JP2019003861A - Battery pack and electric machine using battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a battery pack having connection terminals in which current density can be reduced by increasing the contact length with the body side terminal.SOLUTION: In a battery pack having battery cells, and multiple connection terminals 480 for connection with the apparatus side terminals of the apparatus to be installed, the connection terminals 480 have two arms 485, 486 having spring property placed at a prescribed interval. Mating parts 485c, 486c for bringing both surfaces of the apparatus side terminals, formed into plate shape, into contact so as to sandwich are formed at a part of the arms, and the mating parts 485c, 486c come into contact with the apparatus side terminals in a linear contact part or an elongated planar contact region. Since the longitudinal direction of the contact part or the contact region of the mating part becomes oblique with respect to the mounting direction of the apparatus side terminals, contact length of 1/cosθ times can be ensured compared with prior art.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 30

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric device having a load such as a motor and lighting, and a battery pack for supplying power to such an electric device.

  Electrical devices such as electric tools are driven by a battery pack using a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery, and the electrical devices are becoming cordless. For example, in a hand-held power tool that drives a tip tool by a motor, a battery pack that contains a plurality of secondary battery cells is used, and the motor is driven by electric energy stored in the battery pack. The battery pack is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the electric tool body. When the voltage drops due to discharge, the battery pack is removed from the electric tool body and charged using an external charging device.

  Cordless power tools and electrical devices are required to have a predetermined operating time and a predetermined output, and higher output and higher voltage have been achieved as the performance of the secondary battery is improved. In addition, battery packs with various voltages have been commercialized as electric devices using battery packs as power sources have been developed. Usually, the output voltage of the battery pack is fixed. However, in Patent Document 1, a plurality of battery units are provided in a housing that accommodates the battery, and the connection means determines whether to output them as a series connection or a parallel connection. There has been proposed a power supply device for an electric device that can be selected and adapted to devices of different voltages.

JP 2014-17554 A

  It is complicated for a user to prepare a plurality of types of battery packs when using a plurality of electric devices, and it is desired to realize an easy-to-use battery pack corresponding to electric devices having different voltages by switching voltages. ing. Moreover, it has been desired to realize a voltage switching type with a battery pack that can be easily attached to an electric device, rather than a power supply device that is separate from the electric device main body as in Patent Document 1.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack capable of switching output voltage and shared between electric devices having different voltages and an electric device using the same. There is to do.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack capable of easily setting a voltage according to a corresponding electric device and effectively preventing a voltage setting error, and an electric device using the battery pack. It is in.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a highly functional battery pack.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack having a terminal structure that can be satisfactorily fitted to a connection terminal on the electric device main body side.

The typical features of the invention disclosed in the present application will be described as follows.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the battery cell, the plurality of connection terminals connected to the device-side terminal of the attachment counterpart device, the battery cell and the connection terminal are accommodated and attached to the attachment counterpart device. In addition, in the battery pack having the housing in which the detachable mounting portion is formed, the connection terminal has an arm portion having a spring property, and a connection portion to be in contact with the device side terminal is formed on a part of the arm portion. The connecting portion has a convex shape for contacting the device side terminal with a linear contact portion or an elongated surface contact region, and the longitudinal direction of the contact portion or contact region of the connection portion is the device. It arrange | positioned so that it might become diagonal with respect to the mounting direction of an apparatus side terminal on the surface of a side terminal. The connection terminal has a base portion formed by bending a metal plate into a U shape, and two arm portions are formed so as to extend in parallel from a part of one side surface and the other side surface of the base portion. Is done.

  According to another feature of the invention, the convex outer surface shape of the connecting portion is a semi-cylindrical shape. The device-side terminal is a metal flat plate extending in the vertical direction and the mounting direction, and the connecting portion is in contact with the flat plate from the left and right sides of the flat plate, and the upper side of the longitudinal center line of the contact portion or the contact area is the lower side On the other hand, the fitting portion is formed obliquely so as to fall to the rear side or to the front side.

  According to still another aspect of the present invention, a circuit board having a plurality of terminal mounting holes is provided for fixing a plurality of connection terminals side by side, and the connection terminals are provided on one side surface of the base portion. Legs extending downward from the lower side of each of the other side surfaces are provided, and the plurality of connection terminals are fixed to the circuit board by penetrating the leg parts through the terminal mounting holes and soldering to the circuit board. In addition, the connection terminals are arranged adjacent to each other in two stages in the vertical direction, and the arm portions of these connection terminals are arranged side by side in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the connection terminal has two arm portions that extend separately from the base portion in the vertical direction, and a fitting portion is formed in each arm portion. The inclination direction of the longitudinal center line of the contact portion or contact region by the upper arm portion is formed to be the same direction as or different from the inclination direction by the lower arm portion.

  According to still another feature of the present invention, the arm portion includes a throttle portion that is bent into a first throttle shape as it moves away from the base portion that is bent in a U-shape, and an arm portion that is formed at the front end of the throttle portion and that faces the arm portion. And a guide portion that is formed on the front side of the fitting portion and that is formed in a protrusive shape so as to facilitate the insertion of the device-side terminal. In order to make it possible to attach and detach a battery pack having a connection terminal formed in this way, an electric device having a terminal holder that holds a plurality of device-side terminals connected to the battery pack mounting portion and the connection terminal is realized. Work equipment was operated using the power of the pack.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically obtain an appropriate output voltage by simply mounting on an electric device body without depending on a mechanical switch mechanism for switching the output voltage. It is now possible to share battery packs. In addition, since the voltage-switchable battery pack can be connected to a conventional low-voltage electrical device body as it is, it can be used for a high-voltage electrical device body while maintaining compatibility with the conventional electrical device body. High battery pack can be realized. Furthermore, by devising the terminal structure of the battery pack, avoiding the occurrence of poor contact with the terminals on the electrical equipment body side, increasing the contact resistance between the connection terminals on the electrical equipment body side and the connection terminals on the battery pack side Can be prevented, heat generated in the terminal portion when a large current flows can be suppressed, and damage and fusing of the connection terminal can be effectively prevented. Furthermore, since the mounting method of the battery pack to the electric device main body is the same as that of the conventional electric device main body, a battery pack compatible with two power sources having the same usability as the conventional one and an electric device using the same can be realized. .

It is a figure for demonstrating the mounting condition to the electric tool of the battery pack which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the shape of the battery pack mounting part 10 of the electric tool main body 1 of FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery pack 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a state in which an upper case 110 of the battery pack 100 of FIG. 3 is removed. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a single shape of the power terminals (161 and 171, 162 and 172, and 167 and 177) in FIG. 4, (1) is a perspective view of the whole, and (2) is a perspective view of the upper terminal component 200. (3) is a perspective view of the lower terminal component 220. It is a perspective view which shows the connection state to the electric power tool main body of an electric power terminal, (1) shows the state connected to the electric power tool main body 30 of a present Example, (2) shows the state connected to the conventional electric power tool main body 1 Indicates. (1) is a perspective view of the terminal part 50 of the electric power tool main body 30 of the present embodiment, and (2) is a diagram showing a connection state between the terminal part 50 and the power terminal of the battery pack 100. (1) is a perspective view of the terminal part 20 of the conventional electric tool main body 1, and (2) is a figure which shows the connection condition of the terminal part 20 and the electric power terminal of the battery pack 100. FIG. FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams showing a single shape of the signal terminal component 240 in FIG. 4, wherein FIG. 4A is a perspective view seen from the left front side, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the fixation condition to the circuit board 150 of the several signal terminal component 240, (1) is the figure seen from the front, (2) is the figure which looked at the signal terminal component 240 from the left, ( 3) is a bottom view seen from the lower side of (1). It is a figure which shows the shape of the connection terminal group of FIG. 4, and the board | substrate cover 180 arrange | positioned around it, (1) is a perspective view, (2) is a front view, (3) is (2) 4 is a partially enlarged view of a substrate cover 180. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an upper case 110 in FIG. 3. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a method of applying a resin to circuit board 150. FIG. It is a figure which shows the 1st modification of a present Example, (1) is a perspective view of the upper side terminal component 260 and the lower side terminal component 280, (2) is a left view, (3) is a front view FIG. It is a figure which shows the 2nd modification of a present Example, and is a perspective view which shows the upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280A. It is a perspective view which shows the upper terminal component 200A and the lower terminal component 220 which concern on the 3rd modification of a present Example, (1) is a figure which shows the state in which these were connected to the main body side terminal of 30 A of electric tool main bodies. (2) is a diagram showing a state of being connected to the main body side terminal of the conventional electric power tool main body 1. It is a perspective view which shows the upper side terminal component 200 and the lower side terminal component 220A which concern on the 4th modification of a present Example, (1) is a figure which shows the state in which these were connected to the main body side terminal of the electric tool main body 30B. (2) is a figure which shows the state connected to the main body side terminal of the conventional electric power tool main body 1. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the connection state with the terminal part of the electric tool main body which concerns on the 5th modification of a present Example. It is a circuit diagram which shows the state which connected the battery pack 100 of the present Example to the conventional electric tool main body 1. FIG. It is a circuit diagram of the battery pack 100 of a present Example, and is a figure which shows the state connected to 1A of electric tool main bodies for 18V with a microcomputer. It is a circuit diagram of the battery pack 100 of the present embodiment, and is a view showing a state where the battery pack 100 is connected to the electric tool body 30 for 36V. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of battery pack 100. 4 is a diagram illustrating specific circuit configurations of a remaining capacity display unit 335 and an upper voltage detection circuit 322 of the battery pack 100. FIG. FIG. 24 is a detailed diagram of an input / output circuit to the microcomputer 351 in FIG. 23. 24 is a table showing a correspondence relationship between signal levels of input / output ports IO0 to IO3 and signal levels of input port AN1 in FIG. It is a circuit diagram of battery pack 100A concerning the 2nd example of the present invention, and is a figure showing the state connected to conventional power tool main part 1. It is a circuit diagram of battery pack 100A concerning the 2nd example of the present invention, and is a figure showing the state connected to electric tool main part 1A for 18V with a microcomputer. FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a battery pack 400 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 29 is a partially enlarged view of the connection terminal of FIG. 28. It is an enlarged view of the terminal component of FIG. 28, (1) is a perspective view, (2) is a figure for demonstrating the contact length in a fitting part. It is a perspective view which shows the terminal component 500 which concerns on the modification of a 3rd Example.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description is omitted. In this specification, an electric tool that operates on a battery pack will be described as an example of an electric device. The front, rear, left, and right directions on the main body side of the electric tool are directions shown in FIG. The front, rear, left, right, and up and down directions when viewed in FIG. 3 are described as the directions shown in FIG. 3 with respect to the mounting direction of the battery pack. For the convenience of explanation, the battery pack mounting direction is described as a direction based on the situation in which the battery pack side is moved without moving the electric power tool main body side.

  FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a mounting state of a battery pack according to the present embodiment to an electric tool. The electric tool which is one form of electric equipment has a battery pack, and drives a tip tool and work equipment using the rotational driving force by a motor. Although various types of electric tools are realized, the electric tool main bodies 1 and 30 shown in FIG. 1 are both called impact tools. The power tool main bodies 1 and 30 are tools that perform tightening work by applying a rotational force or an axial striking force to a tip tool such as a bit or a socket wrench (not shown). These power tool main bodies 1 and 30 are provided with housings 2 and 32 which are outer frames forming an outer shape, and handle portions 3 and 33 are formed in the housing 2. Trigger-like operation switches 4 and 34 are provided in the vicinity of the handle portions 3 and 33 where the index finger hits when the operator grips the battery pack 15 and the battery packs 15 and 33 are provided below the handle portions 3 and 33. Battery pack mounting portions 10 and 40 for mounting 100 are formed.

  The electric tool body 1 is a conventional electric device using a battery pack 15 having a rated voltage of 18V. The battery pack 15 is a conventional battery pack, and can be mounted on the battery pack mounting portion 10 of an 18V-compatible electric device (power tool main body 1) as indicated by the arrow a. In the battery pack 15, only one set of cell units formed by serially connecting five lithium ion battery cells with a rating of 3.6 V is accommodated, or two sets of such cell units are accommodated to each other. Connected in parallel. The voltage 18V is sometimes referred to herein as a low voltage in the sense that it is a relatively low voltage. Similarly, the electric power tool main body 1 or the electric device main body having a rated voltage of 18 V may be referred to as a low voltage electric tool main body or a low voltage electric device main body, respectively. Similarly, the battery pack 15 having a nominal voltage of 18V may be referred to as a low voltage battery pack.

  The electric tool main body 30 is an electric equipment main body having a rated voltage of 36V, and the battery pack 100 capable of outputting 36V is mounted on the battery pack mounting portion 40 as indicated by an arrow b1. The voltage 36V is sometimes referred to as a high voltage in the sense that it is a relatively high voltage. Similarly, the power tool main body 30 or the electric equipment main body with the rated voltage of 36 V may be referred to as a high voltage electric tool main body or a high voltage electric equipment main body, respectively. Two sets of cell units in which five 3.6V lithium ion battery cells are connected in series are accommodated in the battery pack 100, and 18V output and 36V output can be obtained by changing the connection method of the two sets of cell units. It became possible to switch both. In this embodiment, the battery pack 100 is configured to be compatible with two voltages so that low voltage and high voltage can be output, so that the battery pack 100 is also mounted on the electric tool body 1 compatible with 18V as indicated by an arrow b2. It can be attached to the electric tool main body 30 corresponding to 36V as indicated by an arrow b2. As described above, the battery pack 100 capable of outputting a low voltage and a high voltage may be referred to as a voltage variable battery pack herein. In order to attach the battery pack 100 to the power tool main bodies 1 and 30 having different voltages as indicated by arrows b1 and b2, the shape of the rail portions and terminal portions of the battery pack attachment portions 10 and 40 are substantially the same. It is important that the output voltage of the battery pack 100 can be switched. At this time, it is important to ensure that the output voltage of the battery pack 100 corresponds to the rated voltage of the electric device main body or the power tool main body to be mounted so as not to cause a voltage setting error.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the shape of the battery pack mounting portion 10 of the electric power tool body 1. The electric power tool main body 1 shown here is an impact driver, and is provided with a handle portion that extends downward from the body portion of the housing 2, and a battery pack mounting portion 10 is formed below the handle portion. A trigger switch 4 is provided on the handle portion. An anvil (not shown) as an output shaft is provided on the front side of the housing 2, and a tip tool holding portion 8 for mounting the tip tool 9 is provided at the tip of the anvil. Here, a plus driver bit is attached as the tip tool 9. In addition to electric tools, in general electrical equipment using battery packs, a battery pack mounting portion 10 corresponding to the shape of the battery pack to be mounted is formed, and a battery pack that does not match the battery pack mounting portion 10 is mounted. Configure so that it cannot. In the battery pack mounting portion 10, rail grooves 11a and 11b extending in parallel in the front-rear direction are formed in inner wall portions on both the left and right sides, and a terminal portion 20 is provided therebetween. The terminal portion 20 is manufactured by integral molding of a non-conductive material such as a synthetic resin, and a plurality of metal terminals such as a positive electrode input terminal 22, a negative electrode input terminal 27, and an LD terminal (abnormal signal terminal) 28 are cast therein. It is. The terminal portion 20 is formed with a vertical surface 20a that serves as an abutment surface in the mounting direction (front-rear direction) and a horizontal surface 20b. The horizontal surface 20b is adjacent to the upper surface 115 (described later in FIG. 3) when the battery pack 100 is mounted. , It becomes the opposite surface. On the front side of the horizontal surface 20b, a curved portion 12 that contacts a raised portion 132 (described later in FIG. 3) of the battery pack 100 is formed, and a protruding portion 14 is formed in the vicinity of the left and right center of the curved portion 12. The projecting portion 14 also serves as a boss for screwing the housing of the electric power tool main body 1 formed in two parts in the left-right direction, and also serves as a stopper for restricting relative movement in the mounting direction of the battery pack 100.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the battery pack 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The battery pack 100 can be attached to and detached from the battery pack mounting portions 10 and 40 (see FIG. 1). The battery pack 100 has a low voltage (here, 18V) depending on the terminal shape of the power tool body 1 or 30 side. The output of the high voltage (here 36V) is switched automatically. The shape of the mounting portion of the battery pack 100 is the same as that of the conventional battery pack 15 in order to provide mounting compatibility with the conventional battery pack 15 for a rating of 18V (see FIG. 1). The casing of the battery pack 100 is formed by a lower case 101 and an upper case 110 that can be divided in the vertical direction. The lower case 101 and the upper case 110 are made of a member that does not conduct electricity, such as a synthetic resin, and are fixed to each other by four screws. The upper case 110 is formed with a mounting mechanism in which two rails 138 a and 138 b are formed to be attached to the battery pack mounting portion 10. The rails 138a and 138b are formed so as to extend in a direction parallel to the mounting direction of the battery pack 100 and to protrude from the left and right side surfaces of the upper case 110. The front end portions of the rails 138a and 138b are open ends, and the rear end portions are closed ends connected to the front side wall surface of the raised portion 132. The rails 138a and 138b are formed in a shape corresponding to the rail grooves 11a and 11b (see FIG. 2) formed in the battery pack mounting portion 10 of the electric power tool body 1, and the rails 138a and 138b are fitted with the rail grooves 11a and 11b. In the combined state, the battery pack 100 is fixed to the electric tool main body 30 by being locked by locking portions 142a (right-side locking portions, which cannot be seen in FIG. 3) and 142b, which are latch claws. When the battery pack 100 is removed from the electric tool body 1, the latch portions 142a and 142b are moved inward by pushing the latches 141 on the left and right sides, and the latched state is released. 100 is moved to the opposite side to the mounting direction.

  A flat lower step surface 111 is formed on the front side of the upper case 110, and an upper step surface 115 formed 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 staircase shape, and the connecting portion thereof is a stepped portion 114 that becomes a vertical surface. A front portion of the upper step surface 115 from the stepped portion 114 becomes the slot group arrangement region 120. In the slot group arrangement region 120, a plurality of slots 121 to 128 extending rearward from the front stepped portion 114 are formed. The slots 121 to 128 are notched portions having a predetermined length in the battery pack mounting direction, and the electric tool main bodies 1 and 30 or an external charging device ( A plurality of connection terminals (which will be described later with reference to FIG. 4) that can be fitted to the device side terminals (not shown) are provided. The slots 121 to 128 have notches formed not only on the upper surface parallel to the mounting direction but also on the vertical surface so that the terminal on the power tool main body side can be inserted from the lower surface 111 side. In addition, an opening 113 that continuously opens in the lateral direction is formed below the slots 121 to 128 and between the lower step surface 111.

  In the slots 121 to 128, the slot 121 on the side near the rail 138a on the right side of the battery pack 100 is an insertion port for a charging positive terminal (C + terminal), and the slot 122 is an insertion port for a discharging positive terminal (+ terminal). . Further, the slot 127 on the side close to the left rail 138b of the battery pack 100 serves as an insertion port for the negative electrode terminal (-terminal). In the battery pack 100, the positive electrode side and the negative electrode side of the power terminal are normally arranged so as to be separated from each other, and the positive electrode terminal is provided at the right separated position as viewed from the vertical virtual plane located at the center of the left and right sides. A negative electrode terminal is provided at a position separated from the other. Between the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal, a plurality of signal terminals for signal transmission to the battery pack 100 and the power tool main bodies 1 and 30 and an external charging device (not shown) are arranged. Four slots 123 to 126 are provided between the power terminal groups. The slot 123 is a spare terminal insertion port, and no terminal is provided in this embodiment. The slot 124 is an insertion port for a T terminal for outputting a signal serving as identification information of the battery pack 100 to the power tool body or the charging device. The slot 125 is an insertion port for a V terminal for receiving a control signal from an external charging device (not shown). The slot 126 is an insertion port for an LS terminal for outputting battery temperature information by a thermistor (temperature sensing element) (not shown) provided in contact with the cell. On the left side of the slot 127 serving as an insertion port for the negative electrode terminal (-terminal), an LD terminal slot 128 for outputting an abnormal stop signal from a battery protection circuit (described later) included in the battery pack 100 is further provided.

  On the rear side of the upper surface 115, a raised portion 132 formed so as to be raised is formed. The raised portion 132 has a shape in which the outer shape is raised above the upper step surface 115, and a recessed stopper portion 131 is formed in the vicinity of the center thereof. The stopper 131 serves as an abutting surface for the protrusion 14 (see FIG. 2) when the battery pack 100 is attached to the battery pack attachment 10, and the protrusion 14 on the power tool main body 1 side is the stopper. When inserted until it comes into contact with 131, a plurality of terminals (device side terminals) arranged on the electric power tool body 1 and a plurality of connection terminals (described later in FIG. 4) arranged on the battery pack 100 come into contact with each other. And become conductive. In addition, the latching portion 142a of the latch 141 of the battery pack 100 (the latching portion on the right side, which cannot be seen in FIG. 3) and 142b pop out outward in the vertical direction below the rails 138a and 138b by the action of the spring. By engaging with recesses (not shown) formed in the rail grooves 11a and 11b of the main body 30, the battery pack 100 is prevented from falling off. Inside the stopper portion 131, a slit 134 serving as a cooling air intake port connected to the inside of the battery pack 100 is provided. Further, in a state where the battery pack 100 is mounted on the electric power tool body 1, the slit 134 is covered and closed so that it cannot be visually recognized from the outside. The slit 134 is a wind window used to forcibly flow cooling air into the battery pack 100 when the battery pack 100 is connected to a charging device (not shown) to perform charging. The cooling air taken in is discharged to the outside through a slit 104 serving as an exhaust wind window provided on the front wall of the lower case 101.

