Patent ID: 8777231

Claim:
A chuck for use with a manual or powered driver having a rotatable drive shaft, said chuck comprising: a generally cylindrical body having a nose section, a tail section and a first set of locking teeth on said body, said nose section having an axial bore formed therein; a plurality of jaws movably disposed with respect to said body and in communication with said axial bore; a nut rotatably mounted about said body such that rotation of said nut in a closing direction moves said jaws toward a longitudinal center axis of said axial bore and rotation of said nut in an opening direction moves said jaws away from said longitudinal center axis; a first sleeve rotatably mounted about said body, said first sleeve being rotatable over a limited angular distance between a first angular position and a second angular position with respect to said nut; and a second sleeve rotatably mounted to said body and rotatably fixed to said nut, said second sleeve including a first portion, a second portion and a second set of locking teeth disposed on one of said first portion and said second portion of said second sleeve, each said first and second portions being movable in a direction transverse to said longitudinal center axis, wherein said first portion of said second sleeve moves radially outward away from said longitudinal center axis and said second portion of said second sleeve moves radially inward toward said longitudinal center axis when said first sleeve transitions from said first angular position to said second angular position.