JP5956245B2 - Battery pack and electric device system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery pack that is mounted on various electric devices and supplies power, and an electric device system that includes the battery pack and the electric device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, so-called rechargeable devices that are configured so that a battery pack can be attached and operate by receiving power supply from the battery pack are known as electric tools, electric cleaners, blowers, and the like.

  Also, in this type of electric equipment, information indicating the state of the battery (for example, battery temperature, voltage, etc.) is acquired from the attached battery pack, and an actuator (motor, etc.) of the electric equipment is obtained based on the information. There is known one that is configured to limit the driving of (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  And in the electric equipment comprised in this way, since the drive of an actuator is restrict | limited according to the state of the battery in a battery pack, a battery can be protected from overdischarge and deterioration of a battery can be prevented.

Japanese Patent No. 45561416

  By the way, in order to transmit information from the battery pack to the electric device as described above, it is necessary to provide the battery pack with a communication terminal for information transmission in addition to a power supply terminal for supplying power to the electric device.

  In the battery pack, the position of the communication terminal and the signal form of the transmission signal from the communication terminal need to correspond to the specifications of the electric device to which the battery pack is attached. It was necessary to design and manufacture each device.

  In other words, for example, power tools are designed individually and communicated according to their use, even for power tools for the same work, such as power drivers for general users and power drivers for factories. There are different terminal positions and signal forms of information acquired from the battery pack via the communication terminals. For this reason, conventionally, it was not possible to share a battery pack between power tools of different types such as uses.

  On the other hand, in order to share battery packs between different types of electric devices, the specifications of the position of the communication terminal of each electric device and the signal form of the information signal received at the communication terminal are shared between different electric devices. It is conceivable to redesign each electric device so that

  However, with such measures, conventional electric devices that do not comply with the specifications of the battery pack cannot use a battery pack that can be shared with other electric devices. Needs to prepare a battery pack corresponding to the electric device.

  Therefore, when production of a dedicated battery pack is stopped with a conventional electric device, even if the battery pack deteriorates, it cannot be replaced with a new battery pack. The electric device cannot be used.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and in a battery pack used by being mounted on an electric device, a plurality of different types of electric motors can be used without changing specifications on the electric device side, such as the position of a communication terminal. The purpose is to be able to share with equipment.

In the battery pack of the present invention made to achieve the above object, when the battery pack is mounted on the electric device, power is supplied from the battery to the electric device via the power terminal.

In addition, when the battery pack is mounted on the electric device, the control unit causes the electric device to output information indicating the state of the battery via the communication terminal. A plurality of the communication terminals can be supplied from the battery pack according to the present invention, and a plurality of communication terminals are provided corresponding to a plurality of types of electric apparatuses having different positions of the communication terminals on the electric apparatus side .

  Therefore, according to the battery pack of the present invention, in a plurality of types of electric devices to which the battery pack can be attached, even if the positions of the communication terminals provided on the electric device side are different, one of the plurality of communication terminals on the battery pack side. Information indicating the state of the battery can be notified to any electric device.

For this reason, according to the battery pack of the present invention, the position of the communication terminal on the electric device side can be used in various electric devices without matching the electric devices of different types.
Moreover, if the position of the communication terminal provided in the battery pack corresponds to the position of the communication terminal of the existing electric device, the battery pack of the present invention can be shared between existing electric devices of different types. For this reason, it is not necessary to change the design of the electric device so that the battery pack can be shared by a plurality of types of electric devices.

Therefore, according to this invention, the use of a battery pack can be expanded.
In the battery pack of the present invention , the control means determines the type of the electric device on which the battery pack is mounted by determining to which of the plurality of communication terminals the input signal from the electric device is input. .

  Therefore, according to the battery pack of the present invention, for example, the specification of the transmission signal when the control means transmits information indicating the battery state from the communication terminal is set according to the type of the electric device to be transmitted. Can do.

