JP2003053683A - Cordless tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cordless tool using a storage battery with a high nominal voltage, being made compact and well-balanced even with the bottom face of the storage battery facing down, and being excellent in serviceability such that the tool can be held upright. SOLUTION: The cordless tool comprises a body shell part, a handle part hanging from the body shell part, and a battery case part 5 detachably engaged with the handle part to store N cells. The battery case part 5 has a first storage part for storing cells 4 by a number smaller than N and a second storage part extending from the first storage part in the direction approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle part. An engaging member for engaging the battery case part 5 with the handle part is provided in a space in the vicinity of the gap between the first and second storage parts, and an operating member for operating the engaging member is provided on the outside of the second storage part. The engaging member is connected to the operating member by an intermediate connection 9d.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cordless tool such as a driver drill or an impact driver which uses a storage battery as a power source.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional cordless tool and a storage battery used therein will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 5
The driver drill 1 and the impact driver 2 shown in FIG. 9 include a storage battery 3 (3a) such as a nickel-cadmium battery or a nickel-hydrogen battery having the shapes shown in FIGS. 6 and 8.
Has a nominal voltage of 9.6V, and 3b has a nominal voltage of 12V). Each of these storage batteries 3a and 3b has a battery cell 4 having an electromotive force of nominally 1.2 V and a plastic battery case 5 for housing these battery cells 4, and the inside of the battery case 5 is: About 2 to 20 battery cells 4 are stored in a state of being connected in series. Further, the battery case 5 that forms the external appearance of the storage batteries 3a and 3b is mainly composed of two, a first battery case 5a and a second battery case 5b, and the first battery that forms the base portion (base portion) of the storage battery. A second battery case 5b having a connection terminal 7 for supplying electric power to the motor 6 as a drive source is provided at a position standing upright from the case 5a.

Further, the storage batteries 3a, 3b are provided with an operation piece 9 (latch) for attaching and detaching the storage batteries 3a, 3b to the split housing 8 (outer frame) forming the cordless tool body. .

The storage battery 3b having a nominal voltage of 12 V will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. The battery case 5 accommodates ten battery cells 4 connected in series.
Eight battery cells 4 among the present battery cells 4 are arranged in the first battery case 5a, and the remaining two battery cells 4 are arranged in the second battery case 5b. Further, in the first battery case 5a, an operation piece 9 having an engaging convex portion 9a rotatable about the support portion 10 by an external operation and an operation portion 9b formed on the operation piece 9 are provided on the outer peripheral side of the storage battery. An elastic body 11 (spring) that constantly biases is stored.

Next, the storage battery 3 for the cordless tool body
The attachment / detachment configuration of b will be described. When the storage battery 3b is attached to the cordless tool body, the second battery case 5b is inserted into the storage battery storage portion 8a of the cordless tool body. When it is inserted to a certain position, the engaging projection 9a also having the inclined surface 9c moves along the inclined surface 8c formed on the housing 8 provided with the engaging concave portion 8b that engages with the engaging projection 9a.
After that, the operation piece 9 is moved to the opposite arrow 1 by the reaction force of the elastic body 11.
By rotating in two directions, the engaging projection 9a automatically becomes the engaging recess 8b.
Engage with. As a result, the battery 5
Can be attached.

On the contrary, when the storage battery 5 is detached from the cordless tool body, the operation piece 9 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 12 against the urging force of the elastic body 11 to engage the engaging projection 9a and the engaging recess. The engagement with 8b is released. Thereby, the storage battery 3b can be detached from the cordless tool body. The examples shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 are examples in which the storage battery 5 is provided with one attachment / detachment mechanism, but there is also a configuration having two similar attachment / detachment mechanisms.

Normally, the storage battery 3 is used after being fully charged by the charger and then set again in the storage battery storage portion 8a of the cordless tool body. Since some users use various storage batteries 3 having different nominal voltages, a versatile charger capable of charging various storage batteries 3 by one unit is now provided. In order to obtain versatility, it is necessary to make the shapes of the second battery cases 5b of the various storage batteries 3 the same and to provide the charger with the charging fitting hole into which the second battery case 5b is inserted. Further, by making the shapes of the second battery cases 5b of the various storage batteries 3 the same, even if the cordless tools have different nominal voltages such as 9.6V and 12V, the storage battery housing 8a has the same shape. 8 can be shared and used.

