JP5605133B2 - Battery pack - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery pack.

  Conventionally, a battery pack used as a power source for an electric device such as an electric tool is known. In this case, a battery cell, a substrate, a terminal and the like for supplying power are provided inside the case. By attaching this battery pack to the device main body, the output terminals such as the discharge terminal and signal terminal provided in the battery pack are connected to the device side terminals provided on the device main body side to supply power to the device main body. Signal transmission or the like becomes possible.

  Here, in order to avoid heat generation due to poor contact between the terminals on the battery pack side and the terminal on the device body, chattering problems due to vibration during use of the device, etc., the terminal connection structure is provided on the device body. It is common technical knowledge to adopt a structure in which a male terminal is sandwiched between female terminals provided in a battery pack (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-188793 A

  However, in the structure as described above, since the male terminal on the device side and the female terminal on the battery pack side are engaged with a strong force, a large force is required to attach and detach the battery pack and the device body. And workability is poor.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and can easily attach and detach the battery pack and the apparatus main body without impairing the effect of preventing heat generation and chattering at the connection portion. The purpose is to provide a pack.

  The present invention is a battery pack including a battery connected to a device main body of an electric device to supply electricity to the electric device, and a housing capable of accommodating battery cells therein, and a device-side discharge provided in the device main body A pair of positive and negative discharge terminals capable of passing a discharge current from the battery cell in combination with a terminal; a first signal terminal capable of transmitting a signal by combining with a device-side signal terminal provided in the device body; The discharge terminal is a sandwiching type terminal that sandwiches the mating terminal from both sides, and at least one of the first signal terminals is a one-side contact type terminal that contacts the mating terminal from one side. Have According to such a configuration, instead of the sandwiching type terminal that sandwiches the mating terminal from both sides as the signal terminal, the one side contact type terminal that contacts the mating terminal from one side is adopted, so that the other side of the signal terminal The insertion / extraction load on the terminal is reduced. And the attachment / detachment load with respect to the apparatus main body of a battery pack is reduced by the reduction | decrease, and workability | operativity improves. On the other hand, since the sandwiching type terminal that sandwiches the counterpart terminal is adopted as the discharge terminal, the effect of avoiding heat generation and chattering can be maintained.

The battery pack of the present invention may have the following configuration.
At least one of a pair of positive and negative charging terminals connected to a charger side charging terminal provided in a charger for charging the battery cell and capable of passing a charging current is provided separately from the discharging terminal, and the discharging The charging terminal provided separately from the terminal may be a one-side contact type terminal. According to such a configuration, the insertion / extraction load can be greatly reduced even when connected to the charger.

A second signal terminal capable of transmitting a signal by combining with a charger side signal terminal provided in a charger for charging the battery cell, wherein the second signal terminal is the one-side contact type terminal; There may be. According to such a configuration, the insertion / extraction load can be greatly reduced even when connected to the charger.

  Further, the sandwiching type terminal includes a pair of contact pieces that can come into contact with both sides of the mating terminal, and the one side contact type terminal includes a contact piece that can contact one side of the mating terminal, At least one of the pair of contact pieces of the type terminal and the contact piece of the one-side contact type terminal may have the same shape. According to such a configuration, it is possible to share a mold for producing both and a part of the manufacturing process, and it is possible to reduce the cost.

  According to the present invention, instead of the sandwiching type terminal that sandwiches the counterpart terminal from both sides as the signal terminal, the one-side contact type terminal that contacts the counterpart terminal from one side is adopted, so that the signal terminal is connected to the counterpart terminal. The insertion / extraction load is reduced. And the attachment / detachment load with respect to the apparatus main body of a battery pack is reduced by the reduction | decrease, and workability | operativity improves. On the other hand, since the sandwiching type terminal that sandwiches the counterpart terminal is adopted as the discharge terminal, the effect of avoiding heat generation and chattering can be maintained.

Overall schematic diagram showing a state in which the battery pack of the embodiment is mounted on the device body Schematic top view showing the state of the battery-side terminal when not attached to the device body or charger Schematic cross-sectional view showing how device side terminals and battery side terminals are connected Overall schematic diagram showing a state in which the battery pack of the embodiment is mounted on a charger Schematic sectional view showing how the charger side terminal and battery side terminal are connected

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In FIG. 1, the whole schematic diagram of the electric tool 1 (corresponding to the electric apparatus of the present invention) is shown. The electric tool 1 includes a tool main body 10 (corresponding to an apparatus main body of the present invention) and a battery pack 20 attached to the tool main body 10 (see FIG. 1).

