Patent ID: 7748719

Claim:
A chuck for securing a tool with a shank to a manual or powered driver having a drive shaft, said chuck comprising: a. a generally cylindrical body having a nose section and a tail section, said tail section being configured to rotate with the drive shaft of the driver and said nose section having an axial bore formed therein; b. a plurality of jaws movably disposed with respect to said body in communication with said axial bore, said jaws defining a tool engaging surface on one side thereof and a first plurality of threads on an opposite side; c. a nut rotationally mounted on said body and defining a plurality of threads on an inner circumference thereof, said nut being in threaded engagement with said jaws such that rotation of said nut causes said jaws to move with respect to said body; d. a generally cylindrical sleeve rotatably mounted about said body and in driving engagement with said nut so that rotation of said sleeve in a closing direction moves said jaws toward said axial bore and rotation of said sleeve in an opening direction moves said jaws away from said axial bore; e. a first ring defining a plurality of teeth formed thereon; and f. a second ring that is rotatable relative to said nut over a limited arc and that defines at least one pawl thereon, said at least one pawl being biased toward said first ring of teeth so that, when said chuck is in a first state, said first ring and said second ring are rotationally coupled to each other in both said opening and closing directions such that said first ring and said second ring are rotatable about said body, and when said chuck is in a second state in which said jaws clamp onto the shank of the tool, said second ring is rotatable relative to said first ring in said closing direction causing an audible click but is non-rotatable relative to said first ring in said opening direction.