Source: https://patents.justia.com/patent/9941718
Timestamp: 2019-06-24 14:17:09
Document Index: 316310006

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

US Patent for Lithium-based battery pack for a hand held power tool Patent (Patent # 9,941,718 issued April 10, 2018) - Justia Patents Search
Justia Patents For Battery PackUS Patent for Lithium-based battery pack for a hand held power tool Patent (Patent # 9,941,718)
Jun 5, 2017 - MILWAUKEE ELECTRIC TOOL CORPORATION
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/193,294, filed Jun. 27, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,673,648, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/695,614, filed Apr. 24, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,379,569, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/871,172, filed Apr. 26, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,018,903, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/568,265, filed on Aug. 7, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,450,971, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/109,116, filed on May 17, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,269,459, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/331,088, filed on Dec. 9, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,944,173, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/780,829, filed on Jul. 20, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,554,290, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/721,800, filed on Nov. 24, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,253,585, the entire contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/721,800 claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/428,356, filed on Nov. 22, 2002; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/428,358, filed on Nov. 22, 2002; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/428,450, filed on Nov. 22, 2002; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/428,452, filed on Nov. 22, 2002; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/440,692, filed on Jan. 17, 2003; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/440,693, filed on Jan. 17, 2003; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/523,712, filed on Nov. 19, 2003; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/523,716, filed on Nov. 19, 2003, the entire contents of all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application also hereby incorporates by reference the entire contents of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/720,027, filed on Nov. 20, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,157,882, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/719,680, filed on Nov. 20, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,176,654.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a rechargeable battery pack for powering a high current draw hand held power tool. The battery pack includes a housing and a plurality of battery cells. The housing is connectable to and supportable by the hand held power tool. The plurality of battery cells are supported by the housing. The battery cells are capable of producing an average battery pack discharge current greater than or equal to approximately 20 amps and have a lithium-based chemistry.
FIGS. 28A-28E illustrate views of portions of the battery pack shown in FIG. 26.
FIGS. 35A-35C illustrate views of portions of the battery pack shown in FIG. 1 with portions removed.
As shown in FIGS. 1-9, the battery pack 30 includes a housing 42 and at least one rechargeable battery cell 46 (shown in FIGS. 13-19) supported by the housing 42. In the illustrated construction, the battery pack 30 can be a 21V battery pack including five approximately 4.2V battery cells 46a, 46b, 46c, 46d and 46e connected in series. In other constructions (not shown), the battery pack 30 may have another nominal battery voltage, such as, for example, 9.6V, 12V, 14.4V, 24V, etc., to power the electrical equipment and be charged by the battery charger 38. It should be understood that, in other constructions (not shown), the battery cells 46 may have a different nominal cell voltage and/or may be connected in another configuration, such as, for example, in parallel or in a parallel/series combination.
As shown in FIGS. 13-20, in the battery pack 30, each battery cell 46a-46e can be generally cylindrical and can extend along a cell axis 50a-50e parallel to the cylindrical outer cell wall. Also, in the battery pack 30, each battery cell 46 can have a cell length 52 which is more than two times and almost three times the cell diameter 54. In the illustrated construction and in some aspects, each battery cell 46 can have a diameter of about twenty-six millimeters (26 mm) and a length of at least about sixty millimeters (60 mm). In some constructions, each battery cell 46 can have a length of about sixty-five millimeters (65 mm). In some constructions, each battery cell 46 can have a length of about seventy millimeters (70 mm).
In some constructions, voltage characteristics of the battery pack 30 and/or of the battery cells 46 can be read by the microprocessor 440 through the plurality of resistors 460 when the microprocessor 440 is in the active mode. In some constructions, the microprocessor 440 can initiate a voltage-read event by turning off transistor(s) 470 (i.e., transistor 470 becomes non-conducting). When the transistor(s) 470 is non-conducting, the transistors 265a-d become conducting and voltage measurements regarding the battery pack 30 and/or battery cells 46 can be made by the microprocessor 440. Including the plurality of transistors 465 in the battery pack 30 can reduce the parasitic current draw from the battery pack 30, because the transistors 465 are only conducting periodically.
In some constructions, the microprocessor 440 can monitor the voltage of each battery cell 46 and balance the cell 46 if an imbalance occurs. As previously discussed, the battery pack 30 can include the plurality of resistors 460 for providing voltage measurements of the battery cells 46. The plurality of resistors 460 are arranged such that the microprocessor 440 can measure the voltage of each battery cells 46a-e approximately at the same time. In some constructions, the microprocessor 440 detects an imbalance within the battery pack 30 when one or more cells 46 reach approximately 1 V.
