Method and system for the early detection of critical faults in a battery

Abstract

A method for the early detection of critical faults in a battery (4, 5, 6), following putting into service and during battery operation of the battery (4, 5, 6), comprises receiving battery data, provided by a battery management system, BMS (2), associated with the battery (4, 5, 6), at a remote diagnostic unit (3), wherein the battery data relate, in terms of time, to electrical properties of the battery (4, 5, 6) that are measured during battery operation; and carrying out remote diagnosis of the battery (4, 5, 6) through phased comparison and / or cyclic comparison of the received battery data with reference battery data, wherein a phase is one of: a charging phase, a transition phase and a discharging phase in relation to the battery operation, and wherein a cycle comprises successive phases of the charging phase, the transition phase and the discharging phase.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR EARLY DETECTION OF CRITICAL

[0003] BATTERY FAULTS

[0004] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0005] The invention relates to a method having the features of the preamble of claim 1 and a system for the early detection of critical faults in a battery.

[0006] The following background is intended only to provide information necessary to understand the context of the inventive ideas and concepts disclosed herein. Therefore, this background section may contain patentable subject matter and should not, per se, be considered prior art.

[0007] BACKGROUND

[0008] For lithium-ion battery storage systems, particularly for electrically powered vehicles, there is a trend toward the development of high-performance battery packs with associated battery management systems (BMS), i.e., electronic control units equipped with software for monitoring battery functionality and measuring electrical properties / parameters. Battery management systems ensure, among other things, the safe and reliable operation of the battery cells and battery packs used. They monitor, measure, and control currents, voltages, temperatures, insulation resistance, and other electrical properties or parameters for individual battery cells, battery modules, and / or the battery pack. These parameters can be used to implement management functions that increase the service life, reliability, and safety of the battery system.

[0009] There are various architectures for measuring the battery cells grouped into battery modules, the battery modules grouped into the battery pack, and / or the battery pack itself. One possibility is to provide each battery cell or battery module with a sensor control unit that communicates with a main control unit shared by the sensor control units, for example, via a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus or Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) bus. These sensor control units cyclically measure, for example, electrical properties / quantities, such as temperature, current, or voltage, of the individual battery cells or a battery string (battery cells connected in parallel). The measured values ​​are communicated cyclically to the main control unit, so that one sensor control unit after the other provides the measured values ​​of the associated battery cells.The measurement and provision can be performed periodically, so that, for example, one cell of each battery module is measured per period, and the corresponding measured values ​​are transmitted cyclically during the corresponding period. The number of periods can therefore correspond to the number of battery cells per battery module. Likewise, a period can correspond to the cyclical processing of measurements on a battery module, whereby the number of periods would correspond to the number of battery modules per battery pack.

[0010] With the increasing demand for battery storage systems, especially in electrically powered vehicles, despite the already highly developed BMS, unforeseen fires are becoming more frequent, especially in stationary and automotive environments.

[0011] The invention is therefore based on the object of avoiding the danger of battery fires.

[0012] SUMMARY

[0013] This summary serves to introduce a selection of features and concepts of the invention, which are explained further below in the description. This summary is not intended to identify important or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. According to the invention, the above-mentioned object is achieved by the features of the independent claims.

[0014] Specifically, the problem is solved by a method for the early detection of critical battery faults. The method is carried out after commissioning and preferably during battery operation. The method comprises receiving battery data at a remote diagnostic unit. The battery data is provided by a battery management system (BMS) associated with the battery. The battery data relates temporally to electrical properties / quantities of the battery. The electrical properties / quantities are measured during battery operation. The method comprises carrying out a remote diagnosis of the battery by comparing the received battery data with reference battery data by phases and / or cycles. A phase is (e.g., exactly) one of: a charging phase, a transition phase, and a discharging phase related to battery operation. A cycle includes (e.g.,once) successive phases of the charging phase, the transition phase and the discharging phase.

[0015] The invention has the advantage that battery fires can be avoided.

[0016] The electrical properties / quantities can include at least current, voltage, and / or temperature. For example, the battery data temporally relates the current through the battery to the battery terminal voltage. Current and voltage can therefore be present in the received battery data in a time-resolved manner. It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that outliers in the raw data of the measured electrical properties / quantities can be eliminated through a preprocessing step, which can be performed during the battery data reception step or immediately afterward, and that the remote diagnosis is then performed on the preprocessed battery data. Corresponding outliers can also be identified as non-critical or critical errors, e.g., sensor errors, during preprocessing.

[0017] The battery referred to here may be a cell, a module, a pack, or a battery system, in particular a battery cell / a battery module / a battery pack / a battery system from a batch of a plurality of battery cells / battery modules / battery packs / battery systems that have undergone the same battery formation process at the same time.

[0018] The temporal relationship of the electrical properties / quantities can be time-resolved. The phase-by-phase comparison can be a comparison performed per phase of the time-resolved battery data. The cycle-by-cycle comparison can be a comparison performed per cycle of the time-resolved acquired data. In particular, a cycle can include all phases (e.g., exactly) once.

[0019] For example, the battery data can be received incrementally and the remote diagnosis can be performed incrementally or on a batch of the battery data received incrementally.

[0020] Situational adaptation can be improved by taking the time component into account.

