Electrically heated jacket

1. An article of clothing comprising:

a garment body;

a heater coupled to the garment body;

a battery holder separate from the garment body and including a power terminal, the battery holder being detachably couplable to the garment body; and

a rechargeable battery pack including a housing and a plurality of battery cells received in the housing and configured to provide power to the heater, the rechargeable battery pack being electrically connectable to the power terminal, the housing being detachably couplable to the battery holder, wherein at least a portion of the housing is external to the battery holder when the rechargeable battery pack is coupled to the battery holder.

2. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the housing substantially encloses the plurality of battery cells.

3. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a casing receiving the plurality of battery cells and an outer housing including a latching arrangement, wherein the outer housing includes the at least a portion of the housing external to the battery holder.

4. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the battery holder includes a circuit board.

5. The article of clothing of claim 1 , further comprising a latching arrangement having a user-operable release, the latching arrangement configured to detachably couple the battery pack to the battery holder.

6. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the housing of the battery pack is configured to be detachably couplable to a plurality of power tools interchangeably with the battery holder.

7. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the housing of the battery pack is configured to be detachably couplable to a plurality of non-motorized sensing devices interchangeably with the battery holder.

8. The article of clothing of claim 1 , further comprising a user input member configured for selecting a thermal output setting of the heater.

9. The article of clothing of claim 8 , wherein the user input member is coupled to an external surface of the garment.

10. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the garment body includes a pocket for receiving the battery holder and the rechargeable battery pack.

11. The article of clothing of claim 1 , further comprising a cord extending from the heater, the cord including a male connector, wherein the battery holder includes a female connector configured to receive the male connector.

12. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein a controller selectively provides power from the rechargeable battery pack to the heater in response to control signals from a user input member, the controller configured to cause the heater to enter a pre-heat mode in response to a first signal from the user input member, maintain the heater in the pre-heat mode for a first time period, automatically switch the heater to a first thermal setting at the end of the first time period, and selectively switch the heater to a second thermal setting in response to a second signal from the user input member.

13. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the battery holder is detachably coupleable to the garment body by being receivable in a compartment of the garment body.

14. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the battery holder is detachably coupleable to the garment body by way of a strap.

15. The article of clothing of claim 1 , wherein the battery holder is configured to facilitate recharging of the rechargeable battery pack.

16. An electrical combination comprising:

a power tool;

a rechargeable battery pack operable to power the power tool when connected to the power tool, the rechargeable battery pack including a housing and a plurality of battery cells received in the housing;

an article of clothing including

a garment body; and

a heater coupled to the garment body; and

a battery holder separate from the garment body and including a power terminal, the battery holder being detachably couplable to the garment body;

wherein the rechargeable battery pack is electrically connectable to the power terminal to power the heater, the housing being detachably couplable to the battery holder, wherein at least a portion of the housing is external to the battery holder when the rechargeable battery pack is coupled to the battery holder.

17. The electrical combination of claim 16 , wherein the rechargeable battery pack has a nominal voltage of at least 10.8 volts, and wherein the plurality of battery cells includes at least three battery cells, each battery cell having a nominal voltage of at least 3.6 volts, a capacity of at least 1.2 Ah, and a lithium-based chemistry.

18. An article of clothing comprising:

a garment body;

a heater coupled to the garment body;

a rechargeable battery pack including a housing substantially enclosing a plurality of battery cells; and

a battery holder including a power terminal configured to provide power from the plurality of battery cells to the heater, the battery holder being detachably couplable to the garment body, the battery holder being detachably couplable to the housing, wherein at least a portion of the housing is external to the battery holder when the rechargeable battery pack is electrically connected to the battery holder.

19. The article of clothing of claim 18 , wherein the housing includes a casing receiving the plurality of battery cells and an outer housing including the at least a portion of the housing external to the battery holder.

20. The article of clothing of claim 18 , wherein the outer housing includes a latching arrangement configured for positively engaging the rechargeable battery pack with the battery holder, the latching arrangement including a user-actuatable surface configured for selectively disengaging the rechargeable battery pack from the battery holder.