  4 is a perspective view of the battery pack 100 of FIG. 3 with the upper case 110 removed. Ten battery cells are accommodated in the internal space of the lower case 101. Two screw holes 103a and 103b are formed on the front side wall surface of the lower case 101 for screwing to the upper case 110, and screws (not shown) are passed through the screw holes 103a and 103b from the bottom upward. Passed. Although not visible in this figure, two screw holes are also formed in the rear side wall surface of the lower case 101. A plurality of battery cells (not shown) are fixed by the separator 145 in a state where five battery cells are stacked in two stages. The separator 145 is made of synthetic resin and is formed so that only the left and right sides that are both ends of the battery cell are opened. In the separator 145, the battery cells are stacked so that the axes of the battery cells are parallel to each other, and the adjacent cells are arranged so that the directions of the adjacent cells are alternately reversed. The five battery cells are connected in series by connecting with a connection tab (not shown). Here, an upper cell unit 146 (described later in FIG. 6) is formed by five series-connected battery cells installed in the upper stage, and the five series-connected battery cells installed in the lower side are the lower side. A cell unit 147 (described later in FIG. 6) is formed. Here, the upper side and the lower side of the cell unit do not indicate whether the battery cell is in the upper stage or the lower stage in the lower case 101, but when the two cell units are connected in series. The cell unit located on the side is called the “lower cell unit”, and the cell unit located on the high voltage side when connected in series is called the “upper cell unit”.

  As the battery cell, a lithium ion battery cell (not shown) called a 18650 size having a diameter of 18 mm and a length of 65 mm that can be charged and discharged a plurality of times is used. In this embodiment, in order to be able to switch the output voltage from the battery pack 100, it is possible to select the form of a series connection voltage (high voltage side output) and a parallel connection voltage (low voltage side output) of a plurality of cell units. Is done. Therefore, according to the idea of the present embodiment, the number of cell units is arbitrary as long as the number of cells included in each cell unit is equal. However, the number of cell units is an even number such as two or four. The battery cell to be used is not limited to the 18650 size, but may be a so-called 21700 size battery cell or other size battery cells. The shape of the battery cell is not limited to a cylindrical shape, and may be a rectangular parallelepiped shape, a laminate shape, or other shapes. The type of battery cell is not limited to a lithium ion battery, and any type of secondary battery such as a nickel metal hydride battery cell, a lithium ion polymer battery cell, or a nickel cadmium battery cell may be used. Two electrodes are provided at both ends in the length direction of the battery cell. Of the two electrodes, one is a positive electrode and the other is a negative electrode, but the position where the electrode is provided is not limited to both ends, and any electrode can be used as long as a cell unit can be easily formed in the battery pack. Arrangement is good.

  A circuit board 150 is disposed above the separator 145 that holds the battery cells. The circuit board 150 fixes a plurality of connection terminals (161, 162, 164 to 168, 171, 172, 177) by soldering and electrically connects the circuit pattern and the connection terminals. The circuit board 150 is further mounted with various electronic elements (not shown here) such as a battery protection IC, a microcomputer, a PTC thermistor, a resistor, a capacitor, a fuse, and a light emitting diode. The circuit board 150 is fixed so as to extend in the horizontal direction above the non-conductive separator 145 made of synthetic resin or the like. The material of the circuit board 150 is called a printed board in which a pattern wiring is printed by a conductor such as copper foil on a board impregnated with an insulating resin. A substrate can be used. In this embodiment, a double-sided board is used to have the upper surface (the upper surface that is the upper surface that can be seen from FIG. 4) and the lower surface (the back surface) of the circuit board 150. A plurality of connection terminals (161, 162, 164 to 168, 171, 172, 177) are arranged slightly ahead of the center of the circuit board 150 in the front-rear direction. Here, the plurality of connection terminals are arranged substantially side by side in the horizontal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each connection terminal is shown as engraved on the upper surface of the upper case 110, and in the order from the right side to the left side of the circuit board 150, C + terminals (161, 171: positive terminal for charging) , + Terminal (162, 172: positive terminal for discharge), T terminal 164, V terminal 165, LS terminal 166,-terminal (167, 177: negative terminal), and LD terminal 168 are arranged side by side. Here, the connection terminal for the power supply line from the battery pack, that is, the power terminal is constituted by two separated terminal components. That is, the C + terminal (charging positive terminal) is constituted by the upper positive terminal 161 and the lower positive terminal 171, and these positive terminal pairs (161, 171) are arranged at locations corresponding to the single slot 121. The arm set of the upper positive terminal 161 is arranged above the inner portion of the slot 121, and the arm set of the lower positive terminal 171 is arranged below the arm set of the upper positive terminal 161. Similarly, a positive terminal (positive terminal for discharge) indicated by marking on the upper case 110 includes an upper positive terminal 162 and a lower positive terminal 172, and the positive terminal pair (162, 172) is a single unit. It is arranged at a location corresponding to the slot 122. The arm set of the upper positive terminal 162 is arranged above the slot 122 portion, and the arm set of the lower positive terminal 172 is arranged below the arm set of the upper positive terminal 162. A minus terminal (negative electrode terminal) indicated by marking on the upper case 110 is constituted by an upper negative electrode terminal 167 and a lower negative electrode terminal 177, and these negative electrode terminal pairs (167, 177) are located at locations corresponding to a single slot 127. Be placed. The arm set of the upper negative terminal 167 is arranged above the slot 127 portion, and the arm set of the lower negative terminal 177 is arranged below the arm set of the upper negative terminal 167.

  The connection terminals (161, 162, 164 to 168) are arranged at positions corresponding to the slots 121 to 128 shown in FIG. Therefore, it arrange | positions so that the fitting part of a connection terminal may open toward the upper direction and the front side from the circuit board 150. FIG. However, the portion between the upper positive terminal 162 and the T terminal 164 becomes an empty space that is not used in the battery pack 100 of the present embodiment, like the conventional battery pack 1 (see FIG. 1).

  The positive electrode terminal pair (161, 171) for charging is configured to be offset to the front side with respect to the positive electrode terminal pair (162, 172) arranged adjacent to each other. This is due to space limitations, and is to avoid a movement range of a latch mechanism (not shown) immediately behind the positive terminal pair (161, 171). Therefore, if there is no space restriction, the positive terminal pair (161, 171) is preferably arranged so that the front end positions of the positive terminal pair (162, 172) and the negative terminal pair (167, 177) are aligned.

  The positive terminal (161, 162, 171, 172) and the negative terminal (167, 177) are arranged at positions far apart in the left-right direction, and there are three signal terminals (T terminal 164, V terminal 165, LS terminal 166) is provided. In this embodiment, as the signal terminal parts, one having two sets of arms extending in the horizontal direction, one set on the left and right on the upper side and one set on the left and right on the lower side, is used. Will be described later. As for the signal terminals (164 to 166, 168), it is also possible to use one signal terminal component as it is in the vertical direction for the arm portion as conventionally used. However, in this embodiment, in order to make the fitting state of the positive terminal (161, 162, 171, 172) and the device side terminal in the negative terminal (167, 177) equal to two, the signal terminal side has two upper and lower sides. A signal terminal component (described later in FIG. 9) having an arm portion is used.

  A further signal terminal, that is, an LD terminal 168 is provided on the left side of the negative terminal pair (167, 177). The LD terminal 168 is also formed to have two sets of upper and lower arms. However, the LD terminal 168 is different in size from the other signal terminals (T terminal 164, V terminal 165, LS terminal 166). This is due to space limitations. Since a latch mechanism (not shown) arrives immediately behind the LD terminal 168, it is made smaller than the other signal terminals in order to avoid it. All the signal terminals (164 to 166, 168) are fixed by soldering on the back surface side, with their legs penetrating through the mounting holes 151 formed on the circuit board 150 from the front surface to the back surface. This embodiment has a feature in the fixing method of the three signal terminals (164 to 166), and details thereof will be described later with reference to FIGS. As described above, after an electronic element (not shown) is mounted on the circuit board 150 and the plurality of connection terminals are fixed by soldering, the circuit board 150 is fixed to the separator 145 by screwing or bonding.

  Four LEDs (not shown) are provided near the rear side of the circuit board 150, and rectangular parallelepiped prisms 191 to 194 are provided above the LEDs. The prisms 191 to 194 are arranged so that the bottom surface faces the lighting surface of an LED (light emitting diode, not shown) that irradiates upward, and the top surface that is obliquely cut is a slit (not shown) formed in the upper case 110. To be exposed to the outside. The prisms 191 to 194 are provided for diffusing light and irradiating the outside of the upper case 110. Four LEDs (not shown) are used to display the remaining amount of the battery pack 100. When the operator presses the switch 190, the number of LEDs corresponding to the voltage of the battery cell is lit for a certain period of time. (Details will be described later with reference to FIGS. 24 and 25). An operation lever (not shown) for operating the switch 190 is provided on an outer surface portion of the upper case 110 that can be operated by an operator. The lower case 101 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open top surface, and includes a bottom surface, a front wall 101a, a rear wall 101b, a right side wall 101c, and a left side wall 101d extending in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface. A slit 104 is provided substantially at the center of the front wall 101a. The slit 104 is used as a discharge port for discharging cooling air sent from the charging device side to the internal space of the battery pack 100 when charging is performed by the charging device.

  Next, the shape of the components (200, 220) used for the power terminals will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing a single component of the upper terminal component 200 and the lower terminal component 220. The upper terminal component 200 is a common component used for the upper positive terminals 161 and 162 and the upper negative terminal 167, and the lower terminal component 220 is a common component used for the lower positive terminals 171 and 172 and the lower negative terminal 177. It is. The upper terminal component 200 and the lower terminal component 220 are formed by cutting a flat plate made of a conductive metal into a U shape after cutting it out by pressing. The upper terminal component 200 is bent so that the U-shaped bottom surface, that is, the bridge portion 202 is on the upper side, and the lower terminal component 220 is bent so that the bridge portion 222 is on the rear side. The bridge portions 202 and 222 formed by bending in a U-shape are arranged so as to intersect at a substantially right angle because the front bridge portion 222 cannot have a sufficient area in the front-rear direction. This is because if the bridge portion is disposed on the upper side, the size of the bridge portion is reduced. In the lower terminal component 220 of the present embodiment, the bridge portion 222 is oriented in the vertical plane direction, so that the length in the front-rear direction required for the arrangement can be shortened and the size of the bridge portion, particularly in the vertical direction As a result, the rigidity of the lower terminal part 220 can be increased. On the other hand, in the upper terminal component 200, long arm portions 205 and 206 that straddle the lower terminal component 220 can be formed, and the bridge portion 202 is a surface that extends in the same direction as the front-rear direction in which the arm portions 205 and 206 extend. Therefore, the attachment rigidity of the arm portions 205 and 206 could be increased.

  The upper terminal component 200 has a right side surface 203 and a left side surface 204 formed to be parallel to each other by being bent in a U shape, and a bridge portion 202 that connects them and serves as an upper surface. On the front side of the right side surface 203 and the left side surface 204 are provided arm portions 205 and 206 that sandwich the device side terminal inward from the left and right sides, respectively. A portion of the front side portion of the left side surface 204 that extends linearly in the vertical direction from the lower side to a position close to the upper end, and extends forward from the vicinity of the arrow 204d near the upper end so as to draw a curve with a large curvature radius. Is done. The shape of the right side surface 203 is formed symmetrically with the left side surface 204. The arm portion 205 is disposed so as to extend from the upper front side of the right side surface 203 to the front side, and the arm portion 206 is disposed so as to extend from the upper front side of the left side surface 204 to the front side. As described above, the arm portions 205 and 206 are formed to extend from the upper side portion of the front side portion of the base portion 201 to the front side, that is, in a direction parallel to the mounting direction of the battery pack 100. The arm portions 205 and 206 are pressed so that they face each other when viewed in the left-right direction and come close to the minimum gap portion, that is, the position where the fitting portion that fits with the device connection terminal is almost in contact. Have sex. Here, press processing is plastic processing performed using a press machine, pressing a material such as sheet metal against the mold with high pressure, and performing shearing processing such as cutting, punching, drilling, etc. According to the bending process and drawing process, it is sheared and formed into a required shape. In the present embodiment, the upper terminal component 200 and the lower terminal component 220 are formed of a flat plate having a thickness of about 0.5 to 0.8 mm, for example. As a result, the upper positive terminals 161, 162, 171, and 172 and the upper negative terminals 167 and 177 have high mechanical strength, and the fitting pressure when mating with the equipment side terminals is increased. In addition, you may make it give heat processing, a plating process, etc. after a press work.

  The lower terminal component 220 is manufactured in the same manner, and a base portion 221 including a right side surface 223 and a left side surface 224 formed so as to be parallel to each other by being bent in a U shape, and a bridge portion 222 connecting them is provided. Arm portions 225 and 226 are formed on the front side from the vicinity of the elongated upper portions of the right side surface 223 and the left side surface 224. The arm portions 225 and 226 are shaped to sandwich the device-side terminal from the left and right sides toward the inside. The distance S between the upper end position of the upper arm set (205, 206) and the lower end position of the lower arm set (225, 226) is substantially equal to the width of the power terminal provided in the conventional 18V battery pack. Configure to be equivalent. On the other hand, the upper arm set (205, 206) and the lower arm set (225, 226) are arranged so as to be separated from each other by a predetermined distance S1 in the vertical direction. Below the lower arm set (225, 226), a notch 231 is formed which is largely cut away from the front side. The rear side of the lower terminal component 220 is fixed side by side in the front-rear direction so as not to contact each other across the right side surface 203 and the left side surface 204 of the upper terminal component 200 and a predetermined gap 211.

  FIG. 5B is a perspective view of the upper terminal component 200 alone, and here, the region of the bridge portion 202 and the portions of the leg portions 207 and 208 are hatched so that the range becomes clear. ing. The base part 201 referred to in this specification is a part exposed to the upper side from the surface of the circuit board 150 to be attached, and is a part excluding the arm parts 205 and 206. The base portion 201 of the upper terminal component 200 includes a right side surface 203, a left side surface 204, and a bridge portion 202. Leg portions 207 and 208 are connected below the lower side portion of the base portion 201. The leg portions 207 and 208 are inserted into the mounting holes (through holes) of the circuit board 150 so that the leg portions 207 and 208 protrude from the mounting surface (front surface) of the circuit board 150 to the surface opposite to the mounting surface (back surface). The legs 207 and 208 are soldered to the circuit board 150 on the back surface. In addition, the arm portions 205 and 206 are electrically connected to the battery cells and electronic elements mounted on the circuit board 150 by soldering. Here, the height H1 of the leg portions 207 and 208 is formed to be larger than the thickness of the circuit board 150 and smaller than twice. Further, a convex portion 204b that protrudes rearward is formed on the lower portion of the rear side of the left side surface 204. Although not visible in FIG. 5, similar convex portions are also formed on the lower portion of the rear side of the right side surface 203. On the front side of the lower part of the right side surface 203 and the left side surface 204, a portion extending in a convex shape in the horizontal direction is formed, and bent portions 203a and 204a are formed by bending the convex portion inward. . Cutout portions 203c, 204c, 207a, and 208a are formed on the upper and lower sides of the bent portions of the bent portions 203a and 204a in order to facilitate the bending process. The bent portions 203a, 204a and the convex portions 203b, 204b are formed to position the upper terminal component 200 in the vertical direction so as to be in contact with the upper surface in the vicinity of the mounting hole of the circuit board 150.

The base portion 201 has a substantially L shape that is inverted in a side view. The rear portions of the arm portions 205 and 206 are formed with flat portions 205a and 206a in which the right side surface 203 and the left side surface 204 extend in the same plane from the vicinity of the connection portion on the rear side toward the front. The distance between the flat portions 205a and 206a in the left-right direction is constant and parallel. Bending portions 205b and 206b that are bent inward when viewed in the left-right direction are formed in front of the flat portions 205a and 206a. Plane portions 205c and 206c are formed again in front of the bent portions 205b and 206b. The opposing flat portion 205c and the flat portion 206c have a wide gap on the rear side and have a shape of a leading stop that gradually narrows toward the front side, and each is a surface extending in the vertical direction. Flat portion 205c, the leading end portion of the 206c is fitting portion 205d which is bent so as to spread outward at large radii of curvature _{R 1,} 206d are formed. When the curved surface portions inside the fitting portions 205d and 206d are in contact with the terminals of the power tool main bodies 1 and 30, the upper terminal component 200 is electrically connected to the connection terminals on the power tool main bodies 1 and 30 side. Become. The insides of the fitting portions 205d and 206d are shaped to have a slight gap 209 when the battery pack 100 is removed from the power tool main bodies 1 and 30. The front sides of the fitting portions 205d and 206d are connected to guide portions 205e and 206e formed so that the distance between the fitting portions 205d and 206d increases rapidly toward the front, and guide the terminals on the power tool main bodies 1 and 30 side. The inner surfaces of the guide portions 205e and 206e are flat here, but may be curved. The bent portion 205b to the guide portion 205e and the bent portion 206b to the guide portion 206e are formed so that the height in the vertical direction is constant. On the other hand, the flat portions 205a and 206a are formed with notches 205f and 206f in the downward direction so that the height decreases as going back. The notches 205f and 206f are formed because of manufacturing reasons that the arms 205 and 206 can be easily bent at the time of press working, and a pinching load (or fitting pressure) at the pair of fitting portions 205d and 206d. ) To adjust. By forming as described above, the upper terminal component 200 which is excellent in durability and easy to use can be realized. In addition, it is preferable to make the height direction of the fitting portions 205d and 206d out of the arm portions 205 and 206 as large as possible. However, the bending portions 205b and 206b, the flat surface portions 205c and 206c, and the guide portions 205e and 206e are vertically high. The shape does not necessarily have to be constant, and may be formed in a shape that changes in the front-rear direction.

  FIG. 5 (3) is a perspective view of the lower terminal component 220 alone, and also here, the region of the bridge portion 222 and the portions of the leg portions 227 and 228 are hatched so that the range becomes clear. Show. As can be seen from this figure, the lower terminal component 220 is different from the upper terminal component 200 in the direction of bending in a U shape. Here, the base portion 221 has a substantially L shape that is erected in a side view, and the arm portions 225 and 226 are connected to the front side of the upper front side of the right side surface 223 and the left side surface 224. Of the arm portions 225 and 226, the vicinity of the connection portion with the base portion 221 is formed with flat portions 225a and 226a that are flush with the right side surface 223 and the left side surface and are parallel to each other. Bending portions 225b and 226b that are bent inward when viewed in the left-right direction are formed in front of the flat portions 225a and 226a. Plane portions 225c and 226c are formed again in front of the bent portions 225b and 226b. The opposing planar portion 225c and planar portion 226c have a wide gap on the rear side, and have a shape of a first stop that gradually decreases toward the front side. Fitting portions 225d and 226d that are bent at a large curvature radius are formed at the tip portions of the flat portions 225c and 226c. When the curved surfaces inside the fitting portions 225d and 226d come into contact with the terminals of the power tool main bodies 1 and 30, they are electrically connected. The insides of the fitting portions 225d and 226d are shaped to have a slight gap when the battery pack 100 is removed from the power tool main bodies 1 and 30. The front sides of the fitting portions 225d and 226d are formed so that the distance increases rapidly as going forward, and guide portions 225e and 226e for guiding the terminals on the power tool main bodies 1 and 30 side are formed. The inner surfaces of the guide portions 225e and 226e may be flat or curved. The flat portion 225a to the guide portion 225e and the flat portion 226a to the guide portion 226e are formed so that the height in the vertical direction is constant. However, like the arm portions 205 and 206 of the upper terminal component 200, the height in the vertical direction may be changed except for the fitting portions 225d and 226d. By forming as described above, the lower terminal component 220 having excellent durability and easy to use can be realized in this embodiment.

