IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,554,409
Granted Patent B2
US 11,554,409 · App. 17/115,023 · Granted Jan 17, 2023

Rebar tying tool and electric work machine

Inventors: Shunta Mizuno (Anjo, JP); Masahiro Watanabe (Anjo, JP); Yuki Kawai (Anjo, JP)
Assignee: MAKITA CORPORATION
B21F15/04E04C5/162E04G21/123
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,554,409
App. No.
17/115,023
Filed
Dec 8, 2020
Granted
Jan 17, 2023
Kind
B2
Art Unit
3725
USPC
140/93.6
Abstract

A rebar tying tool ( 2; 302; 402 ) include a feed mechanism ( 24 ), which includes a first motor ( 32; 304 ) and feeds a wire (W), and a twisting mechanism, which includes a second motor ( 76; 306 ) and twists together one or more portions of the wire. A control unit ( 202; 350 ) controls the first motor and the second motor and includes a general-purpose I/O port ( 202 c; 350 c ) and a motor-control-signal output port ( 202 a; 350 a ). A motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit ( 204; 310; 406 ) inputs motor-control signals (UH, VH, WH, UL, VL, WL) from the control unit via the motor-control-signal output port and selectively outputs the inputted motor-control signals to either the first motor or the second motor in response to input of a switching signal (SW).

Claims (98)

1. A rebar tying tool comprising:

a feed mechanism configured to feed a wire and including a first motor having a first rotor;

a twisting mechanism configured to twist together ends of the wire and including a second motor having a second rotor;

a control unit configured to control the first motor and the second motor;

a first brake circuit configured to output a short-circuit brake signal to the first motor; and

a motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit;

wherein:

the control unit comprises a motor-control-signal output port;

the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit is configured to selectively output motor-control signals from the motor-control-signal output port of the control unit to either the first motor or the second motor;

the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit is configured to select one of the first motor or the second motor to be driven with the motor-control signals in response to input of an output-switching signal; and

the control unit is configured to cause the first brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal from the first brake circuit to the first motor either when or before the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switches from a first state in which the first motor is selected to be driven with the motor-control signals to a second state in which the second motor is selected to be driven with the motor-control signals.

2. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , wherein:

the control unit is configured to output the output-switching signal from a first general-purpose I/O port of the control unit; and

the motor-control-signal output port is configured to perform signal processing faster than the first general-purpose I/O port.

3. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , wherein the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit comprises a demultiplexer.

4. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to energize the second motor to start rotation of the second rotor (i) in response to the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switching from the first state to the second state and (ii) before rotation of the first rotor of the first motor has completely stopped.

5. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to cause the first brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal from the first brake circuit to the first motor before the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switches from the first state to the second state.

6. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to output a short-circuit brake signal to the first motor via the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit before causing the first brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal to the first motor.

7. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a second brake circuit configured to output a short-circuit brake signal to the second motor;

wherein the control unit is configured to cause the second brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal from the second brake circuit to the second motor either when or before the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switches from the second state to the first state.

8. The rebar tying tool according to claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to energize the first motor to start rotation of the first rotor (i) in response to the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switching from the second state to the first state and (ii) before rotation of the second rotor of the second motor has completely stopped.

9. The rebar tying tool according to claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to cause the second brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal from the second brake circuit to the second motor before the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switches from the second state to the first state.

10. The rebar tying tool according to claim 7 , wherein the control unit is configured to output a short-circuit brake signal to the second motor via the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit before causing the second brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal to the second motor.

11. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , wherein the first motor is a brushless motor.

12. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , wherein the second motor is a brushless motor.

13. The rebar tying tool according to claim 10 , wherein:

the control unit is configured to output the output-switching signal from a first general-purpose I/O port of the control unit;

the motor-control-signal output port is configured to perform signal processing faster than the first general-purpose I/O port;

the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit comprises a demultiplexer; and

the control unit is configured to:

energize the second motor to start rotation of the second rotor (i) in response to the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switching from the first state to the second state and (ii) before rotation of the first rotor of the first motor has completely stopped;

cause the first brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal from the first brake circuit to the first motor before the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switches from the first state to the second state;

output a short-circuit brake signal to the first motor via the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit before causing the first brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal to the first motor;

energize the first motor to start rotation of the first rotor (i) in response to the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switching from the second state to the first state and (ii) before rotation of the second rotor of the second motor has completely stopped; and

cause the second brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal from the second brake circuit to the second motor before the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switches from the second state to the first state.

