Voltage monitoring apparatus including active power source, low consumption power source, and a failure diagnosis section to disconnect active power source as a result of failure

Abstract

A voltage monitoring apparatus includes a plurality of voltage monitoring sections corresponding to a plurality of blocks of unit cells of a multiple-set battery respectively and a main control section. Each of the voltage monitoring section includes a voltage detection section which detects voltages of the unit cells of a corresponding block, a voltage adjustment section which adjusts the voltages of the unit cells of the corresponding block so that the voltages are uniformized, an active power source which obtains power from the unit cells of the corresponding block, and supplies power to the voltage detection section and the voltage adjustment section, a power source switching section which switches a power supply mode and a power disconnect mode of the active power source, and a low consumption power source which obtains the power from the unit cells of the corresponding block, and supplies power to the power source switching section. The main control section includes a failure diagnosis section which performs a failure diagnosis of each of the voltage monitoring sections, and a switching control section which controls to disconnect a supply of the power from the active power source when a result of the failure diagnosis indicates a failure.