Patent ID: 6848691

Claim:
A hammerlock chuck for use with a manual or powered drill comprising: a. a body having i. a nose section having an axial bore formed therein ii. a tail section, and iii. and jaw housings angularly disposed in the nose section and intersecting the axial bore; b. a plurality of jaws corresponding to the jaw housings, each jaw being slidably disposed in a corresponding jaw housing and having a gripping surface formed on one side and threads formed on the opposite side; c. a gear ring rotatably mounted about the body and being configured to frictionally lock to the body, the gear ring in operative engagement with the threads on the jaws such that when the gear ring is rotated with respect to the body, the jaws will be moved; d. a ring nut disposed for rotation about the body and engaging the jaw threads; and, e. at least one pawl rotatably associated with the gear ring and being configured such that when the gear ring is frictionally locked to the body, the pawl engages the gear ring until application of sufficient torque to overcome the engagement of the pawl with the gear ring.