Patent ID: 8253382

Claim:
A battery apparatus comprising: a plurality of battery modules each having a plurality of battery cells, said plurality of battery modules being connected in series and being located on a high potential side of the battery apparatus; and a plurality of first control devices, corresponding to the plurality of battery modules, said first control devices being connected in series in an electrically non-isolated state on the high potential side of the battery apparatus and said first control devices being arranged to receive a command signal from a second control device located on a low potential side of the battery apparatus through a circuit device, said circuit device electrically separating the first control devices located on the high potential side and operating at a first voltage from the second control device located on the low potential side and operating at a second voltage smaller than the first voltage, and wherein said circuit device is configured such that the signal is transmitted from one of the first control devices and the second control device to the other of the first control devices and the second control device while the first control devices are electrically disconnected from the second control device, and wherein the first control devices detect a status of the plurality of battery cells which are included in a corresponding battery module, and wherein the plurality of first control devices are integrated circuits having input and output signal circuits, and wherein said input signal circuit of one of the first control devices and output signal circuit of another of the first control devices have different reference potentials.