Patents Assigned to Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
  • Patent number: 9362759
    Abstract: In a battery device including a battery pack in which a plurality of cells are connected in series, there are provided a battery control circuit or a battery device capable of eliminating a fluctuation in the voltage or charged state which can occur between the cells, or preventing the cells from being maintained in an over-charged state for a long period. A plurality of cell groups each including a plurality of cells are connected in series to form a battery pack. Cell controller is provided to the respective cell groups operate with electricity supplied from the cell groups allocated thereto so as to monitor and control the state of the cells of the cell group. Battery pack controller controls the cell controller based on information from the plurality of cell controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryouhei Nakao, Youhei Kawahara, Akihiko Kudou, Akihiko Emori, Kei Sakabe
  • Publication number: 20150155722
    Abstract: A battery monitoring and control integrated circuit is connected to a cell group having a plurality of series-connected single cells for monitoring and controlling the single cells, and includes: a first start input terminal for connecting to a DC signal generation circuit which generates a DC signal based on an AC start signal input from the outside; a start detection unit which detects the DC signal and activates the battery monitoring and control integrated circuit; and a start output unit which outputs the AC start signal to the outside after the activation of the battery monitoring and control integrated circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2011
    Publication date: June 4, 2015
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.,
    Inventors: Akihiko Kudo, Mutsumi Kikuchi, Akihiko Emori, Akihiro Machida
  • Publication number: 20140368206
    Abstract: A battery control device includes an acquisition portion that acquires measured values on the battery state every predetermined period, and a determination processing portion that determines the battery state. The determination processing portion determines that the battery state is abnormal when the number of times the measured value is out of a given range reaches a threshold until the measured value is acquired a predetermined standard number of times. If the number of times the measured value is out of range is less than the threshold when the measured number is acquired the standard number of times, the determination of the battery state is performed for an extended period until the number of times the measured value is out of the range reaches the threshold, or until the measured number is within the range, based on the measured value acquired more than the standard number of times.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Publication date: December 18, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.,
    Inventors: Yoshinori Aoshima, Keiichiro Ohkawa
  • Publication number: 20140354291
    Abstract: A battery monitoring system includes a plurality of battery monitoring devices connected to a battery formed by connecting a plurality of battery cell groups in series, and monitor a state of the battery for the respective battery cell groups, each of the plurality of battery cell groups being of one or a plurality of battery cells connected in series, and a controller that performs wireless communication with the plurality of battery monitoring devices. First identification information portions which are different from each other are set in the plurality of battery monitoring devices in advance, and second identification information corresponding to an order of potentials of the battery cell groups in the battery, to which the battery monitoring devices are connected, is assigned to each of the plurality of battery monitoring devices. The controller stores a relationship between the first and second identification information for each battery monitoring device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Publication date: December 4, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.
    Inventors: Mutsumi Kikuchi, Akihiko Kudo, Tomonori Kanai, Hikaru Miura, Akihiko Emori
  • Publication number: 20140327400
    Abstract: A battery system monitoring apparatus for monitoring a cell group having a plurality of battery cells, and includes a cell controller IC which monitors and controls the states of the plurality of battery cells. A battery controller controls the cell controller IC and a plurality of voltage detection lines measure the voltage across the terminals of the battery cell. The voltage detection lines connect positive and negative electrodes of the battery cell, respectively, to a plurality of voltage input terminals of the cell controller IC. A power line connects the positive electrode of the battery cell having the highest potential among the plurality of battery cells to a power supply terminal of the cell controller IC and a ground line which connects the negative electrode of the battery cell having the lowest potential among the plurality of battery cells to a ground terminal of the cell controller IC.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2011
    Publication date: November 6, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.,
    Inventors: Akihiko Kudo, Mutsumi Kikuchi, Akihiko Emori
  • Publication number: 20140312913
    Abstract: A battery monitoring apparatus comprises a reception section to receive a radio signal and to output power and a demodulated signal according to the radio signal; a first power source circuit to perform power supply based on the power; a decode circuit to operate upon receiving the power supply from the first power source circuit and to output an activation signal and a command based on the demodulated signal; a second power source circuit to be activated according to the activation signal and to perform power supply; a battery monitoring circuit to operate upon receiving the power supply from the second power source circuit and to output a monitoring result of a state of the battery according to the command; and a transmission section to operate upon receiving the power supply from the second power source circuit and to wirelessly transmit the monitoring result.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Publication date: October 23, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mutsumi Kikuchi, Akihiko Kudo, Tomonori Kanai, Hikaru Miura, Akihiko Emori
  • Publication number: 20140295227
    Abstract: A secondary battery module includes a cell block in which a plurality of square batteries are layered, and includes: a pair of end plates arranged to respectively face one side and another side of the cell block in a layering direction; and a pair of side frames and arranged to respectively face one side and another side in a cell width direction perpendicular to the layering direction of the cell block, and in the one side and another side in the cell width direction, one end portion being engaged with one end plate at the one side in the layering direction, and other end portion being engaged with other end plate at another side in the layering direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 18, 2011
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.
