Sony Corporation

Other

Sony Electronics Inc

Sony Chemicals Corporation

Nippon Motorola, Ltd.

Yasuhito Eguchi

Masaru Hiratsuka

Kanji Murano

Akira Sanpei

Masayuki Sato

Tamiji Nagai

Toshio Narushima

Kaoru Tomono

Shigeki Murayama

Kazunori Ozawa

Makoto Ando

Hiroshi Katsuno

Hitoshi Okada

Katsuhisa Ono

Yoshio Nishi

Tohru Naganuma

Izumi Kariya

Satoshi Iwatsu

Masao Araya

Toshiro Hayashi

Masana Ugaji

Mitsuyoshi Shindo

Naomasa Sato

Kazuyuki Morita

Shoji Tanina

Kazuhiko Yoshida

Toru Nanbara

Syunji Ooshima

Minoru Doura

Hideki Nakajo

Hajime Tamiya

A battery control apparatus of this invention comprises charge detecting circuit for detecting change of charge of a battery based on current of the battery, first residual charge amount detecting circuit coupled to the charge detecting circuit for detecting a first residual charge amount of the battery by compensating a predetermined reference residual charge amount based on the detected result of the change of charge of the battery. The battery control apparatus further comprises second residual charge amount detecting circuit for detecting a second residual charge amount of the battery based on al terminal voltage of the battery and reference residual charge amount updating circuit for updating the reference residual charge amount by detected result of the second residual charge amount of the battery, wherein the second residual charge amount of the battery is detected at a predetermined timing where the current of the battery is zero or almost zero.

Battery control apparatus and management method of battery

The present invention provides a novel torque detecting apparatus capable of detecting torque with a simple structure and high precision by way of transmitting drive force via a pair of rotary bodies that cause own relative position to be varied by effect of torque to enable detection of variation of resonant frequency corresponding to variation of the relative position under non-contact condition or by way of transmitting drive force via a pair of rotary bodies that cause own relative position to be varied by effect of torque to enable transmission of modulated signal corresponding to variation of the relative position under non-contact condition.

Torque detecting apparatus

A bicycle with a power assisting function has an electric motor for adding part of propulsive forces to manual forces to assist in the manual forces, a battery for supplying electric energy to the electric motor, a treading force detecting circuit for detecting manual forces applied as propulsive forces, and a control circuit for controlling operation of the electric motor depending on the magnitude of detected manual forces. The electric motor is operable as an electric generator with extra manual forces for utilizing part of regenerated electric energy to charge the battery.

Bicycle with power assisting function

A method and apparatus for detecting the capacity of a battery wherein a voltage method of measuring the voltage of the battery, to calculate the capacity of the battery based on the correlation between the voltage and the capacity of the battery, is switched to a current integrating method of integrating the current magnitude of the battery with respect to time, to calculate the capacity of the secondary battery, and vice versa, with a pre-set current magnitude as a threshold value, in order to detect the capacity of the battery. By selectively using the voltage method and the current integrating method depending on the current magnitude of the battery, the capacity of the battery can be calculated with greater accuracy.

Method and apparatus for detecting battery capacity

Two battery packs are loaded into respective loading portions, and serve to deliver power to respective units of a personal computer through a port and are supplied with power through the port from an AC adapter connected to an AC power supply so that they are charged. Each lock portion serving as a loading mechanism includes a switch interlocking therewith. Output of the switch is delivered to a CPU serving as a mode control unit. The CPU controls a CPU serving as a switch control unit within the battery pack in correspondence with loading state of the battery pack inputted from the switch interlocking with the lock portion to switch operation mode of the battery pack. Thus, it is possible to prevent instantaneous cut-off of power supply at the time of removal of battery without allowing the apparatus to be complicated, and/or without allowing the cost to be high.

