Power management system and tool powered by battery pack for managing power consumption

Abstract

Disclosed are a power management system and a battery-powered tool for managing power consumption, the power management system comprising: a battery-powered tool; one or more battery packs coupled to a tool to which the battery pack is powered; a first voltage regulator providing a first output voltage; a second voltage regulator providing a second output voltage; and a flip-flop configured to receive the first output voltage and the second output voltage. The system also includes one or more control lines configured to enable or disable one of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 248,702, filed on September 27, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to battery-powered devices, and more particularly to battery-powered tools or accessories. Utility Model Content

[0004] Embodiments described herein provide a power management system, the power management system comprising: a battery-powered tool; one or more battery packs, the one or more battery packs coupled to the battery-powered tool; a first voltage regulator, the first voltage regulator providing a first output voltage; a second voltage regulator, the second voltage regulator providing a second output voltage; and a trigger, the trigger being configured to receive the first output voltage and the second output voltage. The system also includes one or more control lines, the one or more control lines being configured to enable or disable one of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

[0005] In some aspects, the one or more battery packs include a first battery pack and a second battery pack.

[0006] In some aspects, the system also includes a processing unit configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

[0007] In some aspects, the system also includes a switch configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

[0008] In some aspects, the switch is configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

[0009] In some aspects, disabling one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator reduces a quiescent current of a tool powered by the battery pack to less than about seven microamperes.

[0010] In some aspects, disabling each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator reduces a quiescent current of a tool powered by the battery pack to less than about seven microamperes.

[0011] Embodiments described herein provide a battery-powered tool for managing power consumption. The battery-powered tool includes: one or more battery pack interfaces, the one or more battery pack interfaces are configured to receive one or more battery packs; a first voltage regulator, the first voltage regulator provides a first output voltage; a second voltage regulator, the second voltage regulator provides a second output voltage; a trigger, the trigger is configured to receive the first output voltage and the second output voltage; and a controller, the controller including a processor and a memory. The controller is configured to control the amount of power consumed by the battery-powered tool by enabling or disabling one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator using one or more control lines.

[0012] In some aspects, the one or more battery packs include a first battery pack and a second battery pack.

[0013] In some aspects, the controller includes a processing unit configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

[0014] In some aspects, the battery pack powered tool further includes a switch configured to control at least one of the one or more control circuits to enable or disable one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

[0015] In some aspects, the switch is configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

[0016] In some aspects, disabling each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator reduces a quiescent current of a tool powered by the battery pack to less than about seven microamperes.

[0017] In some aspects, disabling one of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator reduces a quiescent current of a tool powered by the battery pack to less than about seven microamperes.

[0018] Embodiments described herein provide a method for managing power consumption of a battery-powered tool. The method includes: receiving power from one or more battery packs coupled to the battery-powered tool; and providing the power to at least one of a first voltage regulator and a second voltage regulator of the battery-powered tool. The first voltage regulator is configured to provide a first output voltage, and the second voltage regulator is configured to provide a second output voltage. The method also includes: providing the first output voltage and the second output voltage to a trigger of the battery-powered tool; and controlling the operation of the battery-powered tool using a controller to enable or disable at least one of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator using one or more control lines.

[0019] In some aspects, the method further includes controlling, with the controller, at least one of the one or more control lines to disable each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

[0020] In some aspects, the method further includes: determining, using the controller, that a trigger of the battery-powered tool is released; and determining, using the controller, whether the battery-powered tool is not in use based on an idle time and a time threshold associated with the release of the trigger.

[0021] In some aspects, the method further includes: in response to the time that the tool powered by the battery pack is in an idle state exceeding the time threshold, sending a signal through one or more control lines to disable at least one of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator using the one or more control lines.

[0022] In some aspects, when at least one of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator is disabled, a quiescent current of the tool powered by the battery pack is reduced to less than about 7 microamperes.

[0023] In some aspects, each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator is disabled and a quiescent current of the tool powered by the battery pack is reduced to less than about 7 microamps.

[0024] Before explaining any embodiment in detail, it should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the configuration and arrangement details of the components set forth in the following description or shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments can be practiced or executed in various ways. In addition, it should be understood that the words and terms used herein are for illustrative purposes and should not be considered restrictive. The use of "including", "comprising" or "having" and variations thereof is intended to cover the items listed thereafter and their equivalents, as well as additional items. Unless otherwise specified or limited, the terms "mounting", "connecting", "supporting" and "coupling" and variations thereof are used broadly, and these terms cover both direct mounting, connection, support and coupling and indirect mounting, connection, support and coupling.

