The present invention relates generally to battery chargers, and more specifically relates to an adapter apparatus for battery chargers used with cordless power tools.
There has been continued innovation in the field of battery chargers that are used with cordless power tools. Examples of such battery chargers are those produced under the SKIL and BOSCH brands by the S-B Power Tool Corporation of Chicago, Ill., which are used with various cordless power tools also produced under the same brands. A typical battery pack ordinarily has a generally rectangular housing and a male stem connector extending from a surface thereof. The battery chargers ordinarily used for charging these battery packs are correspondingly sized and configured to contain a female slot for receiving the stem connector of the battery pack. The battery packs are further equipped with terminals for establishing electrical contact with mating terminals that are configured on an internal circumference of the female slot of the battery charger.
In addition to the power tool itself, a power tool kit will often include two battery packs and a single battery charger, which is capable of charging only a single battery pack at a time. Heavy users will frequently purchase additional battery packs. Having multiple battery packs of a given type enables the user to continuously use the cordless power tool by swapping out depleted battery packs for fully charged battery packs. However, users typically have more battery packs than they have chargers, which prevents optimal charging of multiple battery packs at one time. This results an in inconvenience to the user, who must instead serially charge the battery packs. Moreover, the most common type of power tool battery pack uses Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd) batteries, which lose their charge over time when the battery packs are not inserted into a charger. Thus, users of conventional battery chargers are unable to maintain the charge in the battery packs during periods when the batteries are not in use.
The present invention relates to a particularly efficient adapter apparatus for use with battery chargers for cordless power tools for allowing the user to charge multiple battery packs using a single charger. The present adapter apparatus couples to a battery charger and comprises a generally rectangular housing having a top portion and a bottom portion, with at least two female charging receptacles on the top portion, each charging receptacle being configured to receive a male stem connector of the battery pack. The bottom portion of the adapter also includes a male stem connector that is sized and configured to be received by a correspondingly sized and configured female charging receptacle in the battery charger. The battery charger is coupled to an AC outlet via a power cord extending from a rear surface of the battery charger.