Patent ID: 8106661

Claim:
A battery apparatus, comprising: a plurality of battery modules coupled in series and each including a plurality of battery cells; a first control device group having a plurality of first control devices corresponding to the plurality of battery modules, respectively, each of the plurality of first control devices detecting states of the plurality of battery cells contained in a corresponding one of the plurality of battery modules; and a second control device which sends an instruction signal to the first control device group via an isolator, wherein each of the plurality of first control devices is configured by an integrated circuit, wherein a plurality of the integrated circuits of the plurality of first control devices are connected in series, wherein a plurality of the integrated circuits are coupled in series in a manner that a signal output circuit of one integrated circuit and a signal input circuit of other integrated circuit between every adjacent two of the plurality of integrated circuits coupled in series are coupled by a signal transmission path in an electrically non-isolated manner, wherein another integrated circuit of the plurality of the integrated circuits coupled in series receives the instruction signal sent from the second control device at the signal input circuit thereof via the isolator, and sends the instruction signal from the signal output circuit of the another integrated circuit to the signal input circuit of a next integrated circuit of the plurality of the integrated circuits via the signal transmission path, wherein the receiving of the instruction signal at the signal input circuit and the sending of the instruction signal from the signal output circuit to the signal input circuit of the next integrated circuit via the signal transmission path is repeated to a still another integrated circuit of the plurality of the integrated circuits which sends the instruction signal to the second control device, and wherein the second control device confirms the instruction signal returned from the still another integrated circuit of the plurality of the integrated circuits performing the signal transmission to the second control device and determines that the returned instruction signal is erroneous when an instruction of the returned instruction signal differs from an instruction of the instruction signal transmitted to the still another integrated circuit of the plurality of the integrated circuits.