Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Hiroki Teraoka

Mikitaka Tamai

Atsushi Watanabe

Masatsugu Naka

Yasuhiro Kaizaki

Yasushi Inoue

Katsuhiko Kawabata

Takamasa Yamazoe

Daisuke Nishida

Tsuyoshi Kaku

Takuya Hamada

Kazuyuki Kawakami

Atsushi Takada

Fumiya Matsushita

Junpei Ito

Hiroshi Osaka

In a battery pack, circuit board and thin cells are insert-molded in resin mold portion formed by a die, and are fixed to fixed positions. At least one of thin cells is disposed at a position where circuit board faces terminal surface. Terminal surfaces of thin cells and circuit board, which are interconnected, are buried in resin mold portion, thin cells are disposed on the same plane, and circuit board is integrally connected and fixed to the thin cells so as to be parallel with both surfaces of the thin cells. Thus, the thin cells are strongly interconnected via the resin mold portion, and all thin cells are disposed on the same plane without warpage.

Battery pack

In a battery pack (),a current loop between the positive and negative electrode plates of an electrode assembly passes points P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, P, Pand Pin this order. A line that connects Pto Pintersects a line that connects Pto Pin the part where the loop passes a sealing plate (), which is arranged on the top of a battery unit (). The loop can be divided into loop parts Band B. The part Bis formed on the exterior side of the battery unit, and extends from the intersection A through a circuit board () back to the intersection A. The part Bis formed on the interior side of the battery unit relative to the intersection A. The current flows counterclockwise and clockwise in the parts Band B, respectively.

The battery pack has a battery, output terminals to bring out the battery electrodes, and a molding holder to connect to the battery as well as retain the output terminals. The battery pack is molded with at least the battery, the molding holder, and its connecting region inserted into a molded plastic resin region. The molded plastic resin region exposes output terminal surfaces, and also joins the battery, output terminals, and molding holder as a single unit.

Battery pack and its method of manufacture

The battery pack is charged by an electronic equipment and communicates with the electronic equipment. The battery pack is provided with a discrimination resistor electrically connected to communication lines, and a controller having a discrimination function for electronic equipment judgment of battery pack type from communication via the communication lines. The electronic equipment has a discrimination function that determines battery pack type utilizing the discrimination section of the battery pack controller. In addition, the electronic equipment has a discrimination function that applies voltage to the discrimination resistor to determine battery pack type.

Battery pack and electronic equipment having a discrimination function to determine battery pack type

A battery pack including a molded resin portion, which holds a part of or the entire battery, and an externally exposed output terminal. The battery pack further includes an insulating block, which is provided with a breaker mechanism for cutting-off current flow when an over-current flows. The insulating block is held by being inserted in the molded resin portion. The insulating block holds the output terminal on its surface. The output terminal held by the insulating block is held at a prescribed position so as to be externally exposed from the molded resin portion.

Tips of the lug portions of a board touch the bottom of the opening between projecting portions and step portions, when the upper mold and the lower mold are fit together with a battery and board inserted. Thus the board is retained in position in the molds certainly. After the molds are fit together, polyamide resin is injected into a molding space from a resin-material-injecting orifice provided in the upper mold.

Method for producing a battery pack and a battery pack produced therein

The battery pack is provided with a rechargeable battery that can be charged, and a protection device to protect the rechargeable battery when an abnormality occurs. The protection device is provided with an externally exposed first output terminal connected to the first electrode of the rechargeable battery, an externally exposed second output terminal connected to the second electrode of the rechargeable battery, and an externally exposed third output terminal for signal detection as output terminals, and a contact switching section that can switch contact when a rechargeable battery abnormality is detected. The protection device is formed as a single piece with the output terminals and contact switching section. The contact switching section has one end connected to the second electrode of the rechargeable battery, the other end is connected to allow switching between a contact connected to the second output terminal and a contact connected to the third output terminal. When no abnormality is detected the other end is connected to the contact connected to the second output terminal, and when an abnormality is detected the other end switches to the contact connected to the third output terminal.

Battery pack and method of detecting battery pack abnormalities

The battery pack has batteries, a printed circuit board with battery protection circuit components mounted on it, and a circuit breaker contained in a case. The circuit breaker switches off if excessive current flows in the batteries, or if battery temperature exceeds a specified temperature. The circuit breaker has a plurality of solder terminals attached to its casing, and one or a plurality of the solder terminals are attached to the printed circuit board by solder re-flow. The printed circuit board is connected to the batteries via leads and is disposed in a fixed position inside the case. The circuit breaker is mounted in a fixed position inside the case via the printed circuit board.

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Sumoto, Japan

Hiroki Teraoka