  On the lower side of the arm portions 225 and 226 of the lower terminal component 220, a notch portion 231 (see FIG. 5 (1)) cut in a U shape in a side view is formed from the front side to the rear side. Is done. The reason why the notch 231 is formed is that a substrate cover 180 (described later in FIG. 11) for partitioning the upper terminal component 200 and the lower terminal component 220 is provided in this portion. Leg portions 227 and 228 are connected to the lower side of the base portion 221. The leg portions 227 and 228 are inserted into the mounting holes of the circuit board 150, project the leg portions 227 and 228 on the opposite surface (back surface) from the mounting surface (front surface) of the circuit board 150, and solder the protruding portions. . In addition, an electrical connection state from the arm portions 225 and 226 to the battery cells and electronic elements mounted on the circuit board 150 is established by soldering. Here, the pair of leg portions 227 and 228 is wired independently without being short-circuited with the pair of leg portions 207 and 208 of the upper terminal component 200. The dimensions and shape of the leg portions 227 and 228 are substantially the same as those of the leg portions 207 and 208, and bent portions 223a and 224a are formed on the front side. Cutout portions 223c, 224c, 227a, and 228a are formed on the upper and lower sides of the bent portions of the bent portions 223a and 224a. Therefore, the cutout part is not necessarily required.

  Next, the shape of the terminal part 20 on the power tool main body 1, 30 side and the connection state of the connection terminal of the battery pack 100 when the battery pack 100 is mounted on the power tool main body 1, 30 will be described using FIG. 6. To do. Here, among the connection terminals of the battery pack 100, a positive electrode terminal for discharging (upper positive terminal 162, lower positive terminal 172) and a negative terminal (upper negative terminal 167 and lower negative terminal 177) are shown. The terminal portions 20 and 50 of the electric power tool main bodies 1 and 30 are further provided with LD terminals 28 and 58, which are not shown here. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the battery pack 100 is mounted on the 36V electric power tool body 30. As described above, ten battery cells are accommodated in the battery pack 100, of which five constitute the upper cell unit 146 and the remaining five constitute the lower cell unit 147. Here, the terminal portion is smaller in the terminal portions 52 a and 57 a of the positive electrode input terminal 52 and the negative electrode input terminal 57 than the terminal portion 20 of the conventional electric power tool body 1. That is, the width in the vertical direction is made small so as to contact only the upper positive terminal 162 and the upper negative terminal 167 arranged on the upper side. A positive output terminal of the upper cell unit 146 is connected to the upper positive terminal 162, and a negative output terminal is connected to the lower negative terminal 177. On the other hand, the positive output terminal of the lower cell unit 147 is connected to the lower positive terminal 172, and the negative output terminal is connected to the upper negative terminal 167. That is, two sets of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal are provided independently, and one terminal set (the upper positive terminal 162 and the lower negative terminal 177) that crosses in the horizontal direction and up and down is connected to the upper cell unit 146, and the other Terminal sets (lower positive terminal 172 and upper negative terminal 167) are connected to the lower cell unit 147. Since the upper positive terminal 161 and the lower positive terminal 172 are not electrically connected, the battery pack 100 is electrically independent when the battery pack 100 is not attached to the electric device body (the battery pack 100 is removed). Is in a state. Similarly, since the upper negative terminal 167 and the lower negative terminal 177 are not electrically connected inside the battery pack 100, the battery pack 100 is not attached to the electric device body (the battery pack 100 is removed). In the state).

  As shown in FIG. 6A, a positive electrode input terminal 52 and a negative electrode input terminal 57 for receiving power are provided at the terminal portion of the power tool main body 30 having a rating of 36V. At the time of mounting, the positive input terminal 52 is fitted to only the upper positive terminal 162 and the negative input terminal 57 is fitted to only the upper negative terminal 167. On the other hand, a short bar 59 for connecting the lower positive terminal 172 and the lower negative terminal 177 to be short-circuited is further provided at the terminal portion of the electric power tool body 30. The short bar 59 is a short-circuit formed of a metal conductive member, and one end side of the metal member bent in a U-shape is a terminal portion 59b fitted to the lower positive terminal 172, and the other end side is a lower negative electrode. The terminal portion 59c is fitted to the terminal 177. The terminal part 59b and the terminal part 59c are connected by the connection part 59a. The short bar 59 is fixed so as to be cast into a synthetic resin base 51 (described later in FIG. 7) together with other device side terminals such as the positive electrode input terminal 52 and the negative electrode input terminal 57. Since the short bar 59 is used only for short-circuiting the lower positive terminal 172 and the lower negative terminal 177, it is not necessary to wire the control circuit of the power tool body.

  The positive electrode input terminal 52 is a portion that fits with the upper negative electrode terminal 167 and solders a lead wire that connects the terminal portion 52a formed in a flat plate shape with the circuit board side on the power tool body 30 side. The wiring portion 52c is connected to the terminal portion 52a and the wiring portion 52c, and the connecting portion 52b is a portion cast into the base 51 made of synthetic resin. Here, the position of the wiring part 52c is arranged so as to be shifted inward relative to the position of the terminal part 52a in the left-right direction. This is because the connection part 52b is casted to adjust the distance between the wiring parts 52c. This is because the table 51 is held stably. Further, the left and right corners on the front side of the terminal portion 52a are chamfered obliquely so that the terminal portion 52a can easily enter between the arm portion 162a and the arm portion 162b. The negative electrode input terminal 57 can be a common component with the positive electrode input terminal 52, and can be used as both the negative electrode input terminal 57 and the positive electrode input terminal 52 by being arranged in a state of being rotated 180 degrees around the vertical axis. it can. Accordingly, the negative input terminal 57 is also formed by the terminal portion 57a, the wiring portion 57c, and the connecting portion 57b that connects them. The front side corner portion of the terminal portion 57a (the rear side corner portion when this component is used as the positive electrode input terminal 52) is also chamfered obliquely so that the terminal portion 52a can easily enter between the arm portion 162a and the arm portion 162b. I tried to do it.

  6 (1), when the battery pack 100 is mounted, if the battery pack 100 is moved relative to the power tool body 30 along the insertion direction, the positive input terminal 52 and the terminal portion 59b are in the same slot. 122 (see FIG. 3) and inserted into the inside, and fitted into the upper positive terminal 162 and the lower positive terminal 172, respectively. At this time, the positive input terminal 52 is press-fitted between the arms 162 a and 162 b of the upper positive terminal 162 so as to push the gap between the fitting portions of the upper positive terminal 162. Further, the negative input terminal 57 and the terminal portion 59c are inserted into the inside through the same slot 127 (see FIG. 3), and are fitted to the upper negative terminal 167 and the lower negative terminal 177, respectively. At this time, the negative input terminal 57 is press-fitted between the arms 167 a and 167 b of the upper negative terminal 167 so as to spread between the fitting portions of the upper negative terminal 167. Further, the terminal portions 59b and 59c of the short bar 59 are press-fitted so as to spread between the lower positive electrode terminal 172 and the arm portions 172a and 172b of the lower negative electrode terminal 177 and between the arm portions 177a and 177b. . The front corners of the terminal portions 52a, 54a to 58a, 59c, and 59d are obliquely chamfered as indicated by arrows 52d, 54d to 59d, and 59e, and can be smoothly inserted between the arm portions of the connection terminals on the battery pack 100 side. I am doing so.

  Since the plate thickness of the terminal portion 52a, the terminal portion 57a, and the terminal portions 59b and 59c is larger than the initial gap (gap when the battery pack 100 is not attached) of the fitting portion of each arm portion, the terminal portions 52a, A predetermined fitting pressure acts on a fitting point between each of the terminal portion 57a and the terminal portions 59b and 59c and the upper positive terminal 162, the lower positive terminal 172, the upper negative terminal 167, and the lower negative terminal 177. As a result of such connection, the device side terminals (terminal portion 52a, terminal portion 57a, terminal portions 59b, 59c) of the electric power tool body 30 and the battery pack power terminals (upper positive terminal 162, lower positive terminal 172, upper side) The negative terminal 167 and the lower negative terminal 177) are in good contact with each other in such a state that the electrical contact resistance is reduced. In this way, the electric device main body 30 is a third terminal inserted into the single slot (122 and connected only to the first terminal (162) of the first and second terminals (162, 172). (52a) and a fourth terminal (59b) inserted into the single slot (122) and connected only to the second terminal (172), and the battery pack 100 is connected to the electric device main body 30. When connected, in the single slot 121, the first and third terminals (162 and 52a) are connected to each other to become the first potential, and the second and fourth terminals (172 and 59b) are connected to each other. Since they are connected to each other and have a second potential different from the first potential, the negative terminal pair (167, 177) is also connected in the same manner, so that the connection form shown in FIG. Cell unit 146 and lower cell unit 14 The output of the series connection, that is, the nominal 36V is outputted from the battery pack 100.

  On the other hand, when the battery pack 100 is attached to the conventional 18V electric power tool main body 1, the connection relationship is as shown in FIG. When the battery pack 100 is attached to the electric tool body 1, the positive input terminal 22 is fitted and press-fitted so as to expand both the open ends of the upper positive terminal 162 and the lower positive terminal 172, and the positive input terminal 22 is in contact with the upper positive terminal 162 and part of the lower region is in contact with the lower positive terminal 172. Thus, by simultaneously fitting the arms 162a and 162b of the upper positive terminal 162 and the arms 172a and 172b of the lower positive terminal 172, the positive terminals 162 and 172 are short-circuited, and the power tool body 1 has an upper side. The output of the parallel connection of the cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147, that is, the rated 18V is output. The positive input terminal 22 and the negative input terminal 27 are made of a metal plate having a certain thickness. Therefore, it is important that the fitting pressure by the arms of the upper positive terminal 162 and the upper negative terminal 167 and the fitting pressure by the arms of the lower positive terminal 172 and the lower negative terminal 177 are equal. Further, in order to make these fitting pressures constant, the thicknesses of the positive electrode input terminal 52, the negative electrode input terminal 57, and the terminal portions 59b and 59c of the short bar 59 of the electric tool body 30 for 36V shown in FIG. The thickness is the same as the thickness of the positive electrode input terminal 22 and the negative electrode input terminal 27 of the conventional 18V electric power tool body 1.

  As described above, the battery pack 100 according to the present embodiment is mounted on the 18V power tool body 1 or the 36V power tool body 30 so that the output of the battery pack 100 is automatically switched. A battery pack 100 that is easy to use can be realized. This voltage switching is not performed on the battery pack 100 side, but is automatically performed depending on the shape of the terminal portion on the power tool main body 1, 30 side, so there is no possibility that a voltage setting error will occur. Further, since it is not necessary to provide a dedicated voltage switching mechanism such as a mechanical switch on the battery pack 100 side, the structure is simple, the risk of failure is low, and a long-life battery pack can be realized. Since the short bar 59 for short-circuiting the lower positive terminal 172 and the lower negative terminal 177 can be mounted in the same space as the existing terminal portion 20 of the 18V battery pack, the voltage is switched in a size compatible with the conventional one. A battery pack of the type can be realized. Furthermore, when charging using an external charging device, it is possible to charge with the connection method as shown in FIG. 6 (2), so that the charging device performs both high voltage / low voltage charging. There is no need to prepare. When the battery pack 100 is charged using an external charging device (not shown), it can be charged with the same charging device as a conventional 18V battery pack. In this case, the terminal of the charging device has the same shape as that in FIG. 6 (2), but instead of the positive terminal for discharging (162, 172), the positive terminal for charging (upper positive terminal 161, lower positive terminal) 171) is connected to the positive terminal of the charging device (not shown). The connection status at that time is also almost equivalent to the connection relationship shown in FIG. Thus, since charging is performed using the 18 V charging device in a state where the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are connected in parallel, a new charging device is used when charging the battery pack 100 of the present embodiment. No need to prepare.

  FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the terminal portion 50 of the electric power tool main body 30 of this embodiment. In the terminal unit 50, in addition to the positive input terminal 52, the negative input terminal 57, and the short bar 59 shown in FIG. 6A, four metal connection terminals 54 to 56 and 58 are made of a synthetic resin base 51. It is manufactured by casting. The connection terminals 54 to 56 are formed by linearly forming the connecting portions 52b and 57b of the positive electrode input terminal 52 and the negative electrode input terminal 57 of FIG. Terminal portions 54a to 56a to be fitted are formed on one side, holes are formed on the other side, and wiring portions 54c to 56c for soldering lead wires are formed, and the terminal portion and the wiring portion are connected. Thus, connection portions 54b to 56b cast into the synthetic resin are formed. The base 51 firmly held the terminal portions 52a, 54a to 56a, 58a so as to cast the entire upper side portion and the entire rear side portion of the terminal portions 52a, 54a to 58a. Moreover, about terminal part 54a-56a, 58a, it was made to cast a part of back of a lower side part. In the short bar 59 whose shape is shown in FIG. 6 (1), all the connecting portions 59 a (see FIG. 6) extending in the left-right direction are cast into the base 51, and the terminal portions 59 b are forward from the base 51. And the front part of 59c is exposed. Further, the lower part on the rear side of the portions exposed to the outside of the terminal portions 59b and 59c is cast into the base 51, so that the terminal portions 59b and 59c are firmly held so as not to move in the left-right direction. . In this way, a plurality of plate-shaped device-side terminals are arranged side by side on the terminal portion 50. Here, the terminal portion 52a and the terminal portion 59b are arranged so as to have a certain gap 53a in the vertical direction. Similarly, the terminal portion 57a and the terminal portion 59c are arranged so as to have a certain gap 53b in the vertical direction.

  FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating a connection state between the terminal unit 50 and the power terminals (162, 172, 167, 177) of the battery pack 100. The upper positive terminal 162 has two arms 162a and 162b (corresponding to the arms 205 and 206 in FIG. 5A), and the lower positive terminal 172 of the positive electrode has two arms 172a and 172b (FIG. 5 ( 1) arm portions 225 and 226). The arm portions 162a and 162b of the upper positive electrode terminal 162 are connected so as to sandwich the terminal portion 52a formed in a plate shape from the left and right. At the time of joining, a predetermined pinching load (fitting pressure) is applied to the terminal portion 52a by the restoring force of the spring action by bending the arm portions 162a and 162b away from each other in the left-right direction. As a result, the arm portions 162a and 162b and the terminal portion 52a are in good surface contact or line contact, and therefore, good conductivity with extremely low contact resistance can be realized. Similarly, the arm portions 167a and 167b of the upper negative terminal 167 are fitted so as to sandwich the terminal portion 57a formed in a plate shape from the left and right.

  The arm portions 172a and 172b of the lower positive terminal 172 are fitted so as to sandwich the terminal portion 59b formed in a plate shape from the left and right. In this fitting, the arm portions 172a and 172b are bent so as to be separated in the left-right direction, whereby a predetermined pinching load (fitting pressure) is applied to the terminal portion 59b by the restoring force of the spring action. As a result, since the arm portions 172a and 172b and the terminal portion 59b are in good surface contact or line contact, the contact resistance is eliminated and good conductivity can be realized. Similarly, the arm portions 177a and 177b of the lower negative electrode terminal 177 are fitted so as to sandwich the terminal portion 59c formed in a plate shape from the left and right.

  What is important in the present embodiment is that the non-contact state of the connecting portion between the terminal portion 52a and the upper positive terminal 162 and the connecting portion between the terminal portion 59b and the lower positive terminal 172 is maintained, and the electrical insulation state is maintained. There is to do. Further, the non-contact state of the connecting portion between the terminal portion 57a and the upper negative terminal 167 and the connecting portion between the terminal portion 59c and the lower negative terminal 177 is maintained, and the electrical insulation state is maintained. According to this configuration, even when the battery pack 100 vibrates at a resonance frequency different from that of the electric power tool body 30 due to various vibrations and impacts when the electric power tool is used, the upper positive electrode terminal 162 and the lower electrode terminal 162 are It is possible to prevent a short circuit from occurring with the side positive terminal 172 and to prevent a short circuit from occurring between the upper negative terminal 167 and the lower negative terminal 177. In FIG. 7 (2), the battery pack side connection terminals fitted to the terminal portions 54a to 56a, 58a are not shown, but the positive power terminals (the upper positive terminal 162 and the lower positive terminal). Terminal 172) and the negative power terminal (upper negative terminal 167 and lower negative terminal 177) are connected to signal terminals (T terminal 164, V terminal 165, LS terminal 166, LD terminal shown in FIG. 4). 168) is similarly fitted to the terminal portions 54a to 56a, 58a.

  FIG. 8 (1) is a perspective view of the terminal portion 20 of the conventional electric power tool body 1, and (2) is a diagram showing a connection state with the power terminals of the battery pack 100. The terminal portion 20 is manufactured by casting six metal terminals 22 and 24 to 28 on a base 21 made of synthetic resin. The shapes of the terminals 22 and 24 to 28 are such that the terminal portions 22a and 24a to 28a fitted to the connection terminals on the battery pack 100 side are shown in FIG. A wiring part is formed on one side, a hole is formed on the other side, and a lead wire is soldered, and the terminal part and the wiring part are connected and cast into the synthetic resin of the base 21 A connection is formed. The base 21 firmly holds the terminal portions 22a and 24a to 28a by casting the entire upper side portion, the entire rear side portion, and a part of the rear side of the lower side portion of the terminal portions 22a and 24a to 28a. did. The front corners of the terminal portions 22a and 24a to 28a are beveled obliquely as indicated by arrows 22d and 24d to 28d so that they can be smoothly inserted between the arm portions of the connection terminals on the battery pack 100 side. As for the shape of the terminal portion 20, a groove portion 21b extending in the left-right direction is formed on the front side of the base 21, and a groove portion 21b extending in the left-right direction is similarly formed on the rear side. These groove parts 21b and 21c are clamped in the opening part of the housing in the terminal part 20. FIG.

  FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a connection state between the terminal unit 20 and the power terminals (162, 172, 167, 177) of the battery pack 100. Here, illustration of signal terminals (T terminal 164, V terminal 165, LS terminal 166, LD terminal 168) on the battery pack 100 side is omitted. The arm portions 162a and 162b of the upper positive terminal 162 are fitted so as to sandwich the upper region of the terminal portion 22a formed in a plate shape from the left and right. At the time of this fitting, the arm portions 162a and 162b are bent so as to be separated in the left-right direction, whereby a predetermined pinching load (fitting pressure) is applied to the terminal portion 22a by the restoring force of the spring action. The arm portions 172a and 172b of the lower positive terminal 172 are fitted so as to be sandwiched from the left and right of the lower portion of the terminal portion 22a formed in a plate shape. The arm portions of the upper negative terminal 167 and the lower negative terminal 177 of the power terminal are in the same fitting state. In this way, the four arm portions 162a, 162b, 172a, and 172b are in contact with the single terminal portion 22a. Similarly, on the negative electrode side, the arm portions 167a and 167b of the upper negative electrode terminal 167 are fitted so as to sandwich the upper region of the terminal portion 27a formed in a plate shape from the left and right, and the arm portion of the lower negative electrode terminal 177 is formed. 177a and 177b are fitted so as to sandwich the lower portion of the terminal portion 27a from the left and right. In this way, the four arm portions 162a, 162b, 172a, 172b are in contact with one terminal portion 22a, and similarly, the four arm portions 167a, 167b, 177a, 177b are in contact with the terminal portion 27a. Since they are in contact with each other, they can be satisfactorily brought into surface contact or line contact, and good electrical conductivity can be realized without contact resistance.

  Next, the shape of the parts used for the three terminals (164 to 166), that is, the signal terminal parts 240 will be described with reference to FIG. The signal terminal component 240 is manufactured by pressing a single metal plate, and the metal thin plate is bent so that the bridge portion 242 serving as a U-shaped bottom portion becomes a rear vertical surface. From the base portion 241, an arm set (arm bases 245 and 246) extends forward, and the arm base 245 is formed to be separated into upper and lower arm sets (arms 251 and 253), The arm base 246 is formed so as to be separated into upper and lower arm sets (252, 254) in the notch groove 246b extending in the horizontal direction. The metal plate used for the press working is a flat plate having a thickness of 0.3 mm, and may be thinner than the plate thickness of 0.5 mm of the upper terminal component 200 and the lower terminal component 220 used for the power terminal. The upper and lower arm sets are formed in the same shape and have the same length in the front-rear direction, width in the vertical direction, plate thickness, and the like. The upper arm set (arms 251 and 252) and the lower arm set (arms 253 and 254) are formed with fitting parts (251d, 253d, etc.), respectively. Therefore, the curved shape is the same in the upper and lower sides, and the left and right arm portions are in a plane-symmetric shape. On the other hand, the mounting positions of the leg portions 249 and 250 are arranged so as to be largely shifted in the front-rear direction. The shape of the lower side portion of the base portion 241 is different between right and left, and the shapes of the right side surface 243 and the left side surface 244 are asymmetric. The leg portion 249 is arranged to be largely shifted to the front side with respect to the position of the conventional leg portion 250, and the leg portions 249 and 250 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction. In this way, the leg 249 and the leg 250 are not arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction, but are arranged so as to be shifted back and forth, so that an extended portion 243a greatly extended forward is provided near the lower side of the right side surface 243. The leg portion 249 is formed so as to extend downward from the front end portion thereof. The leg portion 249 and the leg portion 250 each penetrate a through hole (not shown) formed in the circuit board 150 from the front surface to the back surface side, and a portion protruding to the back surface side is soldered, whereby the circuit substrate 150 The upper arm set (arms 251 and 252) and the lower arm set (arms 253 and 254) are electrically connected to the electronic elements mounted on the circuit board 150. .