  The tool body 10 includes a body-side housing 11. The main body side housing 11 includes a tool holding portion 13 to which a tip tool 12 can be attached, and a holding portion 14 provided below the tool holding portion 13 for holding the tool main body 10. In addition, a drive mechanism (not shown) for driving the tip tool 12 and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the discharge of the battery cells provided in the battery pack 20 are housed inside the main body side housing 11. ing.

  An attachment part 15 to which the battery pack 20 can be attached is provided at the lower part of the grip part 14, and a device side terminal 16 that can be connected to a battery side terminal 30 provided in the battery pack 20 is disposed here. . The device-side terminal 16 includes a device-side positive terminal 16A, a device-side negative terminal 16B (the above two correspond to the device-side discharge terminal of the present invention), and a device-side signal terminal 16C (see also FIG. 3). These device-side terminals 16 are all formed in a plate shape from metal, and the plate surface direction is arranged in a posture along the attachment / detachment direction of the battery pack 20.

  The battery pack 20 attached to the tool body 10 includes a battery-side housing 21 (corresponding to the housing of the present invention) having a rectangular box shape as a whole. Although not shown in detail in the interior 21 of the battery side housing, a plurality of battery cells and a substrate are accommodated.

  A plurality of slit portions 22 are provided on the ceiling wall of the battery side housing 21 (the fitting surface with the device main body 10), and the battery side terminals 30 face the inside of the slit portions 22 (FIG. 2). reference). The battery-side terminal 30 includes a discharge positive terminal 30A (corresponding to the discharge terminal of the present invention), a charge positive terminal 30B (corresponding to the charge terminal of the present invention), and a charge / discharge negative terminal 30C (discharge terminal of the present invention). Corresponding to the charging terminal), two discharging signal terminals 30D (corresponding to the first signal terminal of the present invention), and three charging signal terminals 30E (corresponding to the second signal terminal of the present invention) ). The two discharge signal terminals 30 </ b> D include an overdischarge signal terminal that detects overdischarge of the battery cell and transmits a signal to the control unit of the device body 10, and a circuit recovery terminal after overdischarge. The three charging signal terminals 30E are connected to the battery cell by temperature detection elements such as an overcharge signal terminal and a thermistor for detecting overcharge of the battery cell and transmitting a signal to the control unit of the charger 40. It comprises a temperature signal terminal for detecting a temperature and transmitting a signal to the control unit of the charger 40, and an identification signal terminal for identifying the number and type of battery cells accommodated in the battery pack 20.

  Among these, the discharge positive electrode terminal 30A and the charge / discharge negative electrode terminal 30C each include a pair of elastic contact pieces 31 and 31 (corresponding to the contact pieces of the present invention). The elastic contact pieces 31, 31 extend along the entry direction of the mating terminals (the device-side positive terminal 16A and the device-side negative terminal 16B) when the battery pack 20 is attached to the tool body 10, and the mating terminal is inserted. Along with this, the other terminal is pressed and deformed in the expanding direction, and is pressed against the other terminal by its elastic restoring force. More specifically, the pair of elastic contact pieces 31, 31 are formed in an elongated plate shape and are arranged in a state of facing each other. In both elastic contact pieces 31, 31, end portions on the rear side in the engagement direction with the counterpart terminal (base end portions 32, 32 side) are connected to each other by a connecting portion 33. On the other hand, the other end side is a free end. Thereby, the positive electrode terminal 30A for discharge and the negative electrode terminal 30C for charging / discharging are formed in the gate shape as a whole. Both elastic contact pieces 31, 31 are bent inward so that their free ends are close to each other in the vicinity of the center in the length direction, and after contacting each other, the tip is folded back so as to open outward, and the apex portion is Is formed. This apex part is made into the contact parts 34 and 34 which contact with the other party terminal. Further, leg portions (not shown) extend from the base end portions 32 and 32 of the elastic contact pieces 31 and 31 and the connecting portion 33, and the leg portions are connected to the battery cells via the substrate.

