Motor and electronics cooling system for a high power cordless nailer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9577493-B2
Application number	US-201313840015-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2013
Priority date	Sep 20, 2012
Publication date	Feb 21, 2017
Grant date	Feb 21, 2017

Abstract

A battery powered tool includes a housing containing a motor assembly. A fan positioned in the housing is rotated by the motor assembly. The fan has a circular ring/body and further has multiple fan blades directly connected to the circular ring body. The circular ring/body defines a concave shaped surface having the fan blades directly connected to the concave shaped surface. A housing cover includes: first and second extending walls; a slot created between the first and second extending walls; and multiple air intake vents all positioned in a lower housing zone separated from an upper housing zone by the slot. An electronics module is positioned in the housing proximate to the housing cover lower housing zone such that air entering the intake vents passes only through the lower housing zone and past the electronics module to cool the electronics module before entering the fan.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool comprising:
a housing having a housing interior, a forward end, and a rearward end, the forward and rearward ends defining a housing axis;
a handle extending from the housing;
each of said housing, housing interior, and rearward end comprising an upper portion above said housing axis and a lower portion below said housing axis when said handle is oriented so as to extend vertically downward from said lower portion of said housing;
a motor assembly comprising an outer rotor motor having a fixed motor shaft defining a motor axis and an outer rotor, said motor assembly being mounted in said housing, said motor shaft being fixedly mounted in the lower portion of the housing interior transverse to said housing axis;
a fan driven by said motor assembly and journaled to said motor shaft;
a plurality of intake vents formed in the lower portion of the rearward end of said housing and a plurality of exhaust vents formed in said forward end;
a confined air passageway in the housing interior, the passageway including a first portion in the rearward end, the passageway communicating directly with said plurality of intake vents, said first portion being defined by an internal wall that confines said first portion to the lower portion of said housing interior, and a second portion connected downstream of said first portion and communicating with said plurality of exhaust vents and with the first portion, wherein said fan is configured to draw air from an exterior of the housing through said intake vents into and through said air passageway and expel the air to the exterior of the housing through said exhaust vents; and
an electronic control module mounted in the rearward end of the housing adjacent to said intake vents;
wherein said second portion of said air passageway includes a flow path through said outer rotor motor, wherein air drawn into said air passageway cools said electronic control module before flowing through said flow path and cools said motor assembly.

2. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 1 , wherein said second portion of said air passageway is connected in series with said first portion of said air passageway.

3. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 2 , wherein substantially all of the air drawn through said intake vents flows through said first portion of said air passageway.

4. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 3 , wherein said electronic control module is mounted rearwardly of said motor assembly.

5. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 1 , wherein said flow path through said motor assembly has an inlet side and an outlet side and said fan is journaled to said motor shaft on said outlet side.

6. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 1 , wherein said housing includes interior surfaces including said internal wall that generally confine said air passageway to the lower portion of said housing interior.

7. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 6 wherein said plurality of exhaust vents are formed in the lower portion of said housing.

8. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 6 wherein said air passageway is substantially sealed from a remainder of the housing interior.

9. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 1 , wherein an outer rotor of said outer rotor motor defines a central interior passageway that defines said flow path directing air through the motor assembly.

10. The hand-held portable battery powered fastening tool of claim 9 wherein said fan has a plurality of annular blades that define an interior circular area in the flow path of said second portion of said passageway, wherein an arcuate member is arranged transverse to said motor axis, the arcuate member obstructing at least 50% of said interior circular area.

Assignees

• Black & Decker Inc

Inventors

• Ekstrom Erik
• Smith David J

Classifications

• B25F5/008 Primary

  Cooling means · CPC title

• B25C1/06

  operated by electric power · CPC title

• H02K9/06 Primary

  with fans or impellers driven by the machine shaft · CPC title

• B23Q11/127

  for cooling motors or spindles · CPC title

• B25F5/02

  Construction of casings, bodies or handles {(B25F5/006, B25F5/008 take precedence)} · CPC title