Diagnostic device, battery manufacturing system, battery pack, electric vehicle, and diagnostic method

Abstract

The invention provides a diagnostic device, a battery manufacturing system, a battery pack, an electric vehicle, and a diagnostic method. The diagnostic device according to the present disclosure is for diagnosing states of first to n-th active materials included in an electrode of a battery, and includes: a curve obtaining unit configured to obtain a target electrode curve representing a correspondence relationship between a capacity and a voltage of the electrode; and a diagnosis unit configured to generate first to m-th analog electrode curves based on predetermined first to n-th reference active material curves, to individually compare the first to m-th analog electrode curves with a target electrode curve, and to diagnose states of the first to n-th active materials based on a result of the comparison, where n is a natural number of 2 or more, and m is a natural number of 2 or more.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology for diagnosing individual states of a plurality of active materials contained in an electrode of a battery.

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0181101 filed in Korea on December 21, 2022, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0181032 filed in Korea on December 13, 2023, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

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

[0004] Currently commercially 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-based batteries and also have a very low self-discharge rate and high energy density.

[0005] Recently, as batteries are used in electric vehicles and storage batteries for energy storage, improving the energy efficiency of batteries has become one of the important research tasks.

[0006] As a means of improving the energy efficiency of a battery, a positive electrode material and / or a negative electrode material in which two or more types of active materials are mixed may be used.

[0007] Meanwhile, in order to optimize the energy efficiency of the battery, it is necessary to determine whether the battery is manufactured according to the design during the manufacturing stage. Specifically, it is necessary to diagnose the states of multiple active materials individually during the battery manufacturing stage. In addition, during the use stage, it is necessary to diagnose the states of multiple active materials individually according to battery degradation, and appropriately set the use conditions according to the diagnosis results. Specifically, since the mixing ratio of multiple active materials included in the electrode changes as the battery deteriorates, it is necessary to diagnose the states of multiple active materials individually during the battery use stage.

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for a technology that can diagnose the individual states of a plurality of active materials included in an electrode of a battery. Summary of the invention

[0009] Technical issues

[0010] The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and thus the present disclosure aims to provide a diagnostic device, a manufacturing system, a battery pack, an electric vehicle, and a diagnostic method, which can diagnose the individual states of active materials included in electrodes of a battery.

[0011] These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be understood from the following detailed description and will become more fully apparent from the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Moreover, it will be easily understood that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be achieved by the means shown in the appended claims and their combinations.

[0012] Technical Solution

[0013] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a diagnostic device is provided for diagnosing the state of first to nth active materials included in an electrode of a battery, the electrode being a positive electrode or a negative electrode, the diagnostic device comprising: a curve acquisition unit configured to obtain a target electrode curve representing the correspondence between the capacity and voltage of the electrode; and a diagnostic unit configured to generate first to mth simulated electrode curves based on predetermined first to nth reference active material curves, compare the first to mth simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve separately, and diagnose the state of the first to nth active materials based on the comparison result, wherein n is a natural number of 2 or more, and m is a natural number of 2 or more.

[0014] The diagnosis unit may be configured to determine the first to nth weighting factors based on a result of individually comparing the first to mth simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve.

[0015] The diagnosis unit may be configured to determine a characteristic value of a kth active material included in the electrode based on a kth weight factor associated with a kth active material among the first to nth active materials, wherein k is a natural number less than or equal to n.

[0016] The characteristic value may indicate the currently available capacity, the composition ratio within the electrode, or the weight.

[0017] The diagnosis unit may be configured to calculate a currently available capacity of a kth active material by multiplying a kth weighting factor by a preset kth reference electrode capacity.

[0018] The diagnosis unit may be configured to calculate a composition ratio of the kth active material within the electrode by dividing the kth weighting factor by a sum of all the first to nth weighting factors.

[0019] The diagnosis unit may be configured to calculate the weight of the kth active substance by multiplying a preset kth reference weight by a kth weight factor.

[0020] The diagnosis unit may be configured to diagnose a state of the kth active material based on a characteristic value of the kth active material and a preset kth threshold value.

[0021] Among the first to nth reference active material curves, the kth reference active material curve may represent a capacity-voltage relationship obtained by the kth reference electrode during a charge or discharge process, wherein k is a natural number less than or equal to n.

[0022] The kth reference electrode may be manufactured to include a single active material that is the same type of active material as the kth active material.

[0023] The diagnosis unit may be configured to generate first to mth simulated electrode curves by repeating an adjustment process and a synthesis process for first to nth reference active material curves according to first to mth adjustment coefficient sets.

[0024] The diagnosis unit may be configured to generate first to nth adjusted active substance curves associated with a jth adjustment coefficient set from the first to nth reference active substance curves by individually using first to nth adjustment coefficients of a jth adjustment coefficient set among the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets.

[0025] Among the first to nth adjusted active material curves, the kth adjusted active material curve may be obtained by scaling the kth reference active material curve by the kth adjustment coefficient along the capacity axis.

[0026] The diagnosis unit may be configured to generate a jth simulated electrode curve by synthesizing first to nth adjusted active material curves associated with a jth adjustment coefficient set.

[0027] The diagnosis unit may be configured to determine a simulated electrode curve having a minimum error with the target electrode curve among the first to mth simulated electrode curves.

[0028] The diagnosis unit may be configured to determine, as first to nth weighting factors, first to nth adjustment coefficients of any one of first to mth adjustment coefficient sets used in generating the determined simulated electrode curve.

[0029] The curve obtaining unit may be configured to obtain the target electrode curve based on a measured full-cell curve representing a capacity-voltage relationship of the battery.

[0030] A battery manufacturing system according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes the diagnosis device according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0031] A battery pack according to still another aspect of the present disclosure includes the diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0032] An electric vehicle according to still another aspect of the present disclosure includes the diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a diagnostic method for diagnosing the states of first to nth active materials included in an electrode of a battery, wherein the electrode is a positive electrode or a negative electrode, may include: obtaining a target electrode curve based on capacity-voltage measurement information of the electrode; generating first to mth simulated electrode curves from first to nth reference active material curves; and separately comparing the first to mth simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve to diagnose the states of the first to nth active materials, wherein n is a natural number of 2 or greater, and m is a natural number of 2 or greater.

[0034] Beneficial Effects

[0035] According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, individual states of active materials included in electrodes of a battery may be diagnosed.

[0036] Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the state of an electrode and a battery may be diagnosed based on the state of an active material included in the electrode without disassembling the battery.

[0037] The effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other unmentioned effects will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the foregoing disclosure, are used to provide a further understanding of the technical features of the present disclosure, and therefore, the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Figure 1 is a diagram schematically showing a diagnostic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a target electrode curve.

[0041] Figure 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a first reference active material curve.

[0042] Figure 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a second reference active material curve.

[0043] Figure 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a simulated electrode curve.

[0044] Figure 6 This is a reference diagram for explaining the comparison process between the target electrode curve and the simulated electrode curve.

[0045] Figure 7is a graph referred to for explaining an example of a reference positive electrode curve and a reference negative electrode curve.

[0046] Figure 8 This is a graph for reference in explaining an example of measuring a full monomer curve.

[0047] Figures 9 to 11 is a diagram referenced for explaining an example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell curve for comparison with a measured full-cell curve according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0048] Figure 12 to Figure 14 is a diagram referenced for explaining another example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell curve for comparison with a measured full-cell curve according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] Fig.15 is a diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a battery pack according to the present disclosure.

[0050] Fig.16 is a diagram schematically showing an electric vehicle according to the present disclosure.

[0051] Fig.17 is a flow chart illustrating a diagnostic method according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Before the description, 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 concept corresponding to the technical aspects of the present disclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to appropriately define the terms for the best description.

[0053] Therefore, the descriptions presented herein are merely preferred examples for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, and it should be appreciated that other equivalents and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0054] 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.

[0055] Throughout this specification, when a part is referred to as "including" or "comprising" any element, it means that the part may also include other elements without excluding other elements unless otherwise specifically stated. In addition, terms such as "diagnostic unit" described in this specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and may be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0056] Furthermore, throughout this 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 being interposed therebetween.

[0057] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0058] Figure 1 Schematically illustrates a diagnostic apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0059] The diagnostic device 100 is used to diagnose the state of the first to nth active materials (n is a natural number of 2 or more) included in the electrode of the battery. In this specification, the electrode refers to the positive electrode or the negative electrode. In addition, the electrode of the battery may refer to the electrode actually included in the battery or the electrode manufactured as a sample before manufacturing the battery.