[0025] In addition, it should be understood that embodiments may include hardware, software, and electronic components or modules, which, for the purpose of discussion, may be shown and described as if most components are implemented only in hardware. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize based on reading this detailed description that, in at least one embodiment, electronic-based aspects may be implemented in software (e.g., stored on a non-transient computer-readable medium) that may be executed by one or more processing units (e.g., microprocessors and / or application-specific integrated circuits ("ASICs")). Thus, it should be noted that embodiments may be implemented using a plurality of hardware- and software-based devices and a plurality of different structural components. For example, the "server," "computing device," "controller," "processor," etc. described in the specification may include one or more processing units, one or more computer-readable medium modules, one or more input / output interfaces, and various connectors (e.g., system buses) connecting these components.

[0026] Relative terms used in conjunction with quantities or conditions, such as "about", "approximately", "substantially", etc., will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to include the stated value and have the meaning dictated by the context (e.g., the term includes at least the degree of error associated with measurement accuracy, the tolerance associated with a particular value [e.g., manufacturing, assembly, use, etc.], etc.). Such terms should also be considered to disclose a range defined by the absolute values ​​of the two endpoints. For example, the expression "from about 2 to about 4" also discloses a range "from 2 to 4". Relative terms can refer to positive and negative percentages (e.g., 1%, 5%, 10%, or more) of the indicated value.

[0027] It should be understood that although some drawings show the hardware and software in a particular device, these depictions are for illustrative purposes only. The function described herein as being performed by a component can be performed in a distributed manner by multiple components. Likewise, the function performed by multiple components can be merged and performed by a single component. In some embodiments, the components shown can be combined or divided into separate software, firmware and / or hardware. For example, logic and processing can be distributed between multiple electronic processors, rather than being located in a single electronic processor and performed by it. Regardless of how hardware components and software components are combined or divided, these hardware components and software components can be located on the same computing device or can be distributed between different computing devices connected by one or more networks or other suitable communication links. Similarly, the components described as performing a specific function can also perform additional functions not described herein. For example, a device or structure "configured" in a certain way is configured at least in this way, but can also be configured in a way that is not explicitly listed.

[0028] Other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a power tool, such as a handheld blower, with optional attachments according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0030] Figure 2 The invention is shown in accordance with the embodiments described herein. Figure 1 The battery pack of the device.

[0031] Figure 3 The invention is shown in accordance with the embodiments described herein. Figure 1 Control systems for power tools.

[0032] Figure 4 The invention is shown in accordance with the embodiments described herein. Figure 1 Voltage control diagram for power tools.

[0033] Figure 5 The invention is shown in accordance with the embodiments described herein. Figure 1 Circuit diagram of the trigger switch of a power tool.

[0034] Figure 6 The present invention provides a method for managing Figure 1 The process of power consumption of power tools. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The present disclosure relates to a multi-voltage source trigger switch for managing power usage of a battery pack coupled to a battery-powered device (such as a power tool or accessory). The battery-powered device can be designed to receive one or more battery packs (e.g., two battery packs), each of which is managed to extend life when coupled to the device, for example, relative to a voltage source trigger switch. For a battery-powered device, it may be beneficial to keep its current consumption to a minimum to ensure extended battery life of the connected battery pack and avoid premature failure of the battery pack due to over-discharge events, particularly for lithium-ion battery packs. For some devices, it may be preferred to keep the standby current consumption of the battery pack to <7 microamperes ("uA"). The standby current consumption can be managed by a subcircuit or an entire group of subcircuits that can be cut off, disconnected, or otherwise disabled in the battery-powered device, thereby reducing the quiescent current to <7uA. When the product is not in use, by cutting off, disconnecting, or disabling the subcircuit, a subcircuit with a pull-up resistor value less than 1 megohm can be used to reduce the total quiescent current consumption of the circuit.

[0036] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may be implemented in a power tool or accessory powered by a battery pack. Figure 1 An example battery-powered tool 100 is provided, which is a handheld blower 100 for implementing features of the present disclosure. Although the present disclosure is discussed with respect to a battery-powered handheld blower 100, the present disclosure may be implemented using any combination of battery-powered tools 100 or accessories without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the present disclosure may be implemented in any combination of cutting tools, drilling tools, lawn care tools, lighting accessories, audio / visual accessories, generators, etc.

