NL2035133B1

NL2035133B1 - Charger and system for a rescue tool

Info

Publication number: NL2035133B1
Application number: NL2035133A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Wilhelmus Johannes Van Eindhoven René; Antonius Maria Verkooijen Cornelis; Godewijn De Graaf Mattijn
Original assignee: Holmatro B V
Priority date: 2023-06-20
Filing date: 2023-06-20
Publication date: 2025-01-06
Also published as: WO2024263032A1

Abstract

The present disclosure concerns a charger for charging a plurality of rechargeable batteries 5 of one or more battery-powered portable rescue tools, wherein each of the rechargeable batteries is configured to be detachably connected to a battery-powered portable rescue tool or to the charger. The charger comprises a spare battery terminal, one or more output terminals, and a controllable power supply unit. The spare battery terminal is configured to allow a spare, first battery from the plurality of rechargeable batteries to be directly connected to the charger for charging the first 10 battery. The one or more output terminals are configured to allow one or more further batteries of one or more battery-powered rescue tools to be connected to the charger for charging the one or more further batteries. The controllable power supply unit is electrically connected to the spare battery terminal and the one or more output terminals. The controllable power supply unit is configured to selectively supply power to the first battery and to the one or more further batteries 15 of the one or more rescue tools. [Fig.

Description

CHARGER AND SYSTEM FOR A RESCUE TOOL

The present application concerns a charger for charging a plurality of rechargeable batteries of one or more battery-powered portable rescue tools, a system of such charger with a plurality of battery-powered portable rescue tools and to the use of the charger and system.

Rescue vehicles, such as fire engines, are designed to carry equipment that can be used for a wide variety of different incidents. Types of incidents include fires, water accidents, incidents at height, incidents with hazardous substances, incidents with a risk of collapse, entrapment in vehicles, incidents in which trees or parts thereof have become unstable or create dangerous situations, etc. For each type of incident, one or more different rescue power tools are required.

Examples of rescue tools are various types of saws, hydraulic equipment for cutting open/spreading a vehicle in the event of an entrapment, positive pressure fans for expelling smoke and gasses, pumps for emptying of flooded cellars, lighting units to illuminate an incident, etc. As a result, rescue vehicles are often overcrowded with power-tools.

Many of these rescue tools (herein also referred to as rescue power tools or power tools) are equipped with rechargeable batteries that need to be removed from the rescue tool when the battery has been drained and placed in a charger for recharging. The various rescue tools often each require their own type of battery, meaning that each of them comes with a unique (or at least not interchangeable) charger. Spare batteries are also often made available in the rescue vehicle so that a fully charged (spare) battery is available at all times to operate the specific rescue tool. This multitude of different chargers and batteries further worsens the problem of overcrowded rescue vehicles. Charging systems known in the art are shown in figures 1 and 2. The figures are schematic views in accordance with a pair of known arrangements of rescue tools in a rescue vehicle. The figures show different rescue tools 20, 20°, 20°’ having their batteries 15B, 158°, 15B’" connected to a corresponding number of separate chargers (C, C’, C’’). Figure 2 shows a practical arrangement wherein the rescue tools and chargers have been mounted to a slide-out panel (P) of a vehicle (V), for instance a rescue truck. In these systems. one charger is capable of charging only one battery accommodated in or on a rescue tool at a time. To be able to charge multiple batteries arranged in corresponding tools, multiple chargers (C, C’, C’”} are needed. As can be seen in figure 2, when a set of multiple chargers for a number of rescue tools is installed on a slide-out panel (P) in a rescue vehicle (V), the chargers may take up quite an amount of space.

Furthermore, one or more spare batteries are kept in store in the vehicle in order to be ready to replace a drained battery of a specific rescue tool by a spare battery when the rescue tool is to be used or when the battery of rescue tool that is currently used is about to run low.

Rescue tool chargers should be made compact in view of the limited space available in rescue vehicles and should be simple and easy to operate by the rescue workers. In order to save storage space in the rescue vehicle often not all rescue tools can be connected to an associated charger. In case a rescue tool is switched off when stored in the storage space of the rescue vehicle and this rescue tool is not connected to a charger, it may not be possible to determine the status of the battery of the rescue tool. This means that in practice a rescue worker may be uncertain about whether this rescue tool, or, in practice, whether all rescue tools in the rescue vehicle are ready for action and/or whether sufficient spare batteries are available for replacement purposes in case of prolonged use of the rescue tools in an emergency.

In general, a crew of rescue workers should be able to rely on the fact that all rescue tools in the rescue vehicle are sufficiently charged and therefore ready for use. Furthermore, chargers need to be capable of withstanding harsh weather conditions, for instance when they are exposed to physical impact, wind, rain, snow or hail.

A further issue is that after deployment of a rescue tool its battery needs to be removed, placed on a charger to be recharged to a sufficiently high level and be placed back so that the rescue tool is ready for the next deployment. These are all manual actions that sometimes are not (fully) carried out by the rescue worker. These actions are often forgotten (especially when rescue workers operate in different shifts), as a result of which a tool is not ready for a subsequent incident.

It is an object to provide a charger and a system in which at least one of the abovementioned disadvantages is reduced or even removed.

It is also an object to provide a compact charger suitable for charging two or more rescue tools and/or to provide a system wherein the status of the batteries of a plurality of rescue tools may be determined at all times, irrespective of status of rescue tool (for instance, irrespective of whether the rescue tool is switched-on or switched-off).

