Sony Corporation

Maxim Japan Co., Ltd.

Ryuji Nakamichi

Hideyuki Sato

Yukio Tsuchiya

Osamu Nagashima

Toshihiro Koide

Kazuyasu Nawa

It is aimed at stably implementing a protection function of a secondary battery mainly under software control and providing a battery pack characterized by a reduced circuit installation area, parts costs, and power consumption. An AD converter outputs a voltage value between a positive electrode and a negative electrode of a secondary battery. Based on the voltage value, a microcontroller determines a state of the secondary battery out of overcharge, normal operation, and over-discharge states. According to the determined state, the microcontroller controls operations of a discharge current cutoff means and a charge current cutoff means via a FET driver. When it is determined that the secondary battery is placed in an overcurrent state based on the charge and discharge current size of the secondary battery, an overcurrent detection circuit enables the discharge current cutoff means to be a cutoff state in preference to control by the microcontroller.

Battery pack, battery protection processing apparatus and control method thereof

A battery pack which stably implements a protection function of a secondary battery mainly under software control and reduces a circuit installation area and parts costs. The battery pack has a discharge current cutoff means and a charge current cutoff means for selectively cutting off discharge and charge currents of the secondary battery. The battery pack has a protection process means for controlling operations of the discharge current cutoff means and the charge current cutoff means in accordance with an inter-electrode voltage between positive and negative electrodes of the secondary battery. The battery pack executes an initialization process for the protection process means at a timing when a power supply voltage supplied to the protection process means reaches lowest voltage to start the protection process means. Further, the battery pack sets a threshold voltage needed for operation control of the discharge current cutoff means and the charge current cutoff means to start the protection process at another timing when the power supply voltage reaches voltage that is higher than lowest voltage and is smaller than or equal to a voltage for stable driving.

Battery pack, battery protection processing apparatus, and startup control method of the battery protection processing apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Ryuji Nakamichi