Patent ID: 7243923

Claim:
A chuck for a drill comprising: a body member having a wall defining a bore for receiving a tool to be retained in said chuck; jaw members received in said body member, said jaw members for frictionally engaging the tool to be retained in said chuck; a mechanism for opening and closing said jaw members, said mechanism associated with said jaw members and body member for moving said jaw members between clamping and non-clamping positions; and a centering mechanism extending radially into said body member bore, said centering mechanism including a plurality of discontinuous discrete projecting members and a plurality of openings positioned between adjacent discrete projecting members, each said discrete projecting member positioned only between adjacent jaw members to occupy a gap between adjacent jaw members and said jaw members occupying said openings between said adjacent discrete projecting members, and said discrete projecting members prohibiting the tool from contacting said body member wall enabling said jaw members to contact and clamp the tool.