Apparatus and method for diagnosing state of battery

Abstract

The apparatus and method for diagnosing a battery state according to an embodiment and an experimental example of the present invention monitor a charging voltage and a charging time of a battery, and diagnose a battery abnormality that occurs as a preliminary symptom before the battery is on fire, thereby enabling safe use of the battery.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0017802 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on February 10, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for diagnosing a battery state, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for diagnosing an abnormal state of a battery state by monitoring a charging voltage and a charging time in a charging cycle of a battery. Background Art

[0003] With the depletion of fossil fuels and the increasing interest in environmental pollution, the demand for secondary batteries as environmentally friendly alternative energy sources is rapidly increasing. Among various alternative energy sources, the demand for rechargeable lithium secondary batteries is rapidly increasing.

[0004] As a response to today's environmental regulations and high oil prices, lithium secondary batteries are being used in a variety of industrial fields from mobile applications to vehicles, robots, and energy storage devices. However, lithium secondary batteries have the risk of catching fire or exploding when internal or external defects occur, so it is important to diagnose the condition of the battery in real time.

[0005] Therefore, in the past, voltage and temperature used to be monitored to diagnose abnormal conditions of the battery.

[0006] However, a disadvantage of conventional battery status diagnosis methods is that the measured values ​​are easily changed by surrounding environmental factors. Summary of the invention

[0007] Technical issues

[0008] To eliminate one or more problems of the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus for diagnosing a battery status.

[0009] In order to eliminate one or more problems of the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a method for diagnosing a battery status.

[0010] Technical Solution

[0011] To achieve the purpose of the present disclosure, a battery status diagnostic device may include: at least one processor; and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store at least one instruction executed by the at least one processor, and the at least one instruction may include: an instruction to monitor whether an abnormal voltage measurement value occurs within a specific cycle among multiple charging cycles of a battery; an instruction to check the charging time of the battery in the next cycle after the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs; and an instruction to diagnose the abnormal state of the battery based on the charging time of the battery in the next cycle.

[0012] Here, the charging time may include: a first charging time, which is the duration taken to charge the battery using a constant current (CC) charging method; and a second charging time, which is the duration taken to charge the battery using a constant voltage (CV) charging method.

[0013] Additionally, the instructions for diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery may include instructions for diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery by comparing a charging time of the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs with a charging time of the next cycle.

[0014] In more detail, the instructions for diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery may include: when the constant current (CC) charging time of the next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the constant current (CC) charging time of the specific cycle, or when the constant voltage (CV) charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the constant voltage CV charging time of the specific cycle, instructions for determining that an abnormality has occurred in the battery.

[0015] In addition, the instructions for diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery may include: instructions for determining that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when the constant current (CC) charging time of the next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the constant current (CC) charging time of the specific cycle and the constant voltage (CV) charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the constant voltage CV charging time of the specific cycle.

[0016] In addition, instructions for monitoring whether a voltage measurement value abnormality occurs in a specific cycle may include: instructions for obtaining multiple open circuit voltage (OCV) measurement values ​​measured for each charging cycle; instructions for monitoring at least one OCV measurement value among the multiple OCV measurement values ​​that has a change amount greater than a predefined threshold compared to the OCV measurement value in the previous cycle; and instructions for determining a charging cycle in which at least one OCV measurement value with a change amount greater than the predefined threshold is detected as a specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs.

[0017] Furthermore, the abnormal state of the battery may include a state in which the battery is at risk of catching fire or a state in which exhaust gas is generated in the battery.

[0018] Furthermore, the at least one instruction may further include: an instruction for counting the number of times the abnormal state of the battery has been diagnosed; and an instruction for outputting an alarm when the counted number of abnormal state diagnoses is equal to or greater than a predefined threshold.

[0019] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for diagnosing a battery status by a battery status diagnostic device may include: monitoring whether an abnormal voltage measurement value occurs in a specific cycle among multiple charging cycles of the battery; checking the charging time of the battery in the next cycle after the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs; and diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery based on the charging time of the battery in the next cycle.

[0020] Here, the charging time may include: a first charging time, which is the duration taken to charge the battery using a constant current (CC) charging method; and a second charging time, which is the duration taken to charge the battery using a constant voltage (CV) charging method.

[0021] In addition, diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery may include diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery by comparing a charging time of the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs with a charging time of the next cycle.

