CN110948451A

CN110948451A - Electrical device and battery pack

Info

Publication number: CN110948451A
Application number: CN201811135619.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 武田祐贵
Original assignee: Hitachi Koki Co Ltd
Current assignee: Koki Holdings Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-09-27
Filing date: 2018-09-27
Publication date: 2020-04-03

Abstract

The invention prevents dust from entering the inside of a battery pack from the vicinity of a rail part of a slide mechanism. A cordless electrical device is provided with an electrical device main body (10) having guide rails (54, 57) and a battery pack (100) having guide rail grooves (140, 145) that engage with the guide rail portions, wherein labyrinth portions are formed at joint boundary portions on both left and right sides of the electrical device main body (10) and the battery pack (100) and at positions that overlap with the guide rail portions when viewed in an assembly direction. The labyrinth is composed of side skirts (68 a-68 c) protruding from the electrical device body (10) side and stepped parts (118 a-118 c) formed on the battery pack (100) in a corresponding manner.

Description

Electrical device and battery pack

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electrical device using a detachable battery pack in which a plurality of battery cells are housed in a case.

Background

In electric devices such as an electric power tool, a lighting device that emits light using electric energy, and an acoustic device that generates sound, in which a motor is rotated by electric power and the rotational motion is converted into at least one of reciprocating motion and rotational motion of an operating member, a battery pack is widely used as a power source. The battery pack includes a plurality of rechargeable battery cells, and these are housed in a synthetic resin case. The battery pack is provided with a mechanism for attaching and detaching the battery pack to and from the main body of the electrical apparatus using the battery-side rail portion, and a terminal portion that can be electrically connected during the attachment. On the other hand, an equipment side rail portion that guides the battery side rail portion is provided on the electrical equipment main body side. Such electrical equipment for mounting and dismounting a battery pack relates to various equipment such as impact drivers, driving drills, grinding machines, sanding machines, nail guns, screw guns, pleating devices, dust removers, blowers, pumps, high pressure washers, electric saws, lawn mowers, trimming equipment, tillage machines, flashlights, radios, and the like. The battery pack is required to have a predetermined capacity, while being small and lightweight. As an example of an electric device (electric power tool) using such a battery pack, patent document 1 is known.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016 and 101623

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the case of the mounting and demounting mechanism in which the battery pack is mounted to the electrical equipment main body by using the rail portions so as to slide horizontally, a slight gap is formed in the connecting portion (joint portion) of the two rail portions when viewed from the outside, and therefore, when dust or the like enters the gap from the outside, there is a problem that the sliding behavior of the rail portions is deteriorated. In addition, when dust or the like enters the battery pack or the main body of the device, there is a problem that the substrate or the like housed therein is adversely affected, and therefore, measures therefor are important.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described background, and an object thereof is to provide an electric apparatus capable of suppressing intrusion of dust and the like into a connection portion of a rail portion of a slide mechanism of a battery pack.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric device in which an outer connecting portion having a labyrinth portion formed therein is provided at a connecting portion (joint boundary) between a battery pack and an outer wall of an electric power tool main body.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack in which a concave-convex portion for forming one of labyrinth portions is formed.

Means for solving the problems

Representative features of the invention disclosed in the present application will be described below.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrical device including: an electrical equipment main body having a rail portion to which the battery pack can be attached and detached; and the battery pack having a rail groove portion engaged with the rail portion, wherein the electric device is driven by electric power of the battery pack, an inner connection portion is formed by an outer surface of the rail portion and an outer surface of the rail groove portion, and an outer connection portion is formed by an outer surface of the electric device main body located outside the rail portion and an outer surface of the battery pack located outside the rail groove portion. The outer connecting portion forms a labyrinth portion extending in a bent manner from the outer side toward the inner side. The labyrinth portion is composed of an outer surface of the electric apparatus main body outside the guide rail portion and an outer surface of the battery pack outside the guide rail groove portion.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided an electrical device including: an electrical equipment main body having a rail portion to which the battery pack can be attached and detached; and the battery pack having a rail groove portion engaged with the rail portion, the electric device being driven by electric power of the battery pack, wherein an inner connecting portion is formed between an outer surface of the rail portion and an outer surface of the rail groove portion, the inner connecting portion being provided outside the inner connecting portion and connected to the inner connecting portion, and an outer connecting portion is formed by a gap between the electric device main body and the battery pack. The external connection portion is configured to form a labyrinth portion that extends so as to be bent from the outside toward the inside, so as to suppress the intrusion of dust from the outside into the inside connection portion. The labyrinth portion is composed of a side skirt portion protruding from one side of the facing surface of the electrical device body or the battery pack to the other side, and a stepped portion formed on the electrical device body or the battery pack side facing the side skirt portion, and the side skirt portion is disposed on the stepped portion. The side skirt portion is continuously formed over both right and left sides of the facing surface and one side of the rear side. Preferably, the side skirt is provided on the electrical equipment main body, and the step portion is formed on the battery pack side.