According to a first aspect a charger for charging a plurality of rechargeable batteries of one or more battery-powered portable rescue tools is provided, wherein each of the rechargeable batteries is configured to be detachably connected to a battery-powered portable rescue tool or to the charger, the charger comprising: - a spare battery terminal configured to allow a spare, first battery from the plurality of rechargeable batteries to be directly connected to the charger for charging the first battery; - one or more output terminals configured to allow one or more further batteries of one or more battery-powered rescue tools to be connected to the charger for charging the one or more further batteries; - a controllable power supply unit electrically connected to the spare battery terminal and the one or more output terminals, the controllable power supply unit being configured to selectively supply power to the first battery and to the one or more further batteries of the one or more rescue tools.

The charger provided herein is relatively compact (small-sized) and the number of rescue tools that can be connected and charged using a single charger may be increased considerably. This means that given the relatively small storage space available in a typical rescue vehicle, more rescue tools or even each and every rescue tool in the vehicle storage space may be connected to a charger. This in turn means that the likelihood of all batteries of the rescue tools being properly charged and therefore ready for action is increased. Furthermore, since more rescue tools or even all rescue tools are connected to a charger when the rescue tools are stored, electrical power may be made available at all times to the rescue tools. As will be explained later, this makes it possible to permanently power electronic circuits in the rescue tools, such as communication modules, so that for instance the current state of the respective rescue tools may be permanently monitored and communicated to the charger and/or to another external device, such as a smartphone.

Furthermore, the charger is able to keep at least one spare battery properly loaded and therefore ready for replacement of a drained further battery of one or the rescue tools. This also increases the level of readiness of the set of rescue tools and helps giving the rescue workers the confidence that all rescue tools may be properly powered at all times. The risk of a rescue worker having to deal with a rescue tool that is insufficiently powered when a next incident occurs is minimal.

In embodiments of the present application the spare, first battery and the further battery or batteries are configured to be interchangeable (or even essentially identical). In this manner a spare battery is always available for attachment to any one of the rescue tools. This means that the rescue tool is always ready for use.

In this respect it is remarked that in a state wherein a battery is attached to a rescue tool, the output terminal of the charger may be directly connected to this battery or indirectly connected to the battery, i.e. via the rescue tool itself. In an embodiment at least one of the output terminals comprises an electric charging cable to be detachably connected to an associated rescue tool or directly to the battery of an associated rescue tool. The charger preferably comprises two or more output terminals to connect at least two rescue tools at the same time to a respective electric charging cable. The electric charging cable may comprise a quick release connector for easy connection and detachment of the cable to and from the rescue tool.

In further embodiments the charger comprises a housing for accommodating at least the spare battery terminal, the one or more output terminals and the controllable power supply unit, preferably also an information acquiring unit and a controller, the housing preferably being provided with an attachment element configured for releasably attaching the spare, first battery to the housing and/or the housing preferably comprising a holding compartment for removably holding therein the spare, first battery, optionally also the attachment element, for removably holding the spare, first battery at least partially in the housing. The battery may be held in the compartment of the housing without being attached to it, while in other embodiments the battery is both arranged in the compartment and attached to the housing using the attachment element.

In a further embodiment the charger comprises: - a first housing part in which the spare battery terminal, the controllable power supply unit, the holding compartment and/or the attachment element are arranged; - a second housing part, separate from the first housing part, the second housing part comprising the one or more output terminals; - a single connection cable arranged between the first and second housing parts and configured to provide an electrical connection between the power supply unit and each of the output terminals.

This embodiment (also referred to as the “splitter” arrangement) is especially beneficial in situations wherein the charger is retrofitted in the rescue vehicle. An additional advantage is that the second housing part can be located in the vehicle at a position remote from the first housing part. For instance, in situations where the first housing part is arranged inside the vehicle at a position wherein the housing part is protected by the vehicle from external influences like rain, snow etc and the second housing part is potentially exposed to the environment, for instance when the second housing part is arranged at a slide-out panel, the second housing part is configured to be sturdy and watertight, while the first housing part does not need to be watertight and can be less sturdy.

In further embodiments the charger comprises: - an information acquiring unit, configured to acquire information on at least one of a connected first battery, a connected battery-powered rescue tool, and one or more connected further batteries; - a controller connected to the controllable power supply unit and the information acquiring unit, the controller configured to control the controllable power supply unit based on the acquired information.

The charger may further be configured to allow the acquiring unit to receive information about the connected battery-powered rescue tool and/or the connected further battery or batteries via one or more respective wired connections, wherein, optionally, a wired connection is part of a charge cable arranged between the power supply unit and the associated battery or battery-powered rescue tool for exchange of information via power line communication.

In further embodiments the charger comprises a charger communication module configured to allow the acquiring unit to receive information about the connected battery-powered rescue tool and/or the connected further battery or batteries via one or more respective connections from respective battery communication modules arranged on or in the rescue tools, wherein the charger communication module and at least one of the battery communication modules are wireless communication modules configured to respectively transmit and receive the information via at least one wireless connection.

In further embodiments the charger communication module and at least one of the battery communication modules (preferably all of the battery communication modules) are configured to 5 respectively receive and transmit information via a communication signal generated by the at least one battery communication module. The communication signal can be wirelessly or via a galvanic connection (wire) transmitted by the battery communication module to the charger communication module (one-way communication). In some embodiments two-way communication is possible as well so that the charger communication module can also send an information signal to one or more of the battery communication modules.