  In other words, according to the present invention, in a plurality of types of electric devices in which the battery pack can be mounted, even if the specifications of the information signal to be transmitted from the communication terminal of the battery pack are different, the battery pack is actually mounted. An information signal corresponding to the specification of the electric device thus made can be output from the corresponding communication terminal.

  Therefore, according to the battery pack of the present invention, it is possible to increase the types of electric devices that can be supplied with power by attaching the battery pack, and it is possible to broaden the usage of the battery pack.

Next, in the battery pack of the present invention, when the type of the electric device in which the battery pack is mounted is specified, the control means determines whether or not power supply from the battery is possible for the specified electric device. Then, the determination result may be output from the communication terminal to the electric device as information indicating the state of the battery .

In this case, on the side of the electric equipment to which the battery pack of the present invention is connected, it is sufficient to switch whether to drive the actuator according to information input from the communication terminal of the battery pack. Thus, it is not necessary to determine the state of the battery on the electric device side.

  That is, in Patent Document 1, the battery state is monitored based on the temperature and voltage of the battery notified from the battery pack, and it is determined whether or not to limit the drive of the actuator. However, the battery pack of the present invention is used. Then, without performing such control, driving of the actuator can be limited according to the battery state.

The battery pack of the present invention is provided with a plurality of communication terminals. However, when the battery pack is attached to the electric device, only one is connected to the communication terminal on the electric device side.
Therefore, the control means, when outputting the information from the communication terminal indicating the state of the battery, the information of that may be simultaneously output to a plurality of communication terminals.

  And if it does in this way, the output of the information from a control means to a plurality of communication terminals should just output from one terminal, and it is not necessary to provide the terminal for information output for every communication terminal. The configuration of the control means can be simplified.

On the other hand, the electric device system of the present invention includes the battery pack of the present invention described above and one electric device (hereinafter referred to as a first electric device) having terminals respectively corresponding to the power supply terminal and one communication terminal of the battery pack. With.

  And this 1st electric equipment acquires the information showing the state of the battery in a battery pack from the communication terminal of the battery pack corresponding to the communication terminal of the said specific electric equipment side, and performs operation | movement of an actuator according to the information. Control.

Therefore, according to the electric device system of the present invention, the specific electric device can be operated according to the state of the battery in the battery pack.
Further, if a second electric device having a communication terminal corresponding to another communication terminal provided in the battery pack is added, power can be supplied from the battery pack to the second electric device. Operation of 1 electric equipment can be controlled according to the state of the battery in a battery pack.

It is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the battery pack of embodiment. It is a block diagram showing the circuit structure of the battery pack of embodiment. It is a block diagram showing the structure of the 1st tool with which a battery pack is mounted | worn. It is a block diagram showing the structure of the 2nd tool with which a battery pack is mounted | worn. It is a flowchart showing the discharge control process performed in the control part of a battery pack. It is a flowchart showing the discharge permission signal control process performed in S200 of FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The battery pack 2 of the present embodiment is detachably mounted on two types of electric tools (first tool 50 and second tool 70 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) having different uses such as general use and factory use. In order to supply power to the electric tool.

As shown in FIG. 1, the battery pack 2 is formed with a mounting portion 3 for detachably mounting to an electric tool or a charging device.
A pair of positive and negative power terminals 4 and 6 for supplying power to the electric tool from the battery 10 (see FIG. 2) in the battery pack 2 and a predetermined position in the mounting portion 3 and the electric tool with the battery 10 The 1st communication terminal 8 and the 2nd communication terminal 9 for transmitting the information showing a state are provided.

  If the battery pack 2 is attached to the charging device via the attachment portion 3, the battery 10 can be connected to the charging circuit in the charging device via the power terminals 4 and 6 to charge the battery 10. In the present embodiment, description regarding charging of the battery 10 is omitted.

Next, the circuit configuration of the battery pack 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the battery 10 is configured by connecting a plurality (five in the figure) of cells 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 that can be charged / discharged in series. The positive side of the battery 10 is connected to the power supply terminal 4 and the negative side is connected to the power supply terminal 6.

