Battery management device and method

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a battery management device includes: a battery information measuring unit, which is configured to be connected to a battery and measure the voltage of the battery; and a control unit, which is configured to receive location information about the location where the battery is stored from the outside, receive battery information including the voltage of the battery from the battery information measuring unit, determine a target location for storing the battery based on the received location information, obtain environmental information of the determined target location, set reference status information of at least one reference battery cell stored around the determined target location, and determine the status of the battery based on at least one of the received battery information, the obtained environmental information, and the set reference status message.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0130303 filed in Korea on October 8, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a battery management device and method, and more particularly, to a battery management device and method for judging a battery state in consideration of environmental information of a storage location of a battery and information of surrounding batteries. Background Art

[0003] Recently, the demand for portable electronic products such as notebook computers, cameras, and portable phones has increased dramatically, and electric vehicles, energy storage batteries, robots, satellites, etc. have been developed in earnest. Therefore, high-performance batteries that allow repeated charging and discharging are being actively studied.

[0004] Currently available batteries include nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, lithium batteries, etc. Among them, lithium batteries have attracted much attention because they have almost no memory effect compared to nickel batteries and also have extremely low self-discharge rate and high energy density.

[0005] These batteries have different characteristics when they are produced, and the degradation rate differs depending on the environment, so it is necessary to consider the environmental information of the battery to judge the state of the battery.

[0006] Conventionally, during the manufacturing and distribution of batteries, the performance of batteries stored for extended periods can deteriorate due to various factors, such as environmental factors (such as temperature and humidity) and self-discharge, but tracking and monitoring of these degradations is limited. Therefore, it is necessary to develop technology that can accurately determine the battery's status by taking into account environmental information about the location where the battery is stored or loaded. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Technical issues

[0008] The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and thus the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery management device and method for determining a battery status by considering environmental information of a storage location of the battery and information of surrounding batteries.

[0009] These and other purposes and advantages of the present disclosure can be understood from the following detailed description and more completely apparent from the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.In addition, it will be easily understood that the purposes and advantages of the present disclosure can be achieved by the means shown in the appended claims and their combinations.

[0010] Technical Solution

[0011] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a battery management device may include: a battery information measuring unit, which is connected to a battery and configured to measure the voltage of the battery; and a control unit, which is configured to receive location information related to the location where the battery is stored from the outside, receive battery information including the voltage of the battery from the battery information measuring unit, determine a target location for storing the battery based on the received location information, obtain environmental information of the determined target location, set reference status information of at least one reference battery cell stored around the determined target location, and judge the status of the battery based on at least one of the received battery information, the obtained environmental information and the set reference status information.

[0012] The control unit may be configured to change a voltage measurement cycle of the battery by the battery information measuring unit according to the determined state of the battery.

[0013] The control unit may be configured to receive storage period information of a storage period of the battery from the outside, and pre-set the voltage measurement cycle based on the storage period information and the judged state of the battery, so that the battery information measuring unit measures the voltage of the battery a predetermined number of times during the storage period.

[0014] The control unit may be configured to determine the state of the battery as a normal state or an abnormal state, and shorten a voltage measurement period of the battery information measurement unit for the battery determined to be in the abnormal state.

[0015] A battery management device according to another aspect of the present disclosure may further include an alarm unit configured to receive the determined battery status from the control unit and emit light when the determined battery status is abnormal.

[0016] The control unit can be configured to set a first status curve (profile) for the predicted state of the battery based on the received battery information and the obtained environmental information, set a second status curve for the predicted state of the battery based on the set first status curve and the set reference status information, and judge the state of the battery based on the set second status curve.

[0017] The control unit may be configured to set the second state curve by correcting the set first state curve according to the reference state information.

[0018] The control unit may be configured to set the second state curve at a first time point, and determine the state of the battery by comparing battery information received at a second time point later than the first time point with a predicted state of the second state curve corresponding to the second time point.

[0019] The control unit may be configured to compare the set second status curve with a standard curve, and determine the status of the battery according to a comparison result.

[0020] The control unit may be configured to determine the target location based on the received location information, determine at least one battery cell stored at the target location as the reference battery cell, and set reference state information corresponding to the determined reference battery cell.

[0021] A plurality of the reference cells may be provided.

[0022] The control unit can be configured to obtain multiple reference information corresponding to the multiple reference battery cells respectively, set the reference state information for the target position based on the obtained multiple reference information, and set the second state curve according to the set first state curve and the set reference state information.

[0023] The position information may be information on a target section in which the battery is stored among a plurality of sections divided so as to store the battery therein.