In further embodiments at least one of the charger communication module and a battery communication module is configured to wirelessly communicate the information about the connected battery-powered rescue tool and/or the connected further battery or batteries with a mobile device such as a mobile phone, tablet or laptop. In this manner the rescue worker can remotely monitor information, such as status information, about the rescue tools, also during the time the rescue tools are stored in the rescue vehicle. This may provide the rescue worker confidence that the rescue vehicle is ready for use. In embodiments wherein the modules are configured for two-way communication, the mobile device can be used to remotely set the operation of the charger, for instance setting the charge order of the various rescue tools (and spare batteries).

In further embodiments, the battery communication module of a further battery is configured to be powered by the further battery it is connected to and by an electric charging cable connected to the further battery. This allows for powering the battery communication module either sequentially, i.e. by the battery and then the charger or vice versa, or simultaneously, i.e. both by the battery and the charger at the same time. When the charger is powering the battery communication module, the charger may at the same time charge the battery. In other embodiments only the battery is connected to the battery communication module while the battery can be connected to the charger.

In situations wherein the battery communication module only is powered by the further battery if the associated rescue tool is in a switched-on state, the communication module would not be able to communicate the status of the battery of the rescue tool if the rescue tool is switched off.

For instance, should the rescue tool be in a switched-off state (for instance in case the rescue tool is stored in a vehicle}, the communication module would not be powered and therefore would not able to communicate with the charger, for instance giving a warning that the specific battery is (almost) empty or is malfunctioning. In embodiments of the present disclosure the battery communication module can also be powered by the charger when at least the rescue tool is connected to the charger. This means that the battery communication module may also be powered when the rescue tool is switched off. This means that the status of the battery can always be communicated to the charger so that the operator knows at all times whether the rescue tool is ready for immediate action.

Considering that capabilities of the charger may be limited, it is likely that decisions have to be made regarding which batteries are charged and which are not, or in what order the plarality of rechargeable batteries have to be charged. Such decisions could be supported by information acquired from the batteries connected to the charger. In further embodiments, the information that can be acquired from the first battery and/or one or more further batteries includes at least one of battery state, for instance the battery state of charge or the battery state of health; battery temperature; battery error; number of battery charge cycles; nominal battery voltage; expected battery charge time; battery type or model; battery serial number; Also, information that can be acquired from a rescue tool may include at least one of a (current) rescue state; a tool serial number; and a number of rescue tool actions since the most recent battery replacement.

In further embodiments, the controller is configured to control the controllable power supply unit to selectively supply power to at least one of the first battery and the one or more further batteries based on a battery charging program stored on the controller, preferable also based on information acquired from the information acquiring unit.

In further embodiments the controller is programmed to select one or more batteries for charging based on a preferred charge order, the preferred charge order for instance having been determined by the controller. The preferred charge order may be based on the acquired information, for instance the acquired rescue tool state or the acquired battery state, of the first and/or further batteries.

In further embodiments, based on the battery charging program, the controller controls the power supply unit to sequentially charge the first battery and the one or more further batteries (irrespective of the acquired state or depending on the acquired information about each of the batteries).

Tools that are used only briefly may still have quite full batteries and, while having been used, may already be sufficiently charged for further use. It is therefore advantageous to charge the batteries that are either empty or low in charge first. In further embodiments. based on the battery charging program, the controller controls the power supply unit to charge the first battery and

The power supply unit, optionally also a controller, may be configured to supply power to a single connected battery from a plurality of connected batteries at a time so that this battery is charged as soon as possible and therefore the associated rescue tool is ready for action in the shortest possible time interval.

The power supply unit, optionally also a controller, may be configured to charge the batteries from the plurality of connected rechargeable batteries one at a time (in a sequential order).

The charging of the one or more further batteries is preferably accomplished as follows: at the beginning of the charging operation the battery with the lowest amount of charge is charged first and then the remaining batteries are charged in the order of increasing amount(s) of charge the batteries have at the beginning of the charging operation.

While it may be preferred for all rescue tools to have a fully charged battery, it is not necessarily needed for every rescue tool as they may also function sufficiently well and sufficiently long with a lower battery charge level. Furthermore, if all batteries are only partially charged, for instance half full, then the individual tools may not be able to function as long as they possibly could, but they can all function sufficiently long to perform the needed rescue operations. The situation that each and every rescue tool is able to be operated sufficiently long during a rescue operations may have preference over situations wherein some of the rescue tools are at their maximum capacity while one or more others are insufficiently powered (for instance, charged below a first threshold). In further embodiments, the controller may be (programmed to) control the power supply unit to charge the first battery and the one or more further batteries, comprising charging those batteries from the first battery and the one or more further batteries that have an amount of charge below a first threshold, up to the first threshold (for instance 80% of the maximum capacity), wherein the first threshold is less than fully charged, and, thereafter, charging the first battery and the one or more further batteries until they are fully charged. This is especially beneficial in situations wherein the time interval for charging from about empty to 80% is relatively short compared to the time interval for charging from about 80% to maximum capacity.

It may also be desirable to give the user more direct control over the which battery is charged first. In further embodiments, this is enables as, based on the battery charging program, the controller controls the power supply unit to charge the first battery and the one or more further batteries, based on a predetermined order of terminals via which said batteries are connected to the charger, wherein preferably the charger is provided with visual indication of said predetermined order.

In further embodiments, the information acquiring unit is further configured to acquire information on the at least one of the connected first battery, connected battery-powered rescue tools, and the connected further battery via the corresponding terminal via which said at least one of the connected first battery, connected battery-powered rescue tool, and connected further battery is connected to the power supply unit.

In further embodiments, the charger of any of the preceding claims, wherein the power supply unit is configured to supply power to a single one of the first battery and the one or more further batteries at a time.

