Battery residual value determination system

Abstract

Provided is a battery residual value determination system capable of easily and accurately determining the residual value of a battery. The battery residual value determination system includes: a battery information reception unit that receives information on the voltage, the current, the temperature, and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of a battery; a first residual value determination unit that determines a first residual value indicating the SOH of the battery; an attenuation function determination unit that determines an attenuation function which indicates a time-dependent change of the SOH specific to the battery and is used for correcting the first residual value of the battery; and a second residual value output unit that determines and outputs a second residual value obtained by correcting the first residual value by using the attenuation function according to the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery.

Description

5 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 - 1- DESCRIPTION Title of the Invention BATTERY RESIDUAL VALUE DETERMINATION SYSTEM Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a system that determines the residual value of a battery. Background Art

[0002] Hitherto, there has been known a system adapted to determine the residual value of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle (refer to Patent Literature 1).

[0003] According to the system in Patent Document 1, the residual value of a secondary battery based on battery deterioration parameters can be determined thereby to determine the residual value of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. Citation List Patent Literature

[0004] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-197765 Summary of Invention Technical Problem

[0005] The residual value of a drive battery is an important factor in determining the residual value of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, so that users of a system such as the one in Patent Document 1 have a high need to know the exact residual value of a battery.

[0006] However, although the system in Patent Document 1 is said to determine the residual value of a secondary battery on the basis of degradation parameters, it is not clear how to determine the residual value of a secondary battery on the basis of these degradation parameters.

[0007] Consequently, the system in Patent Document 1 cannot meet the needs of users Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -2- who want to know the exact residual value of a batteiy in order to determine the residual value of an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0008] In view of the problems of the prior art described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery residual value determination system capable of easily and accurately determining the residual value of a battery. Solution to Problem

[0009] A battery residual value determination system in accordance with the present invention includes: a battery information reception unit that receives information on the voltage, the current, the temperature, and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of a batteiy for which a residual value is to be determined and information indicating a service life thereof; a first residual value determination unit that determines a first residual value indicating a current SOH (State of Health) of the batteiy on the basis of the information on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of the battery received by the battery information reception unit; an attenuation function determination unit that uses information on a period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery and information indicating a service life of the battery received from the battery information reception unit, and an attenuation function indicating a time-dependent change of a SOH specific to the battery thereby to determine an attenuation coefficient used for correcting the first residual value ofthe battery; and a second residual value output unit that determines and outputs a second residual value which is obtained by correcting the first residual value by multiplying the first residual value by the attenuation coefficient and which indicates a corrected current SOH of the battery.

[0010] Even if the SOH (State Of Health) value of the battery, which is determined on the basis of the measured values of the voltage, current, and temperature of the battery for which the residual value is to be determined, is the same, the rate of deterioration of the AMENDED SHEET Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-16CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -2abattery significantly varies depending on the length of time that has elapsed from the time the battery was manufactured to the time of measurement, resulting in a significant difference in the residual value of the battery accordingly. Therefore, in order to accurately determine the residual value of a battery, AMENDED SHEET Date Re$ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -3- it is necessary to consider the age of the battery, e.g., the period of time that has elapsed from the time of manufacture thereof Further, the amount of future maintenance cost of a battery is an important factor in determining the residual value of the battery. In addition, if the battery fails after the service life thereof passes, the failure is not covered by manufacturer’s warranty and the maintenance cost will, therefore, be bome by an owner or the like of the battery. For this reason, the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery, for which the residual value is to be determined, and the service life of the battery are important factors for accurately determining the residual value of the battery.

[0011] According to the battery residual value determination system in accordance with the present invention, the information on the voltage, the current, the temperature and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of a battery and the information indicating the service life thereof are received by the battery information reception unit, and the first residual value indicating the current SOH of the battery is determined by the first residual value determination unit on the basis of the information on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of the battery.

[0012] Further, the attenuation function determination unit uses the information on the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of a batteiy and the information indicating the service life of the battery received by the battery information reception unit, and an attenuation function indicating a time-dependent change of the SOH specific to the battery thereby to determine an attenuation coefficient used for correcting the first residual value of the battery. Then, the second residual value output unit determines and outputs a second residual value which is obtained by correcting the first residual value by multiplying the first residual value by an attenuation coefficient and which indicates a corrected current SOH of the battery.

[0013] This makes it possible to easily inform a user of an exact residual value of the battery, taking the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture and the service life of the battery into account.