[0008]

A storage battery used for a cordless tool is, for example, 9.6V depending on the application.
Various types with different nominal voltages such as 12V, 14.4V, 18V, and 24V are provided. Generally, as the nominal voltage increases, the number of battery cells increases.
In reality, the outer shape of the battery case that houses the battery cells, that is, the storage battery, is large. In order to fit a storage battery with a large nominal voltage into the storage battery housing without changing the size of the storage battery housing formed in the housing forming the cordless tool body, the battery cells of the storage battery are further arranged in the vertical direction. Since it is necessary, the total height of the storage battery becomes high. Therefore, when such a storage battery is attached to the cordless tool main body, the total height of the cordless tool itself becomes high, and there is a problem that it cannot be made compact.

Further, along with this, even if an attempt is made to stand the cordless tool with the bottom surface of the storage battery facing downward, the overall balance cannot be achieved, that is, the position of the center of gravity of the cordless tool becomes high, which makes the cordless tool unstable, and as a result, the cordless tool is raised. There was a problem that it could not be done.

Therefore, it is conceivable to arrange the battery cells in the horizontal direction instead of the vertical direction. However, in the case of a type of storage battery in which operation pieces are provided on both side surfaces of the storage battery,
The operating piece is designed to engage with a part of the housing that has almost the same width as the width of the storage battery. Since it is necessary to increase the size in the direction, the housing cannot be shared, and as a result, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost becomes high.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to devise the arrangement of battery cells and latches to suppress the height of a storage battery having a high nominal voltage. Therefore, even if the storage battery is attached to the main body of the cordless tool. Since the overall height of the cordless tool itself can be kept low, the cordless tool can be made compact, and the cordless tool can stand up because the balance is balanced even when the storage battery bottom is placed upright. Is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is a detachable mechanism that does not have any problems that occur when the battery cells are arranged in a horizontal direction instead of a vertical direction, and is a mechanism common to various storage batteries having different nominal voltages. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cordless tool that has the above-mentioned features and does not need to change the shape of the storage battery storage portion of the cordless tool body, and can reduce the manufacturing cost.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cordless tool which is excellent in workability and operability because the operation piece can be operated with a minimum necessary force when the storage battery is attached to and detached from the cordless tool body. It is to be.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a main body portion for accommodating a drive source of a tool, a handle portion hung from the main body portion, and a detachable attachment / detachment portion for the handle portion. In a cordless tool configured to be freely engaged and configured to accommodate N cells, the battery case section includes a first accommodation section for accommodating a number of battery cells less than N and A second storage portion extending from the first storage portion to a tip side of the tool in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle portion; and the first storage portion and the second storage portion.
An engaging member for engaging the battery case portion and the handle portion is provided in a space near the housing portion of the second housing, and the operating member for operating the engaging member is the second housing. It is provided outside the portion, and the engaging member and the operating portion are connected by an intermediate connecting portion.

Still another feature of the present invention is that the intermediate connecting portion is configured to have at least a length corresponding to the width of the battery cell.

Another feature of the present invention is that the elastic body applies a force to the intermediate connecting portion in a direction substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the battery case portion.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A cordless tool and a storage battery that can be attached to them will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a partially longitudinal side view showing a cordless tool in this embodiment, FIG. 2 shows a storage battery 3 which can be mounted on the cordless tool in this embodiment, (a) is a plan view thereof, and (b) is shown.
Is a vertical sectional side view, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the cordless tool in the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a partial vertical sectional side view showing a modified example of the storage battery attaching / detaching mechanism shown in FIG.

A wide variety of cordless tools used according to the application include a driver drill 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. This driver drill 1 has a substantially T shape, and has a split housing 8 forming a cordless tool body.
A main body portion 8d formed by (hereinafter referred to as a housing) accommodates the motor 6, which is a drive source, a speed reduction mechanism portion 13 and the like, and the handle portion 8e hanging from the main body portion 8d supplies electric power to the motor 6. A trigger switch 14 for supplying, a contact point 15 electrically connected to the connection terminal 7 of the storage battery, and the like are housed. Also, the handle portion 8e
Is an open end 8f, and this open end 8f
The storage battery 3 is inserted from.

The storage battery 3 has 9.6V, 12V, 1
There are various batteries having different nominal voltages such as 4.4V, 18V, and 24V, and these storage batteries 3 have battery cells 4 having an electromotive force of 1.2V nominally, and a plastic battery for housing these battery cells 4. It is composed of a case 5 and an operation piece 9 (latch) for engaging the storage battery 3 with the housing 8. Normally, about 2 to 20 battery cells 4
Battery case 5 in which the two are connected in series
Is a base part (base part) formed by accommodating most of the battery cells 4.
And a projecting portion extending upward from the base portion, and has an external shape, and the projecting portion to be inserted into the storage battery storage portion 8a provided in the housing 8 (outer frame) has one The two battery cells 4 are housed and arranged, and the connection terminal 7 for supplying electric power to the motor 6 is provided.