In embodiments of the present disclosure the controller comprises a memory configured for storing data about different types of rescue tools and/or different types of batteries and, for each type, a corresponding priority charging rating. Alternatively or additionally, the controller is configured to determine the type or types of rescue tools currently connected to the charger. to determine the associated priority charging ratings of the connected rescue tools and to determine a charging order of the batteries of the connected rescue tools. For instance, the power supply unit may be caused to sequentially charge the connected batteries based on priority ratings of the connected battery-powered rescue tools.

The charger may further comprise an input terminal configured to receive one end of a power source attachment cable, wherein the power supply unit is further configured to receive input power via the input terminal.

In embodiments of the present disclosure the charger has at least one charging cable with a

Quick release connector so as to allow quick connection and disconnection of the charger to respectively from the rescue tool.

According to a further aspect a combination of a plurality of chargers is provided wherein the plurality of chargers has a common power source attachment cable for connecting the associated controllable power supply units of the charges to an external power source, for instance the battery and/alternator of a vehicle.

According to a further aspect a system for charging a plurality of batteries of one or more battery-powered rescue tools is provided, wherein each of the batteries is a rechargeable battery configured to be detachably connected to a battery-powered rescue tool, the system comprising: - a charger as defined herein; - a plurality of battery-powered portable rescue tools, each of the rescue tools being configured to be removably connected to a corresponding outlet terminal of the charger; wherein the charger is configured to selectively charge the rescue tools when connected.

The charger may be configured to selectively charge one or more of the further batteries of the rescue tools or the first battery based on information about the state of the further batteries and first battery, respectively.

Each of the battery-powered portable rescue tools may comprise: - a battery: - an information acquiring tool configured to acquire information on the battery and/or on the rescue tool, the information acquiring tool being configured to generate an information signal representative of the acquired information; and - a battery communication module connected to the information acquiring tool and configured to receive the information signal from the information acquiring tool and forward a communication signal to the charger based on the received information signal.

The information acquiring tool may comprise a sensor configured to sense (for instance, to detect or to measure) at least one operational characteristic of the battery and/or at least one operational characteristic of the rescue tool and to generate an information signal representative of the sensed operational characteristic. In further embodiments the rescue tool comprises an electronic storage medium for storing information about the rescue tool, especially about the battery of the rescue tool. The information acquiring tool may comprise a storage medium reader configured to read information from the electronic storage medium.

The communication signal comprising the acquired information can be transmitted via a wired and/or wireless connection to the information acquiring unit of the charger. The information from the communication signal can then be used by the controller to control the controllable power supply.

At least one of these operational characteristic is an electrical property of the battery, for instance the electrical voltage provided by the battery or the electrical charge delivered by the battery, and wherein the sensor is configured to measure the electrical property of the battery, for instance an electric charge meter, an electric voltage meter and/or an electric current meter, and generate a sensor signal representative of the electrical property of the battery. For instance, a voltage meter may be part of a battery management system (BMS). A BMS may be configured to monitor battery (cell) voltage, battery temperature, and/or battery charging profile. protect the battery by limiting power input and output for thermal and overcharge protection, and/or to determine an estimation of the state-of-charge and state-of-health of the battery.

The controller may be configured to determine a measure for the current status of each of the further batteries and/or the first battery.

Alternatively or additionally, an operational characteristic is the temperature of the battery.

In this case the sensor may be configured to measure the temperature of the battery and generate a sensor signal representative of the temperature of the battery.

A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to the use of a charger or system as claimed as defined herein,

Further details on embodiments and advantages of exemplifying embodiments of the present disclosure are further elucidated referring to the appended figures, in which: figure 1 shows a charging system known in the art, figure 2 shows another charging system known in the art, figure 3 shows an embodiment of a charging system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, figure 4 shows a further embodiment of a charging system according to an embodiment,

figures SA and 5B show schematic designs of a charging system according to further embodiments, figure 6A and 6B show further embodiments of a charging system according to stil further embodiments.

It is noted that, as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is further noted that the claims may be drafted to exclude any optional element. As such, this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for use of such exclusive terminology as “solely,” “only” and the like in connection with the recitation of claim elements, or use of a “negative” limitation.

As will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, each of the individual embodiments described and illustrated herein has discrete components and features which may be readily separated from or combined with the features of any of the other several embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Any recited method can be carried out in the order of events recited or in any other order which is logically possible. "Communicating" information references transmitting the data representing that information as signals (e.g., electrical, optical, radio signals, etc.) over a suitable communication channel (e.g., a private or public network), for example, a Wide Area Network ("WAN"), telephone network, satellite network. or any other suitable communication channel, including the

Internet, an Intranet, etc. Communicating may occur using any convenient communication module suitable for the type of communication channel used, such as a computer network card, a computer fax card or machine, or a telephone or satellite modem.

A “controller” may be generally comprised of a “processor” and a “memory”. The term “processor” references any hardware and/or software combination that will perform the functions required of it. For example, any processor herein may be a programmable digital microprocessor such as available in the form of an electronic controller, mainframe, server or personal computer (desktop or portable). Where the processor is programmable, suitable programming can be communicated from a remote location to the processor, or previously saved in a computer program product (such as a portable or fixed computer readable storage medium, whether magnetic, optical or solid-state device based). The term “memory” refers to any device that can store information for subsequent retrieval by the processor and may include magnetic and/or optical devices or solid- state memory devices. A memory may have more than one physical memory device of the same or different types (for example, a memory may have multiple memory devices such as multiple solid state memory devices.

Wireless communication modes include any mode of communication between points that utilizes, at least in part, wireless technology including various protocols and combinations of protocols associated with wireless transmission, data, and devices. Wired communication includes any communication between points that utilizes wired technology including various protocols and combinations of protocols associated with wired transmission, data, and devices.