[0024] A battery management device according to another aspect of the present disclosure may further include: an environmental information measuring unit configured to measure environmental information including at least one of temperature, humidity and air quality of the target location, and send the measured environmental information to the control unit.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a battery management method may include the following steps: a battery information measuring step, wherein the battery information measuring step measures the voltage of the battery; a target position determining step, wherein the target position determining step determines the target position for storing the battery based on position information related to the position where the battery is stored, wherein the position information is received from the outside; an environmental information acquiring step, wherein the environmental information acquiring step acquires environmental information of the determined target position; a reference status information setting step, wherein the reference status information setting step sets reference status information of at least one reference battery cell stored around the determined target position; and a battery status judging step, wherein the battery status judging step judges the status of the battery based on at least one of the battery information including the voltage of the battery measured in the battery information measuring step, the environmental information obtained in the environmental information acquiring step, and the reference status information set in the reference status information setting step.

[0026] A battery management method according to another aspect of the present disclosure may further include a voltage measurement period changing step of changing a voltage measurement period of the battery according to the state of the battery determined in the battery state determining step.

[0027] Beneficial effects

[0028] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the battery management device has the advantage of more accurately judging the battery status by considering not only battery information but also environmental information about a target location where the battery is stored and reference status information of reference cells stored at the target location.

[0029] The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and those skilled in the art can clearly understand other effects that are not mentioned through the description of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the above disclosure, are used to provide a further understanding of the technical features of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] Figure 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a storage space in which batteries can be stored in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a first state curve set by a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of reference state information set by a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a second state curve set by a battery management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of determining a battery state by a battery management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating a battery status management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] It should be understood that the terms used in the specification and the appended claims should not be interpreted as limited to the general meaning and dictionary meaning, but should be interpreted based on the meaning and concepts corresponding to the technical aspects of the present disclosure on the basis of the principle that allows the inventor to define terms suitable for the best description.

[0039] Therefore, the descriptions presented herein are merely preferred examples for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, so it should be understood that other equivalents and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0040] Additionally, in describing the present disclosure, when a detailed description of related known elements or functions is deemed to obscure the key subject matter of the present disclosure, the detailed description is omitted herein.

[0041] Terms including ordinal numbers such as “first,” “second,” etc. may be used to distinguish one element from another among various elements, but are not intended to limit the elements by the terms.

[0042] Throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as “including” or “comprising” any elements, it means that the part may further include other elements, and does not exclude other elements, unless specifically stated otherwise.

[0043] In addition, the term "control unit" described in the specification refers to a unit that processes at least one function or operation and can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0044] In addition, throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as being “connected” to another part, it is not limited to the case where they are “directly connected” but also includes the case where they are “indirectly connected” with another element interposed therebetween.

[0045] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0046] Figure 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a battery management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] Reference Figure 1 , the battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a battery information measuring unit 110 and a control unit 120 .

[0048] The battery information measuring unit 110 may be connected to a battery and configured to measure a voltage of the battery.

[0049] Here, a battery can refer to a physically separate, independent cell that includes a negative terminal and a positive terminal. For example, a pouch-type lithium polymer cell can be considered a battery cell. Additionally, a battery can refer to a battery module consisting of two or more cells connected in series and / or parallel. However, hereinafter, for ease of explanation, a battery will be described as referring to a single cell.

[0050] Preferably, the battery information measuring unit 110 can be connected to one battery respectively. In addition, the battery information measuring unit 110 can measure the voltage of the connected battery.

[0051] In addition, specifically, the battery information measurement unit 110 can estimate the SOC and / or SOH of the battery based on the measured voltage of the battery. It should be noted that the battery information measurement unit 110 can also measure or estimate various battery information that can be used to determine the battery status, such as current, internal resistance, temperature, and expansion pressure.

[0052] The control unit 120 may be configured to receive location information regarding the battery storage location from the outside.

[0053] For example, the control unit 120 may receive location information regarding the battery storage location from the user terminal.

[0054] Specifically, the user terminal may be configured to include an input unit. In addition, the user terminal may receive information about the battery storage location through the input unit. In addition, the user terminal may set the location information of the battery storage location based on the received information.

[0055] For example, the user terminal may be applied to various devices having an input unit such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), and a tablet PC.

[0056] In addition, the user terminal may be configured to output the set location information to the control unit 120. For this purpose, the user terminal may be configured to be capable of wired communication and / or wireless communication. That is, the user terminal may output the set location information to the control unit 120, and the control unit 120 may receive the location information output from the user terminal.

[0057] The control unit 120 may be configured to receive battery information including a battery voltage from the battery information measuring unit 110 .

[0058] Preferably, the battery information measuring unit 110 and the control unit 120 may be connected to communicate with each other. The battery information measuring unit 110 may transmit battery information including the measured voltage of the battery to the control unit 120, and the control unit 120 may receive the battery information from the battery information measuring unit 110.

[0059] The control unit 120 may be configured to determine a target location for storing the battery based on the received location information.