[0014] Thus, according to the battery residual value determination system in AMENDED SHEET Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-16CA 03133950 2021-09-16 - 3aaccordance with the present invention, the residual value of a battery can be easily and accurately determined.

[0015] In the battery residual value determination system in accordance with the present invention, preferably, 5 the battery information reception unit is configured to receive information on the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture and information indicating a service life of the battery, the attenuation function determination unit is configured to determine an attenuation coefficient by using the information on the period of time from the time of 10 manufacture of the battery and an attenuation function determined on the basis of the information indicating the service life of the battery received by the battery information reception unit, and the second residual value output unit is configured to determine, as the second residual value, a value obtained by multiplying the first residual value by the attenuation AMENDED SHEET Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -4- coefficient.

[0016] The amount of future maintenance cost of a battery is an important factor in determining the residual value of the battery. In addition, if the battery fails after the service life thereof passes, the failure is not covered by manufacturer’s warranty and the maintenance cost will, therefore, be borne by an owner or the like of the battery. For this reason, the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery, for which the residual value is to be determined, and the service life of the battery are important factors for accurately determining the residual value of the battery.

[0017] According to the battery residual value determination system in accordance with the present invention, the battery information reception unit receives the information indicating the period of time from the time of manufacture of a battery, for which the residual value is to be determined, and the information indicating the service life of the battery.

[0018] Then, the attenuation function determination unit determines an attenuation coefficient on the basis of the information on the period of time from the time of manufacture of the battery and the information indicating the service life of the battery received by the battery information reception unit, and the second residual value output unit determines, as a second residual value, a value obtained by multiplying a first residual value by the attenuation coefficient.

[0019] Consequently, when determining the residual value of a battery, the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture and the service life of the battery are taken into account, so that the residual value of the battery can be more accurately determined.

[0020] Thus, the battery residual value determination system in accordance with the present invention makes it possible to easily and more accurately determine the residual value of a battery.

[0021] In the battery residual value determination system in accordance with the present invention, preferably, the attenuation function determination unit is configured to determine the attenuation coefficient by using expression (1) given below as the attenuation function:

[0022] [Expression 1] AMENDED SHEET Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 Date Re^ue / Date Received 2023-09-21 -5- y = 1 t-e (x-b) where “y” denotes the attenuation coefficient of the battery, “a” denotes a constant, “b” denotes a value indicating the service life of the battery, “e” denotes a Napier’s constant, and “x” denotes a value indicating the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery in terms of the number of years.

[0023] The residual value of a battery does not necessarily decrease linearly according to the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture. The residual value slightly decreases immediately after sale, that is, at the time when the battery is out of the new condition thereof, then gradually decreases in a certain initial stage where the battery is still as good as new, and thereafter, rapidly decreases toward the end of the service life when free repair by the manufacturer thereof is no longer available.

[0024] Then, the residual value of the battery continues to rapidly decrease even after the elapse of the service life. On the other hand, however, rare metals and the like contained in the battery can be recycled even if the battery cannot be used as a battery in the end, and therefore, the residual value is not lost. Consequently, the rate of decrease in the residual value of the battery gradually decreases in the final stage of the battery life.

[0025] In other words, it is more realistic to expect a battery to change the residual value thereof along a curve to gradually decrease in the initial stage, then rapidly decrease, but continue to maintain a certain level of residual value in the final stage of the life thereof.