[0060] Here, a battery refers to an independent cell having a negative terminal and a positive terminal and being physically separable. As an example, a lithium-ion cell or a lithium-polymer cell may be considered a battery. In addition, the type of the battery may be a cylindrical type, a prismatic type, or a pouch type. In addition, a battery may refer to a battery bank, a battery module, or a battery pack, in which a plurality of cells are connected in series and / or in parallel. In the following, for ease of explanation, a battery is interpreted as meaning an independent cell.

[0061] The first to nth active materials are active materials constituting an electrode to be diagnosed, and the first to nth active materials may be mixed in an unknown ratio in the electrode.

[0062] refer to Figure 1 , the diagnostic device 100 may include a curve obtaining unit 110 and a diagnostic unit 120 .

[0063] The curve obtaining unit 110 may be configured to obtain a target electrode curve indicating a corresponding relationship between the capacity and the voltage of the electrode.

[0064] Specifically, the target electrode curve may represent the corresponding relationship between the capacity and voltage of the electrode obtained through the charging or discharging process. The voltage of the electrode may mean the difference between the reference potential (eg, the redox potential of lithium ions Li+ / Li) and the potential of the electrode.

[0065] Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it will be assumed that the electrode of the battery is a negative electrode.

[0066] Figure 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the target electrode curve ep.

[0067] exist Figure 2In the embodiment, the horizontal axis (X axis) represents capacity (Ah), and the vertical axis (Y axis) represents voltage (V). Figure 2 , since the voltage decreases as the capacity increases, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the target electrode curve ep represents the capacity-voltage relationship of the negative electrode.

[0068] As an example, the target electrode curve ep can be generated based on half-cell data obtained by charging or discharging a half-cell including an operating electrode and a reference electrode. The operating electrode may refer to the electrode to be diagnosed, that is, the electrode participating in the charge and discharge reaction. The reference electrode may refer to an electrode that does not participate in the charge and discharge reaction but provides a reference potential, unlike the operating electrode. The target electrode curve ep generated based on the half-cell data can be obtained at the electrode manufacturing stage. For example, it can be used to diagnose whether the electrode of the battery is manufactured according to the design requirements.

[0069] As another example, the target electrode curve ep may be based on a measured full-cell curve according to the capacity-voltage information of the battery (see Figure 8 symbol M in), reference positive electrode curve (see Figure 7 symbol Rp in the reference negative electrode curve (see Figure 7 Here, the reference positive electrode curve may be a curve indicating the corresponding relationship between the capacity and the voltage obtained by charging or discharging the reference positive electrode. For example, the reference positive electrode may be a positive electrode button half-cell or a positive electrode of a three-electrode monomer. In addition, the reference negative electrode curve may be a curve indicating the corresponding relationship between the capacity and the voltage obtained by charging or discharging the reference negative electrode. For example, the reference negative electrode may be a negative electrode button half-cell or a negative electrode of a three-electrode monomer.

[0070] The target electrode curve ep based on the measured full-cell curve can be obtained during the battery usage phase. For example, it can be used to diagnose the degradation state of the active material contained in the electrode of the battery.

[0071] In this specification, obtaining any data or information should be understood as receiving from an external device or the like through communication means, input from a user or the like through input means, or generating by executing a program, and the like.

[0072] As an example, the curve acquisition unit 110 may be connected to the outside by wire and / or wirelessly to directly receive the target electrode curve ep. Wired communication may be, for example, CAN (Controller Area Network) communication or CAN-FD (CAN with Flexible Data Rate) communication. Wireless communication may be, for example, ZigBee or Bluetooth communication. Of course, the type of communication protocol is not particularly limited as long as it supports communication between the curve acquisition unit 110 and the outside.

[0073] As another example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may receive electrode information about the capacity and voltage of the electrode. In addition, the curve obtaining unit 110 may generate a target electrode curve ep based on the received electrode information.

[0074] As another example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may receive battery capacity-voltage measurement information and obtain a measured full-cell curve based thereon (see Figure 8 In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can adjust the reference positive electrode curve and the reference negative electrode curve to correspond to the measured full-cell curve, thereby generating the target electrode curve ep. The specific embodiment of the curve acquisition unit 110 obtaining the target electrode curve ep based on the measured full-cell curve will be referred to later. Figures 7 to 13 Give a description.

[0075] The curve obtaining unit 110 may be connected to the diagnosis unit 120 for communication. For example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may be connected to the diagnosis unit 120 by wire and / or wirelessly. The curve obtaining unit 110 may send the obtained target electrode curve ep to the diagnosis unit 120.

[0076] Figure 3 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a first reference active material curve m1, Figure 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a second reference active material curve m2, Figure 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a simulated electrode curve ms, and Figure 6 : is a diagram for reference in explaining the comparison process between the target electrode curve and the simulated electrode curve. For the sake of convenience, the diagram is shown assuming that the electrode to be diagnosed is a negative electrode containing a mixed negative electrode material in which two types of active materials (n=2) are mixed. Figures 3 to 6 .

[0077] exist Figures 3 to 6 In the embodiment, the horizontal axis (X axis) represents capacity (Ah), and the vertical axis (Y axis) represents voltage (V).

[0078] The diagnosis unit 120 may be configured to generate first to m-th simulated electrode curves (m is a natural number of 2 or more) from predetermined first to n-th reference active material curves.

[0079] Here, each of the first to nth reference active material curves representing the charge or discharge characteristics of the first to nth active materials may be obtained in advance and stored in the storage unit 130 or the like.

[0080] For example, a reference active material curve for any active material can be obtained by scaling the capacity axis with the reference weight of that active material over a specific voltage range (in Figures 2 to 4Here, the reference weights may be predetermined individually for the first to nth active materials. For example, the reference weight of the kth active material may represent the design weight of the kth active material included in the electrode of the battery or the initial weight of the kth active material. For reference, the target electrode curve ep may also represent the capacity-voltage relationship of the electrode in the same voltage range.

[0081] As another example, a k-th reference active material curve (k is a natural number less than or equal to n) among the first to n-th reference active material curves may represent a capacity-voltage relationship obtained during the charge or discharge process of the k-th reference electrode. The k-th reference electrode may be an electrode manufactured to include a single active material that is the same type of active material as the k-th active material. The k-th reference electrode may be any electrode of a button half-cell, a 3-electrode cell, or any electrode of a battery.

[0082] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate a plurality of simulated electrode curves based on the first to nth reference active material curves using a plurality of adjustment coefficient sets, each of which may be data defining a mixing ratio between the first to nth reference active material curves.

[0083] Specifically, each adjustment coefficient set includes the same number of adjustment coefficients as the types of active materials constituting the electrodes of the battery. That is, each adjustment coefficient set includes first to nth adjustment coefficients. That is, an adjustment coefficient can be assigned to each active material. For example, when the electrodes of the battery are composed of two types of active materials, each adjustment coefficient set can include a first adjustment coefficient for the first active material and a second adjustment coefficient for the second active material.

[0084] The diagnosis unit 120 may generate first to mth simulated electrode curves by repeating the adjustment process and the synthesis process for the first to nth reference active material curves according to the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets. If m different adjustment coefficient sets are used, m different simulated electrode curves may be generated.

[0085] For example, if j is a natural number less than or equal to m, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate a j-th simulated electrode curve by applying a j-th adjustment coefficient set to the first to n-th reference active material curves.

[0086] The process of the diagnosis unit 120 generating a plurality of simulated electrode curves from a plurality of reference active material curves will be described in more detail below.

[0087] The diagnosis unit 120 may generate first to nth adjusted active material curves associated with a jth adjustment coefficient set from the first to nth reference active material curves by individually using first to nth adjustment coefficients of a jth adjustment coefficient set among the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets.

[0088] The diagnosis unit 120 may generate a kth adjusted active substance curve associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set by applying the kth adjustment coefficient of the jth adjustment coefficient set to the kth reference active substance curve.

[0089] That is, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate n adjusted active material curves by applying each adjustment coefficient set to n reference active material curves. Therefore, a total of n×m adjusted active material curves may be generated based on the n reference active material curves and the m adjustment coefficient sets.