[0060] Will refer to Figure 2 The target position of the battery determined by the control unit 120 is described in detail.

[0061] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a storage space 200 in which batteries can be stored in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0062] exist Figure 2 In an embodiment, batteries may be stored in storage space 200. Storage space 200 may be a space such as a warehouse, a container, or a trailer where batteries may be stored or loaded. For example, storage space 200 may be divided into section A, section B, section C, section D, section E, and section F. In other words, batteries may be stored in any of sections A, B, C, D, E, and F.

[0063] Preferably, the user terminal may be configured to set a target portion in which batteries are stored among the divided plurality of portions as the location information.

[0064] For example, assume that the battery is stored in section A. In this case, section A may be the target section. The user terminal may set the location information of section A where the battery is stored, and transmit the set location information to the control unit 120. The control unit 120 may receive the location information from the user terminal and determine the target location of the battery as section A based on the received location information.

[0065] The control unit 120 may be configured to obtain environmental information of the determined target location.

[0066] Reference Figure 1 The battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include an environment information measuring unit 130 .

[0067] The environmental information measuring unit 130 may be configured to measure environmental information including at least one of the temperature, humidity, and air quality of the target location. Here, the air quality may refer to the concentration of pollutants in the air of the target location. For example, the pollutants may include sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM 10 、PM 2.5 )wait.

[0068] In addition, the environment information measuring unit 130 may be configured to transmit the measured environment information to the control unit 120 .

[0069] Specifically, the environmental information measuring unit 130 may receive the target location for storing the battery from the control unit 120. The environmental information measuring unit 130 may measure environmental information including at least one of the temperature, humidity, and air quality of the target location. In addition, the environmental information measuring unit 130 may transmit the measured environmental information to the control unit 120.

[0070] For example, as in the previous embodiment, it is assumed that the battery is stored in section A. The environmental information measuring unit 130 may receive information about section A, which is the target location, from the control unit 120. In addition, the environmental information measuring unit 130 may measure environmental information including at least one of the temperature, humidity, and air quality of section A. In addition, the environmental information measuring unit 130 may transmit the measured environmental information to the control unit 120.

[0071] The control unit 120 may be configured to set reference state information Pref of at least one reference battery cell stored around the determined target location.

[0072] Here, the reference state information Pref of the reference cell may be a curve indicating degradation of the reference cell. Specifically, the reference state information Pref may be a curve indicating correspondence between at least one of the voltage, SOC, and SOH of the reference cell and the storage time of the reference cell. Figure 4 Describes the specific details of the reference state information Pref.

[0073] For example, at least one battery cell may be pre-stored in storage space 200. Furthermore, control unit 120 may be configured to pre-acquire the storage location of the at least one battery cell pre-stored in storage space 200 and status information of each battery cell. Therefore, control unit 120 may select at least one reference battery cell pre-stored around the determined target battery location from among the at least one battery cell pre-stored in storage space 200. Furthermore, control unit 120 may set reference status information Pref for the selected reference battery cell.

[0074] For example, as in the previous embodiment, assume that the battery is stored in section A. The control unit 120 may select at least one reference cell stored in section A from among the at least one cell pre-stored in the storage space 200. Furthermore, the control unit 120 may set reference state information Pref for each of the selected at least one reference cell. Preferably, the control unit 120 may select all cells stored in section A from among the at least one cell pre-stored in the storage space 200 as reference cells.

[0075] The control unit 120 may be configured to determine the state of the battery based on at least one of the received battery information, the obtained environment information, and the set reference state information Pref.

[0076] Here, since the reference cell is a cell pre-stored at the target location, the reference state information Pref of the reference cell will be affected by the environment at the target location. For example, when the temperature at the target location exceeds the upper limit of the required temperature range of the battery, the reference cell may already be in a degraded state. In addition, the reference state information Pref of the reference cell may correspond to a degradation curve (e.g., a voltage curve) of a cell degraded by high temperature. Here, the voltage curve may be a curve representing the change in voltage over time.

[0077] Therefore, the control unit 120 can more accurately determine the battery status by considering not only the battery information received from the battery information measuring unit 110 but also environmental information about the target location where the battery is stored and reference status information Pref of the reference cell stored at the target location.

[0078] That is, the battery management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can more accurately determine the state of the battery by considering not only battery information but also environmental information about the target location where the battery is stored and reference state information Pref of reference cells stored at the target location.

[0079] In addition, the control unit 120 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may selectively include a processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits, registers, communication modems, data processing devices, etc. known in the art to execute the various control logics executed in the present disclosure. In addition, when the control logic is implemented with software, the control unit 120 can be implemented as a collection of program units. In this case, the program unit can be stored in a memory and executed by the control unit 120. The memory can be located inside or outside the control unit 120 and can be connected to the control unit 120 by various well-known devices.