  On the other hand, each of the charging positive terminal 30B, the discharging signal terminal 30D, and the charging signal terminal 30E includes one elastic contact piece 35 (corresponding to the contact piece of the present invention). This elastic contact piece 35 is an entry direction of a mating terminal (charger-side positive terminal 42A, device-side signal terminal 16C, and charger-side signal terminal 42C) when the battery pack 20 is attached to the tool body 10 or the charger 40. , Along with the insertion of the mating terminal, it is pressed against the mating terminal to bend and deform, and is pressed against the mating terminal by its elastic restoring force. Each elastic contact piece 35 is formed in a long and narrow plate shape, the rear portion in the direction of engagement with the mating terminal is a base end portion 36, and the other end side is a free end. A leg portion (not shown) extends from the base end portion 36 and is connected to a detection element or the like via the leg portion. The elastic contact piece 35 is bent near the center in the length direction so that the free end side is in contact with the mating terminal, and is further folded back so that the tip is opened outward to form an apex portion. The apex portions are contact portions 37 and 37 that come into contact with the mating terminal.

  The elastic contact piece 35 in the charging positive terminal 30B, the discharging signal terminal 30D, and the charging signal terminal 30E has the same shape as the elastic contact piece 31 in the discharging positive terminal 30A and the charging and discharging negative terminal 30C. .

  When the battery pack 20 is attached to the charger 40, the battery cell accommodated therein is charged by the charger 40 (see FIG. 4). A charger-side terminal 42 that can be connected to the battery-side terminal 30 provided on the battery pack 20 is disposed on the mounting portion 41 for mounting the battery pack 20 in the charger 40. The charger side terminal 42 includes a charger side positive terminal 42A, a charger side negative terminal 42B (the above two correspond to the charger side charging terminal of the present invention), and a charger side signal terminal 42C (see FIG. 5). See also). These charger-side terminals 42 are all formed in a plate shape from metal, and the plate surface direction is arranged in a posture along the attachment / detachment direction with the battery pack 20.

  Next, attachment of the battery pack 20 configured as described above to the tool body 10 will be described.

  When the battery pack 20 is attached to the tool body 10, the device-side positive terminal 16A, the device-side negative terminal 16B, and the device-side signal terminal 16C of the tool body 10 are respectively connected to the discharge positive terminal 30A and the charging terminal of the battery pack 20. The discharge negative terminal 30C and the discharge signal terminal 30D enter from the free end side.

  The device-side positive terminal 16A and the device-side negative terminal 16B abut against the folded portions formed at the distal ends of the elastic contact pieces 31, 31 in the discharge positive terminal 30A and the charge / discharge negative terminal 30C, and both elastic contact pieces 31 and 31 are pushed in and entered between them. The contact portions 34 and 34 are elastically brought into contact with both side surfaces of the device-side positive terminal 16A and the device-side negative terminal 16B by the elastic restoring force of the both elastic contact pieces 31 and 31. Thereby, it is possible to energize the device main body 10 from the battery cell of the battery pack 20 via the device-side positive terminal 16A, the device-side negative terminal 16B, the discharge positive terminal 30A, and the charge / discharge negative terminal 30C. In this way, the discharge positive electrode terminal 30A and the charge / discharge negative electrode terminal 30C are configured to sandwich the device-side positive terminal 16A and the device-side negative terminal 16B from both sides by the pair of elastic contact pieces 31, 31.

  On the other hand, the device-side signal terminal 16C hits a folded portion formed at the free end side tip of the elastic contact piece 35 in the discharge signal terminal 30D, and enters the side while elastically deforming the elastic contact piece 35. Then, due to the elastic restoring force of the elastic contact piece 35, the contact portion 37 elastically contacts the side surface of the device-side signal terminal 16C. As a result, information necessary for controlling the discharge of the battery from the battery pack 20 to the control unit of the device main body 10 via the device-side signal terminal 16C and the discharge signal terminal 30D (battery temperature, overdischarge) State related signals). Thus, the discharge signal terminal 30D is in contact with only one of the pair of plate surfaces of the device-side signal terminal 16C by the single elastic contact piece 35.

  Next, attachment of the battery pack 20 configured as described above to the charger 40 will be described.

  When the battery pack 20 is attached to the charger 40, the charger-side positive terminal 42A, the charger-side negative terminal 42B, and the charger-side signal terminal 42C of the charger 40 are respectively connected to the charging positive terminal of the battery pack 20. 30B, the charge / discharge negative terminal 30C, and the charge signal terminal 30E enter from the free end side.

