Abstract: A voltage detection device for accurately correcting detection errors with voltage greater than an internal reference voltage. The device includes a first switch group of switches for obtaining the voltage across a battery block in a battery pack. A charge-discharge unit has two or more capacitors connected in series or in parallel. A voltage detector detects discharge voltage of the capacitors. In a first period, the capacitors are series-connected and charged with the voltage of the battery block. In a second period, the capacitors charged in the first period are series-connected and discharged, and the voltage detector detects the discharge voltage. In a third period, the capacitors are parallel-connected and each capacitor is charged with an internal reference voltage. In the fourth period, the capacitors charged in the third period are series-connected and discharged, and the detection error is corrected using the discharge voltage as a reference.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus for correcting a voltage of a secondary battery, wherein accuracy in measurement of battery voltages between battery blocks in different voltage measurement systems.

Abstract: In a secondary battery, a positive metal foil having a laminated portion in which parts of the metal foil are laminated in close contact with each other, and a positive electrode current collector terminal member has a contact portion placed in close contact with at least one side of the positive foil laminated portion in a lamination direction thereof The secondary battery is manufactured by welding the parts of the positive metal foil to each other and the positive foil laminated portion and the contact portion to each other by irradiation of an energy beam emitted to travel in the lamination direction while an irradiation site is moved.

Abstract: A contactor control apparatus is provided for controlling contactors connected to a battery assembly. A contactor control apparatus includes a controller for turning on and off a first contactor connected to one end of a battery assembly having at least one secondary battery connected in series and a second contactor connected to another end of the battery assembly. The controller counts a first counter value when a control voltage for controlling each contactor is higher than a first reference voltage, and holds the first counter value when the control voltage is lower than or equal to the first reference voltage. The controller turns off at least one of the first contactor and the second contactor when the first counter value is equal to or higher than a first threshold value.

Abstract: An abnormal voltage detector apparatus is provided for an assembled battery including a plurality of battery blocks connected in series to each other. In the abnormal voltage detector apparatus, a detecting part detects whether or not each of the battery blocks is in a voltage abnormality state by comparing either one of a voltage of each battery block and each battery measuring voltage, that is a voltage lowered from the voltage of each battery block, with a predetermined reference voltage, generates each of abnormality detecting signals containing information about a detected result, calculates a time ratio of a time interval, for which the assembled battery is in a voltage abnormality state, to a predetermined time interval, based on the abnormality detecting signals, and detects a voltage abnormality of the assembled battery based on a calculated time ratio.

Abstract: An electrode plate (20) for storage batteries is immersed into an aqueous solution (18) containing phosphoric acid, an ethoxy alcohol, ammonium bifluoride, sulfonic acid and sodium xylenesulfonate, and the aqueous solution (18) is stirred by a screw stirrer (22). The aqueous solution (18) is kept at about 30° C. by a heater (14), and the active material of the electrode (20) is separated therefrom. The aqueous solution (18) contains the respective solutes in the following mass ratios: 15-20 parts by mass of the phosphoric acid; 3-7 parts by mass of the ethoxy alcohol; 2-6 parts by mass of the ammonium bifluoride; 4-8 parts by mass of the sulfonic acid; and 1-3 parts by mass of the sodium xylenesulfonate.

Abstract: A washing apparatus that easily washes off metal impurities from a porous metal substrate used as an electrode plate core for an alkaline battery. The washing apparatus includes a liquid bath container which holds a solution for washing off the metal impurities. A guide guides movement of the porous metal substrate in the solution held in the liquid bath container. The porous metal substrate is wound into a hoop in a coil-shaped manner, and the guide guides the movement of a sheet portion of the porous metal substrate unwound from the hoop. A winding mechanism winds the sheet portion after being fed through the liquid bath container.

Abstract: A controller for a rechargeable battery that improves the recovering efficiency of the energy used to charge the rechargeable battery and prevents the life of the rechargeable battery from being shortened by overcharging. The controller includes a voltage measurement unit for measuring terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery and a control unit for setting a plurality of input maximum voltages, each indicating an upper limit for charging power input to the rechargeable battery during a predetermined time. The control unit sets a plurality of reference voltages respectively corresponding to the plurality of input maximum values. When the terminal voltage of the rechargeable battery increases to one of the reference voltages, the control unit lowers the input maximum value corresponding to that reference voltage.

Abstract: A battery pack including a compact controller for controlling a battery group. The battery pack includes a battery group, a controller for controlling the battery group, and a case for accommodating the controller. The controller includes a plurality of control devices, and an installation member for fixing the control devices in the case. The installation member includes a plurality of mounts for fixing the plurality of control devices. The control devices each have a widest portion, and the mounts have different heights so that the widest portions of at least adjacent ones of the control devices are located at different heights.

Abstract: A nickel-metal hydride secondary battery includes: a plurality of power generating elements each having a negative plate containing hydrogen absorbing alloy; a battery case provided with partition walls and a plurality of compartments arranged adjacently on both sides of each partition wall, each of the compartments accommodating each power generating element, and the compartments allowing gas intercommunication between compartments through communication holes formed in the partition walls; and at least one of safety valves placed on the battery case, the safety valves being less in number than the number of the compartments; wherein each of the communication holes has a hole sectional area per battery module capacity in a range 0.03 to 0.30 mm2/Ah.