[0080] In addition, further reference Figure 1 The battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a storage unit 140. The storage unit 140 may store data necessary for the operation and function of each component of the battery management device 100, data generated during the execution of an operation or function, and the like. The type of storage unit 140 is not particularly limited as long as it is a known information storage device that can record, erase, update, and read data. As examples, the information storage device may include RAM, flash memory, ROM, EEPROM, registers, and the like. In addition, the storage unit 140 may store program code that defines the processing that can be executed by the control unit 120.

[0081] For example, the battery voltage measured by the battery information measuring unit 110 may be stored in the storage unit 140. That is, the voltage information about the battery may be accumulated and stored in the storage unit 140. Therefore, in the process of performing various analyses on a battery determined to be in an abnormal state, the voltage information of the battery accumulated in the storage unit 140 may be used.

[0082] The control unit 120 may be configured to change a battery voltage measurement cycle performed by the battery information measuring unit 110 according to the determined battery status.

[0083] For example, the control unit 120 may be configured to determine the battery status as a normal state or an abnormal state.

[0084] Here, the normal state means a state in which the battery stored at the target location deteriorates according to a general degradation rate. Conversely, the abnormal state means a state in which the battery stored at the target location deteriorates faster than a general degradation rate.

[0085] If the control unit 120 determines that the battery state is in an abnormal state, the control unit 120 may be configured to shorten a voltage measurement period of the battery determined to be in an abnormal state by the battery information measuring unit 110 .

[0086] Specifically, the control unit 120 may shorten the voltage measurement cycle of the battery information measurement unit 110 so that the battery voltage is measured in a shorter cycle. That is, the control unit 120 may control the voltage information of the battery in an abnormal state by shortening the voltage measurement cycle of the battery information measurement unit 110 so that the voltage of the battery determined to be in an abnormal state is measured in a shorter cycle. Preferably, the voltage information may be data for analyzing the degree of deterioration of the battery in an abnormal state from various aspects.

[0087] That is, the control unit 120 may shorten the voltage measurement period of the battery from the point in time when the battery state is determined to be in an abnormal state, thereby accumulatively obtaining more voltage information about the battery.

[0088] An advantage of the battery management device 100 is that more voltage information about the battery is obtained by changing the voltage measurement period of the corresponding battery determined to be in an abnormal state.

[0089] In addition, further reference Figure 1 The battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include an alarm unit 150 .

[0090] The alarm unit 150 may be configured to receive the determined battery status from the control unit 120 and emit light when the determined battery status is an abnormal state.

[0091] For example, the alarm unit 150 may be a light emitting diode (LED) module capable of communicating with the control unit 120. That is, when the alarm unit 150 receives information from the control unit 120 that the battery status is abnormal, the alarm unit 150 may emit light to inform the external battery that the battery is in an abnormal state.

[0092] Preferably, Figure 2 In the embodiment, the alarm unit 150 may be provided for each part. Therefore, in the corresponding part, the alarm unit 150 may effectively inform the external device that the battery is in an abnormal state.

[0093] For example, assume that the battery is stored in section A as in the previous embodiment, and the battery state is determined to be abnormal by the control unit 120. The control unit 120 may transmit information that the battery state is abnormal to the alarm unit 150 corresponding to section A. Upon receiving the information that the battery state is abnormal, the alarm unit 150 may emit light to inform the outside world that the battery in an abnormal state is stored in section A.

[0094] The advantage of the battery management device 100 is that it can effectively notify the outside world of the presence of a battery in an abnormal state through an alarm.

[0095] In the following, reference Figures 3 to 6, the contents of the battery status judgment by the control unit 120 will be described in detail.

[0096] Figure 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a first state curve P1 set by the battery management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of reference state information Pref set by the battery managing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a second state curve P2 set by the battery management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0097] Here, the first state curve P1, the second state curve P2, and the reference state information Pref may be curves indicating the correspondence between at least one of the voltage value, SOC, and SOH of the reference cell and the storage time of the reference cell. However, for ease of explanation, the first state curve P1 and the second state curve P2 will be described as voltage curves indicating the predicted voltage of the battery according to the storage time. Furthermore, the reference state information Pref will be described as a voltage curve indicating the voltage change of the reference cell according to the storage time.

[0098] The control unit 120 may be configured to set a first state curve P1 for a predicted state of the battery based on the received battery information and the obtained environment information.

[0099] Preferably, the control unit 120 may include an algorithm capable of setting a state curve of the battery based on the received battery information and the received environmental information.

[0100] For example, a machine learning algorithm may be applied to the control unit 120. Furthermore, upon receiving battery information and environmental information, the control unit 120 may set a battery state curve based on the input battery information and environmental information. More specifically, upon inputting battery information and environmental information to the control unit 120, a learning model may be pre-set to set the battery state curve.