14. The rebar tying tool according to claim 13 , further comprising:

a motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit that comprises a multiplexer;

wherein:

the first motor is a first brushless motor;

the second motor is a second brushless motor;

the first brushless motor comprises a first Hall-effect sensor;

the second brushless motor comprises a second Hall-effect sensor;

the control unit further comprises a motor-rotation-signal input port;

the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit is configured to input one set of signals selected from first Hall-effect sensor signals from the first Hall-effect sensor and second Hall-effect sensor signals from the second Hall-effect sensor to the motor-rotation-signal input port;

the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit is configured to select the one set of signals to be input the motor-rotation-signal input port in response to input of an input-switching signal to the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit;

the input-switching signal is output from the first general-purpose I/O port of the control unit;

the first Hall-effect sensor signals are also input to a second general-purpose I/O port of the control unit; and

the second Hall-effect sensor signals are also input to a third general-purpose I/O port of the control unit.

15. The rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit;

wherein:

the first motor is a first brushless motor;

the second motor is a second brushless motor;

the first brushless motor comprises a first Hall-effect sensor;

the second brushless motor comprises a second Hall-effect sensor;

the control unit further comprises a motor-rotation-signal input port;

the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit is configured to input one set of signals selected from first Hall-effect sensor signals from the first Hall-effect sensor and second Hall-effect sensor signals from the second Hall-effect sensor to the motor-rotation-signal input port; and

the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit is configured to select the one set of signals to be input the motor-rotation-signal input port in response to input of an input-switching signal to the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit.

16. The rebar tying tool according to claim 15 , wherein the input-switching signal and the output-switching signal are the same signal.

17. A rebar tying tool according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a feed mechanism configured to feed a wire and including a first motor having a first rotor;

a twisting mechanism configured to twist together ends of the wire and including a second motor having a second rotor;

a control unit configured to control the first motor and the second motor;

a motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit; and

a motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit;

wherein:

the control unit comprises a motor-control-signal output port;

the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit is configured to selectively output motor-control signals from the motor-control-signal output port of the control unit to either the first motor or the second motor; and

the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit is configured to select one of the first motor or the second motor to be driven with the motor-control signals in response to input of an output-switching signal;

the first motor is a first brushless motor;

the second motor is a second brushless motor;

the first brushless motor comprises a first Hall-effect sensor;

the second brushless motor comprises a second Hall-effect sensor;

the control unit further comprises a motor-rotation-signal input port;

the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit is configured to input one set of signals selected from first Hall-effect sensor signals from the first Hall-effect sensor and second Hall-effect sensor signals from the second Hall-effect sensor to the motor-rotation-signal input port;

the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit is configured to select the one set of signals to be input the motor-rotation-signal input port in response to input of an input-switching signal to the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit; and

the input-switching signal and the output-switching signal are the same signal.

18. The rebar tying tool according to claim 17 , wherein the input-switching signal is output from a first general-purpose I/O port of the control unit.

19. The rebar tying tool according to claim 17 , wherein the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit comprises a multiplexer.

20. The rebar tying tool according to claim 18 , wherein:

the first Hall-effect sensor signals are also input to a second general-purpose I/O port of the control unit; and

the second Hall-effect sensor signals are also input to a third general-purpose I/O port of the control unit.

21. The rebar tying tool according to claim 20 , wherein the control unit is configured to:

wait for a predetermined time to elapse after the motor-rotation-signal-input-source-switching circuit has switched from a first state in which a first one of the first Hall-effect sensor signals and the second Hall-effect sensor signals is selected to be input to the motor-rotation-signal input port to a second state in which a second one of the first Hall-effect sensor signals and the second Hall-effect sensor signals is selected to be input to the motor-rotation-signal input port;

then monitor the first one of the first Hall-effect sensor signals and the second Hall-effect sensor signals; and

in response to detecting a change in the first one of the first Hall-effect sensor signals and the second Hall-effect sensor signals, determine that an error has occurred.

22. A rebar tying tool comprising:

a first motor;

a second motor;

a control unit configured to control the first motor and the second motor;

a brake circuit configured to output a short-circuit brake signal to the first motor; and

a motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit;

wherein:

the control unit comprises a motor-control-signal output port;

the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit is configured to selectively output motor-control signals from the motor-control-signal output port of the control unit to one of the first motor or the second motor; and

the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit is configured to select the one of the first motor and the second motor to be driven by the motor-control signals in response to input of an output-switching signal; and

the control unit is configured to cause the brake circuit to output the short-circuit brake signal from the brake circuit to the first motor either when or before the motor-control-signal-output-destination-switching circuit switches from a first state in which the first motor is selected to be driven with the motor-control signals to a second state in which the second motor is selected to be driven with the motor-control signals.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 8, 2020
From: MIZUNO, SHUNTA; WATANABE, MASAHIRO; KAWAI, YUKI
To: MAKITA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 054578/0013 →
Priority Claims (3)
JP JP2019-227720 · Dec 17, 2019 · national
JP JP2019-227721 · Dec 17, 2019 · national
JP JP2019-227722 · Dec 17, 2019 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20210178454A1 · Jun 17, 2021
Cited By (2)
US 12,338,641 US 12,485,518