US-12620828-B2 - Battery temperature based tool power reduction

US12620828B2US 12620828 B2US12620828 B2US 12620828B2US-12620828-B2

Abstract

A power tool may include a power tool housing. A power tool may include a drive unit located within the power tool housing. A power tool may include a power tool controller located within the power tool housing, the power tool controller configured to: receive a signal from battery pack, the signal indicative of a temperature of the battery pack, and do not limit a drive unit power if the temperature is less than a temperature threshold.

Inventors

Jonathan R. Feldkamp
Grzegorz Kondro
Colin W. Hines
Mathew Tang
Nikolas F. Mika

Assignees

TECHTRONIC CORDLESS GP

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240404

Claims (15)

1 . A power tool comprising: a power tool housing; a drive unit located within the power tool housing; and a power tool controller located within the power tool housing, the power tool controller configured to: receive a signal from battery pack, the signal indicative of a temperature of the battery pack, and prohibit limiting a drive unit power if the temperature is less than a temperature threshold.
2 . The power tool of claim 1 , wherein the power tool controller is further configured to limit the drive unit power if the temperature is between a lower temperature threshold and an upper temperature threshold.
3 . The power tool of claim 2 , wherein the power tool controller is further configured to limit the drive unit power to a predetermined maximum limit if the temperature is greater than or equal to the upper temperature threshold.
4 . The power tool of claim 3 , wherein the predetermined maximum limit is greater than one-half of a maximum power of the power tool.
5 . The power tool of claim 2 , wherein the temperature threshold is equal to the lower temperature threshold.
6 . The power tool of claim 1 , wherein the power tool controller is further configured to limit the drive unit power based on a linear scaling operation if the temperature is between a lower temperature threshold and an upper temperature threshold.
7 . The power tool of claim 1 , wherein the power tool controller is further configured to request the temperature from the battery pack at fixed intervals.
8 . The power tool of claim 1 , wherein the power tool is one selected from a group consisting of a leaf blower, a drill, an impact driver, a reciprocating saw, a circular saw, an angle grinder, and a lawn mower.
9 . A method implemented on a controller of a power tool for reducing a supply of power to a drive unit of the power tool, the method comprising: receiving, via the controller, a signal indicative of a temperature of a battery pack; and prohibiting limiting, via the controller, the supply of power to the drive unit if the temperature is less than a temperature threshold.
10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising determining, via the controller, whether the temperature is between a lower temperature threshold and an upper temperature threshold, and limiting, via the controller, the supply of power to the drive unit if the temperature is between the lower temperature threshold and the upper temperature threshold.
11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising limiting, via the controller, the supply of power to the drive unit to a predetermined maximum limit if the temperature is greater than or equal to an upper temperature threshold.
12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the predetermined maximum limit is greater than one-half of a maximum power of the power tool.
13 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising limiting, via the controller, the supply of power to the drive unit based on a linear scaling operation if the temperature is between a lower temperature threshold and an upper temperature threshold.
14 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising requesting, via the controller, the temperature from the battery pack at fixed intervals.
15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the power tool is one selected from a group consisting of a leaf blower, a drill, an impact driver, a reciprocating saw, a circular saw, an angle grinder, and a lawn mower.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit and priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/728,538, filed Apr. 25, 2022, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/180,409, filed on Apr. 27, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD Embodiments described herein provide battery pack powered power tools. SUMMARY Devices, such as power tools, may be configured to receive power from a battery pack electrically coupled to the power tool. The coupled battery pack may have a thermal limit for an internal temperature of the battery pack. Above this thermal limit, the health and performance of the battery pack may be compromised. As power tools push the limits of continuous power, the thermal limits of battery packs may be encountered more frequently. Some power tools may not be able to deliver a full discharge of a battery pack before hitting the thermal limit. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a power tool with a power consumption reduction method based on a temperature of a battery pack electrically coupled to the power tool. Such a method would allow a user to utilize the power tool and battery pack at their most ideal capability. In some embodiments, the battery pack may include a communication interface through which the battery pack can communicate with the power tool. This would allow the power tool to receive a temperature of the battery pack at constant intervals. Embodiments described herein provide a device, such as a power tool. The power tool includes a housing having a handle and a battery pack interface. The power tool includes a motor (e.g., a brushless direct current motor) within the housing. The motor includes a rotor and a stator. The rotor is coupled to a motor shaft to provide a rotational output. The rotational output may be used to rotate a fan of a turbine, a rotating tool end, and/or a rotating cutting device, and/or the rotational output may be coupled to a reciprocating device to convert rotational motion into rectilinear motion. In another embodiment, the power tool may include a solenoid. The solenoid may not include a rotor. However, the solenoid may operate with windings in a similar way to that of the motor. In another embodiment, the power tool may not include a motor. Rather, in such an embodiment, the power tool may include, or be, a power inverter. For example, a power inverter configured to convert direct-current (DC) power to alternating-current (AC) power (for example, 110V AC power). The battery pack interface includes at least one electrode terminal for receiving power from a battery pack, and at least one communication terminal for receiving data from the battery pack. The power tool further includes a power tool controller located within the housing. The power tool controller includes a processor and a memory. The power tool controller is configured to send a request to the battery pack via the communication terminal at intervals (for example, variable intervals, fixed intervals, predetermined intervals, etc.). The request may be a request to receive a temperature. The power tool controller is further configured to receive a signal from the battery pack via the communication terminal of the battery pack interface. The signal may be indicative of the temperature. The power tool controller is further configured to determine whether the temperature is between a lower temperature threshold and an upper temperature threshold. The power tool controller is further configured to control or limit a supply of power to the motor if the temperature is between the lower temperature threshold and the upper temperature threshold. The limiting of the supply of power to the motor may be based on a linear scaling operation if the temperature is between the lower temperature threshold and the upper temperature threshold. The power tool controller is further configured to not limit a supply of power to the motor if the temperature is less than the lower temperature threshold. The power tool controller is further configured to limit the supply of power to the motor to a predetermined maximum limit if the temperature is greater than or equal to the upper temperature limit. The predetermined maximum limit may be greater than one-half of a maximum power of the power tool. In some embodiments, the power tool is one selected from a group of a blower, a drill, an impact driver, a reciprocating saw, a circular saw, an angle grinder, a lawn mower, and the like. Embodiments described herein also provide a device, such as a battery pack. The battery pack includes a housing having a power tool interface. The battery pack includes one or more cells located within the housing. The battery pack includes at least one sensor configured to sense a temperature within the battery pack housing. The temperature sensor may be one selected from a group of a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistor, a thermocouple,