[0026] According to the battery residual value determination system of the present invention, the attenuation function determination unit determines the attenuation coefficient using a sigmoid function equation (1) as described above, and the second residual value output unit determines, as a second residual value, a value obtained by multiplying a first residual value by the attenuation coefficient. For greater clarity, the present invention also provides the following.5 10 15 20 25 Date Re^ue / Date Received 2023-09-21 - 5a - According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a battery residual value determination system comprising: a battery information reception unit that receives first information including values of a voltage, a current, and a temperature of a battery, and that receives second information including values of a period of time elapsed from a time of manufacture of the battery and an indication of a service life of the battery, the first information being used to determine a first residual value indicating a current SOH (State of Health) of the battery and the second information being used to determine a second residual value which is obtained by correcting the first residual value of the battery; a first residual value determination unit that determines the first residual value of the battery based on the first information received by the battery information reception unit by using a SOH calculation model, an approximate equation or an AI (artificial intelligence) to determine the first residual value of the battery; an attenuation function determination unit that determines an attenuation coefficient used for correcting the first residual value of the battery based on the second information received from the battery information reception unit, by using an attenuation function to determine the attenuation coefficient; and a second residual value output unit that determines and outputs a second residual value which is obtained by multiplying the first residual value by the attenuation coefficient and which indicates a corrected current SOH of the battery, wherein the attenuation function determination unit is configured to determine the attenuation coefficient by using expression (1) given below as the attenuation function: [Expression 1] where “y” denotes the attenuation coefficient of the battery, “a” denotes a constant, “b” denotes the service life of the battery, “e” denotes a Napier’s constant, and “x” denotes the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery in terms of the number of years.5 10 15 20 25 Date Reyue / Date Received 2023-09-21 -5bAccording to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a battery residual value determination method carried out by a computer, comprising: a battery information reception step of receiving first information including values of a voltage, a current, and a temperature of a battery, and receiving second information including values of a period of time elapsed from a time of manufacture of the battery and an indication of a service life of the battery, the first information being used to determine a first residual value indicating a current SOH (State of Health) of the battery and the second information being used to determine a second residual value which is obtained by correcting the first residual value of the battery; a first residual value determination step of determining the first residual value of the battery based on the received first information by using a SOH calculation model, an approximate equation or an AI (artificial intelligence) to determine the first residual value of the battery; an attenuation function determination step of determining an attenuation coefficient used for correcting the first residual value of the battery based on the received second information by using an attenuation function to determine the attenuation coefficient; and a second residual value output step of determining and outputting a second residual value which is obtained by multiplying the first residual value by the attenuation coefficient and which indicates a corrected current SOH of the battery, wherein the attenuation function determination step determines the attenuation coefficient by using expression (1) given below as the attenuation function: [Expression 1] where “y” denotes the attenuation coefficient of the battery, “a” denotes a constant, “b” denotes the service life of the battery, “e” denotes a Napier’s constant, and “x” denotes the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery in terms of the number of years.

[0027] Consequently, the aforesaid equation (1) is used as the attenuation function, thus making it possible to easily approximate the curve of change over time in the residual value of the battery that is closer to reality described above.5 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -6-

[0028] As described above, according to the battery residual value determination system in accordance with the present invention, a more realistic battery residual value can be easily determined. Brief Description of Drawings

[0029] FIG. 1is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a battery residual value determination system; FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the details of processing by the battery residual value determination system; FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an example of the content of an output of the battery residual value determination system; and FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating another example of the content of an output of the battery residual value determination system. Description of Embodiments

[0030] With reference to the accompanying drawings, a battery residual value determination system of the present embodiment will be described. The same components may be designated by the same reference numerals and the descriptions thereof may be omitted.

[0031] First, referring to FIG. 1, the configuration of the battery residual value determination system of the present embodiment will be described. The battery residual value determination system of the present embodiment includes a user device 10 and a server 30. The user device 10 and the server 30 are connected with each other by a communication network 50 so as to be mutually communicable, thus constituting a computer network system.

[0032] The user device 10 is, for example, a computer that includes a user device control unit 110, a sensor 130, a user device output unit 150, and a user device input unit 170. The user device 10 may be a dedicated terminal used to determine the residual value of a battery, or may be a general-purpose device such as a personal computer, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal. Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -7-

[0033] The user device control unit 110 is composed mainly of an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and I / O (Input / Output) devices. The user device control unit 110 reads and executes predetermined programs thereby to function as a battery information acquisition unit 111 and a display control unit 113.

[0034] The battery information acquisition unit 111 acquires, through a sensor 130, the information on the voltage, the current, the temperature and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of a battery 710 of a device to be determined 70. Alternatively, the battery information acquisition unit 111 further acquires the information indicating die service life of the battery.

[0035] The display control unit 113 controls the processing for receiving a processing result of the server 30 and displaying the received processing result on a display 151 constituting the user device output unit 150.

[0036] The sensor 130 is a mechanism connected to the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, through, for example, a cable Cbl, wireless communication or the like to acquire the information on the voltage, the current, the temperature and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710 of the device to be determined 70 according to instructions from the battery information acquisition unit 111. Alternatively, the sensor 130 may be configured to further acquire the information on the manufacturer’s name, the type, the serial number and the like of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined.

[0037] The user device output unit 150 is composed of the display 151 that performs output by displaying, for example, the processing results of the display control unit 113, and a printer 153 that performs output by printing the processing results of the display control unit 113.