    Inventor: Sadayuki Aoki
  • Patent number: 8829717
    Abstract: A battery control device for a battery module includes a plurality of integrated circuits. Each integrated circuit includes: a constant voltage circuit that lowers a total voltage of a battery cell group corresponding to the integrated circuit to an integrated circuit internal voltage; a signal generation circuit that generates, based upon a first signal provided by a higher-order control circuit, a second signal assuming a wave height value different from a wave height value of the first signal and outputs the second signal; and a startup circuit that includes a first comparator assuming a first decision-making threshold value corresponding to the first signal and a second comparator assuming a second decision-making threshold value corresponding to the second signal, and starts up the constant voltage circuit in response to a change in an output from at least either the first comparator or the second comparator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihiko Kudo, Mutsumi Kikuchi, Gosuke Shibahara, Akihiko Emori, Yasuo Uemura, Tatsumi Yamauchi, Kenji Kubo, Yoshinori Aoshima
  • Patent number: 8822055
    Abstract: A secondary battery adapted to minimize deterioration attributable to temperature is provided. In the secondary battery, a cross-sectionally elliptic electricity-generating element group in which a positive electrode sheet including at one side in a longitudinal direction thereof a section not coated with an active material mixture, and a negative electrode sheet including at one side in a longitudinal direction thereof a section not coated with an active material mixture are wound via separators is accommodated in a battery container.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventor: Ryuji Kohno
  • Publication number: 20140239914
    Abstract: A battery controller for charge and discharge control of an assembly battery so that a state of charge of each battery cell forming a battery does not deviate from a predetermined usage range. The battery controller controls an assembly battery comprising a plurality of battery cells. The battery controller calculates an actual average charge state CAVE, an average charge state upper limit value CAVEH, an average charge state lower limit value CAVEL, an average charge state ratio S indicating a position of the actual average charge state CAVE between the average charge state upper limit value CAVEH and the average charge state lower limit value CAVEL, and an assembly battery charge state CPACK based on the actual average charge state CAVE, the average charge state upper limit value CAVEH, the average charge state lower limit value CAVEL, and the average charge state ratio S.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2011
    Publication date: August 28, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.
    Inventors: Naoyuki Igarashi, Keiichiro Ohkawa, Youhei Kawahara
  • Publication number: 20140225622
    Abstract: A battery system monitoring device that monitors a battery system provided with a cell group having a plurality of battery cells connected in series with each other, including: a first control device that monitors and controls states of the plurality of battery cells of the cell group; a second control device that controls the first control device; a temperature detection unit that measures a temperature in the vicinity of the first control device; and a plurality of voltage detection lines, for measuring an inter-terminal voltage of the battery cell, which connect each of a positive electrode and a negative electrode of the battery cell and the first control device. The first control device includes a balancing switch, which performs balancing discharge of the battery cell for each of the battery cells.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2011
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.
