Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, Inc.

Taketoshi Yoshikane

Kimihiko Furukawa

Masato Nishikawa

Shingo Ochi

Yutaka Miyazaki

Atsushi Hirayama

Masahiro Sata

Katsuhiro Arinobu

A control unit includes: an input portion that receives the positional information of a vehicle; a calculation unit that generates a control signal for controlling an electromagnetic relay; and an output portion that outputs the control signal to the electromagnetic relay. The calculation unit determines whether a location region of the electromagnetic relay is a relay-freeze region, the location region being identified by the positional information of the vehicle, and, when the location region of the electromagnetic relay is a relay-freeze region, performs a freeze inhibiting process for preventing the electromagnetic relay from being frozen or defrosting the electromagnetic relay by opening and closing the electromagnetic relay and causing the electromagnetic relay to vibrate.

Apparatus and method for inhibiting electromagnetic relay from being frozen

A battery module is provided with a plurality of batteries () joined in a straight-line configuration, insulating caps () that insulate the series connected batteries (), and connecting hardware () disposed between connected batteries () that connect those batteries in series. The insulating cap () has an outer insulating region () that covers outer surfaces of adjacent batteries () connected in series. The connecting hardware () has a first welding section () that is welded to the end-plane electrode () of one battery, a second welding section () that is disposed outside the first welding section and is welded to the end-plane electrode of another battery (), and welding terminals () that are disposed outside the outer insulating region () of the insulating cap () at battery outer surfaces in a manner insulated by the outer insulating region ().

Battery module

A power device includes a battery module for fixing a connecting terminal to an end and a bus bar connected to the connecting terminal of the battery module. The connecting terminal includes a fixing plate portion fixed to the end of the cell, an outer cylindrical portion protruded cylindrically from the fixing plate portion, an end face plate portion closing a tip surface of the outer cylindrical portion, and an inner cylindrical portion protruded from the end face plate portion toward the fixing plate portion. The connecting terminal is provided with a female screw on an internal surface of the inner cylindrical portion and a setscrew penetrating through the bus bar is screwed toward the female screw, and the bus bar is fixed to the connecting terminal through the setscrew.

Power device coupling a plurality of cells

Growing community of inventors

Kasai, Japan

Taketoshi Yoshikane