Cordless tool battery housing and charging system
DCFirst Claim
1. A battery pack and charger assembly in combination comprising:
- a battery pack having a terminal block including an insulator carrying a pair of spaced apart terminal pins, the insulator including an elongated insulating member extending between the pins, the insulating member and the terminal pins being generally parallel and extending in a first direction when the battery pack is inserted in the charger assembly;
a charger assembly including (1) a receptacle for accepting the insertion of the battery pack, (2) a terminal assembly for engagement by the terminal block of the battery pack, the terminal assembly including a pair of normally retracted terminal blades, and (3) a housing for substantially enclosing the terminal assembly, said housing including a receptacle with a sunken floor and substantially upright walls, the floor including apertures registering with the terminal assembly; and
terminal blade control means included in the terminal assembly of the charger assembly, responsive to engagement by the insulating member of the battery pack terminal block, for erecting the terminal blades into an operating position so that when the battery pack is inserted into the charger assembly each terminal pin makes electrical contact with one of the terminal blades.
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Abstract
In a battery housing and charging system for a range of cordless tools, a universal charger accepts battery packs of several configurations and size (number of cells). The common feature of the battery packs is (at least) one cell housed on end and substantially coaxial with a specific terminal block assembly. Terminal pins are shielded from external contact and engage the charger terminals in a recessed well in the floor of the charger receptacle. Charger terminals are at one end of the receptacle which is elongated so that it can accommodate a battery pack "nose" portion with either one or two cells housed on end and side-by-side. Upright side walls of the receptacle provide stabilizing support for the battery pack. In the battery pack portion outside the receptacle, cells may be arranged in any configuration to suit tool or other requirements. Charger output terminals are normally biased away from their respective terminal apertures to minimize risk of accidental contact with live terminals. Charging control circuitry, including means for sensing battery temperature, is all contained in the charger assembly, with a visible indication of charging condition registered by a light emitting diode and transmitted externally through an optic light pole. In assembly of the charger, accurate register of charger output terminal carried on a printed circuit board, with corresponding terminal apertures in the floor of the charger receptacle is achieved through the mutual engagement of a tapered dowel and mating hole in these parts.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A battery pack and charger assembly in combination comprising:
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a battery pack having a terminal block including an insulator carrying a pair of spaced apart terminal pins, the insulator including an elongated insulating member extending between the pins, the insulating member and the terminal pins being generally parallel and extending in a first direction when the battery pack is inserted in the charger assembly; a charger assembly including (1) a receptacle for accepting the insertion of the battery pack, (2) a terminal assembly for engagement by the terminal block of the battery pack, the terminal assembly including a pair of normally retracted terminal blades, and (3) a housing for substantially enclosing the terminal assembly, said housing including a receptacle with a sunken floor and substantially upright walls, the floor including apertures registering with the terminal assembly; and terminal blade control means included in the terminal assembly of the charger assembly, responsive to engagement by the insulating member of the battery pack terminal block, for erecting the terminal blades into an operating position so that when the battery pack is inserted into the charger assembly each terminal pin makes electrical contact with one of the terminal blades. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18)
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14. A battery pack and charger assembly in combination comprising:
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a battery pack having a terminal block including an insulator carrying a pair of spaced apart terminal pins, the insulator including an elongated insulating member extending between the pins, the insulating member and the terminal pins being generally parallel and extending in a first direction when the battery pack is inserted in the charger assembly; a charger assembly having a receptacle for accepting the insertion of the battery pack and including a terminal assembly for engagement by the terminal block of the battery pack, the terminal assembly including a pair of normally retracted terminal blades; terminal blade control means included in the terminal assembly of the charger assembly and comprising closely spaced opposing pair of cam members, each cam member supporting one of said terminal blades; the cam members and terminal blades being disposed so that upon inserting engagement of the insulating member with the cam members, the cam members are forced apart in a circumferential direction and the terminal blades are erected into the operating position; the terminal blades and the cam members independently cantilevered within the charger terminal assembly; and each terminal blade having a free end contoured so that when the battery pack is inserted in the charger assembly the terminal pins engage the contoured portions of the terminal blades and tend to deflect the terminal blades towards the common center line establishing a contract pressure between the terminal pins and blades. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A battery pack and charger assembly in combination comprising:
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a battery pack having a terminal block including an insulator carrying a pair of spaced apart terminal pins, the insulator including an elongated insulating member extending between the pins, the insulating member and the terminal pins being generally parallel and extending in a first direction when the battery pack is inserted in the charger assembly; a charger assembly having a receptacle for accepting the insertion of the battery pack and including a terminal assembly for engagement by the terminal block of the battery pack, the terminal assembly including a pair of normally retracted terminal blades; terminal blade control means included in the terminal assembly of the charger assembly and comprising closely spaced opposing, independently cantilevered, pair of cam members, each cam member supporting one of the terminal blades; the cam members and terminal blades being disposed so that upon inserting engagement of the insulating member with the cam members, the cam members are forced apart in a circumferential direction and the terminal blades are erected into the operating position; and said terminal assembly including a pair of stop surfaces engageable by the respective cam members for limiting circumferential movement of the cam members in the direction of erecting the terminal blades.