The structure of the storage battery 3 described above will be described in detail below. Storage battery 3c having a nominal voltage of 12 V shown in FIG.
In the above, the battery case 5 for accommodating the battery cells 4 is roughly formed of three parts, which are a first battery case 5a arranged below, a second battery case 5b having a connecting terminal 7, and a first battery case. It is composed of a third battery case 5c which covers the front part of the second battery case 5b above 5a. Each battery case 5 has a hook 15
In addition to the fitting by, the fixing screw 16 is used for fixing. Further, since the nominal voltage of each battery cell 4 is 1.2 V, here, 10 battery cells 4 are used.
Are connected in series and housed in the battery case 5.

Further, a positive electrode 7a, a negative electrode 7b, a thermostat terminal 17, and a thermistor terminal 18 are provided in the vicinity including the terminal portion 7, and the positive electrode 7a and the negative electrode 7b are
When the storage battery 3 is charged or discharged, the charging contact provided on the charger or the contact 15 provided on the storage battery storage portion 8a of the cordless tool is electrically contacted, respectively,
The thermostat terminal 17 and the thermistor terminal 18 come into contact with the terminals of the charger during charging and function to control charging such as detection of full charge and prevention of overcharge.

A thermostat is electrically connected to the thermostat terminal 17 and a thermistor (not shown) is electrically connected to the thermistor terminal 18. The wall surface of the battery cell 4 is appropriately connected so as to detect the temperature of each battery cell 4. It is distributed. Further, of the 10 battery cells 4 in the battery case 5, 8 battery cells 4 are arranged in the first battery case 5a, and the remaining 2 battery cells 4 are arranged in the second battery case 5b. Two of the above eight are arranged below the third battery case 5c.

By arranging each battery cell 4 in the battery case 5 in this manner, two battery cells 4 arranged in the first battery case 5a are arranged below the third battery case 5c. Since the space 19 is formed between the battery cell 4 and the remaining six battery cells 4, the operation piece 9 having the engaging projection 9a that can be engaged with the housing 8 is arranged in this space 19. The space 19 is formed so as to be surrounded by the battery cells 4, and the width of the space 19 is formed to be larger than the width of the battery cells 4.

The operation piece 9 has a support portion 10 in contact with the battery case at one end and a storage battery engagement portion 8b at the other end.
It has an engaging projection 9a that engages with, and is formed so as to rotate around the support 10. Further, the operation piece 9 has an intermediate connecting member 9d extending in a direction biased by a spring, which is an elastic body 11. Further, the intermediate connecting member 9d is inserted into the space 19 and the battery case 5 is inserted.
Since it extends to a position where it partially projects from, a part of the projecting portion functions as the operation unit 9b for attaching and detaching the storage battery.

The elastic body 11 may be a leaf spring or the like other than the spring, and the length of the intermediate connecting member 9d is at least the width of the battery cell 4.

Next, an operation method for attaching / detaching the storage battery 3 to / from the cordless tool body using the operation piece 9 will be described. First, when the storage battery 3 is attached to the cordless tool body, the protrusion formed by the second battery case 5b of the storage battery 3 is inserted into the storage battery housing portion 8a provided in the housing 8 and reaches a certain position. Since the engaging protrusion 9a provided on the latch 9 of the storage battery 5 engages with the engaging recess 8b provided on the housing 8 forming the storage battery housing 8a,
Thereby, the storage battery 3 is securely fixed to the storage battery housing portion 8a. On the contrary, when the storage battery 3 is detached from the cordless tool main body, the operation piece 9 is pushed in the direction of the arrow 20 shown in FIG. 1 so that the intermediate connecting member 9d rotates about the support portion 10 while compressing the spring 11. Therefore, the engaging convex portion 9a of the operation piece 9 is disengaged from the engaging concave portion 8b, so that the protruding portion of the storage battery 3 can be pulled out from the inside 8a of the storage battery accommodating portion.

When the storage battery 3 is attached to or detached from the cordless tool body, it is not necessary to press the operation piece 9. This is because if the storage battery 3 is inserted into the storage battery accommodating portion 8a, the sloped surface 9c provided on the engagement convex portion 9a moves along the sloped surface 8c provided on the engagement recessed portion 8b and can move to a certain position. This is because the coupling member 9d is rotated by the reaction force of the spring 11 and the engagement protrusion 9a is automatically engaged with the engagement recess 8b.