[0021] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

[0022] The transition phase can be between the charging phase and the discharging phase, the charging phase to another charging phase, the discharging phase to another discharging phase, and / or from the discharging phase to the charging phase. The term "transition phase" can be understood as a transition in which an edge, in particular a current edge, voltage edge, and / or temperature edge, is steep in time resolution. The current slope can be greater than 0.01 (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1, or 10) A / s. The voltage slope can be greater than 0.1 (0.5, 1, 5, 10, or 100) V / s. The temperature slope can be greater than 0.01 (or 0.05) K / s and / or less than 1 (or 0.5) K / s. It should be understood, however, that the transition phase can be a monotonic function, but can also have a rest phase between the transition phases, such as a plateau. The rest phase can be shorter (in time) than the entire transition phase, or shorter than 1 / 3, 1 / 5, 1 / 8, or 1 / 10 of the entire transition flank.

[0023] The diagnostic capability can thus be increased. The reference battery data can be battery data that originates from a historical battery data set. For example, the battery data can originate from a plurality of similar battery batches and / or be the same battery batch. The reference battery data can be collected from at least one battery batch or can contain such data. The at least one or more battery batches can be a different battery batch or several different battery batches than the battery batch to which the (current) battery belongs. Furthermore, the at least one battery batch can be a historical battery batch or several different historical battery batches. Alternatively or additionally, the reference battery data can be or contain data from a current battery data set of the same batch to which the (current) battery belongs.Thus, in one example, the reference battery data can be based on the (current) battery.

[0024] Such data fusion can ensure procedural quality.

[0025] The method may further comprise extracting one or more functional profiles from the (stepwise) received battery data. Performing the remote diagnosis may further comprise comparing the one or more functional profiles of the received battery data with corresponding one or more functional profiles of the reference battery data.

[0026] This enables a simple function-related comparison to reduce the effort required for quality analysis.

[0027] Performing the remote diagnosis may further comprise triggering one or more indicators if one or more differences between the one or more functional profiles of the received battery data and the corresponding one or more functional profiles of the reference battery data exceed corresponding one or more predetermined thresholds. The one or more indicators may be a quality flag indicating that the battery is defective or has a quality defect. To achieve a more reliable result, the multiple indicators may be used to indicate a battery defect or the quality defect. In this case, multiple thresholds may be exceeded, triggering multiple indicators. The indicators may be simple flag(s) indicating battery errors. One or more flags, e.g., more than three flags, may indicate an error.

[0028] This allows the battery to be indexed and removed when appropriate. This option can also be communicated to other users of batteries from the same batch to prevent fires that could occur in a similar manner across the entire batch. Furthermore, the threshold can be a nominal or standardized value in a range between 0.05 and 0.3 or 0.1 and 0.2.

[0029] The battery data or the one or more functional profiles may include derivatives of a battery charge with respect to a battery terminal voltage according to the respective charging phases and discharging phases. The battery data or the one or more functional profiles may include derivatives of the battery terminal voltage with respect to the battery charge according to the respective charging phases and discharging phases. The battery data or the one or more functional profiles may include charge and / or energy throughputs according to the respective charging phases and discharging phases. The battery data or the one or more functional profiles may include internal resistances according to the respective transition phases. The battery data or the one or more functional profiles may include electrical circuit models according to the respective transition phases and / or the electrical circuit models according to the respective charging phases and / or discharging phases.The battery data or the one or more functional profiles may include Coulomb and / or energy and / or voltaic efficiencies and / or capacities or changes thereto according to the respective cycles.

[0030] Consequently, multi-category diagnosis can be performed as a quality test during remote diagnosis.

[0031] The remote diagnosis can be carried out by comparing at least one maximum and / or at least one minimum of said derivatives with at least one maximum and / or at least one minimum of derivatives in the reference battery data. The remote diagnosis can be carried out by comparing said derivatives with corresponding statistical upper and lower limit curves linked to the derivatives in the reference battery data. The remote diagnosis can be carried out by comparing the charge and / or energy throughputs with at least one first statistical boundary condition of the reference battery data. The remote diagnosis can be carried out by comparing the internal resistances with at least one second statistical boundary condition of the reference battery data.

[0032] The remote diagnosis can be performed by adapting parameters of the electrical circuit models to the battery data or the one or more functional profiles, and additionally: comparing the parameters of the electrical circuit models with corresponding parameters of an equivalent electrical circuit model of the reference battery data and / or comparing the parameters of the electrical circuit models with at least one third statistical constraint linked to the corresponding parameters of the reference battery data. One of the electrical circuit models can be a series circuit of a voltage source, a first resistor, and a parallel circuit of a second resistor and a capacitor, from one voltage terminal of the battery to the other voltage terminal of the battery.Another electrical circuit model can be a series connection of a third resistor and a Warburg impedance, from one voltage terminal of the battery to the other voltage terminal of the battery. The parameters described here can be understood as the values ​​of the respective circuit elements of the electrical circuit model used.

[0033] This ensures an appropriate Q-factor.

[0034] The remote diagnosis can be performed by comparing the Coulomb and / or energy and / or voltaic efficiencies with at least a fourth statistical boundary condition of the reference battery data.

[0035] The remote diagnosis can be carried out by comparing the capacities or changes thereto with at least one fifth statistical boundary condition of the reference battery data. The at least one first, second, third, fourth and fifth statistical boundary condition can be independent of one another. For example, the at least one first, second, third, fourth and fifth statistical boundary condition can be different from one another. The at least one first, second, third, fourth and fifth statistical boundary condition can correspond to a respective envelope of a statistical distribution of values ​​of the reference battery data, such as a normal distribution or a Gaussian distribution. The at least one first, second, third, fourth and fifth statistical boundary condition can each be a set of boundary conditions. The set of boundary conditions can be checked one after the other, e.g. depending on whether a previous boundary condition is met or not.The order within the sentence can be arbitrary, e.g. irregular or random, or deterministic.