    Inventors: Akihiko Kudo, Mutsumi Kikuchi, Tomonori Kanai, Tatsumi Yamauchi, Akihiro Machida
  • Publication number: 20140227570
    Abstract: The present invention is a power storage device including a holding member holding power storage units and temperature detection sensors detecting temperatures of the power storage units held by the holding member, in which the holding member includes a facing surface portion facing coated surfaces of the power storage units held by the holding member, and through holes formed so as to pierce through the facing surface portion, each of the temperature detection sensors includes a lid unit closing the through hole by being attached to the holding member, and a sensor unit supported in the lid unit so as to be elastically deformed, which is elastically deformed when the lid unit closes the through hole, pressed and contacted onto the coated surface of the power storage unit due to reaction force of elastic deformation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 8, 2012
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Hoshi, Tsunemi Aiba, Chikara Kikkawa, Toshiyuki Yoshida
  • Publication number: 20140217982
    Abstract: To satisfactorily carry out balancing even when balancing control is suspended. It is selected according to a condition which of battery cell information (old state information) by the last balancing stored in a storage device and battery cell information (new state information) acquired during a start of this time is used, and the balancing control is performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2011
    Publication date: August 7, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiichiro Ohkawa, Youhei Kawahara, Ryouhei Nakao
  • Patent number: 8798832
    Abstract: An electric storage device including a state detection unit managing and controlling the state of a battery unit, wherein the state detection unit captures an inter-terminal voltage of each of a plurality of batteries measured by a battery management unit in a no-load state where the battery unit is separated from a load, and calculates variation information about the states of charge of the batteries. In addition, the state detection unit, taking into consideration the variation information about the states of charge of the batteries, calculates allowable charge and discharge information required for controlling the charging and discharging of the battery unit in a loaded state where the battery unit is connected to a load and charged or discharged, and outputs the allowable charge and discharge information to a charge and discharge device in the battery unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2014
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Youhei Kawahara, Kei Sakabe, Akihiko Emori
  • Publication number: 20140212717
    Abstract: An object of this present invention is to provide: a lithium-ion secondary battery 1 constructed to easily interpose an electrical insulating protection film 41 between a battery container 2 and an electricity-generating element 3, to facilitate automatic mounting of the insulating protection film 41, and thus to be highly producible; and a method of manufacturing the battery. The lithium-ion secondary battery 1 of the invention is characterized in that the battery is electrically insulated between the battery container 2 and the electricity-generating element 3, and in that the insulating protection film 41 of a sheet-like form is wrapped around the electricity-generating element 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 25, 2011
    Publication date: July 31, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI VEHICLE ENERGY, LTD,
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Ariga, Satoshi Watanabe, Yoshikazu Noiri
  • Patent number: 8791702
    Abstract: A ground fault detection circuit according to the present invention is a ground fault detection circuit that detects the occurrence of a ground fault of a battery that is insulated, and that includes: an AC signal generation section that generates an AC signal; a first capacitive element that couples the AC signal generated by the AC signal generation section to the battery; a voltage division section that voltage divides the AC signal that is coupled to the battery by the first capacitive element; a ground fault detection unit that detects a ground fault of the battery based on an AC component of an input signal; and a second capacitive element that couples the AC signal that has been voltage divided by the voltage division section to the ground fault detection unit as the input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2014
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hikaru Miura, Akihiko Kudou
  • Publication number: 20140184236
    Abstract: A battery control apparatus which can calculate a state of charge of a battery with high accuracy is provided. The battery control apparatus of the invention determines whether or not an open circuit voltage of a battery cell is within a high sensitivity range in which the open voltage of the battery cell changes by a specified amount or more with respect to a change in the state of charge of the battery cell, and if within the high sensitivity range, calculates the state of charge by using a previously held correspondence relation table between the state of charge of the battery and the open voltage, and if not within the high sensitivity range, uses a previous state of charge calculation result stored in a storage part.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2011
    Publication date: July 3, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Keiichiro Ohkawa, Youhei Kawahara, Ryouhei Nakao
  • Publication number: 20140184169
    Abstract: A battery control apparatus is provided which can keep an inter-terminal voltage of each single cell within a permitted range while permitted power is controlled in units of a battery pack. The battery control apparatus of the invention restricts the permitted power of the battery pack according to a degree of closeness of a close circuit voltage of the single cell to an upper limit or a lower limit of the permitted range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 16, 2011
    Publication date: July 3, 2014
    Applicant: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenichiro Tsuru, Akinori Tada, Hiroshi Morikawa, Keiichiro Ohkawa, Yoshinori Aoshima
  • Patent number: 8760168
    Abstract: An assembled battery total voltage detection circuit includes a main control circuit, a divider resistor connected between a plus terminal and a minus terminal of an assembled battery insulated from the main control circuit, and a differential amplifier circuit that amplifies voltage divided by the divider resistor. A constant electric potential relative to a ground of the main control circuit is applied to a midpoint of the divider resistor. The main control circuit measures the voltage divided by the divider resistor via the differential amplifier circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Akihiko Kudo, Mutsumi Kikuchi, Masaki Nagaoka
  • Patent number: 8753760
    Abstract: A secondary battery includes a gas release valve located at a battery container housing a power generating element, wherein: the gas release valve includes a valve disk caused to expand outward by internal pressure in the battery container; wherein a plurality of grooves are formed at the valve disk in order that a plurality of valve element pieces become fractured along the grooves when the valve disk expands due to the internal pressure; and a scatter-deterring portion is formed at the valve disk in order to prevent the fractured valve element pieces along the grooves from scattering away from the valve disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Vehicle Energy, Ltd.
    Inventors: Yutaka Sato, Takuro Tsunaki, Ryuji Kohno, Takashi Sasaki