CN106998168A - Electric working machine - Google Patents

Abstract

An electric working machine in one aspect of the present disclosure includes a motor, a first operation unit, a control unit, a second operation unit, and a storage unit. The storage unit stores the reference speed set via the second operation unit. The control unit drives the motor at a rotation speed corresponding to the drive command from the first operation unit according to a control characteristic set based on the reference speed stored in the storage unit.

Description

electric working machine

technical field

The present disclosure relates to an electric working machine provided with a motor as a drive source.

Background technique

Known electric working machines of this type are provided with a trigger for inputting an instruction to drive the motor, and are configured to control the rotation speed of the motor in accordance with the amount of operation of the trigger by the user (in other words, the amount of pulling). .

In the electric working machine, a control characteristic (specifically, an operation amount-rotational speed characteristic) for setting the rotation speed of the motor according to the operation amount of the trigger is set in advance. The rotational speed of the motor is controlled according to this control characteristic.

An example of an electric working machine disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-285805 has a plurality of control characteristics set such that the highest rotational speed at which the operation amount of the trigger becomes maximum For example, low speed, medium speed or high speed.

According to this electric working machine, a user can select a control characteristic for use in driving control of the motor from among the plurality of control characteristics. Therefore, the usability of the electric working machine can be improved.

Contents of the invention

As in the above example, in the electric working machine in which the user can select a control characteristic for use in drive control of the motor from a plurality of control characteristics, each control characteristic is a preset fixed characteristic.

Therefore, the user cannot change the control characteristic for use in the drive control of the motor to the characteristic preferred by the user. Electric working machines cannot be improved to be more convenient for the user.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, it is desirable to be able to provide an electric working machine in which control characteristics for use in drive control of a motor can be arbitrarily set by a user.

An electric working machine in one aspect of the present disclosure includes a motor, a first operation unit, a control unit, a second operation unit, and a storage unit.

The first operation unit is configured to be operated by a user of the electric working machine and configured to output a drive command for the motor. The control unit drives the motor at a rotation speed corresponding to the drive command from the first operation unit.

The second operation unit is configured to be operated by a user and configured to set a reference speed for driving the motor by the control unit. The storage unit stores the reference speed set via the second operation unit.

The control unit drives the motor at a rotational speed corresponding to the driving command from the first operation unit according to a control characteristic set based on the reference speed stored in the storage unit.

Therefore, according to this electric working machine, the control characteristic of the control unit for driving the motor is set based on the reference speed set by the user via the second operation unit. The user is allowed to arbitrarily set the control characteristic by setting the reference speed via the second operation unit. Therefore, this electric working machine is convenient for the user. The operability of the user of the electric working machine can be improved.

The second operation unit may output a setting command for the reference speed. When the setting instruction is input from the second operation unit while the motor is driven by the control unit in response to the drive instruction from the first operation unit, the storage unit may store a current rotational speed of the motor being driven as a reference speed.

In this way, while checking the rotational state of the motor actually driven by the control unit, the user can operate the second operation unit when the rotational speed becomes a desired rotational speed, taking the rotational speed at this time as a reference The speed is stored in the storage unit. Therefore, the user can relatively appropriately set a desired rotation speed as the reference speed. The usability of the electric working machine can be improved.

In this case, each of the control unit and the storage unit can be configured as follows.

When a driving command is input from the first operating unit and a setting command is input from the second operating unit, the control unit can rotate at a speed corresponding to the driving command from the first operating unit according to preset control characteristics for setting. speed drive motor.

When the setting instruction is input from the second operation unit while the control unit controls driving of the motor according to the control characteristic for setting, the storage unit may store a current rotational speed of the motor being driven as a reference speed.

In this way, the user can switch the operation mode of the control unit to the operation mode for driving the motor according to the control characteristic for setting for the reference speed by inputting the setting instruction from the second operation unit.

Thereafter, the user causes the control unit to drive the motor according to the control characteristic for setting by operating the first operation unit, and when the motor becomes a desired rotation speed, again inputs a setting instruction from the second operation unit. Therefore, the rotational speed of the motor when the setting command is input again is stored in the storage unit as a reference speed.

Therefore, in this case, the user can set the reference speed to an arbitrary rotation speed by operating the first operation unit. Setting work can be performed more easily and more appropriately.

At this time, in the case where the reference speed is set and thus stored in the storage unit, it is necessary to input the setting instruction twice from the second operation unit. For convenience, the setting command may be input when the second operation unit is operated by the user and when the operation is stopped.

For this purpose, the control unit may determine that a setting instruction for the reference speed is input when the second operation unit is operated, and the control unit may perform the driving instruction from the first operation unit in accordance with the control characteristic for the setting. The corresponding rotational speed drives the motor.

The storage unit may determine that the setting command for the reference speed is input when the operation of the second operation unit is stopped while the control unit drives the motor according to the control characteristic for setting, and the current rotational speed of the motor being driven will be Stored as base speed.

If the control unit and the storage unit are configured as above, the user needs to continuously operate the second operation unit when setting the reference speed.

However, only when the user is operating the second operation unit, the motor is driven according to the control characteristic for setting, and when the user stops operating the second operation unit, the current rotational speed of the motor is stored as the reference speed . Therefore, the setting operation of the reference speed becomes easy for the user to understand.

In order to input the setting instruction twice from the second operation unit, the setting instruction may be input when the state of the second operation unit is changed from the non-operation state to the operation state by the user's operation.

For this purpose, the control unit may determine that a setting instruction for the reference speed is input when the state of the second operation unit is changed from the non-operating state to the operating state, and activate the method for communicating with the The driving control of the driving motor is driven at a rotational speed corresponding to the driving instruction of the first operating unit.

In addition, the storage unit may determine that the setting command for the reference speed is input when the state of the second operation unit is changed from the non-operation state to the operation state again while the control unit controls the driving of the motor according to the control characteristic for the setting. , and store the current rotational speed of the motor being driven as the reference speed.

If the control unit and the storage unit are configured as above, the user must operate the second operation unit twice when setting the reference speed.

However, it is sufficient for the user to operate only the first operation unit during the period after the first operation of the second operation unit until the next operation of the second operation unit. Therefore, the user can concentrate on adjusting the rotational speed of the motor. Speed adjustment when setting the reference speed to a desired rotation speed becomes easy for the user. The user can carry out adjustment work more optimally.

If the first operation unit is an operation unit through which the user can adjust the amount of pulling (in other words, the amount of operation) like the trigger described above, the control unit can use the control including the above-mentioned control characteristics for setting characteristics to control the drive of the motor. Each of the control characteristics may be an operation amount-rotational speed characteristic.

That is, when each of the control characteristics is an operation amount-rotation speed characteristic, the rotation speed of the motor can be set according to the user's operation amount of the first operation unit. The control unit controls the driving of the motor so that the motor rotates at the rotational speed.

In this case, the control characteristic for setting may be set such that the lowest rotational speed of the motor in the control characteristic for setting is higher than the lowest rotational speed in the remaining control characteristics among the control characteristics.

That is, even if the minimum rotational speed for a set control characteristic is set to be very low (usually zero (0) rotational speed) - similar to the minimum rotational speed of the rest of the control characteristics, it is still difficult to regulate the rotation of the motor speed to set the base speed in the very low speed range.

In addition, the reference speed is intended for use in setting control characteristics when the control unit controls the driving of the motor. It is sufficient that the reference speed can be set to a rotational speed corresponding to an arbitrary operation amount between the lowest rotational speed and the highest rotational speed.

Therefore, at the time of setting the reference speed, it is sufficient to be able to adjust the rotation speed according to the operation amount while the motor rotates in a desired rotation region in which the reference speed can be set. In doing so, the minimum rotational speed for the set control characteristic can be set higher than the minimum rotational speed of the remaining control characteristics.

In this way, the rotational speed range of the motor that changes in response to the operation amount of the first operation unit is limited to the high rotational speed range of the motor and narrower than when the rotational speed range is set to the entire speed range of the motor. Therefore, the user can more finely adjust the rotation speed of the motor to be set as the reference speed through the operation of the first operation unit.

On the other hand, the control characteristic for setting may be set such that the highest rotational speed of the motor is the rotational speed at the time of full-speed driving of the motor (ie, the maximum rotational speed). Thus, the user can set any rotation speed between the minimum rotation speed of the motor as described above and the maximum rotation speed when the motor is driven at full speed as the reference speed.

In addition, the control unit may be configured to select the control characteristic from a plurality of control characteristics different in the maximum rotational speed of the motor. In this case, the lowest rotational speed of the motor among the control characteristics for setting may be set as the smallest highest rotational speed among the plurality of control characteristics.