  Above the leg portion 249, a bent portion 243b bent in the left direction is formed to limit the amount of insertion into the mounting hole 151 (see FIG. 4) of the circuit board 150. Cutout portions 243c and 249a cut out in a semicircular shape are formed on the upper and lower sides of the bent portion of the bent portion 243b in order to facilitate the bending process. For positioning the rear leg portion 250 on the circuit board 150, step portions 250a and 250b formed on the front side and the rear side of the leg portion 250 are used. The stepped portion 250a is formed by extending the lower side portion of the left side surface 244 forward, and the stepped portion 250b is formed using the lower side portion of the bridge portion 242 that curves in a U shape. As described above, when the step portions 250 a and 250 b abut on the surface of the circuit board 150, the mounting position of the leg portion 250 in the vertical direction can be determined. The mounting positions of the leg portions 249 and 250 in the front-rear direction are defined by the positions of the mounting holes 151 (see FIG. 4) of the circuit board 150.

  FIG. 9B is a view of the signal terminal component 240 alone as viewed from the front lower side. As can be seen from this figure, a notch groove 245b extending in the horizontal direction is formed on the front side of the arm base 245 so as to be separated into upper and lower arm sets (arm portions 251 and 253). Further, the right leg 249 is arranged so as to be largely displaced forward compared to the left leg 250. As a result, the signal terminal component 240 can be firmly held on the circuit board even when an upward or downward force is applied to the four arm portions 251, 252, 253, 254. The external force applied to the arm portions 251, 252, 253, and 254 is applied so as to push the arm portion set backward when the battery pack 100 is attached to the power tool main bodies 1, 30, and this force causes the signal terminal component 240 to be pushed. The direction is to tilt backwards. On the contrary, when removing the battery pack 100 from the electric power tool main bodies 1 and 30, it becomes a force that pushes the arm set to the front side, and this force is in a direction to tilt the signal terminal component 240 forward. Thus, the external force applied when the battery pack 100 is mounted and removed can be effectively received by shifting the positions of the legs 249 and 250 in the front-rear direction, and the mounting rigidity of the signal terminal component 240 is greatly enhanced. As a result, the durability of the battery pack 100 could be improved. Furthermore, since the arm set is also divided into two stages, upper and lower, even if it receives various vibrations or external forces during the operation of the power tool, it is electrically driven by the four contact areas of the arm. Good contact with the tool body side terminal can be maintained. On the other hand, since the number of mounting holes and the number of soldering portions of the circuit board 150 necessary for manufacturing the signal terminal component 240 are the same as the conventional one, an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  The signal terminal component 240 of the present embodiment has not only improved rigidity but also other effects. Conventional signal terminal parts (not shown) are provided with two leg portions that are soldered to a circuit board to be electrically and mechanically attached, but the leg portions are juxtaposed in the left-right direction. In many cases, the soldering part is connected to the narrow part between the parts, and wiring for passing the signal pattern between the left and right leg parts is not possible. In the battery pack 100 of the present embodiment, one leg 249 of the signal terminal component 240 is arranged on the front side, and the other leg 250 is arranged on the rear side, and both legs are separated. Accordingly, the distance between the leg portions of the signal terminal component 240 is increased, and it is easy to wire a plurality of wirings or a thick pattern through which a main current flows. Such a signal terminal component 240 is suitable when it is desired to increase the functionality of the battery pack 100 of the present embodiment, that is, the conventional battery pack, and to promote downsizing in terms of voltage ratio. In particular, when the voltage switching function is realized while increasing the voltage, the number of electronic elements mounted on the circuit board 150 increases. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the efficiency of the pattern wiring and increase the thickness of the wiring through which the main current flows. In this embodiment, the circuit board 150 is larger than that conventionally used, and the electronic elements are mounted not only on the rear side of the connection terminal group but also on the front side region. At that time, the wiring pattern is also arranged below the signal terminal component 240. The arrangement method will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state of fixing a plurality of signal terminal components 240 to the circuit board 150. (1) is a diagram seen from the front, and (2) is a diagram seen from the left. is there. The signal terminal component 240 is a common component, and is fixed side by side in the left-right direction on the circuit board 150 as a T terminal 164, a V terminal 165, and an LS terminal 166. Since the signal terminal component 240 is formed with a notch portion in the vicinity of the center of the arm portion so as to generate the interval S2, the upper arm portion set (251, 252) and the lower arm portion set (253, 254) are vertically moved. In such a shape, there are two stages. In the state where the device side terminal is not attached, the closest part (fitting part) of the upper arm set (251, 252) and the lower arm set (253, 254) has a slight gap. It is arranged to be separated or abutted. The leg portions 249 and 250 pass through the mounting holes (see FIG. 4) of the circuit board 150 and protrude downward, and are fixed by solder 256 on the lower side (back surface) of the circuit board 150.

  In the side view of FIG. 10 (2), the leg 249 located at the front and the leg 250 located at the rear are separated by a distance S3. The distance S3 is preferably made larger than the distance between the leg portions 249 and 250 (distance in the left-right direction). By forming a gap as indicated by the arrow 257 in this way, it becomes easy to wire a circuit pattern in the gap. FIG. 10 (3) is a bottom view of the circuit board 150 of FIG. 10 (1) as viewed from below. On the back surface of the circuit board 150, a through hole is formed in the center for soldering the signal terminal component 240, and lands 153 a to 155 a, 153 b to 153 in which a substantially square copper foil for soldering is arranged around the through hole. 155b is formed. The wiring pattern for connection from the lands 153a to 155a and 153b to 155b to the upper cell unit 146 or the lower cell unit 147 is on the surface side of the circuit board 150 and is not visible in the drawing of (3). The left leg lands 153a to 155a and the right leg lands 153b to 155b are arranged so as to be displaced forward and backward. As a result, a plurality of patterns 157 to 159 can be arranged between the lands 153a to 155a and the lands 153b to 155b as shown in the figure. Here, the wiring patterns 157 to 159 are illustrated as being provided three by three, but may be one thick wiring or a combination of other numbers. Since the wiring pattern is arranged between the leg portions 249 and 250 arranged so as to be shifted in the front-rear direction in this way, the signal terminals are maintained while maintaining the same distance between the adjacent signal terminals 164 and 165 and 165 and 166 as before. A plurality of wiring patterns 157 to 159 that connect the rear side and the front side of 164 to 166 can be provided. As another method of increasing the number of wiring patterns connecting the rear side and the front side of the signal terminals 164 to 166, a method of providing a cutout portion 243c as shown by a dotted line in FIG. A cutout portion 243 c that is notched upward as indicated by a dotted line is formed in the vicinity of the lower side of the right side surface 243 and in contact with the circuit board 150. Then, a portion indicated by an arrow 257 becomes a gap that separates the circuit board 150 from the distance. A circuit pattern can be disposed between the gap and the circuit board 150 in the same manner as the wiring patterns 157 to 159 in FIG. In this way, a plurality of wiring patterns that connect the rear side and the front side of the signal terminals 164 to 166 can be arranged not only on the back side 150b of the circuit board but also on the front side 150a. It becomes possible to improve.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the shape of the connection terminal group (161 to 162, 164 to 168) and the substrate cover 180 disposed around the connection terminal group (161 to 162, 164 to 168), (1) is a perspective view, and (2) is a front view. is there. Here, in order to understand the invention, the circuit board 150 is not shown. In an actual product, a plurality of connection terminal groups (161 to 162, 164 to 168, 171, 172, 177) are soldered to the circuit board 150. After being fixed by attaching, the substrate cover 180 is attached around the connection terminals. The power terminals (161, 162, 167) are formed to be higher by a distance H in the upward direction than the signal terminals (164-166, 168). The substrate cover 180 is a member that is manufactured by a non-conductor, for example, a synthetic resin molded product, and covers the periphery of the leg portion of the adjacent connection terminal, and has a connecting portion 181 having a flat upper surface 181a on the front side. A plurality of partition walls 182, 183, 184 to 189 are connected to the rear side of the connecting portion 181. The partition walls 182, 183, 184 to 189 are arranged on the rear side of the plane portion 181 a, that is, on the left and right portions of the connection terminal group, thereby functioning to make it difficult to cause an electrical short circuit between the connection terminals. Further, the upper surface 181a of the connecting portion 181 is formed so as to be flush with the upper step surface 115 (see FIG. 3) of the upper case 110, and relative to the main body side terminal portion extending from the upper step surface 115 to the connecting portion 181. Easy to move. Further, the substrate cover 180 is provided with a cover portion 184 that closes the opening of the unused area (slot 123 in FIG. 3), so that dust and dust are less likely to enter the case of the battery pack 100 from the slot 123. .

  The substrate cover 180 is mainly formed by a connecting portion 181 having a horizontal upper surface 181a and a plurality of partition wall portions extending upward. Of the partition walls, the partition walls 185, 186, and 189 disposed between the signal terminals are walls having a low height H2, and the upper end positions thereof are located below the signal terminals (164 to 166) and the LD terminal 168. The position is lower than the arm. On the other hand, the partition walls 182, 183, 184 a, 187, 188 adjacent to the power terminal become a wall portion having a height H 3 from the upper surface 181 a, and the upper end position thereof is higher than the upper end position of the lower terminal component. Is also located on the upper side and is located on the lower side of the arm portion of the upper terminal part.

  As described in FIGS. 5 to 8, the power terminals of the connection terminal group are arranged such that the legs of the upper positive terminals 161 and 162 and the lower positive terminals 171 and 172 are arranged in the front-rear direction, and the respective arm sets are vertically arranged. Arranged side by side. Similarly, the leg portions of the upper negative terminal 167 and the lower negative terminal 177 are arranged in the front-rear direction, and the respective arm sets are arranged in the vertical direction. When the battery pack 100 is attached to the electrical equipment body having a rating of 18 V, the potentials of the arms of the upper positive terminals 161 and 162 and the upper negative terminal 167 and the potentials of the lower positive terminals 171 and 172 and the lower negative terminal 177 Therefore, there is no problem even if the upper terminal component and the lower terminal component are in contact with each other. However, when the battery pack 100 is attached to the electrical equipment body having a rating of 36 V, the potentials of the upper positive terminals 161 and 162 and the upper negative terminal 167 and the potentials of the lower positive terminals 171 and 172 and the lower negative terminal 177 are Since they are different from each other, it is important not to cause a short-circuit state due to contact between the upper and lower arms. Moreover, it is good to make it the shape which a short circuit by insertion of a foreign material does not occur easily. Therefore, the substrate cover 180 of the present embodiment has a height H3 with respect to the partition walls 182, 183, 184a, 187, and 188 among the partition wall portions formed to extend upward from the connecting portion 181. The upper end position was formed large up to the upper side. In addition to the wall portion extending upward in the vertical direction, a horizontal wall portion extending also in the left-right direction from the upper end position of the vertical wall portion was formed.

  FIG. 11 (3) is a partially enlarged view of the substrate cover 180 of (2), and is a view excluding the illustration of the connection terminal portion. The partition wall 182 has a vertical wall portion 182a and a horizontal wall portion 182b, and its cross-sectional shape is L-shaped. The horizontal wall portion 182b extends in the horizontal direction so as to reach the space between the arm portions of the adjacent power terminals (upper positive terminal 161, lower positive terminal 171) from the vicinity of the upper end of the vertical wall portion 182a. The The partition wall 183 has a T-shaped cross section, and is formed by a vertical wall portion 183a and horizontal wall portions 183b and 183c extending in both directions from the upper end portion of the vertical wall portion 183a. The horizontal wall portion 183b extends to the side adjacent to the adjacent horizontal wall portion 182b, and has a length that allows the tip to reach the space between the arm portions of the upper positive terminal 161 and the lower positive terminal 171. Similarly, the horizontal wall portion 183c extends to the side close to the adjacent horizontal wall portion 184b, and has a length that allows the tip to reach the space between the arm portions of the upper positive terminal 162 and the lower positive terminal 172. . The situation where the horizontal wall portions 182b, 183b and 183c extend into the space between the arm portions will be apparent by looking at the positive electrode terminal group from the front as shown in FIG. 11 (2). For example, the right side surface position of the upper positive terminal 161 and the right side surface position of the lower positive terminal 171 are at the same position. However, the left end position 182c of the horizontal wall portion 182b extends to the lower portion of the arm portion 161a of the upper positive terminal 161 so as to extend to the left side of the right side surface position of the upper positive terminal 161 and the lower positive terminal 171. It becomes the length. The horizontal wall portion 182b is positioned above the arm portion 171a of the lower positive electrode terminal 171.

  The length of the vertical wall portion 182a and the horizontal wall portion 182b in the front-rear direction is longer than the length of the lower positive electrode terminal 171 in the front-rear direction, and the front end position is substantially the same as the tip of the arm portion of the lower positive terminal 171. The rear end position is on the rear side of the rear end position of the lower positive terminal 171. In this way, the vertical wall portion 182a covers the entire right side surface and the entire left side surface of the lower positive electrode terminal 171 and covers the upper portion except for the vicinity of the left and right center (portion of the distance S5). Here, only the shapes of the vertical wall portion 182a and the horizontal wall portion 182b of the lower positive electrode terminal 171 portion are mentioned, but the lower positive electrode terminal 172 also includes the entire right side surface, the entire left side surface, and the upper portion excluding the central portion. Since the partition wall 184 is provided so as to be covered, even if an external force is applied to the lower positive terminals 171 and 172 and a force that bends them is applied, it can be effectively held by the substrate cover 180. The possibility that the lower terminal part and the upper terminal part for power transmission are unintentionally short-circuited can be greatly reduced.

  The negative electrode terminal side (167, 177) has the same idea as the positive electrode terminal side (161, 162, 171, 172), and large partition walls 187, 188 are provided on the left and right sides of the negative electrode terminal. The partition wall 187 has the same shape as that of the partition wall 182 and is formed by a vertical wall portion 187a and a horizontal wall portion 187b, and has a L-shaped cross section. The horizontal wall portion 187b is formed to extend from the upper end portion of the vertical wall portion 187a to the negative electrode terminal side. The partition wall 188 is formed symmetrically with the partition wall 187, and is formed by a vertical wall portion 188a and a horizontal wall portion 188b. The horizontal wall portions 187b and 188b have such a size that the tip portion enters the space between the arm portion set of the upper negative electrode terminal 167 and the arm portion set of the lower negative electrode terminal 177, but has a predetermined interval S5. Therefore, it is ensured that the device side terminals such as the power tool main bodies 1 and 30 are not obstructed. Since the partition walls 187 and 188 are formed so as to cover the periphery of the negative electrode terminals (167 and 177) as the power terminals in this way, a strong external pressure is applied to the upper negative electrode terminal 167 or the lower negative electrode terminal 177 to move in the front-rear direction. Even if (bent), the possibility of occurrence of a short-circuit phenomenon due to the presence of the wall portions such as the horizontal wall portions 187b and 188b can be greatly reduced.

  The partition walls 185 and 186 between the signal terminal groups (164 to 166) have only a low height H2 in the upward direction. This is because only a low-power signal flows through the signal terminal groups (164 to 166). This is because the degree of danger at the time of a short circuit is significantly smaller than that on the power terminal side. In addition, each of the signal terminal groups (164 to 166) is a single component, and the upper arm portion and the lower arm portion are at the same potential, so there is less need to worry about a short circuit. The partition wall 184 includes vertical wall portions 184a and 184d, and the space between them is connected to a closing plate 184c. The closing plate 184c is a flat plate extending vertically and horizontally, and has an effect of closing an empty space between the upper positive terminal 162 and the T terminal 164 (internal space of the empty slot 123 in FIG. 3). Near the upper end of the vertical wall portion 184a, a horizontal wall portion 184b extending to the positive terminal side is formed.

  The connecting portion 181 is fixed to connect the front surfaces of the vertical wall portions 182a, 183a, 184a, 184d, 185a, 186a, 187a, and 188a located between the connection terminals. The wall portion of the upper surface 181 a of the connecting portion 181 is formed so as to float above the circuit board 181. An inner portion of the connecting portion 181 is formed to have a space, and vertical wall portions 184a, 185a, and 187a are disposed on the rear side thereof. Here, the vertical wall portions 182a, 183a, 184d, and 188a are also formed so as to extend downward and contact the circuit board 150, although they are hidden behind the front wall surface 181b. The inner portion of the connecting portion 181 is hardened after being filled with a liquid curable resin that covers the upper surface of the circuit board 150 as will be described later with reference to FIG. By solidifying the curable resin, the vicinity of the lower ends of the plurality of vertical wall portions 182a, 183a, 184a, 184d, 185a, 186a, 187a, and 188a and the circuit board 150 are firmly fixed. Three notches 181c to 181e are formed on the front wall surface 181b of the connecting portion 181. The notches 181c to 181e are formed so that the liquid resin, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 13, is evenly distributed to the rear portion and the front portion of the circuit board 150. The liquid resin has a viscosity. Is relatively low, the resin flows in the front-rear direction through the notches 181c to 181e (details will be described later).

  FIG. 12 is a diagram in which only the upper case 110 of FIG. 3 is extracted, and is a diagram for explaining the shape of the upper step surface 115 of the upper case 110. FIG. 12A is a perspective view of the upper case 110, and FIG. 12B is an arrow view seen from the direction of arrow B in FIG. In (1), the stepped portion is hatched so that the range is clear. As described with reference to FIG. 11, the power terminals (161, 162, 167) are formed to be higher than the signal terminals (164 to 166, 168) by a distance H. This is because the power terminal is formed of a plate material thicker than the signal terminal. Therefore, in the shape of the upper surface of the conventional upper case, the upper end portion of the power terminal (161, 162, 167) interferes with the inner wall of the upper surface. Therefore, in this embodiment, the position of the inner wall surface as viewed in the vertical direction of the upper step surface 115 of the upper case 110 is partially shifted upward so as to earn the clearance of the upper portion of the power terminals (161, 162, 167). Configured. Although it is conceivable that only the position of the inner wall surface is a recess recessed upward, if the screen shape of the upper step surface 115 is left as it is, the thickness of a part of the upper step surface 115 of the upper case 110 is insufficient, resulting in local However, the strength may be reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, convex portions 115a and 115b that protrude outward are formed on the outer surface of the upper step surface 115 and in the vicinity of where the power terminals (161, 162, 167) are located. Thus, since it comprised so that a part of wall surface of the upper stage surface 115 might be shifted to the upper side, an accommodation space can be expanded in an inner side part and the fall of wall surface intensity | strength can also be prevented. In the present embodiment, the protrusion height H4 of the outer wall surface of the upper surface 115 is configured to be smaller than the recess height H5 of the inner wall surface, so that the size of the convex portions 115a and 115b on the upper surface 115 is kept small. It was within the range that can be mounted on the conventional power tool body 1 without any trouble. Further, the upper step surface 115 is not the same surface, and a step is formed so that a partial step portion is formed and the height of the shaded portion is increased, so that the upper step surface 115 is higher than the conventional upper surface of the same plane. In terms of strength, it could be equivalent or equivalent.

  Next, a method for applying a resin to the circuit board 150 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the circuit board 150. Although not shown here, the upper surface (front surface) of the circuit board 150 is provided with a main region 156a and a sub region 156b for mounting electronic elements. . The main region 156a is located behind the connection terminal group, and a protection management IC (described later) including a microcomputer is mounted there. The sub region 156b is a region on the front side of the connection terminal group. Here, the entire mounted electronic element is covered with a curable resin. The curable resin is cured from a liquid state, and for example, a urethane resin can be used. In order to uniformly fill the liquid urethane resin on the upper surface of the circuit board 150, an adhesive resin 155 that serves as a dike to prevent the liquid resin from flowing out is provided on the outer edge portion of the element group first mounted on the circuit board 150. Adhere to. The adhesive resin 155 continuously adheres, for example, an adhesive extracted in a cylindrical shape through a thin extraction port from the inside of a tube-shaped container along the outer edge of a region where the urethane resin is to be filled. At this time, it is important that the adhesive is adhered without any break along the outer edge portion, and one end and the other end are in contact with the substrate cover 180. When the adhesive resin 155 serving as the outer frame is attached to almost one round of the outer edge portion into which the resin is poured, the urethane resin in the liquid state is poured into the upper surface of the circuit board 150 thereafter.