[0022] In more detail, diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery may include: determining that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when the constant current (CC) charging time of the next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the constant current (CC) charging time of the specific cycle, or when the constant voltage (CV) charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the constant voltage CV charging time of the specific cycle.

[0023] In addition, diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery may include: determining that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when the constant current (CC) charging time of the next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the constant current (CC) charging time of the specific cycle and the constant voltage (CV) charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the constant voltage CV charging time of the specific cycle.

[0024] In addition, monitoring whether a voltage measurement value abnormality occurs in a specific cycle may include: obtaining multiple open circuit voltage (OCV) measurement values ​​measured for each charging cycle; monitoring at least one OCV measurement value among the multiple OCV measurement values ​​that has a change amount greater than a predefined threshold compared to the OCV measurement value in the previous cycle; and determining the charging cycle in which the at least one OCV measurement value with a change amount greater than the predefined threshold is detected as the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs.

[0025] Furthermore, the abnormal state of the battery may include a state in which the battery is at risk of catching fire or a state in which exhaust gas is generated in the battery.

[0026] The method may further include: counting the number of times the abnormal state of the battery has been diagnosed; and outputting an alarm when the counted number of abnormal state diagnoses is equal to or greater than a predefined threshold.

[0027] Beneficial Effects

[0028] The battery state diagnosis apparatus and method according to the embodiments and experimental examples of the present invention can diagnose damage to a battery due to an external impact, thereby providing improved safety. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a battery system to which an embodiment of the present invention may be applied.

[0030] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a battery state diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] Figure 3 is a flowchart for explaining a method for diagnosing a battery condition according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Figure 4 is a graph showing the magnitude of the charging voltage over time for each battery charging cycle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] Figure 5 is a graph showing OCV values ​​measured for each charging cycle of a battery according to an experimental example of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 6 The experimental examples of the present invention are summarized as follows Figure 5 A table of OCV values ​​measured at each charging cycle of the battery.

[0035] Figure 7 is a graph showing the first charging time of each battery charging cycle in the battery state diagnosis method according to an experimental example of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 8 is a graph showing a second charging time of each battery charging cycle in a battery state diagnosis method according to another experimental example of the present invention.

[0037] Fig. 9 : is a graph showing the change in the magnitude of OCV according to the charging time per charging cycle of the battery according to the experimental example of the present invention.

[0038] 1000: Battery status diagnostic equipment

[0039] 100: Memory 200: Processor

[0040] 300: transceiver 400: input interface

[0041] 500: output interface 600: storage device

[0042] 700: Bus DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The present invention can be modified in various forms and have various embodiments, and its specific embodiments are shown in the drawings by way of example and will be described in detail below. However, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, but on the contrary, the present invention will cover all modifications, equivalents and substitutions that fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. Throughout the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals refer to the same elements.

[0044] It should be understood that although various elements may be described herein using terms such as first, second, A, B, etc., these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the present invention. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes a combination of any of a plurality of associated listed items or a plurality of associated listed items.

[0045] It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being "coupled" or "connected" to another element, it can be directly coupled or connected to the other element, or there can be intermediate elements. On the contrary, when an element is referred to as being "directly coupled" or "directly connected" to another element, there are no intermediate elements.

[0046] The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprises", "includes", "comprising", "containing" and / or "having" specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, constituent elements, parts and / or combinations thereof, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, constituent elements, parts and / or combinations thereof.

[0047] Unless otherwise specified, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. It should also be understood that terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this article.

[0048] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a battery system to which an embodiment of the present invention may be applied.

[0049] Reference Figure 1 , a battery pack or battery module may include a plurality of battery cells connected in series. A battery pack or battery module may be connected to a load via a positive terminal and a negative terminal to perform charging or discharging. The most commonly used battery cell is a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery cell.

[0050] A battery management system (BMS) 100 may be connected to a battery module or a battery pack.

[0051] The battery management system can monitor the current, voltage and temperature of each battery cell or battery module to be managed, and calculate the state of charge (SOC) of the battery based on the monitoring results to control charging and discharging. Here, the state of charge (SOC) refers to the current state of charge of the battery, expressed in percentage points [%], and the state of health (SOH) can be the current condition of the battery compared to its ideal condition, expressed in percentage points [%].