Device and method for processing information, battery pack, and transmitting medium

A variety of information is transmitted to an electronic apparatus by using a microcomputer for low-speed processing and with saved power. A CPU acquires detection data of a thermistor, and detection data, such as the terminal voltage or the discharge current of a battery, at intervals of 10 seconds, through respective interfaces, calculates the remaining capacity and the total capacity of the battery, stores the results and the acquired data as transmission data in a RAM, and transmits this stored transmission data at intervals of one second from a communication interface to an electronic apparatus. Since the CPU transmits the data in one direction independently of the operation of the CPU on the electronic apparatus side, it is possible to greatly lower the operating clock of the CPU and to greatly reduce the consumption of power thereof.

Communication method, remaining capacity calculation method, total capacity calculation method, overcharge protection method, information display method, and battery pack

A secondary battery needs to be protected by an inexpensive structure having a small number of components. To this end, the structure includes a fuse,with a heater, connected to a positive electrode side of a battery cell,, as a secondary battery, a driving FET,for driving the heater of the fuse,and a detection control IC,which, on detecting at least the over-charging state of the battery cell,, drives the driving FET,to fuse the heater of the fuse

Battery protection circuit and electronic device

Battery pack, electronic equipment system and method of detecting

A capacity detection method for use with a secondary battery is provided which is capable of accurately detecting capacity by a voltage method by taking into consideration the polarization characteristics of a secondary battery, such as a lithium-ion secondary battery. When the capacity of a secondary battery is to be detected, this capacity detection method uses a voltage method in which the voltage of a secondary battery is measured and the capacity of the secondary battery is computed on the basis of the correlation between the voltage and the capacity of the secondary battery. A voltage and capacity correlation table of the secondary battery is prepared. The voltage of the secondary battery in the correlation table is adjusted by taking the polarization characteristics into consideration, and the capacity of the secondary battery is detected on the basis of the adjusted voltage of the secondary battery. The polarization characteristics are obtained by using a moving average of a current value of the battery.

Battery pack, battery remaining capacity detection method, and

A battery charging system with redundant overcharge protection. The voltage across a plurality of series connected battery cells as well as the voltage across each individual cell is monitored both at a battery module and a host charging system. In the event an overcharging situation is detected, by the battery module, a first switch is open-circuited to prevent overcharging. In the event an overcharging situation is detected in the host system via a communication channel with the battery module or damage to the first switch is detected, a second switch is open-circuited in the host system to prevent overcharging, thus providing a redundant level of security against overcharging the battery cells.

Battery charger with redundant protection circuits

Power is supplied to electronic equipment from a battery pack unit by the control of the battery pack unit. A plurality of battery packs are attached to a personal computer. The battery packs each compare the voltage of the personal computer with the voltage of a battery built in its own battery pack. Upon comparison, charging FETs and discharging FETs provided for the battery packs are independently switched on or off. Accordingly, the battery packs simultaneously supply power to the personal computer.

Battery pack unit, control method therefor, electronic equipment driven

A battery charging control apparatus for controlling charging of a secondary battery has a FET which is so controlled that the supply of a charging current is suspended after being forcibly supplied to the secondary battery for a predetermined charging time, when the voltage of the secondary battery has risen to a level equal to or higher than a predetermined reference voltage, and, after the battery voltage has come down to the reference voltage during the suspension of the supply of the charging current, forced supply of the charging current is commenced again, thus realizing intermittent charging. The FET also is so controlled as to vary the above-mentioned charging time in accordance with the progress of charging of the secondary battery.

Charging control apparatus using variable intermittent current charging

A battery charging control apparatus for controlling charging of a secondary battery has a FET which is so controlled that the supply of a charging current is suspended after being forcibly supplied to the secondary battery for a predetermined charging time, when the voltage of the secondary battery has risen to a level equal to or higher than a predetermined reference voltage, and, after the battery voltage has come down to the reference voltage during the suspension of the supply of the charging current, forced supply of the charging current is commenced again, thus realizing intermittent charging. The FET also is so controlled as to vary the above-mentioned charging time in accordAnce with the progress of charging of the secondary battery.

Charging control apparatus

Battery pack

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Yasuhito Eguchi