PACKAGE FOR BATTERY-POWERED ELECTRICAL POWER TOOL

Abstract

A package includes a bottom wall, an upper wall located opposite the bottom wall and a vertical wall extending between the bottom wall and the upper wall. A first space configured to accommodate a body of an electrical power tool and a second space configured to accommodate a battery pack detached from the body are defined between the bottom wall and the upper wall. An opening is defined in the vertical wall to enable the battery pack to be inserted into the second space through the opening in a state where the body is accommodated within the first space.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-135161, filed on Aug. 7, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The art disclosed herein relates to a package for an electrical power tool configured to be powered by a battery pack.

BACKGROUND

In manufacturing plants of industrial products, typically finished industrial products are packed in packages prior to being shipped. Due to this, various types of packages are used in accordance with the manufactured industrial products (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication NO. H6-321284). For an electrical power tool powered by a battery pack, both a body of the electrical power tool and the battery pack detached therefrom are packed in a same package. Further, a large quantity of packed electrical power tools is stored in a storage facility such as a warehouse until they are shipped.

In the electrical power tool, a lithium ion battery is widely employed as a battery for the battery pack. Electrolyte of the lithium ion battery is a hazardous material with combustibility, similar to petroleum for example. Due to this, in a facility that stores lithium ion batteries exceeding a certain quantity is regarded as a hazardous material facility under the requirements of the Fire Service Law, and such a facility is required to place predetermined safety measures. In a manufacturing plant of the electrical power tool as well, when the battery pack of the electrical power tool includes the lithium ion battery, a large quantity of packed electrical power tools must be stored in a special storage facility conforming to the requirements of the Fire Service Law.

SUMMARY

A package of an electrical power tool accommodates not only a battery pack but also a body of the electrical power tool. As such, the package of the electrical power tool has a relatively large size, and when such large-sized packages are to be stored in a large quantity, a space required for the aforementioned special storage facility becomes accordingly large. However, as compared to other normal storage facilities, the special storage facility conforming to the requirements of the Fire Service Law requires higher cost in its installation and maintenance. Thus, the large quantity of packages of electrical power tools occupying a large space in the special storage facility is resulting in a problem such as a manufacturing cost increase.

In regard to the above problem, consideration could be given to packing only the body of the electrical power tool first, and further packing the battery pack in that package at a time of shipping or at a timing close to the shipping. By such a procedure, the package of the electrical power tool can be stored in a normal storage facility until the battery pack is packed therein, and the space required for the special storage facility can be reduced. However, work to open each of the large quantity of packages that had been stored and to add the battery pack thereto is burdensome, and this may lead to a decrease of productivity.

The description herein provides an art that facilitates additionally packing a battery pack in a package accommodating a body of an electrical power tool.

In one aspect of the present teachings, provided is a package for an electrical power tool configured to be powered by a battery pack. The package may comprise a bottom wall, an upper wall located opposite the bottom wall and a vertical wall extending between the bottom wall and the upper wall first space configured to accommodate a body of the electrical power tool and a second space configured to accommodate the battery pack detached from the body are defined between the bottom wall and the upper wall. An opening is defined in the vertical wall to enable the battery pack to be inserted into the second space through the opening in a state where the body is accommodated within the first space.

In the aforementioned package, the opening is defined in the vertical wall, and the battery pack can be inserted through the opening into the package in which the body is already accommodated in advance. Due to this, only the body of the electrical power tool can be packed and stored in advance, and the battery pack can further be packed easily into this package at a time of shipping or at a timing close to the shipping. Especially since the opening is defined in the vertical wall, the battery pack can be inserted into each of such packages even in a state where a plurality of packages is stacked.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an outer appearance of a package 10 of an embodiment in a state where an upper wall 14 is closed.

FIG. 2 shows the outer appearance of the package 10 of the embodiment in a state where the upper wall 14 is opened.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an internal structure of the package 10 of the embodiment in a state where an opening 18 is closed.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the package 10 of the embodiment in a state where the opening 18 is opened.

FIG. 5 shows a state of inserting a battery pack 4 into the package 10 through the opening 18 in a state where a plurality of packages 10 is stacked.