  The amount of the urethane resin to be poured is set to an amount that sufficiently satisfies the range surrounded by the adhesive resin 155. At this time, the outer edges of the corresponding portions are surrounded by the adhesive resins 155a to 155c in the portions that are not desired to be covered with the resin, and the resin poured into the outside is within the range surrounded by the adhesive resins 155a to 155c. Did not reach. If the position where the urethane resin is poured is in the vicinity of the main region indicated by the arrow 156a, the resin does not flow into the range surrounded by the adhesive resin 155a. Further, the substrate cover 180 is in a state in which the wall surface of the connecting portion 181 forming the upper surface 181a is floating, the rear side wall surface of the lower part thereof is in the open state, the front side is the wall surface, and a part thereof is notched. By forming the portions 181c to 181e, the resin can flow well from the main region 156a to the sub region 156b. In this way, the entire element mounting surface of the circuit board 150 is covered with resin, and then the effect is applied, so that the surface of the circuit board 150 is evenly covered with resin within the target range without any gap. The protected electronic device can be protected from the influence of water and dust. When a double-sided board is used as the circuit board 150, the back side may be covered with resin in the same procedure. In addition, the resin that is excluded from the resin filling with the adhesive resin 155, such as the vicinity of the screw hole or the soldered portion of the lead wire, is applied during the process after the screw tightening is completed or during the process after the soldering is completed. You may make it do.

  Although the first embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 13, the battery pack 100 shown in the first embodiment can be variously modified. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the shapes of the upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280 according to the first modification of the present embodiment. FIG. 14 (1) is a perspective view, (2) is a left side view, and (3) is a front view. The upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280 each have two arm sets (265 and 266, 285 and 286) in the left-right direction, and the two arm sets are aligned vertically. Same as example. It is the same as the first embodiment that the leg set (267, 268) of the upper terminal component 260 is arranged in line with the leg set (287, 288) of the lower terminal component 280 in the front-rear direction. . As shown by arrows 262a and 282a in (2), the bridge portions 262 and 282 protrude in the lower part of the rear side of the right side surface 263 and the left side surface 264. The portion is used for vertical positioning when the upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280 are attached to the circuit board 150. On the upper front sides of the legs 267 and 268, bent portions 263a, 264a, 283a, and 284a (however, 263a is not visible in FIG. 14) are formed by bending the protruding portions inward. The shape of is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The upper terminal component 260 is different from the direction shown in FIG. Here, the portion that becomes the bottom when bent into a U-shape, that is, the bridge portion 262 is formed to be a vertical surface. The bent shape of the lower terminal component 280 is the same as the lower terminal component 220 shown in FIG. 5 in the U-shaped bending direction, and the bridge portion 282 is a vertical surface. The bridge portions 262 and 282 are arranged in parallel so as to have a substantially constant interval in the front-rear direction, and are arranged so as to extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the surface of the circuit board 150. The upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280 are the same as in the first embodiment in that they are manufactured by pressing a metal flat plate, but the thickness of the flat plate is further increased.

The right side surface 263 and the left side surface 264 are substantially rectangular extending in the vertical direction, and are formed so that the arm portions 265 and 266 extend forward in a portion near the upper end. The width (length in the vertical direction) is large in the vicinity of the rear side roots of the arm portions 265 and 266, that is, in the vicinity of the chain line B2, the width gradually decreases toward the front, and the width is constant further in front of the virtual line B1. Become. Fitting portions 265 d, the 266d, that is bent into a curved shape having a predetermined radius of curvature R ₁ to the inside when viewed from the top is the same as the first embodiment shown in FIG. Thus, the arm portions 265 and 266 are formed so as to extend forward from the upper front side portion of the U-shaped base portion, and the arm portions 265 and 266 are formed so as to have a spring property in a non-contact state. The

  The lower terminal component 280 has a right side surface 283 and a left side surface 284 formed so as to be bent in parallel with a U-shape and a bridge portion 282 that connects them. The arm portions 285 and 286 are provided to extend forward and obliquely upward. The vertical widths of the arms 285 and 286 are substantially constant in the front-rear direction, and are formed to extend in the horizontal direction on the front side of the virtual line B1, but are arranged obliquely on the rear side of the virtual line B1. . A cutout portion 291 that is largely cut out from the front side is formed below the arm set (285, 286) of the lower terminal component 280. As a result of the formation, the lengths of the arm portions 265 and 266 of the upper terminal component 260 (length in the front-rear direction and forward of B2) are the lengths of the arm portions 285 and 286 of the lower terminal component 280 ( The length in the front-rear direction is longer than the position on the arrow 291 side. Even in such an arm set having different lengths in the front-rear direction, the fitting pressure at the fitting portion of the upper terminal component 260 is preferably the same as the fitting pressure of the lower terminal component 280. If the fitting pressure is not equalized, the contact resistance with the flat tool-side terminal on the power tool main body 1 or 30 side may change, causing a slight difference in heat generation, or the wear situation due to long-term use may be different. Because there is. In this modification, in order to balance the fitting pressure between the upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280, the initial gap interval in the non-attached state of the battery pack is made different. That is, in a state where the battery pack 100 is not attached to the power tool body 1 or 30 (detached state), the minimum interval between the left and right arm portions 265 and 266 is different from the interval between the arm portions 285 and 286. Here, the interval between the arm portions 265 and 266 of the upper terminal component 260 is 0.2 mm, whereas the minimum interval between the arm portions 285 and 286 of the lower terminal component 280 is 0.5 mm.

  In order to make the fitting pressure uniform, the shape of the upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280 was also devised. That is, as shown in FIG. 14 (2), the upper terminal component 260 should originally form a substantially right angle inner corner such as a dotted line 264b. Here, the outline of the dotted line 264b is extended in the direction of the arrow 264e, The shape is such that an isosceles triangular reinforcing surface 264c is added in view. As a result, the outline of the inner corner portion is slanted as indicated by an arrow 264d, and the attachment rigidity of the arm portions 265 and 266 of the upper terminal parts is improved by this shape change. In accordance with the change in the shape of the inner corner portion of the upper terminal component 260, the outer corner portion of the lower terminal component 280 is cut off from the dotted line 284b in the direction of the arrow 284e, whereby an isosceles triangular cut-out portion 284c is seen in side view. The shape is such that As a result, the outline of the outer corner portion is as shown by an arrow 284d, and the rigidity of the arm portions 285 and 286 of the lower terminal component is reduced. Contour portions indicated by the arrows 264d and 284d are determined so as to be spaced apart from each other so as to be substantially parallel to each other in a side view. If the cut-off portion 284c is formed, the length of the bridge portion 282 in the vertical direction is shortened. However, since the lower terminal component 280 is small, it is sufficiently stronger than the upper terminal component 260 in strength, so that a balance of strength can be obtained by changing these shapes. In this way, the shape of the inner corner portion where the reinforcing surface 264c is added to the upper terminal component 260 is changed, and the shape of the outer corner portion where the strength is adjusted by forming the cut-off portion 284c is changed to the lower terminal component 280. As a result, the balance between the strengths of the two members was obtained, and the fitting pressures to the main body side terminals by the arm portions 265, 266, 285, and 286 could be made substantially equal.

  FIG. 14 (3) is a view of the upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280 as viewed from the front. The vertical heights and mounting positions of the arm portions 265 and 266 and the vertical heights and mounting positions of the arm portions 285 and 286 are the upper terminal component 200 and the lower terminal of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The parts 220 have the same shape and the same positional relationship as the arm group. However, in this modification, the thickness of the metal plate material used is different, and is manufactured using a thicker plate than the terminal component of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Furthermore, when the battery pack 100 is not attached, the minimum interval between the upper and lower arm sets is made different. That is, it is configured such that the space between the lower arm portions 285 and 286 in the left-right direction is larger than the space between the upper arm portions 265 and 266 in the left-right direction. This is such that the arm portions 265 and 266 and the arm portions 285 and 286 arranged side by side are inversely proportional to the length in the mounting direction (front-rear direction). The long arm portions 265 and 266 face each other at a narrow interval in the initial state. On the contrary, the short arm portions 285 and 286 face each other with a wide interval.

  As described above, in the first modification, the upper terminal component 260 and the lower terminal component 280 having a thick plate thickness of 0.8 mm are used as the power terminals. Since only a minute current flows with respect to the signal terminal component, it may be manufactured with a metal plate having a thickness of about 0.3 mm as in the conventional battery pack 15. In this modification, the rigidity of the power terminal through which a large current flows was further improved, and the fitting state could be maintained well over a long period of use as well as during work. In addition, in order to make the fitting pressures of the upper and lower arms substantially the same, it is not limited only to the adjustment of the gap of the fitting part and the change of the shape near the mounting source, but other changes, particularly the thickness of the plate This can also be achieved by adjustment, selection of the material of the terminal component, and the like.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an upper terminal component 260 and a lower terminal component 280A according to a second modification of the present embodiment. In the second modification, the upper terminal component 260 is the same as the first modification shown in FIG. 14, but the lower terminal component 280 has a different plate thickness and initial arm spacing. That is, the thickness of the lower terminal component 280A is reduced from 0.8 mm to 0.6 mm of the lower terminal component 280 shown in FIG. 14, and the interval between the fitting portions 285d and 286d is shown in FIG. The lower terminal part 280 was narrowed from 0.5 mm to 0.2 mm. The interval between the fitting portions 265d and 266d of the upper terminal component 260 is 0.2 mm as in the first modification. In this way, by adjusting the plate thickness and interval of the arm portions 285 and 286 having spring properties, the fitting pressure by the fitting portions 265d and 266d of the upper terminal component 260 can be made substantially equal. Here, the fitting portion 265d, the shape of 265d are obtained by a semi-cylindrical surface, the central axis is positioned vertically of the cylindrical surface, the fitting portion 265d, the inner wall surface of 265d includes a radius of curvature _{R 1} It becomes a cylindrical surface. Inner wall surface of the fitting portion 285d and 286d of the lower terminal parts 280 are also formed so that the radius of curvature R ₁ and becomes a cylindrical surface. The fitting portions 265d and 266d, and the cylindrical shapes of the fitting surfaces of the fitting portions 285d and 286d, have the same radius of curvature R ₁ so that the linear or rectangular contact portions have substantially the same size and shape. It is good to form with. As described above, it is preferable that the contact portion and the contact area are made uniform in size, so that the sandwiching pressure (fitting pressure) is made substantially equal, and the electrical contact resistance is made almost the same.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing an upper terminal part 200A and a lower terminal part 220 according to a third modification of the present embodiment. (1) is connected to the main body side terminal of the power tool main body 30A having a rating of 36V. It is a figure which shows the state made. In the third modification, only the shape of the upper terminal component 200A, particularly the shapes of the arm portions 205A and 206A, is different from the first embodiment, and the configuration of the base portion and the leg portion of the upper terminal component 200A is the first embodiment. Is the same. The upper terminal component 200 </ b> A is used as the upper positive terminals 161 and 162 and the upper negative terminal 167. The upper terminal component 200A extends the arm portions 205A and 206A to the front side so that the position of the fitting portion of the upper arm portions 205A and 206A is greater than the position of the fitting portion of the lower arm portions 225 and 226. Was also located on the front side. The shape of the fitting portion facing is a semi-cylindrical surface having a radius of curvature equal R _1, arms 205A, the shape of the fitting portion of the 206A, the shape of the fitting portion of the arm portion 225 and 226 the same is there. When extending the arm portions 205A and 206A, the positive terminal 72A of the 36V side electric power tool body is also made shorter than the conventional one in correspondence with this shape change. The size and thickness of the short bar 79 as a short-circuit means are the same as those of the short bar 59 shown in FIG. However, a semicircular cutout 79d was formed in the upper portion of the terminal portion 79b of the short bar 79. This notch 79d is formed so that when the positive terminal 72A and the terminal portion 79b of the device side terminal are moved relative to each other in an arc shape or in the horizontal direction as indicated by an arrow 45a for some reason, the terminal portion 79b is moved to the upper arm portion 205A, This is to prevent contact with 206A. Thus, since the notch 79d is formed in the terminal portion 79b of the short bar 79, when the battery pack 100 is mounted and the power tool is operating, the difference in the resonance frequency between the power tool body 30 and the battery pack 100 is caused. Even if the resulting relative positional deviation occurs, the risk of a short circuit between the upper terminal component 200A and the lower terminal component 220 can be greatly reduced.

  FIG. 16 (2) is a diagram showing a state in which the power tool main body 1 is connected to a main body side terminal. When mounting on the side of the electric power tool main body 1 having a rating of 18 V, two sets of arm portions 205A and 206A and arm portions 225 and 226 are fitted to the positive electrode input terminal 22. At this time, the contact position of the arm portions 205A and 206A to the positive electrode input terminal 22 is shifted forward from the contact position of the arm portions 225 and 226 to the positive electrode input terminal 22. . However, since the thickness of the positive electrode input terminal 22 in the vicinity including each contact position is uniform, the size of the contact portion or the contact region is based on the arm portions 205A and 206A and the fitting portion of the arm portions 225 and 226. If they are uniform, a good conduction state can be realized, so that the movement of the contact position does not cause any problem.

  FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the upper terminal component 200 and the lower terminal component 220A of the fourth modified example of the present embodiment. FIG. FIG. In the fourth modification, only the shapes of the arm portions 225A and 226A of the lower terminal component 220A are different from those of the first embodiment, and other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Here, the arm portions 225A and 226A are extended to the front side, and the positions of the fitting portions of the lower arm portions 225A and 226A are positioned more forward than the positions of the fitting portions of the upper arm portions 205 and 206. I tried to do it. Correspondingly, the rear end position of the short bar 79 is also set to the front side compared to the prior art. Further, a semicircular cutout 72d was formed under the positive electrode terminal 72B. This notch 72d may cause the positive terminal 72B to come into contact with the arm portions 225A and 226A by providing the notch 72d when the positive terminal 72B and the terminal part 79b of the device side terminal move to the arrow 45b for some reason. This is to greatly reduce the amount.

  FIG. 17 (2) is a diagram showing a state in which the power tool main body 1 is connected to a main body side terminal. Two sets of arm portions 205 and 206 and arm portions 225A and 226A are fitted to the positive electrode input terminal 22 on the electric tool main body 30 side. Here, the position of the contact portion by the arm portions 205 and 206 is separated from the position of the contact portion by the arm portions 225A and 226A by a distance L in the front-rear direction. However, since the size of the contact portion or contact area is equalized by the arm portions 205 and 206 and by the fitting portions of the arm portions 225A and 226A, a good conduction state is obtained as in the first embodiment. realizable.

  FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing the shape of the terminal portion on the side of the electric power tool main body 30A according to the fifth modification of the present embodiment. In the fifth modification, the positions of the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the first embodiment and the position of the short bar are turned upside down. Here, the upper positive terminal 162 and the upper negative terminal 167 are short-circuited by the short bar 89. The short bar 89 can use the same parts as the short bar 59 (see FIG. 6) of the first embodiment, and may be cast into a synthetic resin base of the terminal portion of the electric power tool body. . The positive input terminal 82 is similar to the positive input terminal 52 (see FIG. 6) of the first embodiment in that it includes a terminal portion 82a, a connecting portion 82b, and a wiring terminal portion 82c. Since the position where the portion 82c is provided must be on the rear side rather than the upper surface of the terminal portion, the shapes of the connection portion 82b and the wiring terminal portion 82c are changed. Similarly, the position of the wiring terminal portion 87c is also different in the negative input terminal 87. The connection state between the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 is also changed in accordance with the positions of the positive electrode input terminal 82 and the negative electrode input terminal 87 being shifted in the terminal portion. That is, the lower positive electrode terminal 172 and the upper negative electrode terminal 167 are connected to the upper cell unit 146, and the upper positive electrode terminal 162 and the lower negative electrode terminal 177 are connected to the lower cell unit 147.

  As described above, even if the position where the short bar 89 is provided is changed, the battery pack with the automatic voltage switching mechanism of this embodiment can be realized. By adopting this configuration, the mounting position of the wiring terminal portions 82c and 87c can be pulled out to the rear rather than to the upper side of the terminal portion (see FIG. 7). This increases the degree of freedom in designing the terminal part on the side. The function of the short bar 89 can be achieved by having a terminal portion 89b and a terminal portion 89c and short-circuiting them, so there is no need to connect the connecting portion 89a with a metal plate, and a conductive member. It may be realized by any other method that can form an electrical connection relationship with, for example, connecting with a lead wire or connecting with a fuse element.

  FIG. 19 is a circuit diagram showing a state in which the battery pack 100 of this embodiment is connected to the conventional electric power tool body 1. The conventional electric power tool body 1 includes a positive input terminal 22, a negative input terminal 27, and an LD terminal 28 on the device side. A trigger switch 4 and a DC motor 5 are connected between the positive input terminal 22 and the negative input terminal 27. Between the motor 5 and the negative input terminal 27, a switching element M101 made of a semiconductor is provided. The drain-source of the switching element M101 is connected to the power supply path of the motor 5, and the gate is connected to the positive input terminal 22 via the resistor R101. The gate of the switching element M101 is connected to the LD terminal 28 via the resistor R102. Usually, the LD terminal 28 on the battery pack 100 side is in a high impedance state. At that time, a positive voltage is applied to the gate of the switching element M101 via the resistor R101, and the switching element M101 is in a conductive state. At this time, if the LD terminal 168 is dropped to the ground potential from the battery pack 100 side by the discharge inhibition signal 341, the gate potential of the switching element M101 becomes a voltage obtained by dividing the voltage of the positive input terminal 22 by the resistors R101 and R102. The divided potential is a potential that interrupts the source and drain of the switching element M101. As a result, since the power supply path to the motor 5 is interrupted, the rotation of the motor 5 is stopped. The switching of the potential of the LD terminal 168 is performed by the control of the control unit 350 on the battery pack 100 side. When the voltage of the battery cell is lowered to a predetermined value, a so-called overdischarge state, This is executed when the flowing current exceeds a prescribed upper limit value or when the temperature of the battery cell exceeds the upper limit value.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the battery pack 100 includes an upper positive terminal (upper +) 162, a lower positive terminal (lower +) 172, an upper negative terminal (upper-) 167, and a lower negative terminal (lower +) 177. In addition, an LD terminal 168 is provided as a signal terminal. In addition to these, the battery pack 100 is provided with other signal terminal groups (T terminal 164, V terminal 165, LS terminal 166), which are not shown here. The output of the upper cell unit 146 is connected to the upper positive terminal 162 and the lower negative terminal 177. That is, the positive electrode (+ output) of the upper cell unit 146 is connected to the upper positive terminal 162, and the negative electrode (− output) of the upper cell unit 146 is connected to the lower negative terminal 177. Similarly, the positive electrode (+ output) of the lower cell unit 147 is connected to the lower positive electrode terminal 172, and the negative electrode (− output) of the lower cell unit 147 is connected to the upper negative electrode terminal 167.

  The upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are obtained by connecting five lithium ion battery cells in series. The upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are connected to a protection IC 300 and a control unit 350 for monitoring the voltage of the battery cell. The protection IC 300 executes a cell balance function, a cascade connection function, and a disconnection detection function in addition to an overcharge protection function and an overdischarge protection function by inputting a voltage across each battery cell of the upper cell unit 146. This is an integrated circuit marketed as “lithium ion battery protection IC”. The protection IC 300 has a built-in power supply circuit that obtains an operating power supply for the protection IC from the voltage of the upper cell unit 146. Further, the protection IC 300 outputs a signal (high signal) 305 indicating overdischarge to the control unit 350 when the voltage of the battery cell of the upper cell unit 146 falls below a predetermined value and enters an overdischarge state. When the voltage of the battery cell of the upper cell unit 146 reaches a predetermined value or more during charging and is in an overcharged state, a signal (high signal) 306 indicating overcharge is output to the control unit 350.

  A protection IC 320 is connected to the lower cell unit 147. Here, the control unit 350 is further provided in the circuit of the lower cell unit 147, that is, in the circuit between the lower positive terminal 172 and the upper negative terminal 167. That is, the protection circuit provided in parallel with the upper cell unit 146 is configured only by the protection IC 300, whereas the protection circuit provided in parallel with the lower cell unit 147 is configured by the protection IC 320 and the control unit 350. . The control unit 350 includes an MCU (Micro Controller Unit, so-called “microcomputer”). The control unit 350 includes outputs from the protection IC 300 (overdischarge signal 305 and overcharge signal 306), outputs from the protection IC 320 (overdischarge signal 325 and overcharge signal 326), and signals from the cell temperature detection unit 331. Is entered. The microcomputer of the control unit 350 includes, for example, a voltage detection circuit called an analog front end (AFE), and measures the current value flowing from the output voltage of the current detection circuit 327 to the lower cell unit 147. A power supply for driving the control unit 350 is generated by the power supply circuit 321 connected to the lower cell unit 147, and the power supply power (VDD 1) is supplied to the control unit 350.

  A shunt resistor 329 is provided on the ground side of the lower cell unit 147, but no shunt resistor is provided on the upper cell unit 146 side. This is because when the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are connected in series, the current value can be measured only by the shunt resistor 329. On the other hand, when the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are connected in parallel, the measured current value on the upper cell unit 146 side cannot be measured. However, the control unit 350 only needs to monitor that the current value of the upper cell unit 146 is equivalent to that of the lower cell unit 147. Note that a shunt resistor and a voltage detection circuit may be provided on the ground side of the upper cell unit 146, and the current value on the lower cell unit 147 side may be directly monitored by the microcomputer of the control unit 350.