According to another feature of the present invention, a battery pack has: an upper housing having an opening at a lower side; a lower housing having an opening at an upper side; and a plurality of cylindrical battery cells housed in a space defined by the openings of the upper case and the lower case being joined together. The upper case is formed with a rail groove portion and a stepped portion, and the upper case and the lower case are fixed by a plurality of screws. The battery pack is configured such that a plurality of battery packs are housed in the battery pack such that the longitudinal direction thereof is substantially parallel to the rail groove portion, and the step portion is located inward of the outermost position of the battery cell when viewed in the left-right direction. When viewed in the left-right direction, a substrate for a control circuit for performing charge and discharge control of the battery pack is housed inside the step portion, and the substrate is positioned in the left-right direction by the inner wall surface of the step portion.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack including a case that houses a plurality of battery cells and has a battery side rail portion that engages with an equipment side rail portion of an electrical equipment main body, wherein a protruding portion that protrudes upward from an upper surface of the case outside the battery side rail portion is provided. In addition, the battery pack is provided with a plurality of battery units; and a case that houses the plurality of battery cells and has a battery side rail portion that engages with the device side rail portion of the electrical device main body, wherein stepped portions that recess the corner portions downward are provided at both right and left side corner portions of the lower surface of the battery side rail portion.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, since the labyrinth mechanism is configured by providing the protruding portion protruding from one of the electric device main body and the battery pack toward the other in the vicinity of the outer edge of the guide rail portion, the dust-proof property and the water-proof property of the guide rail portion can be improved. Further, by forming the battery pack side in a concave stepped shape and forming the electric device main body side in a convex shape, the labyrinth structure of the present invention can be realized without changing the shape of the battery pack to be larger than before.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a right side view of an electric apparatus (impact tool 1) of an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the impact tool 1 of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the impact tool 1 of fig. 1, and is a sectional view of a portion C-C of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a single cell of the battery pack 100 of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the shape of the battery pack mounting portion 50 of the electric apparatus main body 10 of fig. 1.

Fig. 6(a) is a partial perspective view of the battery assembly portion 50 (same as fig. 5), and (B) is a perspective view of a single battery 100 (same as fig. 4).

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a-a portion of fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a view showing the outer surfaces of the guide rail 57 and the guide rail groove 140 in fig. 7 and the connection relationship therebetween.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a portion B-B of fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a battery pack using a related art.

Description of the symbols

1-impact tool, 2-body case, 10-electric apparatus body, 11-body case, 12-body portion, 12 a-rib, 13-handle portion, 14-hammer case, 14 a-protector, 15 a-air intake, 15 b-air discharge, 16-trigger switch, 16 a-trigger lever, 17-forward-reverse switching lever, 18 a-18 h-screw, 19 a-19 h-screw boss, 22-control circuit board, 24-motor, 25-rotation shaft, 26-cooling fan, 27-sensor board, 28-switch base, 29-light-emitting unit, 30-speed reduction mechanism, 35-mechanism, 36-main shaft, 37-hammer, 38 a-bearing, 38 b-bearing, 39-metal, 40-anvil, 41-blade portion, 42-fitting hole, 45-tip tool holding portion, 46-sleeve, 50-battery pack fitting portion, 50 a-elastic member, 51 a-right side wall, 51 b-left side wall, 51 c-rear wall, 52-curved portion, 54, 57-rail, 54a, 57 a-rail upper surface, 54b, 57 b-rail lower surface, 55a, 55b, 58a, 58 b-hollow portion, 56, 59-notch groove, 60-terminal portion, 60 a-vertical surface, 60 b-horizontal surface, 62-positive input terminal, 63-terminal, 64-negative input terminal, 68 a-68 c-side skirt portion, 69a, 69 b-protrusion portion, 100-battery pack, 101-lower case, 101 e-bottom surface, 104-buffer material, 105-107-battery cell, 108 a-108 d-screw member, 110-upper case, 111-lower step surface, 112-recessed portion, 114-step portion, 115-upper step surface, 115a, 115 b-through portion, 118 a-118 c-step portion, 120-slot arrangement region, 121-125-slot, 126-raised portion, 126 c-stopper, 129a to 129 d-screw boss, 130-circuit substrate, 131 to 135-battery side terminal, 140, 145-rail groove, 141, 146-rail groove lower surface, 142, 147-rail groove upper surface, 144, 149-side surface, 150-separator, 150 a-right side end portion, 150 b-left side end portion, 154b, 154 c-rib, 160, 170-latch, 165, 175-locking portion, 254, 257-rail, 341, 346-rail groove lower surface, a 1-rotation axis.

Detailed Description

Example 1

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the impact tool 1 is used as an example of the electric device. In the present specification, the vertical direction of the impact tool 1 is described by taking the direction shown in the drawings, and the direction of the battery pack unit is described by defining the front side and the rear side as viewed in the assembly direction with reference to the assembly direction of the battery pack 100 as shown in fig. 2 to 7.

Fig. 1 is a side view of an impact tool 1 of an embodiment of the present invention. The impact tool 1 is one type of electric apparatus including an electric apparatus main body 10 and a battery pack 100 that is attachable to and detachable from the electric apparatus main body 10. The impact tool 1 drives the rotary striking mechanism using the rechargeable battery pack 100 as a power source and the motor as a driving source, and converts the rotation of the rotary member into an intermittent striking force in the rotational direction by the rotary striking mechanism to drive the tool holder 45 connected to the striking mechanism. The main body case 11 of the impact tool 1 includes three parts, i.e., a cylindrical body portion 12 for housing a motor, a grip portion 13 which is a portion to be gripped by an operator with one hand, and a battery pack attachment portion 50 which is provided at a distal end of the grip portion 13 and to which a detachable battery pack 100 is attached. The main body case 11 is manufactured in a left-right halved form by molding synthetic resin of plastic, and is screwed by a plurality of screws 18a to 18 h. The handle portion 13 extends downward so as to be substantially orthogonal to the central axis (the rotation axis a1) of the body portion 12, and an operating lever (trigger lever 16a) of a trigger switch (described later in fig. 3) for controlling on/off of the motor is provided at a position where the index finger is located when the operator grips the handle portion. A forward/reverse switching lever 17 that switches the rotation direction of the motor is provided at the rear upper side of the trigger lever 16 a.