[0037] Figure 1A handheld blower 100 having three attachments is generally shown, including an extension 102 and a nozzle 104. Each of the extension 102 and the nozzle 104 is configured to be removably connected to an outlet 108 of the handheld blower 100. The nozzle 104 is also configured to be removably connected to the extension 102. The handheld blower 100 further includes an inlet 110 opposite to the outlet and upstream of the outlet. In the illustrated embodiment, a grille is provided on the inlet 110 to prevent larger debris from entering the inlet 110. The grille can be a structure forming a series of slits, screens, circuitous flow paths, etc. The handheld blower 100 includes an air duct that connects the inlet 110 to the outlet fluid and extends along a longitudinal axis. The air duct is at least partially surrounded by a housing 114 of the battery-powered tool 100. In some embodiments, the housing 114 can include two clamshell halves that are joined together using fasteners to surround the air duct. The handheld blower 100 further includes a handle 116. In some embodiments, the handle 116 extends generally parallel to the longitudinal axis.

[0038] In some embodiments, the housing 114 and / or the handle 116 may include a battery pack interface or battery pack receiving cavity 118 defined therein. In the illustrated embodiment, the battery pack receiving cavity 118 also extends generally parallel to the longitudinal axis. The battery pack receiving cavity 118 may be configured to receive at least a portion of one or more battery packs. In the operating position, when at least a portion of the battery pack is received in the battery pack receiving cavity 118, at least another portion of the battery pack may be disposed outside the battery pack receiving cavity 118 (in the illustrated embodiment, in a direction generally behind the handle 116). The portion of the battery pack outside the battery pack receiving cavity 118 is disposed radially outward from the longitudinal axis at a position above the inlet 110. With the battery pack located within the battery pack receiving cavity 118, electrical communication may be established between the battery pack and the battery powered tool 100. The electrical communication link may be used to provide power from the battery pack to the battery powered tool 100, and to allow the battery powered tool 100 to manage battery usage.

[0039] In some embodiments, the battery packs may be any combination of 12V battery packs, 18V battery packs, 36V battery packs, 40V battery packs, 80V battery packs, etc. In some embodiments, the battery pack receiving cavity 118 may be designed to receive two 18V battery packs to provide, for example, a total of 36 volts to the battery powered tool 100. The battery packs are provided to provide power to the battery powered tool 100 and its various components. In some embodiments, the battery packs may provide power for: a motor (for powering the fan of the blower), a microcontroller (e.g., Figure 34, a controller 400 for the motor, a pulse width modulation (PWM) driver 450 for the motor (e.g., a FET switch bridge), a memory 460 (e.g., a solid state drive [SSD]), an indicator 430, various sensors 425, and any other combination of electrical components used by the battery powered tool 100. In some embodiments, one of the 18 volt battery packs may be designed to power a first subgroup of components, while a combination of two 18 volt battery packs may be designed to power a second subgroup of components within the battery powered tool 100, as discussed in more detail below.

[0040] The battery-powered tool 100 (e.g., a handheld blower 100) shown can include numerous other features, including, for example: one or more triggers 150 or other controls disposed on or around the handle 116; a plurality of support feet 152 that allow a user to place the handheld blower 100 on a support surface; a plurality of vibration damping sections (e.g., made of a polymer material) connecting the air duct to the housing 114; a plurality of nozzle attachments and extension attachments of various shapes, sizes, and lengths, and the like.

[0041] refer to Figure 2 , depicts a battery pack 200 that includes a housing 205 and a battery pack interface 210 for connecting the battery pack 200 to a device (e.g., a battery pack-powered tool 100). As provided by the present disclosure, the discharge of the battery pack 200 can be controlled by any combination of a battery pack controller, a power tool, a battery pack charger, etc. The battery pack 200 can be an 18 volt or 36 volt battery pack, but other voltages between 12 volts and 120 volts are also contemplated. The battery pack interface 210 includes a combination of mechanical components (e.g., tracks, grooves, latches, etc.) and electrical components (e.g., one or more terminals) that are configured and operable to interface (e.g., mechanically, electrically, and communicatively connect) the battery pack 200 with the battery pack 200. For example, power provided by the battery pack 200 to the battery pack-powered tool 100 is provided to the power input module 440 via the battery pack interface 210. The power input module 440 (see Figure 3 ) includes a combination of active and passive components to condition or control the power received from the battery pack 200 before providing it to the controller 400. The battery pack interface 210 also supplies power to the PWM driver 450 to selectively provide power to the motor 405. The battery pack interface 210 also includes, for example, a communication line 495 for providing a communication line or link between the controller 400 and the battery pack 200.