  The control unit 350 monitors the current value and the cell temperature, monitors the states of the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147, and controls both of the operation states in an integrated manner. Further, when the power tool main body 1 needs to be stopped urgently, the electric power tool main body 1 is operated via the LD terminal 28 by issuing a discharge inhibition signal 341 and changing the potential of the LD terminal 168. Stop. The most important thing for monitoring by these control units 350 is the amount of current flowing through the battery cells included in the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147. In recent electric power tools, it has become possible to extract a large current from the battery pack 100 as the performance of the battery cell is improved and the capacity is increased. However, from the viewpoint of life and heat generation, it is preferable to limit the battery cell to a predetermined amount of current (current upper limit value or less). Therefore, the controller 350 monitors the current value by using the shunt resistor 329 and the current detection circuit 327 interposed in the middle of the power supply line of the lower cell unit 147 in order to particularly monitor the current flowing through the battery cell. .

  The protection circuit for managing the lower cell unit 147 including the protection IC 320, the control unit 350, the power supply circuit 321, the current detection circuit 327, etc. is integrated in one chip and used as a “battery management IC”. May be. On the other hand, the protection IC 300 for the upper cell unit 146 may be the same as that widely used in the conventional battery pack 15 (see FIG. 1), and is commercially available as a “battery protection IC” for 5 cells. It is what. The operation of the protection IC 320 is substantially the same as that of the protection IC 300, and when the state in which the voltage of the battery cell in the lower cell unit 147 has dropped to a predetermined lower limit (overdischarge state) is detected, the overdischarge signal 325 is controlled. To 350. In addition, when the battery pack 100 is attached to an external charging device (not shown) and charging is performed, the protection IC 320 detects that the voltage of the battery cell has exceeded a predetermined upper limit value, and overcharges. An overcharge signal 326 indicating the state is sent to the control unit 350. The control unit 350 sends a charge stop signal to a charging device (not shown) via the LS terminal 166 (see FIG. 4). As described above, since the protection circuit for battery cells is mounted on each of the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147, battery protection by fine battery monitoring can be realized.

  In the present embodiment, the protection circuit of the upper cell unit 146 includes only the protection IC 300 and does not include a microcomputer, whereas the protection circuit of the lower cell unit 147 includes a control unit 350 including a microcomputer in addition to the protection IC 300. . Then, the power supply circuit 321 generates power for operating the control unit 350 by using the lower cell unit 147 with electric power. Since the battery pack 100 of the present embodiment is a voltage switching type of 18V and 36V, when a microcomputer is mounted on the protection circuit on the upper cell unit 146 side, the control unit 350 can be connected when the two cell units are connected in series and in parallel. The ground potential changes. On the other hand, if the power supply circuit 321 is provided on the lower side, the ground potential of the power supply circuit 321 does not change. Therefore, in this embodiment, the control unit 350 equipped with a microcomputer is provided not in the circuit of the upper cell unit 146 but in the circuit of the lower cell unit 147. With the arrangement of the microcomputer, the controller 350 including the microcomputer can be operated stably even when the output voltage is switched between the rated voltage of 18V and 36V.

  Providing the control unit 350 including the microcomputer only in the circuit on the one cell unit side causes a problem of unbalance in power consumption between the two cell units. Although the power consumption by the control unit 350 is extremely small, the power consumption on the lower cell unit 147 side is larger than the power consumption on the upper cell unit 146 side. It is not preferable that the unbalanced state of power consumption continues for a long time because the potential on the lower cell unit 147 side is lower than that on the upper cell unit. In particular, when the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are connected in parallel to output a rated voltage of 18 V, the circulating current flows due to voltage imbalance between the cell units immediately after the parallel connection state is established. Therefore, in this embodiment, the consumption current control means 310 is provided in the circuit of the upper cell unit 146 that consumes less power, and has a function of adjusting the consumption current amount with the lower cell unit 147. The current consumption control means 310 is interposed between the two cell units on the side with less power consumption, here the upper cell unit 146, and is a circuit board as a load circuit separate from the integrated protection IC 300. 150 (see FIG. 4).

  The consumption current control means 310 is controlled to operate in conjunction with the operation of the control unit 350. The microcomputer included in the control unit 350 can switch between holding and releasing the power supply voltage (VDD1) applied to itself, and has a normal operation state (normal mode) and an operation stop state (so-called sleep state). While the microcomputer of the control unit 350 holds the power supply voltage VDD1, the protection IC 300 is also set in the operating state by switching the state of the activation terminal 301 used as the control signal. In this embodiment, the circuit of the current consumption control unit 310 is devised so that when the microcomputer of the control unit 350 holds the power supply voltage VDD1, a current for adjusting the power consumption is linked to the current consumption control unit 310 in conjunction with it. Further, the current consumption control unit 310 switches the state of the start terminal 301. As a result, the protection IC 300 is activated in conjunction with the activation of the control unit 350. Since the power supply circuit 321 of the control unit 350 is shared with the protection IC 320, the protection IC 320 is activated at the same time when the microcomputer is activated. The current consumption consumed by the cell set (lower cell unit 147) to which the control unit 350 is connected by the current consumption control unit 310 is the same as that consumed by other cell sets (upper cell unit 146).

  The consumption current control means 310 is an electric circuit including a plurality of switching elements M31 to M33 such as FETs and a plurality of resistors (resistors R31 to R35). The basic circuit configuration is that a series connection of resistors R31 and R34 serving as two pseudo loads is connected between both terminals of the cell unit 146, and the circuit is switched on or off by a switching element M32. . The source terminal of the switching element M32 is connected to the positive electrode of the upper cell unit 149, and the drain terminal is connected to the resistor R31. The gate terminal of the switching element M32 is connected to the connection point of the resistors R32 and R35. One end of the resistor R32 is connected to the source terminal of the switching element M32, and the other end is connected to the gate terminal. The resistor R35 has one end connected to the gate terminal of the switching element M32 and the other end connected to the drain terminal of the switching element M33. The switching element M33 inputs the power supply voltage (VDD1) of the microcomputer included in the control unit 350 to the gate signal, and switches on or off in conjunction with the power supply voltage VDD1. The source terminal of the switching element M33 is grounded, and a resistor R33 is connected between the source terminal and the gate terminal. The resistor R33 is provided so that the switching element M33 is stably switched by a voltage change of the gate signal. In such a consumption current control means 310, when the power supply voltage VDD1 of the microcomputer is off, the gate potential of the switching element M33 is 0V. Then, the switching element M33 is turned off. When the switching element M33 is in the OFF state, since the switching element M32 is also in the OFF state, the current path to the pseudo load side by the resistors R31 and R34 is cut off, so that the power consumption by the consumption current control unit 310 is zero. In order to turn off the protection IC 300 in this state, a switching element M31 for inputting the potential at the connection point between the resistors R31 and R32 as a gate signal (operation signal 302) is further provided. The drain terminal of the switching element M31 is connected to the start terminal 301 of the built-in power supply (not shown) of the protection IC 300, and the source terminal is connected to the negative electrode of the upper cell unit 146. The operation signal 302 is a signal indicating the operating state of the current consumption control unit 310. When the operation signal 302 is at a low level, the current consumption control unit 310 is operating, that is, the microcomputer of the control unit 350 is also operating. . On the other hand, when the current consumption control unit 310 is not operating, that is, when the microcomputer of the control unit 350 is stopped, the operation signal 302 becomes low and the activation terminal 301 enters a high impedance state, so that the protection IC 300 stops.

  The negative electrode potential (reference potential A) of the upper cell unit 146 is the ground potential when the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are connected in parallel, but is equal to the positive electrode potential of the lower cell unit 147 when connected in series. In this connected state, when the potential of the upper cell unit 146 is not applied to the resistor R31, the switching element M31 is turned off, so that the start terminal 301 is not connected. On the other hand, when the switching element M32 is turned on and a current flows through the pseudo load, the divided voltage of the resistors R31 and R32 flows to the gate terminal of the switching element M31, so that the switching element M31 is turned on. Then, since the activation terminal 301 is connected to the reference potential A, power is supplied to the built-in power supply in the protection IC 300, and the protection IC 300 is activated. With the connection configuration as described above, the current consumption control means 310 can consume the power consumption of the microcomputer on the lower cell unit 147 side even in the circuit of the upper cell unit 146. Furthermore, the activation and stop control of the protection IC 300 itself can be performed in accordance with the switching of the current consumption control means 310 between moving and stopping. Therefore, the microcomputer of the control unit 350 can perform activation or deactivation control in conjunction with the protection circuit of the lower cell unit 147 and the protection circuit of the upper cell unit 146.

  There are three stages of microcomputer states: normal, sleep, and shutdown. Normal is a state where the microcomputer is always activated. Sleep is a mode in which the microcomputer intermittently starts itself, and repeats the operation of stopping for 5 seconds after starting for 50 milliseconds. The shutdown is a state where the power supply voltage VDD1 is not supplied at all and the microcomputer is completely stopped. The microcomputer operates both when the battery pack 100 is attached to the electric power tool body 1 and when it is not attached. However, when the battery pack 100 is not attached or when the electric tool has not been used for a certain period of time even when it is attached, for example, the trigger operation is not performed for about 2 hours after the trigger operation is completed. If so, the microcomputer goes to sleep. Even in the sleep state, the current consumption control means 310 operates in conjunction with the activation of the microcomputer, and the protection IC 300 is also activated via the current consumption control means 310. When the trigger switch 4 of the electric power tool body 1 is pulled and a current flows through the motor 5, the microcomputer of the control unit 350 detects an increase in the current value detected by the current detection circuit 327 and returns to the normal state.

  In this embodiment, when a microcomputer is included in only one protection circuit among a plurality of provided cell units, the potential difference between the plurality of cell units is increased by leaving the battery pack removed for a long period of time. Has been solved by adding current consumption control means 310 that consumes power for the microcomputer to the protection circuit of another cell unit that is not provided with a microcomputer, so that the balance of current consumption for each of the plurality of cell units can be adjusted. And a battery pack that does not deteriorate the voltage balance of each cell unit even after long-term storage.

  The battery pack 100 is provided with a remaining capacity display means 335 for displaying the remaining battery level. When a switch 190 (see FIG. 4) for displaying the remaining battery level is pressed, the remaining battery level becomes four light emitting diodes (not shown). )). Although not shown here, the signal of the switch 190 for displaying the remaining amount is input to the control unit 350, and the microcomputer of the control unit 350 controls the lighting of the light emitting diodes of the remaining capacity display unit 335. Here, the remaining battery capacity displayed by the remaining capacity display means 335 may be displayed based on the voltage across one of the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147, or 10 batteries. The battery cell may be displayed based on the lowest voltage value.

  The output of the upper voltage detection circuit 322 connected to the upper positive terminal 162 is input to the control unit 350. This output indicates the potential of the upper cell unit 146 when the battery pack 100 is not attached to the power tool main bodies 1 and 30 or an external charging device (not shown). On the other hand, when the power tool body 1 for low voltage (18V) is mounted, the upper positive terminal 162 and the lower positive terminal 172 are connected, so that the positive electrodes of the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are connected. It becomes the same potential, and each negative electrode becomes the same potential. From this, the microcomputer included in the control unit 350 compares the potential of the upper positive terminal 162 with the potential of the lower positive terminal 172, so that the battery pack 100 is not attached or the main body of the low voltage device It is possible to determine whether it is attached to a high voltage device. In order to detect the potential of the lower positive terminal 172, it is preferable that the control unit 350 can acquire the positive potential of the uppermost battery cell 147a among the battery cells in the lower cell unit 147. As described above, the microcomputer provided in the circuit of the lower cell unit 147 is in a state where the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 of the battery pack 100 are connected in series (a state where the battery unit is mounted on a 36V device). Or in a state of being connected in parallel (a state in which 18V equipment is mounted). In this way, the microcomputer can monitor the voltage value on the upper cell unit 146 side exceeding the range (the voltage in the lower cell unit 147) from which the power supply voltage is acquired. Determination of 100 connection states and optimal control according to the determined connection state can be performed.

  The LD terminal 168 is a terminal for transmitting a signal for stopping the electric power tool main body 1 from the battery pack 100 side or a signal for stopping the operation of an electric device using a battery pack (not shown) as a power source. In order to change the state of the LD terminal 168, the control unit 350 changes the gate signal (discharge prohibition signal 341) input to the semiconductor switching element M41 from the normal low state (“discharge permission” from the battery pack 100). The state is switched to a high state (“discharge prohibited” from the battery pack 100). The switching element M41 is, for example, a P-type field effect transistor (FET), the drain side is connected to the LD terminal 168, and the source side is grounded. For this reason, when the switching element M41 is normal (the discharge inhibition signal 341 is low), the LD terminal 28 is in a high impedance state, and the potential of the LD terminal 28 is substantially equal to the voltage of the positive electrode input terminal 22 on the power tool body 1 side. equal. On the other hand, when the discharge inhibition signal 341 is switched to high by the control from the control unit 350, the source and drain of the switching element M41 are grounded by conduction, so that the potential of the LD terminal 28 on the power tool body 1 side is grounded. It will fall to potential. As a result, the gate potential of the switching element M101 on the power tool main body 1 side, that is, the voltage dividing potential due to the voltage dividing resistors R101 and R102 is reduced, so that the source and drain of the switching element M101 become non-conductive. 1 is interrupted, and the motor 5 is prevented from rotating. As described above, since the rotation of the motor 5 of the electric power tool main body 1 can be prevented by the discharge inhibition signal 341 generated by the control unit 350 of the battery pack 100, the control unit 350 has to stop the power supply from the battery pack 100. For example, when an excessive current during discharge, a drop in cell voltage during discharge (overdischarge), an abnormal rise in cell temperature (overtemperature), etc., the operation of electric tools and electrical equipment can be stopped quickly. In addition, not only the battery pack 100 but also the power tool body 1 can be protected.

  FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram of the battery pack 100 according to the present embodiment, and shows a state in which the battery pack 100 is connected to an 18V electric power tool main body 1A with a main body side microcomputer. Here, the internal configuration on the battery pack 100 side is completely the same as that shown in FIG. 19, and only the configuration on the side of the electric power tool main body 1A is different. A microcomputer is not included on the power tool body 1 side shown in FIG. However, in recent electric tools, the use of the control unit 60 having a microcomputer for controlling the motor 5 has increased. The power tool main body 1A includes a power supply circuit 61, and the control unit 60 is operated by a constant low voltage (reference voltage VDD2) generated by the power supply circuit 61. The control unit 60 includes a microcomputer, and monitors and controls various states in the electric power tool main body 1A. The controller 60 is connected to an output of the battery voltage detection circuit 62 and a switch state detection circuit 63 that outputs a high or low signal according to the connection state of the trigger switch 34. In this embodiment, a DC motor 35 is provided in the power supply path between the positive input terminal 22 and the negative input terminal 27, and an operation switch for turning on or off the rotation of the motor 35 is provided in the circuit. 34 is provided. A semiconductor switching element M101 and a shunt resistor R111 are inserted between the motor 35 and the negative input terminal 27. The switching element M101 is, for example, an FET (field effect transistor), and the gate signal is transmitted by the control unit 60. The voltage across the shunt resistor R111 is detected by the current detection circuit 64, and the value is output to the control unit 60. In this circuit diagram, the motor 35 is illustrated as a DC motor with a brush, but a three-phase brushless motor may be driven using a known inverter circuit. In that case, the switching element M101 is connected in series in the power path input to the inverter circuit (not shown), or the control unit 60 controls the switching element (not shown) included in the inverter circuit instead of the switching element M101. The rotation of the motor 35 may be stopped.

  The LD terminal 28 of the electric tool main body 1A is connected to the control unit 60 via a resistor R112. A reference voltage VDD2 is further connected to the resistance R112 on the control unit 60 side via the resistance R113. Therefore, when the LD terminal 28 is in a high impedance state, a voltage close to VDD2 is applied to the input line 65 of the control unit 60. When the LD terminal 28 falls to the ground potential, the resistance R113 and R112 are divided. A voltage, that is, a voltage significantly lower than the reference voltage VDD2 is transmitted to the input port of the controller 60 through the input line 65. The control unit 60 detects a change in the potential of the input line 65 and controls the gate signal of the switching element M101 so as to allow or stop power supply to the motor 35.

  As described above, on the electric tool main body 1A side, a circuit for stopping the motor 35 according to the discharge inhibition signal input via the LD terminals 168 and 28 is provided, but the control unit 60 is provided on the electric tool main body 1A side. In the case of having the battery pack 100, the control unit 350 on the battery pack 100 side does not monitor the overcurrent to stop the motor 5 on the power tool body 1A side, but the control unit 60 on the power tool body 1A side does not stop the current detection circuit 64. It is preferable to directly monitor overcurrent using. When the control unit 350 on the battery pack 100 side monitors overcurrent, it is necessary to set an average control condition (overcurrent threshold) that can be applied to a plurality of power tool bodies. However, when the control unit 60 on the power tool main body 1A side monitors overcurrent, an optimal control condition (threshold for increasing the overcurrent) can be set for the power tool main body 1A. It is possible to avoid the power tool output limitation by setting a simple control condition (threshold value for lower overcurrent). This avoidance of output restriction is particularly effective for new power tools to be released in the future, and it is possible to realize control that makes the most of the ability of the new power tool body 1A.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 350 on the battery pack 100 side determines whether or not the control unit 60 having a microcomputer is included on the side of the electric power tool main body 1 or 1A to which the battery pack 100 is mounted, and according to the determination result. The conditions for overload protection on the battery pack 100 side are changed. Specifically, when the microcomputer is not included on the electric power tool body 1 side as shown in FIG. 19, the overcurrent limit value at the time of low voltage output is set to a threshold for the electric tool main body 1A without a microcomputer, for example, 20A (default value). Set to. What is necessary is just to set suitably how much this default value is made according to the capacity | capacitance and performance of the battery cell to be used. Since this overcurrent limit value is made equal to the value set in the conventional battery pack 15, the conventional microcomputer-less electric tool body 1A can be driven using the battery pack 100 of this embodiment. On the other hand, when the microcomputer is included on the power tool body 1A side, the overcurrent limit value at the time of low voltage output is not set on the battery pack 100 side, and the overcurrent value is monitored by the control unit 60 on the power tool body 1A side. I left it to the microcomputer. As a result, the control unit 60 can perform optimal current monitoring in accordance with the characteristics of the motor 5 being used and the structural characteristics of the power tool body 1A and the like, and limits the overcurrent limit value on the battery pack 100 side. It is possible to avoid the problem that the capability of the electric power tool main body 1A due to being too large cannot be exhibited effectively. Further, the power tool main body 1A can realize a high-output power tool by making the best use of the capacity of the battery pack 100. In this way, changing the conditions for overload protection on the battery pack 100 side on the low voltage side and the high voltage side is to further increase the output of the power tool main body for low voltage newly sold in the future, It means that the control unit 60 on the power tool main body side can perform the overload protection optimum for the power tool main body 1A while leaving room for further improvement.

  An LD terminal voltage detection circuit 328 for detecting a voltage value applied to the LD terminal 28 is used to determine whether or not the power tool body 1 or 1A side includes a control unit 60 having a microcomputer. Newly provided. The LD terminal voltage detection circuit 328 is connected to the LD terminal 168 via a connection line 342, and the LD terminal voltage detection circuit 328 outputs an output corresponding to the terminal voltage to the control unit 350. The microcomputer included in the control unit 350 includes a microcomputer on the power tool body side by measuring the LD terminal voltage after the battery pack 100 is mounted and when the discharge prohibition signal 341 is not issued. It is determined whether the part 60 exists. In the case of the electric power tool body 1 that does not have a microcomputer, as shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 19, a voltage substantially equal to that of the positive electrode input terminal 22 is applied to the LD terminal 28. Since the microcomputer of the control unit 350 detects the voltage of the upper positive terminal 162 by the upper voltage detection circuit 322, the microcomputer is included in the power tool body 1 by comparing the voltage of the upper positive terminal 162 with the LD terminal voltage. It can be determined whether or not. On the other hand, as can be seen from the circuit diagram of FIG. 20, in the case of the electric power tool main body 1A having a microcomputer, the LD terminal 28 has a voltage substantially equal to the reference voltage VDD2 (for example, 5V or 3.3V) for driving the microcomputer. Applied. Therefore, the microcomputer of the control unit 350 can easily determine that the microcomputer is included in the electric power tool main body 1 only by detecting the LD terminal voltage, without having to compare the voltage of the upper positive terminal 162 with the upper voltage detection circuit 322. . As described above, by providing the connection line 342 and the LD terminal voltage detection circuit 328, the control unit 350 includes an electronic control in which a low voltage drive control unit such as a microcomputer is included on the electric tool main body or the electric device main body side. It is possible to easily determine whether the tool is a compatible tool or a non-compatible tool. Further, according to the determination result, the control unit 350 can change control parameters for battery cell monitoring, for example, overload protection conditions. Here, the value of the control parameter to be changed may be stored in advance in a nonvolatile memory included in the microcomputer, and any one of the stored values may be read and set according to the determination result.