  Further, in the battery pack 2, a cell temperature detection unit 22 that detects the temperature of a cell in the battery 10, a current detection resistor 24 provided in a current path between the negative electrode side of the battery 10 and the power supply terminal 6, a battery A battery voltage detection unit 26 that detects a voltage across 10 (battery voltage) and a control circuit 30 are provided.

  The control circuit 30 is composed of a one-chip microcomputer (microcomputer) centered on a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and includes a cell voltage detection unit 34, an A / D conversion unit 36, and a current detection unit 38. The control part 32 is provided.

Here, the cell voltage detection unit 34 is for detecting the voltages of the cells 11 to 15 constituting the battery 10, and the detection voltage is input to the A / D conversion unit 36.
Further, the A / D converter 36 converts the voltages of the cells 11 to 15 detected by the cell voltage detector 34 and the detection signals from the cell temperature detector 22 and the battery voltage detector 26 into digital data, respectively. This is for the purpose of conversion to and input to the control unit 32.

  The current detection unit 38 is for taking the voltage across the current detection resistor 24 into the control circuit 30 as a discharge current to the electric tool and inputting data representing the discharge current to the control unit 32.

  On the other hand, the control unit 32 shown in FIG. 2 is a functional block realized by the CPU constituting the microcomputer executing various control processes according to the control program stored in the ROM that is a storage medium.

  And in the control part 32, the discharge control process which controls the discharge from the battery 10 to an electric tool is performed along the flowchart shown to FIG. 5, FIG. Since this discharge control process is a main process related to the present invention, it will be described in detail later.

  In addition to the discharge control processing shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the control unit 32 discharges and charges current detected via the current detection resistor 24 when discharging to the power tool or charging the battery 10. And various control processes such as a current monitoring control process for stopping discharging or charging when the current is abnormal are executed. However, control processes other than the discharge control process shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are not control processes according to the present invention, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  Next, the battery pack 2 includes a first input control unit 42 and a second input control unit 44 for inputting signals input from the electric tool to the first communication terminal 8 and the second communication terminal 9 to the control unit 32. And a first output control unit 46 and a second output control unit 48 for outputting an output signal from the control unit 32 to the electric tool via the first communication terminal 8 and the second communication terminal 9. ing.

  Here, the first communication terminal 8 is provided at a position corresponding to the communication terminal 58 on the first tool 50 side, and the battery pack 2 is attached to the first tool 50 as shown in FIG. When the terminals 4 and 6 are connected to the power supply terminals 54 and 56 of the first tool 50, they are connected to the communication terminal 58 of the first tool 50.

  Further, the second communication terminal 9 is provided at a position corresponding to the communication terminal 79 on the second tool 70 side, and the battery pack 2 is mounted on the second tool 70 as shown in FIG. When 4 and 6 are connected to the power terminals 74 and 76 of the second tool 70, they are connected to the communication terminal 79 of the second tool 70.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first tool 50 and the second tool 70 are respectively triggered switches 62 and 82 that are turned on / off by the user, and a motor 60 that is a power source of the electric tool. , 80, switching elements 64, 84 (FET in the figure), and discharge control units 66, 86.

  In the first tool 50 and the second tool 70, the trigger switches 62 and 82, the motors 60 and 80, and the switching elements 64 and 84 are respectively connected from the positive power supply terminals 54 and 74 to the negative power supply terminals 56 and 76. Is provided in series on the energization path leading to.

  When the battery pack 2 is attached to the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 provided with the discharge control unit 66 or 86 and the trigger switch 62 or 82 is turned on, the battery pack It operates by receiving power supply from the second battery 10.

  The discharge controllers 66 and 86 are mainly configured of a microcomputer. When power is supplied from the battery 10 as described above, an internal regulator generates a power supply voltage for driving the microcomputer, and the microcomputer is to start.

  Then, the discharge control units 66 and 86 output a high-level operation signal indicating that the operation is being performed from the communication terminals 58 and 79 by the operation of the microcomputer, and notify the battery pack 2 to that effect.

