Battery pack for power tool, and power tool

• US 8,742,724 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Makita Corporation
• Original Assignee: Makita Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Hitoshi, Kobayakawa, Tadahiko, Muramatsu, Tomoo
• Primary Examiner(s): Fantu, Yalkew
• Application Number:
  US12/588,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20100085010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,707 Days
• Field of Search: 320/132, 320/112, 320/113, 320/114, 320/107, 310/50, 173/214
• US Class Current: 320/132
• CPC Class Codes: B25F 5/00 Details or components of portable power-driven tools not particularly related to the operations performed and not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4207 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/543 Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0063 with circuits adapted for supplying loads from the battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007182 in response to battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/007194 of the battery
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery pack for power tool includes a battery, a monitoring circuit, and a sleep mode switching unit. The battery includes at least one battery cell. The monitoring circuit is operated by receiving power supply from the battery. The sleep mode switching unit switches the battery pack to a sleep mode by stopping at least a part or all of operations of the monitoring circuit when the monitoring circuit detects a discharge end state where a discharge current from the battery is equal to or lower than a predetermined set current value, and the monitoring circuit further detects at least one of a voltage stable state where a voltage change amount in the battery cell is within a predetermined stable range of voltage change amount and a temperature stable state where a temperature change amount in the battery is within a predetermined stable range of temperature change amount.

Claims

1. A battery pack for power tool comprising:

a battery that includes at least one battery cell;

a monitoring circuit that monitors a status of the battery, the monitoring circuit being operated by receiving power supply from the battery;

a sleep mode switching unit that switches the battery pack to a sleep mode by stopping at least a part or all of operations of the monitoring circuit if the monitoring circuit detects a discharge end state where a discharge current from the battery is equal to or lower than a predetermined set current value, and the monitoring circuit further detects at least one of a voltage stable state where a voltage change amount in the battery cell is within a predetermined stable range of voltage change amount and a temperature stable state where a temperature change amount in the battery is within a predetermined stable range of temperature change amount,

wherein in a normal operational state of the monitoring circuit, the monitoring circuit detects an abnormality of the batter cell if a temperature change amount in the batter cell is equal to or greater than a redetermined value or if the voltage change amount in the batter cell is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

2. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 1, wherein

the monitoring circuit detects the voltage stable state when the voltage change amount in all battery cells included in the battery are within the stable range of voltage change amount.

3. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 1, wherein

the sleep mode switching unit switches the battery pack to the sleep mode when the monitoring circuit detects the discharge end state and further detects both of the voltage stable state and the temperature stable state.

4. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 3, wherein

the sleep mode switching unit switches the battery pack to the sleep mode when the monitoring circuit detects the discharge end state and further detects both of the voltage stable state and the temperature stable state, and also detects that a temperature of the battery is lower than a predetermined temperature threshold.

5. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 1, comprising:

a mode returning unit that returns the battery pack from the sleep mode to a normal operational state when, after the battery pack is switched to the sleep mode by the sleep mode switching unit, a predetermined mode returning condition is met in the battery pack.

6. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 5, wherein

the mode returning unit includes a discharge start detecting unit that detects that a discharge from the battery is started, and the mode returning unit performs processing to return the battery pack from the sleep mode to the normal operational state as a processing to be performed when the mode returning condition is met.

7. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 1, wherein

the monitoring circuit includes at least a discharge current detecting unit that detects a discharge current from the battery, a cell voltage detecting unit that detects a voltage of the battery cell, and a temperature detecting unit that detects a temperature of the battery, and the monitoring circuit monitors the status of the battery based on a detection result obtained by each detecting unit.

8. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 7, comprising:

a cell selecting switch that selectively outputs a voltage of at least one of the battery cells included in the battery; and

an amplifying unit that amplifies and outputs the voltage of the at least one of the battery cells selected by the cell selecting switch,

wherein the cell voltage detecting unit detects the voltage of the battery cell based on a signal outputted from the amplifying unit.

9. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 1, comprising a mode returning unit, wherein

the mode returning unit includes a discharge start detecting unit that detects that a discharge from the battery is started, and the mode returning unit returns the battery pack from the sleep mode to the normal operational state when, after the battery pack is switched to the sleep mode by the sleep mode switching unit, the discharge start detecting unit detects that the discharge is started,

the monitoring circuit includes a discharge current detecting unit that detects a discharge current from the battery,

the discharge current detecting unit includes a signal obtaining unit that obtains an electric signal corresponding to an amount of the discharge current, and a signal amplifying unit that amplifies the electric signal obtained by the signal obtaining unit with a predetermined first gain;

and the discharge current detecting unit is configured to continue an operation after the battery pack is switched to the sleep mode by the sleep mode switching unit,

the discharge start detecting unit is configured to detect that the start of the discharge based on the electric signal amplified by the signal amplifying unit, and

further comprising a gain switching unit that switches a gain of the signal amplifying unit to a second gain which is greater than the first gain when the monitoring circuit detects the discharge end state.

10. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 7, comprising a mode returning unit, wherein

the mode returning unit includes a discharge start detecting unit that detects that a discharge from the battery is started, and the mode returning unit returns the battery pack from the sleep mode to the normal operational state when, after the battery pack is switched to the sleep mode by the sleep mode switching unit, the discharge start detecting unit detects that the discharge is started,

the discharge current detecting unit includes a signal obtaining unit that obtains an electric signal corresponding to an amount of the discharge current, and a signal amplifying unit that amplifies the electric signal obtained by the signal obtaining unit with a predetermined first gain;

and the discharge current detecting unit is configured to continue an operation after the battery pack is switched to the sleep mode by the sleep mode switching unit,

the discharge start detecting unit is configured to detect that the discharge is started based on the electric signal amplified by the signal amplifying unit, and

further comprising a gain switching unit that switches a gain of the signal amplifying unit to a second gain which is greater than the first gain when the monitoring circuit detects the discharge end state.

11. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 9, wherein

the gain switching unit again switches the gain to the first gain when, after switching the gain to the second gain, the discharge start detecting unit detects that the discharge is started.

12. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 10, wherein

the gain switching unit again switches the gain to the first gain when, after switching the gain to the second gain, the discharge start detecting unit detects that the discharge is started.

13. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 5, comprising:

a battery voltage determining unit, that can operate in the sleep mode, and that determines whether or not the voltage of the battery falls below a predetermined lower limit of a voltage threshold range, and

a shutdown mode switching unit, that is operated in the normal operational state, and that switches the battery pack to a shutdown mode, in which an electric power consumption of the battery is less than that in the sleep mode, when the battery voltage determining unit determines that the voltage of the battery falls below the lower limit of the voltage threshold range,

wherein, when the battery voltage determining unit determines that the voltage of the battery falls below the lower limit of the voltage threshold range, the mode returning unit performs a processing to return the battery pack from the sleep mode to the normal operational state as a processing to be performed when the mode returning condition is met.

14. The battery pack for power tool according to claim 5, comprising:

a charge detecting unit that detects that a battery charger for charging the battery is connected to the battery pack,

wherein, when the charge detecting unit detects that the battery charger is connected, the mode returning unit performs a processing to return the battery pack from the sleep mode to the normal operational state as a processing to be performed when the mode returning condition is met.

15. A power tool comprising:

a battery pack for power tool and a tool body,

wherein the battery pack includes;

a battery that has at least one battery cell;

a monitoring circuit that monitors a status of the battery, the monitoring circuit being operated by receiving power supply from the battery; and

a sleep mode switching unit that switches the battery pack to a sleep mode by stopping at least a part or all of operations of the monitoring circuit if the monitoring circuit detects a discharge end state where a discharge current from the battery is equal to or lower than a predetermined set current value, and the monitoring circuit further detects at least one of a voltage stable state where a voltage change amount in the battery cell is within a predetermined stable range of voltage change amount and a temperature stable state where a temperature change amount in the battery is within a predetermined stable range of temperature change amount,

wherein in a normal operational state of the monitoring circuit, the monitoring circuit detects an abnormality of the batter cell if a temperature change amount in the batter cell is equal to or greater than a redetermined value or if the voltage change amount in the batter cell is equal to or greater than a predetermined value,

and wherein the tool body is configured so that the battery pack is detachably attached thereto and configured so as to be operated by receiving power supply from the battery pack.