  FIG. 21 is a circuit diagram showing a state in which the battery pack 100 is mounted on the electric tool main body 30 capable of handling a high load. As a feature point of the electric power tool main body 30 that can cope with a high load, terminals (positive electrode input terminal 52, negative electrode input) corresponding to the positive electrode terminals (162, 172) and the negative electrode terminals (167, 177) of the battery pack 100, respectively. Terminal 87 and short bar terminal portions 59b and 59c). The short bar 59 is a metal part having a terminal part 59b on one side and a terminal part 59c on the other side. When the battery pack 100 is mounted on the electric tool body 30 side, the short bar 59 and the lower positive electrode terminal 172 are connected. The lower negative terminal 177 is short-circuited. Further, the positive input terminal 52 of the electric power tool body 30 is connected to the upper positive terminal 162, and the negative input terminal 87 is connected to the upper negative terminal 167. Thus, the output by the serial connection of the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147, that is, a rating of 36V, can be obtained using the shape of the main body side terminal divided into two. The configuration on the power tool main body 30 side is substantially the same as the internal configuration of the power tool main body 1A shown in FIG. The motor 45 is a motor for a rating of 36 V, but a brushless DC motor may be driven using an inverter circuit, similarly to the motor 35 shown in FIG. A switching element M101 is provided in series with the power circuit to the motor 45. The switching element M101 is controlled to be turned on or off by a gate signal output from the control unit 60, and the rotation of the motor 45 is stopped by turning off the switching element M101. Also in the high-voltage power tool main body 30, the procedure for sending the discharge inhibition signal 341 from the battery pack 100 side is exactly the same as the circuit shown in FIGS. That is, when the control unit 350 on the battery pack 100 side conducts the connection between the source and drain of the switching element M41 and the LD terminal 168 is dropped to the ground potential, the state is applied to the input port of the microcomputer included in the control unit 60. Since it is transmitted, the control unit 60 can detect it as a discharge inhibition signal from the battery pack 100 side. However, in the 36 V electric power tool main body 1, the discharge prohibition control due to overcurrent is performed by the control unit 60 on the tool main body side, and the battery pack 100 side does not participate in monitoring for overcurrent, or due to overcurrent. The stop threshold is set sufficiently high near the limit value of the battery cell so that the microcomputer of the control unit 350 does not substantially have to participate in monitoring the current value. As a result, it is possible to satisfactorily achieve both higher output of the battery pack 100 and compatibility with the conventional battery pack 15.

Next, a procedure for outputting a discharge inhibition signal by the control unit 350 of the battery pack 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The series of procedures shown in FIG. 22 can be executed by a microcomputer using a program stored in advance in the control unit 350, and is automatically executed when the battery pack 100 is activated. First, the microcomputer determines whether the connected power tool body is a low voltage (18V) device or a high voltage (36V) device, so that the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 of the battery pack 100 are It is determined whether the connection is parallel or serial (step 371). In the case of serial connection, the control parameters for the control unit 350 are set for serial connection (step 372). In the case of parallel connection, control parameters for parallel connection are set (step 373). Here, as the control parameters, for example, a current limit value I _max , a cell voltage upper limit value V _max during charging, a cell voltage lower limit value V _min during discharging, an upper limit value T _max of the cell temperature, and the like can be considered. Here, a 20A discharge current limit value I _max during the parallel connection, no setting the discharge current limit value I _max at the series connection (without limit), or parallel connection significantly larger value than the time (e.g. 40 to 80 A). The upper limit value T _max of the cell temperature during discharge is 80 ° C. regardless of series connection or parallel connection. The cell voltage lower limit value V _min during discharge is 2.5 V / cell regardless of series connection or parallel connection.

Next, the microcomputer determines from the monitoring result of each voltage of the battery cell included in the lower cell unit 147 whether or not there is a battery cell having a cell voltage lower limit value V _min that is a predetermined value or less (step) 374). If any battery cell has a cell voltage lower limit value V _min or less, the process proceeds to step 378. All cell voltage is larger than the cell voltage lower limit value _{V min} is then determined whether the over-discharge signal 305 from the protective IC300 side is high (step 375). When the overdischarge signal is high, it means that any battery cell of the upper cell unit 146 is below the cell voltage lower limit value V _min , and in this case, the process proceeds to step 378. If No at step 375, the peak current value detected by the current detection circuit 327 determines whether a predetermined threshold I ₁ or more (step 376). Here, the peak current value I may be detected purely by monitoring the instantaneous value of the peak current or by projecting in a steeple shape by dividing a certain time window and detecting the average current within the time window. You may make it exclude the influence of a serious electric current. Incidentally, in a state in which the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are connected in series, if not set the cell current limit value I _max, step 376 proceeds to step 377 is skipped.

Next, the battery temperature detected by cell temperature detecting means 331 determines whether a predetermined threshold above T ₁ (step 377). Here, the temperature was measured by providing a respective both thermistors TH1, TH2 of the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147, any temperature proceeds to step 378 If a threshold value above T _1. If the temperature of both is less than the thresholds _{T 1} at step 377, the process returns to step 371, if the thresholds _{T 1} or more, the microcomputer of the control unit 350 the electric power tool main body 1, 1A, 30 of the motor 5,35,45 The discharge inhibition signal 341 is sent to stop the operation and the switching element M41 is turned on to drop the LD terminal 168 to the ground potential, and then the process returns to step 371 (step 378). By repeating the above procedure, the control unit 350 can monitor the state of the battery cell, and can stop the operating state of the electric tool or the electric device on which the battery pack 100 is mounted by the discharge prohibition signal 341 as necessary. .

  Next, specific circuit configurations of the remaining capacity display means 335 and the upper voltage detection circuit 322 of the battery pack 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 23 shows the configuration of the remaining capacity display means 335 and the configuration of the upper voltage detection circuit 322 in detail, and the other configuration on the battery pack 100 side is the same as that of the battery pack 100 of FIGS. . The microcomputer of the control unit 350 has an input / output port (Input Output Port) group 353, and four of the input / output ports are connected to the light emitting diodes LD 0 to LD 3 in the remaining capacity display means 335. In the remaining capacity display means 335, a switching element M0 is provided between the power supply voltage VDD1 and each of the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3, and one of the four input / output ports IO0 to IO3 is connected to the gate. Is done. The other one (IO3) of the four input / output ports is connected to the gate terminal of the switching element M3. The switching element M3 is used for control to connect or block between the source and drain of the switching element M4.

  The basic configuration of the upper voltage detection circuit 322 includes resistors R6 and R7, and an intermediate potential thereof is input to the input port AN0 of the control unit 350 as the voltage of the upper cell unit (upper voltage detection). A switching element M4 made of FET is interposed between the resistor R6 and the upper positive terminal 162. The gate terminal of the switching element M4 is connected to the drain terminal of the switching element M3 that is on / off controlled by the input / output port IO3. That is, when the input / output port IO3 is turned off when the light emitting diode LD3 is turned off, the switching element M3 is turned off, so that the gate potential of M4 remains high, so that the upper voltage detection is input to the input port AN1 of the microcomputer. The The input port group 352 (AN0, AN1, etc.) has an A / D conversion function for converting an input analog signal into a digital signal. On the other hand, when IO3 is set high to turn on the light emitting diode LD3, the switching element M3 is turned off, and the gate terminal of the switching element M4 is at the ground potential, so that the source and drain are disconnected. By connecting as described above, the control unit 350 can detect the voltage of the upper positive terminal 162 using the input port AN1.

  As described above, in addition to the input port AN0 for inputting the voltage of the upper positive terminal 162, the control unit 350 requires a total of three ports AN1 and AN2 for two input ports for inputting the output of the cell temperature detecting means 331. Become. The cell temperature detection means 331 includes two thermistors that measure the temperature of the upper cell unit 146 and thermistors that measure the temperature of the lower cell unit 147. However, in order to prepare a microcomputer having three input ports AN0 to AN3 in order to input the voltage of the upper positive terminal 162, the output of the thermistor TH1, and the output of the thermistor TH3, it is necessary to increase the cost of the microcomputer, This leads to an increase in size. Therefore, the configuration of FIG. 24 is devised so that these three inputs are shared by one input port AN1.

  FIG. 24 is an input / output circuit diagram of the microcomputer 351 in the control unit 350. In FIG. 24, the microcomputer 351 has an input port group 352 and an input / output port group 353. The input port group 352 has a function of converting an input analog signal into a digital signal, and one of the input ports AN1 is connected for signal input from the thermistors TH1 and TH2 and the upper voltage detection circuit 322A. The input / output port group 353 is an input / output port that serves both as an input port and an output port. Here, four of the input / output ports IO0 to IO3 are connected to the light emitting diodes (LD0 to LD3), respectively. The The input / output port IO0 is connected to a switching element M0 for ON / OFF control of power supply (VDD1) to the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD4. A resistor R5 is connected between the gate and the source of the switching element M0, and the switching element M0 and the resistor R5 serve as switching means 364 that controls lighting or extinguishing of the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD4. The input / output ports IO1 to IO3 are connected to the light emitting diodes LD1 to LD3 and to the gate terminals of the switching elements M1 to M3, respectively.

The two thermistors TH1 and TH2 have one terminal connected to the reference voltage VDD1 of the microcomputer 351 via a common resistor Ra, and the other connected to the ground via the switching elements M1 and M2. The thermistors TH1 and TH2 are, for example, NTC thermistors having a characteristic that the resistance value decreases as the temperature rises, and the microcomputer 351 measures the temperature of the battery cell by being arranged in the vicinity of the battery cell. Here, the thermistor TH1 may be disposed in the vicinity of the upper cell unit 146, and the thermistor TH2 may be disposed in the vicinity of the lower cell unit 147. The switching elements M1 and M2 are semiconductor switches that can be switched on and off electrically, with their drain terminals connected to one terminal of the thermistors TH1 and TH2, and their source terminals connected to the ground. The drain terminal of the switching element M3 is connected to the upper voltage detection circuit 322A via the resistor Rb. The gate terminals of these switching elements M1 to M3 are connected to the input / output ports IO1 to IO3 of the microcomputer 351, respectively.
The source terminal is grounded. Between the gate terminals and the source terminals of the switching elements M1 to M3, when the input / output ports IO1 to IO3 are opened, ground resistors R6 to R8 are provided in order to make the gate-source voltage 0 volts.

  The four light emitting diodes LD0 to LD4 can be of any color, and here are green or red. In the circuit of the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD4, current limiting resistors R0 to R3 are connected in series. Resistors R0 to R3 having the same resistance value can be used. Here, the input / output port IO0 is commonly connected to the gate terminal of the switching element M0 and to the light emitting diode LD0. Thus, by connecting the switching element M0 and the light emitting diode LD0 in parallel to the input / output port IO0, the input / output port IO0 can be set to either high or low, and the circuit surrounded by the dotted line is the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD0. It can be used as switching means 364 for switching whether or not the entire LD 3 is turned on. The other light emitting diodes LD1 to LD3 can be turned on by turning on the outputs of the input / output ports IO1 to IO3 to a low level (ground potential) while the light emitting diode LD0 is turned on.

  When the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3 are turned off, the input / output ports IO1 to IO3 select one of the thermistors TH1 and TH2 and the upper voltage detection circuit 322A and input the selected signal to the input port AN1. . That is, by setting the input / output port IO0 to low and switching one of the outputs of the input / output ports IO1 to IO3 to high at that time, the outputs of the thermistors TH1 and TH2 and the upper voltage detection circuit 322A are input to the input port AN1. It can be alternatively input. Even when any of the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3 is lit, the signal of the input / output port IO0 is set to high impedance only during the period in which the microcomputer 351 acquires the outputs of the thermistors TH1 and TH2 and the upper voltage detection circuit 322A. In this state, these outputs can be sequentially input to the input port AN1 in time series. At the time of input to the input port AN1, all the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3 are turned off. While the light is turned off, temperature detection by the thermistors TH1 and TH2 or voltage detection by the upper voltage detection circuit 322A is completed. The light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3 are returned to the original lighting state again. That is, the light emitting diode is turned off, the detection by the thermistor TH1, the light emitting diode is turned on again after a certain period of time, the light is turned off, the detection by the thermistor TH2, the light emitting diode is turned on again after the predetermined time, and the light is turned off. The procedure such as relighting the light emitting diode is repeated. The time required for the temperature detection by the thermistors TH1 and TH2 and the voltage detection by the upper voltage detection circuit 322A is, for example, 1 millisecond. If these detections are sequentially performed at intervals of 50 milliseconds, the light is turned off for 1 millisecond. Since there is a 49 millisecond lighting time after the second, temperature detection by the three thermistors TH1 and TH2 and voltage detection by the upper voltage detection circuit 322A can be completed in 150 milliseconds. At this time, when any one of the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3 is turned on, the light emitting diode is turned off for 1 millisecond every 50 milliseconds. For the human eye, it feels the same as continuous lighting, so temporary lighting is not a problem.

  FIG. 25 is a table showing the correspondence between the input / output ports IO0 to IO3 in FIG. 24 and the output states of each output device. The vertical axis indicates the lighting state of the light emitting diode (LED), the detection by the thermistors TH1 and TH2, and the voltage detection state by the upper voltage detection circuit 322A. The signal levels of the input / output port group 53 at that time are shown in columns 353a and 353b. Show. Here, for example, when the battery capacity is 25 to 50%, only the light emitting diode LD0 is lit, and when the battery capacity is 50% to 75%, the two light emitting diodes LD0 and LD1 are lit, and when the battery capacity is 75% to less than 100% Lights up the three light emitting diodes LD0 to LD2, and lights up the four light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3 when fully charged. First, control for turning on the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3 will be described. In order to turn on only the light emitting diode LD0 (LD0: ON), as shown in the second row of the column 353a, only the input / output port IO0 is set to low (ground potential) and IO1 to IO3 are set in a high impedance state. To turn on the two light emitting diodes LD0 and LD1 (LD0, 1: ON), as shown in the third row of the column 353a, the input / output ports IO0 and IO1 are set to low and IO2 and IO3 are set to the high impedance state. To do. To turn on the three light emitting diodes LD0 to LD2 (LD0, 1, 2: ON), as shown in the third row of the column 353a, the input / output ports IO0 to IO2 are set low, and only IO3 is in a high impedance state. To. In order to turn on all the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD4 (LD0, 1, 2, 3: ON), all the input / output ports IO0 to IO3 are set to low as shown in the fifth row of the column 353a. By controlling in this way, the remaining battery voltage can be displayed by turning on the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3. If the input / output port IO0 is set to high impedance as shown in the column 353a, all of the light emitting diodes LD0 to LD3 can be turned off.

  When temperature detection is performed by the thermistors TH1 and TH2, the input / output port IO0 of the input / output port group 353 is set high as shown in the column 353b, and the signal level of any one of the corresponding thermistors TH1 and TH2 is set. It may be high (VDD potential). For example, when IO1 is turned on during detection by the thermistor TH1, the switching element M1 is turned on, a predetermined voltage is applied to both ends of the thermistor TH1, and the microcomputer 351 changes the voltage value of the thermistor TH1 from the input port AN1. Can be detected. At the time of detection by the thermistor TH2, if IO2 is turned on, the switching element M2 is turned on, and the microcomputer 351 can detect the voltage value of the thermistor TH2 from the input port AN1. When the voltage is detected by the upper voltage detection circuit 322A, if the input / output port IO0 is set high and the IO3 is turned on, the switching element M3 is turned on, and the microcomputer 351 changes the voltage value of the thermistor TH3 from the input port AN1. Can be detected. At this time, the input / output ports IO1 and IO3 must be kept low. In this way, the signal level of IO1 to IO3 is sequentially switched from low to high while the signal of IO0 remains high in any state. Note that even if the input / output port IO0 is not high and is in a high-impedance state in which it is turned off, temperature detection by the thermistors TH1 and TH2 and voltage detection by the upper voltage detection circuit 322A can be performed alternatively. As described above, a plurality of input signals are input to the input port AN1 by switching using the signals of the input / output ports IO1 to IO3, so that only one input port AN1 is required and the input can be completed. The number of ports can be saved.

  FIG. 26 is a circuit diagram of a battery pack 100A according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state connected to the conventional electric power tool body 1. The rated voltage of the battery pack 100A is 18V and cannot be switched. The control unit including the microcomputer described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21 is not a voltage-switchable battery pack 100 but a voltage-fixed type. This is applied to the battery pack 100A. 26, the electric power tool main body 1 shown on the left side is completely the same as the electric power tool main body 1 shown in FIG. The battery pack 100A is obtained by removing the upper cell unit 146, the protection circuit (protection IC 300) associated therewith, the consumption current control means 310, the lower positive terminal 172, and the lower negative terminal 177 from the battery pack 100 shown in FIG. It is a form. Here, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same elements and circuits. The cell unit 148 is substantially the same as the lower cell unit 147, but there is no distinction between the upper side and the lower side, and the shape of the separator (not shown) that holds the battery cells changes, so that different reference numerals are used. Is attached. In the conventional battery pack 15, the cell unit 148 is monitored only by the protection IC 320 without providing the control unit 350 shown in FIG. However, in this embodiment, in addition to the protection IC 320, a control unit 350 having a microcomputer is added to the protection circuit of the battery cell. By adopting the protection circuit provided with the microcomputer in this way, on the battery pack 100A side, it is possible to determine whether or not the microcomputer is included in the power tool body side, and depending on the presence or absence, the microcomputer of the battery pack 100A side can be determined. It becomes possible to change the control.

  When the battery pack 100A is attached to the electric tool main body 1A and the trigger switch 34 is pulled and a current flows, the control unit 350 returns from the start or sleep state and enters the normal mode. At the start to the normal mode, the battery pack 100A measures the voltage of the LD terminal 168 by the LD terminal voltage detection circuit 328. By this measurement, the control unit 350 can detect whether or not the microcomputer is included in the electric power tool main body 1A. Therefore, when the microcomputer is present, the control parameter is changed. In the example of FIG. 26, since the control unit 350 determines that the power tool body 1 is “no microcomputer”, the control parameter remains the setting for the power tool without the microcomputer, that is, the default value. As the control parameters, there are an overcurrent threshold, an overdischarge voltage value, an upper limit value of the battery cell temperature, and the like, as shown in the first embodiment.

  The current flowing through the cell unit 148 is measured by the microcomputer included in the control unit 350 by monitoring the voltage across the shunt resistor 329 with the current detection circuit 327. As a result of this measurement, when the control parameter for current monitoring exceeds the overcurrent threshold, the microcomputer of the control unit 350 stops the rotation of the motor 35 by setting the discharge inhibition signal 341 to high. In this way, the current value is not monitored by the protection IC 320 but by the microcomputer of the control unit 350, various controls using the microcomputer can be performed.

FIG. 27 is a circuit diagram of the battery pack 100A according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state in which the battery pack 100A is connected to an 18V electric power tool body 1A with a microcomputer. In this figure, the power tool main body 1A shown on the left side is completely the same as that shown in FIG. The battery pack 100A shown on the right side is completely the same as that shown in FIG. The overload protection condition switching in the control unit 350 mainly becomes a current limit value during discharging. When the battery pack 100A is attached to the conventional power tool body 1 that does not have a microcomputer, the control unit 350 limits the current limit value I _max to about 20A. However, if it contains a microcomputer to the power tool body 1A, since the current monitoring of the power tool body by a body-side microcomputer, there is no need to provide a current limit value I _max to be set by the control unit 350. Therefore, the control unit 350 does not provide the current limit value I _max or sets the current upper limit value (eg, 60 A) that can be taken out from the cell unit 148. This upper limit of current that can be taken out is not determined by the constraints on the side of the electric power tool body 1A, but depends on the performance of the battery cell. Thus, since it is not necessary to limit the capacity of the battery pack more than necessary on the battery pack 100A side, the electric power tool main body 1A corresponds to the battery pack that can extract more and more current by improving the performance of the battery cell. The side will be able to maximize its capabilities. In addition, since the same current limitation is performed on the conventional electric power tool body 1 as well, the battery pack 100A having high compatibility and high reliability can be realized. In the second embodiment, switching overload protection conditions is not limited to the peak current value and the average current value, and the cell temperature detection value, the overdischarge voltage value, and the like may be changed. In addition to providing a threshold value for these values and not only overload protection depending on whether or not the threshold value is exceeded, calculation using these parameters by utilizing the fact that the control unit 350 includes a microcomputer. By performing the above, overload protection according to the calculation result may be performed. By using the arithmetic expression in this way, control is performed so that the overdischarge voltage changes when the cell voltage is high and low, for example, when the cell temperature is high, the overdischarge voltage threshold is increased, and the cell temperature is increased. When it is high, it is possible to control the low overdischarge voltage threshold. As a result of monitoring by the control unit 350, when the power tool needs to be stopped, the control unit 350 sends a discharge prohibition signal 341 to the switching element M41, and the power source is connected between the source and the drain of the switching element M41. The LD terminal 28 on the main body 1A side becomes a low level, and the rotation of the motor 5 stops.

  FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing a battery pack 400 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The battery pack 400 is provided with a plurality of connection terminals that are engaged with and electrically connected to terminals of the charging device or the tool body. The connection terminal provided here is composed of two connection terminal components that are separated in the vertical direction, and is characterized by the shape of the connection terminal component. The appearance of the battery pack 400 is substantially the same as that of the battery pack 100 shown in the first embodiment, and the only difference in appearance is the stepped portion (115a in FIG. 12) partially raised on the upper step surface 415. 115b) and a recess portion (refer to 111a in FIG. 12) is not formed at the left front corner of the lower step surface 411. A plurality of slots 420 are arranged at the stepped portion of the connecting portion between the upper step surface 415 and the lower step surface 111. The width and size of the slot 420 are substantially the same as those of the battery pack 100 of the first embodiment. A raised portion 432 is formed on the rear side of the upper surface, and latches 441 are provided on both the left and right sides of the raised portion 432.

  Ten battery cells 446 are accommodated in the lower case 401. Here, an upper cell unit and a lower cell unit in which five cells are connected in series are provided, and a rating of 18 V, which is an output of the parallel connection of these cell units, is output. That is, the battery pack 400 is a fixed voltage type. Each of the connection terminals constitutes one terminal with the upper terminal component and the lower terminal component. That is, the positive electrode terminal for charging is constituted by the upper positive electrode terminal 461 and the lower positive electrode terminal 471, which are short-circuited. The positive terminal for discharge is composed of an upper positive terminal 462 and a lower positive terminal 472, which are short-circuited. Note that a set of the upper positive terminal 461 and the lower positive terminal 471 and the upper positive terminal 462 and the lower positive terminal 472 are connected by a self-control protector (not shown).

  The negative terminal is composed of an upper negative terminal 467 and a lower negative terminal 477, which are connected. Since one connection terminal is divided into two connection terminal parts in this way, the number and total area of contact parts with the device-side terminal on the electric power tool main body 1 side are increased, and vibration due to operation of the electric power tool is increased. Problems such as heat generation due to poor contact that are likely to occur are unlikely to occur, and the battery pack 400 can be used stably over a long period of time.

  Among the connection terminals, signal terminals for signal transmission, that is, a T terminal group (upper T terminal 464 and lower T terminal 474), a V terminal group (upper V terminal 465 and lower V terminal 475), an LS terminal group (upper side) The LS terminal 466 and the lower LS terminal 476) and the LD terminal group (the upper LD terminal 468 and the lower LD terminal 478) are each configured by two terminals, and the upper and lower terminals are connected to have the same potential. . The upper connection terminals (461-462, 464-468) and the lower connection terminals (471-472, 474-478) are fixed on the circuit board 450. The circuit board is equipped with an IC for protecting the battery cell, but is not provided with a microcomputer or a light emitting diode for displaying the remaining battery level.

  FIG. 29 is a partially enlarged view of the connection terminal of FIG. The upper terminal components (465-468) and the lower terminal components (476-478) are both substantially L-shaped in a side view, and are arranged on the circuit board 450 so that the legs of the upper and lower terminal components are aligned in the mounting direction. Fixed. This fixing method is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the solder is soldered from the back side of the circuit board 450 by passing the leg portion through the mounting hole of the circuit board 450. . Each of the upper terminal parts (465 to 468) and the lower terminal parts (476 to 478) is formed with a fitting portion bent into a substantially V shape so that a part of the gap between both side arm parts is narrow. The The fitting part in the conventional battery pack is arranged so that the substantially V-shaped peak portion is orthogonal to the insertion direction of the device-side terminal. That is, in the conventional terminal component, the ridgeline of the substantially V-shaped peak portion (for example, the inner surface side vertex portion of the portion indicated by the fitting portion 478c) is configured to extend vertically. However, in this embodiment, since the extending direction of the ridge line is not an up-down direction but is inclined, the length of the contact portion between the plate-shaped main body side terminal and the fitting part between the terminal parts is increased. did it.

  FIG. 30A is a perspective view showing the upper terminal part 480. However, illustration of the leg portion of the upper terminal component 480 is omitted, and only the portion located on the upper side of the circuit board 450 is shown. The upper terminal part 480 is formed by cutting a flat plate made of a conductive metal by pressing and then bending it into a U shape and forming a predetermined bent shape at the arm. Here, the U-shaped bottom surface, that is, the bridge portion 482 is bent so as to be on the rear side, and the right side surface 483 and the left side surface 484 are formed on the front side from the left and right sides of the bridge portion 482 extending in the vertical direction. The The right side surface 483 and the left side surface 484 are formed so as to be left-right symmetric, and the right side surface 483 and the left side surface 484 are parallel surfaces with a constant interval. Left and right arm portions 485 and 486 are formed on the front side from the upper front side of the right side surface 483 and the left side surface 484, and the base portions of the arm portions 485 and 486, ie, the flat portions 485a and 486a are formed on the right side surface 483 and the left side surface. This is a parallel plane in which the horizontal direction is the same as that of 484. On the front side of the flat portions 485a and 486a, bent portions 485b and 486a bent inward are formed. The bent portions 485b and 486a have a planar shape, but the bent portions facing outward are arranged so that the ridge lines of the peaks are inclined.

Fitting portions 485c and 486c are formed in front of the bent portions 485b and 486a so as to be folded in a substantially V shape. The fitting portions 485c and 486c are portions that are convex toward the inside. When the battery pack 100 is mounted, the peak portions inside the fitting portions 485c and 486c are in contact with the plate-like device-side terminals and slide. Therefore, the top portion (crest portion) be substantially V-shaped is formed by a large radius of curvature R ₁ or smaller radius of curvature. This means that the sliding resistance between the device-side terminal and the fitting portions 485c and 486c is small when sliding, and the contact area between the fitting portions 485c and 486c is large when non-sliding and in contact, thereby reducing the electrical contact resistance. Because. Guide portions 485d and 486d for guiding insertion of a plate-like device side terminal between the fitting portions 485c and 486c are connected to the front side of the fitting portions 485c and 486c. The guide portions 485d and 486d are substantially flat and have a shape that expands in the left-right direction as going forward. Therefore, the tip portions 485e and 486e of the arm portions 485 and 486 are shaped to be positioned below the arm portions 485 and 486. The tip portions 485e and 486e have round corners so as to draw a small radius of curvature.

  FIG. 30 (2) is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between the contact portions of the fitting portions 485c and 486c with the device-side terminals. Although only the left arm portion 486 is shown here, the shape of the right arm portion 485 is the same as long as it is plane-symmetrical. The arm portion 486 is constant as the width W in the height direction extends in the front-rear direction, but the contact portion of the fitting portion 486c is in a position indicated by a bold line. The contact portion indicated by the thick line is a linear contact portion or a narrow rectangular contact region. The contact length indicated by the bold line is W / cos θ times the length (= W) when the fitting portion 486c is formed on the vertical line. As described above, the contact portion or the contact region of the fitting portion 486c is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the contact portion or the contact region is inclined with respect to the mounting direction of the device-side terminal on the contact surface with the device-side terminal. The contact area with the device side terminal on the power tool main body side can be increased. As a result, the contact resistance between the device-side terminal and the fitting portion 486c can be reduced, and the heat generation of the terminal due to the increase in contact resistance can be effectively suppressed. Moreover, since generation | occurrence | production of the arc between apparatus side terminals can be suppressed, damage and fusing of the arm parts 485 and 486 can be prevented. As for the upper positive terminals 461 and 462 and the lower positive terminals 471 and 472 serving as power terminals, the positive terminals of the upper cell unit 146 and the lower cell unit 147 are respectively connected in the same manner as in the first embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the present invention may be applied to a battery pack that can be switched between a low voltage side and a high voltage side. In that case, in the fitting portion of the upper terminal component 200 (see FIG. 5) and the lower terminal component 220 (see FIG. 5) described in the first embodiment, the arm portion and the fitting portion of the third embodiment. The shape may be applied.

  The signal transmission terminals (upper terminal parts 464 to 466 and 468 and lower terminal parts 474 to 476 in FIG. 28 (2)) are also formed in two upper and lower fitting parts, and these are the same as the same potential. It was configured to flow a signal. However, the upper and lower portions of the signal terminal may be configured to increase the number of transmitted signals by separately forming the device side terminal on the electric power tool main body side as separate potentials. Further, regarding the signal transmission terminal, since it is less necessary to use terminal parts that are completely separated in the vertical direction, they may be formed as terminal parts that are connected in the vertical direction. Next, the shape of the terminal component 500 connected up and down will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing the shape of the terminal component 500. However, illustration of the leg portions of the terminal component 500 is omitted, and only the portion located above the circuit board 450 is shown. In the terminal component 500, an upper arm piece 506 and a lower arm piece 510 are formed by forming a notch groove 508 that divides the arm portion 505 in the upper and lower directions about half of the front side of the arm portion 505. Similarly, an upper arm piece 510 and a lower arm piece 511 are formed by forming a notch groove 512 that divides the arm part 509 vertically in the front half of the left arm part 509. As described above, since the upper arm pieces 506 and 507 and the lower arm pieces 510 and 511 are divided by the notched grooves 508 and 512, a configuration having two arm sets in one terminal component 500 is realized. And a signal terminal capable of maintaining a good fitting state can be realized. The upper terminal group (507, 507) and the lower terminal group (510, 511) are respectively fitted with fitting parts (506c, 507c) and fitting parts for fitting with plate-like main body side connection terminals. (510c, 511c) are formed (however, the fitting portion 510c is not visible in FIG. 31). The upper fitting portions (506c, 507c) are arranged such that the longitudinal direction of the contact portion or the contact region is oblique. Similarly, in the lower fitting portions (510c, 511c), the longitudinal direction of the contact portion or the contact region is arranged obliquely. The longitudinal direction of the contact part or contact region of the upper and lower fitting parts is arranged in a line. It should be noted that the upper and lower fitting portions are arranged so as to be in the same position when viewed in the front-rear direction, so that the longitudinal direction of the contact portion or contact area of the upper and lower fitting portions is not aligned. It may be arranged. Moreover, you may make it the direction of a reverse direction, without matching the direction of the inclination of the longitudinal direction of an upper part and a lower fitting part. For example, the shape of the upper arm set (506, 507) may be changed so that the lower terminal set (510, 511) is turned upside down, that is, a shape that is plane-symmetric with respect to the horizontal plane. . As described above, the length of the fitting portion is longer than that of the conventional example in which the fitting portion is orthogonal to the mounting direction by forming the contact region of the fitting portion in an oblique direction instead of the vertical direction. Since the length can be increased, the contact resistance can be reduced.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, the shapes (480, 500) of the connection terminals used in the voltage-fixed battery pack have been described. However, these terminal shapes are changed to the voltage switching battery pack as in the first embodiment. You may comprise so that it may apply to. For example, the arrangement of the fitting portions of the terminal component 500 shown in FIG. 31 may be employed in the signal terminal component 240 shown in FIG.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the Example, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned Example, A various change is possible within the range which does not deviate from the meaning. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the voltage switching type battery pack of 18V and 36V has been described. However, the voltage ratio to be switched is not limited to this, and other voltage ratios to be switched by a combination of series connection and parallel connection. Also good.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1A Electric tool main body 2 Housing 3 Handle part 4 Trigger switch (operation switch) 5 Motor 10 Battery pack mounting part 11a Rail groove 12 Curved part 14 Protrusion part 15 Battery pack 20 Terminal part 20a Vertical surface 20b Horizontal surface 21 Base 22 Positive electrode Input terminal 22a Terminal part 27 Negative input terminal 28 LD terminal 30 Electric tool main body 30A Electric tool main body 30B Electric tool main body 32 Housing 33 Handle part 34 Operation switch 35 Motor 40 Battery pack mounting part 45 Motor 50 Terminal part 51 Base 52 Positive electrode input Terminal 52a Terminal portion 52b Connection portion 52c Wiring portion 53 Input / output port group 53a Clearance 53b Clearance 54 Connection terminal 54a Terminal portion 54b Connection portion 54c Wiring portion 57 Negative electrode input terminal 57a Terminal portion 57b Connection portion 57c Wiring portion 58 LD Child 59 Short bar 59a Connection part 59b, 59c Terminal part 60 Control part 61 Power supply circuit 62 Battery voltage detection circuit 63 Switch state detection circuit 64 Current detection circuit 65 Input line 72A, 72B Positive electrode terminal 72d Notch 79 Short bar 79b Terminal part 79d Notch 82 Positive input terminal 82a Terminal portion 82b Connection portion 82c Wiring terminal portion 87 Negative input terminal 87a Terminal portion 87c Wiring terminal portion 89 Short bar 89a Connection portion 89b, 89c Terminal portion 100, 100A Battery pack 101 Lower case 101a Front Wall 101b Rear wall 101c Right side wall 101d Left side wall 103a, 103b Screw hole 104 Slit (wind window)
110 Upper case 111 Lower step surface 113 Opening portion 114 Step portion 115 Upper step surface 115a Protruding portion 120 Slot group arrangement region 121-128 Slot 131 Stopper portion 132 Raised portion 134 Slit (wind window) 138a, 138b Rail 141 Latch 142a Locking portion 142b Engagement Stop portion 145 Separator 146 Upper cell unit 147 Lower cell unit 147a Battery cell 148 Cell unit 149 Upper cell unit 150 Circuit board 150a Front side 150b Back side 151 Mounting holes 153a, 153b Lands 155, 155a Adhesive resin 156a (pour resin) Main area 156b Sub-areas 157 to 159 (in which resin is poured) Wiring patterns 161, 162 Upper positive terminal 162a, 162b Arm 164 T terminal 165 V terminal 166 LS terminal 167 Upper negative terminal 167a, 167b Arm 168 LD terminal 171 Lower positive terminal 172 Lower positive terminal 172a Arm 177 Lower negative terminal 177a, 177b Arm 180 Substrate cover 181 Connecting portion 181a Upper surface 181b Front wall 181c Notch 182 Partition wall 182a Vertical wall portion 182b Horizontal wall portion 182c Left end position 183 Partition wall 183a Vertical wall portion 183b, 183c Horizontal wall portion 184 Partition wall 184a, 184d Vertical wall portion 184b Horizontal wall portion 184c Blocking plate 185 Partition wall 187 Partition wall 187 Partition wall 187 Vertical wall portion 187b Horizontal wall portion 188 Partition wall 188a Vertical wall portion 188b Horizontal wall portion 190 Switch 191 Prism 200, 200A Upper terminal component 201 Base portion 202 Bridge portion 203 Right side surface 204 Left side surface 20 a, 204a Bent part 203b, 204b Protruding part 203c, 204c Cutout part 205, 206 Arm part 205a, 206a Plane part 205b, 206b Bend part 205c, 206c Plane part 205d, 206d Fitting part 205e, 206e Guide part 205f, 206f Notch portion 207, 208 Leg portion 207a, 208a Cutout portion 209 Clearance 211 Clearance 220, 220A Lower terminal component 221 Base portion 222 Bridge portion 223 Right side surface 223a Bent portion 223c Cutout portion 224 Left side surface 225, 225A, 226 Arm portion 225a, 226a Plane part 225b, 226b Bend part 225c, 226c Plane part 225d, 226d Fitting part 225e, 226e Guide part 225f, 226f Notch part 227, 228 Leg part 227a, 228a Notch part 231 Notch part 40 Signal terminal parts 241 Base portion 242 Bridge portion 243 Right side surface 243a Extension portion 243b Bending portion 243c Cutout portion 244 Left side surface 245, 246 Arm portion base portion 249, 250 Leg portion 249a Cutout portion 250a, 250b Stepped portion 251-254 Arm Part 256 Solder 260 Upper terminal part 262 Bridge part 263 Right side 263a Bent part 264 Left side 264b Dotted line 264c Reinforcing surface 265, 266 Arm part 265d Fitting part 267, 268 Leg part 280, 280A Lower terminal part 282 Bridge part 283 Right side surface 284 Left side surface 284b Dotted line 284c Cut-off portion 285, 286 Arm portion 285d Fitting portion 291 Notch portion 300 Protection IC 301 Start-up terminal 302 Operation signal 305 Overdischarge signal 306 Overcharge signal 310 Current consumption control means 32 0 Protection IC 321 Power supply circuit 322, 322A Upper voltage detection circuit 325 Overdischarge signal 326 Overcharge signal 327 Current detection circuit 328 LD terminal voltage detection circuit 329 Shunt resistor 331 Cell temperature detection means 335 Remaining capacity display means 341 Discharge prohibition signal 342 connection Line 350 Controller 351 Microcomputer 352 Input port group 353 Input / output port group 364 Switching means 400 Battery pack 401 Lower case 411 Lower stage surface 415 Upper stage surface 420 Slot 432 Raised portion 441 Latch 446 Battery cell 450 Circuit board 461, 462 Upper positive terminal 464 T terminal 465 V terminal 466 LS terminal 467 Upper negative terminal 468 LD terminal 471, 472 Lower positive terminal 474 T terminal 475 V terminal 476 LS terminal 477 Lower negative terminal 478 LD terminal 480 Upper Child part 482 Bridge part 483 Right side surface 484 Left side surface 485 Arm part 485a Flat part 485b Bending part 485c Fitting part 485d Guide part 485e Tip part 486 Arm part 486c Fitting part 500 Terminal part 505 Arm part 506, 507 Arm part piece 508 Notch groove 509 Arm part 510,511 Arm part piece 512 Notch groove AN1 Input port IO0-IO3 I / O port LD0-LD3 Light emitting diode TH1-TH3 Thermistor Imax (during discharge) Current limit value Tmax Upper limit value VCC1 Power supply voltage VDD1 ( Power supply voltage of microcomputer (VDD2) Reference voltage Vmax (of protection IC) Cell voltage upper limit value Vmin Cell voltage lower limit value

Claims (12)

A battery cell;
A plurality of connection terminals to be connected to the device side terminals of the wearing counterpart device;
In the battery pack having a housing that accommodates the battery cell and the connection terminal and has a mounting portion that can be attached to and detached from the mounting partner device.
The connection terminal has an arm portion having a spring property,
A part of the arm part is formed with a connection part that is brought into contact with the device side terminal,
The connecting portion is a convex shape for contacting the device side terminal at a linear contact portion or an elongated planar contact region,
The battery pack, wherein a longitudinal direction of a contact portion or a contact region of the connection portion is arranged so as to be oblique with respect to a mounting direction of the device side terminal on the surface of the device side terminal.   The connection terminal has a base portion formed by bending a metal plate into a U shape, and the two arms are extended in parallel from a part of one side surface and the other side surface of the base portion. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein a portion is formed.   The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein a convex outer surface shape of the connection portion is a semi-cylindrical shape. The device side terminal is a metal flat plate extending in the vertical direction and the mounting direction,
The connecting portion is in contact with the flat plate from both the left and right sides of the flat plate, and the fitting is performed such that the upper side of the longitudinal center line of the contact portion or the contact area is tilted rearward with respect to the lower side. The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein the joint portion is formed obliquely. The device side terminal is a metal flat plate extending in the vertical direction and the mounting direction,
The connecting portion contacts the flat plate from both the left and right sides of the flat plate, and the fitting is performed such that the upper side of the longitudinal center line of the contact portion or the contact area is tilted forward with respect to the lower side. The battery pack according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the portion is formed obliquely. Providing a circuit board in which a plurality of terminal mounting holes are formed for fixing the plurality of connection terminals side by side;
The connection terminal is provided with a leg portion extending downward from a lower side portion of each of the one side surface and the other side surface of the base portion,
6. The battery pack according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of connection terminals are fixed to the circuit board by passing the leg portions through the terminal mounting holes and soldering to the circuit board.   The battery pack according to claim 6, wherein the connection terminals are arranged adjacent to each other in two stages in the vertical direction, and arms of the connection terminals are arranged side by side in the vertical direction.   The battery pack according to claim 6, wherein the connection terminal has two arm portions that are separated from the base portion and extend in the vertical direction, and a fitting portion is formed in each of the arm portions. .   The inclination direction of the longitudinal center line of the contact portion or the contact region by the upper arm portion is the same direction as the inclination direction by the lower arm portion. Battery pack.   The inclination direction of the longitudinal center line of the contact portion or the contact region by the upper arm portion is different from the inclination direction by the lower arm portion. Battery pack.   The arm portion has a throttle portion bent into a tip-shaped shape as it moves away from the base portion bent in the U-shape, and a convex shape protruding toward the opposing arm portion formed at the tip of the throttle portion. The fitting portion includes: a fitting portion formed on the front side of the fitting portion; and a guide portion formed in a widened shape to facilitate insertion of the device-side terminal. The battery pack according to any one of 10. The battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 10, a battery pack mounting portion for allowing the battery pack to be attached and detached, and provided in the battery pack mounting portion and connected to the connection terminal. An electric device comprising: a terminal holder for holding a plurality of the device-side terminals, wherein the work device is operated by the power of the battery pack.