In this way, the lowest rotational speed for the set control characteristic can be set as the smallest highest rotational speed among the remaining control characteristics of the plurality of control characteristics. Thus, the reference speed can be set within a range in which the rotational speed is higher than the minimum maximum rotational speed. Therefore, the rotational speed range that can be set as the reference speed is limited to a practical range. Within this range, the reference speed can be set more finely.

The control characteristic for setting may be set such that the rotation speed of the motor changes linearly in proportion to the operation amount of the first operation unit.

In this case, when the user operates the first operation unit to set the reference speed, the rotation speed of the motor changes in a one-to-one manner (in other words, proportionally) in response to the operation amount. Therefore, the user can easily set the reference speed through the operation of the first operation unit.

In addition, the control unit may be configured to report that the motor can be driven and controlled according to the control characteristic for the setting.

Thus, the user can check through the report from the control unit that the reference speed can be set to the desired rotation speed by operating the first operation unit to drive the motor. The usability of the electric working machine can be improved.

On the other hand, when setting the reference speed, it is not always necessary for the user to operate the first operation unit to adjust the rotation speed of the motor. The control unit can automatically vary the rotational speed of the motor.

More specifically, for example, when a setting instruction for the reference speed is input from the second operation unit, the control unit may drive the motor so that the rotational speed of the motor changes based on the preset change characteristic for setting. Changes between a set minimum turning speed and a set maximum turning speed.

When a setting instruction for a reference speed is input from the second operation unit while the control unit drives the motor based on the variation characteristic for setting, the storage unit may store the current rotational speed of the motor being driven as the reference speed .

In this way, the user can also select an arbitrary rotational speed to be set as a reference speed from rotational speeds of the motor that vary when the control unit drives the motor based on the variation characteristic for setting, for setting the reference speed.

In this case, the change characteristic for setting may be set so that the rotation speed of the motor is periodically changed from the lowest rotation speed for setting to the highest rotation speed for setting, or from The set maximum rotational speed is periodically changed to the set minimum rotational speed, or both from the set minimum rotational speed to the set maximum rotational speed and from the set maximum rotational speed Change periodically towards the lowest rotational speed for setting.

At this time, the reference speed stored in the storage unit is used to set control characteristics for use in controlling the driving of the motor by the control unit. The setting of the control characteristic may be performed while the reference speed is stored in the storage unit.

In this way, immediately after the reference speed is stored in the storage unit and the control characteristic is set, the control unit can perform drive control of the motor based on the control characteristic. The control characteristics of the motor can be switched without stopping the driving of the motor.

In addition, when the reference speed is stored in the storage unit and then the output of the drive command from the first operation unit is stopped, the control unit may set the control characteristic to be set based on the reference speed stored in the storage unit for the Executes the control characteristics used for motor drive control.

In this case, the user stops the driving of the motor once after driving the motor to store the reference speed in the storage unit, and then can use a new speed set based on the reference speed when operating the first operation unit to drive the motor again. control characteristics to drive and control the motor.

In addition, the control unit may stop the rotation of the motor when the reference speed is stored in the storage unit.

In this case, when the motor is driven to store the reference speed in the storage unit, the driving of the motor is stopped. Therefore, the user can check that the reference speed is stored in the storage unit by stopping the motor. Thereafter, the user can operate the first operating unit to drive the motor again, thereby driving and controlling the motor using the new control characteristic.

The control unit may report that the motor can be driven and controlled when the reference speed is stored in the storage unit and the motor can be driven and controlled according to the control characteristic set based on the reference speed.

In this way, the user can check that the motor can be driven and controlled according to the control characteristic set by the user through the report from the control unit. The usability of the electric working machine can be improved.

At this time, the control unit may select at least one of a normal mode and a set mode as an operation mode for the control unit, and the control unit may drive the motor in the selected operation mode.

Here, the at least one normal mode may be a mode for driving and controlling the motor at a rotation speed corresponding to a driving command from the first operating unit according to at least one preset fixed control characteristic.

The setting mode may be a mode for controlling driving of the motor corresponding to a driving instruction from the first operation unit according to a variable control characteristic based on a reference speed stored in the storage unit And set the control characteristics.

Therefore, if the control unit is configured as such, the user can control the rotation speed of the motor according to a predetermined fixed control characteristic by operating the first operation unit. The user may also cause the control unit to control the rotation speed of the motor according to the variable control characteristic set based on the reference speed defined via the second operation unit.

Therefore, according to the electric working machine having such a control unit, the user can select the change characteristic of the rotation speed of the motor from the control characteristics in which the rotation speed changes corresponding to the operation of the first operation unit, and in addition , the user can arbitrarily change one of the control characteristics to a user-preferred control characteristic.

Therefore, the usability of the electric working machine can be further improved.

The electric working machine may include a third operation unit configured to be operated by a user to switch the operation mode of the control unit to the at least one normal mode. The control unit may be configured such that the operation mode is switched to the at least one normal mode when the third operation unit is operated, and such that the operation mode is switched to the setting mode when the second operation unit is operated.

In this case, the second operation unit and the third operation unit may be provided side by side in the operation area of the electric working machine (for example, in an operation panel or the like). In this way, the user can selectively operate one of the second operation unit and the third operation unit by simply moving a finger, thereby easily switching the operation mode of the control unit.

A distance between the second operation unit and the third operation unit may be longer than a length of at least one of the second operation unit and the third operation unit in a direction in which the second operation unit and the third operation unit are arranged.

In other words, if the second operation unit and the third operation unit are arranged as such, it is possible to suppress user-induced erroneous operation of the second operation unit or the third operation unit when switching the operation mode of the control unit.

A display unit configured to display a state of the electric working machine may be provided between the second operation unit and the third operation unit.

Description of drawings

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an electric power tool according to an embodiment;

2 is a schematic diagram of a configuration provided to an operation panel of an electric tool;

3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a motor driver provided in the electric tool;

FIG. 4 is a graph showing control characteristics when a motor is driven and controlled;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control process performed in the control circuit of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a mode setting process performed in S140 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a rotation speed setting storage process performed in S150 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a motor control process performed in S160 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a display process performed in S170 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a rotation speed setting storage process of the first modification;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a motor control process of the first modification;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a rotation speed setting storage process of a second modification; and

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a rotation speed setting storage process of a third modification.

detailed description

In this embodiment, the electric power tool 1 is described as an example of the electric working machine of the present disclosure. In the following description, the rotation speed of the motor (specifically, the number of rotations of the motor per unit time) is simply referred to as the rotation speed. In addition, the switch is sometimes abbreviated as SW.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the electric tool 1 of the present embodiment is a rechargeable impact driver. The electric tool 1 includes a body case 5 constructed by assembling a right half case 2 and a left half case 3 and equipped with a grip portion 4 extending downward. A battery pack 6 is detachably mounted on the lower end of the grip portion 4 of the body case 5 .

In the rear portion (on the left side in FIG. 1 ) of the body housing 5 is provided a motor housing 7 for accommodating a motor 40 (see FIG. 3 ) serving as a driving source of the electric tool 1 . The front portion of the motor housing 7 accommodates a reduction mechanism and a striking mechanism.

At the distal end of the body housing 5 is provided a chuck sleeve 8 for attaching various tool bits (not shown), such as driver bits and casing bits, to the front end of the striking mechanism.

The striking mechanism includes, for example, a spindle that rotates via a reduction mechanism, a hammer that rotates together with the spindle and is movable in an axial direction, and an anvil located in front of the hammer. A tool head is attached to the front end of the anvil. The striking mechanism operates as follows.

That is, in the striking mechanism, when the spindle is rotated with the rotation of the motor 40, the anvil is rotated via the hammer to rotate the chuck sleeve 8 (and thus the tool head).

As the screwing progresses through the tool head and the load on the anvil increases, the hammer moves back against the biasing force of the coil spring and disengages from the anvil, and subsequently moves due to the biasing force of the coil spring Move forward and simultaneously rotate with the mandrel to re-engage the anvil.

Therefore, intermittent blows are applied to the anvil, and the screw is further tightened by the tool head. It should be noted that the beating mechanism is known from the prior art, and details of the beating mechanism are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-0218605, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference incorporated into this article.

The grip portion 4 is a portion that a user grips when using the electric power tool 1 . The upper side of the grip 4 is provided with a trigger SW 10 .

The flip-flop SW 10 serves as the above-mentioned first operation unit. The trigger SW 10 includes a trigger pulled by the user and a circuit unit which is turned on when the trigger is pulled and whose resistance value changes according to the amount of pulling (operation amount).

In addition, the upper side of the trigger SW 10 is provided with a switch for switching the rotation direction of the motor 40 to the forward direction (for example, clockwise when viewing the tool from the rear end side) or the reverse direction (reverse to the forward direction). direction of rotation) forward-reverse switching SW 12.