[0090] For example, when m is 4, j is 1, and n is 3, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate the first to third adjusted active material curves from the first to third reference active material curves by using the first to third adjustment coefficients of the first adjustment coefficient set among the first to fourth adjustment coefficient sets individually. That is, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate the kth adjusted active material curve associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set from the kth reference active material curve using the kth adjustment coefficient of the jth adjustment coefficient set.

[0091] The kth adjusted active material curve associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set can be obtained by scaling the kth reference active material curve along the capacity axis by the kth adjustment coefficient of the jth adjustment coefficient set. For example, the kth adjusted active material curve can be a curve in which the kth reference active material curve is contracted or expanded along the capacity axis by the ratio of the kth adjustment coefficient. If the kth adjustment coefficient is less than 1, the kth adjusted active material curve can be a curve in which the kth reference active material curve is contracted. If the kth adjustment coefficient is greater than 1, the kth adjusted active material curve can be a curve in which the kth reference active material curve is expanded. If the kth adjustment coefficient is 1, the kth adjusted active material curve can be the same curve as the kth reference active material curve.

[0092] For example, when the kth adjustment coefficient is 0.8, the kth adjustment active material curve may be a curve in which the kth reference active material curve is contracted along the capacity axis at a rate of 0.8. That is, for the same voltage, the capacity of the kth adjustment active material curve may be the capacity of the kth reference active material curve multiplied by 0.8.

[0093] As another example, when the kth adjustment coefficient is 1.2, the kth adjustment active material curve may be a curve in which the kth reference active material curve is expanded along the capacity axis at a rate of 1.2. That is, for the same voltage, the capacity of the kth adjustment active material curve may be the capacity of the kth reference active material curve multiplied by 1.2.

[0094] At the same time, the available capacity of the electrode can be calculated based on the available capacity of each of the first to nth active materials of the mixed electrode material constituting the electrode. Specifically, the available capacity of the electrode can be calculated by adding the available capacities of all the first to nth active materials. For example, if the charge or discharge capacity of the first active material is 4 mAh and the charge or discharge capacity of the second active material is 3 mAh, the electrode composed of the mixture of the first active material and the second active material can have an available capacity of 7 mAh.

[0095] The kth adjustment coefficient is a value used to generate the kth adjusted active material curve by scaling the kth reference active material curve along the capacity axis. That is, the value obtained by multiplying the available capacity calculated from the kth reference active material curve by the kth adjustment coefficient is the same as the available capacity calculated from the kth adjusted active material curve.

[0096] Here, the available capacity of a certain electrode or active material may represent the difference between the capacity corresponding to the lower limit voltage of a predetermined voltage range and the capacity corresponding to the upper limit voltage. Alternatively, when the electrode to be diagnosed is a positive electrode, the available capacity of the electrode or the active material included therein may represent the capacity corresponding to the upper limit voltage. Similarly, when the electrode to be diagnosed is a negative electrode, the available capacity of the electrode or the active material included therein may represent the capacity corresponding to the lower limit voltage.

[0097] In addition, the kth reference electrode capacity is an available capacity calculated according to the kth reference active material curve. The kth reference electrode capacity may be set in advance and stored in the storage unit 130 .

[0098] For example, the kth reference electrode capacity may be the available capacity of the kth reference electrode in a BOL (beginning of life) state; as another example, the kth reference electrode capacity may be the designed capacity of the kth active material.

[0099] In other words, in order to regard the first to nth adjusted active material curves as corresponding to the curves reflecting the states of the first to nth active materials, the sum of the available capacities calculated from the first to nth adjusted active material curves must be the same as the available capacity of the electrode. Here, the available capacity of the electrode can be calculated based on the target electrode curve ep. As an example, the difference between the capacity of the target electrode curve ep at the lower limit voltage of the predetermined voltage range and the capacity of the target electrode curve ep at the upper limit voltage can be determined by the diagnostic unit 120 as the available capacity (Qe) of the electrode.

[0100] Therefore, the diagnosis unit 120 may determine the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets based on the available capacity of the electrode and the first to nth reference electrode capacities.

[0101] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may determine first to nth adjustment coefficients of each adjustment coefficient set based on the available capacity of the electrode.

[0102] For example, the first to nth adjustment coefficients of each adjustment coefficient set determined by the diagnosis unit 120 may satisfy Formula 1 below.

[0103] [Formula 1]

[0104]

[0105] In the above formula, Indicates the available capacity of the electrode, represents the capacity of the i-th reference electrode, and represents the i-th adjustment coefficient.

[0106] In each adjustment coefficient set, the i-th adjustment coefficient ( ) can have a minimum value of 0 and a maximum value of .

[0107] In addition, the diagnosis unit 120 may be configured to generate a j-th simulated electrode curve by synthesizing the first to n-th adjusted active material curves associated with the j-th adjustment coefficient set among the first to m-th adjustment coefficient sets.

[0108] For example, when m is 4, j is 1, and n is 3, the diagnostic unit 120 may synthesize the first to third adjusted active material curves to generate a first simulated electrode curve associated with the first adjustment coefficient set. In this case, 12 adjusted active material curves and 4 simulated electrode curves may be generated based on 3 reference active material curves and 4 adjustment coefficient sets.

[0109] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may synthesize the first to nth adjusted active material curves by summing the capacities of the first to nth adjusted active material curves at the same voltage. The jth simulated electrode curve may be a curve of the corresponding relationship between the voltage and the summed capacity.

[0110] The first to nth adjusted active material curves generated using the jth adjustment coefficient set may have a relationship with the jth simulated electrode curve according to Formula 2 below.

[0111] [Formula 2]

[0112]

[0113] In the above formula, represents the capacity of the jth simulated electrode curve when the voltage is V, and Represents the capacity of the i-th adjusted active material curve when the voltage is V.

[0114] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown in , it is assumed that: according to the first reference active material curve m1, the first active material has a capacity of 0.1 mAh at 0.4 V, and according to the second reference active material curve m2, the second active material has a capacity of 0.3 mAh at 0.4 V.

[0115] As an example, if both the first adjustment coefficient and the second adjustment coefficient of any one adjustment coefficient set are 0.5, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate a first adjusted active material curve by applying the adjustment coefficient of 0.5 to the first reference active material curve m1, and generate a second adjusted active material curve by applying the adjustment coefficient of 0.5 to the second reference active material curve m2. Then, the simulated electrode curve generated based on the first adjusted active material curve and the second adjusted active material curve may be based on the curve shown at 0.4V. The capacity of the data set.

[0116] As another example, if the first adjustment coefficient and the second adjustment coefficient of another adjustment coefficient set are 0.2 and 0.8, respectively, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate a first adjusted active material curve by applying the adjustment coefficient of 0.2 to the first reference active material curve m1, and generate a second adjusted active material curve by applying the adjustment coefficient of 0.8 to the second reference active material curve m2. The simulation curve generated based on such an adjusted active material curve may be based on a curve showing approximately The capacity of the data set.

[0117] Figure 5The curve ms shown in is an example of a simulated electrode curve generated by applying a specific adjustment coefficient set including a first adjustment coefficient and a second adjustment coefficient (which are respectively 1) to a first reference active material curve m1 and a second reference active material curve m2.

[0118] The diagnosis unit 120 may be configured to individually compare the first to mth simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve ep, and diagnose states of the first to nth active materials of the electrodes of the battery based on the comparison result.

[0119] Figure 6 Will Figure 2 The target electrode curves ep and Figure 5 The simulated electrode curves shown in ms are shown together in the same graph.

[0120] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may determine the first to nth weight factors based on the result of individually comparing the first to mth simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve.

[0121] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may determine a simulated electrode curve having a minimum error with the target electrode curve ep among the first to mth simulated electrode curves.

[0122] In this regard, various methods known at the time of filing this disclosure may be used to determine the error between two curves, each of which may be represented in a two-dimensional coordinate system. For example, the integral value of the absolute value of the area between the two curves, MSE (mean square error) or RMSE (root mean square error) may be used as the error between the two curves. For example, referring to Figure 6 , it can be seen that there are large errors between the two curves (ep, ms) in the capacity ranges of 4 to 5 mAh and 7.2 to 8 mAh compared to the rest of the capacity range.

[0123] The simulated electrode curve having the smallest error with the target electrode curve may be the curve that best reflects the current state of the electrode among the m simulated electrode curves.