[0038] The user device input units 170 are, for example, a switch, a button, a touch panel, a keyboard, and a mouse or a microphone, which accept operation inputs to the user device 10 by a user U.

[0039] The server 30 is, for example, a computer that includes a server control unit 310 and a server storage unit 330. The server 30 may be composed of a single computer or Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -8- may be composed of a plurality of computers.

[0040] The server control unit 310is composed mainly of an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory, and I / O (Input / Output) devices. The server control unit 310 reads and executes predetermined programs thereby to function as a battery information reception unit 311, a first residual value determination unit 313, an attenuation function determination unit 315, and a second residual value output unit 317.

[0041] The battery information reception unit 311 receives the information on the voltage, the current, the temperature and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, through the user device 10. Alternatively, the battery information reception unit 311 further receives the information indicating the service life of the battery.

[0042] The first residual value determination unit 313 determines the first residual value, which indicates the SOH (State of Health) of the battery 710, on the basis of the information on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of the battery 710 received by the battery information reception unit 311.

[0043] The attenuation function determination unit 315 determines an attenuation function which indicates a time-dependent change of the SOH specific to the battery 710 and which is used to correct the first residual value of the battery 710.

[0044] The second residual value output unit 317 determines and outputs a second residual value obtained by correcting the first residual value according to the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710 by using the attenuation function.

[0045] The server storage unit 330 is composed of a storage device, such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (RandomAccess Memory), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores the information used for the processing by the server control unit 310, processing results, and other necessary information.

[0046] The communication network 50 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network), or an Internet communication network.

[0047] The device to be determined 70 is any device provided with the battery 710, for Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -9- which the residual value is to be determined, and for example, an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0048] <Outline of processing by the battery residual value determination system* Referring now to FIG. 2, a description will be given of an example of the outline of the processing by the battery residual value determination system.

[0049] Hrst, in response to an operation by the user U, the user device 10 carries out battery information acquisition processing for acquiring the information on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of the battery 710, for which the residual valueis to be determined, and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710, and for transmitting the acquired information to the server 30 (SI10 of FIG. 2).

[0050] Then, the server 30 carries out battery information reception processing for receiving the information on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710, which has been transmitted from the user device 10(S210of FIG. 2).

[0051] Subsequently, the server 30 carries out first residual value determination processing for determining the first residual value indicating the SOH of the battery 710 on the basis of the received information on the voltage, the current and the temperature of the battery 710 (S230 of FIG. 2), carries out attenuation function determination processing for determining the attenuation function indicating the time-dependent change of the SOH specific to the battery 710 that is used to correct the first residual value of the battery 710 (S250 of FIG. 2), and carries out second residual value output processing for determining and outputting a second residual value obtained by correcting the first residual value by using the attenuation function according the information on the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710 (S270 of FIG. 2).

[0052] Thereafter, result transmission processing for transmitting the execution result of the series of processing from S210 to S270 to the user device 10 is carried out (S330 of FIG. 2).

[0053] Then, the user device 10 carries out display control processing for receiving the processing result from the server 30 and displaying the processing result on the display Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -10- 151 constituting the user device output unit 150 (S510 of FIG. 2). This finishes the series of processing by the battery residual value determination system.

[0054] Referring now to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the details of each processing will be described.

[0055] <Battery information acquisition processing> In response to an operation by the user U, the user device 10 is started up, connecting the sensor 130 to the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, and the operation for starting the battery information acquisition processing is performed thereby to start the battery information acquisition processing.

[0056] When the battery information acquisition processing is started, the battery information acquisition unit 111 acquires, through the sensor 130, the information on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710, or further acquires the information on the service life of the battery 710, then transmits the acquired information to the server 30, and terminates the processing.

[0057] <Battery information reception processing> The battery information reception processing is started when the server 30 receives, from the user device 10, the information on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, and the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710. When the battery information reception processing is started, the battery information reception unit 311 stores, as necessary, the information received from the user device 10 in the server storage unit 330, and terminates the processing.

[0058] <First residual value determination processing> The first residual value determination processing is started when the battery information reception processing is terminated in the server 30.

[0059] When the first residual value determination processing is started, the first residual value determination unit 313 determines the first residual value indicating the SOH of the battery 710 on the basis of the information on the voltage, the current, and the temperature of the battery received by the battery information reception unit 311, and Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 - 11- terminates1he processing.