In addition, the distal end side of the body case 5 where the chuck sleeve 8 is provided is provided with an illumination LED 14 for illuminating the front of the electric tool 1 with light when the trigger SW 10 is pulled.

In the grip part 4, in the front upper part of the mounting part where the battery pack 6 is mounted, there is provided an operation panel 20 for switching the operation mode of the electric tool 1 and displaying the operation mode and the battery pack, for example. 6 remaining energy.

The battery pack 6 is mounted to the mounting portion at the lower end of the grip portion 4 by sliding from the front side to the rear side of the mounting portion.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the operation panel 20 is provided with a normal mode setting SW 22 , a turning speed setting SW 24 , an illumination SW 26 , a normal mode display 32 , a set mode display 34 and a remaining energy display 36 .

The normal mode setting SW 22, the turning speed setting SW 24 and the lighting SW 26 are push button switches of the automatic reset type, which are normally in the "off" state and will be in the "on" state when pressed by the user's finger . In this embodiment, so-called tactile switches are used.

The normal mode setting SW 22 is used to set the operation mode of the electric tool 1 to a normal mode in which driving and The motor 40 is controlled. The normal mode setting SW 22 serves as the above-mentioned third operation unit.

In this embodiment, the control characteristic of the motor 40 is used to set the rotation speed of the motor 40 in response to the operation amount of the trigger SW 10 (trigger pulling amount), which is the characteristic of the rotation speed with respect to the operation amount .

The high-speed fixed control characteristic, the medium-speed fixed control characteristic and the low-speed fixed control characteristic for use in the normal mode have a linear characteristic such that the rotation speed of the motor 40 is related to a trigger expressed as a numerical value from 0 to 20 (in other words, resolution). The amount of pull is proportional, as shown in Figure 4.

Each of these fixed control characteristics is set such that the minimum rotation speed is "0" when the trigger pull is at a minimum value (0), and such that the minimum rotation speed is "0" when the trigger pull is at a maximum value (20) The corresponding maximum rotation speeds are high speed, medium speed and low speed.

Since each of the fixed control characteristics is linear, the graph in FIG. 4 shows a linear shape obtained by connecting the lowest rotational speed with the corresponding highest rotational speed with a straight line. In FIG. 4, the rotational speed is represented by a percentage (%), wherein the maximum rotational speed of the motor 40 when driven at full speed is 100%.

When the normal mode setting SW 22 is operated, the latest normal mode (one of high speed, middle speed and low speed) previously selected is selected. Thereafter, when the normal mode setting SW22 is operated, the normal mode (in other words, fixed control characteristics) of the motor 40 is switched in sequence, for example, from high speed to medium speed, from medium speed to low speed, and from low speed to high speed every time it is operated. ....

At this time, the normal mode display 32 is used to display the type (high speed, middle speed or low speed) of the fixed control characteristic switched by the operation of the normal mode setting SW 22 . In this embodiment, the normal mode display 32 includes three LEDs.

In other words, each of the three LEDs corresponds to a fixed control characteristic of one of high speed, medium speed and low speed of the normal mode. The LED corresponding to the fixed control characteristic selected by the operation of the normal mode setting SW 22 is lit. Other LEDs are turned off.

The rotation speed setting SW 24 is used to switch the operation mode of the electric tool 1 to a setting mode in which the user controls the driving of the motor 40 using a variable control characteristic which can be arbitrarily set by the user. The rotational speed setting SW 24 is also used for the user to set variable control characteristics for use in the drive control of the motor 40 in the setting mode. The turning speed setting SW 24 serves as the above-mentioned second operation unit.

That is, in the present embodiment, when the rotation speed setting SW 24 is operated while the operation mode of the electric power tool 1 is the setting mode, the motor 40 is used for setting as shown in FIG. 4 while the operation continues. The control characteristics to drive and control.

Then, when the operation of the rotation speed setting SW 24 is stopped, the rotation speed of the motor 40 driven and controlled according to the characteristic for setting at this time (NA, NB, etc. shown in FIG. 4 ) is stored as Base speed for variable control characteristics.

The stored reference speed is used as the highest rotational speed of the variable control characteristic to set the variable control characteristic (A, B, etc. shown in FIG. The minimum turning speed of the control characteristic is the same. Thereafter, in the setting mode, the motor 40 is driven and controlled using the set variable control characteristic.

Among the control characteristics for setting, the lowest rotational speed is set to coincide with the highest rotational speed of the low-speed fixed control characteristic, which is the lowest in the normal mode.

In addition, the maximum rotational speed during full-speed driving of the motor 40 (100% rotational speed shown in FIG. 4 ) is set as the highest rotational speed for the set control characteristic, as in the highest rotational speed in the normal mode It is the highest high-speed fixed control characteristic.

The control characteristic for setting is preset as a linear characteristic in which the lowest rotational speed is when the trigger SW 10 is operated by the lowest operation amount (for example, the trigger pulling amount is 1 or 2). , and this linear characteristic connects the lowest rotational speed and the highest rotational speed (the maximum rotational speed of the motor 40 ) by a straight line.

The setting mode display 34 includes LEDs for displaying that the operation mode of the electric power tool 1 is the setting mode. By operating the trigger SW 10 in the setting mode, the LED blinks when the motor 40 can be driven and controlled using the control characteristic for setting, and the LED blinks when the motor 40 can be driven and controlled using the variable control characteristic. lights up.

The lighting SW 26 is used to switch between lighting the lighting LED 14 and not lighting the lighting LED 14 in conjunction with the operation of the trigger SW 10 . If the lighting LED 14 is set not to be turned on by the lighting SW 26, the lighting LED 14 is not turned on even if the trigger SW 10 is operated.

The remaining energy display 36 includes at least one LED for displaying the remaining energy of the batteries 60 in the battery pack 6 (see FIG. 3 ). The remaining energy display 36 displays the remaining energy by, for example, turning on or flickering the LED, the duration of the flickering, switching the color of the light, and the like.

It should be noted that the remaining energy of the battery 60 is the amount of charge remaining in the battery 60 .

In the operation panel 20 , the rotation speed setting SW 24 , the remaining energy display 36 , the lighting SW 26 , and the normal mode setting SW 22 are sequentially arranged in a row from the left end to the right end of the operation panel 20 , for example.

Disposing the remaining energy display 36 and the illumination SW 26 between the turning speed setting SW 24 and the normal mode setting SW 22 can prevent simultaneous operation of the turning speed setting SW 24 and the normal mode setting SW 22 or to a different switch from a certain switch. Incorrect operation of the switch operation. Therefore, erroneous switching of the operation mode of the electric power tool 1 due to erroneous operations of the rotation speed setting SW 24, the normal mode setting SW 22 can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the remaining energy display 36 and the illumination SW 26 are provided between the rotation speed setting SW 24 and the normal mode setting SW 22 . However, merely providing a display unit such as the remaining energy display 36 prevents erroneous operations of the respective SWs 22 , 24 .

Furthermore, in order to prevent erroneous operations, the rotation speed setting SW 24 and the normal mode setting SW 22 may be set only at predetermined intervals. However, in this case, if the interval is short, erroneous operation may easily occur. The interval between the turning speed setting SW 24 and the normal mode setting SW 22 can be set in proportion to the corresponding turning speed setting SW 24 and the normal mode setting SW 22 between the turning speed setting SW 24 and the normal mode setting The length in the arrangement direction of the SW 22 (specifically, the width of the operation area for pressing the corresponding switch 24 , 22 , which is approximately 10 mm or more) is long.

The battery 60 housed in the battery pack 6 is a rechargeable battery that can be repeatedly recharged, such as a lithium ion battery. However, the battery 60 is not limited thereto.

In the present embodiment, the motor 40 is a three-phase brushless motor having an armature winding for each of U-phase, V-phase, and W-phase. However, the motor 40 is not limited thereto. The motor 40 is provided with a rotation sensor 42 (see FIG. 3 ) for detecting the rotation position (angle) of the motor 40 .

The rotation sensor 42 in this embodiment is a Hall IC (Integrated Circuit) having three Hall elements. However, the rotation sensor 42 is not limited thereto. Each of the Hall elements is provided corresponding to a different phase of the motor 40 . Every time the motor 40 rotates a predetermined angle, the rotation sensor 42 generates three rotation detection signals, and each rotation detection signal has a predetermined electrical angle.

A motor driver 50 (see FIG. 3 ) is provided inside the grip portion 4 , and the motor driver 50 receives power supply from a battery 60 in the battery pack 6 to control driving of the motor 40 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , the motor driver 50 is provided with a drive circuit 52 , a gate circuit 54 , a control circuit 56 and a regulator 58 .

