Cordless power tools battery adapter

A cordless power tool battery pack adapter that includes a main body housing having a battery-free interior, a first and second end with the second end having a battery pack mounting surface located distal the first end, a circuit board supported within the main body housing and connected to the battery pack mounting surface and includes a voltage converter functioning to convert an input voltage supplied by an external power tool battery pack to a predetermined voltage, a push button reset circuit breaker located on an exterior surface of the main body housing, and at least one cigarette style auxiliary power tool receptacle located on the exterior surface of the main body housing and connected to the circuit board for receiving a cigarette style plug socket and powering a device connected to the socket when the battery pack is mounted to the main body housing.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to cordless power tools battery and, more specifically to a cordless power tools battery adapter for using a commercially available cordless power tools battery pack to provide a power source to everyday electrical devices.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention comprises a weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter that includes a main body housing having a battery-free interior, a first end and a second end with the second end having cordless power tool battery pack mounting surface located distal the first end. Located on the battery pack mounting surface are alignment guides configured to assist in slidably attaching and detaching a cordless external power tool battery pack to the mounting surface of the main body housing.

Supported within the main body housing is a circuit board connected to the battery pack mounting surface with the circuit board including a voltage converter functioning to convert an input voltage supplied by the external power tool battery pack to a predetermined voltage.

Located on an exterior surface of the main body housing is a push button reset circuit breaker, at least one cigarette style auxiliary power tool receptacle connected to the circuit board with the auxiliary power tool receptacle functioning to receive a cigarette style plug socket and powering a device connected to the socket when the cordless external power tool battery pack is mounted to the main body housing. Also located on the exterior surface of the main body housing is a positive and negative push-in power terminal connected to the circuit board and functioning to running 12 vdc devices when the cordless external power tool battery pack is mounted to the main body housing and an optional adapter release button located on the exterior surface of the main body housing and functioning to unlock the cordless external power tool battery pack from the main body housing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is directed to a cordless power tools battery adapter for using a commercially available cordless power tools battery pack to provide a power source to everyday electrical devices.

In addition, the accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. They are meant to be exemplary illustrations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of any potential claims.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a front perspective view and FIG. 2 is a back perspective view each showing an embodiment of a cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2 having a cordless external power tool battery pack 13 mounted to the main body housing 11.

Cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 is preferably weatherproof and generally includes a main body housing 11 having a battery-free interior 11c, a first end 11a and a second end 11b with the second end 11b having an external cordless power tool battery pack mounting surface 12 located distal the first end 11a of a main body housing 11. The main body housing 11 may be made from plastics, such as PLA, ABS, PETg, other plastics or other materials made from metals such as aluminum, steel, or alloys.

In regard to the external cordless power tool battery pack mounting surface 12, it is noted that the main body housing 11 of the cordless power tool battery pack adapter may comprise different the mounting surfaces that correspond to the mounting surfaces of the cordless external power tool battery pack of different manufacturers such as but not limited to Ridgid®, Milwaukee®, DeWalt®, Makita®, Black & Decker®, Ryobi® and other manufacturers of cordless tools with voltages within specified ranges.

Although not shown, the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 includes a circuit board supported within the interior 11c of the main body housing 11 with the circuit board connected to the battery pack mounting surface 12. The circuit board includes a voltage converter functioning to convert an input voltage supplied by an external power tool battery pack to a predetermined voltage.

The cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 may include a voltage converter that steps down for example 14-40 vdc to 11-15 vdc for the purpose to run 12-volt direct current appliances and devices with a draw of up to 15 amps. Example of suitable circuit board features include but is not limited to a DC-DC 300 W 20A Constant Current Adjustable step-down module Buck Converter DC 6-40V Power Voltage Board Short Circuit Protection and a wide input voltage range from 6V to 40V, the step-down converter can accurately adjust output voltage and current. The efficiency can be up to 96%, measured at 20A, converting 24V to 12V.

Located on an exterior surface of a front side 11d of the main body housing 11 is an automobile or cigarette style auxiliary power tool receptacle 14, which is connected to the circuit board. Referring to FIG. 3, the auxiliary power tool receptacle 14 functions to receive a cigarette style plug socket 15 and power a device connected to the socket when the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 is mounted to the main body housing 11.

Also shown located on the exterior surface of the front side 11d of the main body housing 11 is a set of positive and negative push-in power terminals 16 connected to the circuit board. The set of positive and negative push-in power terminals 16 functioning to run 12 vdc devices when the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 is mounted to the main body housing 11.

