Adapter for power tool devices

• US 10,131,043 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2018
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation (Techtronic Industries Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation (Techtronic Industries Company Limited)
• Inventors: Mergener, Matthew J., Stampfl, Burtrom Lee, Monteleone, Michael, Conrad, Cole A., Matson, Stephen, Hollis, Robert R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Carrasquillo, Jorge L
• Application Number:
  US15/868,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20180133873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 313 Days
• Field of Search: 318139, 31856817, 31840012, 31840016
• CPC Class Codes: B23B 45/008 Gear boxes, clutches, bearings, feeding mechanisms or like equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B23B 47/00 Constructional features of components specially designed for boring or drilling machines; Accessories therefor working-spindles, bearing sleeves therefor B23Q1/70; for machine tools in general B23Q
• CPC Class Codes: B25B 21/008 with automatic change-over from high speed-low torque mode to low speed-high torque mode
• CPC Class Codes: B25B 21/02 with means for imparting impact to screwdriver blade or nut socket
• CPC Class Codes: B25B 23/1475 for impact wrenches or screwdrivers
• CPC Class Codes: B25D 16/006 Mode changers; Mechanisms connected thereto
• CPC Class Codes: B25D 2216/0015 Tools having a percussion-only mode
• CPC Class Codes: B25D 2216/0023 Tools having a percussion-and-rotation mode
• CPC Class Codes: B25D 2216/0038 Tools having a rotation-only mode
• CPC Class Codes: B25D 2250/005 Adjustable tool components; Adjustable parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B25D 2250/041 Cable management or routing of electrical cables and wires
• CPC Class Codes: B25D 2250/221 Sensors
• 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: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0024 Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit

Abstract

An adapter for a power tool including a housing, a tool-side connector, and a battery-side connector in electrical communication with each other. The tool-side connector is configured to couple to a power tool, and the battery-side connector is configured to couple to a battery pack. The adapter also includes a communication interface configured to couple with an external device, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine a state of the power tool, operate in a data transmission mode when the power tool is in the idle state, operate in a pass-through mode when the power tool is in the active state, and switch between the data transmission mode and the pass-through mode based on the state of the power tool.

Claims

1. A power tool comprising:

a housing having an upper main body, a handle, and a device receiving portion, wherein the handle is connected to the upper main body and to the device receiving portion, wherein the device receiving portion is configured to receive and couple to a battery pack;

a brushless direct current (DC) motor within the upper main body and having a rotor and a stator;

a trigger configured to be actuated to activate the brushless DC motor;

a mode selection pad located on an upper surface of the device receiving portion and including a push button; and

a controller including an electronic processor and a memory and configured to

control a switching network to drive the brushless DC motor in response to the trigger being actuated,

receive first information corresponding to a first mode of operation of the power tool, the first information including a first value of an operational parameter from an external device, the power tool receiving the first information from the external device via wireless communication, wherein the first value is adjustable via a user interface on the external device before being received by the controller,

store the first information corresponding to the first mode in the memory,

receive second information corresponding to a second mode of operation of the power tool, the second information including a second value of the operational parameter from the external device, the power tool receiving the second information from the external device via wireless communication, wherein the second value is adjustable via the user interface on the external device before being received by the controller,

store the second information corresponding to the second mode in the memory,

control the power tool to operate in accordance with the first mode in response to the trigger being actuated,

receive an input from the push button to select the second mode, and

control the power tool to operate in accordance with the second mode in response to receiving the input from the push button and in response to the trigger being actuated, wherein the first value of the operational parameter of the first mode is different than the second value of the operational parameter of the second mode.

2. The power tool of claim 1, wherein the operational parameter is a speed of the brushless DC motor.

3. The power tool of claim 1, wherein the operational parameter is one selected from the group of a fastening torque of the power tool and an impacting duration of the power tool.

4. The power tool of claim 1, further comprising a work light, wherein the operational parameter is at least one selected from the group of a work light brightness and a work light duration.

5. The power tool of claim 1, further comprising the battery pack coupled to the power tool, wherein status information of the battery pack is transmitted to the external device.

6. The power tool of claim 1, wherein power tool operation statistics are transmitted to the external device.

7. The power tool of claim 1, wherein the mode selection pad includes a plurality of mode indicators and the controller receives, from the external device, an indication that the first mode is assigned to a first mode indicator and the second mode is assigned to a second mode indicator;

wherein the controller is configured to receive a second input from the push button to cycle through modes of operation of the power tool and select the first mode such that the controller controls the power tool to operate in accordance with the first mode in response to the trigger being actuated.

8. The power tool of claim 1, wherein information corresponding to an unassigned mode of power tool operation is stored on at least one selected from the group of the memory of the power tool, a memory of the external device, and a memory of a remote server capable of communicating with the external device.