[0124] Therefore, each of the first to nth adjusted active material curves used to generate the simulated electrode curve with the minimum error can be firmly assumed to be an active material curve representing the individual current states of the first to nth active materials included in the electrode.

[0125] In the prior art, there is a problem that an active material curve indicating the current state of the active material constituting the electrode cannot be directly obtained. On the other hand, the diagnostic device 100 according to the present disclosure has the advantage of indirectly obtaining an active material curve indicating the current state of the active material constituting the electrode.

[0126] In addition, the diagnosis unit 120 may determine first to nth adjustment coefficients used in generating a simulated electrode curve having a minimum error as first to nth weight factors.

[0127] The kth weight factor may mean a ratio at which the kth adjusted active material curve reflecting the current state of the kth active material changes from the kth reference active material curve. In other words, the kth weight factor may mean a ratio at which the kth adjusted active material curve reflecting the current state of the kth active material changes from the kth reference active material curve (e.g., capacity scaling).

[0128] The diagnosis unit 120 may determine at least one characteristic value of the kth active material included in the electrode based on the kth weight factor associated with the kth active material among the first to nth active materials. Here, each characteristic value may represent the current available capacity, the composition ratio within the electrode, or the weight.

[0129] As an example, the diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the current available capacity of the kth active material by multiplying the kth weight factor by the kth reference electrode capacity. The diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the current available capacity of the kth active material using Formula 3 below.

[0130] [Formula 3]

[0131]

[0132] In the above formula, represents the current available capacity of the kth active material of the electrode, represents the kth weight factor, and represents the kth reference electrode capacity.

[0133] As another example, the diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode by dividing the kth weight factor by the sum of all the first to nth weight factors. The diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode using the following Formula 4.

[0134] [Formula 4]

[0135]

[0136] In the above formula, represents the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode.

[0137] As another example, the diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the weight of the kth active material included in the electrode by multiplying the preset kth reference weight by the kth weight factor. Here, the kth reference weight may be the initial weight of the kth active material included in the electrode of the battery. As another example, the kth reference weight may be a predetermined weight of the kth active material when manufacturing the electrode of the battery.

[0138] The diagnosis unit 120 may be configured to diagnose a state of the kth active material based on a characteristic value of the kth active material and a preset kth threshold value.

[0139] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may compare the magnitude between the characteristic value of the kth active material and the kth threshold value, and diagnose the state of the kth active material according to the comparison result.

[0140] For example, if the characteristic value of the kth active material is greater than or equal to the kth threshold, the diagnosis unit 120 may diagnose the state of the kth active material as a normal state. Conversely, if the characteristic value of the kth active material is less than the kth threshold, the diagnosis unit 120 may diagnose the state of the kth active material as an abnormal state.

[0141] If the characteristic value is the current available capacity, the diagnostic unit 120 may diagnose the active material not showing the designed capacity as an abnormal state in the design stage of the electrode. As another example, in the battery use stage, the diagnostic unit 120 may diagnose the active material in which the current available capacity of the active material becomes less than a threshold value due to battery degradation as an abnormal state.

[0142] The diagnosis device 100 according to the present disclosure has an advantage of being able to individually diagnose the state of active materials by analyzing the characteristic value of each active material included in the electrode of the battery.

[0143] At the same time, each component of the diagnostic device 100 may be physically different, or alternatively may be functionally or logically different. The curve acquisition unit 110 and the diagnostic unit 120 included in the diagnostic device 100 may optionally 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 various control logics executed in the present disclosure. In addition, when the control logic is implemented as software, the curve acquisition unit 110 and the diagnostic unit 120 may be implemented as a collection of program modules. At this time, the program module may be stored in a memory and executed by the curve acquisition unit 110 and the diagnostic unit 120. The memory may be located inside or outside the curve acquisition unit 110 and the diagnostic unit 120, and may be connected to the curve acquisition unit 110 and the diagnostic unit 120 by various well-known means.

[0144] In addition, the diagnostic device 100 may further include a storage unit 130. The storage unit 130 may store data necessary for the operation and function of each component of the diagnostic device 100, data generated in the process of performing an operation or function, and the like. The storage unit 130 is not particularly limited in its type as long as it is a known information storage device that can record, erase, update, and read data. As an example, the information storage device may include a RAM, a flash memory, a ROM, an EEPROM, a register, and the like. In addition, the storage unit 130 may store a program code in which a process that can be executed by the curve acquisition unit 110 and the diagnostic unit 120 is defined.

[0145] For example, the storage unit 130 may store first to nth reference active material curves, a reference positive electrode curve, a reference negative electrode curve, first to nth reference electrode capacities, and first to nth threshold values.

[0146] The diagnosis unit 120 may be configured to diagnose the state of the electrode based on the diagnosis results of the states of the first to nth active materials.

[0147] For example, if the state of at least one of the first to nth active materials is abnormal, the diagnosis unit 120 can diagnose the state of the electrode as abnormal. On the contrary, if the states of all the first to nth active materials are normal, the diagnosis unit 120 can diagnose the state of the electrode as normal.

[0148] The diagnosis unit 120 can diagnose the state of the battery including the electrode to be diagnosed based on the diagnosis result about the state of the electrode. For example, if the positive electrode or the negative electrode is in an abnormal state, the diagnosis unit 120 can diagnose that the battery is in an abnormal state. On the contrary, if the positive electrode and the negative electrode are in a normal state, the diagnosis unit 120 can diagnose that the battery is in a normal state.

[0149] The diagnostic device 100 according to the present disclosure has the following advantages: it is possible to diagnose the state of the electrode and / or the battery based on the state of the active material included in the electrode without disassembling the battery. In other words, the battery diagnostic device 100 can diagnose the individual degradation behavior of the active material included in the electrode of the battery, and thus can diagnose the state of the battery in more detail.

[0150] A specific embodiment in which the curve obtaining unit 110 generates a target electrode curve based on measuring the whole-cell curve will be described below.

[0151] Figure 7 is a graph referred to for explaining an example of a reference positive electrode curve Rp and a reference negative electrode curve Rn, and Figure 8 is a graph for reference in explaining an example of measuring the full monomer curve M. Figure 7 and Figure 8In the graph, the horizontal axis (X axis) represents capacity (Ah), and the vertical axis (Y axis) represents voltage (V). For reference, Figure 7 In the figures, the numerical value on the horizontal axis (X axis) represents the capacity of the battery. Therefore, the capacity of any electrode included in the battery should be understood as the capacity at the left end point of the electrode curve of the electrode being 0 Ah.

[0152] The measurement full-cell curve M may represent the capacity-voltage relationship of the battery (battery cell) including the electrode to be diagnosed. For example, the measurement full-cell curve M may represent the change of OCV (open circuit voltage) or CCV (closed circuit voltage) according to the change of the capacity of the battery (battery cell) during the charging or discharging process using constant current, constant voltage, or constant power.

[0153] The curve obtaining unit 110 may be configured to compare the measured full-cell curve M with at least one comparative full-cell curve. Here, the comparative full-cell curve may be a result of generating an adjusted positive curve and an adjusted negative curve by adjusting each of the reference positive curve Rp and the reference negative curve Rn stored in the storage unit 140 and then synthesizing (combining) the adjusted positive curve and the adjusted negative curve.

[0154] In other words, when the reference full cell curve R is the result of subtracting a portion of the reference negative curve Rn from a portion of the reference positive curve Rp, the comparative full cell curve can be said to be the result of subtracting a portion of the adjusted negative curve from a portion of the adjusted positive curve.

[0155] The curve obtaining unit 110 may generate at least one comparative full-cell curve by directly adjusting the reference positive electrode curve Rp and the reference negative electrode curve Rn. Alternatively, at least one comparative full-cell curve may be ensured in advance based on the reference positive electrode curve Rp and the reference negative electrode curve Rn and stored in the storage unit 140. In this case, the curve obtaining unit 110 may access the storage unit 140 to obtain the comparative full-cell curve in a read manner.

[0156] The curve obtaining unit 110 can generate a plurality of comparative full-cell curves from the reference positive electrode curve Rp and the reference negative electrode curve Rn by repeating an adjustment process in which the reference positive electrode curve Rp and the reference negative electrode curve Rn are respectively adjusted to various levels and then synthesized. The comparative full-cell curve may also be referred to as an "adjusted reference full-cell curve".

[0157] The curve obtaining unit 110 may specify a comparative all-monomer curve having a minimum error with the measured all-monomer curve M among a plurality of comparative all-monomer curves.