[0060] Various techniques can be used as a method for the first residual value determination unit 313 to determine the first residual value indicating the SOH of the battery 710on the basis of information on voltage, current, and temperature.

[0061] For example, the first residual value determination unit 313 is configured to determine the first residual value by calculating the SOH of the battery 710 by using a SOH calculation model or an approximate equation obtained by analyzing, using a regression analysis method or the like, the correlation between the SOH and the values of the voltage, the current and the temperature of a large number of used batteries which were manufactured and sold during the same period of time by the same manufacturer or equivalents thereto. Alternatively, for example, the first residual value determination unit 313may be configured to determine the SOH of the battery 710 by using anAI that has learned the values of the voltage, the current and the temperature and the SOH of a large number of used batteries.

[0062] <Attenuation function determination processing> The attenuation function determination processing is started in the server 30 upon the completion of the first residual value determination processing.

[0063] When the attenuation function determination processing is started, the attenuation function determination unit 315 determines an attenuation function which indicates the time-dependent change of the SOH specific to the battery 710 and which is used to correct the first residual value of the battery 710. Alternatively, the attenuation function determination unit 315 further determines an attenuation coefficient by using the attenuation function.

[0064] The attenuation function determined by the attenuation function determination unit 315 at this time may be, for example, a linear equation or a multi-order equation that uses information on the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710 as a variable, or a function that uses other additional variables, as long as the function indicates the time-dependent change of the SOH specific to the battery 710, or various methods may be used, such as a model or approximate equation that analyzes the correlation between the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 - 12- battery 710 and the SOH. In the present embodiment, the attenuation function is represented by, for example, a sigmoid function equation given below.

[0065] [Expression 1] y =-— m 1 e where “y” denotes the attenuation coefficient of the battery 710, “a” denotes a constant, “b” denotes a value indicating the service life of the battery 710, “e” denotes a Napier’s constant, and “x” denotes a value indicating the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710 in terms of the number of years.

[0066] The attenuation function determination unit 315 determines the attenuation function according to, for example, the aforesaid expression on the basis of the information on the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery and the information indicating the service life of the battery received by the battery information reception unit, and then determines the attenuation coefficient by using the determined attenuation function.

[0067] More specifically, the attenuation function determination unit 315 acquires the constant “a” stored beforehand in, for example, the server storage unit 330 by referring to the server storage unit 330, and determines the attenuation function by using the acquired constant “a”, the value indicating the service life of the battery 710 included in the information received by the battery information reception unit 311 from the user device 10, and the value obtained by converting the information indicating the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710, which is included in the information received by the battery information reception unit 311 from the user device 10, into the number of years.

[0068] Then, the attenuation function determination unit 315 determines the attenuation coefficient “y” by using the aforesaid expression (1), and terminates the processing.

[0069] Consequently, the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture and the service life of the battery 710 are taken into account when determining the residual value of the battery 710, thus making it possible to determine the residual value of the battery 710 more accurately. Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 Date Regue / Date Received 2022-11-21 - 13 -

[0070] Further, the aforesaid expression (1) is used as the attenuation function, so that it is possible to easily approximate the curve of the time-dependent change in the residual value of the battery that is closer to reality.

[0071] <Second residual value output processing> The second residual value output processing is started in die server 30 upon completion of the attenuation function determination processing.

[0072] When the second residual value output processing is started, the second residual value output unit 317 determines and outputs, as the second residual value of the battery 710, the value obtained by multiplying the first residual value of the battery 710 determined by die first residual value determination processing by the attenuation coefficient “y” determined by the attenuation function determination processing, and terminates the processing.

[0073] Consequently, the user U can easily know an exact residual value of the battery 710 that takes the age of the battery 710 into account.

[0074] Alternatively, the second residual value output unit 317 may be configured to also output information giving a graph that indicates the second residual value of the battery 710.

[0075] <Result transmission processing> The result transmission processing is started in the server 30 upon completion of the second residual value output processing.

[0076] When the result transmission processing is started, a result transmission unit transmits, to the user device 10, the information which is output by the second residual value output processing and which indicates the second residual value of die battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, together with, for example, the information which indicates die first residual value of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, and terminates the processing.

