Rechargeable battery pack

Abstract

The invention relates to a rechargeable battery which is designed to be detachably received in a receiving arrangement of a handheld electric power tool and / or a charging station, wherein the rechargeable battery has at least one rechargeable battery cell which is arranged within a housing of the rechargeable battery, wherein the rechargeable battery has a mechanical lock with a release position and a locking position, wherein the mechanical lock is designed to prevent the rechargeable battery from being received into the receiving arrangement in the locking position, and wherein the mechanical lock is triggered by an increase in volume of the rechargeable battery cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a rechargeable battery pack designed for detachable reception in a receiving deployment area of ​​a handheld power tool and / or charging station. The rechargeable battery pack has at least one rechargeable battery cell disposed within a housing of the battery pack. This type of rechargeable battery pack is known in principle from the prior art. The phenomenon of so-called swelling (also known as expansion) is also known from the prior art. This is problematic because it can cause the rechargeable battery pack housing to burst. Consequently, the rechargeable battery pack itself or its electronics may be damaged, potentially posing a risk to the user. Background Technology

[0002] European patent application EP 3 591 739 A1 describes a rechargeable battery pack with pouch cells, wherein the rechargeable battery pack has at least one circuit breaker designed to at least temporarily interrupt the drawing of current from the pouch cells, wherein the circuit breaker is triggered by the expansion of the pouch cells. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The object of this invention is to provide an alternative configuration of rechargeable battery pack that provides a basis for improving operational reliability.

[0004] This objective is achieved by the rechargeable battery pack having a mechanical lock with a release position and a locked position, wherein the mechanical lock is designed to prevent the rechargeable battery pack from being received into the receiving deployment area in the locked position, and wherein the mechanical lock is triggered by an increase in the volume of the rechargeable battery cell.

[0005] This invention includes the discovery that defective rechargeable battery packs in the prior art (e.g., electrical circuit breakers provided in the prior art) are typically only identifiable due to the malfunction of handheld power tools. However, the rechargeable battery pack according to the invention has a mechanical lock, allowing defective rechargeable battery packs to be identified "tactilely" by the fact that a handheld power tool and / or the receiving deployment area of ​​a charging station can no longer be inserted. A particular advantage of the invention is that it is not necessary to supply power to the mechanical lock itself. Accordingly, the mechanical lock will also function if any electronics in the rechargeable battery pack are damaged or disabled for other reasons.

[0006] In a particularly preferred improvement, the housing has a mechanical interface through which a rechargeable battery pack can be received in a receiving deployment area. It has been found advantageous that a mechanical lock is arranged at the mechanical interface. In another particularly preferred improvement, the mechanical interface is designed as a connecting strip. By means of the connecting strip, the rechargeable battery pack can be advantageously pushed onto a receiving unit corresponding to the connecting strip and arranged in the receiving deployment area of ​​a handheld power tool and / or charging station.

[0007] In a further preferred improvement, the mechanical lock has a bolt. It has been found advantageous that the bolt is preloaded to the released position by a spring element of the mechanical lock. In a further preferred improvement, the spring element is arranged such that the expanded rechargeable battery cell can overcome the preload of the spring element. It has been found advantageous that the bolt is arranged on the connecting strip of the rechargeable battery pack. In a particularly preferred improvement, the strip is directly locked by the bolt when the mechanical lock is in the locked position. Alternatively or otherwise, the bolt or additional bolt may be arranged at a distance from the connecting strip of the rechargeable battery pack.

[0008] It has been found advantageous that the mechanical lock has a mechanical indicator element. This mechanical indicator element can signal to the user a rechargeable battery pack malfunction (rechargeable battery cell swelling). In a particularly preferred improvement, the mechanical indicator element is provided as a portion of a colored material. In a further particularly preferred improvement, the indicator element is provided on the bolt of the mechanical lock as a portion of a bolt made of a material different in color from the bolt itself. For example, the bolt may comprise black plastic, wherein the indicator element integrally formed with the bolt may be provided as a portion of red plastic.