[0036] Consequently, data fusion of some or all of these techniques can provide better quality remote diagnosis. Results can also be achieved more quickly.

[0037] The above-mentioned object is also achieved by a computer program. The computer program comprises instructions which, when the computer program is executed by a computer or by a BMS, an arbiter and / or a remote diagnostic unit, cause the computer or the BMS, the arbiter and / or the remote diagnostic unit to carry out the method described above or at least one of the steps thereof. The computer program can, for example, be a module for starting / operating the BMS, the arbiter and / or the remote diagnostic unit. The computer program can be stored on a machine-readable storage medium, for example on a permanent or rewritable storage medium. Additionally or alternatively, the computer program can be made available for downloading on a server or a cloud server, e.g. via a data network such as the Internet or a communication connection such as a wireless connection.

[0038] The above-mentioned object is also achieved by a computer-readable data carrier. The computer program described above is stored on the computer-readable data carrier. The above-mentioned object is also achieved by a system for the early detection of critical errors in a battery. This preferably occurs after commissioning and during battery operation of the battery. The system comprises a battery management system (BMS) associated with the battery. The BMS is designed to provide battery data. The battery data relate chronologically to electrical properties of the battery measured during battery operation. The system comprises a remote diagnostic unit. The remote diagnostic unit is designed to carry out remote diagnostics of the battery by comparing the received battery data with reference battery data in phases and / or in cycles. A phase is (e.g.(exactly) one of: a charging phase, a transition phase, and a discharging phase related to battery operation. A cycle comprises (e.g., exactly once) consecutive phases of the charging phase, the transition phase, and the discharging phase.

[0039] The BMS can, for example, provide the battery data in partial batches, which are then combined into a complete batch by the remote diagnostics unit. This can be useful, for example, during a handover between cell towers.

[0040] For this purpose, the system or the BMS can contain a gateway for transmitting the battery data to the remote diagnostic unit. In one example, an arbiter can be connected as part of the system between the BMS and the remote diagnostic unit. The arbiter can be understood here as an intermediary between the BMS and the remote diagnostic unit and can preferably have storage technology that enables the battery data to be stored. Thus, the data transfer from the BMS to the remote diagnostic unit and vice versa can be initiated and controlled via another control entity, the arbiter. Thus, all communication can be operated via the arbiter. Direct data transfer can also be provided. The remote diagnostic unit can be part of an on-site or remote cloud system. This can provide a remote diagnostic unit that can be designed independently of the BMS and arbiter, thus increasing a degree of freedom.

[0041] In other words, the invention relates to the early detection of critical battery faults such as fires. Possible applications include electric cars, stationary energy storage systems, or consumer electronics. The method can provide for the analysis of battery data during operation. In other words, the process can be as follows: The battery management system (BMS) of the battery measures current, voltage, and temperature; forwards this measured data via the communication bus (e.g., CAN), with the CAN signals being pushed to the cloud by a data logger - either directly or at (irregular) intervals. The data is then analyzed in the cloud, and warnings are issued if batteries are classified as safety-critical. Appropriate safety measures can then be taken.

[0042] The term "battery" is used herein to refer to accumulators in accordance with common usage. The battery comprises one or more battery units, which can individually refer to a battery cell, a battery module, a module string, or a battery pack. In the battery, the battery cells are preferably spatially grouped together and interconnected by circuitry, for example, connected in series or parallel to form battery modules. Multiple battery modules can form so-called battery direct converters (BDCs), and multiple battery direct converters can form a battery direct inverter (BDI). The battery can, in particular, be a lithium-ion battery or a nickel-metal hydride battery and can be designed to be connected to a drive system of a motor vehicle.

[0043] The above-mentioned object can also be achieved by a battery management system (BMS) per se, a motor vehicle with the BMS, or a motor vehicle fleet with respective BMSs as described above. The details are omitted here for the sake of clarity. It is understood that the aspects described above can apply to the method, the system, the BMS, the motor vehicle, or the motor vehicle fleet. Likewise, the aspects described above with regard to the system, the BMS, the motor vehicle, or the motor vehicle fleet can apply to the method in a corresponding manner.

[0044] For example, the motor vehicle can be provided with the BMS and the battery as described above. The battery can be connected to a drive system of the motor vehicle. The motor vehicle can be designed as a purely electric vehicle and comprise exclusively an electric drive system. Alternatively, the motor vehicle can be a hybrid vehicle comprising an electric drive system and an internal combustion engine. It can also be provided that the battery of the hybrid vehicle can be charged internally via a generator using excess energy from the internal combustion engine. Externally chargeable hybrid vehicles (PHEV, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) additionally provide the option of charging the battery via an external power grid.In such motor vehicles, the driving cycle includes ferry operation and / or charging operation as operating phases in which operating parameters, such as the above-mentioned electrical properties / quantities, are recorded.

[0045] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the explanations presented herein may be implemented using hardware circuits, software means, or a combination thereof. The software means may be associated with programmed microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and / or digital signal processors (DSPs). The units of the BMS, the arbiter, and the remote diagnostic unit are each to be understood as functional units that are not necessarily physically separate from one another. Thus, multiple units of the BMS, the arbiter, and the remote diagnostic unit may each be realized in a single physical unit, for example, when multiple functions are implemented in software. The units of the BMS, the arbiter, and the remote diagnostic unit may also be implemented in hardware components.

[0046] In one example, the BMS, the arbiter, and the remote diagnostic unit may be implemented at least in part as a computer, logic circuit, field programmable logic gate array (FPGA), microprocessor, microcontroller, vector processor, processor-integrated core, CPU (e.g., with multiple cores), coprocessor (microprocessor supporting the CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), and / or DSP.

[0047] For example, methods related to pipelining battery data can be applied in the BMS, the arbiter, and / or the remote diagnostics unit. Instead of processing an entire instruction in one clock cycle of the processor used in the BMS, the arbiter, and / or the remote diagnostics unit, only a subtask of that instruction, e.g., a portion of the battery data, is processed. The various subtasks of several instructions are processed simultaneously. Furthermore, methods related to multithreading of battery data and further developments thereof can be applied, such as simultaneous multithreading of battery data. This allows for better processor utilization due to the parallel use of multiple processor cores.The processor contained in the BMS, the arbiter, and / or the remote diagnostics unit can be connected to a buffer memory that can temporarily store the battery data before and / or after processing the battery data or a portion thereof. The buffer memory can be integrated into a volatile memory, e.g., a (D)RAM, or into a permanent memory, e.g., a non-volatile storage device such as an SSD. This can increase performance.

[0048] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the meaning commonly understood by those skilled in the art in the field of battery and energy storage technology relevant to this disclosure; they are neither too broad nor too narrow. If technical terms are used incorrectly and thus do not express the technical spirit of this disclosure, they should be replaced with technical terms that convey a correct understanding to those skilled in the art. The general terms used herein should be interpreted based on the definition found in the dictionary or in accordance with technical jargon.

[0049] Although terms such as "first" or "second," etc., may be used to describe different components, these components are not limited to these terms. The above terms are intended solely to distinguish one component from another. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and a second component may be referred to as a first component.

[0050] In this context, if a component is "connected" or "communicates" with another component, this may mean that it is directly connected or communicates with it; however, it should be noted that another component may be present in between. On the other hand, if a component is "directly connected" or "directly communicates" with another component, this means that there are no other components in between.

[0051] The method steps described herein should not be interpreted as requiring them to be performed in a particular order, unless expressly or implicitly stated otherwise, for example, if these method steps cannot be interchanged for technical reasons. The method steps described herein may also be performed directly, sequentially, continuously, and / or successively. However, other method steps may also be included in between.

[0052] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Further objects, features, advantages, and possible applications will become apparent from the following description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar elements in the drawings are always provided with the same or similar reference numerals. Detailed explanations of well-known functions and structures are omitted if they would detract from the invention.

[0054] The drawings show in:

[0055] FIG. 1 is a view of a system for the early detection of critical battery faults;

[0056] FIG. 2 is a view of a method for the early detection of critical battery faults; and

[0057] FIG. 3 is a view of a computer used in parts of the system and method for early detection of critical battery failures.

[0058] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The system 1 for the early detection of critical battery faults and the method S20 therefor, as well as the computer used therein, will now be described with reference to the embodiments. Without being limited thereto, specific details are explained to provide a deeper understanding of the invention.

[0060] Fig. 1 shows a system 1 for the early detection of critical faults in a battery 4, in particular a vehicle battery. The system 1 comprises a battery management system (BMS) 2—in particular a vehicle BMS—with a main control unit 7, which can also be referred to as a battery control unit (BCU), and sensor control units 8 and 9, a battery 4 with a number of battery modules

[0061] 5, which contains individually grouped battery cells 6. Each battery module 5 is assigned its own sensor control unit 8, 9. The main control unit 7 implements functions for controlling, monitoring, and measuring the battery 4. The system 1 can be understood as a vehicle management system or vehicle fleet management system, since the system 1 can be designed for the same battery 4 type or the same vehicle class.

[0062] The BMS 2 ensures the safe and reliable function of the battery cells

[0063] 6, the battery modules 5, and the battery 4 or the battery pack. The BMS 2 monitors and controls currents, voltages, temperatures, insulation resistance, and other variables for the battery cells 6 or the battery 4 or the entire battery pack. These variables can be used not only for management functions but also for the remote diagnostic function, as envisaged here, thereby increasing the service life, reliability, and safety when using the battery 4. The BMS 2 consists of a multitude of control units, such as the main control unit 7 and the sensor control units 8, 9, on which individual software functions run.

[0064] Depending on the number of battery cells 6, the number of sensors, and the distribution of the battery modules 5 across various installation spaces in the vehicle, a control unit topology results with a main control unit 7 and several subordinate sensor control units 8, 9 for recording the data to be measured directly at the individual battery modules 5. The data to be measured, also referred to herein as electrical properties / quantities, can be, for example, voltages, temperatures, currents, etc. The measured data is exchanged between the control units via a communication bus, for example a Controller Area Network (CAN). The BMS 2 or its elements 7, 8, 9 can be interconnected via the communication bus to collect the electrical properties / quantities, such as current, voltage, and temperature, recorded by various sensors.

[0065] The sensor control units 8, 9 of a measuring chain (e.g., a series of battery cells 6 corresponding to several battery modules 5) and the main control unit 7 are connected to each other, for example, in a daisy chain in series to the communication bus. Particularly preferably, the measuring chains are each connected serially to the communication bus via a daisy chain. The measured data is acquired and processed by the main control unit 7 via the communication bus, for example, configured as an SPI communication bus.

[0066] Each battery module 5 is assigned, for example, four battery cells 6, which can be connected in series and, in some cases, also in parallel in order to meet the required power and energy requirements of the battery 4. The battery 4 provides the electrical energy at battery terminals (+, -), for example to drive a vehicle. The battery 4 can supply energy to load(s) connected to these battery terminals (+, -), for example, high-voltage components connected via rectifiers (DC / DC 10) and / or inverters (DC / AC 11). A motor 12 or an air conditioning system (not shown) can be connected to the DC / AC 11 by means of a three-phase cable. For example, the DC / DC converter 10 can be provided for an on-board electrical system (of the vehicle) and the consumers connected to it, and the DC / AC converter 11 can be provided to supply the electric drive (motor 12) with the energy required for operation.Other loads that can be supplied with energy from the battery 4 are electronic elements within the vehicle associated with the BMS 2, such as a low-voltage DC / DC converter (LDC) (not shown).

[0067] A cathode and an anode of the battery 4 (battery terminals (+, -)) can be connected to or disconnected from (e.g., switched off) corresponding two terminals of the load(s) depending on a control of the BMS 2. Other load(s) can be various drive loads, such as a hybrid starter-generator (HSG) motor supplied with power via the three-phase cable connected to the DC / AC 11, which is another high-voltage part, and configured to assist starting, a fully automatic temperature control system (FATC), a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heater, and an on-board charger (OBC) connected to the battery 4 via a relay controlled by the BMS 2 to assist charging the battery 21.The communication between the main control unit 7 and the sensor control units 8, 9 takes place via a communication channel and adapted interfaces (schematically shown as a line with endpoints in Fig. 1).

[0068] The sensor control units 8, 9 control battery cell monitoring units or battery module monitoring units, which continuously, periodically, and / or cyclically, with predetermined or adjustable sampling rates, record operating parameters, also referred to herein as electrical properties / quantities, such as voltages, currents, or temperatures of individual battery cells 6 or individual battery modules 5 as measured values ​​and provide the recorded measured values ​​to the sensor control units 8, 9. For this purpose, the sensor control units 8, 9 are connected to the battery cells 6 via measuring lines (see solid lines).

[0069] The main control unit 7 requests the measured values ​​of the electrical properties / quantities recorded by the sensor control units via the communication channel. This request can be automatic or set at predetermined time intervals. For example, a request interval during operation of the battery 4 can be shorter than a request interval outside of operation of the battery 4, e.g., when no energy is being supplied by the battery 4. The same can apply to a measurement interval related to the measurements by the sensor control units 8, 9.

[0070] The main control unit 7 can store the measured values ​​in the form of battery data in a memory (not shown) of the BMS 2. The BMS 2 further has a communication unit (not shown) configured to communicate the battery data. The battery data can be transmitted at a predefined event. This predefined event can be the termination of the successful establishment of a communication connection with a network. The BMS 2 can then retrieve the battery data stored in the memory and forward it to the network in packets via a mobile radio system.In the event of a handover, for example, when the motor vehicle containing the BMS 2 switches between two cells of the mobile radio system, the battery data can be stored in packets such that a first part of the packets is transferred in the transferring cell and a second part of the packets is transferred in the serving cell, so that ultimately the battery data consisting of the first and second parts of the packets are combined in the network. Fig. 1 shows a so-called arbiter 13 as the destination for the battery data. This arbiter can act, for example, as a data manager, mediator, or fleet manager. The decision as to whether remote diagnostics should be performed can be made by the arbiter 13.

[0071] The arbiter 13 receives the battery data to transmit it to the remote diagnostic unit 13. The arbiter 13 is configured to send a request to the remote diagnostic unit 3 to evaluate the measured values ​​contained in the battery data for critical errors of the battery 4. In response to the request from the arbiter 13 to the remote diagnostic unit 3, the remote diagnostic unit 3 can send a request confirmation to the arbiter 13 in order to be able to receive the battery data. The arbiter 13 then sends the battery data to the remote diagnostic unit.

[0072] It is also conceivable that the arbiter 13 can be omitted and the request is made directly by the BMS 2 instead of by the arbiter 13.

[0073] Should a critical error in the battery data be detected by the remote diagnostic unit 3, the arbiter 13 is informed accordingly, which in response takes appropriate measures, for example communication with the BMS 2 or the operator of the device associated with the battery 4, for example the vehicle driver.

[0074] Fig. 2 outlines a method for the early detection of critical faults in a battery 4, based on Fig. 1. Steps S1, S2, S3 and S6 are carried out as described above with reference to Fig. 1. Thus, the measurement S1 is carried out by the sensor control units 8, 9 on the battery cells 6, the battery modules 5, the battery 4 or the battery pack, respectively, and is stored by the main control unit 7 in a memory of the BMS 2. In an abstract manner, the first steps S1-S3 can also be carried out by the BMS 2. The stored battery data is then transmitted to the remote diagnostic unit in S3.

[0075] 3, for example by means of an arbiter 13. The battery data relate to electrical properties of the battery cells 6, the battery modules 5, or the battery 4 or the battery pack measured during battery operation.

[0076] In S4, the battery data provided in S3 by the BMS 2 are received at the remote diagnostic unit 3. Afterward, or simultaneously with the reception in S4, the remote diagnosis of the battery cells 6, the battery modules 5, or the battery

[0077] 4 or the battery pack by comparing the received battery data with reference battery data by phases and / or by cycles. This comparison enables an effective quality check based solely on the data in the corresponding phase-related or cycle-related time segments in the battery data or reference battery data. The terms "phase" and "cycle" can be understood here in a narrower sense, so that they do not mean multiple phases or multiple cycles. This means that the phase is either a charging phase, a transition phase, or a discharging phase, each related to battery operation. Furthermore, it is meant here that the cycle includes each of the phases once, so that successive phases of the charging phase, the transition phase, and the discharging phase are included exactly once.

[0078] The diagnostic results are transmitted in output S6, for example, to the arbiter 13. Appropriate measures can then be taken in S6, for example, using the arbiter 13 as a control or monitoring device. These measures can result in, for example, the vehicle being shut down or the issuing of a notification (trigger, warning, etc.) to the driver or the user of the device containing the battery 4. The results can also be directly integrated by the remote diagnostic unit 3 communicating directly with the BMS 2, which in turn disconnects the battery 4, the corresponding faulty battery module 5, or the battery module 5 containing the faulty battery cell 6. If disconnection is technically not possible, the entire battery pack can be removed based on the notification.

[0079] The method steps illustrated as blocks of the block diagram in Fig. 2 may, for example, be substantially embodied in a computer-readable medium and thus executed by a computer 14 or processor 15, such as described below with reference to Fig. 3, regardless of whether such a computer 14 or processor 15 is explicitly illustrated in Fig. 2 or not. Examples may further be or refer to a computer program containing program code for performing at least a portion of the method steps when the computer program is executed on the computer 14 or processor 15. The computer 14 or processor 15 is programmed to perform the method steps therein. An example may also include a non-volatile memory or persistent memory 17, such as also described below with reference to Fig.3, which is machine-, processor-, or computer-readable and encodes machine-executable, processor-executable, or computer-executable programs with instructions. The instructions cause some or all of the method steps to be executed. Examples may also include dedicated (field-)programmable logic arrays ((F)PLAs) or (field-)programmable gate arrays ((F)PGAs) programmed to execute the method step(s).

[0080] Figure 3 schematically shows a block diagram illustrating a computer 14. The computer 14 can, for example, describe the BMS 2 or the remote diagnostic unit 3, or part(s) thereof, suitable for the early detection of critical faults of a battery 4.

[0081] The computer 14 performs one or more steps of the method S20. For example, the computer 14 may implement some or all of the steps of the method S20 as illustrated in Fig. 2. In particular, the computer 14 provides functionality, such as computer software running on the computer 14 that performs one or more steps of the method S20.

[0082] It is contemplated herein that computer 14 may take any suitable physical form. By way of example, computer 14 may be an embedded computer, system-on-chip (SOC), single-board computer (SBC), mobile phone, server, and / or tablet. Computer 14 may be unified or distributed; span one or more locations; span one or more machines or data centers; or be located in a cloud, which may include cloud components on a network. Computer 14 may perform one or more steps of the method described or illustrated herein without substantial spatial or temporal limitation. By way of example, computer 14 may perform one or more steps of method S20 in real time, in parallel, or in batch mode. Computer 14 may perform step(s) of method S20 at different times or at different locations.

[0083] The computer 14 has at least one or more of the following components: a processor 15, volatile memory 16, persistent memory 17 with controller and non-volatile memory (NVM) device, an input / output (I / O) device 18, communication device 19, a bus 20, a main power supply 21, and an auxiliary power supply 22. These components may be implemented at least partially in hardware and / or software. The processor 15 has means for executing instructions related to the battery data, e.g., a computer program. The processor 15 may have an internal register / cache for the battery data, for the instructions related to the battery data, and / or for associated addresses. The processor 15 may be an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), logic circuitry, a field-programmable logic gate array (FPGA), a microprocessor, microcontroller, vector processor, processor-integrated core, CPU (e.g.,with multiple cores), coprocessor (microprocessor to support the CPU), digital signal processor (DSP), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and / or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for accessing the internal register / cache. As an example, to execute instructions, the processor 15 may fetch them from the internal register / cache of the processor 15, the volatile memory 16, or the persistent storage 17; decode and execute them; and then write a result to the internal register / cache of the processor 15, the volatile memory 16, or the persistent storage 17. As an example, the processor 15 may include an instruction cache, a data cache, and / or a translation buffer (TLB).The battery data-related instructions in the instruction cache may be copies of instructions in volatile memory 16 or persistent memory 17, and the instruction cache may accelerate the retrieval of these battery data-related instructions by processor 15. The battery data in the data cache may be copies of data for battery data-related instructions in volatile memory 16 or persistent memory 17 that are currently executing on processor 15, for interaction with results of previous battery data-related instructions executing on processor 15 for access by subsequent battery data-related instructions to be executed on processor 15, or for writing to volatile memory 16 or persistent memory 17. The data cache may accelerate the read or write operations of processor 15.The addresses in the TLB associated with the battery data may be address references to addresses in the volatile memory 16 or persistent memory 17 to speed up virtual address translation for the processor 15.

[0084] The volatile memory 16 may be a dynamic RAM (DRAM) or a static RAM (SRAM). In particular, the volatile memory 16 may be embodied as the computer-readable medium described herein, on which the computer program described herein may be stored. Furthermore, the volatile memory 16 may be a single-channel or multi-channel RAM. The volatile memory 16 may include main memory for storing instructions related to the battery data for the processor 15, which then executes these instructions; or include the battery data for the processor 15, which the processor uses to operate on it. For example, the computer 14 may load these instructions into the volatile memory 16 from the persistent storage 17 or another source (such as another computer, the network, or the cloud).Processor 15 can then load these instructions from volatile memory 16 into the internal register / cache of processor 15. To execute these instructions, processor 15 can retrieve and decrypt these instructions from the corresponding internal register / cache. During or after executing these instructions, processor 15 can write a result (which may be intermediate or final results) to the internal register / cache. Processor 15 can then write the result to volatile memory 16.

[0085] For example, processor 15 executes only the instructions related to the battery data in the internal register / cache of processor 15 or in volatile memory 16 (as opposed to persistent memory 17), and operates only on the battery data in the internal register / cache of processor 15 or in volatile memory 16 (as opposed to persistent memory 17). A memory management unit (MMU) may be located between processor 15 and volatile memory 16 and may support access to volatile memory 16 requested by processor 15 for remote diagnostics.

[0086] Bus 20 may include a memory bus. The memory bus (including address bus and data bus) may communicatively connect processor 15 to volatile memory 16. Bus 20 may be configured for dedicated communication of battery data between two or more of the internal components 15 to 22 of computer 14. Bus 20 may include a ring topology, star topology, (partially) mesh topology, bus topology, tree topology, and / or line topology.The bus 20 can have an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, Gunning Transceiver Logic (GTL) bus, Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, Front-Side-Bus (FSB), HYPERTRANSPORT (HT) bus, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Low-Pin-Count (LPC) bus, memory bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, PCI-Express (PCIe) bus, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) bus, local Video Electronics Standards Association local (VLB) bus and / or an INFINIBAND connection.

[0087] The persistent memory 17 has a mass storage, e.g., a non-volatile memory, for the battery data or the instructions associated with the battery data. The persistent memory 17 can, in particular, be embodied as the computer-readable data carrier described herein, on which the computer program described herein can be stored. As an example, the persistent memory 17 can be a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state storage (SSD), a flash memory, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a Secure Digital Memory Card (SD), an Embedded Multi Media Card (eMMC), and / or a Universal Serial Bus (USB). The persistent memory 17 can contain the battery data in an erasable or non-erasable manner. The persistent memory 17 can be located in the computer 14, i.e., internally, or externally thereto.The persistent memory 17 may include a controller that supports communication for passing the battery data between the processor 15 and the persistent memory 17, in particular the non-volatile memory device NVM of the persistent memory 17.

[0088] The main power supply 21 supplies electrical power to at least one or more of the components 14 to 21. In particular, the main power supply 21 charges the auxiliary power supply 22 with electrical power, for example, from outside the computer 14, in the event that the main power supply 21 is connected to a power source outside the computer 14.

[0089] The auxiliary power supply 22 is connected to the volatile memory 16 and / or the permanent memory 17 via the bus 20. The auxiliary power supply 22 is charged by the electrical power of the main power supply 21. The auxiliary power supply 22 can be arranged inside or outside the permanent memory 17. For example, the auxiliary power supply 22 can be housed on a motherboard of the computer 14 to supply the volatile memory 16 and / or the permanent memory 17 with auxiliary power. The auxiliary power supply 22 can, in particular, be embodied in the form of a supercapacitor, an accumulator, or a battery.

[0090] The processor 15 monitors changes in the electrical power supplied by the main power supply 21. In the event of a sudden power failure, e.g., if the power source external to the computer 14 is disconnected from the main power supply 21 or the main power supply 21 degrades or fails for another reason, and the processor determines that the electrical power supplied by the main power supply 21 to one or more of the components 14 through 21 has fallen below a threshold, e.g., 0.8 or 0.75 of an operating power of the main power supply 21, the processor 15 causes the auxiliary power supply 22 to assume a remaining supply of power for a shutdown of the computer 14. The shutdown includes supplying at least the processor 15, the volatile memory 16, and the persistent memory 17 with electrical power for the duration of the shutdown.During the shutdown process, the battery data currently located in the volatile memory 16 and / or the battery data currently being processed in the processor 15, for example, in the register / cache of the processor 15, are transferred from the volatile memory 16 and / or the processor 15 to a meta-area of ​​the persistent memory 17. For this purpose, the meta-area of ​​the persistent memory 17 can be reserved specifically for the shutdown process.

[0091] During a boot process of the computer 14, during which the main power supply 21 again provides operating power, the processor 15 loads the battery data from the meta-area of ​​the persistent memory 17 to enable faster data processing. The meta-area of ​​the persistent memory can be cleared after the boot process or gradually during the boot process.

[0092] The I / O device 18 may include the control units 7, 8, 9, or a portion thereof, coupled to the processor 15 of the computer 14. The I / O device 18 may include a device and / or software driver that enables the processor 15 to control the I / O device 18 to obtain measured values ​​from the control units 6, 7, 8, or a portion thereof, on which the battery data is based or which are represented by the battery data. The communication device 19 provides a means for communicating (such as packet-based communication) the battery data between the computer 14 and other communication participants, e.g., to the network connected to the computer 14 (wired or wireless).As an example, the communication device 19 enables the computer 14 to communicate with an ad hoc network, a personal area network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and / or at least a portion of the Internet. As an example, the communication device 19 enables the computer 14 to communicate with a wireless PAN (WPAN; such as a BLUETOOTH WPAN), a Wi-Fi network, a Wi-Max network, and / or a cellular telephone network (e.g., GSM). In particular, the communication device 19 may include a transceiver, a receiver, or a transmitter with one or more antennas. In one example, the processor 15 may include a baseband processor that performs modulation and / or demodulation, encoding, and / or decoding of a baseband signal based on the battery data.The communication device 19 converts the baseband signal from the processor 15 into a radio signal and transmits it via the antenna(s), and / or converts the radio signal received by the antenna(s) into the baseband signal and forwards it to the processor 15. The conversion may include an up / down conversion to / from a carrier frequency corresponding to the carrier wavelength X. The transceiver, transmitter, or receiver and the antenna(s) may be impedance-matched to each other with respect to the carrier frequency.