A battery pack mounting portion 50 is formed at a lower portion in the handle portion 13 for mounting the battery pack 100. The battery pack attachment portion 50 is a portion formed to radially expand from the longitudinal center axis of the grip portion 13. The assembled battery 100 is assembled to the assembled battery assembly portion 50. The battery pack 100 houses a plurality of secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries, and is rated at 10.8V in the present embodiment from the viewpoint of the type and number of battery cells housed therein. The battery pack 100 can be used not only for the impact tool 1 but also for various electric devices that operate at the same rated voltage. When the voltage of the battery pack 100 is reduced, the battery pack 100 is detached and attached to an external charger not shown, and charging is performed, so that the battery pack can be repeatedly used. When removing the battery pack 100, the operator can remove the battery pack 100 from the impact tool 1 by moving the battery pack 100 in a direction opposite to the mounting direction (forward direction in fig. 1) while pushing the latches 160 (not visible in fig. 1) and 170.

A plurality of air inlets 15a formed as slits are disposed on the side surface and the rear side of the body portion 12. Further, an air outlet 15b is disposed at a position spaced apart from the air inlet 15a by a predetermined distance. The air outlet 15b may be provided at a position forward of the motor 24. An anvil 40 projects forward of the body 12, and a tip tool holding portion 45 for holding a tip tool is provided at a tip end portion of the anvil 40.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the impact tool 1 of fig. 1. The body portion 12 (see fig. 1) and the grip portion 13 are formed to have a relatively small outer shape. The body portion 12 is sized to accommodate a motor and a power transmission mechanism, which will be described later, and the grip portion 13 has an optimum outer diameter for the operator to grip. On the other hand, the battery pack 100 protrudes more in the left-right direction than the handle portion 13, and therefore the battery pack mounting portion 50 is formed larger in the left-right direction than the handle portion 13. The operation portions of the

latches

160 and 170 are exposed to the side surface of the battery pack 100. The bottom surface 101e of the battery pack 100 is formed flat, and the impact tool 1 can be placed upright as shown in fig. 2. The case of the battery pack 100 is formed of a lower case 101 and an upper case 110 made of synthetic resin, and the lower case 101 and the upper case 110 are fixed by screws 108a to 108d (of which 108a, 108b are not visible in fig. 2).

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an internal structure of the impact tool 1 of fig. 1. The impact tool 1 includes a main body case 11 (a body portion 12, a grip portion 13, and a battery pack attachment portion 50) made of synthetic resin, and a metal hammer case 14 that houses a striking mechanism 35. A plurality of screw bosses 19a to 19h for screw fastening are formed on one side (left side) of the body case 11, and the left and right body cases 11 (reference numeral refer to fig. 1) are joined by a plurality of screws 18a to 18h (refer to fig. 1) while sandwiching the hammer case 14. The hammer case 14 is a tapered cup-shaped case, and has an opening on the rear side and a small opening (through hole) through which the anvil 40 passes is formed in the center of the bottom on the front side. A protector 14a made of synthetic resin is attached to a part of the hammer case 14 and to the rear side of the tip tool holding portion 45. The motor 24, the reduction mechanism 30 using a planetary gear, and the striking mechanism 35 having the hammer 37 and the anvil 40 are arranged coaxially with the rotation axis a1 in the cylindrical barrel portion 12 and the hammer case 14 of the main body case 11.

A trigger switch 16 is disposed on an upper portion of the handle portion 13 of the main body case 11, and a trigger lever 16a as an operation portion is exposed from the trigger switch 16 to a front side of the main body case 11. The trigger switch 16 includes a housing having a switch mechanism built therein and an operating portion (trigger lever 16a) provided outside to drive the switch mechanism, and is turned on and off by operating the trigger lever 16 a. The trigger switch 16 may have any form or structure, and not only the sliding type trigger lever 16a as in the present embodiment but also, for example, a swing type trigger switch having a trigger lever that swings about a swing shaft may be used.

A control circuit board 22 having a function of controlling the speed of the motor 24 in accordance with the pulling operation of the trigger lever 16a is housed inside the grip portion 13. The control circuit board 22 is disposed in the vertical direction so as to be parallel to the center axial direction of the grip portion 13. A microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as "microcomputer"), not shown, and a semiconductor switching element (not shown) for forming an inverter circuit are mounted on the control circuit board 22. The semiconductor switching element can be formed using six fets (field effect transistors). A switch holder 28 on which a switch for switching an operation mode is arranged is provided on an outer upper surface of the battery pack mounting portion 50. A light emitting unit 29 for emitting an object to be worked by a tip tool not shown is provided in front of the switch base 28. As the light emitting unit 29, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) is used here. Various operation buttons such as a striking intensity setting button, an irradiation switch of the light emitting unit 29, a remaining amount confirmation button of the battery pack 100, and a display lamp corresponding thereto are disposed in the switch base 28.

The motor 24 is driven by an excitation current generated by an inverter circuit using a brushless DC motor. The rotary shaft 25 of the motor 24 is disposed such that the axis a1 thereof extends in the longitudinal direction of the torso portion 12. The stator of the motor 24 includes a stator core formed of a laminated iron core and formed with a plurality of magnetic pole pieces, and a coil (not shown) wound using nonconductive insulators attached to the front and rear sides of the stator core. The rotor, not shown, forms a magnetic circuit by the permanent magnets housed inside the laminated core. The motor 24 is supported by a rib 12a extending from the inside of the body portion 12 of the main body housing 11 toward the motor 24.

