magnetically in place by bit holder  200  and each bit can be selected according to need. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 29,  30 ,  31  and  32  by using adapter shaft  240  which is threaded on one end to be threadably received within threaded aperture  214  of tool bit  204  and is smooth and/or hexagonally shaped on the other end to be received in drill chuck  242  of a standard portable drill  244  as depicted. By using adapter shaft  240 , bit holder  200  can be mounted into a drill chuck  242  and thereby bit holder  200  can be used as a bit driver on a drill  244 . 
     Referring now to FIGS. 33,  34 ,  35  and  37 , most commercially available drills  244  have a removable drill chuck  242  as shown in FIG.  34 . This drill chuck will either leave behind a threaded shaft  250  which is removable and/or projects out of the end of drill  244  where drill chuck  242  was previously mounted. This threaded end is normally either ⅜ fine thread or ½ fine thread and threaded aperture  214  is adapted in size and threading to be threadably received onto threaded shaft  250  which is either integrally part of drill  244  or can be sold as an adapter piece to allow one to mount bit holder  200  directly onto drill  244 . In this manner, bit holder  200  essentially replaces drill chuck  242 , thereby reducing the weight and the cantilever action of bit holder  200  and minimizes the distance that bit holder  200  projects away from drill  244 . This makes for a much more compact installation than that shown in FIG. 32, reduces weight and certainly if of interest to contractors who are constantly using bit drivers. 
     Alternate Presently Preferred Embodiment 
     An alternate presently preferred embodiment is depicted in FIGS.  38  and on showing the present invention a bit holder  300  which includes the following major components housing  302 , a sleave  304 , shaft  305 , tool bit  309  all of which are assembled together as shown as FIG.  39 . 
     Referring first of all to housing  302  which is preferably injection molded in plastic, it includes the following major components, namely six bit compartments  308  and inter diameter which mates onto out diameter  320  of sleave  304  and a series of twelve groves  310  and the rear portion of housing  302  which comparatively engage with tongues  326  found in sleave  304 . 
     Sleave  304  includes the following major components, retainer portion  324 , inner diameter  322  for fitting onto socket portion  342  of shaft  306 , outer diameter  320  which acts as a baring surface on which housing  302  rotates and tongue  326  extending rearwardly and cooperatively engaging within grooves  310  of housing  302 . Retainer portion  324  further includes an opening  328  through which tool bit  308  may pass through without impediment. 
     Shaft  306  includes the major elements hex portion  340  which is a hexagonally shaped shaft with a socket portion  342  which is normally metallic in material having a magnet  132  wherein said socket portion  342  is dimensioned to receive the hexagonal shaft of tool bit  308 . 
     Assembly and In Use 
     The components described above are firstly assembled as follows. The inner diameter  312  of housing  302  fits slideably over the outer diameter  320  of sleave  304  and are slid over until tongue  326  engage with grooves  310  found within housing  302 . This assembly of housing  302  and sleave  304  is shown in FIG.  38 . This sub assembling is then press fit onto the socket portion  342  of shaft  306  and the inner diameter  322  of sleave  304  is dimensioned to fit interferingly with the outer diameter of socket portion  342 , such that when sleave  304  together with housing  302  are press fit onto socket portion  342  of shaft  306  it is rigidly held in place on shaft  306 . 
     The inner diameter  312  of housing  302  is dimensioned to slideably and rotatably fit over outer diameter  320  of sleave  304  such that housing  302  together with tool bit  309  located within bit compartment  308  can rotate around sleave  304  which is stationary and rigidly positioned onto socket portion  342  of shaft  306 . Groove  310  cooperatively engaging with tongues  326  of sleave  304  provide resistance to turning of housing  302  which can be overcome by hand pressure, namely manually turning housing  302  and rotating it around sleave  304  such that a clicking action occurs as it is moved from one groove  310  to the next. There are essentially double as many grooves  310  as there are bit compartment  308 , such that if there are six bit compartments as shown there are twelve grooves  310  and therefore there are twelve positions to which housing  302  can be moved to. In six of those positions, opening  328  coincides with the opening on one end of bit compartment  308 , thereby allowing a tool bits  309  to freely be removed from bit compartment  308  adjacent to opening  328 . By moving the housing  302  one click further, this locks all of the bits within their compartments and none of the tools bits  309  can be removed from bit compartment  308  since they are being blocked off by retainer portion  324  of sleave  304 . 
     A tool bit  309  is selected from one of its bit compartment  308  as described above and placed in the socket portion  342  of shaft  306  and held in place by magnet  132 . As previously shown in FIG. 15, the hex portion  340  of bit holder can be mounted into a chuck of a drill as shown in FIG. 15 in identical fashion as bit holder  100  is. In this manner, bit holder  300  can be used to quickly and effectively select up to seven bits which can be neatly held within bit holder  300  and organized in such a fashion that they are not lost. 
     Presently Preferred Alternate Embodiment of a Bit Holder 
     FIGS. 44 through 48 inclusive show an alternate embodiment and a bit holder shown generally as  400  in the assembled state in FIG.  48 . Bit holder  400  is very similar to bit holder  300 , the major difference being that the tongue and grooves which are located nearest the back of the body  302  for bit holder  300  have been moved to the front of the body  402  for bit holder  400 . In order to have the tongue  326  and grooves  310  moved to the front of body  402 , sleeve  404  is modified to have the grooves  310  defined therein and the tongues  326  are placed on the front of body  402  rather than on the rear of sleeve  304  as in the previous embodiment. In all other aspects the presently preferred embodiment of bit holder  400  operates and functions in an identical and analogous manner to bit holder  300  with the exception that rather than rotating body  302 , sleeve  404  is rotated relative to body  402  which is stationarily mounted onto shaft  306  and sleeve  404  rotates about the tongues  326  and about shaft  306  as shown in FIGS. 44 through 48. In the previous embodiment bit holder housing  302  was rotatably mounted onto sleeve  304  whereas in the presently preferred embodiment, bit holder housing  402  is securely mounted onto the socket portion  342  of shaft  306  and sleeve  304  is mounted over tongues  326  which are now part of housing  402 . 
     In this manner it would apparent to those skilled in the art that is irrelevant whether or not sleeve  404  or body  402  are rotating, but what is important is that either the body or the sleeve are rotating relative to each other and that the tongue  326  and groove  310  mechanism used can be placed either in the forward portion or the rearward portion of bit holder  400  or  300  as shown in the Figures. For that matter the tongue and groove mechanism can be mounted in a different location and yet render the same function. 
     It should be apparent to persons skilled in the arts that various modifications and adaptation of this structure described above are possible without departure from the spirit of the invention the scope of which defined in the appended claim.