Referring to FIG. 2, located on the exterior surface of a back side 11e of the main body housing 11 is a push button reset circuit breaker 17 located on an exterior surface of said main body housing and a battery pack power level indicator 18 providing visual indicator of a current charge of the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 attached to the main body housing 11.

Although alternative embodiments of the present invention may include the cordless external power tool battery pack mounted to the main body housing in various ways, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 is shown mounted to the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 slidably attached to and detached from the mounting surface 12 of the main body housing 11. For example, the mounting surface 12 of the main body housing 11 may include alignment guides 19 configured to assist in slidably attaching and detaching the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 to the mounting surface 12 of the main body housing 11.

Once the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 is attached to the main body housing 11, the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 may be lockingly secured to the main body housing 11 to prevent accidental displacement or detachment of the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 with respect to the main body housing 11. When desired, the cordless external power tool battery pack 13 may be unlocked from the main body housing 11 by user engagement of an optional battery mounting release button 20 shown located on cordless external power tool battery pack 13.

FIG. 4 is a front view and FIG. 5 is a left side view showing an alternative embodiment of a weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter 21 of the present invention having similar general components with the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 of FIGS. 1-3. However, unlike the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 of FIGS. 1-3, cordless power tool battery pack adapter 21 includes a pair of cigarette style auxiliary power tool receptacles located on an exterior surface of a front side 22a of a main body housing 22 with the pair of cigarette style auxiliary power tool receptacles 23 each connected to a circuit board supported within an interior of the main body housing 22.

Similar to the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 of FIGS. 1-3, the auxiliary power tool receptacles 23 each function to receive a cigarette style plug socket 15 and powering a device connected to the socket 15 when a cordless external power tool battery pack 24 is mounted to the main body housing 22. In order to assist in the weatherproof of the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 21, each of the auxiliary power tool receptacles 23 includes a weather-tight cover 23a to protect the corresponding auxiliary power tool receptacles 23 from the elements when not in use. Also shown In FIG. 4 is a set of positive and negative push-in power terminals 25 and a push button reset circuit breaker 26 both located on the front side 22a of the main body housing 22. Similar to the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10 of FIGS. 1-3, the push-in power terminals 24 are connected to the circuit board and functions to run 12 vdc devices when the cordless external power tool battery pack 24 is mounted to the main body housing 22.

The weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter 21 of FIGS. 4 and 5 also include an adapter release button 27 shown located on the exterior surface of a left side 22c of the main body housing 22 with the adapter release button 27 functioning to unlock the cordless external power tool battery pack 24 from the main body housing 22. FIG. 5 also shows weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter 21 having an optional adapter power on/off switch 28 located on a backside 22b of the main body housing 22.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing an alternative embodiment of a weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter 29 of the present invention having similar general components with the cordless power tool battery pack adapter 21 of FIGS. 4-5.

However, cordless power tool battery pack adapter 29 is show including a pair of female universal serial bus (USB) port 31, a lightning connector port 32, a Thunderbolt® port 33, and a 120 Volt receptacle 34 located on the exterior surface of a front side 30a of a main body housing 30 and connected to the circuit board for powering corresponding devices that are connected to the aforementioned ports when the cordless external power tool battery pack 13, 24 is mounted to the main body housing 30. The aforementioned ports may function for charging and running all types of 5v USB devices, phones, fans, lights, and other USB capable powered devices. For example, one USB port may be 3.0 capable of fast charging phones and delivering up to 2.5 amps at 5 vdc. Includes a circuit breaker for amp overdraw protection.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view showing an embodiment of a cordless power tool battery pack mounting surface 35. The cordless power tool battery pack mounting surface 35 is shown having corresponding alignment guides 36 configured to assist in mating with a corresponding mounting surface of a specific manufacturer's cordless external power tool battery pack and slidably mounting a cordless external power tool battery pack to or slidably detaching the cordless external power tool battery pack from a weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter.

Although the embodiments of FIGS. 1-6 each shows the weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter 10, 21 and 29 with main body housings 11, 22, and 30 and cordless power tool battery pack mounting surface 12 comprising a one-piece unit, cordless power tool battery pack mounting surface 35 may alternatively be detachable from a main body housing a weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter and replaced with a second cordless power tool battery pack mounting surface having alignment guides of different shapes, sizes and/or positioning for mounting with a cordless power tool battery pack produced by a different manufacturer.

Although not shown, alternative embodiments of the weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter of the present invention may include a USB LED light with the cordless power tools battery adapter or have a LED light with switch built into the main body of the cordless power tools battery adapter. If included the LED light may be removable from the main body housing of the weatherproof cordless power tool battery pack adapter.