[0077] Alternatively, in the case where the second residual value output unit 317 is configured to also output the information including a graph indicating the second residual value of die battery 710, the information including the graph is transmitted together with the aforesaid information to the user device 10.5 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -14-

[0078] <Display control processing> The display control processing is started when the user device 10 receives the information indicating the second residual value of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, from the server 30.

[0079] When the display control processing is started, the display control unit 113 displays, on the display 151 as illustrated in FIG. 3A, the information including the information indicating the second residual value of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, received from the server 30, and terminates the processing.

[0080] FIG. 3Ais a graph Gral in which the vertical axis represents the first residual value of the battery 710, for which die residual value is to be determined, in units of percentage, and the horizontal axis represents the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710 (hereinafter referred to as the elapsed period of time) expressed in units of year.

[0081] The graph Gral illustrates a case where the constant “a” in the aforesaid expression (1) is 0.4, the value “b” indicating die service life of the battery 710is 10 (years), the length of time the battery 710 has been used at the time of processing is 2 (years), and the first residual value of the battery 710 determined by the first residual value determination processing is 0.9500.

[0082] Further, the graph Gral includes boundary lines Linl, Lin2...Linl9 as the indication of the boundaries of residual value ranks, which are divided into ranks of 100% to 95%, below 95% to 90% and so on in 5% increments according to the second residual value of the battery 710.

[0083] For example, the boundary line Linl indicates the boundary of what percentage of the first residual value must be greater than or equal to in each elapsed period of time in order for a value resulting from the correction of the first residual value of battery 710 to the second residual value to have a residual value rank of 100% to 95%.

[0084] More specifically, if the elapsed period of time is one year, then the first residual value at the boundary of the boundary line Linl is 92.46%. This value is obtained by multiplying “95%” by an attenuation coefficient (0.9734) in the case where the elapsed period of time is one year. Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -15-

[0085] Similarly, the first residual value at the boundary of the boundary line Linl in each case where the elapsed period of time is two years or more is calculated by the server 30, and the boundary line Linl connecting the value in each elapsed period of time is included in the graph Gral.

[0086] The boundary lines Lin2...Linl9, which are die results calculated by die same method are included in the graph Gral as the indication of the boundaries of the residual value ranks.

[0087] Further, the graph Gral includes an indication Vail denoting the first residual value of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined. In die present embodiment, the indication Vali indicates that the elapsed period of time is two years, and the first residual value denoted in units of percentage is 95%.

[0088] Further, the graph Gral includes indications Grpl, Grp2, and Grp3 that denote the boundaries of three groups obtained by grouping the residual value ranks according to the magnitude of the second residual value, the groups each indicating the type of application for which the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, can be used.

[0089] In the present embodiment, the indication Grpl indicates the range included in a first group indicating that a battery can continue to be used for a current application. This rangeincludes the battery 710 with the second residual value of 75% or more.

[0090] Further, the indication Grp2 indicates the range included in a second group indicating that a batteiy cannot be used for a current application but can be used for other applications. This range includes the battery 710 with the second residual value of below 75% to 30% or more.

[0091] Further, the indication Grp3indicates the range included in a third group indicating that a battery cannot be used for a current application and for any other applications. This range includes the battery 710 with the second residual value of below 30%.

[0092] In addition, the graph Gral includes an indication Est indicating the estimated values of the first residual value of the battery 710, for which the residual value is to be determined, at a plurality of points in the future. Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 25 30 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 -16-

[0093] Further, the graph Gral may include an indication Val2 indicating the second residual value of the battery 710 at the time of processing, as illustrated in FIG. 3A.

[0094] In addition, FIG. 3B illustrates the contents of a graph Gra2 in the case where the attenuation function determination unit 315 is configured to determine the attenuation coefficient by using, as the attenuation function, a linear equation (2) given below in place of the aforesaid expression (1).

[0095] y=1-x- (l-d) / c... (2) where “y” denotes the attenuation coefficient of a battery, “c” denotes a value indicating the longest period of time of use of the battery in terms of the number of years, “d” denotes a value indicating the residual rate of the first residual value after the elapse of the longest period of time of use of the battery, and “x” denotes a value indicating the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery. In FIG. 3B, the calculation is performed by setting “c” to 20 (years) and “d” to 30%.

[0096] As described above, according to the present invention, a battery residual value determination system capable of easily and accurately determining the residual value of a battery can be provided.

[0097] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0098] For example, the above has described the configuration provided with the user device 10 and the server 30, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the user device 10 may be provided with all functions of the aforesaid server 30. In this case, the server 30 is omitted.