  Thus, when an operation signal is output to the battery pack 2 from the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 side, the first communication terminal 8 and the second communication terminal are discharged from the battery pack 2 by a discharge control process described later. 9, a discharge permission signal for permitting discharge of the battery 10 (in other words, driving of the motors 60 and 80) is output.

  For this reason, the discharge control units 66 and 86 determine whether or not a discharge permission signal is input from the battery pack 2 based on the voltage levels of the communication terminals 58 and 79. If the discharge permission signal is input, switching is performed. By controlling the driving of the elements 64 and 84, the motors 60 and 80 are driven and the rotational speed thereof is controlled.

In the battery pack 2, the first output control unit 46 and the second output control unit 48 are connected to a common output port of the control circuit 30.
For this reason, the discharge permission signal output from the control unit 32 to the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 is not only the first communication terminal 8 or the second communication terminal 9 corresponding to each tool 50, 70, It is also output from the other communication terminal (that is, the second communication terminal 9 or the first communication terminal 8).

  However, when the control unit 32 outputs the discharge permission signal from the first communication terminal 8 or the second communication terminal 9 to the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 to which the battery pack 2 is attached, the other communication is performed. The other tool (second tool 70 or first tool 50) is not connected to the terminal (second communication terminal 9 or first communication terminal 8).

  Therefore, even if the discharge permission signal is output from the other output terminal (the second communication terminal 9 or the first communication terminal 8) that does not need to output the discharge permission signal, the first battery pack 2 is mounted. The operation of the tool 50 or the second tool 70 is not affected.

Next, the discharge control process performed in the control part 32 of the battery pack 2 is demonstrated.
This discharge control process is a process that is repeatedly executed by the control unit 32 every predetermined time. As shown in FIG. 5, when the process is started, first, in S110 (S represents a step), It is determined whether or not the battery 10 is currently discharging from the first tool 50 or the second tool 70.

If it is determined in S110 that the battery is not currently being discharged, the process proceeds to S120.
In S120, the voltage value detected by the battery voltage detection unit 26 and the cell voltage detection unit 34 and the cell temperature detected by the cell temperature detection unit 22 are taken in via the A / D conversion unit 36, and each of these values is acquired. Determines whether the power supply (discharge) to the power tool is within a normal range.

  If it is determined in S120 that the above values are within the normal range and discharge to the power tool can be permitted, the process proceeds to S130, and an operation signal is input to the first communication terminal 8 or the second communication terminal 9. It is determined whether or not.

  That is, as described above, when the battery pack 2 is attached to the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 and the trigger switch 62 or 82 is turned on, the first communication from the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 is performed. An operation signal is input to the terminal 8 or the second communication terminal 9.

  Therefore, in S130, the battery pack 2 is attached to the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 by determining whether or not an operation signal is input to the first communication terminal 8 or the second communication terminal 9. Thus, it is determined whether or not the trigger switches 62 and 82 of the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 are operated by the user.

  In S130, it is determined that no operation signal is input to the first communication terminal 8 and the second communication terminal 9, or in S120, it is determined that the voltage value or the cell temperature is not within the normal range. Then, the discharge control process is temporarily ended.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S130 that the operation signal is input to the first communication terminal 8 or the second communication terminal 9, the process proceeds to S140, and the terminal to which the operation signal is input is the second communication terminal 9. Judge whether there is.

  In S140, when it is determined that the terminal to which the operation signal is input is not the second communication terminal 9, it can be determined that the operation signal is input from the first tool 50 to the first communication terminal 8. In subsequent S150, a discharge permission signal is output to the first tool 50, and the discharge control process is temporarily terminated.

  In S150, the first communication terminal 8 is switched from the open state to the connection state to the power supply line via the first output control unit 46, so that a high level discharge permission signal is output from the first communication terminal 8. .

  This is because the discharge control unit 66 of the first tool 50 detects that a discharge permission signal has been input from the battery pack 2 based on the voltage level of the communication terminal 58 and drives the motor 60 (in other words, from the battery 10 to the motor). This is because it is configured to start (discharge to 60).

