Patent ID: 7692430

Claim:
A power control apparatus for controlling charging and discharging of a plurality of storage means, comprising a voltage measuring means for measuring voltages of at least one of said plural storage means; a current measuring means for measuring a current flowing through at least one of said plural storage means; a status detecting means for detecting the operating status of at least one of said plural storage means from values measured by said voltage measuring means and said current measuring means; and a charging/discharging controlling means for controlling currents, voltages, or power according to the operating status of each storage means detected by said status detecting means, to charge or discharge said plural storage means, wherein said status detecting means calculates the internal impedance or open circuit voltage of at least one of said plural storage means, and said charging/discharging controlling means calculates the permissible charging or discharging current value of at least one of said plural storage means from its internal impedance or open circuit voltage, preset maximum permissible voltage, and minimum permissible voltage, and controls the charging or discharging current so that the current above the calculated permissible charging or discharging current may not flow into or out of at least one of said plural storage means.