Patent 11489347 was granted and assigned to Sanyo Electric Co Ltd on November, 2022 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A voltage measurement unit measures voltages of the plurality of cells connected in series. A plurality of discharge circuits are connected in parallel to the plurality of cells, respectively. A controller controls, based on the voltages of the plurality of cells detected by voltage measurement unit, the plurality of discharge circuits to make the voltages or capacities of the plurality of cells equal to a target value. The controller determines a number of cells to be discharged among the plurality of cells in accordance with an allowable temperature of a substrate having the plurality of discharge circuits.