Electric working machine

Abstract

To provide an electric working machine capable of mitigating an impact on a battery at the time of falling without increasing the size.SOLUTION: According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric working machine comprising an electric working unit, a main body, a front handle, and a rear handle, the electric working unit being provided on a front side of the main body and configured to be operated by electric power supplied from a battery, the main body portion includes a battery storage portion in which the battery is inserted from above and stored, and a cover that is attached to the battery storage portion so as to cover the battery stored in the battery storage portion from above, the front handle includes a first portion that is positioned on the upper side of the main body portion and on the front side of the battery storage portion, and extends in an intersecting direction intersecting the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, the rear handle is connected to a rear side of the main body so as to extend rearward, and when a virtual plane in contact with an upper region of the first portion of the front handle and an upper region of the rear handle is defined, the battery housed in the battery housing part protrudes upward from the virtual plane.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric power tool. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a chainsaw (battery-operated power tool) in which the entire battery is located below an imaginary plane that contacts the handle tube and the operating area. In a chainsaw having such a configuration, even if the chainsaw is dropped with its upper side facing vertically downward, the battery will not come into direct contact with the ground, and the shock can be absorbed by the handle tube and the operating area. However, with such a configuration, it is difficult to install a large-capacity battery, i.e., a battery with a large external size, and conversely, in order to install a large-capacity battery, the entire chainsaw must be made larger. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] China Publication No. 117356287 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an electric working machine that can absorb the impact on the battery when dropped without increasing the size. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric work machine comprising an electric working unit, a main body, a front handle, and a rear handle, wherein the electric working unit is provided on the front side of the main body and is configured to operate using power supplied from a battery, the main body having a battery storage section into which the battery is inserted from above to store it, and a cover attached to the battery storage section so as to cover the battery stored in the battery storage section from above, the front handle being located above the main body and forward of the battery storage section and having a first part extending in an intersecting direction that intersects the fore-and-aft direction and the up-and-down direction, the rear handle being connected to the rear side of the main body so as to extend rearward, and when an imaginary plane is defined that is tangent to the upper region of the first part of the front handle and the upper region of the rear handle, the battery stored in the battery storage section protrudes above the imaginary plane.

[0006] According to this aspect, it is possible to reduce the impact on the battery when it is dropped without increasing the size. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a left side view showing the overall configuration of the chain saw. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a chainsaw as viewed from above. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a chainsaw as viewed from below. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the positional relationship of each part with respect to a battery. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a part of the cross section taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating other configuration examples of the cover. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating other configuration examples of the cover. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of an electric operating machine will be described with reference to the drawings. Various features shown in the following embodiments can be combined with each other. In the following, a chainsaw for cutting trees, boards, etc. will be described as a representative example of an electric work machine. Fig. 1 is a left side view showing the overall configuration of the chainsaw. Fig. 2 is a view showing the chainsaw as seen from above. Fig. 3 is a view showing the chainsaw as seen from below. Fig. 4 is a view showing the positional relationship of each part with respect to the battery. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of the cross section taken along line AA in Fig. 2.

[0009] In this specification, as shown in the drawings, the up-down direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction are defined. Specifically, the vertical direction when the chainsaw 1 is placed on a flat, horizontal installation surface is defined as the up-down direction. The front-to-rear direction is defined as the direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, and the left-to-right direction is defined as the direction perpendicular to both the up-down direction and the front-to-rear direction. The chainsaw 1 includes a main body 2, an electric working unit 3, an intake unit 4, a handle unit 5 including a front handle 51, a rear handle 23, and a battery 6.

[0010] The electric working unit 3 is provided on the front side of the main body 2, and is configured to operate using power supplied from the battery 6 when the operator performs work using the chainsaw 1. This operation causes the electric working unit 3 to directly act on the work target. Here, the work performed by the operator is, for example, cutting trees, boards, etc. The electric working unit 3 includes a guide bar 31, a saw chain 32, and a lever 33. The guide bar 31 is a plate-shaped member that extends in the front-to-rear direction, and its rear end is attached to the main body 2. A circular saw chain 32 is wound around the outer periphery of the guide bar 31.