[0158] Next, the curve obtaining unit 110 may determine the adjusted positive electrode curve and the adjusted negative electrode curve mapped to the designated comparative full-cell curve as the positive electrode curve and the negative electrode curve of the battery.

[0159] In this regard, various methods known at the time of filing this disclosure may be used to determine the error between the two curves, each of which may be represented in a two-dimensional coordinate system. For example, the integral value of the absolute value of the area between the two curves or the RMSE (root mean square error) may be used as the error between the two curves.

[0160] The final determined positive and negative curves can be mapped to the comparative full-cell curve mapped to the minimum error. Specifically, it can be said that the comparative full-cell curve based on the final determined positive and negative curves has almost the same shape as the measured full-cell curve M.

[0161] The final determined adjusted positive electrode curve and adjusted negative electrode curve can be estimated as the positive electrode curve and negative electrode curve representing the current state of the battery. With the current technology, there is a problem in that the positive electrode curve and negative electrode curve indicating the current state of the battery cannot be directly obtained without directly disassembling the battery. However, if the diagnostic device 100 according to the present disclosure is used, it can be firmly assumed that the adjusted positive electrode curve and the adjusted negative electrode curve, which are the basis of the specified comparison curve, are the positive electrode curve and the negative electrode curve reflecting the current state of the battery.

[0162] Figures 9 to 11 is a diagram referred to for explaining an example of a process for generating a comparative full-monomer curve for comparison with a measured full-monomer curve M according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0163] Reference Figures 9 to 11 The described process for generating comparative all-monomer curves proceeds in the following order: First, a routine is performed that sets four points (positive electrode participation start point, positive electrode participation end point, negative electrode participation start point, negative electrode participation end point) to correspond to the voltage range of interest (see Fig. 9 ), the second routine, which performs the curve shift (see Fig.10 ), and a third routine that performs capacity scaling (see Fig.11 ). In other words, the process for generating a comparison full monomer curve according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes first to third routines.

[0164] First, refer to Fig. 9 , the reference positive electrode curve Rp and the reference negative electrode curve Rn and Figure 7 The same as those shown in .

[0165] The curve obtaining unit 110 determines a positive pole participation start point pi, a positive pole participation end point pf, a negative pole participation start point ni, and a negative pole participation end point nf on the reference positive pole curve Rp and the reference negative pole curve Rn.

[0166] Either one of the positive electrode participation starting point pi and the negative electrode participation starting point ni depends on the other.

[0167] As an example, the curve acquisition unit 110 may divide the positive electrode voltage range from the starting point to the end point (or the second set voltage) of the reference positive electrode curve Rp into a plurality of micro voltage segments, and then set the boundary point of the two micro voltage segments as the positive electrode participation starting point pi. Each micro voltage segment may have a predetermined size (e.g., 0.01V). Next, the curve acquisition unit 110 may set a point on the reference negative electrode curve Rn that is smaller than the positive electrode participation starting point pi by a first set voltage (e.g., 3V) as the negative electrode participation starting point ni.

[0168] As another example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may divide the negative electrode voltage range from the starting point to the end point of the reference negative electrode curve Rn into a plurality of micro voltage segments of a predetermined size, and then set the boundary points of two adjacent micro voltage segments among the plurality of micro voltage segments as the negative electrode participation starting point ni. Next, the curve obtaining unit 110 may search for a point that is a first set voltage greater than the negative electrode participation starting point ni from the reference positive electrode curve Rp, and set the searched point as the positive electrode participation starting point pi.

[0169] Either one of the positive electrode participation end point pf and the negative electrode participation end point nf depends on the other.

[0170] As an example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may divide the voltage range from the second set voltage to the end point of the reference positive electrode curve Rp into a plurality of micro voltage segments of predetermined size, and then set the boundary points of two adjacent micro voltage segments among the plurality of micro voltage segments as the positive electrode participation end point pf. Next, the curve obtaining unit 110 may set a point on the reference negative electrode curve Rn that is less than the positive electrode participation end point pf by a second set voltage (e.g., 4V) as the negative electrode participation end point nf.

[0171] As another example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may divide the negative electrode voltage range from the starting point to the end point of the reference negative electrode curve Rn into a plurality of micro voltage segments of a predetermined size, and then set the boundary points of two adjacent micro voltage segments among the plurality of micro voltage segments as the negative electrode participation end point nf. Next, the curve obtaining unit 110 may search for a point that is a second set voltage greater than the negative electrode participation end point nf from the reference positive electrode curve Rp, and set the searched point as the positive electrode participation end point pf.

[0172] Once the positive pole participation starting point pi, the positive pole participation ending point pf, the negative pole participation starting point ni and the negative pole participation ending point nf are determined, the curve acquisition unit 110 will shift at least one of the reference positive pole curve Rp and the reference negative pole curve Rn to the left or right along the horizontal axis.

[0173] refer to Fig.10 , the curve acquisition unit 110 may shift the reference positive electrode curve Rp to the left (towards low capacity), or shift the negative electrode curve Rn to the right (towards high capacity), or both, so that the capacity values ​​of the positive electrode participation starting point pi and the negative electrode participation starting point ni match.

[0174] Alternatively, the curve obtaining unit 110 may shift the reference positive electrode curve Rp to the left, or shift the reference negative electrode curve Rn to the right, or both, so that the capacity values ​​of the positive electrode participation end point pf and the negative electrode participation end point nf match.

[0175] Fig.10 The following case is evaluated: as a result of generating an adjusted reference positive curve Rp' by shifting the reference positive curve Rp only to the left, the capacity value of the positive electrode participation starting point pi' matches the capacity value of the negative electrode participation starting point ni. The adjusted reference positive curve Rp' is the result of applying an adjustment process to the reference positive curve Rp, which shifts the capacity value difference between the positive electrode participation starting point pi and the negative electrode participation starting point ni to the left. Therefore, the two points pi, pi' differ only in capacity value and have the same voltage. The two points pf, pf' differ only in capacity value and have the same voltage.

[0176] When ensuring the adjustment result curve Rp′, Rn in which at least one of the reference positive electrode curve Rp and the reference negative electrode curve Rn is shifted, the curve obtaining unit 110 scales the capacity range of at least one of the adjustment result curves Rp′, Rn.

[0177] according to Fig.10 In the example shown in , the curve obtaining unit 110 performs an additional adjustment process to shrink or expand at least one of the adjusted reference positive polarity curve Rp′ and the reference negative polarity curve Rn along the horizontal axis.

[0178] refer to Fig.11, the curve obtaining unit 110 can generate an adjusted reference positive curve Rp″ by reducing or expanding the adjusted reference positive curve Rp′, so that the capacity range between the two points pi′, pf′ of the adjusted reference positive curve Rp′ matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell curve M. At this time, one point pi′ of the two points pi′, pf′ can be fixed. Therefore, the capacity range between the two points pi′, pf″ of the adjusted reference positive curve Rp″ can match the capacity range of the measured full-cell curve M.

[0179] In addition, the curve obtaining unit 110 can generate an adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' by reducing or expanding the reference negative electrode curve Rn, so that the capacity range between the two points ni and nf of the reference negative electrode curve Rn also matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell curve M. At this time, one point ni of the two points ni and nf can be fixed. Therefore, the capacity range between the two points ni and nf' of the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' can match the capacity range of the measured full-cell curve M.

[0180] exist Fig.11 The adjusted reference positive curve Rp" is Figure 7 The adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' is a result of the reduction shown in FIG. 1 , and the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' is Fig.10 The result of the enlargement of the reference negative electrode curve Rn is shown in .

[0181] The positive pole participation end point pf" on the adjusted reference positive pole curve Rp" corresponds to the positive pole participation end point pf' on the adjusted reference positive pole curve Rp'. The negative pole participation end point nf' on the adjusted reference negative pole curve Rn' corresponds to the negative pole participation end point nf on the reference negative pole curve Rn.

[0182] The capacity range between the positive electrode participation starting point pi' and the positive electrode participation ending point pf' of the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp" matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell curve M. Similarly, the capacity range between the negative electrode participation starting point ni and the negative electrode participation ending point nf' of the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell curve M.

[0183] In addition, the capacity range between the two points pi', pf" of the adjusted reference positive curve Rp" matches the capacity range between the two points ni, nf' of the adjusted reference negative curve Rn'. The curve acquisition unit 110 can generate a comparative full-cell curve S by subtracting the curve between the two points pi', pf" of the adjusted reference positive curve Rp" from the curve between the two points ni, nf' of the adjusted reference negative curve Rn'.