[0042] Figure 3An example control system 300 for a battery-powered device (e.g., a battery-powered tool 100) is shown. The control system 300 includes a controller 400 that is electrically and / or communicatively connected to various modules or components of the battery-powered tool 100. For example, the controller 400 shown is electrically connected (e.g., directly, indirectly through a subcircuit, etc.) to a motor 405, a battery interface 210, a trigger switch or switch 415 (connected to a trigger 150), one or more sensors 425 or sensing circuits (e.g., one or more current sensors, one or more speed sensors, one or more Hall effect sensors, one or more temperature sensors, etc.), one or more indicators 430, a user input module 435, a power input module 440, and a PWM driver 450 (or a field effect transistor [FET] in a bridge configuration module including a plurality of switching FETs). The controller 400 includes a combination of hardware and software that is operable to, among other things, control the operation of the battery-powered tool 100, monitor the operation of the battery-powered tool 100, enable one or more indicators 430 (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), monitor user behavior and actions, application behavior, etc.

[0043] In some embodiments, the controller 400 includes a plurality of electrical and electronic components that provide power, operational control, and protection to the components and modules within the controller 400 and / or the battery-powered tool 100. For example, the controller 400 includes, among other things, a processing unit 455 (e.g., a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an electronic processor, an electronic controller, or another suitable programmable device), a memory 460, an input unit 465, and an output unit 470. The processing unit 455 includes, among other things, a control unit 475, an arithmetic logic unit ("ALU") 480, and a plurality of registers 485 (in Figure 3 4 and 5. The processor 455, memory 460, input unit 465, and output unit 470, as well as various modules or circuits connected to the controller 400 are connected via one or more control buses and / or data buses (e.g., common bus 490). For the purpose of illustration, the control bus and / or data bus are generally arranged in a plurality of blocks. Figure 3 In view of the disclosure described herein, it is known to those skilled in the art to use one or more control buses and / or data buses for interconnection and communication between various modules, circuits and components.

[0044] The memory 460 is a non-transient computer readable medium and includes, for example, a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area and the data storage area may include a combination of different types of memory, such as ROM, RAM (e.g., DRAM, SDRAM, etc.), EEPROM, flash memory, hard disk, SSD, SD card or other suitable magnetic storage device, optical storage device, physical storage device or electronic storage device. The processing unit 455 is connected to the memory 460 and executes software instructions, which can be stored in the RAM of the memory 460 (e.g., during execution), the ROM of the memory 460 (e.g., on a generally permanent basis) or another non-transient computer readable medium such as another memory or disk. The software included in the embodiment of the battery-powered tool 100 can be stored in the memory 460 of the controller 400. The software includes, for example, firmware, one or more application programs, program data, filters, rules, one or more program modules and other executable instructions. The controller 400 is configured to obtain from the memory 460 and execute instructions related to the control process and method described herein, in particular. In other configurations, the controller 400 includes additional components, fewer components or different components.

[0045] The indicator 430 includes one or more visual feedback, audio feedback, or tactile feedback to provide feedback to the user about the status of the battery-powered tool 100 and / or the battery pack 200. For example, the indicator 430 may include one or more light-emitting diodes ("LEDs"). The indicator 430 may be configured to display the status of the battery-powered tool 100 or information associated with the battery-powered tool. For example, the indicator 430 is configured to indicate a measured electrical characteristic of the battery-powered tool 100, the status of the battery pack 200, etc. The user input module 435 is operably coupled to the controller 400 to, for example, select a forward operating mode or a reverse operating mode, select a torque and / or speed setting for the battery-powered tool 100 (e.g., using a torque and / or speed switch), etc. In some embodiments, the user input module 435 includes a combination of digital input or output devices and analog input or output devices required to achieve the desired operating level of the battery-powered tool 100, such as one or more knobs, one or more dials, one or more switches, one or more buttons, one or more touch or pressure sensitive sensors, etc.