[0009] In a further preferred improvement, the rechargeable battery pack includes a stop designed to prevent manually operated mechanical locks from moving from the locked position to the released position. The advantage of this stop is that it prevents a defective rechargeable battery pack from accidentally "activating" or at least makes it more difficult for it to do so.

[0010] In a further preferred improvement, the rechargeable battery pack has a latch delay element designed to hold the mechanical lock in the released position as the rechargeable battery cells expand until the rechargeable battery pack is removed from the receiving deployment area. This allows for the removal of a defective rechargeable battery pack from the receiving deployment area of ​​the handheld power tool before the mechanical lock effectively jumps into the locked position.

[0011] It has been found advantageous that the mechanical lock differs from any manual locking mechanism provided on the rechargeable battery pack. In a further preferred improvement, in addition to a mechanical lock that is preferably not manually operable by the user, the rechargeable battery pack also has a manual locking mechanism that specifically prevents the rechargeable battery pack from sliding out of the reception deployment area of ​​the handheld power tool and / or charging station in an undesirable manner.

[0012] In a particularly preferred improvement, the rechargeable battery cells are designed as pouch cells. It has been found advantageous that the rechargeable battery pack has multiple pouch cells stacked in a sandwich configuration in the stacking direction. It has also been found advantageous that latches and / or spring elements are in direct contact with and / or mechanically operated by the rechargeable battery cells.

[0013] Further advantages will become apparent from the following description of the accompanying drawings, which illustrate various exemplary embodiments of the invention. The drawings, description, and claims contain numerous combinations of features. Those skilled in the art will also readily consider these features individually and combine them to form further useful combinations. Attached Figure Description

[0014] In the accompanying drawings, identical and similar parts are indicated by the same reference numerals. In the accompanying drawings:

[0015] Figure 1A A first preferred exemplary embodiment of a rechargeable battery pack according to the present invention is shown, the rechargeable battery pack having a mechanical lock in a released position;

[0016] Figure 1B A first preferred exemplary embodiment of a rechargeable battery pack according to the present invention is shown, the rechargeable battery pack having a mechanical lock in a locked position; and

[0017] Figure 2 A handheld electric power tool in the prior art is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0018] Figure 1 illustrates a preferred exemplary embodiment of a rechargeable battery pack 100 according to the present invention. The rechargeable battery pack 100 has at least one rechargeable battery cell 10 disposed within a housing 90 of the rechargeable battery pack 100. In the exemplary embodiment shown herein, the rechargeable battery cell 10 is designed as a pouch cell. More precisely, five rechargeable battery cells 10, designed as pouch cells and stacked in a stacking manner in the stacking direction SR, are disposed within the housing 90.

[0019] The rechargeable battery pack 100 is designed to be detachably housed in the receiving deployment area 210 of the handheld power tool 200 (see [reference]). Figure 2This is ensured by a mechanical interface 30 arranged on the housing 90. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG1, by way of example, the mechanical interface 30 is designed as a connecting bar by means of which the rechargeable battery pack 100 can be pushed onto the receiving unit 215 corresponding to the connecting bar and arranged in the receiving deployment area 210 of the handheld power tool 200. The rechargeable battery pack 100 also has an electrical interface 40 in the form of a contact block, through which the rechargeable battery pack 100 can be electrically connected to the handheld power tool 200 to provide it with power.

[0020] According to the present invention, the rechargeable battery pack 100 has a release position FS (see...) Figure 1A ) and locking position SS (see Figure 1B The mechanical lock 20 is designed to prevent the rechargeable battery pack 100 from being received into the receiving deployment area 210 in the locked position SS. According to the invention, the mechanical lock 20 is triggered by an increase in the volume of the rechargeable battery cell 10. This will be described in more detail below.