A cooling fan 26 for cooling the motor 24 is provided coaxially with the rotary shaft 25 at the axial rear side of the motor 24. The rotary shaft 25 is supported by a bearing 38a on the front side of the stator core and a bearing 38b on the rear side, and the cooling fan 26 is disposed between the bearing 38b and the stator core. The cooling fan 26 rotates in synchronization with the motor 24, and when the cooling fan 26 rotates, external air is sucked from the air inlet 15a (see fig. 1) on the rear side of the main body casing 11, the motor 24 is cooled, and the cooled air is discharged to the outside from the air outlet 15b (see fig. 1).

A sensor substrate 27 is disposed axially forward of the motor 24 between the stator core and the bearing 38 a. The sensor substrate 27 is formed of an annular printed circuit board on which three magnetic detection units (not shown) for detecting the magnetic field of the permanent magnet included in the rotor are mounted. As the magnetic detection means, commercially available hall ICs can be used, and a plurality of (here, three) hall ICs are mounted at predetermined intervals at positions facing the permanent magnet of the rotor. The motor 24 is coupled in a star shape, and an end of a coil, not shown, wound around the stator core is connected to the wiring pattern of the sensor substrate 27 by soldering.

The speed reduction mechanism 30 reduces the speed of the output of the motor 24 at a predetermined reduction ratio and transmits the reduced speed to the main shaft 36, and a known speed reduction mechanism using a planetary gear is used. The spindle 36 is connected to the output side of the speed reduction mechanism 30, and has a spindle cam groove, not shown, formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and a planetary gear carrier portion of the speed reduction mechanism 30 formed on the rear side of the shaft portion. The main shaft 36 is manufactured by integrally molding metal in view of strength.

The hammer 37 is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the shaft portion of the main shaft 36, and a hammer cam groove is formed on the inner peripheral side. The hammer 37 is held by a cam mechanism using a steel ball (not shown), and the outer peripheral surface of the main shaft 36 and a part of the inner peripheral surface of the hammer 37 are in contact with each other. Note that, in fig. 3, illustration of the cam mechanism is omitted. When the reaction force received from the tip tool is low, the hammer 37 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the main shaft 36, and when the reaction force received from the tip tool is large, the cam ball of the cam mechanism, not shown, moves, the relative position of the hammer 37 and the main shaft 36 in the rotational direction slightly fluctuates, and the hammer 37 moves large to the rear side. Since the hammer 37 is always biased forward by a hammer spring, not shown, the hammer 37 moves rearward while compressing the hammer spring, not shown.

At the rear end of the anvil 40, two blade portions 41 serving as struck portions are formed at positions spaced apart by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction. The blade 41 has a shape along the radial outer side and is struck by the striking claw of the hammer punch 37. The side surfaces of the blade 41 in the rotation direction form both the striking surface to be struck when the hammer 37 rotates in the tightening direction and the striking surface formed on the opposite side thereof to be struck when rotating in the loosening direction. The rotary bodies of the main shaft 36 and the anvil 40 are pivotally supported on the hammer case 14 at the front side by a metal fitting 39. The tool holding portion 45 includes a fitting hole 42 having a hexagonal cross-sectional shape extending rearward in the axial direction from the front end portion of the anvil 40, and a sleeve 46 that moves forward and backward on the outer peripheral side of the anvil 40.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the battery pack 100 of the embodiment of the present invention. The battery pack 100 is attachable to and detachable from the battery pack attachment portion 50 (see fig. 1). The case of the battery pack 100 is formed of a lower case 101 and an upper case 110 that are dividable in the up-down direction. The lower case 101 and the upper case 110 are members that are not energized, for example, made of synthetic resin, and are fixed to each other by four screws 108a to 108d (108 c and 108d are not visible in fig. 4). The upper case 110 is formed with a rail mechanism having two

rail grooves

140 and 145 for mounting to the battery pack mounting portion 50. The

rail grooves

140 and 145 are groove portions having a shape recessed inward from the left and right side surfaces 144 and 149 of the upper case 110 so that the longitudinal direction thereof is parallel to the assembly direction of the battery pack 100. The groove portions of the

rail grooves

140 and 145 have open front ends and closed rear ends, respectively, connected to the front wall surface of the ridge portion 126. The

rail grooves

140 and 145 are formed in shapes corresponding to the rails 54 and 57 (see fig. 5 described later) formed in the battery pack mounting portion 50 of the electrical device main body 10, and the

rail grooves

140 and 145 are engaged with the

rails

54 and 57 by engaging portions 165 and 175 (175 is not visible in fig. 4) serving as claws of the latches, so that the battery pack 100 is fixed to the electrical device main body 10. When the battery pack 100 is detached from the electrical device main body 10, the

latches

160 and 170 positioned on the left and right sides are pressed inward, and the locking portions 165 and 175 move inward, and the locked state is released, so that the battery pack 100 is moved to the side opposite to the mounting direction in this state.