  That is, when a discharge permission signal is input to the communication terminal 58 of the first tool 50 by the process of S150, no current flows from the discharge control unit 66 toward the battery pack 2, and the communication terminal 58 is held at a high level. The

  Therefore, the discharge controller 66 of the first tool 50 detects that a discharge permission signal is input from the battery pack 2 based on the voltage level of the communication terminal 58, and drives the motor 60 (in other words, from the battery 10 to the motor). Discharge to 60) can be started.

In S150, the fact that the first tool 50 is operating is stored in the RAM or the register by setting the first tool flag to the on state.
Next, when it is determined in S140 that the terminal to which the operation signal is input is the second communication terminal 9, that is, when the electric tool with the battery pack 2 attached is the second tool 70, Moving to S160, it is determined whether or not the battery voltage is equal to or higher than a threshold voltage higher than the discharge permission determination voltage in S120.

This is because the second tool 70 is for factory use, for example, and requires a higher torque than the first tool 50 for general use.
In other words, in the present embodiment, the lower limit value of the battery voltage (in other words, the remaining capacity of the battery 10) is set as a discharge condition when power is supplied to the second tool 70 in response to the required torque at S120. It is set that the threshold value is greater than or equal to a determination voltage when determining discharge permission.

Therefore, in S160, it is determined whether or not a discharge condition for the second tool 70 is satisfied by determining whether or not the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage.
When it is determined in S160 that the battery voltage is less than the threshold voltage and the discharge condition for the second tool 70 is not satisfied, the discharge control process is temporarily terminated.

  In S160, when it is determined that the battery voltage is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage, the process proceeds to S170, a discharge permission signal is output to the second tool 70, and the discharge control process is temporarily terminated.

  In S <b> 170, a pulse signal that changes at a predetermined cycle is output to the second communication terminal 9 via the second output control unit 48, thereby causing the second communication terminal 9 to output a discharge permission signal including a pulse signal. .

  This is because the discharge control unit 86 of the second tool 70 detects that a discharge permission signal has been input from the battery pack 2 based on a periodic change in the potential of the communication terminal 79 and drives the motor 80 (in other words, This is because it is configured to start discharging the battery 10 to the motor 80.

  That is, when a discharge permission signal including a periodically changing pulse signal is input to the communication terminal 79 of the second tool 70 by the process of S170, the potential of the communication terminal 58 changes periodically.

  For this reason, the discharge control unit 86 of the second tool 70 detects that a discharge permission signal has been input from the battery pack 2 based on the periodic change in the potential of the communication terminal 79 and drives the motor 80 (in other words, (Discharge from the battery 10 to the motor 80) can be started.

In S170, the fact that the second tool 70 is operating is stored in the RAM or the register by setting the second tool flag to the ON state.
Next, when it is determined in S110 that the discharge to the first tool 50 or the second tool 70 is currently being performed, the process proceeds to S200, and a discharge permission signal control process is executed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the discharge permission signal control process, first, in S210, based on the flag set in S150 and S170, the electric tool currently being discharged is the first tool 50 or the second tool. Whether it is 70 or not is determined.

  If the first tool 50 is currently discharging, the process proceeds to S220, and the discharge current input from the current detection unit 38 is less than a predetermined stop determination current (for example, 1 A) for a predetermined time (for example, 1 s) or longer. It is determined whether or not.

  If a negative determination is made in S220 (that is, if the discharge current is greater than or equal to the stop determination current, or even if the discharge current is less than the stop determination current, the elapsed time of the state has not reached the predetermined time. ), The discharge permission signal control process is terminated as it is, and the discharge to the first tool 50 is continued.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S220 that the discharge current is less than the stop determination current for a predetermined time or more, the process proceeds to S230.
In S230, a discharge permission signal (high level) from the first communication terminal 8 to the first tool 50 for a predetermined confirmation time (for example, 5 ms) that does not affect the driving of the motor 60 by the first tool 50. ) Is stopped, and the voltage level of the first communication terminal 8 is read via the first input control unit 42 within the output stop period.