[0011] Although not shown in FIG. 1, the main body 2 houses a control board, a drive gear, a motor, and the like. The saw chain 32 is engaged with a drive gear, which is driven to rotate by a motor. When the lever 33 is operated, the control board executes a control process for controlling the rotation of the motor. With the above configuration, when the operator operates the lever 33 , the motor controlled by the control board rotates the drive gear, and this rotational power rotates the saw chain 32 along the outer periphery of the guide bar 31 .

[0012] The main body 2 is made of a resin material or the like and is a housing (also called a "case") that houses the motor, etc. The main body 2 has a bottom surface 21 and a battery storage section 22. The bottom surface 21 is a portion that comes into contact with the installation surface when the chainsaw 1 is placed on the installation surface. In this embodiment, the bottom surface 21 includes a flat surface that comes into contact with the installation surface, but it may have a shape that comes into contact with the installation surface at multiple sides or points as long as the chainsaw 1 is stable when placed on the installation surface. The battery 6 is inserted into the battery storage section 22 from the top side. The rear handle 23 is connected to the rear side of the main body 2 so as to extend rearward. This rear handle 23 is the part that the operator grips when performing electrical work. The rear handle 23 is a rod-shaped part that is long in the front-to-rear direction, and is sized to be easy for the operator to grip with their hand. The rear handle 23 can also be considered as part of the main body 2.

[0013] The intake section 4 has an intake port 41 and forms a passage for sending the air taken in from the intake port 41 into the inside of the main body section 2 as cooling air. The handle portion 5 has a front handle 51 and a front hand guard 52. The front handle 51 is a part that an operator grips when performing an electric task. As shown in Fig. 2, the front handle 51 is located above the main body 2 and in front of the battery storage section 22, and has a first part 511 that extends in a direction intersecting the front-rear and up-down directions (generally the left-right direction), and a second part 512 that is continuous with the first part 511 and extends from the upper side of the main body 2 to the left side. With this configuration, the operator can switch between holding the first part 511 and the second part 512 depending on whether the workpiece is to be cut vertically or horizontally. The front hand guard 52 protects the hands gripping the front handle 51 from injury, and also functions as a brake that stops the operation of the electric working unit 3.

[0014] As described above, the operator holds the front handle 51 and the rear handle 23 while carrying the main body 2 of the chainsaw 1, and rotates the saw chain 32 to work on a work target such as a tree. In the chainsaw 1, the side of the saw chain 32 where work is performed is defined as the front side, and the side of the rear handle 23 that the operator grips is defined as the rear side, and the directions pointing to the front and rear are defined as the front-to-rear direction. In addition, the directions facing left and right when looking at the front from the rear are defined as the left-to-right direction.

[0015] The battery 6 has an elongated outer shape. The battery 6 is inserted from above into the storage space 220 of the battery storage section 22, with its longitudinal direction as the insertion direction. Hereinafter, the upper end of the battery 6 when inserted into the battery storage section 22 will also be referred to as the upper end 61, and the lower end as the lower end 62. Meanwhile, the battery 6 is removed from the upper side in a removal direction opposite to the insertion direction.

[0016] The battery storage section 22 has a storage space 220 into which the battery 6 can be inserted from above, and detachably holds the battery 6 inserted into the storage space 220. The storage space 220 has a first opening 221 on the upper side through which the battery 6 passes when inserted, and a second opening 222 on the opposite side (lower side) to the first opening 221. The second opening 222 is provided with a size that allows an operator's fingers to pass through.

[0017] According to this aspect, by inserting a finger into the second opening 222 and pressing the lower end 62 of the battery 6, a force can be applied to the battery 6 in the removal direction (upward), making it easier to remove the battery 6 than when the second opening 222 is not provided. Also, since it is easier to provide the second opening 222 than when a removal mechanism including a spring member, a lever, or the like is provided, the chainsaw 1 can make it easier to remove the battery with a simpler configuration.

