OPERATING MODE INDICATOR FOR A POWER TOOL
First Claim
1. A portable, hand held power tool, comprising:
- a housing defining a top surface and a mounting portion for coupling a battery pack thereto;
an electric motor disposed in the housing and drivably connected to an output spindle to impart rotary motion thereto;
a power switch that is operable by a person to regulate electric power delivered to the electric motor;
a current sensor disposed in the housing and configured to measure current being delivered to the electric motor;
a drill mode selection component supported by the housing and configured to be illuminated, where the drill mode selection component is operable by a person to set an operating mode of the tool to a drill mode;
a drive mode selection component supported by the housing and configured to be illuminated, where the drive mode selection component is operable by a person to set an operating mode of the tool to a drive mode;
a controller configured to receive the operating mode selection from one of the drill mode selection component and the drive mode selection component and store the operating mode selection in a memory, wherein the controller operates, in response to detecting actuation of the power switch or coupled of a battery pack to the housing, to illuminate one of the drill mode selection component and the drive mode selection component in accordance with the operating mode selection stored in the memory,wherein the controller further operates, when the operating mode selection is set to drive mode, to monitor rate of change of the current measures and interrupt torque to the output spindle in response to the rate of change of current measures exceeding a rate change threshold and, when the operating mode selection is set to drill mode, ignore torque applied to the output spindle.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A handheld power tool is configured to receive an input indicative of a clutch setting for an electronic clutch from the tool operator, where the clutch setting is selectable from a drill mode and a drive mode. In a drill mode, torque applied to the output spindle is ignored; whereas, in the drive mode, the torque applied to the output spindle is monitored and interrupted in an automated manner by a controller when a fastener being driven reaches a desired stopping position. Display states of the interface components of the tool may be set in accordance with current tool conditions and/or various triggering conditions. One such interface component is the input used to set the operating mode (e.g., clutch setting) of the tool.
81 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A portable, hand held power tool, comprising:
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a housing defining a top surface and a mounting portion for coupling a battery pack thereto; an electric motor disposed in the housing and drivably connected to an output spindle to impart rotary motion thereto; a power switch that is operable by a person to regulate electric power delivered to the electric motor; a current sensor disposed in the housing and configured to measure current being delivered to the electric motor; a drill mode selection component supported by the housing and configured to be illuminated, where the drill mode selection component is operable by a person to set an operating mode of the tool to a drill mode; a drive mode selection component supported by the housing and configured to be illuminated, where the drive mode selection component is operable by a person to set an operating mode of the tool to a drive mode; a controller configured to receive the operating mode selection from one of the drill mode selection component and the drive mode selection component and store the operating mode selection in a memory, wherein the controller operates, in response to detecting actuation of the power switch or coupled of a battery pack to the housing, to illuminate one of the drill mode selection component and the drive mode selection component in accordance with the operating mode selection stored in the memory, wherein the controller further operates, when the operating mode selection is set to drive mode, to monitor rate of change of the current measures and interrupt torque to the output spindle in response to the rate of change of current measures exceeding a rate change threshold and, when the operating mode selection is set to drill mode, ignore torque applied to the output spindle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A hand held drill driver, comprising:
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a housing; an electric motor drivably connected to an output spindle to impart rotary motion thereto; a trigger switch supported by the housing and electrically connected between the electric motor and a power source thereto; a current sensor configured to measure current being delivered to the electric motor; an input component operable by the tool operator to set a clutch setting for tool, the clutch setting being selectable from a drill mode, an automated drive mode and one or more user-defined drive modes, where each of the user-defined drive modes specifies a different value of torque at which to interrupt transmission of torque to the output spindle; and a controller configured to receive the clutch setting from the input component and store the clutch setting in a data store, wherein the controller, in response to actuation of the trigger switch, illuminates the input component in a manner that indicates the clutch setting stored in the data store; a controller configured to receive the clutch setting from the input component and current measures from the current sensor, wherein the controller operates, when the clutch setting is an automated drive mode, to interrupt torque to the output spindle monitor rate of change of the current measures and interrupt torque to the output spindle in response to the rate of change of current measures exceeding a rate change threshold, the controller further operates, when the clutch setting is in a selected one of the user-defined drive modes, to set a value of a maximum current threshold in accordance with the selected one of the user-defined drive modes and interrupt torque to the output spindle in response to the current measures exceeding the maximum current threshold. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A portable, hand held drill driver, comprising:
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a housing defining a handle to be grasped by a person and a mounting portion for coupling a battery pack thereto; an electric motor disposed in the housing and drivably connected to an output spindle to impart rotary motion thereto; a trigger switch that regulates electric power delivered from a battery pack to the electric motor; a current sensor disposed in the housing and configured to measure current being delivered to the electric motor; an interface sub-assembly integrated into a top surface of the housing and including a first pushbutton having an icon indicative of a drill mode on an exterior surface thereof and operable to send a signal indicative of the drill mode when depressed, a second pushbutton having an icon indicative of a drive mode on an exterior surface thereof and operable to send a signal indicative of the drive mode when depressed, and a visual indicator of state of charge for a battery pack; a controller configured to receive signals from the first and second pushbuttons and store the selected mode in a data store associated with the controller, wherein the controller, in response to detecting actuation of the trigger switch, illuminates one of the first pushbutton or second pushbutton in accordance with the selected mode stored in the data store and illuminates the visual indicator in accordance with state of charge of a battery pack coupled to the driver; wherein the controller further operates, when the selected mode is set to drive mode and electric power is delivered to the electric motor, to monitor rate of change of the current measures and interrupt torque to the output spindle in response to the rate of change of current measures exceeding a rate change threshold and, when the selected mode is set to drill mode and electric power is delivered to the electric motor, ignore torque applied to the output spindle.
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Specification