  Next, in S240, whether or not the input of the operation signal (high level) from the first tool 50 is stopped from the voltage level read in S230 (in other words, the trigger switch 62 of the first tool 50 is in the OFF state). Or not).

  In S230, the output of the discharge permission signal is temporarily stopped because the voltage level of the first communication terminal 8 is high during the output of the discharge permission signal from the first communication terminal 8. This is because it cannot be determined whether or not an operation signal is input from the tool 50 to the first communication terminal 8.

  In S240, if it is determined that the trigger switch 62 of the first tool 50 is not in the off state (that is, the user of the first tool 50 continues to operate the trigger switch 62), the discharge permission is allowed. The signal control process ends.

  Next, when it is determined in S240 that the trigger switch 62 of the first tool 50 is in an off state (that is, the user of the first tool 50 has stopped operating the trigger switch 62), the process proceeds to S250. .

  In S250, the discharge to the first tool 50 (in other words, the driving of the motor 60 in the first tool 50) is stopped by stopping the output of the discharge permission signal (high level) from the first communication terminal 8. Then, after the first tool flag is reset to the OFF state, the discharge permission signal control process is terminated.

  Next, in S210, when it is determined that the electric tool currently being discharged is the second tool 70, the process proceeds to S260, and after the discharge to the second tool 70 is started, a predetermined time (for example, 1 s). ) Determine whether it has passed.

  Then, if the predetermined time (for example, 1 s) has not elapsed after the start of the discharge to the second tool 70, the discharge permission signal control process is terminated as it is, and after the discharge to the second tool 70 is started, the predetermined time (for example, for example) If 1s) has elapsed, the process proceeds to S270.

In S270, the output of the discharge permission signal (pulse signal) from the second communication terminal 9 is stopped, the second tool flag is reset to the OFF state, and then the discharge permission signal control process ends.
In addition, the output time of the discharge permission signal (pulse signal) to the 2nd tool 70 is restrict | limited to predetermined time (for example, 1 s) by the process of S260 and S270.

  This is because once the second tool 70 receives the discharge permission signal (pulse signal) from the battery pack 2 and starts driving the motor 80, the motor 80 is driven until the trigger switch 82 is returned to the OFF state. This is because it is configured to continue.

  As described above, the battery pack 2 of the present embodiment includes the first tool separately from the pair of power terminals 4 and 6 for supplying power from the battery 10 to the first tool 50 and the second tool 70. The first communication terminal 8 and the second communication terminal 9 corresponding to the communication terminal 58 of 50 and the communication terminal 79 of the second tool 70 are provided.

  For this reason, according to the battery pack 2 of this embodiment, even if the battery pack 2 is mounted on either the first tool 50 or the second tool 70, it corresponds to the mounted first tool 50 or second tool 70. The discharge permission signal can be output from the first communication terminal 8 or the second communication terminal 9 to the first tool 50 or the second tool 70.

  Therefore, according to the battery pack 2 of the present embodiment, the first tool 50 and the second tool 70 are used by being attached to different types of the first tool 50 and the second tool 70 without matching the positions of the communication terminals of the first tool 50 and the second tool 70. Will be able to. For this reason, according to the battery pack 2 of this embodiment, the use can be expanded.

  Further, according to the battery pack 2 of the present embodiment, the control circuit 30 identifies the electric tool on which the battery pack 2 is mounted based on the operation signals input to the first communication terminal 8 and the second communication terminal 9. Then, in accordance with the identified electric tool (first tool 50 or second tool 70), it is determined whether or not the battery 10 can be discharged to the electric tool (S120, S160).

  And if the control circuit 30 is capable of discharging to the identified power tool (the first tool 50 or the second tool 70), the control circuit 30 responds to a discharge permission signal in a signal form set in advance for the power tool. Output from the communication terminal (the first communication terminal 8 or the second communication terminal 9) (S150, S170).