[0018] The first opening 221 is a location where the storage space 220 opens to the outside on the upper end 61 side of the battery 6. The second opening 222 is a location where the storage space 220 opens to the outside on the lower end 62 side of the battery 6. In other words, when the battery storage section 22 of the main body 2 is placed with the bottom surface 21 facing downwards, the second opening 222 is located lower than the first opening 221. According to this embodiment, the battery 6 can be inserted into the storage space 220 by its own weight, making it easier to insert the battery 6 compared to when the positional relationship between the first opening 221 and the second opening 222 is reversed.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the main body 2 is provided with a non-slip surface 24 on the rear side of the first opening 221 (battery storage section 22). The non-slip surface 24 is formed by a plurality of ribs that extend in the left-right direction. The non-slip surface 24 is the part that an operator's thumb touches when gripping the rear handle 23, and is also the part that an operator's fingers touch when removing the battery 6, and prevents the fingers from slipping when touching it. The non-slip surface 24 is not limited to a plurality of ribs, but may be, for example, a surface with a plurality of protrusions, a plurality of depressions, or a surface with a compound or wavy surface, like a file. 3, the main body 2 is provided with an exhaust port 25 in front of the second opening 222. The exhaust port 25 takes in air from the intake port 41 and discharges the air (cooling air) that has cooled heat-generating components such as the motor and control board arranged inside the main body 2 to the outside.

[0020] As described above, the battery storage section 22 has the second opening 222 on the side of the lower end 62 of the battery 6. Here, the length (dimension) of the battery 6 in the left-right direction is greater than the length (dimension) of the second opening 222 in the left-right direction. In other words, a part of the lower end 62 of the battery 6 is covered by the bottom surface section 21. In this way, the second opening 222 has a shape and size that prevents the battery 6 inserted into the storage space 220 from passing through by the bottom surface portion 21, etc. According to this embodiment, it is easier to ensure the strength of the main body portion 2 compared to when the second opening 222 has a shape and size that allows the battery 6 to pass through, like the first opening 221.

[0021] Moreover, the exhaust port 25 is provided between the electric working unit 3 and the second opening 222. According to this embodiment, the air discharged from the exhaust port 25 makes it difficult for foreign matter such as chips generated during work to enter the storage space 220. Furthermore, by directing the direction in which the air discharged from the exhaust port 25 is discharged toward the side in the left-right direction where the electric working unit 3 is installed (the lower side in Figure 3), it is possible to make it more difficult for foreign matter such as chips to enter the storage space 220.

[0022] 5, when the battery 6 is inserted (stored) in the storage space 220, the battery storage section 22 forms a gap 223 between the battery 6 and the storage space 220. This gap 223 opens to the upper side of the battery storage section 22 at the first opening 221, and also opens to the lower side of the battery storage section at the second opening 222. In other words, the gap 223 penetrates the main body 2 (battery storage section 22) from top to bottom, even when the battery 6 is stored in the storage space 220. 1 and 5, the main body 2 has a cover 29 attached to the battery storage section 22 so as to cover the battery 6 stored in the battery storage section 22 from above. When attached to the battery storage section 22, the cover 29 covers the upper end 61 of the battery 6, but does not cover the upper side of the gap 223, allowing the gap 223 to be exposed to the outside.

[0023] According to this configuration, water W such as rainwater is discharged to the outside from the lower side of the battery storage section 22 through the gap 223, which makes it possible to suitably prevent adverse effects (for example, leakage, corrosion, etc.) on electrical components such as the battery 6. Furthermore, heat H generated by the battery 6 is not accumulated in the battery storage section 22 but is discharged to the outside from the upper side, which makes it possible to sufficiently prevent malfunction of the battery 6. Furthermore, the cover 29 is attached to be rotatable relative to the battery storage section 22. With this configuration, the operation of attaching and detaching the battery 6 to and from the battery storage section 22 can be performed relatively easily.

[0024] 4, when an imaginary plane IP is defined that is in contact with the upper region of the first portion 511 of the front handle 51 and the upper region of the rear handle 23, the battery 6 stored in the battery storage section 22 protrudes above the imaginary plane IP. With this configuration, the battery 6 is arranged so that its longitudinal direction (insertion direction) is the up-down direction rather than the front-to-rear direction of the main body 2 and protrudes above the imaginary plane IP, so that even a battery 6 with a relatively large capacity (large external size) can be attached (mounted) without increasing the size of the chainsaw 1 in the front-to-rear direction. 1 and 2, in this type of chainsaw 1, a cover 29 is attached to the battery storage section 22 so as to cover the battery 6 from above. Therefore, even if the chainsaw 1 is dropped with its upper side facing vertically downward, the front handle 51 and the cover 29 will be the first to come into contact with the ground. As a result, the front handle 51 and the cover 29 can absorb the impact of the fall and mitigate damage to the battery 6.

