Abstract: A jaw chuck provided with an inner sleevelike housing which, at its forward end, is provided with radially extending T-shaped slots which slidably accommodate the jaw carriers. The inner housing is totally surrounded and fixedly connected to an outer sleevelike housing which overlaps the outer ends of the slots. A push-type activator is disposed adjacent the rearward end of the inner housing and is axially slidable relative thereto. This activator includes wedges which project axially forwardly and are slidably and wedgably engaged with the jaw carriers for effecting radial displacement thereof. The wedges have the outer peripheries thereof axially slidably supported on the inner periphery of the outer housing.

Abstract: A jaw chuck construction having an inner sleevelike body containing a plurality of radial guide grooves in which are slidably disposed jaw carriers. An actuator device is axially slidably supported within the inner body and has axially projecting wedges which cooperate with mating wedges formed on the jaw carriers for camming same radially toward or away from a workpiece. The axially projecting wedges slidably project into central slots formed in the individual jaw carriers for engaging the latter substantially centrally of the jaw carrier to minimize tilting and off-center loading of the jaw carriers.

Abstract: Counterbalanced mechanism for a jaw chuck. There is provided for an otherwise conventional multi-jaw chuck suitable mechanism for independently balancing each said jaw. In a preferred embodiment, a pin is pivotally fixed at one of its ends into each master jaw, pivoted to the chuck body intermediate its ends and pivotally related at its other end to a radially movable counterbalancing mass. Each said mass and jaw are so related to the lever pin upon which they operate that they create balancing moments when the centrifugal force acting on each is equal and, due to the geometry of the apparatus, said moments remain sufficiently close to equal at any speed of operation of the chuck that a substantial balancing of the parts is obtained. Thus, whether the chuck is inside gripping or outside gripping, it can be properly adjusted in a normal manner at a standstill and the pressure of the chuck onto the workpiece will not materially change within the range of any normal operating speed.

Abstract: Self-ejecting chuck key for a gear chuck. A coil spring is arranged on the key of a gear chuck around the shank thereof and between means for holding same in position. Said spring includes a number of turns enlarged to clear the bevel gear of the key and preferably extends beyond said gear to a point between the small end of said gear and the end of the key. Said spring is made sufficiently soft that it can bear on both the body and the jaw nut of the chuck simultaneously without interfering with the effective and convenient operation of the key.