Components of the circuit 430 and of the battery pack 30, such as, for example, a FET 480, a heat sink 485, a thermistor 450, a fuel gauge 170 (including one or more light-emitting diodes 470a-d), a push-button 460 for activating the fuel gauge 470, a microprocessor 440, and the like, are illustrated in more detail in FIGS. 20-29. For some constructions and for some aspects, these and other additional independent features and structure of the battery pack 30 and other operations of the battery pack 30 are described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/720,027, filed Nov. 20, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,157,882.
The battery cells 346a-g can also be electrically connected in any suitable manner, such as, for example, in a serial arrangement, a parallel arrangement, a partial serial arrangement (e.g., some of the battery cells 346a-g are connected in a serial arrangement), a partial parallel arrangement (e.g., some of the battery cells 346a-g are connected in a serial arrangement), a combination of a serial, parallel, partial serial or partial parallel arrangement. In one construction, the battery cells 346a-g are electrically connected in a serial arrangement. The battery cells 346a-g can be electrically connected via conductive straps 450. For example, a conductive strap 450 can connect the negative end of the first battery cell 346a to the positive end of the second battery cell 346b. Also, another conductive strap 450 can connected the negative end of the second battery cell 346b to the positive end of the third battery cell 346c.
a housing connectable to and supportable by a hand held power tool;
a plurality of battery cells supported within the housing, the plurality of battery cells connected in a combined series-parallel configuration, each of the plurality of battery cells having a lithium-based chemistry, each of the plurality of battery cells being cylindrical and having a cell length of less than or equal to about 70 mm;
first and second terminals for electrically connecting the battery pack to the hand held power tool; and
a circuit configured to control a discharge of the plurality of battery cells to produce a discharge current from the plurality of battery cells,
wherein an average of the discharge current produced by the plurality of battery cells is greater than or equal to approximately 20 amps.
2. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein the lithium-based chemistry includes manganese.
3. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of battery cells has a spinel chemistry.
4. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein the battery pack has an ampere-hour capacity of at least 3.0 ampere-hours.
5. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of battery cells has a cell length of between about 60 mm and about 70 mm.
6. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of battery cells has a cell length of about 65 mm.
7. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to control a field-effect transistor (“FET”) to control the discharge of the plurality of battery cells.
8. The battery pack of claim 7, wherein the FET is within the housing.
9. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein the circuit includes a microprocessor.
10. An electrical combination comprising the battery pack of claim 1 and a hand held power tool.
11. An electrical combination comprising:
a battery pack for supplying power to a hand held power tool, the battery pack including a battery pack housing connectable to and supportable by the hand held power tool, and a plurality of battery cells supported within the battery pack housing, the plurality of battery cells connected in a combined series-parallel configuration, each of the plurality of battery cells having a lithium-based chemistry, each of the plurality of battery cells being cylindrical and having a cell length of less than or equal to about 70 mm;
first and second terminals for electrically connecting the battery pack and the hand held power tool; and
a circuit configured to control a discharge of the plurality of battery cells to produce a discharge current from the plurality of battery cells and to supply the discharge current to the hand held power tool,
12. The combination of claim 11, wherein the lithium-based chemistry includes manganese.
13. The combination of claim 11, wherein the battery pack has an ampere-hour capacity of at least 3.0 ampere-hours.
14. The combination of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of battery cells has a cell length of between about 60 mm and about 70 mm.
15. The combination of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of battery cells has a cell length of about 65 mm.
16. The combination of claim 11, wherein the circuit is configured to control a field-effect transistor (“FET”) to control the discharge of the plurality of battery cells.
17. The combination of claim 16, wherein the FET is within the battery pack housing.
18. The combination of claim 11, wherein the circuit includes a microprocessor.
19. The combination of claim 18, wherein the microprocessor is within the battery pack housing.
20. The combination of claim 11, further comprising a hand held power tool.
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Patent number: 9941718
Patent Publication Number: 20170271899
Application Number: 15/614,191
Current U.S. Class: For Battery Pack (320/112)
International Classification: H01M 10/46 (20060101); H02J 7/00 (20060101); H01M 2/10 (20060101); H01M 10/44 (20060101); H02J 7/02 (20160101); H01M 10/052 (20100101); H01M 6/42 (20060101);