Black Decker Inc.

Jongsoo Lim

Stuart E Garber

Paul S White

Erik A Ekstrom

Russell Hester

Brian C Sterling

Merrill Myers

David J Smith

Paul Gerard Gross

Lee Michael Brendel

Michael P Baron

Shailesh P Waikar

Pradeep M Pant

Jonathan P Kirkpatrick

Jonathan Kirkpatrick

Russell David Hester

A tool is provided for applying fasteners to a workpiece. The tool has a housing with a nosepiece, a motor, a drive actuator, a magazine assembly that holds fasteners, and a feed assembly with a feed actuator configured to move a lead fastener into the nosepiece. A driver in the housing is driven by a drive system that is associated with the driver actuator. A controller is connected to the feed actuator and the drive actuator to implement a firing sequence for driving each lead fastener into the workpiece using the driver and feeding the lead fastener into the nosepiece assembly. The actuators may be in the form of solenoids. The controller is designed to energize and deenergize the motor selectively while the drive actuator and feed actuator are activated.

Power tool

A mode selector switch for a power tool that can have a source of a magnetic field and use a magnetoresistive component to produce an output signal that changes when the strength of the magnetic field changes. The power tool can have a microprocessor that changes an operational mode of the power tool based on a change of the output signal from the magnetoresistive component. The magnetoresistive component can be a Hall effect sensor and the power tool can be a nailer. The power tool can have a switching means which changes an operational mode based upon a change in the strength of the magnetic field upon a magnetoresistive component. A method of controlling a power tool, having a step of changing an operational mode of a power tool based upon identifying a change in output from a magnetoresistor.

Power tool hall effect mode selector switch

A method is presented for controlling operation of a power tool having an electric motor drivably coupled to an output spindle. The method includes: receiving an input indicative of a clutch setting for an electronic clutch, where the clutch setting is selectable from a plurality of driver modes; setting the value of a maximum current threshold in accordance with the selected one of the plurality of driver modes; determining rotational speed of the electric motor; determining an amount of current being delivered to the electric motor; comparing the amount of current being delivered to the electric motor to the maximum current threshold; and interrupting transmission of torque to the output spindle when the amount of current being delivered to the electric motor exceeds the maximum current threshold and the rotational speed of the electric motor is decreasing.

Electronic clutch for power tool

A fastening power tool such as a nailer is provided including a tool housing, an input unit actuated in response to an operator input, and a motor assembly including a motor housed within the tool housing. A control unit is provided including a controller programmable to control an operation of the motor and a decoder circuit configured to control a supply of power from a power source to the controller based on a status of the power source and a status of the input unit. The decoder circuit is configured to connect supply of power from the power source to the controller when the power tool is coupled to the power source prior to an engagement of the input unit, but disconnect the supply of power when the power tool is coupled to the power source after the engagement of the input unit.

Control system for a fastening power tool

An electronic circuit for a power tool includes a plurality of high-side and low-side switches connected in series between terminals of a power source and coupled to a load, a bootstrap circuit comprising a plurality of bootstrap capacitors arranged to provide sufficient amount of drive voltage to turn ON and OFF the plurality of high-side switches, and a control unit configured to turn ON and OFF the plurality of low-side switches in succession to sequentially charge the bootstrap capacitors.

Bootstrap circuit and control system for a power tool

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Timonium, MD, United States of America

Jongsoo Lim