FIG. 6 shows a package 110 of another embodiment in a state where a battery pack package 112 accommodating a battery pack 4 is inserted into the package 110 through an opening 18 in a state where a plurality of packages 110 is stacked.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an embodiment of the art disclosed herein, the opening of the vertical wall may have a size not allowing the body to pass through the opening. That is, the opening may have the size through which the battery pack can pass. By reducing the size of the opening, a decrease in strength of the package, for example, may be suppressed.

In an embodiment of the art disclosed herein, the vertical wall may be provided with a flap configured to open and close the opening. According to such a configuration, the battery pack undesirably detaching from the package and a foreign matter entering into the package can be avoided. Alternatively as another embodiment, a lid-like member configured to close the opening of the vertical wall may be inserted into the opening along with or independent from the battery pack.

In an embodiment of the art disclosed herein, the upper wall may be configured openable. In this case, the upper wall may enable the body to be inserted into and taken out from the first space. When the upper wall is opened. According to such a configuration, even when the body of the electrical power tool is relatively large, this body can easily be inserted from above into the package.

In an embodiment of the art disclosed herein, the vertical wall may comprise a front wall, a rear wall located opposite the front wall, and a pair of side walls extending between the front wall and the rear wall. In this case, although not particularly limited, the package may have a substantially cuboid shape. Further, the walls of the package are not limited to being flat, and may be curved inward or outward.

In the aforementioned embodiment, an area of each side wall may be smaller than any of an area of the front wall and an area of the rear wall. In this case, the opening may be located on at least one of the pair of side walls. According to such a configuration, decrease in strength of the package caused by defining the opening can be suppressed relatively small.

In addition to or as a substitute to the above, an area of the upper wall as well as an area of the bottom wall may be smaller than any of the area of the front wall and the area of the rear wall. According to such a configuration, a plurality of packages can stably be stacked. Further, the battery pack can be inserted through the opening of the side wall into each of the plurality of stacked packages.

In an embodiment of the art disclosed herein, the package may further comprise a partition that is located between the first space and the second space and at least partially separates the first space from the second space. According to such a configuration, positions of the body of the electrical power tool and the battery pack inside the package can stably be set.

In the aforementioned embodiment, the partition may be configured to secure at least one of the body accommodated in the first space and the battery pack accommodated in the second space. According to such a configuration, the positions of the body of the electrical power tool and/or the battery pack inside the package can be set even more stably.

The description herein provides a method of packing a plurality of electrical power tools each configured to be powered by a battery pack into a plurality of packages being one of the aforementioned packages. This method may comprise: placing the bodies into the first spaces of the plurality of packages, respectively; stacking the plurality of packages in which the bodies are accommodated; and inserting the battery packs into the second spaces of the plurality of stacked packages through the openings on the vertical walls, respectively.

Representative, non-limiting examples of the present disclosure will now be described in further detail with reference to the attached drawings. This detailed description is merely intended to teach a person of skill in the art further details for practicing aspects of the present teachings and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each of the additional features and teachings disclosed below may be utilized separately or in conjunction with other features and teachings to provide improved packages, as well as methods for using and manufacturing the same.

Moreover, combinations of features and steps disclosed in the following detailed description may not be necessary to practice the present disclosure in the broadest sense, and are instead taught merely to particularly describe representative examples of the present disclosure. Furthermore, various features of the above-described and below-described representative examples, as well as the various independent and dependent claims, may be combined in ways that are not specifically and explicitly enumerated in order to provide additional useful embodiments of the present teachings.

All features disclosed in the description and/or the claims are intended to be disclosed separately and independently from each other for the purpose of original written disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter, independent of the compositions of the features in the embodiments and/or the claims. In addition, all value ranges or indications of groups of entities are intended to disclose every possible intermediate value or intermediate entity for the purpose of original written disclosure, as well as for the purpose of restricting the claimed subject matter.

A package 10 of an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The package 10 is designed for an electrical power tool configured to be powered by a battery pack 4, and is configured to accommodate a body 2 of the electrical power tool, the battery pack 4 configured to be detachably attached to the body 2, and a charger 6 for the battery pack 4 (see FIG. 4). The battery pack 4 includes therein a plurality of lithium ion batteries 5 as its battery. Although not shown, the package 10 may further be configured to accommodate one or more accessories. The package 10 is primarily used in a manufacturing plant of the electrical power tool, and the manufactured electrical power tool is shipped by being packed in the package 10. The electrical power tool herein means an electric device used primarily for outdoor work and having a relatively large size. Although not particularly limited, the electrical power tool may for example be a mower, a trimmer, a hedge trimmer, a chain saw, a circular saw, a blower, or a vacuum cleaner.