The drive circuit 52 is configured to receive power from the battery 60 to flow current to each winding phase of the motor 40 . More specifically, the driving circuit 52 of the present embodiment is a three-phase full-bridge circuit having six switching elements Q1 to Q6. However, the drive circuit 52 is not limited to a three-phase full bridge circuit. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, each of the switching elements Q1 to Q6 is a MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor). However, switching elements Q1 to Q6 are not limited to MOSFETs.

In the drive circuit 52, each of the three switching elements Q1 to Q3 is provided as a so-called high-side switch in which each of the corresponding terminals U, V, and W of the motor 40 is coupled to the positive electrode of the battery 60. between the connected power cords.

Each of the other three switching elements Q4 to Q6 is provided as a so-called low-side switch between each of the corresponding terminals U, V and W of the motor 40 and the ground line coupled to the negative terminal of the battery 60 between.

The gate circuit 54 turns on/off each of the switching elements Q1 to Q6 in the drive circuit 52 in accordance with a plurality of control signals output from the control circuit 56 so that current flows to each phase winding of the motor 40, thereby enabling The motor 40 turns.

The control circuit 56 in this embodiment is provided with a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like. The control circuit 56 is also provided with a nonvolatile memory 57 for storing various parameters necessary for controlling the driving of the motor 40 .

It should be noted that the parameters stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 also include: high-speed fixed control characteristics, medium-speed fixed control characteristics, and low-speed fixed control characteristics in normal mode; characteristic and variable control characteristic; and the reference speed (maximum rotational speed) of the variable control characteristic.

The above-mentioned trigger SW 10, forward-reverse switching SW 12, illumination LED 14, and operation panel 20 (more specifically, various SWs 22, 24, 26 provided on the operation panel 20 and used for various Status displays 32 , 34 , 36 ) are coupled to a control circuit 56 . In the control circuit 56, instead of a microcomputer, the function of the microcomputer can be realized by a combination of separate electronic parts, can be realized by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), can be realized by a programmable logic controller such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc. Programmable logic device, or can be realized by any combination of discrete electronic components, ASIC and programmable logic device.

Furthermore, in the motor driver 50 , a current detection circuit 44 for detecting a current flowing through the motor 40 is provided in a conductive path extending from the drive circuit 52 to the negative electrode of the battery 60 . The current detection circuit 44 includes, for example, a resistor for current detection and an input circuit for inputting a voltage between both ends of the resistor to the control circuit 56 as a current detection signal.

The motor driver 50 also includes a battery voltage detector 46 for detecting a power supply voltage (battery voltage) from the battery 60 .

A rotation detection signal from the rotation sensor 42 provided in the motor 40 , a current detection signal from the current detection circuit 44 , and a voltage detection signal from the battery voltage detector 46 are also input to the control circuit 56 .

The control circuit 56 acquires or calculates the rotational position and the rotational speed of the motor 40 based on the rotational detection signal from the rotational sensor 42 when the trigger SW 10 is operated, and sets the signal along the direction of rotation from the forward-reverse conversion SW 12. The predetermined direction of rotation drives the motor 40 .

Further, the control circuit 56 acquires or calculates the motor speed based on the control characteristic corresponding to the operation mode set by the operation of the normal mode setting SW 22 or the operation of the rotational speed setting SW 24 and the operation amount of the flip-flop SW 10 . The rotational speed of the control target of the motor 40 is set, thereby setting the rotational speed command value of the motor 40 .

Subsequently, the control circuit 56 acquires or calculates the driving duty ratio of each of the switching elements Q1 to Q6 in the driving circuit 52 based on the rotation speed command value, and outputs a plurality of control signals to the gate circuit 54 according to the driving duty ratio. (PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal), thereby controlling the rotation speed of the motor 40 .

Therefore, independently of the control process for driving the motor 40 as such, the control circuit 56 also performs control of lighting the illumination LED 14 during driving the motor, lighting the remaining energy display 36 according to the remaining energy in the battery 60. control etc.

Regulator 58 receives a power supply from battery 60 to generate a constant power supply voltage Vcc (eg, direct current (DC) 5V) required for operating control circuit 56 . Control circuit 56 receives a supply voltage Vcc from regulator 58 for operation.

Now, a description will be given of the control process executed by the control circuit 56 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the control circuit 56 repeatedly executes a series of processes from S120 to S170 (S denotes a step) at a predetermined control cycle (time base).

That is, in S110, the control circuit 56 waits for a predetermined control time period to elapse by determining whether the time base has elapsed. When it is determined in S110 that the time base has passed, the process moves to S120.

In S120, the control circuit 56 performs the following switch operation detection process: In this switch operation detection process, the input from the trigger SW 10, the forward-reverse switch SW 12, the normal mode setting SW 22, and the rotation speed setting The signal input of the SW 24 is checked, and the operated state of each of these switches is detected.

In S130, the following A/D conversion (analog-to-digital conversion) process is performed. In this A/D conversion process, the operation amount of the flip-flop SW10 and the detection signal from the current detection circuit 44 and the battery voltage detector 46 are performed. A/D conversion and retrieval.

In subsequent S140, a mode setting process for setting the operation mode to high speed, medium speed and Normal mode at low speed, or set to setting mode.

In S150, the rotational speed setting stored process for generating the reference required for the variable control characteristic used in controlling the drive of the motor 40 in the setting mode is executed. The speed (ie, the highest rotational speed of the variable control characteristic) is stored in the non-volatile memory 57 .

In S160, the following motor control process is executed, which is used to switch the trigger in accordance with the control characteristic corresponding to the operation mode set by the operation of the normal mode setting SW 22 and the rotation speed setting SW 24. The drive of the motor 40 is controlled at a rotational speed corresponding to the amount of operation of the switch SW 10.

Finally, in S170, a display process is performed in which the operation of the power tool 1 is displayed by lighting up or blinking the LEDs of the normal mode display 32 or the set mode display 34 of the operation panel 20. Mode and setting status of variable control characteristics. Then, the process proceeds to S110.

Now, the mode setting process performed in S140 of FIG. 5 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6 , in the mode setting process, first in S210 , it is determined whether the currently set operation mode is a normal mode. If the operation mode is the normal mode, the process proceeds to S220 to determine whether the state of the normal mode setting SW 22 has been changed from the non-operational state (hereinafter referred to as “off” state) to the operational state (hereinafter referred to as “off” state) to the operational state (hereinafter referred to as “off” state). to "on" state).

In S220, if it is determined that the state of the normal mode setting SW 22 has been changed from the "OFF" state to the "ON" state (in other words, the normal mode setting SW 22 is operated), the process moves to S230 to change the Setting of fixed control characteristics used in normal mode. Then, the mode setting process is terminated.

Every time when the normal mode setting SW 22 is operated, switching of the fixed control characteristic in S230 is performed by switching the fixed control characteristic from high speed to middle speed, from middle speed to low speed, and from low speed to high speed in a sequential manner. The setting is changed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S220 that the normal mode setting SW 22 has not been operated, the process moves to S240 to determine whether the state of the rotation speed setting SW 24 has been changed from the "OFF" state to the "ON" state (switched to "ON" state). In other words, whether or not the rotation speed setting SW 24 has been operated).

In S240, if it is determined that the rotation speed setting SW 24 has been operated, the process proceeds to S250 to change the operation mode from the normal mode to the setting mode. Then, the mode setting process is terminated. Furthermore, in S240, if it is determined that the rotation speed setting SW 24 is not operated, the mode setting process is immediately terminated.

In S210, when it is determined that the currently set operation mode is not the normal mode (ie, when the operation mode is the set mode), the process proceeds to S260.

In S260, it is determined whether the state of the normal mode setting SW 22 has changed from the "OFF" state to the "ON" state (in other words, whether the normal mode setting SW 22 has been operated).

In S260, when it is determined that the normal mode setting SW 22 is operated, the process proceeds to S270. The operation mode is changed from setting mode to normal mode. The mode setting process is terminated.

In S260, when it is determined that the normal mode setting SW 22 is not operated, the mode setting process is immediately terminated.

Now, the rotation speed setting storage process executed in S150 of FIG. 5 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7 , in the rotation speed setting storage process, it is first determined in S310 whether the currently set operation mode is the setting mode.

If the operation mode is the setting mode, the process proceeds to S320 to determine whether the rotation speed setting SW 24 is operated by the user and whether the rotation speed setting SW 24 is in the "on" state (in other words, whether the user input is input). Instructions for setting the reference speed).

In S320, if it is determined that the rotation speed setting SW 24 is in the "ON" state, the process proceeds to S330 to select a control characteristic for setting from the control characteristics stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 as the control characteristic for setting. The control characteristic used in the current setting mode. The rotation speed setting storage process is then terminated.

