Patent ID: 8371779

Claim:
A chuck for use with a manual or powered driver having a housing and a rotatable drive shaft extending therefrom, said chuck comprising: a. a generally cylindrical body having a nose section and a tail section, said tail section defining an annular shoulder and configured to mate with said drive shaft so that said body rotates with said drive shaft and said nose section having an axial bore formed therein and a plurality of angularly disposed passageways formed therethrough and intersecting said axial bore; b. an O-ring disposed in said annular shoulder of said tail section; c. a plurality of jaws slidably positioned in each of said angularly disposed passageways, each of said jaws having a jaw face formed on one side thereof and threads formed on the opposite side thereof; d. a nut rotatably mounted on said body in engagement with said threads on said jaws so that rotation of said nut moves said jaws axially within said passageways; e. a first sleeve; and f. a second sleeve, wherein each of said first sleeve and said second sleeve defines a gripping surface thereon, wherein, in a first state, said first sleeve is rotationally held to said body and said second sleeve is rotationally held to said nut and is rotatable with respect to said housing and with respect to said body, and wherein one of said first sleeve and said second sleeve is axially reciprocal between said first state and a second state in which said one of said first sleeve and said second sleeve is rotationally held to said nut and said housing and is rotatable with respect to said body, said one of said first sleeve and said second sleeve defines an annular groove on an inner surface thereof, an axial length of said annular groove being defined by a first shoulder and a second shoulder, said O-ring being received in said groove such that axial motion of said one of said first sleeve and said second sleeve is limited by abutment of said O-ring with said first and said second shoulders of said axial groove.