Although this is merely an example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the electrical power tool of the present embodiment is a trimmer. This trimmer may also be called a grass trimmer. The body 2 of the electrical power tool includes a housing 2a to which the battery pack 4 is to be detachably attached, a motor 2b configured to be driven by the battery pack 4, and a tool unit 2c (cutting blade) configured to be driven by the motor 2b. The body 2 of the electrical power tool further includes an elongate operation rod 2d. One end of the operation rod 2d is connected to the housing 2a and another end of the operation rod 2d is connected to the motor 2b. The operation rod 2d houses electric wirings therein, and is configured to electrically connect the battery pack 4 attached to the housing 2a to the motor 2b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the package 10 is a substantially cuboid-shaped box, and is constituted of paper material such as a corrugated board. However, a shape and material of the package 10 is not particularly limited. The package 10 includes a bottom wall 12, an upper wall 14 located opposite the bottom wall 12, and a vertical wall 16 extending between the bottom wall 12 and the upper wall 14. The bottom wall 12 and the upper wall 14 are each flat and have a rectangular shape. The bottom wall 12 and the upper wall 14 are positioned parallel to each other and face each other with an internal space of the package 10 interposed between them. Each of the bottom wall 12 and the upper wall 14 is not limited to the rectangular shape, and may have another shape. Further, each of the bottom wall 12 and the upper wall 14 may be partially or entirely curved. The bottom wall 12 and the upper wall 14 may have a same shape as each other or may have shapes different from each other.

The vertical wall 16 surrounds the internal space of the package 10. The vertical wall 16 includes a front wall 16a, a rear wall 16b located opposite the front wall 16a, and a pair of side walls 16c extending between the front wall 16a and the rear wall 16b. The front wall 16a and the rear wall 16b are each flat and have a rectangular shape. The front wall 16a and the rear wall 16b are positioned parallel to each other and face each other with the internal space of the package 10 interposed between them. Each of the pair of side walls 16c is flat and has a rectangular shape. Further, the pair of side walls 16c face each other with the internal space of the package 10 interposed between them. Each of the front wall 16a, the rear wall 16b, and the side walls 16c is not limited to the rectangular shape, and may have another shape. Although not particularly limited, an area of each of the pair of side walls 16c is smaller than any of an area of the front wall 16a and an area of the rear wall 16b.

The upper wall 14 is configured openable. Although not particularly limited, the upper wall 14 in the present embodiment is constituted of a plurality of flaps, each of which is configured pivotable with respect, to the vertical wall 16. The upper wall 14 is not limited to the plurality of flaps, and may have a lid-like structure configured to detachably attach to the vertical wall 16. As shown in FIG. 2, when the upper wall 14 is opened, the internal space of the package 10 becomes entirely open to outside. Although not particularly limited, an area of the upper wall 14 is greater than any of the area of the side wall 16c, the area of the front wall 16a, and the area of the rear wall 16b of the vertical wall 16. As above, when the area of the upper wall 14 is relatively large, the relatively large body 2 of the electrical power tool can easily be placed in the package 10. Further, when a plurality of packages 10 is stacked (see FIG. 5), those packages 10 can stably be set on top of each other.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a first space 32 for accommodating the body 2 of the electrical power tool, a second space 34 for accommodating the battery pack 4, and a third space 36 for accommodating the charger 6 are defined within the package 10. These spaces 32, 34, 36 are located between the bottom wall 12 and the upper wall 14 and are surrounded by the vertical wall 16. When the upper wall 14 of the package 10 is opened, the three spaces 32, 34, 36 are opened to outside. Due to this, the first space 32. enters a state in which the body 2 of the electrical power tool can be inserted into and taken out from, the second space 34 enters a state in which the battery pack 4 can be inserted into and taken out from, and the third space 36 enters a state in which the charger 6 can be inserted into and taken out from.

