Patent 7267185 was granted and assigned to Smith International on September, 2007 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A bit retainer system comprising a casing, a driver sub adapted to be disposed around a shank of a bit, and a bit retainer. The driver sub comprises a threaded connector, a threaded pin end configured to engage with the hammer case, and a stop. The bit retainer comprises a load carrying threaded connector configured to engage with the threaded connector of the driver sub, and a catch thread configured to retain the head of a bit to the system.