[0046] In some embodiments, the controller 400 may include one or more power management systems for controlling the power draw of one or more subsystems of the tool 100 powered by the battery pack, such as Figure 4 Depicted in. Reference Figure 4, depicting an example voltage control diagram 500 for implementing a power management system of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the power management system may include a processing unit 455 and a trigger 150 / switch 415 that can control the enabling / enabling and disabling / deactivation of different subcircuits within a battery-powered tool 100. These subcircuits may include any combination of subsystems within a battery-powered tool 100. For example, these subcircuits may include peripherals, motors, sensors, communication lines, or combinations thereof, etc. The processing unit 455 and the trigger 150 / switch 415 may be coupled to a voltage regulator 512 (e.g., a low dropout ["LDO"] voltage regulator) to receive power from one or more battery packs in the battery pack 200. The voltage regulator 512 is used to provide a stable power supply voltage independent of the battery charge state. For example, when the battery drops from 14.1V to an almost fully discharged level, the voltage regulator 510 can maintain a constant 3.3V at the load. In some embodiments, the processing unit 455 and the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415 may not require power from every one of the connected battery packs 200. For example, the processing unit 455 and the trigger 150 / switch 415 may only require power from one of the battery packs 200 coupled to the battery-powered tool 100.

[0047] In some embodiments, the combination of the processing unit 455 and the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415 can control the enablement / disablement of the subcircuits of the battery-powered tool 100. For example, these subcircuits can be disabled by sending a disable signal or a disabling signal to the voltage regulator 510 or other switches / regulators that provide power to these subcircuits. In some embodiments, the processing unit 455 can be coupled to a control line for another voltage regulator 510, and the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415 can be coupled to one or more other subcircuits. The trigger 150 / switch 415 can also be coupled to the processing unit 455 and the components of the battery-powered tool 100. The control lines between the processing unit 455 and the trigger and / or the switch 415 can be set to control the time of enabling / disabling the various control lines of the trigger 150 / or the switch 415. These enable lines can be used to disable any subcircuit individually or disable all circuits in groups. In some embodiments, the trigger 150 / switch 415 includes multiple (e.g., two or more) input power lines. One input power line comes from the voltage regulator 510. The second input power line comes from voltage regulator 512 .

[0048] By disabling or deactivating one or some of these subcircuits or the entire battery-powered tool 100, a power saving mode is achieved that reduces the quiescent current of the battery-powered tool 100 to below a threshold value (e.g., less than 7uA). Specifically, when the product is not in use, being able to cut off / disconnect / disable one of the multiple subcircuits or the entire group of subcircuits enables the use of subcircuits with a pull-up resistance value lower than 1 megohm, thereby reducing the total quiescent current consumption of the circuit.

[0049] In some embodiments, power from one or more of the plurality of battery packs 200 may be provided to power a plurality of sub-circuits. The power management system may be designed such that a combination of battery packs 200 may be used to power the processing unit 455 and the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415, as well as various other sub-circuits of the battery-powered tool 100. For example, a combination of two 18V battery packs 200 may be used in combination and / or individually to power the processing unit 455 and the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415 and / or different sub-circuits.

[0050] In some embodiments, the processing unit 455 and the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415 can be coupled to control lines for controlling the enable / disable of the switch and / or a voltage regulator for providing power to different subcircuits. The switch and / or the voltage regulator can each include an enable pin for turning on or off control of the switch and / or the regulator. The enable pin can be coupled to a control line connected to a combination of the processing unit 455, the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415. The processing unit 455, the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415 can provide an enable (e.g., wake-up) signal and / or a disable (e.g., sleep) signal depending on how the power management system is configured.