A flat lower step surface 111 is formed on the front side of the upper case 110, and an upper step surface 115 higher than the lower step surface 111 is formed near the center. The lower step surface 111 and the upper step surface 115 are formed in a stepped shape, and a connecting portion thereof is a stepped portion 114 which becomes a vertical surface. A slot group arrangement region 120 is defined from the step portion 114 to the front side of the upper step surface 115. In the slot set arrangement region 120, a plurality of slots 121-125 are formed so as to extend from the front stepped portion 114 to the rear side. The slots 121 to 125 are cut out to have a predetermined length in the battery pack mounting direction, and a plurality of battery-side terminals 131 to 135 (described later in fig. 7) that can be fitted to the device-side terminals of the electrical device main body 10 or an external charging device (not shown) are disposed inside the cut-out portions. The slots 121-125 are formed so that the terminals on the electric power tool main body side can be inserted by sliding from the lower step surface 111 side to the rear side.

Of the slots 121 to 125, the slot 121 on the side closer to the right rail groove 140 of the battery pack 100 is an insertion port for the positive electrode terminal (C + terminal) for charging. The slot 122 adjacent to the slot 121 is an insertion port for a positive electrode terminal (+ terminal) for discharge. In addition, the slot 124 of the left side portion of the battery pack 100 is an insertion port for a negative terminal (-terminal). Two signal terminals for transmitting signals for controlling the battery pack 100, the electric device main body 10, and an external charging device (not shown) are disposed in addition to the positive terminal and the negative terminal, and here, an LS terminal slot 123 for outputting an output of a thermistor (temperature sensing element), not shown, provided in contact with the battery cell, and an LD terminal slot 125 for outputting an abnormal stop signal of a battery protection circuit, not shown, included in the battery pack 100 are provided.

A raised portion 126 is formed on the rear side of the upper step surface 115 so as to be raised upward from the upper step surface 115. A concave stopper 126c is formed near the center of the ridge 126. The stopper portion 126c is a recess for avoiding the protrusion 69a (see fig. 5 described later) when the battery pack 100 is mounted on the battery pack mounting portion 50, and the protrusion 69a serves as a contact surface. When the projection 69a on the electric apparatus main body 10 side is inserted to abut against the stopper 126c, the terminals (apparatus-side terminals) provided on the electric apparatus main body 10 and the connection terminals (not shown) provided on the battery pack 100 are brought into good contact with each other, and a conductive state is established. The locking portions 165 and 175 (175 is not visible in the drawings) of the

latches

160 and 170 are projected in the left-right direction inside the

rail grooves

140 and 145 by the action of the springs, and engage with the notch grooves 56 and 59 (56 is not visible in the drawings) formed in the

rails

54 and 57 of the electrical apparatus main body 10, thereby preventing the battery pack 100 from coming off. The vicinity of the front ends of the lower surfaces of the

rail grooves

140, 145 are inclined from the top to the bottom. Cutouts 115a, 115b for facilitating injection molding are formed in upper portions of the

rail grooves

140, 145 in the upper step surface 115.

A recessed portion 112 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape in plan view is formed on the front side of the lower surface 111. The recessed portion 112 is a concave-convex portion for identifying whether or not the battery pack 100 is suitable for being attached to the electrical apparatus main body 10, and engages with a protruding portion 69b formed on the electrical apparatus main body 10 side. In the case of a battery pack of different voltages that cannot be assembled, the recessed portion 112 and the protruding portion 69b are different in position and shape, and therefore assembly is prevented. Therefore, even if a plurality of battery packs having different voltages are manufactured using substantially the same case, erroneous connection can be prevented by changing the positions and shapes of the recessed portion 112 and the protruding portion 69 b. In the present embodiment, when mounted on the electrical apparatus main body 10, the stepped portions 118a to 118c are formed on the outer edge (corresponding to the outer connecting portion located on the outer side of the inner connecting portion) of the inner connecting portion (the gap portion between the outer surface of the guide rails 54, 57 and the outer surface of the

guide rail grooves

140, 145 facing the outer surface of the guide rails) of the junction portion of the electrical apparatus main body 10 and the battery pack 100 as a boundary, as viewed from the outer side.

Fig. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the shape of the battery pack mounting portion 50 of the electric apparatus main body 10. Not only the electrical device main body 10 but also the electrical device using the battery pack 100 as a power source is provided with the battery pack mounting portion 50 corresponding to the shape of the assembled battery pack 100. The battery pack mounting portion 50 is formed with

guide rails

54, 57 projecting inward from inner wall portions on both left and right sides and extending in the longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction, and a terminal portion 60 is provided in an upper portion of a space sandwiched therebetween. The guide rail 57 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction, and has upper and lower surfaces that engage in contact with the inner upper and lower walls of the guide rail groove 145 of the battery pack 100.

Hollow portions

58a, 58b are formed between the upper and lower sides of the guide rail 57, and these are formed in consideration of the ease of injection molding of the synthetic resin, and functionally, the

hollow portions

58a, 58b may be eliminated. A notch groove 59 cut in the vertical direction is formed near the front end of the guide rail 57. The notch groove 59 is a portion to be a concave portion or a lock portion to be engaged with the locking claw (the locking portion 165) of the latch mechanism. In the perspective view of fig. 5, the shape of the guide rail 54 formed on the inner side of the right side wall 51a is not visible, but is made to be the same shape as the left side guide rail 57 in bilateral symmetry.

