Drill Chuck Assembly

Abstract

A drill chuck assembly. The drill chuck assembly includes a rapid change mechanism configured to retain a drill bit shank inserted therein. The drill chuck assembly includes a body having a bore with a trilobe cross-section that is configured to receive a triangular and hexagonally shaped drill bit shank, interchangeably. The bore includes a slot positioned in each lobe that slidably contains a detent ball therein. A collar is affixed annularly around the body and defines a channel extending around the body. A sleeve is slidably mounted around the body. The sleeve includes a tapered end that is slidably disposed within the channel and has circular apertures that are in communication with the slots of the bore for reception of the detent balls. The sleeve is spring biased towards the collar, which forces the detent balls against an angular wall within the channel. The angular wall in turn forces the detent balls laterally towards a center of the bore, thereby exerting a force on a drill bit shank inserted into the bore and preventing the withdrawal of the shank from the bore. When the bias force of the sleeve is counteracted by sliding the sleeve about its longitudinal axis, the detent balls move outwardly along the angular wall, thereby relieving the force exerted onto the shank by the wall and allowing the shank to be withdrawn.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A drill chuck assembly, comprising:
 a body including an upper end, a lower end, and a bore extending longitudinally therethrough;   the bore including a trilobe configuration configured to interchangeably receive a triangular drill bit shank and a hexagonal drill bit shank;   a plurality of slots extending longitudinally along the body;   wherein the plurality of slots are in communication with the bore;   a collar disposed about the body at the upper end thereof, the collar including an angled wall;   a sleeve slidably positioned along the body, the sleeve longitudinally slidable between a first position and a second position;   the sleeve biased to the first position by a spring;   the sleeve including a plurality of apertures, wherein each of the plurality of apertures are aligned and in communication with a respective slot of the plurality of slots;   a plurality of detent balls, each of the plurality of detent balls positioned in one of the plurality of apertures and extending into the respective slot;   wherein the plurality of detent balls are slidable along the plurality of slots;   the spring disposed between an external body shoulder of the body and a sleeve shoulder of the sleeve,   wherein an upper body portion of the body includes a first external diameter between the upper end and external body shoulder and a lower body portion of the body includes a second external diameter between the external body shoulder and the lower end, wherein the first external diameter is less than the second external diameter.   
     
     
         2 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the lower body portion comprises an external diameter greater than or equal to an external diameter of the external body shoulder;   the external diameter of the lower body portion is greater than the first external diameter of the upper body portion.   
     
     
         3 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the lower end is configured to threadably engage a rotational drive. 
     
     
         4 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein one of the plurality of slots is disposed at each lobe of the body. 
     
     
         5 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the angled wall and the body define a channel therebetween, the channel including a depth that increases from the upper end towards the lower end. 
     
     
         6 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of detent balls are configured to laterally depress and transition longitudinally along the angled wall when a drill bit shank is inserted into the bore, thereby sliding the sleeve towards the lower end to a locked position in which a depth of the channel is equal to a diameter of the plurality of detent balls. 
     
     
         7 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the locked position secures the drill bit shank within the bore via a bias force exerted by the spring. 
     
     
         8 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein moving the sleeve to the second position moves the plurality of detent balls to a position in the channel wherein a depth of the channel is larger than a diameter of the plurality of detent balls, releasing the drill bit shank. 
     
     
         9 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the upper end of the body further comprises a notch disposed annularly therearound, the notch configured to receive a snap ring. 
     
     
         10 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve further comprises a knurled portion. 
     
     
         11 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising an internal body shoulder having a bore extending longitudinally therethrough, the internal body shoulder configured to prevent passage of the triangular drill bit shank and the hexagonal drill bit shank received therein. 
     
     
         12 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the body is a monolithic member. 
     
     
         13 . A drill chuck assembly, comprising:
 a body including an upper end, a lower end, and a bore extending longitudinally therethrough;   the bore including a trilobe configuration configured to interchangeably receive a triangular drill bit shank and a hexagonal drill bit shank;   a plurality of slots extending longitudinally along the body;   wherein the plurality of slots are in communication with the bore;   a collar disposed about the body at the upper end thereof, the collar including an angled wall;   a sleeve slidably positioned along the body, the sleeve longitudinally slidable between a first position and a second position;   the sleeve biased to the first position by a spring;   the sleeve including a plurality of apertures, wherein each of the plurality of apertures are aligned and in communication with a respective slot of the plurality of slots;   a plurality of detent balls, each of the plurality of detent balls positioned in one of the plurality of apertures and extending into the respective slot;   wherein the plurality of detent balls are slidable along the plurality of slots;   the sleeve comprising a lower sleeve portion, the lower sleeve portion disposed rearward an external body shoulder in the first position.   
     
     
         14 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the lower sleeve portion is coaxial with a lower body portion, the lower body portion defined between the external body shoulder and the lower end. 
     
     
         15 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the lower end is configured to threadably engage a rotational drive. 
     
     
         16 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 13 , wherein the angled wall and the body define a channel therebetween, the channel including a depth that increases from the upper end towards the lower end. 
     
     
         17 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the locked position secures the drill bit shank within the bore via a bias force exerted by the spring. 
     
     
         18 . A drill chuck assembly, comprising:
 a body including an upper end, a lower end, and a bore extending longitudinally therethrough;   the bore including a trilobe configuration configured to interchangeably receive a triangular drill bit shank and a hexagonal drill bit shank;   a plurality of slots extending longitudinally along the body;   wherein the plurality of slots are in communication with the bore;   a collar disposed about the body at the upper end thereof, the collar including an angled wall;   a sleeve slidably positioned along the body, the sleeve longitudinally slidable between a first position and a second position;   the sleeve biased to the first position by a spring;   the sleeve including a plurality of apertures, wherein each of the plurality of apertures are aligned and in communication with a respective slot of the plurality of slots;   a plurality of detent balls, each of the plurality of detent balls positioned in one of the plurality of apertures and extending into the respective slot;   wherein the plurality of detent balls are slidable along the plurality of slots;   the spring disposed within a spring chamber between an external body shoulder of the body and a sleeve shoulder of the sleeve,   wherein an interior surface of the sleeve forms an outer sidewall of the spring chamber;   wherein the interior surface of the sleeve is slidably aligned with an exterior surface of the body along an entire coaxial region;   wherein the coaxial region defined as an area of the sleeve overlapping the body in the second position between the external body shoulder and a terminal end of the sleeve.   
     
     
         19 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 18 , wherein the interior surface frictionally engages the coaxial region between the first position and the second position. 
     
     
         20 . The drill chuck assembly of  claim 18 , wherein the interior surface of the sleeve remains a constant distance from the exterior surface of the body along an entire coaxial region.