[0099] Alternatively, for example, the above has described the configuration in which the battery information acquisition unit 111 acquires, through the sensor 130, the information on the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710 of the device to be determined 70; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a configuration may be adopted, in which the battery information acquisition unit 111 acquires, through the sensor 130, information that specifies the time of manufacture of the battery 710, such as the manufacturer’s name, the type, and the Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-165 10 15 20 CA 03133950 2021-09-16 - 17- serial number of the battery 710 and transmits the acquired information to the server 30, and the battery information reception unit 311 of the server 30 refers to a table of correspondence between the information for identifying the time of manufacture of the battery 710 stored in the server storage unit 330in advance and the information indicating the time of manufacture of the battery 710 thereby to acquire the information on the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery 710.

[0100] Further, the above has described the case where the display control unit 113 is configured to display the second residual value of the battery at the time of processing in the graphsin units of percentage; however, the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0101] For example, the display control unit 113 may be configured to display, in a graph, a letter (e.g., a rank Ain the case of 100% to 95%) or a number (e.g., 4 in the case of below 95% to 90% or more on a five-point scale) or other symbols representing ranks corresponding to the second residual values, in addition to or in place of displaying the second residual values in units of percentage. Description of Reference Numerals

[0102] 10...user device; 111...battery information acquisition unit; 113...display control unit; 130...sensor; 150...user device output unit; 30...server; 311...battery information reception unit; 313...first residual value determination unit; 315...attenuation function determination unit; 317...second residual value output unit; and 710...battery. Date Re?ue / Date Received 2021-09-16

Claims

- 18 - What is claimed is:

1. A battery residual value determination system comprising: a battery information reception unit that receives first information including values of a voltage, a current, and a temperature of a battery, and that receives second information including values of a period of time elapsed from a time of manufacture of the battery and an indication of a service life of the battery, the first information being used to determine a first residual value indicating a current SOH (State of Health) of the battery and the second information being used to determine a second residual value which is obtained by correcting the first residual value of the battery; a first residual value determination unit that determines the first residual value of the battery based on the first information received by the battery information reception unit by using a SOH calculation model, an approximate equation or an AI (artificial intelligence) to determine the first residual value of the battery; an attenuation function determination unit that determines an attenuation coefficient used for correcting the first residual value of the battery based on the second information received from the battery information reception unit, by using an attenuation function to determine the attenuation coefficient; and a second residual value output unit that determines and outputs a second residual value which is obtained by multiplying the first residual value by the attenuation coefficient and which indicates a corrected current SOH of the battery, wherein the attenuation function determination unit is configured to determine the attenuation coefficient by using expression (1) given below as the attenuation function: [Expression 1] where “y” denotes the attenuation coefficient of the battery, “a” denotes a constant, “b” denotes the service life of the battery, “e” denotes a Napier's constant, and “x” denotes the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery in terms of the number of years.

2. A battery residual value determination method carried out by a computer, comprising: CA 3133950 Date reçue / Received date 2024-08-19 1 a ( x- b ) 1 -b e (1)- 19 - a battery information reception step of receiving first information including values of a voltage, a current, and a temperature of a battery, and receiving second information including values of a period of time elapsed from a time of manufacture of the battery and an indication of a service life of the battery, the first information being used to determine a first residual value indicating a current SOH (State of Health) of the battery and the second information being used to determine a second residual value which is obtained by correcting the first residual value of the battery; a first residual value determination step of determining the first residual value of the battery based on the received first information by using a SOH calculation model, an approximate equation or an AI (artificial intelligence) to determine the first residual value of the battery; an attenuation function determination step of determining an attenuation coefficient used for correcting the first residual value of the battery based on the received second information by using an attenuation function to determine the attenuation coefficient; and a second residual value output step of determining and outputting a second residual value which is obtained by multiplying the first residual value by the attenuation coefficient and which indicates a corrected current SOH of the battery, wherein the attenuation function determination step determines the attenuation coefficient by using expression (1) given below as the attenuation function: [Expression 1] where “y” denotes the attenuation coefficient of the battery, “a” denotes a constant, “b” denotes the service life of the battery, “e” denotes a Napier's constant, and “x” denotes the period of time elapsed from the time of manufacture of the battery in terms of the number of years. CA 3133950 Date reçue / Received date 2024-08-19 y i a ( x- b ) 1 -b e (1)