The terminal portion 60 is manufactured by integrally molding a non-conductive material such as a synthetic resin, and here, a plurality of terminals made of metal, for example, a positive input terminal 62, a negative input terminal 64, an LS terminal 63, and an LD terminal (abnormal signal terminal) 65 are cast into the synthetic resin. The terminal portion 60 is formed into a vertical surface 60a and a horizontal surface 60b which are contact surfaces in the mounting direction (front-rear direction). The horizontal surface 60b is a surface that faces adjacent to the upper step surface 115 (fig. 3) when the battery pack 100 is assembled. A bent portion 52 that abuts a raised portion 126 (fig. 3) of the battery pack 100 is formed in front of the horizontal surface 60b, and a protrusion 69a is formed near the left and right center of the bent portion 52. The protrusion 69a is formed integrally with the case of the electrical device main body 10 formed in a right-left direction and bisected, and functions as a stopper for restricting relative movement in the mounting direction of the battery pack 100 and in the direction orthogonal to the mounting direction.

In the battery pack mounting portion 50 of the present embodiment, a side skirt portion 68a extending in a rib shape toward the lower side than the right side edge portion of the lower surface of the guide rail 54 is formed, and a side skirt portion 68b extending in a rib shape toward the lower side than the left side edge portion of the lower surface of the guide rail 57 is formed. The lower end of the rear wall 51c is extended to connect the rear end of the side skirt 68a and the rear end of the side skirt 68b, thereby forming a side skirt 68 c.

Fig. 6 is the same as fig. 4 and 5, and is a diagram for explaining the shapes of the side skirt portions 68a to 68c and the stepped portions 118a to 118c, which are characteristic configurations of the present embodiment. In fig. 6(a), the battery assembly attachment portion 50 is a tapered portion formed so as to extend radially from the longitudinal center axis of the grip portion 13, that is, so as to extend in three directions, namely, in the front, right, and left directions in the direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the grip portion 13. Side skirts 68a to 68c are formed on the lower sides of the right side wall 51a, the left side wall 51b, and the rear wall 51c of the battery pack mounting portion 50, respectively. The rear wall 51c and the side skirt 68c are formed to have the same plate thickness, and the side skirts 68a and 68b are formed to have the same plate thickness as the side skirt 68 c. With this configuration, the side skirt portions 68a to 68c can have sufficient strength. In the present embodiment, since the thin rib-shaped

side skirt portions

68a and 68b are formed downward from the entirety (from front to back) of the outer edges on both the left and right sides of the guide rails 54 and 57, and the side skirt portion 68c connects the left and right

side skirt portions

68a and 68b, the side skirt portions 68a to 68c are コ -shaped in bottom view. As a result, rib-shaped side skirts 68a to 68c are continuously formed in the boundary region of the connection boundary between battery pack 100 and the outer surface of battery pack mounting portion 50, excluding the contact portion with raised portion 126 (see fig. 6B).

Fig. 6(B) is a perspective view of the battery pack 100. Stepped portions 118a to 118b corresponding to the side skirts 68a to 68c shown in fig. 6(a) are formed on the battery pack 100 side. Further, the front end of the stepped portion 118a and the front end of the stepped portion 118b are connected by a stepped portion 118c continuously formed in the left-right direction. As described above, even when the stepped portions 118a to 118c are formed in the battery pack 100, the present embodiment can be easily applied by forming a recess in a part of the upper case 110 and changing the metal mold for injection molding. The stepped portion 118a abuts against the side skirt portion 68b by a dimple structure, the stepped portion 118b abuts against the side skirt portion 68a by a dimple structure, and the stepped portion 118c abuts against the side skirt portion 68c by a dimple structure. In the present embodiment, when the battery pack 100 is mounted on the electrical apparatus main body 10, the side skirts 68a to 68c serving as the outer connection portions are formed on most of the outer sides of the inner connection portions (joint portions) which are boundaries when viewed from the outside, and the side skirts are joined by the dimples to obtain a labyrinth effect, so that the entry of water and dust into the inner connection portions between the guide rails 54 and 57 and the

guide rail grooves

140 and 145 can be effectively prevented.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a-a portion of fig. 1. In the battery pack 100, it is important to ensure a required electric capacity while being small and lightweight. In the present embodiment, three 3.6V rated lithium ion batteries are housed inside a space defined by the opening portions of the upper case 110 having an opening on the lower side and the lower case 101 having an opening on the upper side being joined to each other. The battery cells 105 to 107 used are so-called 18650 type battery cells having a diameter of 18mm and a length of 65mm, but other types of battery cells may be used. The battery cells 105 to 107 are substantially housed in the lower case 101 with the axial direction thereof being the front-rear direction, and the upper portions thereof are covered with a synthetic resin separator 150, thereby stably fixing the battery cells 105 to 107.

The spacer 150 also functions as a mounting base for holding the circuit substrate 130 on the upper portion thereof. The circuit board 130 is a mounting base for soldering the plurality of battery-side terminals 131 to 135, and is mounted with a circuit member for controlling the battery such as a microcomputer. Although not visible in the cross section a-a of fig. 7, a screw hole is formed in the circuit board 130, and the circuit board 130 is fixed to the spacer 150 by a screw not shown. The separator 150 is manufactured by integrally molding synthetic resin such as plastic as a nonconductive material, and is formed in a shape covering the upper half surface of the outer peripheral surface of the battery cells 105 to 107. The right and

left end portions

150a and 150b (in the direction of the battery cells) of the partition 150 are formed in a planar shape extending in the vertical direction, and each of them abuts against the inner wall of the lower case 101.

Ribs

154b and 154c for stably holding the circuit board 130 are formed on the upper surface of the spacer 150.