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19. A terminal block for use in a battery pack which is insertable in a charger assembly so that the terminal block engages a terminal assembly of the charger, the battery pack having a housing for holding at least one elongated cell, the cell having a longitudinal axis and an end, the block comprising:
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a generally planar base member for disposition adjacent the end of the cell and generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the at least one cell when in use in the battery pack; a pair of spaced apart terminal pins carried by the base member and extending perpendicular to the base; an insulating member extending between and generally parallel to the terminal pins to shield the terminal pins one from the other; and a pair of upright spaced guide members carried by the base, extending oppositely to the terminals pins and, when in use, into the housing of the battery pack for engaging and at least partially determining the position of the at least one cell. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A charging system comprising:
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a first battery pack for insertion into a first tool as a power source and having a first nose housing only a single cylindrical cell; a second battery pack for insertion into a second tool as a power source and having a second nose housing at least two side by side cylindrical cells, the circumference of the second nose being larger than the circumference of the first nose; the first and second noses including a first and second battery terminal assembly respectively; a charger comprising; a housing; a receptacle in the housing for selectively receiving, engaging and stably supporting for charging any one of the first and second packs, the receptacle including (1) an elongated primary chamber having a pair of opposite side walls and a pair of opposite first and second end walls and a floor, the spacing between the end walls defining receptacle length and (2) a secondary chamber opening into the floor of the primary chamber and having opposite sidewalls and opposite first and second end walls and a floor; the primary chamber shaped to supportively accommodate (1) the second nose of the second battery pack with the at least two cylindrical cells on end side by side and upright relative to the floor of the primary chamber when the second battery pack is inserted in the charger and (2) the first nose of the first battery pack with the single cell on end and upright relative to the floor of the primary chamber; and a shielded charger terminal assembly contained with the housing for selectively engaging one of the first and second pack terminal assemblies when a selected one of the first and second packs is inserted into the receptacle, said shield charger terminal assembly extending from the floor of the secondary chamber towards the primary chamber. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 44)
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32. A charger assembly for receiving and charging a battery pack comprising:
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a first housing portion including a receptacle chamber having a floor and a pair of terminal apertures in the floor, and a first circuit board terminal alignment element; a second housing portion for registering with and engaging in assembly in a fixed relationship with the first housing portion so as to define a substantially closed housing with the receptacle chamber opening outwards, and including a support for a printed circuit board establishing, in assembly, a printed circuit board support plane below the receptacle floor; and a printed circuit board supportable in the support plane of the second housing portion for at least limited floating movement in the support plane, and carrying a pair of charger output terminals and a second alignment element; the first and second alignment elements disposed and sized for mutual engagement as the housing portions are brought together in assembly to fix the position of the printed circuit board in the support plane as engagement of the housing portions is completed and to fix the relative positions of the terminal apertures and the charger output terminals in predetermined register. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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35. A charging system comprising:
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a first battery pack having a first nose housing a single cylindrical cell; a second battery pack having a nose portion housing at least two side by side cylindrical cells having parallel longitundial axes, the circumference of the second nose being larger than the circumference of the first nose; a first pack terminal assembly comprising a base member disposed adjacent the end of the single cell, a positive pin and a negative pin, each pin extending generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the single cell; a second pack terminal assembly comprising a second base member disposed adjacent to the ends of the at least two cells, a positive pin and a negative pin, each pin extending generally parallel to the longitudinal axes of the at least two cells;
a charger comprising;a housing; a receptacle in the housing for selectively receiving, engaging and stably supporting for charging any one of the first and second packs; the receptacle including an elongated primary chamber having a pair of opposite sidewalls and a pair of opposite first and second end walls and a floor, the spacing between the end walls defining the receptacle length; the primary chamber (1) shaped to supportively accommodate the second nose of the second battery pack with the at least two cylindrical cells on end side by side and upright relative to the floor of the primary chamber when the second battery pack is inserted in the charger and (2) shaped to supportively accommodate the first nose of the first battery pack with the single cylindrical cell on end and upright relative to the floor of the primary chamber when the first battery pack is inserted in the charger; and a charger terminal assembly in the floor of the primary chamber, said charger terminal assembly having a negative blade and a positive blade engaging, respectively, the negative and the positive pin of the first battery pack when the first battery pack is inserted in the primary chamber and engaging, respectively, the negative and positive pins of the second pack when the second pack is inserted into the primary chamber. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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45. A battery pack and charger assembly in combination comprising:
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a charger assembly having a housing and a receptacle in the housing, the receptacle comprising an elongated chamber having a pair of opposite side walls, opposite first and second end walls, the spacing between the end walls defining the receptacle length, a floor, terminal apertures in the floor and disposed towards the first end wall, and a charger terminal assembly beneath the floor disposed in a receiving relationship with the terminal apertures; and a battery pack including a nose portion for housing at least one elongated cell, the cell having a longitudinal axis and opposite ends, and the nose portion including a battery pack terminal assembly with terminal members extending generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the at least one cell and at least a portion of the terminal assembly overlaying an end of said cell, the nose portion of the battery pack being insertable in the receptacle so that the battery pack terminal assembly penetrates the apertures in the floor of the receptacle and engages the charger terminal assembly and the at least one cell is disposed adjacent the first end wall. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification