Patent ID: 7880439
Filing Date: 2011-02-01
Classification: H02J

Abstract:
1. A battery-capacity management device comprising: a voltage detector adapted to detect a terminal voltage of a battery; a current detector adapted to detect a discharge current discharged from the battery; discharged-capacity calculating unit adapted to calculate a discharged capacity of the battery; a storage location adapted to contain prestored map data that represents relationships between terminal voltages and discharge currents of the battery at states in which a remaining capacity of the battery has reached a preset value; and an available-capacity calculating unit adapted to calculate a second available capacity of the battery based on a specific discharged capacity, the specific discharged capacity being calculated by the discharged-capacity calculating unit and being a capacity discharged over a period between a time when charging of the battery to a first available capacity thereof is completed and a time when the terminal voltage of the battery detected by the voltage detector reaches a voltage value corresponding to the current value detected by the current detector in the map data, and the available-capacity calculating unit also updating the first available capacity to the second available capacity.