  The charger-side negative electrode terminal 42B hits the folded portion formed at the free end side tip of the elastic contact pieces 31, 31 in the charge / discharge negative electrode terminal 30C, and enters between the two elastic contact pieces 31, 31 while expanding. . The contact portions 34 and 34 are elastically brought into contact with both side surfaces of the charger-side negative terminal 42B by the elastic restoring force of both elastic contact pieces 31 and 31. Thus, charging power can be supplied from the charger 40 to the battery cells of the battery pack 20 via the charger-side negative terminal 42B and the charge / discharge negative terminal 30C. In this manner, the charge / discharge negative electrode terminal 30 </ b> C is configured to sandwich the device-side negative electrode terminal 16 </ b> B from both sides by the pair of elastic contact pieces 31 and 31.

  On the other hand, the charger-side positive terminal 42A and the charger-side signal terminal 42C abut against the folded portion formed at the free end side tip of the elastic contact piece 35 in the charging positive terminal 30B and the charging signal terminal 30E. While 35 is elastically deformed, it enters the side. The contact portion 37 is elastically brought into contact with the side surfaces of the charger-side positive terminal 42A and the charger-side signal terminal 42C by the elastic restoring force of the elastic contact piece 35. Thereby, the battery is charged from the battery pack 20 to the controller of the charger 40 through the charger side positive terminal 42A and the charger side signal terminal 42C, the charging positive terminal 30B and the charging signal terminal 30E. Signals relating to information necessary for control (identification information such as battery type, battery temperature, overcharge state, etc.) can be transmitted. Thus, the charging positive terminal 30B and the charging signal terminal 30E are in contact with only one of the pair of plate surfaces of the charger-side positive terminal 42A and the charger-side signal terminal 42C by one elastic contact piece 35. doing.

  Here, a large current flows through the discharge positive electrode terminal 30A and the charge / discharge negative electrode terminal 30C through which a current for driving the drive mechanism of the tool body 10 flows. For this reason, the contact area with respect to the terminal on the tool body 10 side is increased, the contact resistance is reduced to suppress heat generation, and the terminals are firmly joined to each other, thereby causing chattering due to vibration associated with the driving of the electric power tool 1. It is important to reduce such problems.

  However, since the discharge signal terminal 30D that transmits a signal for controlling the discharge from the battery cell has a small energization amount, problems such as heat generation and chattering as described above hardly occur. Although the data is not shown in detail, the present inventors have experimented that there is no problem in the operation of the electric tool even if the discharge signal terminal on the battery pack side is in contact with the counterpart terminal only from one side. Confirmed by

  Therefore, in the battery pack 20 of the present embodiment, the discharge positive electrode terminal 30A and the charge / discharge negative electrode terminal 30C are configured such that the counterpart terminal is sandwiched and held from both side surfaces by the pair of elastic contact pieces 31 and 31. On the other hand, the discharge signal terminal 30 </ b> D employs a configuration in which only one side surface of the counterpart terminal is brought into contact with one elastic contact piece 35. According to such a configuration, the attachment / detachment load with respect to the tool body 10 of the battery pack 20 is reduced by the amount by which the insertion / extraction load with respect to the counterpart terminal of the discharge signal terminal 30D is reduced, and workability is improved. On the other hand, since the discharge positive electrode terminal 30A and the charge / discharge negative electrode terminal 30C are configured to sandwich the mating terminal, the effect of avoiding heat generation and chattering can be maintained.

  Furthermore, during charging, the problem of chattering due to vibration associated with driving of the electric power tool 1 does not occur. For this reason, the structure which contacts only the single side | surface of the other party terminal was also employ | adopted about the positive electrode terminal 30B for charging provided separately from the positive electrode terminal 30A for discharge. Further, the charging signal terminal 30E does not cause a chattering problem due to vibrations, and since the energization amount is small, problems such as heat generation due to poor contact are unlikely to occur. For this reason, also about the charge signal terminal 30E, the structure which contacts only the one side surface of the other party terminal was employ | adopted. Thereby, the unnecessary increase in the attachment / detachment pressure to the charger 40 of the battery pack 20 can be avoided.