In this embodiment, for example, 9.6V, 1
Since the housing 8 is shared so that even the storage batteries 3 having different nominal voltages such as 2V can be mounted in the storage battery storage portion 8b of the housing 8, waste of the housing mold can be eliminated. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced. The arrangement and shape of the terminals 7 are
Needless to say, it is designed in common for each storage battery 3, and since such a design allows charging of each storage battery 3 with a single charger, it is economical and user-friendly. Are better.

Next, a modified example of the above-mentioned attaching / detaching mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. Here again, the storage battery 3 having a nominal voltage of 12 V will be described as an example. Of the 10 battery cells 4 in the battery case 5, 8 battery cells 4 are arranged in the first battery case 5a, and the remaining 2 battery cells are arranged in the second battery case 5b. Two of the eight are the third battery case 5
It is located below c. By arranging the battery cells 4 in the battery case 5 in this manner, the first battery case 5a
A space 19 larger than the width of the battery cell 4 is formed between the two battery cells 4 arranged in the third battery case 5c and the remaining six battery cells 4 among the battery cells 4 arranged therein. Therefore, the operation piece 9 having the engaging protrusion 9a that can be engaged with the housing 8 is arranged in the space 19.

The operation piece 9 is mainly composed of two members, a first latch member 9e and a second latch member 9f. The first latch member 9e resists the urging force of the elastic body 11 and is a battery case. The second latch member 9f, which is formed so as to rotate about the support portion 10 that comes into contact with the intermediate connection portion 9g, is connected via the connection portion 22 that is rotatably connected to the intermediate connection portion 9g. And further connected to the first latch member 9e. Usually, the second latch member 9f is the elastic body 1.
A part of the storage battery 3 projects from the outer periphery of the storage battery 3 due to the biasing force of 1.
I am trying.

In such a structure, when the storage battery 3 is mounted on the cordless tool body, the protruding portion of the storage battery 3 is inserted into the storage battery storage portion 8a provided in the housing 8 and reaches the certain position. The engaging projection 9a provided on the first latch member 9e, which is the third operation piece 9, engages with the engaging recess 8b provided on the housing 8 forming the storage battery storage portion 8a. Storage battery 3
Is securely fixed.

On the contrary, when the storage battery 3 is detached from the cordless tool main body, the second latch member 9f is pushed in the direction of the arrow 21 shown in the figure, whereby the intermediate connecting portion 9g and the connecting portion provided on the second latch member 9f are connected. The first latch member 9e through the support member 10 and the spring 22 with the support member 10 as the center.
By rotating 1 while compressing it and removing the engaging protrusion 9a of the operating piece 9 from the engaging recess 8b, the protruding portion of the storage battery 3 can be pulled out from the inside of the storage battery housing portion 8a.

When the storage battery 3 is attached to or detached from the cordless tool body, it is not necessary to press the operation piece 9. This is because if the storage battery 3 is inserted into the storage battery storage portion 8a, the sloped surface 9c provided on the engagement convex portion 9a moves along the sloped surface 8c provided on the engagement recessed portion 8b and can move to a certain position. This is because the intermediate coupling member 9g is rotated by the reaction force of the spring 11 and the engagement protrusion 9a is automatically engaged with the engagement recess 8b.

By using the attachment / detachment mechanism described above, the operation piece 9
In contrast to the attachment / detachment mechanism shown in FIG. 2 which had to be pressed to the upper left (arrow 20) in the figure, the user operates the operation piece 9 to the left (arrow 21) in the figure, so that the user operates the operation part. Since it is possible to disengage the engagement projection 9a from the engagement recess 8b with a minimum required force without applying unnecessary force when compressing the elastic body 11 while pressing 9b, the work of attaching / detaching the storage battery to / from the cordless tool body is performed. Can be performed reliably and easily.

[0035]

According to the present invention, since the height of the storage battery having a high nominal voltage can be suppressed by devising the arrangement of the battery cells and the latches, even if the storage battery is attached to the cordless tool body, the cord race tool itself. Since the total height of the cordless tool can be kept low, the cordless tool can be made compact and
It is possible to provide a cordless tool with excellent usability such that the cordless tool can be stood upright because the balance can be achieved even with the bottom surface of the storage battery facing down. Also,
It is a detachable mechanism that does not have any problems that occur when the battery cells are arranged in the horizontal direction instead of the vertical direction, and this configuration is provided in common for various storage batteries with different nominal voltages, and the storage battery storage part of the cordless tool main body Since it is not necessary to change the shape of, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In addition, a space surrounded by the battery cells is provided in the battery case, and an operation piece urged by an elastic body is provided in the space. Further, the operation piece has a support portion which is in contact with the battery case at one end. Further, it has a first operating piece having an engaging convex portion that engages with the storage battery engaging portion at the other end, and an intermediate connecting portion that is connected to the first operating piece through the connecting portion and extends in the urging direction of the elastic body. By being configured with the second operation piece, when the storage battery is attached to or detached from the cordless tool body, the operation piece can be operated with a minimum necessary force, so that workability and operability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially longitudinal side view showing a cordless tool according to the present invention.