[0052] The BMS monitors the battery cells, reads the cell voltages, and transmits them to other systems connected to the battery.

[0053] In addition, the battery management system monitors at least one electrical component constituting the battery system and transmits their status data to other systems. To this end, the BMS includes a communication module for communicating with other systems in the device including the battery system.

[0054] The communication module of the BMS can communicate with other systems in the device using CAN (Controller Area Network). Here, the components, modules or systems in the BMS are connected to each other via the CAN bus. Therefore, the battery management system (BMS) can use CAN communication to remotely send status data obtained by monitoring the battery pack or battery module and at least one electrical component constituting the battery management system (BMS) to other systems.

[0055] In addition, a battery management system (BMS) can likewise balance the charging of the battery cells in order to extend the life of the battery system.

[0056] The BMS100 may include various components, such as fuses, current sensing elements, thermistors, switches, and balancers, to perform such operations. In most cases, a microcontroller unit (MCU) or a battery monitoring integrated chip (BMIC) for interworking and controlling these components is additionally included in the BMS. Here, the BMIC may be located inside the battery management system (BMS) and may be an IC-type component that measures information such as voltage, temperature, and current of a battery cell / battery module. According to an embodiment, the battery management system (BMS) may be applied to an automobile.

[0057] In addition, generally, the battery management system (BMS) may be connected to a battery protection device that blocks the charging and discharging circuits when a battery abnormality occurs. In other words, when an abnormality occurs in any battery cell or module, a general battery protection circuit blocks the charging and discharging circuits to limit the use of the battery.

[0058] The battery state diagnosis apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented by being included in a battery management system (BMS).

[0059] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a battery state diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0061] The battery state diagnosis device 1000 may be a device that pre-diagnoses an abnormal state of a battery to prevent a battery fire. In other words, the battery state diagnosis device 1000 may be a device that detects a battery abnormality that occurs as a preliminary sign before a fire occurs due to thermal runaway of the battery. For example, the abnormal phenomenon may be a gas discharge phenomenon.

[0062] According to an embodiment, the battery state diagnosis device 1000 can monitor the charging voltage value obtained in each cycle, and can obtain information related to a specific cycle in which an abnormality in the charging voltage value has occurred. Thereafter, the battery state diagnosis device 1000 can monitor the charging time in the next cycle after the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurred, and can determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the battery.

[0063] More specifically, regarding the reference Figure 2 According to each component of the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may include a memory 100 , a processor 200 , a transceiver 300 , an input interface 400 , an output interface 500 , and a storage device 600 .

[0064] According to an embodiment, the respective components 100 , 200 , 300 , 400 , 500 , 600 included in the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may be connected through a bus 700 to communicate with each other.

[0065] The memory 100 and the storage device 600 among the components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 may include at least one of a volatile storage medium and a nonvolatile storage medium. For example, the memory 100 and the storage device 600 may include at least one of a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM).

[0066] The memory 100 may include at least one instruction executed by the processor 200 .

[0067] According to an embodiment, the at least one instruction may include: an instruction to monitor whether an abnormal voltage measurement value occurs in a specific cycle among multiple charging cycles of a battery; an instruction to check the charging time of the battery in the next cycle after the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs; and an instruction to diagnose an abnormal state of the battery based on the charging time of the battery in the next cycle.

[0068] Here, the charging time may include a first charging time which is a duration taken to charge the battery using a constant current (CC) charging method and a second charging time which is a duration taken to charge the battery using a constant voltage (CV) charging method.

[0069] Additionally, the instructions for diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery may include instructions for diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery by comparing a charging time of a specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs with a charging time of a next cycle.

[0070] In more detail, instructions for diagnosing an abnormal state of a battery may include instructions for determining that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when a constant current (CC) charging time of a next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to a constant current (CC) charging time of a particular cycle, or when a constant voltage (CV) charging time of a next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to a constant voltage (CV) charging time of a particular cycle.

[0071] In addition, instructions for diagnosing an abnormal state of a battery may include instructions for determining that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when a constant current (CC) charging time of a next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to a constant current (CC) charging time of a specific cycle and a constant voltage (CV) charging time of a next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to a constant voltage (CV) charging time of a specific cycle.