[0093] At this point, it should be noted that all parts described above, viewed individually and in any combination, particularly the details shown in the drawings, are claimed as essential to the invention. Modifications to these are familiar to those skilled in the art.

[0094] LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0095] 1 system

[0096] 2 BMS

[0097] 3 Remote diagnostic unit

[0098] 4 battery pack 5 battery module

[0099] 6 battery cells

[0100] 7 Main control unit

[0101] 8 Sensor control unit 9 Sensor control unit

[0102] 10 DC / DC converters

[0103] 11 DC / AC converters

[0104] 12 Engine

[0105] 13 Arbiter 14 Computer

[0106] 15 processor

[0107] 16 Volatile memory

[0108] 17 Permanent storage

[0109] 18 I / O device 19 Communication device

[0110] 20 buses

[0111] 21 Main power supply

[0112] 22 Auxiliary power supply

Claims

Claims: Method for early detection of critical defects in a battery (4, 5, 6) after commissioning and during battery operation of the battery (4, 5, 6), the method comprising: Receiving (S4) battery data provided by a battery management system, BMS (2) associated with the battery (4, 5, 6) at a remote diagnostic unit (3), wherein the battery data relates temporally to electrical properties of the battery (4, 5, 6) measured during battery operation; and Performing a remote diagnosis (S5) of the battery (4, 5, 6) by comparing the received battery data phase by phase and / or cycle by cycle with reference battery data, wherein a phase is one of: a charging phase, a transition phase, and a discharging phase with respect to battery operation, and wherein a cycle comprises successive phases of the charging phase, the transition phase, and the discharging phase. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the transition phase is between the charging phase and the discharging phase, between the charging phase and another charging phase, between the discharging phase and another discharging phase, and / or from the discharging phase to the charging phase. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reference battery data are battery data derived from a historical battery data set from a plurality of similar battery batches and / or Battery data is derived from a battery data set from the same battery batch.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the method further comprises extracting one or more functional profiles from the received battery data; and the execution of the remote diagnostics further comprises comparing one or more functional profiles of the received battery data with corresponding one or more functional profiles of the reference battery data.

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the execution of the remote diagnosis further comprises triggering one or more indicators when one or more differences between the one or more functional profiles of the received battery data and the corresponding one or more functional profiles of the reference battery data exceed one or more predetermined threshold values.

6. Method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the battery data or the one or more functional profiles comprise at least one or more of the following information: Derivatives of a charge of the battery (4, 5, 6) with respect to a terminal voltage of the battery (4, 5, 6) according to the respective charging and discharging phases and / or derivatives of the Terminal voltage of the battery (4, 5, 6) in relation to the charge of the battery (4, 5, 6) according to the respective charging and discharging phases; Charging and / or energy throughput according to the respective charging and discharging phases; Internal resistances according to the respective transition phases; electrical circuit models according to the respective transition phases and / or the electrical circuit models according to the respective charging and / or discharging phases; and Coulomb and / or energy and / or voltaic efficiencies and / or capacities or changes thereto according to the respective cycles. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that the remote diagnosis is performed as described below: comparing at least one maximum and / or at least one minimum of said derivatives with at least one maximum and / or at least one minimum of derivatives in the reference battery data and / or comparing said derivatives with corresponding statistical upper and lower limit curves associated with the derivatives in the reference battery data; comparing the charge and / or energy throughputs with at least one first statistical boundary condition of the reference battery data; Comparing the internal resistances with at least one second statistical boundary condition of the reference battery data; Adapting parameters of the electrical circuit models to the battery data or the one or more functional profiles, and comparing the parameters of the electrical circuit models with corresponding parameters of an equivalent electrical circuit model of the reference battery data, and / or comparing the parameters of the electrical circuit models with at least one third statistical boundary condition linked to the corresponding parameters of the reference battery data; and / or Comparing the Coulomb and / or energy and / or voltaic efficiencies with at least one fourth statistical boundary condition of the reference battery data and / or capacities or changes thereto, and Comparing the capacities or changes thereto with at least one fifth statistical boundary condition of the reference battery data, wherein the at least one first, second, third, fourth, and fifth boundary condition are independent of each other. Computer program, characterized in that the computer program comprises instructions which, when the computer program is executed by a computer or by a A battery management system (BMS), an arbiter and / or a remote diagnostic unit, the computer, or the BMS, the arbiter and / or the remote diagnostic unit, cause the method or at least one of the steps of the method according to any of the preceding claims. A computer-readable data carrier, characterized in that the computer program according to claim 8 is stored on the computer-readable data carrier.System (1) for the early detection of critical faults of a battery (4, 5, 6) after commissioning and during battery operation of the battery (4, 5, 6), the system (1) comprising: a battery management system, BMS (2) associated with the battery (4, 5, 6) which is configured to provide battery data relating to electrical properties of the battery (4, 5, 6) measured over time during battery operation; and a remote diagnostic unit (3) which is configured to perform remote diagnostics of the battery (4, 5, 6) by comparing the received battery data with reference battery data in phases and / or cycles, wherein a phase is one of: a charging phase, a transition phase and a discharging phase related to battery operation, and wherein a cycle comprises successive phases of the charging phase, the transition phase and the discharging phase.

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