[0025] From this perspective, it is preferable that a shock absorbing space where the battery 6 and the cover 29 are not in contact with each other is formed between the cover 29 that covers the battery 6 from above stored in the battery storage section 22 and the battery 6. In this way, by providing the shock absorbing space 290 between the cover 29 and the battery 6, the cover 29 can absorb the impact, thereby further reducing the impact applied to the battery 6. In this case, the constituent material of the cover 29 is preferably, for example, a hard resin material, a metal material, or the like. Furthermore, it is preferable that a shock absorbing material be disposed between the cover 29 that covers the battery 6 stored in the battery storage section 22 from above and at least one of the battery 6 and the battery storage section 22. By disposing the shock absorbing material between the cover 29 and the battery storage section 22, it is possible to further reduce the impact applied to the battery 6. Examples of the shock absorbing material include a block body made of a rubber material, a block body made of viscoelastic foam (shock absorbing material), various hollow bodies, various foam bodies (sponge bodies), etc. Specific locations for arranging the shock absorbing material include between the cover main body 291 (described later) and the upper end 61 of the battery 6, and between the edge of the cover main body 291 and the edge of the battery storage section 22. The shock absorbing material may be fixed to the cover 29 (cover main body 291), the battery storage section 22, or neither.

[0026] The cover 29 has a cover body 291 that covers the battery 6, and legs 292 that are connected to the cover body 291 and fixed to the battery storage section 22. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1, the lower end of the leg 292 is rotatably attached to the main body 2 (battery storage section 22) on a rotation shaft 292a. As a result, cover 29 is configured to be able to rotate between a first position where it covers battery 6 and a second position where it rotates forward to expose battery 6. With this configuration, cover body 291 of cover 29 in the first position can cover battery 6 and the electrical components below it, thereby more effectively preventing water W from adversely affecting the electrical components.

[0027] In this embodiment, the battery storage section 22 has a connection terminal 27 electrically connected to the battery 6 forward of the gap 223. With this configuration, it is easy to protect the connection terminal 27, which is particularly susceptible to adverse effects of water W. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, the cover body 291 of the cover 29 in the first position covers the vicinity of the top 28 of the main body 2 (the front boundary between the battery storage section 22 and the battery 6), thereby more effectively preventing water W from coming into contact with the connection terminal 27. 5, the rotation center O of the cover 29 is located between the connection terminal 27 and the gap 223 in the front-rear direction. This configuration makes it easy to prevent water W from entering the front boundary between the battery storage section 22 and the battery 6, even when the cover 29 is rotated from the first position to the second position.

[0028] The cover 29 may also have the configuration shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing other configuration examples of the cover. The cover 29 shown in FIG. 6 is configured to be attached to the battery storage section 22 by sliding it up and down. 7 has a rotation shaft 292a at a position corresponding to the gap 223 of the battery storage section 22. The cover 29 is configured to rotate between a first position where it covers the battery 6 and a second position where it rotates rearward to expose the battery 6 to the outside.

[0029] In the above-described embodiment, a chainsaw has been described as an example of an electric work machine, but the electric work machine is not limited to this. For example, the electric work machine may be a hedge trimmer, a cutter, a blower, etc. In other words, any electric work machine may be used as long as it has a battery mounted in a battery storage section of the main body and an electric work unit that operates with power supplied from the battery. Furthermore, it may be provided in the following aspects.

[0030] (1) An electric working machine comprising an electric working unit, a main body, a front handle, and a rear handle, the electric working unit being provided on the front side of the main body and configured to operate on power supplied from a battery, the main body having a battery storage section into which the battery is inserted from above to store it, and a cover attached to the battery storage section so as to cover the battery stored in the battery storage section from above, the front handle being located above the main body and forward of the battery storage section and having a first part extending in an intersecting direction that intersects the fore-and-aft direction and the up-and-down direction, the rear handle being connected to the rear side of the main body so as to extend rearward, and when an imaginary plane is defined that is tangent to the upper region of the first part of the front handle and the upper region of the rear handle, the battery stored in the battery storage section protrudes above the imaginary plane.

[0031] (2) In the electric working machine described in (1) above, a shock-absorbing space is formed between the cover that covers the battery stored in the battery storage section from above and the battery.