[0101] For example, in Figure 3 In an embodiment, the control unit 120 may set the first state curve P1 of the battery based on the battery information received from the battery information measuring unit 110 and the environmental information received from the environmental information measuring unit 130 .

[0102] The control unit 120 may be configured to set a second state curve P2 for the predicted state of the battery based on the set first state curve P1 and the set reference state information Pref.

[0103] As described above, the reference state information Pref may be a voltage curve of the reference cell that reflects the environmental information of the target location. That is, the reference state information Pref may be an actual voltage curve of the reference cell that directly reflects the environmental information of the target location.

[0104] Therefore, the control unit 120 may be configured to set the second state curve P2 by correcting the set first state curve P1 according to the reference state information Pref. That is, the control unit 120 may set the second state curve P2 by fitting the first state curve P1 according to the reference state information Pref.

[0105] For example, in Figure 3 and Figure 4 In an embodiment, the control unit 120 may calculate the average value between the voltage value Va at the first time point t1 of the first state curve P1 and the voltage value Vb at the first time point t1 of the reference state information Pref. The average value of the voltage values ​​calculated for the first time point t1 may be the voltage value Vc of the second state curve P2. In this manner, the control unit 120 may set the second state curve P2 by calculating the average value between each voltage value of the first state curve P1 and each voltage value of the reference state information Pref.

[0106] In the above, the following embodiment is described: the control unit 120 sets the second state curve P2 to the average value between the voltage value of each time of the first state curve P1 and the voltage value of each time of the reference state information Pref. However, the method by which the control unit 120 sets the second state curve P2 based on the first state curve P1 and the reference state information Pref is not limited to the method using the average value of the voltage value, and it should be noted that various methods using the median theorem, mean square error, or mean absolute error for each voltage value can be applied.

[0107] The control unit 120 may be configured to determine the state of the battery based on the set second state curve P2.

[0108] Specifically, the control unit 120 can be configured to set a second state curve P2 at a first time point t1, and judge the state of the battery by comparing the battery information received at a second time point t2 later than the first time point t1 with the predicted state of the second state curve P2 corresponding to the second time point t2.

[0109] For example, the control unit 120 may set a second state curve P2 for a predicted state of the battery at a first time point t1 based on the received at least one piece of battery information, the received at least one piece of environmental information, and the received at least one piece of reference state information Pref. Furthermore, the control unit 120 may determine the state of the battery based on a comparison result between the battery information received at a second time point t2 and the predicted state at the second time point t2 based on the second state curve P2.

[0110] Figure 6 FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of determining a battery state by the battery management apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0111] Specifically, Figure 6 This is an implementation method of determining the battery state based on battery state information measured at a second time point t2 after setting the second state curve P2 at a first time point t1.

[0112] First, in Figure 6 In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , it is assumed that the battery voltage value obtained by the battery information measurement unit 110 at the second time point t2 is a first voltage value V1, and the battery voltage value predicted by the second state curve P2 is a second voltage value V2. In this case, since the first voltage value V1, which is the actually measured voltage value, is greater than the second voltage value V2, which is the voltage value predicted by the second state curve P2, the control unit 120 can determine that the battery state is normal.

[0113] On the contrary, Figure 6 In the embodiment of FIG. 2 , it is assumed that the battery voltage value obtained by the battery information measurement unit 110 at the second time point t2 is the third voltage value V3, and the battery voltage value predicted by the second state curve P2 is the second voltage value V2. In this case, because the third voltage value V3, which is the actually measured voltage value, is lower than the second voltage value V2, which is the voltage value predicted based on the second state curve P2, the control unit 120 may determine that the battery state is abnormal.

[0114] Thereafter, the control unit 120 may reset the first state curve P1 of the predicted state of the battery at the second time point t2 based on the at least one piece of battery information and the at least one piece of environmental information received up to the second time point t2. Furthermore, the control unit 120 may reset the second state curve P2 at the second time point t2 based on the reset first state curve P1 and the reference state information Pref. Furthermore, by using the reset second state curve P2, the state of the battery may be determined based on the battery information received at a third time point later than the second time point t2.

[0115] The battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can determine the battery status based on battery information, environmental information, and reference status information Pref, and update the second status curve P2. Specifically, because the second status curve P2 used for determining the battery status can be continuously updated based on the latest battery information, the accuracy of the battery management device 100 in determining the battery status can be continuously improved.

[0116] As another implementation of determining the battery status, the control unit 120 may be configured to compare the set second status curve P2 with a standard curve, and determine the battery status according to the comparison result.