On the other hand, in S320, if it is judged that the rotation speed setting SW 24 is in the "OFF" state, the process proceeds to S340 to select the variable control characteristic from among the control characteristics stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 as the "OFF" state. Used for the control characteristics used in the current setup mode. The process proceeds to S350.

In S350, it is determined whether the rotation speed setting SW 24 is judged to be in the "ON" state in S320 of the previous rotation speed setting storage process, and whether the determination result in this time S320 is changed to the "OFF" state . In S350, it is determined whether the rotation speed setting SW 24 is changed from the "ON" state to the "OFF" state, and a setting command for the reference speed is input again.

In S350, if it is determined that the rotational speed setting SW 24 has just been changed to the "OFF" state, the process proceeds to S360 to store the current rotational speed command value of the motor 40 (in other words, the rotational speed of the motor 40) in the The non-volatile memory 57 is used as the reference speed. The process proceeds to S370.

In S370, a variable control characteristic is generated (in other words, updated) using the reference speed stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 in S360 as the highest rotational speed, which is then stored in the nonvolatile memory 57. in sex memory 57. Thereafter, the rotation speed setting storage process is terminated.

In S310, when it is determined that the currently set operation mode is not the setting mode, or when it is determined in S350 that the rotational speed setting SW 24 has not just been changed to the "OFF" state, the rotational speed setting storage process is terminated.

Now, the motor control process executed in S160 of FIG. 5 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the motor control process starts, it is first determined in S410 whether the trigger SW 10 is operated by the user and whether the trigger SW 10 is in an "on" state. If the flip-flop SW 10 is in the "on" state, the process proceeds to S420.

In S420 , it is determined whether to drive the motor 40 based on the operation amount of the trigger SW 10 and the state of the battery 60 or the motor 40 . When it is determined that the motor 40 is driven, the process proceeds to S430 to perform a motor driving process.

The motor driving process is a process for controlling the driving of the motor 40 so that the rotation speed of the motor 40 is set by the operation amount of the trigger SW 10 and the current operation mode (normal mode or setting mode). The target rotation speed is determined by the given control characteristics.

That is, during motor driving, the target rotational speed as the control target of the motor 40 as described above is acquired or calculated to set the rotational speed command value. Based on the rotational speed command value, a driving duty ratio is acquired or calculated to output the plurality of control signals (PWM signals) to the gate circuit 54 according to the driving duty ratio. After the motor driving process is performed, the motor control process is temporarily terminated.

On the other hand, in S410, if it is determined that the flip-flop SW 10 is not in the ON state, the process proceeds to S440 to execute the motor stop process, and the motor control process ends. During the motor stop process in S440, the motor 40 is stopped by generating a braking force on the motor 40 via the drive circuit 52, or simply cutting off the power supply so that the motor 40 is in a free-running state.

Now, the display process performed in S170 of FIG. 5 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 9 , during the display process, it is first determined in S510 whether the currently set operation mode is the normal mode.

If the operation mode is the normal mode, the process moves to S520 to turn off the LED of the set mode display 34 . Subsequently, the process proceeds to S530, and the display process ends after one of the LEDs of the normal mode display 32 is turned on.

In S530, one of the LEDs of the normal mode display 32 is turned on by turning on one of the three LEDs of the normal mode display 32 corresponding to the fixed control characteristic of high speed, medium speed or low speed selected in the normal mode. one of the LEDs to perform.

In S510, when it is determined that the operation mode is not the normal mode (ie, the operation mode is the setting mode), the process proceeds to S540 to determine whether the currently selected control characteristic of the motor 40 is the control characteristic for setting.

If the currently selected control characteristic is a control characteristic for setting, the process proceeds to S550 to start blinking control for turning on and off the LED of the setting mode display 34 for a certain blinking duration. The process proceeds to S560.

This flicker control is a process for notifying the user that the motor 40 can be driven and controlled using the control characteristic for setting. In response to the blinking of the LED of the setting mode display 34 achieved through this process, the user operates the trigger SW 10 and adjusts the rotational speed of the motor 40 . Thereby, the user can arbitrarily set and check the drive characteristics of the motor 40 .

In S540, when it is determined that the currently selected control characteristic is not the control characteristic for setting (that is, the currently selected control characteristic is a variable control characteristic), the process proceeds to S570 to light the LED of the setting mode display 34 rise. The process then moves to S560. In S560, the LED of the normal mode display 32 is turned off. Display process terminated.

It should be noted that since the LED of the setting mode display 34 is turned on through the process of S570, the user can check that the driving characteristics can be set by the user by operating the trigger SW 10. Drive motor 40 .

As described above, the electric power tool 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to switch the operation mode to a normal mode for controlling the driving of the motor 40 with fixed control characteristics, or for driving the motor 40 with variable control characteristics. Setting mode for controlling.

The variable control characteristic for use in the setting mode is generated by using, as a reference speed, the turning speed specified by operating the turning speed setting SW 24 by the user. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily set the variable control characteristic. The usability of the electric tool 1 in the setting mode can be improved.

Furthermore, in the setting mode, when the user operates the turning speed setting SW 24, it is determined that a setting instruction for the reference speed has been input and a control characteristic for setting is selected. Subsequently, when the user operates the trigger SW 10 in this state, the motor 40 is driven and controlled in response to the operation amount of the trigger SW 10 according to the control characteristic thus selected for setting.

In addition, when the user stops the operation of the rotation speed setting SW 24 while the motor 40 is driven and controlled as such, it is determined that a setting command for the reference speed has been reinput, and the rotation speed of the motor 40 at this time is set to The speed is stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 as a reference speed for variable control characteristics. The stored reference speed is used as the highest rotational speed of the variable control characteristic to generate the variable control characteristic.

Therefore, the user can set the reference speed (maximum rotation speed) of the variable control characteristic while actually rotating the motor 40 according to the control characteristic for setting by operating the trigger SW 10 and confirming the operation state of the electric power tool 1 at that time. speed).

When setting the reference speed of the variable control characteristic as such, the user adjusts the rotational speed of the motor 40 to a desired rotational speed. During the adjustment, the user needs to continue to operate (press) the turning speed setting SW 24 .

However, only when the user is operating the rotation speed setting SW 24, the motor 40 is driven and controlled according to the control characteristic for the setting. When the user stops operating the rotation speed setting SW 24, the rotation speed of the motor 40 at that time is stored as a reference speed (maximum rotation speed). Therefore, the user can easily understand the setting operation of the reference speed.

The control characteristic for setting is set such that the rotation speed changes linearly in proportion to the operation amount of the trigger SW 10, wherein the maximum rotation speed at the time of full-speed driving of the motor 40 is taken as the highest value of the control characteristic for setting. The rotation speed and the smallest highest rotation speed among the control characteristics (high speed, middle speed, and low speed) of the normal mode are used as the lowest rotation speed for the set control characteristics. In addition, the lowest rotational speed for the set control characteristic corresponds to the point at which the trigger SW 10 is operated by a fixed amount of the minimum operation amount by the user, not the point at which the operation amount of the trigger SW 10 is zero.

Therefore, the user can change the maximum rotation speed between the low-speed control characteristic of the normal mode and the maximum rotation speed during full-speed driving of the motor 40 within the operation range from the minimum operation amount of the trigger SW 10 to the maximum operation amount of the trigger SW 10. Any rotational speed among the rotational speeds is set as the reference speed (highest rotational speed) of the variable control characteristic.

Therefore, the user can easily and appropriately designate a desired rotational speed to be set as a reference speed (highest rotational speed) of the variable control characteristic. According to this embodiment, the user's setting operation of the variable control characteristic is simplified. This can also improve the usability of the electric tool 1 .

Furthermore, according to the electric power tool 1 of the present embodiment, the user switches the operation mode of the electric power tool 1 to the normal mode by operating the normal mode setting SW 22, and thus can set the high-speed fixed control characteristic, the middle-speed fixed control characteristic and the low-speed fixed control characteristic. One of the control characteristics is fixed to drive and control the motor 40 .

Therefore, the electric power tool 1 of the present embodiment is convenient for users who desire to change the control characteristics according to applications, although the setting operation of the variable control characteristics is frustrating.

In the present embodiment, the trigger SW 10 corresponds to an example of the first operation unit, the turning speed setting SW 24 corresponds to an example of the second operation unit, and the normal mode setting SW 22 corresponds to an example of the third operation unit.

In the present embodiment, the function as the storage unit is realized by the nonvolatile memory 57 and the rotational speed setting storage process executed by the control circuit 56 for setting the variable control characteristic The reference speed (highest rotational speed) is stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 .

