Sony Corporation

Tdk-lambda Corporation

Tdk Corporation

Densei-lambda Kabushiki Kaisha

Sanyei Corp. Hong Kong Ltd.

Hybrid Corporation

Seibido Co. Ltd.

Nippon Steel Sumitomo Metal Corporation

Nippon Steel & Sumikin Welding Co., Ltd.

Hiroshi Nakazawa

Akira Endo

Hiroshi Morimoto

Mitsuo Ohsawa

Akio Koizumi

Masahiko Hirokawa

Tadao Senriuchi

Noriyuki Hirao

Takumi Sakamoto

Satoru Matsuda

Hiroshi Yamagishi

Teruhisa Kamachi

Kenichi Fukahori

Masayuki Kato

Tsuyoshi Ono

Yasuharu Baba

Katsuhiko Nakane

Yasuo Nagasawa

Kazushi Koida

Kohichi Shinada

Shigeo Oyama

Norichika Tsuji

A number of cells can be determined before control for a battery without providing cell number setting and input means. The cell number determination device comprises voltage measuring units that select an 'i'th cell among cells that are connected in series and that configure a battery, and that measure a voltage value between a terminal in which the 'i'th cell and an (i&#x2212;1)th cell, which is in one location higher than the &#x201c;i&#x201d;th cell, are connected and a ground potential line, voltage comparators that determine an existence, nonexistence or normality of the cells by comparing a voltage value of an (i+1)th cell that is in one location lower than the &#x201c;i&#x201d;th cell with the voltage value of the &#x201c;i&#x201d;th cell measured by the voltage measuring units and a cell number determination unit that determines a number of assembled cells and normal cells and cell assembled locations in the battery.

Method for determining cell number, cell number determination device, power supply device and program

A reusable period of a battery can be maintained for a long time by recharging while avoiding abnormal heating of the battery due to over discharge. A battery protection circuit comprises a control part that cuts off a discharge switch which is a discharge path to a load for a battery when a voltage value of the battery is equal to or less than a first threshold value, or when the voltage value of the battery is less than the first threshold value, wherein the control part cuts off a power switch as a power supply path to the control part itself when the voltage value of the battery is equal to or less than a second threshold value, or when the voltage value of the battery is less than the second threshold value which is lower than the first threshold value.

Battery protection circuit, method for protecting battery, power supply device and program

A power supply control device for controlling power supply to a pair of terminals to which a load is connected, comprising a voltage measuring part for measuring a voltage which has a predetermined relationship with the voltage of the pair of terminals, a short circuit detecting part for detecting whether a short circuit exists between the pair of terminals based on the measured voltage and for making power supply to the pair of terminals stop when existence of a short circuit is detected, and a constant current supplying part for supplying a constant current though the pair of terminals; wherein the short circuit detecting part is configured to detect that the previously detected short circuit is eliminated when the voltage measured by the voltage measuring part is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value upon supplying the constant current through the pair of terminals.

Power supply control device, method for controlling power supply, program and power supply device

There is provided a risk-free and easy-to-use battery pack using battery cellsas a secondary battery, in which internal gases evaporated by applying overvoltage or the like thereto are processed inside a case to be prevented from leaking to the outside of the case and thereby even if the case has been led to rise in pressure due to a thermorunaway of the battery, the case is free from breaking. To realize this performance, the battery packis provided with a battery cell housingfor housing lithium cellsand a gas processorfor liquefying the internal gases g generated from the lithium cells

Battery pack

A method and device for safety protection of a secondary battery capable of preventing smoking and ignition thereof. A lithium cellas a chargeable and dischargeable secondary battery, a protection circuitfor shutting down charging power Pc at the time of overcurrent, overvoltage, etc., and an electric power restriction circuitfor limiting the charging power Pc input to the lithium cellare incorporated into a battery pack. A battery charger, equipped with a stabilized electric sourceand a charging circuit, inputting the charging power Pc to the lithium cell, is connected to a previous stage of the battery pack. The electric power restriction circuitlimits the charging power Pc within a boundary value Pmax of a safety operation region for safely using the lithium cell, thereby permitting the lithium cellto operate safely under any conditions.

Method and device for safety protection of secondary battery

There is provided an uninterruptible power supply system capable of preventing life shortening of a lithium-ion secondary battery attributable to its overcharge over the whole period of its use. At the start of use of the lithium-ion secondary battery, a charging voltage is set comparatively low. On the other hand, as the lithium-ion secondary batterycomes closer to an end of its life, its charging voltage becomes higher. A charging control meansvariably sets the charging voltage applied to the lithium-ion secondary batteryso as to realize a discharge duration thereof may become slightly longer than a backup time required for the system and hence life shortening of the lithium-ion secondary batteryattributable to overcharge can be prevented.

