Portable Hand-Guided Electric Device with Battery Pack

• US 20100221594A1
• Filed: 02/22/2010
• Published: 09/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Andreas STIHL AG & Company KG (Stihl Holding AG & Company KG)
• Original Assignee: Andreas STIHL AG & Company KG (Stihl Holding AG & Company KG)
• Inventors: Müller, Matthias, Roßkamp, Heiko, Reber, Volker, Mang, Harald
• Granted Patent: US 8,389,143 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/100
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 3/053 motor-driven
• CPC Class Codes: B25F 5/02 Construction of casings, bodies or handles B25F5/006, B25F5/008 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/204 Racks, modules or packs for multiple batteries or multiple cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/247 specially adapted for portable devices, e.g. mobile phones, computers, hand tools or pacemakers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/271 Lids or covers for the racks or secondary casings
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0045 concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A hand-held electric device has a device housing with a battery pack compartment. A battery pack is disposed in the battery pack compartment. The battery pack compartment has guide elements extending in the insertion direction of the battery pack. The battery pack has a battery pack housing and guide sections provided on the battery pack housing that interact with the guide elements. The battery pack has an electric connector head disposed on the battery pack housing. The battery pack compartment has contact elements. In a predetermined insertion position of the battery pack in the battery pack compartment the contact elements electrically contact the connector head. A contact plate is floatingly supported in the battery pack compartment and the contact elements are disposed on the contact plate.

Claims

1. A hand-held electric device comprising:

a device housing comprising a battery pack compartment;

a battery pack disposed in said battery pack compartment and inserted in an insertion direction into said battery pack compartment;

said battery pack compartment comprising guide elements extending in said insertion direction;

said battery pack comprising a battery pack housing and guide sections provided on said battery pack housing and interacting with said guide elements;

said battery pack comprising an electric connector head disposed on said battery pack housing;

said battery pack compartment comprising contact elements, wherein in a predetermined insertion position of said battery pack in said battery pack compartment said contact elements electrically contact said connector head;

a contact plate, wherein said contact plate is floatingly supported in said battery pack compartment and said contact elements are disposed on said contact plate.

2. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said contact plate is secured in said battery pack compartment so as to be moveable in a plane of extension of said contact plate in all directions.

3. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said contact plate is secured with play on said guide elements that extend in said insertion direction.

4. The electric device according to claim 3, wherein said contact plate has cutouts and said guide elements engage with play said cutouts.

5. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said contact plate is secured to a bottom of said battery pack compartment.

6. The electric device according to claim 5, wherein said contact plate is locked on said bottom.

7. The electric device according to claim 1, further comprising a contact plate support that is guided and secured on said guide elements of said battery pack compartment, wherein said contact plate is arranged on said contact plate support.

8. The electric device according to claim 7, wherein said contact plate support is adapted to support electric components.

9. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said guide elements engage with play said guide sections.

10. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said connector head has contact slots for engagement of said contact elements, wherein said contact slots extend from a bottom of said connector head into an end face of said connector head.

11. The electric device according to claim 10, wherein said contact plate has a centering element and said centering element projects past said contact elements in a direction toward said contact head wherein said contact head has a centering receptacle, wherein in an initial insertion position of said battery pack said centering element engages said centering receptacle.

12. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said connector head projects from a plane of a housing bottom of said battery pack housing.

13. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said battery pack is tilted relative to a housing bottom of said device housing at an angle of approximately 2°

to 20°

.

14. The electric device according to claim 13, wherein said battery pack is tilted to a front or to a rear of the electric device at an angle of 10°

to 15°

.

15. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said battery pack compartment comprises locking members arranged on opposed wide sides of said battery pack compartment and wherein said battery pack has locking stops interacting with said locking members of said battery pack compartment, wherein said battery pack is locked against a force of a lifting spring in said predetermined insertion position by said locking members and said locking stops.

16. The electric device according to claim 15, wherein said locking members are pivot levers each having a bearing bolt captively secured between a housing top part and a housing bottom part of said device housing.

17. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said guide elements are longitudinal guide ribs.

18. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said guide sections are longitudinal guide grooves that extend substantially across a height of said battery pack on a wide longitudinal side between end faces of said battery pack.

19. The electric device according to claim 18, wherein an end of said guide grooves at an end face where said connector head is located is open and has a width that is wider than a width of said guide elements.

20. The electric device according to claim 18, wherein said guide grooves have a clamping section having a width that matches approximately a width of said guide elements, respectively.

21. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said guide elements are arranged on first and second longitudinal sides of said battery pack compartment, wherein said first and second longitudinal sides are opposed to one another and wherein said guide elements on said first longitudinal side are displaced laterally relative to said guide elements on said second longitudinal side.

22. The electric device according to claim 21, wherein said first and second longitudinal sides each have two said guide elements that are spaced apart from one another, wherein a spacing of said two guide elements on said first longitudinal side relative to one another is greater than a spacing of said two guide elements on said second longitudinal side relative to one another.

23. The electric device according to claim 22, wherein said two guide elements of said first longitudinal side are positioned between said two guide elements of said second longitudinal side in a view form said first longitudinal side onto said second longitudinal side.

24. The electric device according to claim 1, wherein said battery pack housing has a first end face and a second end face opposite said first end face, wherein said connector head is arranged on said first end face and wherein said second end face comprises at least one of display element and an operating element.