[0072] In addition, instructions for monitoring whether an abnormality in a voltage measurement value occurs in a specific cycle may include: instructions for obtaining multiple open circuit voltage (OCV) measurement values ​​measured for each charging cycle; instructions for monitoring at least one OCV measurement value among the multiple OCV measurement values ​​having a change amount greater than a predefined threshold compared to the OCV measurement value in the previous cycle; and instructions for determining a charging cycle in which at least one OCV measurement value having a change amount greater than the predefined threshold is detected as a specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs.

[0073] Furthermore, the abnormal state of the battery may include a state in which the battery is at risk of catching fire or a state in which gas discharge occurs in the battery.

[0074] Furthermore, the at least one instruction may further include: an instruction for counting the number of times an abnormal state of the battery has been diagnosed; and an instruction for outputting an alarm when the counted number of abnormal state diagnoses is equal to or greater than a predefined threshold.

[0075] In addition, the processor 200 may refer to a dedicated processor, or a central processing unit (CPU), a graphic processing unit (GPU) on which the method according to the embodiment of the present invention is executed.

[0076] As described above, the processor 200 may execute at least one program command stored in the memory 100 .

[0077] The battery state diagnosis device according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Next, a battery state diagnosis method performed by the processing operation of the battery state diagnosis device will be described.

[0078] Figure 3 is a flowchart for explaining a method for diagnosing a battery condition according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 4 is a graph showing the magnitude of the charging voltage over time for each battery charging cycle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may obtain a charging voltage value for each cycle of battery charging (S1000). According to an embodiment, the charging voltage value may be data measured by the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 for each charging cycle, or may be data received from an external device.

[0080] Thereafter, the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may monitor whether an abnormality occurs in the measured charging voltage value obtained for each cycle, and obtain information on a specific cycle in which the abnormal charging voltage value is measured ( S2000 ).

[0081] According to an embodiment, the battery status diagnostic device 1000 may determine that an abnormality has occurred in the charging voltage value when the charging voltage value in a certain cycle among the multiple charging voltage values ​​measured for each cycle has a change amount equal to or greater than a predefined threshold compared to the charging voltage value in the previous cycle. Thereafter, the battery status diagnostic device 1000 may obtain information related to a specific cycle in which the corresponding charging voltage value is measured. For example, the charging voltage value may be a charging open circuit voltage (OCV) value. Here, the charging OCV may be a voltage measured when no current flows to the battery in a charging state.

[0082] In other words, the battery status diagnosis device 1000 can determine that the corresponding OCV value is abnormal when the corresponding OCV value in a certain cycle among the multiple OCV values ​​measured for each cycle has a change amount equal to or greater than a predefined threshold compared to the OCV value in the previous cycle. Thereafter, the battery status diagnosis device 1000 can obtain information related to the specific cycle in which the corresponding OCV value is measured. For example, the predefined threshold may be 0.0001V.

[0083] Thereafter, the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may check the charging time in the next cycle relative to the specific cycle (S3000). In other words, if the specific cycle is cycle N, the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may check the charging time of the battery in cycle N+1.

[0084] Here, the charging time may include a first charging time and a second charging time. According to one embodiment, the first charging time may be a duration for charging the battery using a constant current (CC) charging method. According to another embodiment, the charging time may include a first charging time and a second charging time, the second charging time being a duration for charging the battery using a constant voltage (CV) charging method.

[0085] In other words, the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may diagnose the abnormal state of the battery by using at least one of the first charging time and the second charging time of the next cycle (N+1 cycle) after the specific cycle (N cycle) (S4000).

[0086] According to an embodiment, the battery status diagnostic device 1000 can determine that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when the first charging time of the next cycle (cycle N+1) increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the first charging time of a specific cycle (cycle N) or when the second charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the second charging time of the specific cycle.

[0087] According to another embodiment, the battery status diagnostic device 1000 can determine that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when the first charging time of the next cycle (cycle N+1) increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the first charging time of a specific cycle (cycle N) and the second charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the second charging time of the specific cycle.

[0088] Here, the battery abnormality may be a gas discharge phenomenon that occurs before the battery catches fire due to thermal runaway.

[0089] Therefore, the battery state diagnosis device 1000 can diagnose an abnormal condition of a battery that occurs as a preliminary sign before a fire occurs due to thermal runaway of the battery. Therefore, the battery state diagnosis device 1000 can provide a battery use environment with improved safety.

