US-20260124725-A1 - POWER TOOL INCLUDING MOTOR POWER RAMPING DURING IMPACTING

US20260124725A1US 20260124725 A1US20260124725 A1US 20260124725A1US-20260124725-A1

Abstract

A power tool may include a housing, a trigger, a motor, an impact mechanism and an electronic processor configured to detect a trigger pull and control the motor at a first motor power in response to the trigger pull, detect a first impact of the impact mechanism and store a count of the impact of the impact mechanism. The power tool may include control the motor at a second motor power in response to the impact of the impact mechanism, detect a second impact of the impact mechanism and increment the count of the impact; and compare the count of the impact to an impact threshold, control the motor at a third motor power in response to the count of the impact being less than the impact threshold, and stop the motor in response to the count of the impact being greater than or equal to the impact threshold.

Inventors

Alejandro M. Damonte Vegas
Jacob R. Seifert

Assignees

MILWAUKEE ELECTRIC TOOL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251103

Claims (20)

1 . An impact tool comprising: a housing; a trigger; a motor within the housing, the motor including a rotor and a stator, the rotor coupled to a motor shaft; an impact mechanism including a hammer coupled to the motor shaft and an anvil configured to receive impacts from the hammer; an output drive device coupled to the anvil and configured to rotate; and an electronic controller including a memory and an electronic processor, the electronic controller configured to: detect a pull of the trigger, control the motor at a first motor power in response to the pull of the trigger, detect a first impact of the impact mechanism, store a count of the impact of the impact mechanism in the memory, control the motor at a second motor power in response to the impact of the impact mechanism; detect a second impact of the impact mechanism, increment the count of the impact; compare the count of the impact to an impact threshold, control the motor at a third motor power in response to the count of the impact being less than the impact threshold, the third motor power being greater than the second motor power; and stop the motor in response to the count of the impact being greater than or equal to the impact threshold.
2 . The impact tool of claim 1 , wherein the first motor power is a maximum motor power, and the second motor power is a minimum motor power.
3 . The impact tool of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first motor power, the second motor power and the third motor power are determined by the electronic processor using at least one selected from the group consisting of a pulse-width modulation value, a revolutions per minute setpoint, a motor conduction angle, and a motor phase angle.
4 . The impact tool of claim 1 , wherein the electronic controller is configured to control the motor at the second motor power by lowering a pulse-width modulation signal duty cycle.
5 . The impact tool of claim 1 , wherein the electronic controller is configured to control the motor at the second motor power using one or more closed-loop speed control target set points.
6 . The impact tool of claim 1 , the electronic processor further configured to control the motor at the third motor power in response to the count of the impact being incremented by two.
7 . The impact tool of claim 1 , wherein the third motor power is greater than the second motor power by a predetermined value.
8 . The impact tool of claim 1 , wherein the third motor power is calculated by the electronic processor using an algorithm.
9 . The impact tool of claim 8 , wherein the algorithm includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a total number of impacts detected by the electronic processor, a current measurement of the motor, a voltage measurement of the motor, a revolutions per minute value of the motor, and a run time of the motor.
10 . A method of controlling an impact tool including a housing, a trigger, a motor within the housing, an impact mechanism including a hammer and an anvil configured to receive impacts from the hammer, and an electronic controller including a memory and an electronic processor, the method comprising: detecting, using the electronic processor, a pull of the trigger; controlling, using the electronic processor, the motor at a first motor power in response to the pull of the trigger; detecting, using the electronic processor, a first impact of the impact mechanism; storing, in the memory, a count of the impact of the impact mechanism; controlling, using the electronic processor, the motor at a second motor power in response to the impact of the impact mechanism; detecting, using the electronic processor, a second impact of the impact mechanism; incrementing, using the electronic processor, the count of the impact; comparing, using the electronic processor, the count of the impact to an impact threshold; controlling, using the electronic processor, the motor at a third motor power in response to the count of the impact being less than the impact threshold, the third motor power being greater than the second motor power; and stopping, using the electronic processor, the motor in response to the count of the impact being greater than or equal to the impact threshold.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein at least one of the first motor power, the second motor power and the third motor power are determined by the electronic processor using at least one selected from the group consisting of a pulse-width modulation value, a revolutions per minute setpoint, a motor conduction angle, and a motor phase angle.
12 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising: detecting, using the electronic processor, an impact timing of the impact mechanism; determining, using the electronic processor, whether the impact timing of the impact mechanism is within a predetermined range; and reducing, using the electronic processor, the power provided to the motor in response to the impact timing of the impact mechanism being outside of the predetermined range.
13 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising: calculating, using the electronic processor, a motor power value for the third motor power, increasing, using the electronic processor, the motor power value in response incrementing the count of the impact, and controlling, using the electronic processor, the motor at a third motor power.
14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the electronic processor increases the motor power value by a predetermined amount after every two increments of the count of the impact.