  When the amount of charging current is relatively large and there is a concern about heat generation at the contact portion between the terminals, the charging positive terminal 30B is configured to sandwich the mating terminal from both sides, and only the charging signal terminal 30E. May be configured to contact only one side of the mating terminal.

  In the present embodiment, the charge / discharge negative electrode terminal 30C serves as both the charge negative electrode terminal and the discharge negative electrode terminal. However, the charge negative electrode terminal may be provided separately from the discharge negative electrode terminal. In such a case, based on the amount of charging current, either the sandwiching type terminal or the one-side contact type terminal may be selected as the charging terminal. That is, when the amount of charging current is relatively large and there is a concern about heat generation at the contact portion between the terminals, a structure in which the negative terminal for charging sandwiches the counterpart terminal from both sides is adopted, and the amount of charging current is relatively When the size is small and concerns such as heat generation do not occur so much, a configuration in which the negative electrode terminal for charging is in contact with only one side surface of the counterpart terminal may be employed.

  In addition, the elastic contact piece 35 in the charging positive terminal 30B, the discharging signal terminal 30D, and the charging signal terminal 30E has the same shape as the elastic contact piece 31 in the discharging positive terminal 30A and the charging / discharging negative terminal 30C. Yes. This makes it possible to share a mold for producing both and a part of the manufacturing process, thereby reducing the cost.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The terminal shapes of the positive electrode terminal 30A for discharge and the negative electrode terminal 30C for charge / discharge may not be as in the above-described embodiment, and may be any shape as long as the counterpart terminal is sandwiched from both sides. Further, the terminal shapes of the charging positive terminal 30B, the discharging signal terminal 30D, and the charging signal terminal 30E do not have to be the same as in the above-described embodiment, and may be any shape as long as they are in contact with the counterpart terminal only from one side. .
(2) The elastic contact piece 35 in the charging positive terminal 30B, the discharging signal terminal 30D, and the charging signal terminal 30E and the elastic contact piece 31 in the discharging positive terminal 30A and the charging and discharging negative terminal 30C have different shapes. It doesn't matter.
(3) In the above-described embodiment, the case where the electric device is an electric tool has been described as an example. Any material can be used as long as it is supplied.

1 ... Electric tools (electrical equipment)
10 ... Tool body (equipment body)
16A ... Device side positive terminal (Device side discharge terminal)
16B ... Device side negative terminal (Device side discharge terminal)
16C ... device side signal terminal 20 ... battery pack 21 ... battery side housing (housing)
30A ... Positive terminal for discharge (discharge terminal)
30B ... Positive terminal for charging (charging terminal)
30C ... Negative terminal for charge / discharge (discharge terminal)
30D ... Signal terminal for discharge (first signal terminal)
30E ... Charging signal terminal (second signal terminal)
31 ... Elastic contact piece (contact piece)
35 ... Elastic contact piece (contact piece)
40 ... charger 42A ... charger side positive terminal (charger side charge terminal)
42B ... Charger side negative terminal (Charger side charge terminal)
42C ... Charger side signal terminal

Claims (2)

A battery pack comprising a battery connected to a device body of an electrical device and supplying electricity to the electrical device,
A housing capable of accommodating battery cells therein;
In combination with a device-side discharge terminal provided in the device body, a pair of positive and negative discharge terminals capable of energizing a discharge current from the battery cell,
A first signal terminal capable of transmitting a signal by combining with a device-side signal terminal provided in the device main body,
The discharge terminal is a sandwich-type terminal that sandwiches the counterpart terminal from both sides, and at least one of the first signal terminals is a one-side contact type terminal that contacts the counterpart terminal from one side;
At least one of a pair of positive and negative charging terminals connected to a charger-side charging terminal provided in a charger for charging the battery cell and capable of passing a charging current is provided separately from the discharge terminal,
A charging terminal provided separately from the discharging terminal is the one-side contact type terminal or the sandwiching type terminal,
The sandwiching type terminal includes a pair of contact pieces that can come into contact with both side surfaces of the counterpart terminal,
The one-side contact type terminal includes a contact piece that can contact one side of the counterpart terminal,
A battery pack in which at least one contact piece of the pair of contact pieces of the sandwiching type terminal and the contact piece of the one-side contact type terminal have the same shape. A second signal terminal capable of transmitting a signal in combination with a charger-side signal terminal provided in a charger for charging the battery cell;
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the second signal terminal is the one-side contact type terminal.

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