In figure 3 an embodiment of a charging system is shown. Said system comprises a charger 1 and a plurality of battery-powered portable rescue tools 20, 20°, 20°’, for instance a spreader, a cutter and a ram.. One rechargeable battery 15A” is directly connected to charger 1 and three other rechargeable batteries 15B, 15B', 15B”’ are connected to corresponding tools 20, 20°, 20°’. This embodiment in particular further comprises one input power cable 16 to couple charger 1, via input terminal 2, to an energy source such as a generator, a battery, or the grid, and three output power cables 12, 12°, 12°’ to couple the tools 20, 20°, 20°’ to charger 1 via output terminals 3A, 3B, 3C.

In the embodiment shown in figure 3, the charger is fully housed in one housing 5.

An alternative embodiment is shown in figure 4. In said embodiment, the charging system again comprises a charger 1 and a plurality of battery-powered portable rescue tools 20, 20°, 207’, for instance a spreader, a cutter and a ram. Rechargeable batteries, similar to the embodiment shown in figure 3, are connected either directly to charger 1 or connected to a corresponding tool 20, 20°, 20". In this embodiment in particular, charger 1 is partially housed in a first housing 5A and partially housed in a second housing 5B. The two housings 5A, 5B are mutually electrically connected via electric cable 12A. Specifically, electric cable 12A may connect an output socket 19 arranged in housing SA with an input socket 19° arranged in housing 5B. Tools 20, 20’, 20°" are, in turn, connected to charger 1 via a further set of charging cables 12B, 12B’, 12B* connected to output terminals 3A, 3B, 3C.

In figures SA and 5B, a schematic design of a charging system according to the present disclosure is shown. Similar to the systems of figures 3 and 4, this system comprises charger 1 and tools 20, 20°, 20%’. Similar to the system in figure 3, in this system charger 1 is housed in one housing 5. Figure 5A is an embodiment with one common housing, while the embodiment of figure 5B shows the housing is formed of two housing parts.

Specifically, figure 5 shows an embodiment of a charger according to the present disclosure. In this embodiment, charger 1 comprises a controller 7, an information acquiring unit 11, a controllable power supply 10, a spare battery terminal 4 and four output terminals 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D. Charger 1 can optionally be provided with a (wireless) charger communication module 17.

Supply 10 receives power via input terminal 2 and forwards this power to one of the spare battery terminals 4 or output terminals 3A. 3B. 3C. 3D in an effort to charge any rechargeable batteries 15A, 15B, 15B’ connected thereto.

Spare battery terminal 4 may be formed by one or more attachment elements (14), such as electrical contacts, to electrically connect spare battery 15A to supply 10, and by an indentation 13 in housing 5 to support and/or to removably, physically attach spare battery 15A to charger 1.

Output terminals 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D may be implemented as conventional sockets or by one half of magnetic quick release connections — the other half being included on the corresponding side of the charging cable 12, 12°.

Information acquiring unit 11 is configured to acquire information needed to determine an order in which batteries are to be charged. This may be based on various types of information. In some embodiments the acquiring unit 11 derives such properties from the electrical connection with said battery (or indirectly, via the tool) and such properties may concern a battery state, for instance the battery state of charge or the battery state of health, a nominal battery voltage, or an expected charge time.

Alternatively or additionally, tools 20, 207, 20° and/or rechargeable batteries 15B, 15B’, 15B°" may be provided with an information acquiring tool 33 configured to acquire information on at least one of the battery of the rescue and any other component of the rescue tool. The information acquiring tool 33 is further configured to generate an information signal representative of the acquired information. The battery communication module 27 is connected to the information acquiring tool (33) and is configured to receive the information signal from the information acquiring tool and forward a communication signal to the charger (1) based on the received information signal.

Various types of information acquiring tools 33 may be employed. In a first embodiment the information acquiring tool 33 comprises a sensor 34, for instance a temperature sensor, a voltage or current sensor, and the like, wherein the sensor is configured to sense at least one operational characteristic of the battery and/or at least one operational characteristic of the rescue tool and to generate an information signal representative of the sensed operational characteristic. In a second embodiment wherein the rescue tool comprises an electronic storage medium 35 for storing information about the rescue tool, especially about the battery of the rescue tool, for instance the battery type, capacity, serial numbers, etc, the information acquiring tool 33 may comprise a storage medium reader 36 configured to read information from the electronic storage medium 36.

A battery communication module 27 may communicate therewith to be informed on the batteries temperature, any battery error that may have occurred, a number of battery charge cycles that the battery has gone through, or information to identify the battery such as a batteries type, model or serial number. Further identifiers concerning the tools 20, 20°, 20°’ that may be acquired via information acquiring unit 11 are the type, model or serial number. Tools may also monitor and collect historical data and provide acquiring unit 11 therewith — e.g. the number of times a tool was used since it was last charged.

Charger communication module 17 may be in communication with an external device such as a server or user equipment (e.g. phone or tablet, possibly via browser or app) and communicate information about charger 1 or information acquired by unit 11 therewith. This way, a user may have insight into which batteries are charged up to what level and may be informed and/or alarmed if a battery and/or a tool experiences a problem. A user may also be informed if charger 1 identifies changes that it expects are problematic or unintentional. Charger 1 may inform a user of a battery 115A or tool 20, 20°, 207" is disconnected before it is fully charged.

Charger 1 sequentially charges any connected rechargeable batteries 15A, 15B, 15B’. There are numerous approaches to sequentially charging the rechargeable batteries.