[0051] In some embodiments, the processing unit 455 can be coupled to the control circuit of the voltage regulator 510, and the trigger 150 and / or the switch 415 can be coupled to the control circuit of the high-side switch (e.g., in the main power circuit of the battery-powered tool 100). Depending on the operation of the battery-powered tool 100, different control circuits can be enabled / disabled to control the load from the corresponding subcircuit. The control circuit can be analog, digital and / or any other communication type, and the control circuit can (but is not limited to) simultaneously enable or disable the circuit that obtains and / or controls the power supply voltage to multiple cascaded subcircuits, or individually enable or disable the circuit that obtains and / or controls the power supply voltage to a separate group of subcircuits. For example, a first plurality of subcircuits and a second plurality of subcircuits can be arranged in a cascaded manner, wherein the deactivation of the switch (e.g., a switch mode power supply) will result in the deactivation of both the first plurality of subcircuits and the second plurality of subcircuits. Using the control circuit, improvements in the life and operation of the battery pack 200 connected to the battery-powered tool 100 can be achieved because the battery pack reduces the current consumption of the battery pack by deactivating the circuit when the battery pack 200 is not in use. Additionally, the life and operation of the battery pack 200 may be improved through a combination of power sequencing (eg, selectively turning on and off subcircuits that power the trigger 150 / switch 415 ) and reducing quiescent current to extend battery shelf life.

[0052] refer to Figure 5 In some embodiments, a sequential voltage source trigger switch may be implemented to minimize the current consumption of the trigger. Figure 5 An example trigger switch circuit 600 is depicted, for example, for switch 415. The trigger switch circuit 600 may include a first trigger pin 605 connected to a first power supply voltage source (e.g., VDD_3V3_MCU from the voltage regulator 510). The trigger switch circuit 600 may include a second trigger pin 610 for outputting an enable signal (e.g., indicating that the trigger 150 has been enabled). The trigger switch circuit 600 may include a third trigger pin 615 and a fourth trigger pin 620, for example, for controlling the rotation direction of the motor (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise). The trigger switch circuit 600 may include a fifth trigger pin 625 that provides a signal related to the amount of actuation of the trigger 150 (i.e., the amount of trigger pull). The trigger switch circuit 600 may include a sixth trigger pin 630 that is connected to a second power supply voltage source (e.g., VDD_3V3 from the voltage regulator 512). Finally, the trigger switch circuit 600 may include a ground pin 635.

[0053] Each of the first power supply voltage and the second power supply voltage can be configured to be turned on or off at any time and / or can be permanently active. The first power supply voltage and the second power supply voltage can also be controlled individually and / or based on the active / passive state of the other power supply voltage. For example, if the VDD_3V3 at pin 605 is turned off or otherwise disconnected / disabled, the power supply voltage of VDD_3V3_MCU at pin 630 can be turned on or otherwise connected / enabled. This can include switching the voltage supply between two sources or the VDD_3V3 at pin 630 can permanently provide its power supply voltage, while the VDD_3V3_MCU at pin 605 is selectively provided based on other factors or conditions of the battery-powered tool 100 (e.g., whether the trigger 150 is pulled, whether the idle time passed reaches a threshold, etc.). In this way, for a trigger switch circuit 600 including two voltage input pins, the power of one or both of these voltage input pins can be selectively disabled to reduce the quiescent current of the battery-powered tool 100. In some embodiments, the first supply voltage and the second supply voltage (e.g., VDD_3V3 at pin 630 and VDD_3V3_MCU at pin 605) can be obtained from the same battery pack power supply or from separate battery pack power supplies. For example, the first supply voltage (e.g., VDD_3V3 at pin 630) can be obtained from one battery pack, and the second supply voltage (e.g., VDD_3V3_MCU at pin 605) can be obtained from a second battery pack.

[0054] The voltage supply at pins 605 and 630 need not be specifically provided by voltage regulators 510, 512. Instead, for example, the voltage may be provided by processing unit 455, controller 400, logic circuitry, or another circuitry that outputs the voltage. The power supply signal or source signal may be continuous or discontinuous in the signal time domain. For example, the power supply signal may be a DC signal, an AC signal, or another form of modulation or encoding. This is in contrast to previous circuits that utilize a permanently connected supply voltage, which results in higher quiescent currents when the product is not in use.

[0055] In operation, the battery-powered tool 100 may receive one or more battery packs 200, for example, in the battery pack receiving cavity 118. The one or more battery packs 200 may provide power to the battery-powered tool 100 and its various components. The battery pack 200 may communicate with one or more switches and / or voltage regulators that provide power to each of the subcircuits of the battery-powered tool 100. For example, the battery pack 200 may provide power to the voltage regulators 510, 512 to power the processing unit 455 and the trigger 150 / switch 415. Power may be provided on demand based on the activation of the battery-powered tool 100 (e.g., actuation of the trigger 150).