[0117] Here, the standard curve may be a degradation curve (e.g., a voltage curve) of a standard battery cell of the same type as the battery. That is, the standard battery cell is different from the reference battery cell stored at the target location in storage space 200 and may be a battery cell prepared to obtain a standard curve for the battery. Therefore, the standard curve may not reflect environmental information at the target location.

[0118] For example, the control unit 120 can determine the battery status based on the result of comparing the voltage value of the second state curve P2 with the voltage value of the standard curve. At any point in time, if the predicted voltage value according to the second state curve P2 is less than the standard voltage value according to the standard curve, the control unit 120 can determine that the battery status at that point in time is abnormal. Conversely, if the predicted voltage value according to the second state curve P2 is equal to or greater than the standard voltage value according to the standard curve, the control unit 120 can determine that the battery status at that point in time is normal.

[0119] As another example, the control unit 120 may compare the matching ratio between the set second state curve P2 and the standard curve, and determine the battery state based on whether the matching ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio. Specifically, if the predicted battery voltage according to the second state curve P2 drops faster than the voltage of the standard battery cell according to the standard curve, the control unit 120 may determine that the battery state is abnormal.

[0120] The control unit 120 may be configured to determine a target location based on the received location information and determine at least one battery cell stored at the target location as a reference battery cell. In addition, the control unit 120 may be configured to set reference state information Pref corresponding to the determined reference battery cell.

[0121] Specifically, the control unit 120 may determine the location of the battery stored in the storage space 200 as the target location. In addition, the control unit 120 may determine at least one battery cell stored in the target location as a reference battery cell.

[0122] That is, the control unit 120 can select a reference cell stored adjacent to a battery in the storage space 200 and determine the battery status based on the reference status information Pref of the selected reference cell. Therefore, when determining the battery status, environmental interference at locations other than the target location can be reduced, thereby improving the accuracy of battery status determination by the battery management device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0123] Specifically, the plurality of reference cells may be stored in a target location. For example, when the target location for storing the battery is section A, the plurality of reference cells may be stored in section A in advance.

[0124] The control unit 120 may be configured to obtain a plurality of reference information corresponding to the plurality of reference cells, respectively. Here, the reference information may be a degradation curve of each reference cell.

[0125] The storage unit 140 may be configured to store reference information of each of the at least one battery cell stored in the storage space 200. In addition, the storage unit 140 and the control unit 120 may be connected to communicate with each other.

[0126] The control unit 120 may access the storage unit 140 to obtain reference information of each of the plurality of reference battery cells stored at the target location.

[0127] In addition, the control unit 120 may be configured to set reference state information Pref for the target location based on the obtained plurality of reference information.

[0128] Specifically, the control unit 120 may collect a plurality of obtained reference information to set a piece of reference state information Pref for the target location.

[0129] For example, assuming that five reference cells are pre-stored at a target location, the control unit 120 may access the storage unit 140 to obtain five pieces of reference information for the five reference cells stored at the target location. Furthermore, the control unit 120 may set a reference state information Pref for the target location based on the five pieces of reference information obtained.

[0130] As another example, assuming that a reference cell is pre-stored at the target location, the control unit 120 can access the storage unit 140 to obtain reference information of the reference cell stored at the target location. In addition, the control unit 120 can set a reference state information Pref for the target location based on the obtained reference information.

[0131] The control unit 120 may set one reference state information Pref based on a plurality of reference information using various methods such as the mean value theorem, the median value theorem, the mean square error, or the mean absolute error without limitation.

[0132] In addition, the control unit 120 may be configured to set the second state curve P2 according to the set first state curve P1 and the set reference state information Pref.

[0133] That is, the second state curve P2 set by the control unit 120 may be a curve set in consideration of not only the battery information and environmental information of the target location but also reference information of a plurality of reference cells stored at the target location.

[0134] Therefore, since the second state curve P2 is a curve set in consideration of the impact of the environment of the target location on the multiple reference cells stored at the target location, the accuracy and reliability of determining the battery state based on the second state curve P2 can be improved.

[0135] The user terminal may be configured to further set specification information of the battery.

[0136] For example, the specification information may be configured to include at least one of the battery type, manufacturer, active material composition, and manufacturing time. However, the battery specification information that can be set by the user terminal is not limited to this embodiment, but more information related to battery specifications, such as the maximum capacity of the battery, may be set.

[0137] The control unit 120 may be configured to receive specification information from the user terminal and determine a battery cell having the same specification as the received specification information among at least one battery cell stored at the target location as a reference battery cell.

[0138] Specifically, the control unit 120 may select at least one battery cell stored in the target location from among the at least one battery cell pre-stored in the storage space 200. Furthermore, the control unit 120 may check the specification information of the at least one selected battery cell and determine at least one battery cell having the same specification information as the battery as a reference battery cell. The specification information of the at least one battery cell pre-stored in the storage space 200 may be pre-stored in the storage unit 140.

