ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 8 -- United States Patent no. 12,434,308, issued on Oct. 7, was assigned to MILWAUKEE ELECTRIC TOOL Corp. (Brookfield, Wis.).
"Step drill bit" was invented by Douglas W. Allen (Oconomowoc, Wis.), Courtney D. McCool (Menomonee Falls, Wis.), Smith C. Theiler (Plymouth, Wis.) and Richard Hohnl Jr. (Racine, Wis.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A drill bit includes a shank and a body portion defining a plurality of axially stacked, progressively sized steps. The steps include a first step and a terminal step. The first step defines two tip flutes each disposed at a tip flute angle. The body portion defines a body flute extending through the steps. The drill bit also includes a...