Guide rail grooves

140, 145 are formed on both left and right sides near the lower end of the upper case 110, respectively. The symbols 54a, 57a are upper surfaces (guide rail upper surfaces, first outer surfaces) of the guide rails 54, 57, respectively, and the symbols 142, 147 are upper surfaces (guide rail groove upper surfaces, second outer surfaces) of the

guide rail grooves

140, 145, respectively. The guide rails 54, 57 are shown separated vertically at the cross-sectional position of the B-B portion because they are the positions of the hollow portions 55B, 58B (see fig. 5). The side skirts 68a and 68b extend downward from both right and left end portions located outside the rail lower surfaces 54b and 57b (first outer surfaces). Further, stepped

portions

118b and 118a are formed outside the

rail grooves

140 and 145 at positions corresponding to (facing) the side skirts 68a and 68b, and are configured to be coupled to each other by dimples. Here, the guide rail 57, the outer surface of the guide rail groove 140, and the connection relationship therebetween in fig. 7 will be described with reference to fig. 8. Fig. 7 illustrates the contact surface with a gap for easy understanding. As shown in the drawing, the upper and lower surfaces (upper surfaces 54a, 57a, lower surfaces 54b, 57b) of the guide rails 54, 57 and the outer peripheral surface connecting these upper and lower surfaces correspond to the first outer surface. The second outer surface shown in fig. 8, which is a surface that faces the outer surfaces of the guide rails 54 and 57 and comes into contact with the outside of the

guide rail grooves

140 and 145, is an outer peripheral surface including the upper surfaces 142 and 147, the

lower surfaces

141 and 146 of the

guide rail grooves

140 and 145, and a surface connecting these upper and lower surfaces. The region outside the inner connecting portion where the first outer surface and the second outer surface are in contact is the outer connecting portion. On the outer surfaces of the

side skirts

68a, 68b corresponding to the stepped

portions

118b, 118a, the portion shown in fig. 8 corresponds to a third outer surface, and the portion facing the third outer surface corresponds to a fourth outer surface. The third outer surface is in particular the lower and inner side surface of the

side skirt

68a, 68b, and the fourth outer surface is the outer surface of the

step

118b, 118a, in particular the surface facing the lower and inner side of the

side skirt

68a, 68 b.

When other expressions are adopted, the structure is a so-called labyrinth structure: the outer connecting portions, which are the outer sides of the connecting portions (inner connecting portions) between the lower surfaces 54b, 57b of the guide rails 54, 57 and the

lower surfaces

141, 146 of the

guide rail grooves

140, 145, are not parallel joint surfaces (straight connecting portions), and when viewed in a-a cross section, a part of the outer connecting portions is bent in a crank shape, that is, a path from the outside to a lower connecting surface (a gap between the outer surface of the guide rail and the outer surface of the guide rail groove) in the inner connecting portion between the first outer surface (including the upper surfaces 54a, 57a and the lower surfaces 54b, 57b shown in fig. 8) of the guide rails 54, 57 and the second outer surface (including the upper surfaces 142, 147 and the

lower surfaces

141, 146 shown in fig. 8) of the

guide rail grooves

140, 145 facing the outer surface of the guide rail is not straight, but bent from the outside to the inside, as shown in fig. That is, the labyrinth portion is formed by the third outer surface and the fourth outer surface that form the outside connection portion. Therefore, by forming the side skirt portions 68a to 68c as the outer connecting portions, dust is less likely to enter the rail portions (inner connecting portions) from slight gaps between the

rail grooves

140 and 145 and the

rails

54 and 57. In general, when the battery pack 100 is downsized, the sizes of the guide rail and the guide rail groove are reduced, and the distance from the joint surface (inner connecting portion) of the guide rail to the hole portion of the latch claw is shortened. However, in the present embodiment, the side skirts 68a to 68c are formed so as to extend from the top to the bottom of the main body case 2, and thus, the intrusion of water and dust into the inner connection portion between the battery pack mounting portion 50 and the battery pack 100 can be greatly suppressed.

And again to figure 7. The interval between

ribs

154b and 154c formed on separator 150 is substantially the same as the lateral width of circuit board 130, and is sufficiently smaller than the lateral width occupied by battery cells 105 to 107. In this way, since the size of the circuit board 130 is set to a lateral width (lateral distance) sufficiently smaller than the lateral distance between the side skirts 68a and 68b, the circuit board 130 can be accommodated in the inner portion of the rail groove

lower surfaces

141 and 146. That is, the circuit board 130 can be positioned in the left-right direction by the inner wall surfaces of the stepped

portions

118a and 118 b. The terminal section 60 is provided with positive input terminals 62 to 65. Here, the positive electrode terminal for charging is not provided. An elastic member 50a such as an elastic body is provided on the upper portion of the battery pack mounting portion 50 and on the outer peripheral surface of the handle portion 13.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a portion B-B of fig. 1. The shapes of the battery pack 100 and the battery pack attachment portion 50, particularly the shapes of the

side skirts

68a, 68b and the stepped

portions

118b, 118a are the same as those of fig. 7. In the B-B cross section, a buffer material 104 is provided under the battery cells 105-107 to suppress the movement of the battery cells 105-107 inside. For comparison, a structure of a small-sized battery pack in which three battery cells are designed using a conventional technique will be described with reference to fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a battery pack designed using the prior art. The applicant purchased a battery pack rated at 14.4V having a similar rail mechanism, and scaled down to 10.8V for the present application, the battery pack becomes an example (virtual known example) as shown in fig. 10. This conventional technique is different from the embodiment shown in fig. 4 to 6 in that the side skirt portions 68a to 68c and the step portions 118a to 118c shown in fig. 6 are not formed. In the case of the structure of the virtual known example, the

