US Patent Issued to MILWAUKEE ELECTRIC TOOL on June 16 for "Step drill bit" (Wisconsin Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,654,239, issued on June 16, was assigned to MILWAUKEE ELECTRIC TOOL Corp. (Brookfield, Wis.).

"Step drill bit" was invented by James J. Van Essen (Hales Corners, Wis.) and Jacob A. Krabbe (Milwaukee).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A step drill bit including a shank extending along a bit axis and a body having a proximal end adjacent the shank and a distal end opposite the proximal end. The body includes a bit tip adjacent the distal end. The bit tip includes a diameter in a direction perpendicular to the bit axis. The body defines a plurality of axially stacked, progressively sized steps including a first step adjacent and a terminal step...