The function as the control unit is realized by the motor control process executed by the control circuit 56 for controlling according to the variable control characteristics generated based on the reference speed (highest rotational speed) to communicate with the motor from the trigger SW 10 The motor 40 is driven at a rotational speed corresponding to the driving command (operation amount) of the motor 40 .

[First Modification]

In the above-mentioned embodiments, it was described that the reference speed (highest turning speed) of the variable control characteristic is set in the setting mode, and when the variable control characteristic is updated, the turning speed setting as the second operation unit is continuously operated. The SW24 is set until the desired rotational speed of the motor 40 to be set as the reference speed is obtained.

It is further described that, based on the reference speed thus set, the timing for updating the variable control characteristic used in the control is immediately after the rotation speed setting SW 24 is switched from the "ON" state to the "OFF" state And after the reference speed is stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 .

However, it may be possible after the user operates (turns on) the turning speed setting SW 24 to switch the control characteristic to the control characteristic for setting and then operates (turns on) the turning speed setting SW 24 again (in the ON state). , to execute the setting operation of the reference speed.

Furthermore, the update of the variable control characteristic based on the reference speed may not be performed immediately after setting the reference speed and storing the reference speed in the nonvolatile memory 57 (in other words, not during driving of the motor 40) , but may be done when the driving of the motor 40 is stopped after setting the reference speed.

In the first modification, the rotation speed setting at the time of performing the setting of the reference speed (in other words, storing in the nonvolatile memory 57) and updating of the variable control characteristic as described above will be Stored procedures and motor control procedures are described.

As shown in FIG. 10, in the rotation speed setting storage process of the first modification, if it is determined in S310 that the currently set operation mode is the setting mode, the process moves to S322 to determine the rotation speed setting SW24 Whether it is long-pressed for a preset predetermined time (for example, a few seconds) or longer.

Subsequently, when the turning speed setting SW 24 is long-pressed, it is determined that a setting instruction for the reference speed is input. The process proceeds to S330 to select the control characteristic for setting as the control characteristic for use in the current setting mode. The rotation speed setting storage process is terminated.

In S322, if it is determined that the rotation speed setting SW 24 is not long-pressed, the process proceeds to S342 to determine whether the currently selected control characteristic is the control characteristic for setting. If the currently selected control characteristic is the control characteristic for setting, the process proceeds to S352. Otherwise, the rotation speed setting storage process is terminated.

In S352, it is determined whether the rotational speed setting SW 24 is changed from the "OFF" state to the "ON" state and whether a setting instruction for the reference speed is re-input.

In S352, when it is determined that the rotation speed setting SW24 has been changed from the "OFF" state to the "ON" state, the process proceeds to S360 to set the current rotation speed command value of the motor 40 (in other words, the rotation speed) is stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 as a reference speed. The process proceeds to S362.

In S362, similar to S340 of the above-described embodiment, a variable control characteristic is selected as a control characteristic for use in the current setting mode. The process proceeds to S364.

In S364, the update flag is set so that, after the motor stop process of S440 in the motor control process is performed, the variable control characteristic is generated (updated) based on the reference speed stored in S360. The rotation speed setting storage process is terminated.

In S310, when it is determined that the operation mode is not the setting mode (in other words, the operation mode is the normal mode), the process proceeds to S380 to select the variable control characteristic as the control characteristic for use in the next setting mode And the rotation speed setting storage process is ended. The process of S380 is a process for preventing or preventing the motor 40 from being driven and controlled by the control characteristic for setting when the operation mode of the electric tool 1 is switched from the normal mode to the setting mode.

Now, as shown in FIG. 11, the motor control process of the first modification is basically performed in a manner similar to that of the embodiment shown in FIG. The point is that the processes of S450 to S470 are performed after the motor stop process of S440 is performed.

That is, in the motor control process of the first modification, when the motor stop process is performed in S440, it is determined in S450 whether or not the update flag is set. If the update flag is not set, the motor control process is terminated immediately. If the update flag is set, the process proceeds to S460.

In S460, the variable control characteristic is generated (in other words, updated) and the variable control characteristic is stored in the nonvolatile memory 57, and will be stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 in S360 of the rotation speed setting storage process. The reference speed in the permanent memory 57 is used as the highest rotation speed. In subsequent S470, the update flag is cleared, and the motor control process is terminated.

In the first modification, when setting the reference speed, it is necessary to operate (press) the turning speed setting SW 24 twice as the second operation unit, but it is only necessary to long press the turning speed setting SW 24 in the first operation .

However, when the rotational speed setting SW 24 is long pressed, the control characteristic of the motor 40 is switched from the variable control characteristic to the control characteristic for setting, so the reference speed can be set. Thus, when setting the reference speed, it is only necessary to operate the trigger SW 10 as the first operation unit.

Therefore, the user can concentrate on the adjustment of the rotational speed of the motor 40 for setting the reference speed. The setting operation of the reference speed can be performed more optimally.

In the first modification, after the reference speed is set and the driving of the motor 40 is stopped, generation (update) of the variable control characteristic is performed with the set reference speed as the highest rotational speed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the sense of discomfort given to the user due to the switching of the control characteristics during the operation of the motor 40 .

When updating the variable control characteristic after stopping the drive of the motor 40 as such, it is not always necessary to turn off the trigger SW 10 and execute the motor stop process. For example, a motor stop process can be enforced after setting a reference speed.

For this purpose, in determining whether to drive the motor 40 in S420 of FIG. 11 , it is only necessary to check the state of the update flag, and only need to proceed to the motor stop process of S440 if the update flag is set.

In this way, regardless of the state of the flip-flop SW 10, the motor stop process can be forcibly executed after the reference speed is set and stored in the nonvolatile memory 57, thereby updating the variable control characteristic.

[Second Modification]

In the above-mentioned embodiment, it is described that, when setting the reference speed, the motor 40 is driven and controlled according to the control characteristic for setting, and the rotation speed of the motor 40 is determined by the user's control of the trigger SW 10 operation to adjust.

However, when setting the reference speed, the control circuit 56 can be adapted to automatically change the rotational speed of the motor 40 according to a predetermined change characteristic (in other words, a change pattern) for setting, and the user can change the rotation speed of the motor 40 when the motor 40 is at Specify the reference speed by inputting the setting command when the rotation speed is desired.

For this purpose, for example, the rotational speed setting storage process may be performed as in the process shown in FIG. 12 .

In the second modification, a rotational speed setting storage process will be described in which the control circuit 56 is adapted to automatically change the rotational speed of the motor 40 so that the user can change the rotational speed without operating the trigger SW. In the case of 10, set the reference speed.

As shown in FIG. 12, in the rotation speed setting storage process of the second modification, when it is determined in S310 that the currently set operation mode is the setting mode, the process moves to S312 to determine whether the trigger SW 10 is in the "on" state.

When the trigger SW 10 is in the "ON" state, the process proceeds to S320 to determine whether the rotation speed setting SW 24 is in the "ON" state. If the rotational speed setting SW 24 is in the "ON" state, it is determined that a setting instruction for the reference speed has been input. The process proceeds to S332.

In S332, the rotation speed command value for use in driving and controlling the motor 40 is changed. Specifically, the rotational speed command value is set such that the rotational speed of the motor 40 varies between the lowest rotational speed for setting and the highest rotational speed for setting within a predetermined period of time according to a given variable control characteristic for setting. between speeds.

The rotational speed of the motor 40, when changed, may be continuously varied from the lowest rotational speed for the setting to the highest rotational speed for the setting, from the highest rotational speed for the setting to the lowest rotational speed for the setting. The rotational speed, or both continuously changes from the lowest rotational speed for setting to the highest rotational speed for setting and from the highest rotational speed for setting to the lowest rotational speed for setting.

As the minimum rotation speed for setting and the maximum rotation speed for setting, for example, the same rotation speeds as those of the control characteristic for setting of the above-described embodiment can be used.

In S332, when the rotational speed command value is set so that the rotational speed of the motor 40 is changed, the rotational speed setting storage process is immediately terminated.

The rotation speed command value set as such is used when the motor driving process (S430 shown in FIG. 11 ) is executed in the motor control process.

Therefore, when the user is operating both the trigger SW 10 and the rotational speed setting SW 24, the rotational speed of the motor 40 is changed between the lowest rotational speed for setting and the highest rotational speed for setting.

In S320, when it is determined that the rotation speed setting SW 24 is not in the ON state, the process proceeds to S350 to determine whether the state of the rotation speed setting SW 24 has just been changed from the ON state to the OFF state, in other words, whether it is turned on again. Input the setting command for the reference speed.

In S350, when it is determined that the state of the rotation speed setting SW 24 has just changed to the off state, the process proceeds to S365.