Moreover, the ratio batteries-to-be-charged to chargers is much higher than in systems according to the prior art.

In the following example, when it is mentioned that charger 1 charges a battery, this may also be understood as that supply 10 provides power to said battery for said battery to be charged.

When it is mentioned that charger 1 charges a particular battery, this may also be understood as controller 7 controlling supply 10 to provide power to that particular battery. When it is mentioned that some aspect of a battery of tool is determined, either generally or specifically by charger 1, this may also be understood as information acquiring unit 11 acquiring this information and either actively sends it to, or at least makes it available to controller 7. When it is mentioned that something is communicated from a tool 20, 20°, 20°” to charger 1, this may also be understood as that information being communicated to charger 1 by a battery communication module 27 included in said tool 20, 20°, 20°".

According to a first approach, the state of charge of each of the connected batteries may be determined. Charger 1 may start fully charging the battery with the lowest state of charge and, in increasing order of state of charge, sequentially charge the connected batteries.

In a similar approach, charger 1 may still start by charging the battery with the lowest state of charge, but instead of fully charging the battery the battery is charged to a predefined (second) threshold level that is lower than the level of a fully charged battery and still high enough to ensure that this battery and/or associated tool can be effectively used in a next incident. This threshold level may be the same for all batteries and/or rescue tools, although in other embodiments the threshold may have been set based on the specific type of rescue tool (spreader, ram, cutter).

For instance, a type of tool can be determined, and the threshold level may be adapted based thereon. Tools that are very likely used, that require a lot of power per usage or that are — when used - used a great number of times during an incident, will have to be charged up to a relatively high level. At the same time, because the system uses the same type of rechargeable battery for all tools, there may be tools that do not need that high a level of charge to be able to be effectively used. Tools that consume very little power or that are - when used — still only operated a small number of times per incident, may be charged to lower levels. Tools may be identified by charger 1 by some tool identifier, in which case memory 9 may comprise a list of tools identifiers and corresponding thresholds.

Embodiments are also conceivable in which tools are themselves configured to communicate to charger 1 at what threshold level it would be effective to operate and charger 1 may determine the order of charging based thereon.

According to a second approach, connected tools may be identified by charger 1 based on an identifier and priority in charging these tools may be determined based thereon. Charger 1 may have a list of identifiers stored in memory 9 and corresponding priority values for each tool. In this case, charger 1 may start by fully charging the battery of the tool with the highest priority and, in decreasing order of priorities, sequentially charge the connected batteries.

Alternatively, similar to what was described above, charger 1 may not immediately fully charge said battery but start by charging these batteries to a threshold level — which may be the same for all batteries or determined in any one of the abovementioned ways — and only thereafter continue charging the batteries until they are full.

The order in which batteries are charged in the first round of charging — i.e. up to the threshold level — does not have to be the same as the order in which batteries are charged in the second round of charging — i.e. until full.

Embodiments are also conceivable in which tools are themselves configured to communicate a priority to charger 1. Tools can communicate a set priority value for charger 1 to use, but it is also possible for tools to monitor their own use and based on historical data, determine a priority value themselves. It is also possible for tools to send such historical data to charger 1 and for charger 1 to determine a priority value based thereon.

Embodiments are also conceivable in which controller 7 may be programmed by a user to sequentially charge batteries in a particular order. That is, a user, using terminal (e.g. a smart- phone, laptop or tablet) may, via a browser or app, determine an order in which the batteries are to be charged. For example, the user may change the approach used by controller 7 from any one to any other of the abovementioned or other approaches. A user may also send a priority list or change an existing priority list stored in memory 9.

Embodiments of charger 1 are also conceivable in which controller 7 and/or information acquiring unit 11 are not necessary to sequentially charge the rechargeable batteries. For example, power supply 10 may sequentially charge connected batteries using a predetermined order of terminals — i.e. supply 10 may first look to charge a battery equipped in a tool connected to output terminal 3A, then a battery equipped in a tool connected to output terminal 3B, etc., and, at last, charge a battery arranged in and/or connected to spare battery terminal 4. Preferably, such embodiments of charger 1 are provided with an indication of the order in which terminals are considered. This means that users can themselves determine which tools have to be charged first.

Each of the above-mentioned approaches may further comprise one or more of the following steps: - determining whether rechargeable batteries 15A, 15B, 15B”’ and/or tools 20, 20°, 20” equipped with such batteries are connected to charger 1 and if so, via which terminals. - suggesting replacing a rechargeable battery 15B, 15B’ equipped by a tool 20, 20°, 20” with spare battery 15A. This suggestion may be based on the current state of charge of any one these batteries 15B, 15B°, the priority of a particular tool as explained above, or the health of the battery (i.e. a current temperature, a maximum voltage, a maximum state of charge, etc.).

Other approaches, programs and/or algorithms for charging batteries may also be used by charger 1 according to the present disclosure.

In figures 6A and 6B, further embodiments of a charging system according to the present disclosure are shown. Figure 6A is an embodiment with one common housing, while the embodiment of figure 6B shows the housing is formed of two housing parts. In both embodiments in particular, three chargers 1, 1°, 1’ are included. Similar to earlier embodiments, charger 1 is connected to a power source — e.g. grid — via input terminal 2A. In this system in particular, chargers 1, 1’, 1” are also provided with forward terminals 2B configured to provide power to another charger. Specifically, one power cable 18 connects forward terminal 2B of charger 1 with input terminal 2A of charger 1° and another power cable 18 connects forward terminal 2B of charger 1° with input terminal ZA of charger 17". In this system, even of manufacturing of individual chargers is kept cheap, it is still possible to charge multiple power tools at the same time.