Abstract: A power unit including a plurality of series-connected battery modules and a safety circuit. A service plug is inserted from the side of a terminal board of a battery pack, thereby establishing an electrical connection among battery modules. A connector is provided on a back of a terminal cover by way of a projecting section, and a second safety switch is activated by attachment of a terminal cover and insertion of the connector to the terminal board, thereby establishing an electrical connection among the battery modules. Even when the service plug is attached at the time of completion of maintenance without attachment of the terminal cover, the battery modules are still kept in an unconnected state by means of a second switch, and energization, which would otherwise arise with exposed terminals, is prevented.

Abstract: An apparatus for estimating a state of charge (SOC) of a secondary battery. A control section of a battery controller (ECU) computes a total amount of electric discharge of a secondary battery and compares the total amount of electric discharge with a predetermined threshold value. The threshold value is set so as to fall within a range of; for instance, 400 Ah to 1600 Ah. When the total amount of electric discharge is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, an open-circuit-voltage (OCV)-SOC map is replaced with a map achieved in a state where a memory effect is saturated. When the total amount of electric discharge is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, a correction is made to the map so as to achieve a map that is a mixture consisting of the OCV-SOC map achieved in an initial state and the OCV-SOC map achieved in the saturated state at a predetermined ratio. The SOC is estimated by use of the corrected map.

Abstract: A battery pack that electrically connects a terminal cover, which is attached to a terminal base, and a battery pack case even if the terminal cover and case are not in direct contact with each other. The case is formed from a conductive material and accommodates a battery. The terminal base is formed from a non-conductive material and attached to the case. The terminal cover is formed from a conductive material and attached to the terminal base. A conductor formed from a conductive material comes in contact with both of the terminal cover and the case.

Abstract: A reconstituted battery pack producing method comprises an obtaining process for obtaining, by use of one of a first charged-state control device having ever controlled a charged state of a used battery pack when it was used before and a second charged-state control device arranged to control the charged state of the used battery pack as with the first charged-state control device, a reference-time charge amount charged in each used secondary battery constituting the used battery pack; a selecting process for selecting more than one of the used secondary batteries close to each other in the reference-time charge amount from a group of the used secondary batteries whose reference-time charge amounts have been obtained; and an assembling process for combining and assembling the selected used secondary batteries into a new reconstituted battery pack.

Abstract: A battery pack capable of sufficiently exhibiting performance of each secondary battery constituting the battery pack and its producing method are provided. The battery pack producing method of the invention comprises an obtaining process for obtaining a charge amount voltage curve C during charging and a charge amount voltage curve D during discharging, a selecting process for selecting more than one of the used secondary batteries close to each other in curves C and D from a group of the used secondary batteries whose curves C and D have been obtained, and an assembling process for combining the selected used secondary batteries to constitute the battery pack.

Abstract: Provided is a battery pack producing method and a battery pack capable of suppressing defects such as overcharging or overdischarging in one or more of the used secondary batteries constituting a battery pack, and sufficiently exhibiting the performance of the used secondary batteries of the battery pack. This method includes an obtaining process for obtaining each full charge capacity of the used secondary batteries, a selecting process for selecting one or more used secondary batteries having similar full charge capacities from the used secondary batteries whose full charge capacities have been obtained, and an assembling process for assembling the selected secondary batteries.

Abstract: There is provided a battery pack system with enhanced estimation accuracies of a polarization voltage and a remaining capacity of a secondary battery. A polarization voltage calculation section 108 calculates a polarization voltage Vpol from a filtered variation LPF (?Q) of an accumulated capacity with reference to a look-up table (LUT) 1081. An electromotive force calculation section 113 subtracts the polarization voltage Vpol from an effective no-load voltage V0OK to determine a battery electromotive force Veq. A remaining capacity estimation section 114 estimates a remaining capacity SOC from the battery electromotive force Veq with reference to a look-up table (LUT) 1141.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting the state of a storage device prevents occurrence of a leakage current. A low-level detection unit is provided for each of blocks of a battery pack. Control units are connected to the blocks of the battery pack by way of first switches and are started upon receipt of power supply. The control units and measurement units are connected to the blocks by way of second switches. The control units activate the second switches after being started as a result of activation of the first switches, to thus receive power supply, and commence measurement of block voltages by means of the measurement units. The high-level detection unit supplies a read signal and a synchronous signal to the low-level detection units by way of the first switches.

Abstract: The invention provides a method of adjusting a battery pack capable of reducing a difference in charge level between a plurality of secondary batteries constituting the battery pack and capable of restraining an increase in battery voltage difference between the secondary batteries of the battery pack in association with the adjustment of the charge level. A method of adjusting a battery pack includes a first adjusting process for discharging all secondary batteries of a first battery group so that charge levels of the secondary batteries of the first battery group fall within a charge level range determined based on a charge level of a secondary battery of a second battery group and further a second adjusting process for discharging all the secondary batteries of the first and second battery groups by the same electric quantity respectively.

Abstract: There is provided a circuit with control function including a circuit to be controlled so as to be operated only if a predetermined environment meets a specific condition and being arranged to detect, in any predetermined environment, whether or not the circuit with control function is normally operated, and a test method thereof. The circuit with control function includes a controller (microcomputer) for operating the circuit to be controlled (a heater) only if a predetermined environment (ambient temperature) detected by a sensor (a first temperature sensor) meets a specific condition (0° or below).