Granted Patent B2

US 11,283,117 · App. 16/776,623 · Granted Mar 22, 2022

Inventors: Matthew R. Polakowski (Greenfield, WI); Kyle C. Fassbender (Brookfield, WI)

Assignee: MILWAUKEE ELECTRIC TOOL CORPORATION

H01M10/635H01M10/6571H01M10/6572

Abstract

Claims (60)

1. A temperature controlled enclosure comprising:

a port configured to receive a battery pack;

a temperature control device configured to modify an ambient temperature within the enclosure; and

an electronic controller configured to:

determine whether the battery pack is received in the port,

receive a signal from the battery pack, the signal including at least one of a temperature signal and a charge enable signal,

determine a temperature of the battery pack based on the signal,

control the ambient temperature within the enclosure using the temperature control device based on the signal received from the battery pack,

compare the temperature of the battery pack to a temperature threshold value,

disable the temperature control device when the temperature of the battery pack is greater than or equal to the temperature threshold value, and

charge the battery pack.

2. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the electronic controller is further configured to:

determine whether a temperature control switch is set to ON.

3. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the electronic controller is further configured to:

set a timer indicating a period of time during which the temperature control device is activated;

compare the timer to a timer threshold value; and

disable the temperature control device when the timer is greater than or equal to the timer threshold value.

4. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the temperature control device includes a thermoelectric cooling device.

5. The enclosure of claim 1 , wherein the temperature control device includes a resistive heating element.

6. The enclosure of claim 1 , further comprising:

a first insulating layer corresponding to an outer material layer;

a second insulating layer corresponding to an inner material layer; and

a third insulating layer positioned between the first insulating layer and the second insulating layer.

7. The enclosure of claim 6 , wherein the temperature controlled enclosure includes a thermal resistance value between 1.0 and 2.0.

8. The enclosure of claim 1 , the enclosure further comprising:

a lower housing portion; and

an upper housing portion configured to engage the lower housing portion,

wherein the upper housing portion and the lower housing portion create an air-tight seal.

9. A method of controlling a temperature within an enclosure, the method comprising:

determining, using an electronic controller, when a battery pack is received in a port;

receiving, using the electronic controller, a signal from the battery pack, the signal including at least one of a temperature signal and a charge enable signal;

determining, using the electronic controller, a temperature of the battery pack based on the signal;

controlling, using a temperature control device, the temperature within the enclosure based on the signal;

comparing the temperature of the battery pack to a temperature threshold value;

disabling the temperature control device when the temperature of the battery pack is greater than or equal to the temperature threshold value; and

charging the battery pack.

10. The enclosure of claim 9 , further comprising:

setting a timer indicating a period of time during which the temperature control device is activated;

comparing the timer to a timer threshold value; and

disabling the temperature control device when the timer is greater than or equal to the timer threshold value.

11. A temperature controlled enclosure comprising:

a plurality of ports, each port of the plurality of ports configured to receive a battery pack;

a temperature control device configured to modify an ambient temperature within the enclosure; and

an electronic controller configured to:

determine whether the battery pack is received in a port of the plurality of ports,

receive a signal from the battery pack, the signal including at least one of a temperature signal and a charge enable signal,

determine a temperature of the battery pack based on the signal,

control the ambient temperature within the enclosure using the temperature control device based on the signal received from the battery pack,

compare the temperature of the battery pack to a temperature threshold value,

disable the temperature control device when the temperature of the battery pack is greater than or equal to the temperature threshold value, and

charge the battery pack.

12. The enclosure of claim 11 , the enclosure further comprising:

a lower housing portion; and

an upper housing portion configured to engage the lower housing portion.

13. The enclosure of claim 12 , wherein the upper housing portion includes a recess configured to receive a projection from a complementary interface of a modular tool storage system.

14. The enclosure of claim 11 , wherein a first port of the plurality of ports is configured to receive a first battery pack type, the first battery pack type including a first output voltage.

15. The enclosure of claim 14 , wherein a second port of the plurality of ports is configured to receive a second battery pack type, the second battery pack type including a second output voltage, the second output voltage different from the first output voltage.

16. The enclosure of claim 11 , further comprising:

an indicator associated with the port of the plurality of ports, the indicator configured to indicate a charging status of the battery pack received in the port.

17. The enclosure of claim 2 , wherein the temperature control switch is a manually-operable switch.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

Cited By (10)

US 12,187,491 US 12,195,229 US 12,286,267 US 12,319,469 US 12,330,839 US 12,338,030 US 12,409,544 US 12,509,278 US 12,559,287 US 12,654,904