Convertible battery pack

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9583745-B2
Application number	US-201615180748-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 13, 2016
Priority date	May 18, 2014
Publication date	Feb 28, 2017
Grant date	Feb 28, 2017

Abstract

A power tool system includes a first power tool having a first power tool rated voltage, a second power tool having a second power tool rated voltage that is different from the first power tool rated voltage, and a first battery pack coupleable to the first power tool and to the second power tool. The first battery pack is switchable between a first configuration having a first battery pack rated voltage that corresponds to the first power tool rated voltage such that the first battery pack enables operation of the first power tool, and a second configuration having a convertible battery pack rated voltage that corresponds to the second power tool rated voltage such that the battery pack enables operation of the second power tool.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery pack, comprising:
a housing including a set of walls having an interior side which defines an interior space and an exterior side which defines an exterior space, the exterior side including an interface configured to couple the housing to an electrical device;
a converter element residing in the interior space of the housing, the converter element being configurable between a first position and a second position and including a projection extending from the interior space;
at least one switch, the at least one switch being configurable between a first state and a second state, wherein the at least one switch is in the first state when the converter element is in the first position and is in the second state when the converter element is in the second position;
a set of battery cells residing in the interior space of the housing, the set of battery cells including a first subset of battery cells and a second subset of battery cells, wherein when the at least one switch is in the first state the first subset of battery cells is connected to the second subset of battery cells in series and when the at least one switch is in the second state the first subset of battery cells is connected to the second subset of battery cells in parallel;
wherein the converter element projection is positioned to receive a mechanical input from the electrical device to reconfigure the converter element from the first position to the second position.

2. A battery pack, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a hole extending from the interior space to the exterior space and the converter element projection is positioned in the hole.

3. A battery pack, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the converter element slides from the first position to the second position.

4. A battery pack, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the converter element slides from the first position to the second position when the battery pack mates with the electrical device.

5. A battery pack, as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a slot in the exterior side of the housing leading to the projection wherein the slot is configured to receive a conversion element of the electrical device that provides the mechanical input from the electrical device.

6. A battery pack, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the converter element is configurable in a third position and the at least one switch is configurable in a third state, wherein the at least one switch is in the third state when the converter element is in the third position, and wherein when the at least one switch is in the third state the first subset of battery cells is disconnected from the second subset of battery cells.

7. A battery pack, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the interface includes at least one rail and at least one groove.

8. A battery pack, as recited in claim 1 , wherein the interface includes a terminal block housing at least two power terminals.

9. A battery pack, as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a support board housing a set of contact pads and wherein the converter element includes a set of switching contacts and wherein the set of switching contacts couples with a first subset of the contact pads when the converter element is in the first position and the set of switching contacts couples with a second subset of the contact pads when the converter element is in the second position.

10. A battery pack, comprising:
a housing which defines an interior space and an interface configured to couple the housing to an electrical device;
a set of battery cells residing in the interior space of the housing for generating an output voltage at the battery pack, the set of battery cells including a first subset of battery cells and a second subset of battery cells;
at least one switch residing in the interior space of the housing coupled to the set of battery cells, the at least one switch for establishing the output voltage generated by the set of battery cells; wherein the at least one switch is configured to selectively switch the first subset of battery cells and the second subset of battery cells between a series configuration and a parallel configuration based on a mechanical input received from the electrical device.

11. A battery pack, as recited in claim 10 , wherein the at least one switch is configured to disconnect the first subset of battery cells and the second set of battery cells.

12. A battery pack, as recited in claim 10 , further comprising a converter element that receives the mechanical input from the electrical device and configures the at least one switch between the series configuration and the parallel configuration of the first subset of battery cells and the second subset of battery cells.

13. A battery pack, as recited in claim 12 , wherein the converter element comprises a projection, wherein the projection is incorporated in the interface.

14. A battery pack, as recited in claim 12 , further comprising a support board and wherein the converter element slides along the support board upon receiving the mechanical input from the electrical device.

15. A battery pack, as recited in claim 14 , wherein the support board houses a set of contact pads and the converter element houses a set of switching contacts and the set of contact pads and the set of switching contacts form the at least one switch.

16. A battery pack, as recited in claim 10 , wherein the interface includes at least one rail and at least one groove.

17. A battery pack, as recited in claim 10 , wherein the interface includes a terminal block housing at least two power terminals.

18. A battery pack, as recited in claim 10 , wherein the at least one switch is configured to couple the first subset of battery cells and the second subset of battery cells in the parallel configuration as a default configuration.

19. A battery pack for providing power to a first electrical device having a low rated operating voltage and a second electrical device having a medium rated operating voltage, the battery pack comprising:
a set of battery cells including a first subset of battery cells and a second subset of battery cells;
a single electromechanical interface configured to couple the battery pack to the first electrical device and to the second electrical device and provide an output voltage to the coupled electrical device;
a switching network that (1) electrically couples the first subset of battery cells and the second subset of battery cells in parallel when the electromechanical interface is coupled to the first electrical device to provide a low rated output voltage from the battery pack to the first electrical device, wherein the low rated output voltage corresponds to the low rated operating voltage and (2) electrically couples the first subset of battery cells and the second subset of battery cells in series when the electromechanical interface is coupled to the second electrical device to provide a medium rated output voltage from the battery pack to the second electrical device, wherein the medium rated output voltage corresponds to the medium rated operating voltage.

20. A battery pack, as recited in claim 19 , wherein the single electromechanical interface comprises a pair of power terminals configured to mate with a pair of power terminals of the first electrical device and a pair of power terminals of the second electrical device.

21. A battery pack, as recited in claim 19 , wherein the switching network is configured to couple the first subset of battery

Assignees

• Black & Decker Inc

Inventors

• White Daniel J
• Velderman Matthew J
• Seman Jr Andrew E

Classifications

• H02J4/25

  for transfer of electric power between AC and DC networks, e.g. for supplying the DC section within a load from an AC mains system · CPC title

• H02J7/47

  Arrangements for checking compatibility or authentication between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source · CPC title

• H02J7/751

  concerning the insertion or the connection of the batteries · CPC title

• H02J7/575 Primary

  Parallel/serial switching of connection of batteries to charge or load circuit · CPC title

• H02J7/94

  in response to battery current · CPC title