[0139] That is, when determining the battery status, the control unit 120 can more specifically consider the impact of the target location's environment on reference cells with the same specifications as the battery. Therefore, since the second state curve P2 can be set to reflect the battery's specifications, the accuracy of determining the battery status based on the second state curve P2 can be improved.

[0140] The control unit 120 may be configured to receive storage period information related to the storage period of the battery from the outside.

[0141] That is, the user terminal may be configured to further set a storage period of the battery. In addition, the control unit 120 may receive storage period information related to the storage period of the battery from the user terminal.

[0142] The control unit 120 may be configured to previously set a voltage measurement cycle based on the storage period information and the judged battery state, so that the battery information measurement unit 110 may measure the voltage of the battery a predetermined number of times during the storage period.

[0143] For example, to reduce unnecessary power consumption, the battery information measurement unit 110 may not be configured to remain awake at all times. Instead, the battery information measurement unit 110 may be configured to operate to obtain battery information during each set awake period (e.g., a voltage measurement period). In other words, the awake period of the battery information measurement unit 110 may be set based on the battery's storage period.

[0144] For example, the battery information measurement unit 110 may be configured to measure battery information at least 100 times, so that the battery status can be determined at more different time points. In addition, the battery storage period set by the user terminal may be 100 hours. In this case, the control unit 120 may set the wake-up period of the battery information measurement unit 110 to 1 hour or less, so that the battery information measurement unit 110 can obtain battery information 100 times or more.

[0145] Therefore, since the battery information measuring unit 110 operates according to the wake-up cycle set in accordance with the storage period of the battery, there are advantages in reducing unnecessary power consumption and ensuring sufficient battery information to judge the battery status.

[0146] Figure 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating a battery management method according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0147] Here, each step of the battery management method may be performed by the battery management apparatus 100. Hereinafter, for the convenience of description, contents repeated with the previously described contents will be briefly described or omitted.

[0148] Reference Figure 7 The battery management method may include a battery information measuring step (S100), a target position determining step (S200), an environmental information obtaining step (S300), a reference state information Pref setting step (S400), a battery state judging step (S500) and a voltage measurement cycle changing step (S600).

[0149] The battery information measuring step ( S100 ) is a step of measuring a battery voltage and may be performed by the battery information measuring unit 110 .

[0150] For example, the battery information measuring unit 110 may measure the voltage of a connected battery.

[0151] The target location determining step ( S200 ) is a step of determining a target location where the battery is stored based on location information regarding a location where the battery is stored received from the outside, and may be performed by the control unit 120 .

[0152] For example, the control unit 120 may receive location information related to the location where the battery is stored from the user terminal. In addition, the control unit 120 may determine the target location based on the received location information.

[0153] exist Figure 2 In the embodiment, it is assumed that the battery is stored in section A of the storage space 200. The control unit 120 may receive location information related to section A where the battery is stored from the user terminal. In addition, the control unit 120 may determine section A where the battery is stored as the target location.

[0154] The environmental information obtaining step ( S300 ) is a step of obtaining environmental information of the determined target location and may be performed by the control unit 120 .

[0155] Specifically, the environment information of the target location may be measured by the environment information measuring unit 130. In addition, the control unit 120 may receive the environment information of the target location from the environment information measuring unit 130.

[0156] The reference state information Pref setting step ( S400 ) is a step of setting reference state information Pref of at least one reference cell stored around the determined target position, and may be performed by the control unit 120 .

[0157] For example, when a plurality of reference cells are set at the target position, the control unit 120 may obtain reference information of each of the plurality of reference cells and collect the obtained plurality of reference information to set one reference state information Pref for the target position.

[0158] The battery status judgment step (S500) is a step of judging the battery status based on at least one of the battery information including the battery voltage measured in the battery information measuring step (S100), the environmental information obtained in the environmental information obtaining step (S300), and the reference status information Pref set in the reference status information Pref setting step (S400), and can be performed by the control unit 120.

[0159] For example, the control unit 120 may set a first state curve P1 based on the battery information and the environmental information. Furthermore, the control unit 120 may set a second state curve P2 by correcting the first state curve P1 according to the reference state information Pref. Furthermore, the control unit 120 may determine the state of the battery by comparing the battery voltage predicted based on the second state curve P2 with the actually measured battery voltage.

[0160] The voltage measurement cycle changing step ( S600 ) is a step of changing the voltage measurement cycle of the battery according to the battery state determined in the battery state determining step ( S500 ), and may be performed by the control unit 120 .

[0161] For example, when the battery state is determined to be an abnormal state, the control unit 120 may shorten the voltage measurement cycle of the battery measured by the battery information measurement unit 110. That is, when the battery is in an abnormal state, the voltage is measured more frequently, and the measured voltage information may be cumulatively stored in the storage unit 140.

