Lever actuated keyless chuck

A chuck for use with a manual or powered driver having a rotatable drive shaft, said chuck comprising:

• a) a generally cylindrical body member having a nose section and a tail section, said tail section adapted to mate with the drive shaft of the driver 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) 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 for engaging a tool to be held thereby, and threads formed on the opposite side thereof for engagement with a nut;
• c) a nut rotatably mounted with respect to said body member and in engagement with said threads on said jaws;
• d) a front sleeve member in driving engagement with said nut and overlying said nose section of said body member so that when said front sleeve member is rotated with respect to said body member, said jaws will be moved thereby;
• e) a supplemental tightening mechanism configured and disposed so as to force said nut toward said nose section and thereby cause said jaws to produce an enhanced tightening force on the tool;
• and
• f) a spring member configured and disposed to resiliently bias said front sleeve member toward said tail section of said body member.

A chuck for use with a manual or powered driver having a rotatable drive shaft, said chuck comprising:

• a) a generally cylindrical body member having a nose section and a tail section, said tail section adapted to mate with the drive shaft of the driver, said nose section having an axial bore formed therein and a plurality of angularly disposed passageways formed therethrough and intersecting said axial bore, said axial bore being disposed symmetrically about an axial centerline;
• b) 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 for engaging a tool to be held thereby, and threads formed on the opposite side thereof for engagement with a nut;
• c) a nut rotatably mounted with respect to said body member and in engagement with said threads on said jaws;
• d) a front sleeve member in driving engagement with said nut and overlying said nose section of said body member so that when said front sleeve member is rotated with respect to said body member, said jaws will be moved thereby;
• e) a supplemental tightening mechanism, said supplemental tightening mechanism including a camming portion rotatable with respect to said body member, said supplemental tightening mechanism further including a plurality of lever bars, one portion of each of said lever bars forming a cam follower and another portion of each of said lever bars operatively associated with said nut so that when said supplemental tightening mechanism is actuated by rotation of said camming portion, said lever bars will force said nut toward said nose section and thereby cause said jaws to produce an enhanced tightening force on the tool;
• f) a thrust ring disposed on said body member and extending radially from said body member, said thrust ring defining at least one mating surface configured with a spherical shape for pivotally receiving one said lever bar;
• and
• g) wherein said one lever bar has a seating surface configured with a spherical shape for pivotal movement against said spherically-shaped mating surface of said thrust ring, said seating surface of said one lever bar being pivotally received in said mating surface of said thrust ring.