[0184] The curve obtaining unit 110 may calculate an error (curve error) between the comparison all-monomer curve S and the measurement all-monomer curve M.

[0185] The curve obtaining unit 110 may map at least two of the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp", the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn', the positive electrode participation starting point pi', the positive electrode participation ending point pf", the negative electrode participation starting point ni, the negative electrode participation ending point nf', the first scaling factor, the second scaling factor, the comparison full-cell curve S and the curve error to each other and record them in the storage unit 140. The first scaling factor may represent the ratio of the capacity difference between the two points pi', pf" to the capacity difference between the two points pi0, pf0. The second scaling factor may represent the ratio of the capacity difference between the two points ni, nf' to the capacity difference between the two points ni0, nf0.

[0186] Here, the curve obtaining unit 110 may calculate the positive change rate ps of the adjusted reference positive curve Rp″ and the reference positive curve Rp. In addition, the curve obtaining unit 110 may calculate the negative change rate ns of the adjusted reference positive curve Rn′ and the reference negative curve Rn. For example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may determine the first scaling factor as the positive change rate ps, and determine the second scaling factor as the negative change rate ns.

[0187] Meanwhile, as described above, when the positive voltage range of the reference positive curve Rp is divided into a plurality of micro voltage segments, boundary points of two adjacent micro voltage segments among the plurality of micro voltage segments may be set as the positive participation starting points pi.

[0188] For example, if the positive electrode voltage range of the reference positive electrode curve Rp is divided into 100 micro voltage ranges, there may be 100 boundary points that can be set as the positive electrode participation start point pi. In addition, if the voltage range greater than or equal to the second set voltage in the reference positive electrode curve Rp is divided into 40 micro voltage ranges, there may be 40 boundary points that can be set as the positive electrode participation end point pf. In this case, up to 4000 different comparative full monomer curves can be generated.

[0189] Of course, it will be readily appreciated that as the size of the microvoltage segment decreases, the number of comparative full-cell curves that can be maximally generated increases, and conversely, as the size of the microvoltage segment increases, the number of comparative full-cell curves that can be maximally generated decreases.

[0190] The curve acquisition unit 110 can identify the minimum value among the curve errors of multiple comparison full-monomer curves generated as described above, and then obtain information mapped to the minimum curve error from the storage unit 140 (for example, at least one of the positive pole participation start point, the positive pole participation end point, the negative pole participation start point, the negative pole participation end point, the first scaling factor, and the second scaling factor).

[0191] if Fig.11 If the comparative full-cell curve S shown in has the smallest curve error in the measured full-cell curve M, the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp" or the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn" can be used as the target electrode curve.

[0192] Figure 12 to Figure 14 is a diagram for explaining another example of a process for generating a comparative full monomer curve for comparison with a measured full monomer curve M according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 12 to Figure 14 The embodiments are independent of Figures 9 to 11 Therefore, in describing Figures 9 to 11 The embodiments shown in Figure 12 to Figure 14 Terms or symbols used in common when illustrating the embodiments should be understood as being limited to each embodiment.

[0193] To refer to Figure 12 to Figure 14 The described process for generating comparative all-monomer curves includes a fourth routine that performs capacity scaling (see Fig.12 ), the fifth routine (see Fig.13 ), and a sixth routine that performs a curve shift (see Fig.14 ). That is, the process of generating a comparison full monomer curve according to another embodiment of the present disclosure includes fourth to sixth routines.

[0194] refer to Fig.12 , the reference positive electrode curve Rp and the reference negative electrode curve Rn and Figure 7 The same as those shown in .

[0195] The curve obtaining unit 110 generates an adjusted reference positive polarity curve Rp′ and an adjusted reference negative polarity curve Rn′ by applying a first scaling factor and a second scaling factor selected from the scaling value range to the reference positive polarity curve Rp and the reference negative polarity curve Rn, respectively.

[0196] The scaling value range may be predetermined or may vary depending on the ratio of the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell curve M to the size of the capacity range of the reference full-cell curve R. For example, when the first scaling factor and the second scaling factor can be selected from the values ​​(i.e., 90%, 90.1%, 90.2%, ..., 98.9%, 99%) spaced at 0.1% intervals in the scaling value range (e.g., 90 to 99%), 91 values ​​may be selected as the first scaling factor and the second scaling factor, respectively. In this case, up to 8,281 adjusted curve pairs may be generated according to 91×91=8,281 adjustment levels (combinations of the first scaling factor and the second scaling factor). An adjusted curve pair refers to a combination of an adjusted positive electrode curve and an adjusted negative electrode curve.

[0197] Fig.12 The adjusted reference positive polarity curve Rp′ and the adjusted reference negative polarity curve Rn′ shown in show an example of the result of applying a first scaling factor and a second scaling factor of less than 100% to the reference positive polarity curve Rp and the reference negative polarity curve Rn, respectively.

[0198] Since both the first scaling factor and the second scaling factor are less than 100%, the adjusted reference positive curve Rp' is a contraction of the reference positive curve Rp along the horizontal axis, and the adjusted reference negative curve Rn' is also a contraction of the reference negative curve Rn along the horizontal axis. For ease of understanding, the figures are illustrated in a form in which the starting point of each of the positive curve Rp and the reference negative curve Rn is fixed and the remaining part decreases to the left along the horizontal axis.

[0199] refer to Fig.13 The curve obtaining unit 110 determines the positive pole participation starting point pi', the positive pole participation ending point pf', the negative pole participation starting point ni' and the negative pole participation ending point nf' on the adjusted reference positive pole curve Rp' and the adjusted reference negative pole curve Rn'.

[0200] Either of the positive pole participation start point pi' and the negative pole participation start point ni' may depend on the other. Also, either of the positive pole participation end point pf' and the negative pole participation end point nf' may depend on the other. Also, either of the positive pole participation start point pi' and the positive pole participation end point pf' may be set based on the other.

[0201] That is, when any one of the positive electrode participation starting point pi', the positive electrode participation ending point pf', the negative electrode participation starting point ni' and the negative electrode participation ending point nf' is set, the remaining three points can be automatically set by the first set voltage, the second set voltage and / or measuring the capacity range of the full monomer curve M (for example, the charging capacity of SOC 0 to 100%).

[0202] As an example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may divide the positive electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point (or the second set voltage) of the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' into a plurality of micro voltage segments, and then set the boundary points of two adjacent micro voltage segments among the plurality of micro voltage segments as the positive electrode participation starting point pi'. Next, the curve obtaining unit 110 may set a point on the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn that is less than the positive electrode participation starting point pi' by a first set voltage (e.g., 3V) as the negative electrode participation starting point ni'.

[0203] As another example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may divide the negative electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point of the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' into a plurality of micro voltage segments of predetermined sizes, and then set the boundary points of two adjacent micro voltage segments among the plurality of micro voltage segments as the negative electrode participation starting point ni'. Next, the curve obtaining unit 110 may search for a point that is greater than the negative electrode participation starting point ni' by a first set voltage from the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp', and set the searched point as the positive electrode participation starting point pi'.

[0204] As another example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may divide the voltage range from the second set voltage to the end point of the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' into a plurality of micro voltage segments of predetermined sizes, and then set the boundary points of two micro voltage segments among the plurality of micro voltage segments as the positive electrode participation end point pf'. Next, the curve obtaining unit 110 may search for a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' that is less than the positive electrode participation end point pf' by a second set voltage (e.g., 4V), and set the searched point as the negative electrode participation end point nf'.

[0205] As another example, the curve obtaining unit 110 may divide the negative electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point of the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' into a plurality of micro voltage segments of predetermined sizes, and then set the boundary points of two micro voltage segments among the plurality of micro voltage segments as the negative electrode participation end point nf'. Next, the curve obtaining unit 110 may search for a point that is a second set voltage greater than the negative electrode participation end point nf' from the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp', and set the searched point as the positive electrode participation end point pf'.

[0206] When any one of the positive pole participation start point pi', the positive pole participation end point pf', the negative pole participation start point ni', and the negative pole participation end point nf' is determined, the curve obtaining unit 110 may additionally determine the remaining three points based on the determined point.