2A and 2B show a storage battery mountable to a cordless tool according to the present invention, FIG. 2A being a plan view thereof, and FIG. 2B being a longitudinal side view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a cordless tool according to the present invention.

4 is a partially longitudinal side view showing a modified example of the storage battery attaching / detaching mechanism shown in FIG. 2. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partially longitudinal side view showing a state in which a storage battery having a nominal voltage of 9.6 V is attached to a driver drill which is a conventional cordless tool.

6 shows a storage battery with a nominal voltage of 9.6V mounted on the cordless tool of FIG. 5, (a) is a plan view thereof,
(B) is the vertical side view.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a state in which a storage battery having a nominal voltage of 12 V is attached to a conventional cordless tool.

8 is a nominal voltage 1 mounted on the cordless tool of FIG.
It shows a 2V storage battery, (a) is a plan view thereof, (b)
Is a vertical sectional side view.

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a state in which a storage battery having a nominal voltage of 12 V is attached to an impact driver which is a conventional cordless tool.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a driver drill, 2 is an impact driver, 3 is a storage battery, 3a is a storage battery with a nominal voltage of 9.6V, 3b is a storage battery with a nominal voltage of 12V, 4 is a battery cell, 5 is a battery case, 5
a is a first battery case, 5b is a second battery case, 5c is a third battery case, 6 is a motor, 7 is a terminal, 7a is a positive electrode, 7
b is a negative electrode, 8 is a housing, 8a is a storage battery storage part, 8b
Is an engaging concave portion, 8c is an inclined surface, 9 is an operating piece, 9a is an engaging convex portion, 9b is an operating portion, 9c is an inclined surface, 9d is an intermediate connecting portion, 9
e first latch member, 9f second latch member, 9g intermediate connection portion, 10 support portion, 11 elastic body, 12 operation direction arrow, 13 deceleration mechanism portion, 14 trigger switch, 15 contact point, 16 Is a fixing screw, 17 is a thermostat terminal, 1
8 is a thermistor terminal, 19 is a space, 20 is an operation direction arrow, 21 is an operation direction arrow, and 22 is a connection point.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shigeru Honma             Hitachiko, 1060 Takeda, Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture             Machine Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takao Tanabe             Hitachiko, 1060 Takeda, Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture             Machine Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A main body portion for accommodating a drive source of a tool,
In a cordless tool including a handle portion that hangs down from the main body portion and a battery case portion that detachably engages with the handle portion and accommodates N cells, the battery case portion is substantially the same as the handle portion. Located at the end of the first accommodating part, which consists of a part that extends the same width, and the extension part,
A second accommodating portion including a portion extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle portion, and for engaging the battery case portion and the handle portion at a position where the width of the handle portion is substantially extended. The engaging member is provided, and the operating member for operating the engaging member is provided outside the second housing portion, and the engaging member and the operating member are connected by an intermediate connecting portion. Cordless tool to be. 2. The cordless tool according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate connecting portion has a length of at least a width of the battery cell. 3. The cordless tool according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate connecting portion is supported by an elastic body so as to be movable in a direction substantially square with the bottom surface of the battery case portion. 4. A body portion for accommodating a drive source of a tool,
A cordless tool comprising a handle portion hanging from the body portion and a battery case portion detachably engaged with the handle portion and accommodating N cells, wherein the battery case portion is less than N pieces. First to store a number of battery cells
And a second accommodating portion extending from the first accommodating portion to the tip end side of the tool at a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle portion, the first accommodating portion and the first accommodating portion. An engaging member for engaging the battery case portion and the handle portion is provided in a space near the second housing portion, and the operating member for operating the engaging member is the second member. A cordless tool provided on the outside of a storage part, wherein the engagement member and the operation part are connected by an intermediate connection part. 5. The cordless tool according to claim 4, wherein the intermediate connecting portion has a length of at least the width of the battery cell. 6. The cordless tool according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the intermediate connecting portion is supported by an elastic body so as to be movable in a direction substantially square with the bottom surface of the battery case portion.