Patent ID: 8878493

Claim:
An apparatus for monitoring an operation state of a battery comprising: detecting means for detecting a cell voltage of each of the a plurality of cells, the plurality of cells being electrically connected in series so as to compose the battery; and monitoring means for monitoring an operation state of cells to be monitored among the plurality of cells, the cells to be monitored being composed of a cell having a highest cell voltage and a cell having a lowest cell voltage; wherein the detecting means includes: a plurality of comparators provided for the plurality of cells respectively, each of the comparators comparing a cell voltage of a corresponding one of the cells with a predetermined threshold provided to each of the comparators; and deciding means for deciding, among the cells, a cell having the highest cell voltage and a cell having the lowest voltage, based on results compared by the comparators, wherein the monitoring means includes: updating means for updating the cells having the highest and lowest cell voltages and being monitored by the monitoring means, with the cells having the highest and lowest cell voltages and being decided by the deciding means, respectively.