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Electric tool powered by a plurality of battery packs and adapter therefor

a battery pack and power tool technology, applied in the direction of batteries, sustainable manufacturing/processing, safety/protection circuits, etc., can solve the problems of over-discharged battery pack damage, no longer useable, and damage to the battery pack so seriously, so as to achieve greater flexibility and convenience for users, the effect of increasing the capacity of the battery pack

Inactive Publication Date: 2013-06-27
MAKITA CORP
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]In one aspect of the present teachings, this problem is addressed by arranging a plurality of indicators configured to indicate at least one condition of each respective battery pack such that all of the indicators are simultaneously viewable by the electric power tool user. Therefore, the information being communicated by all of the indicators can be conveniently and reliably conveyed to the user, such that the likelihood of a battery abnormality, which is being indicated for one or more of the battery packs, being overlooked is substantially reduced.
[0008]With such a power tool, the tool user can conveniently and reliably view or see all of the indicators simultaneously and thus can visually recognize the respective conditions of the attached battery packs simultaneously. As a result, if an abnormality is indicated by one or more of the indicators, the tool user can immediately stop the usage of the electric power tool and thereby avoid unnecessary, and possibly irreparable, damage to the battery pack(s).
[0010]In one embodiment of the present teachings, it is preferred that each battery pack comprises a plurality of lithium-ion cells and the nominal voltage of the battery packs is equal to or greater than 7.0 volts, more preferably equal to or greater than 12.0 volts and even more preferably equal to or greater than 18.0 volts. Over-discharging and overheating can cause significant damage to lithium-ion cells. Consequently, the present teachings are advantageous for preventing the lithium-ion cells from over-discharging and becoming overheated, thereby lengthening the service life of the battery packs.
[0012]Such an embodiment is also advantageous, because the lower-voltage battery pack (e.g., an 18 volt battery pack) can also be used with corresponding lower-voltage power tools (e.g., an 18 volt tool), thereby providing greater flexibility and convenience to the user.

Problems solved by technology

When battery packs are connected in series, the battery packs can be damaged in some situations.
In this case, the over-discharged battery pack may be damaged so seriously that it is no longer useable.
However, even when such indicators are provided, the battery packs can still be over-discharged or become overheated unless the user can see the indicators properly and easily.
If the user does not see an indicator that is indicating an abnormality, because the indicator is located in a position not readily visible to the user, the battery pack corresponding to the indicator can still be over-discharged or become overheated.
Over-discharging and overheating can cause significant damage to lithium-ion cells.

Method used

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  • Electric tool powered by a plurality of battery packs and adapter therefor
  • Electric tool powered by a plurality of battery packs and adapter therefor
  • Electric tool powered by a plurality of battery packs and adapter therefor

Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0036]FIG. 1 shows an exemplary, non-limiting group of cordless power tool products according to one embodiment of the present teachings. As shown in FIG. 1, the group of products includes two types of battery packs 10, 30, three types of electric power tools 50, 70, 100, and two types of adapters 200, 300. The “high-voltage” electric power tool 70 is normally intended to use a single “high-voltage” battery pack 30 as a power source. However, the adapters 200, 300 may serve to electrically connect a plurality of “low-voltage” battery packs 10 to a main body 72 of the electric power tool 70 so that the electric power tool 70 is supplied with the same or substantially the same voltage as the “high-voltage” battery pack 30.

[0037]In the present exemplary embodiment, the first battery pack 10 has a nominal voltage of 18 volts and the second battery pack 30 has a nominal voltage of 36 volts. For the sake of convenience in the following description, the first battery pack 10 having the nom...

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Abstract

An electric power tool comprises a main body supporting a tool and an electric motor housed in the main body for driving the tool. A plurality of first battery interfaces is configured to removably receive or attach a plurality of first battery packs and to electrically connect the plurality of attached first battery packs in series with the electric motor. A plurality of indicators is configured to communicate information concerning the respective conditions of the plurality of attached first battery packs. The plurality of indicators is arranged such that all of the indicators are simultaneously viewable by a user of the electric power tool.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-029505 filed on Feb. 12, 2010, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into the present application.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present invention relates to an electric power tool powered by a plurality of battery packs and an adapter therefor.DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART[0003]U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,858 discloses an electric power tool that simultaneously uses two battery packs as a power source. In this electric power tool, the two battery packs are connected in series so that a high voltage is supplied to an electric motor of the electric power tool. As a result, a higher voltage output suitable for power-intensive operations can be generated, which output is higher than is possible when only one battery pack is used as the power source.SUMMARY[0004]When battery packs are connected in series, the battery packs can be damaged in some situations. For exam...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Applications(United States)
IPC IPC(8): H01M2/10H01M50/244H01M50/247H01M50/296H01M50/574
CPCB23B2260/024H01M2/10H01M2/1022H01M2/1027H01M2/1033H01M2/1061H01M6/42H01M10/0525H01M10/058H01M10/48H01M10/488H01M2200/103H02J7/0063H02J2007/004B25F5/00H02J7/00306H02J7/00309Y02E60/10H01M50/267A01G20/47Y02P70/50H02J7/007182H01M50/247H01M50/296H01M50/574H01M50/244H01M2220/30H02J7/00036H01M50/213H02J7/0045
Inventor OTA, TOMOYUKINISHIBE, KIYOSHISUZUKI, HITOSHI
Owner MAKITA CORP
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