Self disengaging keyless chuck

Claim 1

A chuck comprising, a chuck body having an axis of rotation and a front, three jaws mounted on said body on axes converging forwardly and inclined relative to said axis of rotation and equally spaced around the body, said axes being positioned relative to the axis of the chuck body so that the jaws move inwardly on said converging axes toward a fully closed position and outwardly on said axes towards a fully open position, a split nut mounted on said body for rotation relative to said body and encircling said jaws, said split nut having a threaded connection with the jaws whereby said jaws move on said inclined axes between said fully closed position and said fully open position in response to relative rotation between said body and said split nut, a retainer having a press fit on said split nut to retain said split nut assembled, a sleeve having an inside and an outside and mounted on said body for axial movement relative to said body, first and second interference members, said first interference members being integral with said sleeve, said second interference members facing rearwardly and being integral with said split nut and being engaged by said first interference members as said sleeve moves axially forwardly on said body, said outside of said sleeve being manually engaged to move said sleeve axially, said jaws being engageable with said inside of said sleeve as the jaws approach said fully open position so that the sleeve is moved rearwardly to disengage said first interference members from said second interference members.