15 . An impact tool comprising: a housing; a trigger; a motor within the housing, the motor including a rotor and a stator, the rotor is coupled to a motor shaft; an impact mechanism including a hammer coupled to the motor shaft and an anvil configured to receive impacts from the hammer; an output drive device coupled to the anvil and configured to rotate; and an electronic controller including a memory and an electronic processor, the electronic controller configured to: detect a pull of the trigger, control the motor at a maximum motor power in response to the pull of the trigger, detect a first impact of the impact mechanism, store a count of the impact of the impact mechanism in the memory, control the motor at a minimum motor power in response to the impact of the impact mechanism, detect a second impact of the impact mechanism, increment the count of the impact, compare the count of the impact to an impact threshold, control the motor at an intermediate motor power in response to the count of the impact being less than the impact threshold, the intermediate motor power being between the minimum motor power and the maximum motor power, and stop the motor in response to the count of the impact being greater than or equal to the impact threshold.
16 . The impact tool of claim 15 , wherein the electronic controller is further configured to: detect an impact timing of the impact mechanism; determine whether the impact timing of the impact mechanism is within a predetermined range; and reduce the power provided to the motor in response to the impact timing of the impact mechanism being outside of the predetermined range.
17 . The impact tool of claim 15 , further comprising: one or more sensors configured to detect the first impact of the impact mechanism and output a signal to the electronic controller, wherein the one or more sensors of the impact mechanism include at least one selected from the group consisting of a hammer translation sensor, an anvil rotation sensor, or a current measurement sensor.
18 . The impact tool of claim 15 , wherein the maximum motor power is calculated by the electronic processor using at least one selected from the group consisting of a pulse-width modulation value, a revolutions per minute setpoint, a motor conduction angle, a motor phase angle, a quadrature axis direction current, or a direct axis direction current.
19 . The impact tool of claim 15 , wherein the minimum motor power is a preset power value stored in the memory and the maximum motor power is a calculated by the electronic processor.
20 . The impact tool of claim 15 , wherein the intermediate motor power is based upon an algorithm that includes the count of the impact of the impact mechanism.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 63/716,982, filed Nov. 6, 2024, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference. FIELD This application relates to impact power tools. SUMMARY Impact tools described herein include a housing, a trigger, a motor within the housing, the motor including a rotor and a stator, the rotor coupled to a motor shaft, and an impact mechanism including a hammer coupled to the motor shaft and an anvil configured to receive impacts from the hammer. The tool includes an output drive device coupled to the anvil and configured to rotate, and an electronic controller including a memory and an electronic processor. The electronic controller is configured to detect a pull of the trigger, control the motor at a first motor power in response to the pull of the trigger, detect a first impact of the impact mechanism, store a count of the impact of the impact mechanism in the memory, control the motor at a second motor power in response to the impact of the impact mechanism, detect a second impact of the impact mechanism, increment the count of the impact, compare the count of the impact to an impact threshold, control the motor at a third motor power in response to the count of the impact being less than the impact threshold, the third motor power being greater than the second motor power, and stop the motor in response to the count of the impact being greater than or equal to the impact threshold. In some aspects, the first motor power is a maximum motor power, and the second motor power is a minimum motor power. In some aspects, at least one of the first motor power, the second motor power and the third motor power are determined by the electronic processor using at least one selected from the group consisting of a pulse-width modulation value, a revolutions per minute setpoint, a motor conduction angle, and a motor phase angle. In some aspects, the electronic controller is configured to control the motor at the second motor power by lowering a pulse-width modulation signal duty cycle. In some aspects, wherein the electronic controller is configured to control the motor at the second motor power using one or more closed-loop speed control target set points. In some aspects, the electronic processor is further configured to control the motor at the third motor power in response to the count of the impact being an even number. In some aspects, the third motor power is greater than the second motor power by a predetermined value. In some aspects, the third motor power is calculated by the electronic processor using an algorithm. In some aspects, the algorithm includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a total number of impacts detected by the electronic processor, a current measurement of the motor, a voltage measurement of the motor, a revolutions per minute value of the motor, and a run time of the motor. Methods described herein relate to controlling an impact tool including a housing, a trigger, a motor within the housing, an impact mechanism including a hammer and an anvil configured to receive impacts from the hammer, and an electronic controller including a memory and an electronic processor. The method includes detecting, using the electronic processor, a pull of the trigger, controlling, using the electronic processor, the motor at a first motor power in response to the pull of the trigger, detecting, using the electronic processor, a first impact of the impact mechanism, and storing, in the memory, a count of the impact of the impact mechanism. The method includes controlling, using the electronic processor, the motor at a second motor power in response to the impact of the impact mechanism, detecting, using the electronic processor, a second impact of the impact mechanism, incrementing, using the electronic processor, the count of the impact, and comparing, using the electronic processor, the count of the impact to an impact threshold. The method includes controlling, using the electronic processor, the motor at a third motor power in response to the count of the impact being less than the impact threshold, the third motor power being greater than the second motor power, and stopping, using the electronic processor, the motor in response to the count of the impact being greater than or equal to the impact threshold. In some aspects, at least one of the first motor power, the second motor power and the third motor power are determined by the electronic processor using at least one selected from the group consisting of a pulse-width modulation value, a revolutions per minute setpoint, a motor conduction angle, and a motor phase angle. In some aspects, the method further includes detecting, using the electronic processor, an impact timing of the impact mechanism, determining, using the electronic processor, whether the impact timing of the impact mechanism is within a predetermined range, and reducing, usin