lower surfaces

341 and 346 of the rail grooves and the lower surfaces of the

rails

254 and 257 are inner connecting portions which are divided surfaces when viewed from the outer surfaces. The dividing surfaces are parallel (linear), and when water or dust is applied from the outside of the dividing surfaces, the water or dust easily enters the inside connecting portions (the gaps between the guide rails and the guide rail grooves). In particular, as is clear from the claw (the locking portion 165) in fig. 4, since the locking portion 165 is partially formed with a through hole in the upper case 110, water and dust easily enter the inside. However, in the structure of the present embodiment, the side skirts 68a to 68c are provided as the outer connecting portions on the outer side of the inner connecting portions, so that the intrusion path of water and dust from the outside to the inner connecting portions has a labyrinth structure, and thus intrusion of water and dust into the inner connecting portions and the inner portions can be effectively suppressed.

In the structure of the present embodiment, as the external connection portion, a side skirt extending downward from the electrical apparatus main body 10 side is formed, and a step portion recessed downward is formed on the battery pack 100 side. In this way, since the battery pack 100 has a shape in which a part thereof is not protruded but recessed, it is very effective as a countermeasure against intrusion of water droplets and dust. Even if the positional relationship between the convex side skirts 68a to 68c and the step portions 118a to 118c is reversed, the step portions are formed on the electrical equipment main body 10 side, and the rib facing upward is formed on the outer edge portion of the rail groove on the battery pack 100 side, and a sufficient labyrinth effect can be obtained. Further, even if the side skirt (protruding portion) is provided so as to extend only from one of the electrical device main body 10 and the battery pack 100 to the other, the path of penetration from the outside to the inner connecting portion of the guide rail and the guide rail groove is not straight, and therefore, the dust-proof property to the inner connecting portion can be improved.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the above-described embodiment, the labyrinth structure portion is formed in the inner connecting portion (joint portion) on both the left and right sides of the rail groove portion and the inner connecting portion (joint portion) on the front side of the battery pack 100, but a labyrinth portion may be formed in the inner connecting portion (joint portion) on the rear side of the battery pack 100 and in the vicinity of the outer surface of the inner connecting portion (joint portion) with the ridge portion 126.

Claims

1. An electrical device is provided with:

an electrical equipment main body having a rail portion to which the battery pack can be attached and detached; and

the battery pack having a rail groove portion engaged with the rail portion,

the electric device is driven by the electric power of the battery pack,

the above-mentioned electrical apparatus is characterized in that,

an inner connecting portion is formed by a first outer surface of the electric device main body formed on the guide rail portion and a second outer surface of the battery pack formed with the guide rail groove portion,

an outer connection portion is formed by a third outer surface of the electric device main body formed on the outer side of the first outer surface and a fourth outer surface of the battery pack formed on the outer side of the second outer surface,

the outer connecting portion forms the third outer surface and the fourth outer surface so as to form a labyrinth portion extending by being bent from the outside toward the inside.

2. An electrical device is provided with:

the battery pack having a rail groove portion engaged with the rail portion,

the electric device is driven by the electric power of the battery pack,

the above-mentioned electrical apparatus is characterized in that,

an inner connecting portion is formed between an outer surface of the guide rail portion and an outer surface of the guide rail groove portion,

an outer connection part formed by a gap between the electric device main body and the battery pack and connected to the inner connection part,

the external connection portion is configured to form a labyrinth portion that is bent and extended from the outside toward the inside so as to suppress the intrusion of dust from the outside into the inside connection portion.

3. The electrical device of claim 1 or 2,

the labyrinth portion includes a side skirt portion protruding from one side of an opposing surface of the electrical device main body or the battery pack toward the other side, and a stepped portion formed on the electrical device main body or the battery pack opposing the side skirt portion, and the side skirt portion is disposed on the stepped portion.

4. The electrical device of claim 3,

the side skirt portion is continuously formed over one of the left and right sides and the rear side of the facing surface.

5. The electrical device of claim 3 or 4,

the side skirt is provided on the electrical equipment main body, and the step portion is formed on the battery pack side.

6. The electrical device of claim 5,

the battery pack includes:

an upper housing having an opening at a lower side;

a lower housing having an opening at an upper side; and

a plurality of cylindrical battery cells housed in a space defined by the openings of the upper case and the lower case being joined to each other,

the upper housing is formed with the guide groove portion and the step portion,

the upper case and the lower case are fixed to each other by a plurality of screws.

7. The electrical apparatus of any one of claims 2 to 6,

a plurality of battery packs are accommodated in the battery pack so that the longitudinal direction of the battery packs is substantially parallel to the rail groove,

the step portion is located inward of the outermost position of the battery cell when viewed in the left-right direction.

8. The electrical device of claim 7,

a control circuit board for controlling charging and discharging of the battery pack is housed inside the step portion when viewed in the left-right direction,

the positioning of the substrate in the left-right direction is performed by the inner wall surface of the step portion.

9. A battery pack is characterized by comprising:

a plurality of battery cells; and

a case which houses the plurality of battery cells and has a battery side rail part which is engaged with the device side rail part of the electric device main body,

a protruding portion is provided to protrude upward from the upper surface of the case outside the battery side rail portion.

10. A battery pack is characterized by comprising:

a plurality of battery cells; and

a case which houses the plurality of battery cells and has a battery side rail part engaged with the device side rail part of the electric device main body,

the battery side rail has a lower surface, and left and right corner portions provided with stepped portions for depressing the corner portions downward.