[0207] As an example, when the positive electrode participation starting point pi' is first determined, the curve acquisition unit 110 can set a point on the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' whose capacity value is greater than the capacity value of the positive electrode participation starting point pi' by the size of the capacity range of the full monomer curve M as the positive electrode participation end point pf'. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can search for a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' that is lower than the voltage of the positive electrode participation starting point pi' by a first set voltage, and set the searched point as the negative electrode participation starting point ni'. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can set a point on the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' that is greater than the capacity value of the negative electrode participation starting point ni' by the size of the capacity range of the full monomer curve M as the negative electrode participation end point nf'.

[0208] As another example, when the positive electrode participation end point pf' is first determined, the curve acquisition unit 110 can set a point on the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' whose capacity value is smaller than the capacity value of the positive electrode participation end point pf' by the size of the capacity range of the full monomer curve M as the positive electrode participation starting point pi'. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can search for a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' that is lower than the voltage of the positive electrode participation end point pf' by a second set voltage, and set the searched point as the negative electrode participation end point nf'. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can set a point on the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn' whose capacity value is smaller than the capacity value of the negative electrode participation end point nf' by the size of the capacity range of the full monomer curve M as the negative electrode participation starting point ni'.

[0209] As another example, when the negative electrode participation starting point ni' is determined, the curve acquisition unit 110 can set a point on the reference negative electrode curve Rn' whose capacity value is greater than the capacity value of the negative electrode participation starting point ni' by the size of the capacity range of the full monomer curve M as the negative electrode participation ending point nf'. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can search for a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' that is higher than the voltage of the negative electrode participation starting point ni' by a first set voltage, and set the searched point as the positive electrode participation starting point pi'. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can set a point on the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' whose capacity value is greater than the capacity value of the positive electrode participation starting point pi' by the size of the capacity range of the full monomer curve M as the positive electrode participation ending point pf'.

[0210] As another example, when the negative electrode participation end point nf' is determined, the curve acquisition unit 110 can set a point on the reference negative electrode curve Rn' whose capacity value is smaller than the capacity value of the negative electrode participation end point nf' by the size of the capacity range of the full monomer curve M as the negative electrode participation starting point ni'. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can search for a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' that is higher than the voltage of the negative electrode participation end point nf' by a second set voltage, and set the searched point as the positive electrode participation end point pf'. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can set a point on the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' whose capacity value is smaller than the capacity value of the positive electrode participation end point pf' by the size of the capacity range of the full monomer curve M as the positive electrode participation starting point pi'.

[0211] Once the positive pole participation starting point pi', the positive pole participation ending point pf', the negative pole participation starting point ni' and the negative pole participation ending point nf' are determined based on the pair of the first scaling factor and the second scaling factor, the curve acquisition unit 110 can shift at least one of the adjusted reference positive pole curve Rp' and the adjusted reference negative pole curve Rn' to the left or right along the horizontal axis so that the capacity values ​​of the positive pole participation starting point pi' and the negative pole participation starting point ni' match, or the capacity values ​​of the positive pole participation ending point pf' and the negative pole participation ending point nf' match.

[0212] Fig.14 The adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn" shown in FIG. Fig.13 The adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn" shown in is shifted to the right. Therefore, the capacity values ​​of the positive electrode participation starting point pi' and the negative electrode participation starting point ni" match each other. In connection with this, since the capacity difference between the positive electrode participation starting point pi' and the positive electrode participation ending point pf' is the same as the capacity difference between the negative electrode participation starting point ni' and the negative electrode participation ending point nf', if the capacity values ​​of the positive electrode participation starting point pi' and the negative electrode participation starting point ni" match each other, the capacity values ​​of the positive electrode participation ending point pf' and the negative electrode participation ending point nf" also match each other.

[0213] refer to Fig.14 The curve obtaining unit 110 may generate the comparative full-cell curve U by subtracting the partial curve between the two points pi', pf' of the adjusted reference positive curve Rp' from the partial curve between the two points ni'', nf'' of the adjusted reference negative curve Rn''.

[0214] The curve obtaining unit 110 may calculate an error (curve error) between the comparison all-monomer curve U and the measurement all-monomer curve M.

[0215] The curve acquisition unit 110 can map at least two of the adjusted reference positive curve Rp', the adjusted reference negative curve Rn", the positive participation starting point pi', the positive participation ending point pf', the negative participation starting point ni", the negative participation ending point nf", the first scaling factor, the second scaling factor, the comparison full monomer curve U and the curve error to each other and record them in the storage unit 140.

[0216] Here, the curve acquisition unit 110 can calculate the positive change rate ps of the adjusted reference positive curve Rp' and the reference positive curve Rp. In addition, the curve acquisition unit 110 can calculate the negative change rate ns of the adjusted reference positive curve Rn" and the reference negative curve Rn. For example, the curve acquisition unit 110 can determine the first scaling factor as the positive change rate ps, and determine the second scaling factor as the negative change rate ns.

[0217] As described above, the curve obtaining unit 110 may generate a comparative full monomer curve corresponding to each pair of the first scaling factor and the second scaling factor selected from the scaling value range. Since there are multiple pairs of the first scaling factor and the second scaling factor, it is obvious that multiple comparative full monomer curves will also be generated. The curve obtaining unit 110 may identify the minimum value among the curve errors of the multiple comparative full monomer curves, and then obtain information mapped to the minimum curve error from the storage unit 140.

[0218] if Fig.14 If the comparative full-cell curve U shown in has the smallest curve error in the measured full-cell curve M, the adjusted reference positive electrode curve Rp' or the adjusted reference negative electrode curve Rn" can be used as the target electrode curve.

[0219] The diagnostic apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may be included in a battery manufacturing system (not shown).

[0220] Here, the battery manufacturing system may be a system applied to a battery manufacturing process. For example, a battery may be manufactured to include an electrode assembly, an external substance, and an electrolyte solution. The external substance provides a space in which the electrode assembly can be accommodated, and the electrode assembly can be at least partially impregnated by injecting the electrolyte solution into the space. In addition, by finally sealing the external substance, the manufacture of the battery can be completed. Afterwards, the battery can be completed through an activation process and a degassing process.

[0221] Furthermore, the state of the manufactured battery may be diagnosed by the diagnosis device 100. Preferably, the state of the battery may be diagnosed based on the state of an active material included in the manufactured electrode of the battery.

[0222] A battery manufacturing system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may diagnose whether a manufactured battery is a good product by diagnosing the state of an active material included in a manufactured electrode.

[0223] The diagnostic device 100 according to the present disclosure may be applied to a battery management system (BMS). That is, the BMS according to the present disclosure may include the above-mentioned device 100 for diagnosing a battery. In this configuration, at least some components of the diagnostic device 100 may be implemented by supplementing or adding functions of components included in a conventional BMS. For example, the curve acquisition unit 110, the diagnostic unit 120, and the storage unit 130 of the diagnostic device 100 may be implemented as components of the BMS.

[0224] In addition, the diagnostic device 100 according to the present disclosure may be provided in a battery pack. That is, the battery pack according to the present disclosure may include the above-mentioned diagnostic device 100 and at least one battery cell. In addition, the battery pack may further include electrical components (relays, fuses, etc.) and a housing.

[0225] Fig.15 is a diagram showing an exemplary configuration of a battery pack 10 according to the present disclosure.

[0226] The positive terminal of the battery 11 may be connected to the positive terminal P+ of the battery pack 10 , and the negative terminal of the battery 11 may be connected to the negative terminal P− of the battery pack 10 .

[0227] The measuring unit 20 may be connected to the first sensing line SL1, the second sensing line SL2, and the third sensing line SL3. Specifically, the measuring unit 20 may be connected to the positive terminal of the battery 11 through the first sensing line SL1, and may be connected to the negative terminal of the battery 11 through the second sensing line SL2. The measuring unit 20 may measure the voltage of the battery 11 based on the voltage measured at each of the first sensing line SL1 and the second sensing line SL2.

[0228] In addition, the measuring unit 20 may be connected to the current measuring unit A through the third sensing line SL3. For example, the current measuring unit A may be an ammeter or a shunt resistor, which may measure the charging current and the discharging current of the battery 11. The measuring unit 20 may calculate the charging amount by measuring the charging current of the battery 11 through the third sensing line SL3. In addition, the measuring unit 20 may calculate the discharging amount by measuring the discharging current of the battery 11 through the third sensing line SL3.