[0032] (3) In the electric working machine described in (1) or (2) above, an impact absorbing material is arranged between the cover that covers the battery stored in the battery storage section from above and at least one of the battery and the battery storage section.

[0033] (4) An electric working machine as described in any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein the battery storage section forms a gap that opens upward between the battery and the battery when the battery is inserted, and the cover is configured to expose the gap to the outside when attached to the battery storage section.

[0034] (5) The electric operating machine according to (4) above, wherein the cover is attached to the battery storage section so as to be rotatable relative to the battery storage section.

[0035] (6) In the electric working machine described in (5) above, the cover is configured to rotate between a first position that covers the battery and a second position that rotates forward to expose the battery to the outside.

[0036] (7) The electric operating machine according to any one of (4) to (6) above, wherein the gap is also open to a lower side of the battery storage section.

[0037] (8) The electric operating machine according to any one of (4) to (7) above, wherein the battery storage section has a connection terminal that is electrically connected to the battery on the front side of the gap.

[0038] (9) In the electric working machine described in (8) above, the cover is rotatably attached to the battery storage section, and the center of rotation is located between the connection terminal and the gap in the front-to-back direction.

[0039] (10) An electric working machine as described in any one of (4) to (9) above, wherein the cover has a cover body that covers the battery and legs that are connected to the cover body and fixed to the battery storage section. Of course, this is not the case.

[0040] Finally, while various embodiments of the present invention have been described, these are presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The novel embodiments may be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The embodiments and their modifications are intended to be included within the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as within the scope of the inventions and their equivalents as defined in the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1: Chainsaw 2: Main body 21: Bottom part 22: Battery compartment 220: Storage space 221: First opening 222: Second opening 223: Gap 23: Rear handle 24: Anti-slip 25: Exhaust port 27: Connection terminal 28:Top 29: Cover 290: Shock absorption space 291: Cover body 292: Legs 292a: Rotating shaft 3: Electric working part 31: Guide bar 32: Saw chain 33: Lever 4: Intake section 41: Air intake 5: Handle 51: Front handle 511: First part 512: Second part 52: Front handguard 6: Battery 61:Top edge 62: Bottom edge W:Water H: Heat O: Rotation center IP: Virtual plane

Claims

1. An electric work machine, The electric tool includes an electric working unit, a main body, a front handle, and a rear handle. the electric working unit is provided on the front side of the main body unit and is configured to operate using power supplied from a battery, the main body includes a battery storage section into which the battery is inserted from above and stored, and a cover attached to the battery storage section so as to cover the battery stored in the battery storage section from above, the front handle has a first portion located above the main body and forward of the battery storage portion, and extending in a direction intersecting a front-rear direction and a top-bottom direction; The rear handle is connected to the rear side of the main body so as to extend rearward, an electric working machine, wherein when an imaginary plane is defined that is tangent to an upper region of the first portion of the front handle and an upper region of the rear handle, the battery stored in the battery storage section protrudes above the imaginary plane.

2. The electric operating machine according to claim 1, The electric working machine, wherein a shock-absorbing space is formed between the cover that covers the battery from above and the battery stored in the battery storage section.

3. The electric operating machine according to claim 1, An electric working machine, wherein an impact absorbing material is arranged between the cover that covers the battery stored in the battery storage section from above and at least one of the battery and the battery storage section.

4. The electric operating machine according to claim 1, the battery storage section forms a gap between the battery and the battery, the gap being open upward when the battery is inserted; The cover is configured to expose the gap to the outside when attached to the battery storage section.

5. The electric operating machine according to claim 4, The cover is attached to the battery storage section so as to be rotatable relative to the battery storage section.

6. The electric operating machine according to claim 5, The cover is configured to rotate between a first position in which it covers the battery and a second position in which it rotates forward to expose the battery to the outside.

7. The electric operating machine according to claim 4, The gap is also open to a lower side of the battery storage section.

8. The electric operating machine according to claim 4, The battery storage section has a connection terminal that is electrically connected to the battery forward of the gap.

9. The electric operating machine according to claim 8, The cover is attached to the battery storage section so as to be rotatable, and the center of rotation is located between the connection terminal and the gap in the front-rear direction.

10. The electric operating machine according to claim 4, The cover has a cover body that covers the battery, and legs that are connected to the cover body and fixed to the battery storage section.

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