[0162] The embodiments of the present disclosure described above can be implemented not only by devices and methods, but also by programs that implement functions corresponding to the configurations of the embodiments of the present disclosure or recording media on which the programs are recorded. Based on the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can easily implement the programs or recording media.

[0163] The present disclosure has been described in detail. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

[0164] In addition, those skilled in the art may make many substitutions, modifications and changes to the disclosure described above without departing from the technical aspects of the disclosure, and the disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and drawings, and the various embodiments may be selectively combined in part or in whole to allow various modifications.

[0165] (Reference symbol)

[0166] 100: Battery management equipment

[0167] 110: Battery information measurement unit

[0168] 120: Control unit

[0169] 130: Environmental information measurement unit

[0170] 140: Storage unit

[0171] 150: Alarm unit

[0172] 200: Storage space

Claims

1. A battery management device, comprising: a battery information measuring unit connected to a battery and configured to measure a voltage of the battery; as well as a control unit configured to receive location information related to a location where the battery is stored from an external source, receive battery information including a voltage of the battery from the battery information measuring unit, determine a target location for storing the battery based on the received location information, obtain environmental information of the determined target location, set reference state information of at least one reference battery cell stored around the determined target location, and determine a state of the battery based on at least one of the received battery information, the obtained environmental information, and the set reference state information, The reference state information of the reference battery cell is a curve indicating degradation of the reference battery cell.

2. The battery management device according to claim 1, in, The control unit is configured to change a voltage measurement cycle of the battery by the battery information measuring unit according to the determined state of the battery.

3. The battery management device according to claim 2, in, The control unit is configured to receive storage period information of a storage period of the battery from the outside, and pre-set the voltage measurement cycle based on the storage period information and the determined state of the battery, so that the battery information measurement unit measures the voltage of the battery a predetermined number of times during the storage period.

4. The battery management device according to claim 2, in, The control unit is configured to determine a state of the battery as a normal state or an abnormal state, and shorten a voltage measurement cycle of the battery information measurement unit for the battery determined to be in the abnormal state.

5. The battery management device according to claim 4, further comprising: An alarm unit is configured to receive the determined battery state from the control unit and emit light when the determined battery state is the abnormal state.

6. The battery management device according to claim 1, in, The control unit is configured to set a first state curve for the predicted state of the battery based on the received battery information and the obtained environmental information, set a second state curve for the predicted state of the battery based on the set first state curve and the set reference state information, and judge the state of the battery based on the set second state curve.

7. The battery management device according to claim 6, in, The control unit is configured to set the second state curve by correcting the set first state curve according to the reference state information.

8. The battery management device according to claim 6, in, The control unit is configured to set the second state curve at a first time point and determine the state of the battery by comparing battery information received at a second time point later than the first time point with a predicted state of the second state curve corresponding to the second time point.

9. The battery management device according to claim 6, in, The control unit is configured to compare the set second state curve with a standard curve, and determine the state of the battery according to a comparison result.

10. The battery management device according to claim 6, in, The control unit is configured to determine the target position based on the received position information, determine at least one battery cell stored at the target position as the reference battery cell, and set reference state information corresponding to the determined reference battery cell.

11. The battery management device according to claim 10, in, A plurality of reference cells are provided, and In which, the control unit is configured to obtain multiple reference information corresponding to the multiple reference battery cells respectively, set the reference state information for the target position based on the obtained multiple reference information, and set the second state curve according to the set first state curve and the set reference state information.

12. The battery management device according to claim 1, in, The position information is information on a target section in which the battery is stored among a plurality of sections divided so as to store the battery therein.

13. The battery management device according to claim 1, further comprising: An environmental information measuring unit is configured to measure environmental information including at least one of temperature, humidity, and air quality of the target location, and transmit the measured environmental information to the control unit.

14. A battery management method, comprising the following steps: a battery information measuring step, wherein the battery information measuring step measures the voltage of the battery; a target position determining step of determining a target position for storing the battery based on position information related to a position where the battery is stored, the position information being received from an external source; An environmental information acquisition step, wherein the environmental information acquisition step acquires environmental information of the determined target location; a reference state information setting step, wherein the reference state information setting step sets reference state information of at least one reference battery cell stored around the determined target position; as well as a battery state judging step of judging the state of the battery based on at least one of the battery information including the voltage of the battery measured in the battery information measuring step, the environmental information obtained in the environmental information acquiring step, and the reference state information set in the reference state information setting step, The reference state information of the reference battery cell is a curve indicating degradation of the reference battery cell.

15. The battery management method according to claim 14, further comprising the following steps after the battery status determination step: a voltage measurement cycle changing step of changing a voltage measurement cycle of the battery according to the state of the battery determined in the battery state determining step;

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