[0021] from Figure 1A As can be seen, the mechanical lock 20 has a latch 21, which is preloaded to the release position FS by a spring element 23 in the form of a leaf spring. Here, the mechanical lock 20 is arranged, for example, directly at the mechanical interface 30 in the form of a connecting strip. Since the latch 21 is completely (or at least primarily) located within the housing 90 of the rechargeable battery pack, the connecting strip is not obstructed by the latch 21. The spring element 23 in the form of a leaf spring presses the latch 21 against the topmost rechargeable battery cell 10 in its normal state (i.e., unswollen).

[0022] During the aging process of the battery cell, the volume of the rechargeable battery cell 10 increases, such as... Figure 1B As shown, the rechargeable battery cell 10 expands in the stacking direction SR. This overcomes the preload of the spring element 23, thus pressing the bolt 21 into the mechanical interface 30, which serves as the connecting strip, in the stacking direction SR. Since the bolt 21 is completely (or at least primarily) located within the mechanical interface 30, the connecting strip is thus blocked by the bolt 21. Accordingly, the rechargeable battery pack 100 can no longer be pushed onto the receiving unit 215, which corresponds to the connecting strip and is arranged in the receiving deployment area 210 of the handheld power tool 200. Advantageously, it is not necessary to supply power to the mechanical lock 20 itself, thereby improving the operational reliability of the rechargeable battery pack 100.

[0023] List of reference numerals

[0024] 10 rechargeable battery cells

[0025] 20 Mechanical locks

[0026] 21. Bolt

[0027] 23 Spring elements

[0028] 30 Mechanical Interface

[0029] 40 electrical interface

[0030] 90 housing

[0031] 100 rechargeable battery pack

[0032] 200 Handheld Power Tools

[0033] 210 Deployment Area

[0034] 215 Reception Unit

[0035] FS release location

[0036] SS Lock Position

[0037] SR stacking direction

Claims

1. A rechargeable battery pack (100) designed to be detachably received in a receiving deployment area (210) of a handheld electric power tool (200) and / or a charging station, wherein the rechargeable battery pack (100) has at least one rechargeable battery cell (10) disposed within a housing (90) of the rechargeable battery pack (100). Its features are, The rechargeable battery pack (100) has a mechanical lock (20) with a release position (FS) and a lock position (SS), wherein the mechanical lock (20) is designed to prevent the rechargeable battery pack (100) from being received into the receiving deployment area (210) in the lock position (SS), and wherein the mechanical lock (20) is triggered by an increase in the volume of the rechargeable battery cell (10). The housing (90) has a mechanical interface (30) through which the rechargeable battery pack (100) can be received in the receiving deployment area (210), wherein the mechanical lock is disposed at the mechanical interface (30). The mechanical interface (30) is designed as a connecting strip. The mechanical lock (20) has a bolt (21) that is preloaded to the release position (FS) by a spring element (23). Furthermore, the arrangement of the spring element (23) is such that the expanded rechargeable battery cell (10) can overcome the preload of the spring element (23).

2. The rechargeable battery pack (100) as described in claim 1. Its features are, The mechanical lock (20) has a mechanical indicator element.

3. The rechargeable battery pack (100) as described in claim 2. Its features are, The mechanical indicator element is in the form of a colored material portion.

4. The rechargeable battery pack (100) as described in any one of claims 1 to 3. Its features are, The rechargeable battery pack (100) has a stop designed to prevent manual operation of the mechanical lock (20) into the release position (FS).

5. The rechargeable battery pack (100) as described in any one of claims 1 to 3. Its features are, The rechargeable battery pack (100) has a latch delay element designed to hold the mechanical lock (20) in the released position as the rechargeable battery cell (10) expands until the rechargeable battery pack is removed from the receiving deployment area.

6. The rechargeable battery pack (100) as described in any one of claims 1 to 3. Its features are, The mechanical lock (20) is different from any manual locking mechanism provided on the rechargeable battery pack (100).

7. The rechargeable battery pack (100) as described in any one of claims 1 to 3. Its features are, The rechargeable battery cell (10) is designed as a pouch cell.

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