Patent ID: 7523946

Claim:
An expandable chuck for holding substrates of various inside diameters, comprising (a) a housing having a first end and a second end, an inside and an outside surface, said inside surface, defining a passageway in communication with said first end and said second end; (b) a moveable plunger assembly comprising a first portion exterior to said first end of said housing having a terminal end, a second portion extending through said passageway of said housing, and a third portion exterior to said second end of said housing and terminating in an expanded end; (c) a stretchable hollow bulb defining a first end and a second end, wherein said bulb comprises a wall of varying thickness having an inner surface, defining a cavity, and a substantially smooth and continuous outer surface, the inner and outer surfaces being substantially in fluid isolation from each other, and wherein the first end of said bulb engages said second end of said housing and the second end of said bulb abuts said expanded end of said plunger, whereby the entire bulb is external to said housing; and (d) a stop device comprising a ring-like flange radially extending from the outside surface of said housing and positioned at a location proximate to the second end of said housing, wherein the stop device is configured to abut an outside surface of the substrate and facilitate a stop for a measured length insertion into the substrate; wherein said plunger assembly is operationally configured with respect to said bulb to cause said bulb to expand in diameter for a period of time when said terminal end of said first portion of said plunger is moved in a distal direction to said first end of said housing so as to form a hermetic seal by contact of an outer surface of the bulb against an inner surface of the substrate to prevent fluid migration into the interior of the substrate, and to decrease in diameter for a period of time when said terminal end of said first portion of said plunger is moved in a proximal direction to said first end of said housing.