Patent ID: 7248020

Claim:
A battery-voltage monitoring integrated-circuit that monitors a voltage of each of a specified-number of serially-connected secondary batteries, the battery-voltage monitoring integrated-circuit comprising: a first voltage source terminal that is connected to a maximum voltage terminal of the secondary batteries to be monitored, a first voltage being input to the first voltage source terminal; a second voltage source terminal that is connected to a minimum voltage terminal of the secondary batteries to be monitored, a second voltage being input to the second voltage source terminal; a first input terminal to which an output detection signal is input; a first reference-voltage generating unit that receives the first voltage and the second voltage as operating voltages, and generates a first reference voltage; a second reference-voltage generating unit that receives the first voltage and the second voltage as operating voltages, and generates a second reference voltage; a first voltage converting unit that receives the output detection signal, and converts the output detection signal received into either the first reference voltage or the second voltage; a second reference-voltage output terminal that outputs the second reference voltage; and a first output terminal that outputs the output detection signal converted by the first voltage converting unit as an output detection signal, wherein the first reference voltage is equal to or lower than the first voltage and equal to or higher than a voltage with which the first voltage converting unit can be operated, and the second reference voltage is equal to or lower than a voltage obtained by subtracting the first reference voltage from the first voltage, and equal to or higher than the second voltage.