Uninterruptible power supply system

Disclosed is a virtual-space providing apparatus, which is connected to a user terminal via a network, and which provides the user terminal with various kinds of services through a three-dimensional virtual space created in the network, the virtual-space providing apparatus includes a virtual room providing server for imitating a real room of a user using the user terminal, and for providing the virtual room, which can be browsed using the user terminal connected via the network, on the three-dimensional virtual space; virtual store providing server for providing the user terminal connected via the network with the virtual store, the virtual store selling virtual commodities imitating real commodities, on the three-dimensional virtual space; and a benefit-information transmitting medium, wherein, when the user purchases a virtual commodity in the virtual store provided by the virtual store providing server using the user terminal, benefit information showing benefit of purchasing the virtual commodity is transmitted to the user terminal.

Virtual-space providing apparatus, virtual-space providing system, and virtual-space providing method

A camera comprises a box-shaped housing open on the back side and including a front wall, end walls, a bottom wall and a top wall; an exposure chamber formed integral with said bottom wall at a central area thereof and open on the back side to provide an exposure window; a film cartridge receiving chamber defined by said walls of the housing and the side walls of said exposure chamber and open on the back side to provide an access opening; spring means formed on the bottom wall of said cartridge receiving chamber; on the opposite sides of said exposure chamber, a film cartridge adapted to be loaded in said cartridge receiving chamber and including film storage and film take-up portions for engaging said spring means and a film guide portion connecting between said storage and take-up portions; said cartridge receiving chamber including first and second compartments for receiving said film storage and take-up portions of the film cartridge, respectively; and two openings formed in said front wall of the housing in alignment with said film storage and take-up portions of the film cartridge, respectively.

Camera having means for receiving a film cassette

Combined camera and film cassette therefor

A record player has a turntable, a drive means to turn the turntable, a position detecting means for detecting the rotational position of the turntable and a stopping means for stopping the turntable. The stopping means is operated by a detecting output from the position detecting means so as to stop the turntable at a predetermined position.

Record player

A transformer includes a magnetic core; an input or primary winding structure wound on a bobbin secured to the magnetic core and including first and second primary winding portions; an output or secondary winding structure wound on the bobbin and including first and second secondary winding portions; and a control or tertiary winding structure wound on the bobbin and including first and second tertiary winding portions with the first tertiary winding portion being comprised of first and second windings connected in series, the primary, secondary and tertiary winding structures being wound on the bobbin in the order of the first primary winding portion, the first winding of the first tertiary winding portion, the first secondary winding portion, the second secondary winding portion, the second winding of the first tertiary winding portion, the second primary winding portion, and the second tertiary winding portion, so as to provide a high degree of magnetic coupling between the first primary and secondary winding portions and the first tertiary winding portion and between the second primary and secondary winding portions and the first tertiary winding portion and so as to provide noise suppression between the first primary and secondary winding portions and between the second primary and secondary winding portions.

Transformer

A switching regulator includes a DC voltage source having a pair of DC output terminals, a switching transformer having a magnetic core, first and second primary windings and a secondary winding, a first switching transistor connected in series between the pair of DC output terminals through the first primary winding, a second switching transistor connected in series between the pair of DC output terminals through the first and second primary windings, and a rectifier circuit connected across the secondary winding. A pulse width modulator is provided to produce a PWM (pulse width modulated) control signal the duty of which is proportional to the voltage of the rectifier circuit, and the PWM control signal is selectively supplied to one of the first and second switching transistors in response to the low or high circumstance of a load connected to the rectifier circuit. Further, a control circuit is provided so as not to excessively drive one of the first and second switching transistors during the switching operation thereof.

Switching regulator

A switching regulator includes a switching transformer and a switching transistor connected in series between a DC voltage source through the primary winding of the switching transformer. A pulse width modulator and a control pulse signal generator are provided so as to produce a pair of ON- and OFF-pulse signals which are supplied to the control electrode of the switching transistor so as to increase the switching speed thereof.

A switching regulator includes an inrush current protective resistor and a starter circuit for a pulse width modulator consisting of a starting resistor and a capacitor. At initial starting mode, the inrush current protective resistor is connected to the starter circuit, and after starting both of the inrush current protective resistor and starting resistor are disconnected so as to reduce power dissipation or consumption thereby. At the same time, a DC voltage source for the pulse width modulator is derived from a rectified secondary voltage through the starting capacitor.

In a record player, a turntable is rotatably mounted on a base, and a rotor structure, such as an annular magnet, is mounted on the turntable and cooperates with a stator aperture mounted on the base to cause the turntable to rotate. The annular magnet is preferably a rubber magnet formed by molding rubber mixed with a ferrite powder. For the sake of stability, the annular magnet is in close proximity to the circumference of the turntable. The stator aperture preferably includes bobbins on which stator coils are wound, and arcuate tongues, integral with the base, on which the bobbins are arranged and which form magnetic cores for the stator coils.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroshi Nakazawa