In S365, the current rotation speed command value of the motor 40 (in other words, the rotation speed of the motor 40) is stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 as the highest rotation speed (ie, reference speed) of the variable control characteristic. The rotation speed setting storage process is terminated.

When it is determined in S310 that the operation mode is not the setting mode, when it is determined in S312 that the trigger SW 10 is not in the "ON" state, or when it is determined in S350 that the rotation speed setting SW 24 is not just changed to the "OFF" state , the rotation speed setting storage process is terminated immediately.

The reason why the rotation speed setting storage process is terminated after execution of the process of S365 is because it is not always necessary to store the variable control characteristics in the nonvolatile memory 57 .

That is, when the motor 40 is driven during motor driving, even when the highest rotational speed of the control characteristic (fixed control characteristic or variable control characteristic) used at this time is read from the nonvolatile memory 57 , the motor 40 can still be driven and controlled according to this control characteristic. Specifically, if the highest rotational speed of the control characteristic is known when the motor 40 is driven, the target rotational speed of the motor 40 can be calculated from the lowest rotational speed (ie, zero) common to the respective control characteristics and the operation amount of the trigger SW 10 . The drive of the motor 40 can be controlled by using the target rotational speed as a rotational speed command value.

Therefore, in the second modification, when the highest rotational speed of the variable control characteristic (which is equal to the reference speed) is stored in the nonvolatile memory 57 in S365, the rotational speed setting storage process is terminated, The process for generating variable control characteristics based on the highest rotational speed is not performed.

Therefore, in the second modification, the user is allowed to set the reference speed while checking the rotation of the motor 40 without adjusting the rotation speed of the motor 40 by operating the trigger SW 10 . For this reason, the electric power tool 1 is convenient for users who feel that the operation of the trigger SW 10 is troublesome.

[Third Modification]

In the second modification, when the operation mode of the electric tool 1 is the setting mode, the user simultaneously operates both the turning speed setting SW 24 and the trigger SW 10 to set the turning speed setting SW 24 and the trigger SW 10 Both are set to be in the "on" state. Subsequently, the motor 40 is driven and controlled so that the rotation speed is periodically and automatically changed.

In contrast, in the third modification, the rotation speed setting storage process is executed as in the process shown in FIG. 13 . When the operation mode of the electric power tool 1 is the setting mode, the rotation speed of the motor 40 is gradually changed every time the user operates the rotation speed setting SW 24 .

That is, in the turning speed setting storage process of the present embodiment, if it is determined in S312 that the trigger SW 10 is in the ON state, it is determined in S324 whether the turning speed setting SW 24 is operated and the turning speed setting Determines whether the state of SW24 has changed from the "off" state to the "on" state.

When it is determined in S324 that the turning speed setting SW 24 is operated and the state of the turning speed setting SW 24 has been changed from the "OFF" state to the "ON" state, the process moves to S332 to change the turning speed command value, and ends Rotation speed setting stored procedure.

Conversely, if it is not determined in S324 that the state of the turning speed setting SW 24 has changed from the "OFF" state to the "ON" state (that is, the turning speed setting SW 24 has not been re-operated), the turning speed setting The stored procedure terminates immediately.

In S312, when it is determined that the flip-flop SW 10 is not in the "on" state, the process proceeds to S355 to judge whether the state of the flip-flop SW 10 has just changed from the "on" state to the "off" state (in other words, whether the user has stopped operating the trigger SW 10).

If the state of the trigger SW 10 is just changed from the "ON" state to the "OFF" state, the process proceeds to S365 as in the second modification to use the current rotation speed command value of the motor 40 as the variable control value. The characteristic highest rotational speed is stored in the volatile memory 57 . The rotation speed setting storage process is terminated.

When it is determined in S310 that the operation mode is not the setting mode, or if it is determined in S355 that the state of the trigger SW 10 has not just changed from the "on" state to the "off" state, the rotation speed setting storage process is immediately terminated.

In the second modification, when setting the reference speed (highest rotational speed) of the variable control characteristic in the setting mode, the rotational speed setting SW 24 is operated while the trigger SW 10 is operated to drive the motor 40 . Subsequently, the rotation speed of the motor 40 is changed for each operation.

If the operation of the trigger SW 10 is stopped when the rotation speed of the motor 40 becomes a desired rotation speed, the rotation speed of the motor 40 at this time is stored in the nonvolatile in sex memory 57.

Thereafter, if the operation mode of the electric tool 1 is the setting mode, and when the trigger SW 10 is operated, the driving and The motor 40 is controlled.

[other variants]

The embodiments and modifications of the present disclosure have been described above. However, the electric working machine of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, but may take various modes within a range not departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

For example, the first operating unit in the above embodiments is the flip-flop SW. The first operating unit may be, for example, a variable resistor capable of inputting a driving command through a rotational operation, or a multi-stage switch in which the position of a contact to be connected is changed according to a rotational position or a sliding position, or the like. In other words, the first operation unit may be any device to which a drive command capable of specifying the rotational speed of the motor 40 can be input.

The second operation unit and the third operation unit in the above embodiments are push button switches of the automatic reset type. However, each of these operation units may be any device in which an on/off state or an input signal level is changed in accordance with a user's operation or operation position.

In the above-described embodiment, the reference speed (maximum rotational speed) is set by actually driving the motor 40 and operating the switch as the first operation unit when the electric power tool 1 becomes a desired rotational state.

Conversely, the reference speed (highest rotational speed) can be set without driving the motor 40 by the user operating a switch or a dial or the like serving as a second operation unit to directly input speed parameter.

The reference speed of the variable control characteristic does not necessarily have to be the highest rotational speed. The reference speed can be set, for example, as a rotation speed corresponding to a predetermined percentage of the total operation amount of the first operation unit, for example, the rotation speed at 80% of the total operation amount of the first operation unit.

In this case as well, by using the set rotational speed as a reference speed, it is possible to generate a control characteristic capable of specifying a starting point from the lowest point corresponding to the drive command (operation amount) from the first operation unit. Turning speed The turning speed up to the highest turning speed.

In the above embodiment, it is described that the rotation speed from the lowest rotation speed to the highest rotation speed is related to the trigger SW 10 among all the control characteristics such as the control characteristic for setting, the variable control characteristic and the fixed control characteristic. The amount of operation varies proportionally and linearly.

However, each of these control characteristics may be, for example, non-linear so that the change in the rotational speed is small in a region where the operation amount is small or the operation amount is large. Also, the control characteristics used for setting in setting the reference speed may be linear as in the above-described embodiment, while other control characteristics (ie, fixed control characteristics and variable control characteristics) may be non-linear .

If the fixed control characteristics and the variable control characteristics are nonlinear as such, each of these control characteristics can be set such that the rotation speed corresponding to the operation amount of the trigger SW 10 is determined based on, for example, the highest rotation speed. Maximizes high-speed fixed control characteristics while reducing at a constant rate.

That is, in the fixed control characteristic and the variable control characteristic as described above, similar to the control characteristic shown in FIG. zero) to the highest rotational speed set for each control characteristic.

In the medium-speed fixed control characteristic and the low-speed fixed control characteristic, and the variable control characteristic, the rotation speed related to the operation amount of the trigger SW 10 is smaller than the rotation speed for the same operation amount in the high-speed fixed control characteristic by the following ratio: is the ratio of the highest rotational speed in each of these control characteristics to the highest rotational speed in the high speed fixed control characteristic.

In this case, as in the linear control characteristic shown in FIG. 4, the medium-speed fixed control characteristic and the low-speed fixed control characteristic and the variable control characteristic are obtained by compressing the high-speed fixed control characteristic in the axial direction of the rotational speed non-linear properties. Therefore, even in the case where each of the above-mentioned control characteristics is set to have a nonlinear configuration, when the rotational speed of the motor 40 is increased to the highest rotational speed in each of the control characteristics, the user starts from the motor 40. The sense of rotation speed felt by 40 and the sense of operation of trigger SW 10 felt by the user can be matched. The user can operate the trigger SW 10 without discomfort.

In the above-described embodiment, when the motor 40 is driven and controlled according to the control characteristic for setting or the variable control characteristic, this fact is reported by blinking or lighting the LED of the setting mode display 34 .

However, for example, the report may be given through a display on a display panel composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, through audio output, or through LEDs or both of the display and audio output on the display panel.

The electric tool 1 receives power supply from a mounted battery pack 6 to operate. However, a power source such as the battery pack 6 may be provided separately from the power tool 1, and the power tool 1 may receive power supply from the power source using a power cord. In addition, the power source may be an alternating current (AC) power source such as a commercial power source.