According to a further aspect, a kit of parts is provided comprising one charger, three rescue tools, and four batteries. The battery charger comprises a battery receptacle and three charging cable connections. Alternatively, a splitter may be provided that receives power via a power cable from the original battery charger and which has three charging cable connections.

Three common rescue tools that may be included in the kit are a ram, a spreader, or a cutter. Other battery-powered tools such as lighting units, positive pressure fans, pumps, etc. can also be considered. Relying on the technical teachings of the present disclosure, all three be connected to one battery charger and one spare battery can be connected to said one battery charger as well. A kit can comprise any number of tools and an equal number of batteries, plus one spare battery. This saves space and weight in the vehicle and is financially more advantageous.

When all rescue tools can be connected to the same battery platform and/or charger, the advantage of the described present disclosure increases. For example, four batteries can be charged sequentially per charger and three chargers can be connected to one power point such as the grid.

Chargers according to the present disclosure can be daisy chained. For example, twelve batteries can be charged from one power point, three of which simultaneously and nine sequentially — see figure 6 for an embodiment that achieves this.

A system according to the present disclosure may be exposed to wind, rain, snow and hail.

In the current embodiment, housing 5 or housings SA/5B are configured to be watertight.

Because in the event of an incident, the time factor can be crucial for the victim's chances of survival, all charging cables may be coupled to rescue tools 20, 20°, 20°" with "quick release connectors” — i.e. a connectors pair provided with magnets that force the contact points against each other, but which can be released with a light pulling movement.

The skilled person will appreciate that the abovementioned embodiment are merely exemplary and not in any way intended to be limiting to the scope of the application. The rights sought are defined by the following claims, within the scope of which numerous modifications can be envisaged.

Claims

CONCLUSIONS

1. A charger (1) for charging a plurality of rechargeable batteries (15A, 15B) of one or more battery powered portable rescue tools (20,207). wherein each of the rechargeable batteries is configured to be releasably connected to a battery powered portable rescue tool or to the charger. the charger (1) comprising: - a spare battery terminal (4) configured to directly connect a spare, first battery (15A) of the plurality of rechargeable batteries to the charger (1) for charging the first battery; - one or more output terminals (3A-3D) configured to connect the one or more further batteries (15B) of one or more battery powered rescue tools to the charger for charging the one or more further batteries; - a controllable power supply unit (10) electrically connected to the reserve battery terminal (4) and the one or more output terminals (3A-3D), wherein the controllable power supply unit is configured to selectively supply power to the first battery and to the one or more further batteries of the one or more rescue tools.

2. The charger (1) according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the output terminals comprises an electric charging cable (12, 127) for releasably connecting to an associated rescue tool (20, 20) or directly to the battery (15A, 15B) of an associated rescue tool (20, 207).

Charger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a housing (5) for housing at least the reserve battery terminal (4), the one or more output terminals (3A-3D) and the controllable power supply unit (10), preferably also an information acquisition unit (11) and control unit (7), the housing preferably being provided with a fastening element (14) adapted to detach or fasten the reserve, first battery (15A), the housing and/or the housing preferably comprising a holding compartment (13) for removably holding the reserve, first battery (15A) therein, and optionally also the fastening element (14), for removably holding the reserve, first battery (15A) at least partially in the housing (5).

4. Charger (1) according to claim 3, comprising:

- a first housing part (SA) in which the backup battery terminal, the controllable power supply unit, the holding compartment and/or the fixing element are arranged; - a second housing part (5B), separate from the first housing part, the second housing part comprising the one or more output terminals; - a single connection chamber arranged in the first and second housing parts and configured to provide an electrical connection between the power supply unit and each of the output terminals.

5. Charger (1) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising: - an information acquiring unit (11) configured to acquire information about at least one of a connected first battery, a connected battery-powered rescue tool, and one or more connected further batteries; - a control unit (7) connected to the controllable power sharing unit (10) and the information acquiring unit (11), the control unit being configured to control the controllable power supply unit (10) based on the acquired information.

G. Charger (1) according to claim 5, arranged to enable the acquiring unit (11) to receive information about the connected battery powered rescue tool and/or the connected further battery or batteries via one or more respective wired connections, wherein optionally a wired connection forms part of a charging cable arranged between the power supply unit and the associated battery or battery powered rescue tool, for exchange of information via power line communication.

7. Charger (1) according to claim 5 or 6, comprising a charger communication module (17) adapted to enable the acquiring unit (11) to receive information about the connected battery powered rescue tool (20, 207) and/or the connected further battery or batteries (15B, 15B’} via one or more respective connections of respective battery communication modules (27) arranged on or in the rescue tools, wherein the charger communication module and at least one of the battery communication modules are wireless communication modules adapted to transmit and receive information respectively via at least one wireless connection.

8. The charger (1) of claim 7, wherein the charger communication module and at least one of the battery communication modules are configured to receive and transmit the information via a communication signal generated by the at least one battery communication module.

9. Charger (1) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein at least one of the charger communication module (17) and the battery communication module (27) is configured to wirelessly communicate the information about the connected battery powered rescue tool (20, 20°) and/or the connected further battery or batteries (15B, 15B’) with a mobile device such as a mobile phone, tablet or laptop.

10. Charger (1) according to claim 7, 8 or 9, wherein the battery communication module (27) or a further battery is arranged to be powered by the further battery to which it is connected and by an electric charging cable (12, 12°) connected to the further battery.