Further, after the discharge permission signal is output, the control circuit 30 controls the output stop timing according to the operation of the electric tool (the first tool 50 or the second tool 70) (S250, S270).
Therefore, according to the battery pack 2 of the present embodiment, the power supply (discharge) from the battery 10 is appropriately controlled according to the type (in other words, operating conditions) of the electric tool on which the battery pack 2 is mounted. Can do.

  Further, according to the battery pack 2 of the present embodiment, the first output control unit 46 and the second output control unit 48 are connected to one port of the control circuit 30, and the first output control unit 46 and The second output control unit 48 is configured to output a discharge permission signal for the first tool 50 or the second tool 70.

  For this reason, in the control circuit 30, the control unit 32 does not need to switch the output port of the discharge permission signal corresponding to the output destination of the discharge permission signal (the first tool 50 or the second tool 70). This makes it possible to simplify the discharge control process. Further, the present invention can be implemented even when the number of ports of the microcomputer constituting the control circuit 30 is small.

In the present embodiment, the control circuit 30 (particularly, the control unit 32 that executes the discharge control process) corresponds to the control means of the present invention.
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various aspect can be taken in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the battery pack 2 that can be shared by a general power tool (first tool 50) and a factory power tool (second tool 70) has been described. Any battery pack that is used by being mounted on an electric device such as an electric working tool can be applied in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

Further, the number of communication terminals provided in the battery pack 2 may be set as appropriate according to the type of electric equipment to be shared, and may be three or four, for example.
In addition, regarding the determination condition whether or not discharge is possible in the discharge control processing shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the signal form of the discharge permission signal, the stop timing of the discharge permission signal, and the like, the electric device using the battery pack 2 What is necessary is just to set suitably according to the kind and its operating condition.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Battery pack, 3 ... Mounting part, 4, 6 ... Power supply terminal, 8 ... 1st communication terminal, 9 ... 2nd communication terminal, 10 ... Battery, 11-15 ... Cell, 22 ... Cell temperature detection part, 24 ... Current detection resistor, 26 ... battery voltage detection unit, 30 ... control circuit (microcomputer), 32 ... control unit, 34 ... cell voltage detection unit, 36 ... A / D conversion unit, 38 ... current detection unit, 42 ... first Input control unit 44 ... second input control unit 46 ... first output control unit 48 ... second output control unit 50 ... first tool 70 ... second tool 54, 56, 74, 76 ... power supply terminal 58, 79 ... communication terminals, 60, 80 ... motors, 62, 82 ... trigger switches, 64, 84 ... switching elements, 66, 86 ... discharge control units.

Claims (4)

A battery pack that can be attached to a plurality of different types of electric devices,
Battery,
When the battery pack is attached to the electric device, a power supply terminal for supplying power from the battery to the electric device;
When the battery pack is attached to the electric device, a communication terminal for transmitting information to the electric device;
Control means for outputting information representing the state of the battery to the electric device via the communication terminal;
A plurality of the communication terminals are provided corresponding to a plurality of electric devices with different positions of the communication terminals on the electric device side,
The control means determines which of the plurality of communication terminals has received a signal input from the electric device when the battery pack is attached to the electric device, so that the battery pack is features and to Luba Tteripakku to identify the type of the mounted electric equipment. When the control unit specifies the type of the electric device in which the battery pack is mounted, the control unit determines whether or not power supply from the battery is possible for the specified electric device, and the determination result is 2. The battery pack according to claim 1 , wherein the battery pack outputs the information indicating the state of the battery from the communication terminal to the electric device. 3. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the control unit simultaneously outputs information indicating the state of the battery to the plurality of communication terminals. 4. The battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A terminal connected to the power supply terminal of the battery pack and one communication terminal of the battery pack when the battery pack is mounted; and an actuator that operates by receiving power supply from the power supply terminal of the battery pack. An electric device configured to control the operation of the actuator according to information input from a communication terminal of the battery pack;
An electric device system comprising:

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