[0056] In order to prevent the inserted battery pack 200 from being exhausted / damaged when connected to the battery-powered tool 100, the power management system described herein can be implemented to minimize the current consumption of the battery-powered tool 100. The power management system of the present disclosure can be implemented by Figure 4 and Figure 5 The circuits discussed are designed to reduce current consumption. When the battery-powered tool 100 is not in use (e.g., the trigger 150 is released, the idle time has been reached, etc.), the processing unit 455 and the combination of the trigger 150 / switch 415 can send a disable signal through one or more control lines to disable the corresponding sub-circuit of the battery-powered tool 100. Similarly, when the battery-powered tool 100 is enabled, the processing unit 455 and the combination of the trigger 150 / switch 415 can send an enable signal through one or more control lines to enable the corresponding sub-circuit of the battery-powered tool 100.

[0057] like Figure 4 , the processing unit 455 can be coupled to the control lines of the voltage regulators 510, 512 and other sub-circuits. The trigger 150 / switch 415 can be coupled to the control lines of some of the sub-circuits and the trigger lines to the processing unit 455. The activation of the trigger 150 / switch 415 can cause a signal to be sent to the processing unit 455. In response to receiving the trigger signal, the processing unit 455 can send an enable signal to the voltage regulators 510, 512 and / or other sub-circuits to enable these circuits.

[0058] Figure 6A method 700 performed by a controller 400 of a battery powered tool 100 is shown. The controller 400 receives a voltage signal from a battery pack 200 and determines that the battery pack 200 is coupled to the battery powered tool 100 (step 705). The controller 400 provides power to various modules or components of the battery powered tool 100 (step 710). The controller 400 determines whether the battery powered tool 100 is in use (step 715). For example, when the controller 400 receives a signal from the trigger 150, the controller 400 determines that the trigger 150 is pulled and the battery powered tool 100 is in use. If the battery powered tool 100 is in use at step 720, one or more sub-circuits (e.g., voltage regulators 510, 512) of the battery powered tool may be enabled (step 725). For example, when the controller 400 stops receiving a signal from the trigger 150, the controller 400 determines that the trigger 150 is released and the battery powered tool 100 is not in use. When the battery-powered tool 100 is not in use, one or more subcircuits of the battery-powered tool may be disabled (step 730). In some embodiments, the controller 400 determines that the battery-powered tool 100 is not in use after a defined period of time (e.g., a time threshold) has passed without receiving a signal from the trigger 150.

[0059] Although the disclosure has been described in detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments, variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of one or more independent aspects of the disclosure described.

Claims

1. A power management system, characterized in that: The power management system includes: Tools powered by battery packs; one or more battery packs coupled to a tool powered by the battery packs; a first voltage regulator providing a first output voltage; a second voltage regulator providing a second output voltage; a trigger configured to receive the first output voltage and the second output voltage; and One or more control circuits configured to enable or disable one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein: The one or more battery packs include a first battery pack and a second battery pack.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising: A processing unit is configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable the one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising: A switch is configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable the one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein: The switch is configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein: Disabling one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator reduces the quiescent current of the battery pack powered tool to less than about seven microamperes.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein: Disabling each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator reduces the quiescent current of the battery pack powered tool to less than approximately seven microamperes.

8. A battery-powered tool for managing power consumption, characterized in that Tools powered by this battery pack include: one or more battery pack interfaces configured to receive one or more battery packs; a first voltage regulator providing a first output voltage; a second voltage regulator providing a second output voltage; a trigger configured to receive the first output voltage and the second output voltage; and A controller comprising a processor and a memory, the controller being configured to: The amount of power consumed by a tool powered by the battery pack is controlled by enabling or disabling one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator using one or more control circuits.

9. The battery-powered tool of claim 8, wherein: The one or more battery packs include a first battery pack and a second battery pack.

10. The battery-powered tool of claim 8, wherein: The controller includes a processing unit configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable the one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

11. The battery-powered tool of claim 8, further comprising: A switch is configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable the one or more of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

12. The battery-powered tool of claim 11, wherein: The switch is configured to control at least one of the one or more control lines to enable or disable each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.

13. The battery-powered tool of claim 8, wherein: Disabling each of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator reduces the quiescent current of the battery pack powered tool to less than approximately seven microamperes.

14. The battery-powered tool of claim 8, wherein: Disabling one of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator reduces the quiescent current of the battery pack powered tool to less than about seven microamperes.

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