9. A power tool communication system comprising:

an external device including a first controller including a first electronic processor and a first memory, wherein the first controller is configured to

set, based on received input at a user interface on the external device, a first value of an operational parameter of a first mode of operation of a power tool and a second value of the operational parameter of a second mode of operation of the power tool, wherein the first value and the second value of the operational parameter is different, and

transmit, via wireless communication to the power tool, first information corresponding to the first mode including the first value of the operational parameter and second information corresponding to the second mode including the second value of the operational parameter;

the power tool including

a housing having an upper main body, a handle, and a device receiving portion, wherein the handle is connected to the upper main body and to the device receiving portion, wherein the device receiving portion is configured to receive and couple to a battery pack,

a brushless direct current (DC) motor within the upper main body and having a rotor and a stator,

a trigger configured to be actuated to activate the brushless DC motor;

a mode selection pad located on an upper surface of the device receiving portion and including a push button, and

a second controller including a second electronic processor and a second memory and configured to

receive the first information and the second information from the external device,

store the first information corresponding to the first mode and the second information corresponding to the second mode in the second memory,

control the power tool to operate in accordance with the first mode in response to the trigger being actuated,

receive a second input from the push button to select the second mode, and

control the power tool to operate in accordance with the second mode in response to receiving the second input from the push button and in response to the trigger being actuated.

10. The power tool communication system of claim 9, wherein the operational parameter is a speed of the brushless DC motor.

11. The power tool communication system of claim 9, wherein the operational parameter is one selected from the group of a fastening torque of the power tool and an impacting duration of the power tool.

12. The power tool communication system of claim 9, wherein the power tool includes a work light and the operational parameter is at least one selected from the group of a work light brightness and a work light duration.

13. The power tool communication system of claim 9, further comprising the battery pack coupled to the power tool, wherein the external device receives status information of the battery pack from the power tool.

14. The power tool communication system of claim 9, wherein the external device receives power tool operation statistics from the power tool.

15. The power tool communication system of claim 9, wherein the mode selection pad includes a plurality of mode indicators and the second controller receives, from the external device, an indication that the first mode is assigned to a first mode indicator and the second mode is assigned to a second mode indicator;

wherein second controller is configured to receive a third input from the push button to cycle through modes of operation of the power tool and select the first mode such that the second controller controls the power tool to operate in accordance with the first mode in response to the trigger being actuated.

16. The power tool communication system of claim 9, wherein information corresponding to an unassigned mode of power tool operation is stored on at least one selected from the group of the second memory of the power tool, the first memory of the external device, and a memory of a remote server capable of communicating with the external device.

17. A method of selecting a mode of operation of a power tool, the method comprising:

receiving, by a wireless transceiver of the power tool, first information corresponding to a first mode of operation of the power tool, the first information including a first value of an operational parameter from an external device, the first value of the operational parameter being adjustable via a user interface on the external device before being received by the wireless transceiver;

storing, in a memory of the power tool, the first information corresponding to the first mode;

receiving, by the wireless transceiver of the power tool, second information corresponding to a second mode of operation of the power tool, the second information including a second value of the operational parameter from the external device, the second value of the operational parameter being adjustable via the user interface on the external device before being received by the wireless transceiver;

storing, in the memory of the power tool, the second information corresponding to the second mode;

controlling, with a controller of the power tool, the power tool to operate in accordance with the first mode in response to a trigger of the power tool being actuated;

receiving an input, from a push button on a mode selection pad located on an upper surface of a device receiving portion of a housing of the power tool, to select the second mode, the device receiving portion being configured to receive and couple to a battery pack; and

controlling, with the controller, the power tool to operate in accordance with the second mode in response to receiving the input from the push button and in response to the trigger being actuated, the first value of the operational parameter of the first mode being different than the second value of the operational parameter of the second mode.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the operational parameter is a speed of a brushless DC motor of the power tool.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the operational parameter is one selected from the group of a fastening torque of the power tool and an impacting duration of the power tool.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the operational parameter is at least one selected from the group of a work light brightness and a work light duration of a work light of the power tool.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting status information of the battery pack coupled to the power tool to the external device.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising transmitting power tool operation statistics to the external device.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving, by the controller from the external device, an indication that the first mode is assigned to a first mode indicator of the mode selection pad and the second mode is assigned to a second mode indicator of the mode selection pad; and

receiving a second input from the push button to cycle through modes of operation of the power tool and select the first mode such that the controller controls the power tool to operate in accordance with the first mode in response to the trigger being actuated.

24. The method of claim 17, further comprising storing information corresponding to an unassigned mode of power tool operation on at least one selected from the group of a memory of the power tool, a memory of the external device, and a memory of a remote server capable of communicating with the external device.

25. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

setting, with a second controller of the external device and based on received input at the user interface of the external device, the first value of the operational parameter of the first mode and the second value of the operational parameter of the second mode; and

transmitting, with a second wireless transceiver of the external device to the power tool, the first information corresponding to the first mode and the second information corresponding to the second mode.