[0090] Thereafter, the battery state diagnostic apparatus 1000 may repeatedly perform steps S1000 to S4000 and count the number of times the abnormal condition has been diagnosed.

[0091] Thereafter, when the number of times (C) of counting the abnormal state of the battery is equal to or greater than K ( S5000 ), the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may output an alarm notifying a manager of a dangerous situation ( S6000 ).

[0092] According to one embodiment, when the number of battery abnormalities is K or more, the battery state diagnostic apparatus 1000 may generate an alarm sound to inform a manager of a fire risk situation.

[0093] According to another embodiment, the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may send a warning message to the operator terminal when the number of times the battery state is abnormal is K or more, thereby notifying the manager of the fire risk situation.

[0094] However, the battery state diagnostic apparatus 1000 is not limited to the described contents, and various methods such as vibration may be used to notify the manager of the fire risk situation.

[0095] In the above, the battery status diagnosis device and method according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described. Hereinafter, the method of diagnosing the battery status will be described in more detail based on the experimental example of the present invention.

[0096] Figure 5 is a graph showing OCV values ​​measured for each charging cycle of a battery according to an experimental example of the present invention, and Figure 6 It is summarized based on Figure 5 A table of the OCV values ​​measured for each charging cycle of the battery.

[0097] Generally, as the charging cycle proceeds, the voltage value of the battery gradually decreases to a level within a preset threshold.

[0098] In addition, if an abnormality occurs in the battery, the voltage value of the battery may rapidly decrease to a level greater than a preset threshold value.

[0099] Therefore, the battery state diagnosis apparatus 1000 may monitor whether an OCV value in a certain cycle among a plurality of OCV values ​​(OCV_Charge) measured for each cycle has a change amount (ΔOCV) equal to or greater than a predefined threshold compared to an OCV value in a previous cycle.

[0100] Thereafter, if the OCV value in a certain cycle exceeds a threshold value, the battery state diagnostic apparatus 1000 may check information related to a specific cycle in which the corresponding OCV value is measured.

[0101] Reference Figure 5 It can be appreciated that the OCV value of the battery decreases rapidly during charging cycle 58 and then recovers rapidly again during cycle 59 .

[0102] For more details, refer to Figure 6 It can be understood that, except for the OCV change between battery charging cycle 58 and battery charging cycle 59, the OCV changes in other charging cycles are less than 0.001V.

[0103] For example, regarding the OCV change at cycle 57 prior to cycle 58, the OCV value of the battery is 4.1737V at battery charging cycle 56, and the OCV of the battery is 4.17434V in battery charging cycle 57, and therefore, the OCV change in cycle 57 is 0.00003V.

[0104] Additionally, the OCV value of the battery was measured as 4.17148 V in battery charging cycle 58 , and thus, the OCV value at charging cycle 58 dropped dramatically by 0.00286 V compared to the OCV value at cycle 57 (4.1737 V).

[0105] In addition, the OCV value of the battery was measured to be 4.17333 V in battery charging cycle 59, which can be understood that the OCV value in charging cycle 59 has quickly recovered by 0.00185 V compared with the OCV value of cycle 58 (4.17148 V).

[0106] Therefore, the battery status diagnostic device 1000 can predict that an abnormality has occurred in the battery at the charging cycle 58 where the OCV change exceeds the predefined threshold. Therefore, the battery status diagnostic device 1000 can define the cycle 58 as information related to the specific cycle where the abnormality occurred. Here, the predefined threshold can be set by the operator based on the OCV change measured for each charging cycle. For example, the threshold can be 0.0001V.

[0107] Figure 7 is a graph showing the first charging time of each battery charging cycle in the battery state diagnosis method according to an experimental example of the present invention.

[0108] Reference Figure 7 , showing that the first charge time (Chg CC) of the battery decreases rapidly in cycle 59, which is the cycle using Figure 5 The next cycle of cycle 58 is obtained by using information related to the specific cycle.

[0109] For more details, refer to Figure 7 , showing that except for the first charging time (Chg CC) in cycle 59, the first charging time (Chg CC) in other charging cycles changes within 30 seconds.

[0110] In addition, the first charging time (Chg CC) in cycle 58 as a specific cycle is shown to be 9254.8 seconds, and the first charging time (Chg CC) in cycle 59 as the next cycle is shown to be 9150.6 seconds. In other words, in cycle 59, the first charging time (Chg CC) is shortened by 104.2 seconds (ΔCC) compared to the previous cycle (which is cycle 58).

