Patent ID: 7888945

Claim:
A battery apparatus, comprising: a plurality of battery modules which are electrically coupled in series and each of which has a plurality of battery cells electrically coupled in series; a plurality of first control devices which are respectively provided to correspond to the plurality of battery modules, each of the plurality of first control devices detecting a status of the plurality of battery cells of the corresponding one of the plurality of battery modules and being operated by the corresponding one of the plurality of battery modules acting as a power source; a second control device which outputs an instruction signal to the plurality of first control devices; a first signal transmission circuit which electrically couples in series signal input/output circuits respectively provided in the plurality of first control devices to thereby transmit the instruction signal output from the second control device to the plurality of first control devices serially; a second signal transmission circuit which transmits the instruction signal output from the second control device to one of the plurality of first control devices which at first receives the instruction signal; and a third signal transmission circuit which transmits the instruction signal to the second control device from another of the plurality of first control devices which receives the instruction signal at last, wherein when a signal for falling into a sleep mode is output from the second control device to the plurality of first control devices via the second signal transmission circuit, the plurality of first control devices sequentially receive the signal for falling into a sleep mode via the first signal transmission circuit from the one of the plurality of first control devices and are sequentially placed into sleep mode, and wherein when the signal for falling into a sleep mode returns to the second control device via the third signal transmission circuit from the another of the plurality of first control devices, the second control device is placed into sleep mode.