[0229] One end of an external device (not shown) may be connected to the positive terminal P+ of the battery pack 10, and the other end may be connected to the negative terminal P- of the battery pack 10. Thus, the positive terminal of the battery 11, the positive terminal P+ of the battery pack 10, the external device, the negative terminal P- of the battery pack 10, and the negative terminal of the battery 11 may be electrically connected.

[0230] For example, the external device may be a charging device, or a load such as a motor of an electric vehicle that receives power from the battery 11 .

[0231] Fig.16 is a diagram schematically showing an electric vehicle 1 according to the present disclosure.

[0232] refer to Fig.16 , a battery pack 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may be included in an electric vehicle 1 such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a hybrid vehicle (HV). Here, the above-mentioned battery pack 10 may be applied as the battery pack 10. In addition, the battery pack 10 may drive the electric vehicle 1 by supplying power to the motor through an inverter provided in the electric vehicle 1. In addition, the battery pack 10 may include a diagnostic device 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. That is, the electric vehicle 1 may include the diagnostic device 100.

[0233] Fig.17 is a flow chart illustrating a diagnostic method according to the present disclosure.

[0234] A diagnosis method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for diagnosing individual states of first to nth active materials (n is a natural number of 2 or more) included in an electrode of a battery. Here, the electrode refers to a positive electrode or a negative electrode.

[0235] Preferably, each step of the diagnosis method can be performed by the diagnosis device 100. In the following, for the convenience of explanation, the contents overlapping with the previously described contents will be briefly described or omitted.

[0236] refer to Fig.17 In step S100 , the curve obtaining unit 110 may obtain a target electrode curve ep based on the capacity-voltage measurement information of the electrode.

[0237] For example, the target electrode curve ep may be generated based on half-cell data obtained by charging or discharging the half-cell. As another example, the target electrode curve ep may be generated based on a measured full-cell curve, a reference positive electrode curve, and a reference negative electrode curve according to battery capacity-voltage information.

[0238] In step S200 , the diagnosis unit 120 may generate first to m-th simulated electrode curves (m is a natural number of 2 or more) from first to n-th reference active material curves.

[0239] Specifically, the diagnostic unit 120 may generate the first to nth adjusted active material curves associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set from the first to nth reference active material curves by individually using the first to nth adjustment coefficients of the jth adjustment coefficient set (j is a natural number less than or equal to m) among the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets. For example, the kth adjusted active material curve may be a curve in which the kth reference active material curve is scaled by the kth adjustment coefficient along the capacity axis. In addition, the diagnostic unit 120 may be configured to generate the jth simulated electrode curve by synthesizing the first to nth adjusted active material curves associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set.

[0240] In step S300 , the diagnosis unit 120 may individually compare the first to mth simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve ep.

[0241] For example, the diagnosis unit 120 may determine a simulated electrode curve having the smallest error with the target electrode curve ep among the first to mth simulated electrode curves.

[0242] In step S400 , the diagnosis unit 120 may diagnose the states of the first to nth active substances.

[0243] Specifically, the diagnostic unit 120 may determine the first to nth adjustment coefficients used in the process of generating the simulated electrode curve determined in step S300 as the first to nth weight factors. In addition, the diagnostic unit 120 may determine the characteristic value of the kth active material based on the kth weight factor associated with the kth active material among the first to nth active materials. Here, the characteristic value may be the current available capacity, the composition ratio within the electrode, or the weight. The diagnostic unit 120 may diagnose the state of the kth active material based on the characteristic value of the kth active material and the preset kth threshold.

[0244] More specifically, the diagnostic unit 120 may calculate the current available capacity of the kth active material by multiplying the kth weight factor by the kth reference electrode capacity (see Formula 3). The diagnostic unit 120 may calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode by dividing the kth weight factor by the sum of all the first to nth weight factors (see Formula 4). If the kth reference active material curve represents the capacity-voltage relationship per unit weight of the kth active material, the diagnostic unit 120 may calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode by multiplying the unit weight by the kth weight factor ( ) to calculate the weight of the kth active substance.

[0245] The embodiments of the present disclosure described above can be implemented not only by devices and methods, but also by a program that implements the functions of the configuration corresponding to the embodiments of the present disclosure or a recording medium on which the program is recorded. According to the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can easily implement the program or recording medium.

[0246] 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 become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

[0247] In addition, without departing from the technical aspects of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art may make many substitutions, modifications and changes to the present disclosure described above, and the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and drawings described above, and each embodiment may be selectively combined in part or in whole to allow various modifications.

Claims

1. A diagnostic device for diagnosing the states of first to nth active materials included in an electrode of a battery, wherein the electrode is a positive electrode or a negative electrode, the diagnostic device comprising: a curve obtaining unit, the curve obtaining unit being configured to obtain a target electrode curve representing a corresponding relationship between a capacity and a voltage of the electrode; as well as a diagnosis unit configured to generate first to m-th simulated electrode curves based on predetermined first to n-th reference active material curves, individually compare the first to m-th simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve, and diagnose the states of the first to n-th active materials based on the comparison results, Here, n is a natural number of 2 or more, and m is a natural number of 2 or more.

2. The diagnostic device according to claim 1, in, The diagnostic unit is configured to: determining first to nth weighting factors based on results of individually comparing the first to mth simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve, and determining a characteristic value of the kth active material included in the electrode based on a kth weight factor associated with a kth active material among the first to nth active materials, Where k is a natural number less than or equal to n, The characteristic value indicates the currently available capacity, the composition ratio within the electrode, or the weight.

3. The diagnostic device according to claim 2, in, The diagnosis unit is configured to calculate the current available capacity of the kth active material by multiplying the kth weighting factor by a preset kth reference electrode capacity.

4. The diagnostic device according to claim 2, in, The diagnosis unit is configured to calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode by dividing the kth weighting factor by a sum of all of the first to nth weighting factors.

5. The diagnostic device according to claim 2, in, The diagnosis unit is configured to calculate the weight of the kth active substance by multiplying a preset kth reference weight by the kth weight factor.

6. The diagnostic device according to claim 2, in, The diagnosis unit is configured to diagnose the state of the kth active material based on the characteristic value of the kth active material and a preset kth threshold value.

7. The diagnostic device according to claim 1, in, Among the first to nth reference active material curves, the kth reference active material curve represents the capacity-voltage relationship obtained by the kth reference electrode during the charge or discharge process, and wherein the kth reference electrode is manufactured to include a single active material, the single active material being an active material of the same type as the kth active material, And, k is a natural number less than or equal to n.

8. The diagnostic device according to claim 2, in, The diagnosis unit is configured to generate the first to mth simulated electrode curves by repeating an adjustment process and a synthesis process for the first to nth reference active material curves according to first to mth adjustment coefficient sets.

9. The diagnostic device according to claim 8, in, The diagnostic unit is configured to: generating first to nth adjusted active material curves associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set from the first to nth reference active material curves by individually using first to nth adjustment coefficients of the jth adjustment coefficient set among the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets, and generating a j-th simulated electrode curve by synthesizing the first to n-th adjusted active material curves associated with the j-th adjustment coefficient set, Among the first to nth adjusted active material curves, the kth adjusted active material curve is obtained by scaling the kth reference active material curve with the kth adjustment coefficient along the capacity axis, And, j is a natural number less than or equal to m.

10. The diagnostic device according to claim 9, in, The diagnostic unit is configured to: determining a simulated electrode curve having a minimum error with the target electrode curve among the first to mth simulated electrode curves, and The first to nth adjustment coefficients of any one of the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets used in the process of generating the determined simulated electrode curve are determined as the first to nth weighting factors.

11. The diagnostic device according to claim 1, in, The curve obtaining unit is configured to obtain the target electrode curve based on a measured full-cell curve representing a capacity-voltage relationship of the battery.

12. A battery manufacturing system comprising the diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A battery pack comprising the diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. An electric vehicle comprising the diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

15. A diagnostic method for diagnosing the states of first to nth active materials included in an electrode of a battery, wherein: The electrode is a positive electrode or a negative electrode, and the diagnostic method comprises: Obtaining a target electrode curve based on the capacity-voltage measurement information of the electrode; generating first to mth simulated electrode curves from first to nth reference active material curves; and comparing the first to mth simulated electrode curves with the target electrode curve individually to diagnose the states of the first to nth active materials, Here, n is a natural number of 2 or more, and m is a natural number of 2 or more.

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