An opening 18 and a flap 20 configured to open and close the opening 18 are provided on the side wall 16c being one wall of the vertical wall 16. The opening 18 communicates with the second space 34 and has a shape through which the battery pack 4 can be passed. Due to this, as shown in FIG. 4, when the opening 18 is opened by opening the flap 20, the battery pack 4 can be inserted in the second space 34, the opening 18 on the vertical wall 16 is on the side wan 16c defining the second space 34, and is directly communicated with the second space 34 without intervention of the first space 32. As such, even in a state where the body 2 is accommodated in the first space 32, the battery pack 4 can freely be inserted into the second space 34.

The package 10 further includes a partition 22. The partition 22 at least partially separates the first space 32 from the second space 34. Due to this, the battery pack 4 accommodated in the second space 34 is suppressed from coming into contact with the body 2 accommodated in the first space 32. In addition, the partition 22 contacts both the body 2 accommodated in the first space 32 and the battery pack 4 accommodated in the second space 34, and is configured to secure positions thereof. Due to this, positions and postures of the body 2 and the battery pack 4 are stably set in the first space 32 and the second space 34, respectively.

Although not particularly limited, the partition 22 of the present embodiment at least partially separates each of the first space 32 and the second space 34 from the third space 36. Due to this, the charger 6 accommodated in the third space 36 is suppressed from coming into contact with the body 2 accommodated in the first space 32 and with the battery pack 4 accommodated in the second space 34. Here, a specific structure of the partition 22 is not particularly limited. The partition 22 is constituted of a single corrugated board that is folded in a complicated shape, however, as another embodiment, the partition 22 may be constituted of a combination of a plurality of members.

As aforementioned, the package 10 of the present embodiment is used in the manufacturing plant of the electrical power tool, and the manufactured electrical power tool is packed in the package 10 and is then shipped. However, a timing to ship the packed electrical power tool is limited (for example, once a day), and a large quantity of manufactured electrical power tools are stored in the state of being packed in packages 10 until shipping. Here, the battery pack 4 of the electrical power tool includes the plurality of lithium ion batteries. As such, when the battery pack 4 is accommodated in the package 10 of the electrical power tool, that package 10 must be stored in a special storage facility conforming to the requirements of the Fire Service Law.

However, the package 10 of the present embodiment accommodates not only the battery pack 4 but also the body 2 of the electrical power tool and the charger 6. As such, the package 10 has a relatively large size, and when such large-sized packages 10 are to be stored in a large quantity, a space required for the aforementioned special storage facility becomes accordingly large. To avoid this, consideration may be given to packing only the body of the electrical power tool first, and further packing the battery pack in that package at a time of shipping or at a timing close to the shipping. By such a procedure, the package of the electrical power tool can be stored in a normal storage facility until the battery pack is packed therein, and the space required for the special storage facility can be reduced.

Due to this, the package 10 of the present embodiment has the opening 18 on the vertical wall 16, and the battery pack 4 can be inserted through the opening 18 into the package 10 in which the body 2 is accommodated in advance. Due to this, only the body 2 of the electrical power tool and the charger 6 can be accommodated in the package 10 in advance, and the battery pack 4 can further be packed in the package 10 at the time of shipping or the timing close to the shipping. Especially in the package 10 of the present embodiment, the opening 18 is provided on the vertical wall 16. Due to this, even in the state where the plurality of packages 10 is stacked as shown in FIG. 5, the battery packs 4 can be inserted into those packages 10.

In the package 10 of the present embodiment, the opening 18 on the vertical wall 16 is designed to have a size fitting a size of the batter pack 4 but not allowing the body 2 of the electrical power tool to pass therethrough. According to such a configuration, the size of the opening 18 can be made relatively small, and strength of the package 10 can be suppressed from decreasing, for example. Further, in the package 10 of the present embodiment, the flap 20 is provided on the vertical wall 16 and the opening 18 can be closed by the flap 20, by which decrease in the strength of the package 10 can further be suppressed.

