Patent Application
20080179840
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a chuck device, more particularly to a chuck device that reliably secures a tool bit to a handle of a hand tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional chuck device serves to secure a tool bit 5 to a handle 61 of a hand tool 6.
The tool bit 5 has a tip 502, and a shank 501 that extends from the tip 502 thereof, that has a hexagonal cross-section, and that has six corners, each of which is formed with a tapered groove 500.
The socket 1 is connected to an end of the handle 61 of the hand tool 6, defines an axially extending shank-receiving groove 101, which has a hexagonal cross section and into which the shank 501 of the tool bit 5 is inserted, and is formed with a radially extending through-hole 102, which is in spatial communication with the shank-receiving groove 101.
The detent ball 2 is disposed movably in the through-hole 102 in the socket 1, and is movable relative to the socket 1 between an engaging position, where the detent ball 2 extends into the shank-receiving groove 101 in the socket 1, and a disengaging position, where the detent ball 2 is disposed out of the shank-receiving groove 101 in the socket 1.
The sleeve 7 is sleeved movably on the socket 1, and has a first end portion 701, and a second end portion 702 which is opposite to and which has a larger diameter than that of the first end portion 701 of the sleeve 7. The sleeve 7 is movable relative to the socket 1 in a first axial direction, as indicated by arrow (A), for aligning the second end portion 702 of the sleeve 7 with the through hole 102 in the socket 1 to thereby permit movement of the detent ball 2 to the disengaging position, and thus extension of the detent ball 2 into a gap between the second end portion 702 of the sleeve 7 and the socket 1, and in a second axial direction opposite to the first axial direction, as indicated by arrow (B), for aligning the first end portion 701 of the sleeve 7 with the through hole 102 in the socket 1 to thereby permit the first end portion 701 of the sleeve 7 to push the detent ball 2, and thus cause movement of the detent ball 2 to the engaging position.
The biasing member 4 is sleeved on the socket 1, and has opposite ends that respectively abut against the sleeve 7 and the socket 1 for biasing movement of the sleeve 7 in the second axial direction.
In use, when it is desired to secure the tool bit 5 to the handle 61 of the hand tool 6, the sleeve 7 is first moved in the first axial direction against biasing action of the biasing member 4 until the second end portion 702 of the sleeve 7 is aligned with the through-hole 102 in the socket 1. Then, the shank 501 of the tool bit 5 is inserted into the shank-receiving groove 101 and pushes against the detent ball 2 to thereby cause movement of the detent ball 2 to the disengaging position. Thereafter, the sleeve 7 is moved in the second axial direction to thereby permit the detent ball 2 to engage one of the tapered grooves 500 in the shank 501 of the tool bit 5.
The aforementioned conventional chuck device is disadvantageous in that, as best shown in
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a chuck device that can overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.
According to the present invention, a chuck device for a hand tool comprises a socket and an engaging piece. The socket defines an axially extending shank-receiving groove, and is formed with a radially extending through-hole that is in spatial communication with the shank-receiving groove. The engaging piece is disposed movably in the through-hole in the socket, has a tapered end, and is movable relative to the socket between an engaging position, where the tapered end thereof is disposed in the shank-receiving groove in the socket, and a disengaging position, where the tapered end thereof is disposed out of the shank-receiving groove in the socket.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
The chuck device 100 of this embodiment serves to secure a tool bit 200 to a handle 301 of a hand tool 300, in a manner that will be described hereinafter.
The tool bit 200 has a tip 220, and a shank 210 that extends from the tip 220 thereof, that has a hexagonal cross section, and that has six corners, each of which is formed with a tapered groove 230.
The socket 10 is connected to an end of the handle 301 of the hand tool 300, defines an axially extending shank-receiving groove 11, and is formed with a radially extending through-hole 14 that is in spatial communication with the shank-receiving groove 11. In this embodiment, the shank-receiving groove 11 has a hexagonal cross section to thereby permit insertion of the shank 210 of the tool bit 200 thereinto.
With further reference to
The engaging piece 20 is movable relative to the socket 10 between an engaging position, where the tapered end 21 thereof is disposed in the shank-receiving groove 11 in the socket 10, and a disengaging position, where the tapered end 21 thereof is disposed out of the shank-receiving groove 11 in the socket 10.
The chuck device 100 further includes a sleeve 30 that is sleeved movably on an outer surface 13 of the socket 10. In this embodiment, the sleeve 30 has an inner surface 31 that is formed with first and second annular recesses 32, 33 so as to define an annular shoulder 34 therebetween.
The sleeve 30 is movable relative to the socket 10 between a first axial direction, as indicated by arrow (I), for aligning the first annular recess 32 in the inner surface 31 of the sleeve 30 with the through-hole 14 in the socket 10 to thereby permit movement of the engaging piece 20 to the disengaging position, and thus extension of the rounded end 22 of the engaging piece 20 into the first annular recess 32, and in a second axial direction, as indicated by arrow (II), for aligning the annular shoulder 34 of the inner surface 31 of the sleeve 30 with the through-hole 14 in the socket 10 to thereby permit the shoulder 34 to push the rounded end 22 of the engaging piece 20, and thus cause movement of the engaging piece 20 to the engaging position.
The chuck device 100 further includes a biasing member 40 for biasing movement of the sleeve 30 in the second axial direction. In particular, the outer surface 13 of the socket 10 is further provided with a radially and outwardly extending annular flange 15 that extends into the second annular recess 33 in the socket 10. The biasing member 40, such as a coil spring, is sleeved on the socket 10, is disposed in the second annular recess 33 in the sleeve 30, and has opposite ends that respectively abut against the shoulder 34 of the inner surface 31 of the sleeve 30 and the annular flange 15 of the outer surface 13 of the socket 10.
In use, when it is desired to secure the tool bit 200 to the handle 301 of the hand tool 300, as best shown in
It is noted that, since the tapered end 21 of the of the engaging piece 20 has a shape that corresponds to that of each of the tapered grooves 230 in the shank 210 of the tool bit 200, the tapered end 21 of the engaging piece 20 extends fittingly into one of the tapered grooves 230 in the shank 210 of the tool bit 200 when the chuck device 100 of this invention secures the tool bit 200 to the handle 301 of the hand tool 300. That is, physical contact between the engaging piece 20 of the chuck device 100 of this invention and the tool bit 200 is relatively large when the chuck device 100 of this invention secures the tool bit 200 to the handle 301 of the hand tool 300. As such, it is ensured that the tool bit 200 is reliably secured to the handle 301 of the hand tool 300.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
