Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Hitoshi Hamaguchi

Toru Nishikawa

Atsushi Kawasumi

Toru Morioka

Shinichi Itagaki

A method controls a battery pack that includes a rechargeable battery, a control circuit that controls charge operation of the battery, and a charge control element that controls the charge current through the control circuit. In the method, even though the control circuit controls the charge control element so that the charge control element turns to OFF, in a case where the charge current is detected, the control circuit determines that abnormality occurs if detecting that the current flows at a rate not less than a first current value during a first detection period, and additionally determines that abnormality occurs if detecting a state the current flows at a rate less than the first current value for a second detection period longer than the first detection period.

Method for controlling battery pack

A battery pack provided with a current cut-off device connected in series with batteries, a tamper detector to detect tampering and issue a tamper signal, and a control circuit connected to the tamper detector. If the tamper detector detects tampering with the battery pack, the control circuit switches the current cut-off device off to shut off current to the batteries, or it issues a tamper signal.

Growing community of inventors

Sumoto, Japan

Hitoshi Hamaguchi