11. Charger (1) according to any of claims 5 to 10, wherein the information acquireable from the first battery and/or one or more further batteries comprises at least one of: - battery condition, for example the battery condition of a charger or the battery health condition; - battery temperature; - battery fault; - number of battery charge cycles; - nominal battery voltage; - expected battery charge time; - battery type or model; - battery serial number; and/or wherein the information acquireable from a rescue tool comprises at least one of the following information: - rescue tool condition; - rescue tool serial number; - rescue tool type; and - number of rescue tool actions since the most recent battery replacement.

12. Charger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims comprising a control unit (7) configured to control the controllable power supply unit (10) to selectively supply power to the at least one of the first battery and the one or more further batteries based on a battery charging program stored on the control unit (7), preferably also based on information acquired from an information acquisition unit (11).

13. Charger (1) according to claim 12, wherein the control unit (7) is programmed to select one or more batteries for charging based on a preferred charging sequence, the preferred charging sequence being based on the acquired condition; for example battery condition of the first and/or further batteries.

14. Charger (1) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein based on the battery charging program the control unit controls the power unit (10) to sequentially charge the first battery and the one or more further batteries.

Charger (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the power supply unit (10), optionally also a control unit (7), is designed to supply power to one-by-one connected battery (15A, 15B) from a plurality of connected batteries and/or to sequentially charge the batteries (15A, 15B) from a plurality of connected rechargeable batteries.

16. Charger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein based on the battery charging program the control unit controls the power supply unit (10) to charge the first battery and the one or more further batteries at the start of the charging operation starting with the battery with the lowest amount of charge and then charging the remaining batteries in order of increasing amount(s) of charge the batteries have at the start of the charging operation.

17. Charger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein based on the battery charging program the control unit controls the power supply unit (10) to charge the first battery and the one or more further batteries, comprising: - charging those batteries from the first battery and the one or more further batteries that have an amount of charge below a first threshold, wherein the first threshold is less than a fully charged amount, and thereafter charging the first battery and the one or more further batteries to a fully charged amount.

18. Charger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, based on the battery charging program, the control unit controls the power supply unit (10) to charge the first battery and the one or more further batteries based on a predetermined sequence of terminals through which said batteries are connected to the chargers; wherein preferably the charger is provided with a visual indication of said predetermined sequence.

19. Charger (1) according to any of claims 5 to 18, wherein the information acquiring unit (11) is further configured to acquire information about the at least one of the connected first battery, connected battery-powered rescue tools, and the connected further battery via the corresponding terminal via which the at least one of the connected first battery, connected battery-powered rescue tools and connected further battery is connected to the power supply unit (10).

20. Charger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the power supply unit (10) is configured to supply power to one or more of the first battery and the one or more further batteries in a piecemeal fashion.

21. Charger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (7) further comprises: - a memory (9) arranged to store data on different types of rescue tools and/or different types of batteries (15A, 15B) and, for each type, a corresponding priority charging rating; and/or - wherein the control unit (7) is optionally arranged to determine the type or types of rescue tools currently connected to the charger in order to determine the corresponding priority charging rating of the connected rescue tools and to determine a charging sequence of the batteries of the connected rescue tools.

22. A charger according to any preceding claim, further comprising an input terminal configured to receive an end of a power source attachment cable;

wherein the power supply unit is further configured to receive input power through the input terminal.

23. Charger according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a charging cable with a quick release connector.

24. A combination of a plurality of chargers according to any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of chargers have a common power source attachment cable for connecting the associated controllable power supply units (10) of the chargers to an external power source, for example a vehicle battery and/or alternator.

25. A system for charging a plurality of batteries of one or more battery powered rescue tools, wherein each of the batteries is a rechargeable battery configured to be detachably connected to a battery powered rescue tool, the system comprising: - a charger according to any preceding claim; - a plurality of battery powered portable rescue data, each of the rescue tools configured to be removably connected to a corresponding output terminal of the charger; wherein the charger is configured to selectively charge the rescue tools when connected.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the charger is configured to selectively charge one or more of further batteries of the rescue tools or the first battery based on information about the condition of the further battery and the first battery, respectively.

27. A system according to claim 25 or 26, wherein each of the battery powered portable rescue tools comprises: - a battery; - an information acquiring tool (33) configured to acquire information about the battery and/or about the rescue tool, wherein the information acquiring tool is configured to generate an information signal representative of the acquired information; and

- a battery communication module (27) connected to the information acquiring tool and configured to receive the information signal from the information acquiring tool and to transmit a communication signal to the charger based on the received information signal.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the information acquiring tool (33) comprises a sensor (34) configured to sense at least one operational characteristic of the battery and/or at least one operational characteristic of the tool and to generate an information signal representative of the sensed operational characteristic.

29. System according to claim 27 or 28, wherein the rescue tool comprises an electronic storage medium (35) for storing information about the rescue tool, in particular about the battery of the rescue tool, and wherein the information acquiring tool (33) comprises a storage medium reader (36) configured to read information from the electronic storage medium.

30. A system according to claim 28 or 29, wherein the at least one operational characteristic is an electrical property of the battery, for example the electrical voltage applied by the battery or the electrical charge supplied by the battery, and wherein the sensor is configured to measure the electrical power of the battery, for example an electrical charge meter, an electrical voltage meter and/or an electrical current meter, and to generate a sensor signal representative of the electrical properties of the battery.

31. A system according to claim 30, wherein the control unit is configured to determine a measure of the current status of each of the further batteries and/or of the first battery.

32. A system according to any one of claims 27 to 31, wherein the operational characteristic is the temperature of the battery and wherein the sensor is configured to measure the temperature of the battery and to generate a signal representative of the temperature of the battery.

33. Use of a charger or system according to any of the preceding claims.