Patent ID: 7882682

Claim:
A capping chuck apparatus for use with a bottle cap defining a cap top, a cap bottom, and a cap side positioned between the top and bottom, the cap side including cap knurling, the apparatus comprising: a chuck body defining an interior cap aperture with a perimeter defining at least one extension aperture; at least one cap gripping element extending through the at least one extension aperture and positioned to engage said cap knurling to rotationally engage said bottle cap with said chuck body; an elastic force element having an exterior surface and an interior surface, the interior surface contacting the exterior of the gripping elements and biasing the gripping elements into the cap aperture; and an exterior ball retainer contacting the exterior surface and capturing the elastic force element on the cap gripping elements such that the elastic force element is compressed between the ball and the exterior ball retainer when a cap is inserted into the cap aperture.