Battery pack having a communicator for communicating with electric device and electric device using the same

• US 7,663,339 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2007
• Issued: 02/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kimura, Tadao
• Primary Examiner(s): TSO, EDWARD H
• Application Number:
  US11/730,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20070236173A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,050 Days
• Field of Search: 320/106, 320/107, 320/110, 320/112, 320/116
• US Class Current: 320/107
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/42 Methods or arrangements for servicing or maintenance of secondary cells or secondary half-cells H01M10/60 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4257 Smart batteries, e.g. electronic circuits inside the housing of the cells or batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0031 using battery or load disconnect circuits H02J9/002 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A battery pack includes: a secondary battery; a positive electrode terminal for connecting a positive electrode of the secondary battery to an external electric device; a negative electrode terminal for connecting a negative electrode of the secondary battery to the electric device; a communicator for communicating with the electric device; a communication terminal adapted to be used in connecting the communicator to the electric device to send a signal for the communication; and an electric power receiving terminal for receiving an electric power from the electric device to operate the communicator, wherein the communicator is operated by the electric power received by the electric power receiving terminal.

Claims

1. A battery pack, comprising:

a secondary battery;

a positive electrode terminal for connecting a positive electrode of the secondary battery to an external electric device;

a negative electrode terminal for connecting a negative electrode of the secondary battery to the electric device;

a communicator for communicating with the electric device;

a communication terminal adapted to be used in connecting the communicator to the electric device to send a signal for the communication; and

an electric power receiving terminal for receiving an electric power from the electric device to operate the communicator, wherein

the communicator is operated by the electric power received by the electric power receiving terminal.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1, further comprising:

a switching device for turning on and off a current path from the negative electrode terminal via the secondary battery to the positive electrode terminal; and

an electric power output terminal for outputting an output power of the secondary battery to the electric device to allow the electric power receiving terminal to receive the output power via the electric device.

3. The battery pack according to claim 2, further comprising:

a chargeable/dischargeable detector for detecting whether the secondary battery is in a chargeable/dischargeable condition; and

a switching controller for controlling the switching device to turn on the current path if the chargeable/dischargeable detector detects that the secondary battery is in the chargeable/dischargeable condition.

4. The battery pack according to claim 2, further comprising:

an overcurrent protective device, provided on the current path from the secondary battery to the electric power output terminal, for suppressing an overcurrent.

5. The battery pack according to claim 1, further comprising:

a battery condition detector for acquiring battery information indicating a condition of the secondary battery to output the battery information; and

an information administrator for causing the communicator to send the battery information outputted by the battery condition detector to the electric device.

6. The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein

the battery condition detector is operative to detect an output voltage of the secondary battery as the battery information, and

the battery pack further includes an insulating section, on a signal path from the secondary battery via the battery condition detector to the information administrator, for electrically insulating between the secondary battery and the information administrator.

7. The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein

the battery condition detector is operative to detect an output voltage of the secondary battery as the battery information, and

the information administrator is operative to determine a residual capacity of the secondary battery based on the output voltage detected by the battery condition detector, and to cause the communicator to send the determined residual capacity to the electric device, as the battery information.

8. The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein

the battery condition detector is operative to detect an output voltage of the secondary battery as the battery information, and

the information administrator is operative to compare the output voltage detected by the battery condition detector with a predetermined value, and to cause the communicator to send, to the electric device, degradation information indicating that the secondary battery is degraded, as the battery information, if the output voltage is equal to or smaller than the predetermined value.

9. The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein

the battery condition detector is operative to detect a current value to be supplied to the secondary battery as the battery information.

10. The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein

the battery condition detector is operative to detect a temperature of the secondary battery as the battery information.

11. The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein

the communicator is so constructed as to be communicable with another one of the battery pack when being connected to the another one battery pack by the electric device, and

the information administrator is operative to cause the communicator to acquire battery information of a secondary battery of the another one battery pack from an information administrator of the another one battery pack, and to cause the communicator to send, to the electric device, the battery information acquired by the communicator and the battery information detected by the battery condition detector of the battery pack, as collective information.

12. The battery pack according to claim 11, wherein

the battery information includes an output voltage of the secondary battery, and

the information administrator is operative to cause the communicator to acquire the output voltage of the secondary battery of the another one battery pack from the information administrator of the another one battery pack, to calculate an average value of the output voltage represented by the output voltage acquired by the communicator and the output voltage detected by the battery condition detector of the battery pack, and to cause the communicator to send the calculated average value to the electric device.

13. An electric device connectable to the battery pack of claim 1 in plural numbers, comprising:

a connection wiring for series-connecting the secondary batteries provided in the battery packs in connecting the battery packs;

device-side communication terminals each adapted to be connected to the communication terminal of a corresponding one of the battery packs; and

device-side electric power output terminals, each adapted to be connected to the electric power receiving terminal of the corresponding one of the battery packs, for outputting the electric power to operate the communicator.