FIG. 6 shows a package 110 of another embodiment. This package 110 does not have the flap 20 for the opening 18, and differs from the aforementioned package 10 in this regard. In addition, the package 110 further includes a battery pack package 112 that accommodates the battery pack 4. The battery pack package 112 is a member independent from the package 110, and is configured capable of being inserted into the opening 18 of the vertical wall 16 of the package 110. That is, in the package 110 of the present embodiment, the battery pack package 112 accommodating the battery pack 4 is inserted into the second space 34 inside the package 110 through the opening 18. Further, when the battery pack package 112 is inserted through the opening 18 of the package 110, the opening 18 of the package 110 is closed by the battery pack package 112. According to such a configuration, the opening 18 can be closed without providing the flap 20 on the package 110, and decrease in strength of the package 110 can be suppressed.

The packages 10, 110 disclosed herein can optimally be used also for an electrical power tool of which battery pack 4 does not include the lithium ion batteries 5. For example, since the body 2 of the electrical power tool and the battery pack 4 of the electrical power tool normally differ in components required for manufacture thereof and in procedures therefor, they are often manufactured in different sites at different timings. In such a case, the body 2 of the electrical power tool may be packed in the package 10 or 110 at a timing when the body 2 of the electrical power tool is prepared for packing. After this, the battery pack 4 may additionally be packed in the package 10 or 110 at a timing when the battery pack 4 of the electrical power tool is prepared for packing. In the case where the battery pack 4 does not include the lithium ion batteries 5, packing of the battery pack 4 may be performed prior to packing the body 2.

Claims

1. A package for an electrical power tool configured to be powered by a battery pack, the package comprising:

a bottom wall;

an upper wall located opposite the bottom wall; and

a vertical wall extending between the bottom wall and the upper wall;

wherein a first space configured to accommodate a body of the electrical power tool and a second space configured to accommodate the battery pack detached from the body are defined between the bottom wall and the upper wall, and

an opening is defined in the vertical wall, the opening configured to enable the battery pack to be inserted into the second space through the opening in a state where the body is accommodated within the first space.

2. The package according to claim 1, wherein the opening has a size not allowing the body to pass through the opening.

3. The package according to claim 1, wherein the vertical wall is provided with a flap configured to open and close the opening.

4. The package according to claim 1, wherein

the upper wall is configured openable such that the upper wall enables the body to be inserted into and taken out from the first space when the upper wall is opened.

5. The package according to claim 1, wherein the vertical wall comprises a front wall, a rear wall located opposite the front wall, and a pair of side walls extending between the front wall and the rear wall.

6. The package according to claim 5, wherein

an area of each side wall is smaller than any of an area of the front wall and an area of the rear wall, and

the opening is located on at least one of the pair of side walls.

7. The package according to claim 5, wherein an area of the upper wall is greater than any of an area of the front wall and an area of the rear wall.

8. The package according to claim 1, further comprising a partition that is located between the first space and the second space and at least partially separates the first space from the second space.

9. The package according to claim 8, wherein the partition is configured to secure at least one of the body accommodated in the first space and the battery pack accommodated in the second space.

10. The package according to claim 1, wherein

the opening has a size not allowing the body to pass through the opening, and

the upper wall is configured openable such that the upper wall enables the body e to be inserted into and taken out from the first space when the upper wall is opened.

11. The package according to claim 10, wherein

the vertical wall comprises a front wall, a rear wall located opposite the front wall, and a pair of side walls extending between the front wall and the rear wall,

an area of each side wall is smaller than any of an area of the front wall and an area of the rear wall, and

the opening is located on at least one of the pair of side walls.

12. The package according to claim 11, wherein

an area of the upper wall is greater than any of an area of the front wall and an area of the rear wall.

13. The package according to claim 1, wherein

the vertical wall comprises a front wall, a rear wall located opposite the front wall, and a pair of side walls extending between the front wall and the rear wall,

an area of each side wall is smaller than any of an area of the front wall and an area of the rear wall, and

the opening is located on at least one of the pair of side walls.

14. The package according to claim 13, wherein

wherein an area of the upper wall is greater than any of an area of the front wall and an area of the rear wall.

15. A method of packing a plurality of electrical power tools each configured to be powered by a battery pack into a plurality of packages according to claim 1, the method comprising:

placing the bodies into the first spaces of the plurality of packages, respectively;

stacking the plurality of packages in which the bodies are accommodated; and

inserting the battery packs into the second spaces of the plurality of stacked packages through the openings on the vertical walls, respectively.