In the above-described embodiment, the motor 40 is a three-phase brushless motor. Motor 40 may be any motor capable of controlling the speed of rotation. The motor 40 is not limited to a three-phase brushless motor, but may be other DC motors, or may be an AC motor.

In the above-described embodiments, as an example, the electric working machine of the present disclosure was described as the electric tool 1 provided with a striking mechanism driven by a motor (rechargeable impact driver). The electric working machine of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the electric tool 1 described above, but may be any electric working machine including a motor and a control unit for controlling the rotational speed of the motor according to a driving command from an operation unit. Any such electric working machine can achieve the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment.

That is, the techniques of the present disclosure may be applied to any electric working machine used in activities such as do-it-yourself, manufacturing, gardening, construction work, and the like. More specifically, the present disclosure can be applied to power tools for masonry, power tools for metalworking, and power tools for woodworking, and working machines for gardening, for example. More specifically, the present disclosure can be applied to various types of electric working machines, such as electric hammers, electric hammer drills, electric drills, electric screwdrivers, electric wrenches, electric grinders, electric circular saws, electric reciprocating saws, electric wire saws, electric Cutters, electric chainsaws, electric planers, power nailers (including tackers), electric hedge trimmers, electric lawn mowers, electric lawn trimmers, brush cutters, electric cleaners, electric blowers, electric Sprayers, electric sprinklers, and electric vacuum cleaners, etc.

Multiple functions of one component of the above-described embodiments may be realized by multiple components, or one function having a single component may be realized by multiple components. Also, a plurality of functions having a plurality of constituent parts may be realized by a single component, or one function realized by a plurality of components may be realized by a single component. It is also possible to omit a part of the configuration of the above-described embodiments. At least a part of the configurations of the above-described embodiments may be added to or replaced with configurations of other embodiments among the above-described embodiments. All aspects included in the technical idea specified only by the language as set forth in the appended claims are embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims (19)

1. An electric working machine, comprising: motor; a first operation unit configured to be operated by a user of the electric working machine and configured to output a drive instruction for the motor; a control unit configured to drive the motor at a rotational speed corresponding to the drive command from the first operation unit; a second operation unit configured to be operated by the user and configured to set a reference speed for driving the motor by the control unit; and a storage unit configured to store the reference speed set via the second operation unit, the control unit is configured to drive the motor. 2. The electric working machine according to claim 1, wherein the second operation unit is configured to output a setting instruction for the reference speed, and Wherein, the storage unit is configured to: in a state where the motor is driven by the control unit in response to the drive instruction from the first operation unit, when the setting is input from the second operation unit When commanded, the current rotational speed of the motor being driven is stored as the reference speed. 3. The electric working machine according to claim 2, Wherein, the control unit is configured to: when the driving instruction is input from the first operation unit and the setting instruction is input from the second operation unit, according to the preset control characteristic for setting, the motor is driven at the rotation speed corresponding to the drive command from the first operation unit, and Wherein, the storage unit is configured to: in the state where the control unit drives the motor according to the control characteristic for setting, when the setting command is input from the second operation unit, the The current rotational speed of the motor being driven is stored as the reference speed. 4. The electric working machine according to claim 3, Wherein, the control unit is configured to determine that the setting instruction for the reference speed is input when the second operation unit is operated, and the control unit is configured to characteristically drives the motor at the rotation speed corresponding to the drive command from the first operation unit, and Wherein, the storage unit is configured to: in the state where the control unit drives the motor according to the control characteristic for setting, when the operation of the second operation unit stops, determine the The setting instruction of a reference speed is input, and the storage unit is configured to store a current rotational speed of the motor being driven as the reference speed. 5. The electric working machine according to claim 3, Wherein, the control unit is configured to determine that the setting instruction for the reference speed is input when the state of the second operation unit is changed from a non-operation state to an operation state, and the control unit is configured to the control characteristic for setting enables drive control for driving the motor at the rotational speed corresponding to the drive command from the first operation unit, and Wherein, the storage unit is configured to: in the state where the control unit drives and controls the motor according to the control characteristic for setting, when the state of the second operation unit changes from the When the non-operation state is changed to the operation state, it is determined that the setting instruction for the reference speed is input, and the storage unit is configured to store the current rotation speed of the motor being driven as the base speed. 6. An electric working machine according to any one of claims 3 to 5, Wherein, the control unit is configured to control the driving of the motor using a plurality of control characteristics, each of which is an operation amount-rotation speed characteristic, wherein the rotation of the motor the speed can be set in response to the operation amount of the first operation unit, and Wherein, the control characteristic for setting among the plurality of control characteristics is set such that the lowest rotational speed of the motor that changes in response to the operation amount of the first operation unit is higher than the plurality of control characteristics. The lowest rotational speed among the remaining control characteristics in the first control characteristic. 7. An electric working machine according to any one of claims 3 to 6, Wherein, the control unit is configured to control the driving of the motor using a plurality of control characteristics, each of which is an operation amount-rotation speed characteristic, wherein the rotation of the motor the speed can be set in response to the operation amount of the first operation unit, and Wherein, the control characteristic for setting among the plurality of control characteristics is set such that the highest rotational speed of the motor is the maximum rotational speed of the motor at full speed driving. 8. The electric working machine according to claim 7, wherein the control unit is configured to be able to select one control characteristic from among the plurality of control characteristics differing in the maximum rotational speed of the motor, and Wherein, the smallest highest rotation speed among the plurality of control characteristics is set as the lowest rotation speed of the motor among the control characteristics for setting. 9. An electric working machine according to any one of claims 6 to 8, Wherein, the control characteristic for setting is set such that the rotation speed of the motor changes linearly in proportion to the operation amount of the first operation unit. 10. An electric working machine according to any one of claims 3 to 9, Wherein, the control unit is configured to report that the motor can be driven and controlled according to the control characteristic for setting. 11. The electric working machine according to claim 1, wherein the second operation unit is configured to output a setting instruction for the reference speed, Wherein, the control unit is configured to: when the setting command for the reference speed is input from the second operation unit, drive the motor so that the rotation speed of the motor is based on a preset user speed. varies between the lowest rotational speed for the set and the highest rotational speed for the set, depending on the changing characteristics of the set, and Wherein, the storage unit is configured to: in a state where the control unit is driving the motor based on the change characteristic for setting, when the value for the reference speed is input from the second operation unit When the setting command is executed, the current rotational speed of the motor being driven is stored as the reference speed. 12. An electric working machine according to any one of claims 1 to 11, Wherein, the control unit is configured to set a control characteristic for use in drive control of the motor based on the reference speed when the reference speed is stored in the storage unit, and the control The unit is configured to initiate drive control of the motor based on the control characteristic. 13. An electric working machine according to any one of claims 1 to 11, Wherein, the control unit is configured to: when the reference speed is stored in the storage unit and thereafter stops outputting the drive instruction from the first operation unit, based on the reference speed stored in the storage unit, The control characteristic set for the reference speed is set as a control characteristic used for performing drive control of the motor. 14. An electric working machine according to claim 13, Wherein, the control unit is configured to stop the rotation of the motor when the reference speed is stored in the storage unit. 15. An electric working machine according to any one of claims 1 to 14, Wherein, the control unit is configured to: when the reference speed is stored in the storage unit and the motor can be driven and controlled according to a control characteristic set based on the reference speed, report that the motor able to be driven and controlled. 16. An electric working machine according to any one of claims 1 to 15, Wherein, the control unit is configured to be able to select any one mode from at least one normal mode and a set mode as the operation mode of the control unit, and the control unit is configured to drive the the motor, the at least one normal mode is a mode for driving and controlling the motor at a rotation speed corresponding to the driving command from the first operating unit according to at least one preset fixed control characteristic, And the setting mode is a mode for driving and controlling the motor at a rotational speed corresponding to the driving command from the first operation unit according to a variable control characteristic that The characteristic is a control characteristic set based on the reference speed stored in the storage unit. 17. The electric working machine according to claim 16, further comprising a third operation unit configured to be operated by the user, and configured to switch the control unit to said mode of operation is switched to said at least one normal mode, Wherein, the control unit is configured such that the operation mode is switched to the at least one normal mode through the operation of the third operation unit, and the operation mode is switched to the at least one normal mode through the operation of the second operation unit. the setting mode described above. 18. An electric working machine according to claim 17, Wherein, the second operation unit and the third operation unit are arranged side by side, and the distance between the second operation unit and the third operation unit is smaller than that between the second operation unit and the third operation unit At least one of them has a long length along a direction in which the second operation unit and the third operation unit are arranged. 19. An electric working machine according to claim 17 or 18, Wherein, a display unit is provided between the second operation unit and the third operation unit, and the display unit is configured to display the state of the electric working machine.