[0111] Figure 8 is a graph showing a second charging time of each battery charging cycle in a battery state diagnosis method according to another experimental example of the present invention.

[0112] Reference Figure 8 , showing that the second charging time (Chg CV) of the battery increases rapidly in cycle 59, which is Figure 5 The next cycle of cycle 58 obtained using specific cycle information.

[0113] For more details, refer to Figure 8 , showing that except for the second charging time in cycle 59, the second charging time (Chg CV) in other charging cycles changes within 70 seconds.

[0114] In addition, the second charging time (Chg CV) in cycle 58 as a specific cycle is shown to be 1953 seconds, and the second charging time (Chg CV) in the next cycle (cycle 59) is shown to be 2239 seconds. In other words, in cycle 59, the second charging time (Chg CV) increases by 286 seconds (ΔCV) compared to the previous cycle (cycle 58).

[0115] Fig. 9 : is a graph showing the change in the magnitude of OCV according to the charging time per charging cycle of the battery according to the experimental example of the present invention.

[0116] Reference Fig. 9 Based on cycle 58 as a specific cycle, the first charging time (CC time) in cycle 59 as the next cycle is reduced (to 9150.6 seconds) by more than a predefined first threshold value (e.g., 100 seconds) compared to the first charging time in the specific cycle.

[0117] In addition, based on the specific cycle (cycle 58), the second charging time (CV time) in the next cycle (cycle 59) increases (to 2239 seconds) beyond the predefined second threshold (eg, 150 seconds), and at this time, venting occurs in the battery.

[0118] Therefore, the battery status diagnostic device 1000 according to the embodiment and experimental example of the present invention can determine that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when the changes in the first charging time (CC Time) and the second charging time (CV Time) in the next cycle relative to a specific cycle exceed the first threshold and the second threshold respectively.

[0119] In addition, it is shown that not only at cycle 58, but also when the charging cycle of the battery is cycle 114, the OCV value of the battery decreases sharply and recovers quickly again at cycle 115. In other words, it should be understood that cycle 114 is also a specific cycle.

[0120] Afterwards, if Fig. 9 As shown, not only at the 59th cycle but also at the 115th cycle, the first charging time decreased by more than the first threshold value and the second charging time increased by more than the second threshold value, and the battery had then caught fire.

[0121] Therefore, the battery status diagnosis device 1000 according to the embodiment and experimental example of the present invention can be as follows: Figure 3 The number of times the abnormal state of the battery has been diagnosed is counted as in steps S5000 to S6000 in the embodiment, and an alarm is sent to an administrator when the counted number is equal to or greater than a predefined threshold, thereby ensuring safe battery use.

[0122] The battery state diagnosis apparatus and method according to the embodiments and experimental examples of the present invention have been described above.

[0123] The battery status diagnosis device and method according to the embodiments and experimental examples of the present invention can monitor whether an abnormal voltage measurement value occurs at a specific cycle during the battery charging cycle, and diagnose the abnormal state of the battery based on the charging time of the next cycle after the specific cycle, thereby ensuring safe battery use.

[0124] The operation of the method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be implemented as a computer-readable program or code on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices having data readable by a computer system stored therein. In addition, the computer-readable recording medium can be distributed in a network-connected computer system, and store and execute the computer-readable program or code in a distributed manner.

[0125] In addition, the computer-readable recording medium may include hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. The program instructions may include not only machine language codes created by a compiler, but also high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter.

[0126] Although some aspects of the present invention have been described in the context of equipment, it can also be represented according to the description of the corresponding method, wherein a block or device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, the aspects described in the context of the method can also represent the features of the corresponding block or project or corresponding equipment. Some or all of the method steps can be performed by (or using) hardware devices, such as, for example, a microprocessor, a programmable computer or an electronic circuit. In some embodiments, one or more of the most important method steps can be performed by such equipment.

[0127] In the foregoing, the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made to the present invention within the scope without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A battery status diagnosis device, the battery status diagnosis device comprising: at least one processor; as well as a memory configured to store at least one instruction executed by the at least one processor, The at least one instruction includes: Instructions for monitoring whether abnormal voltage measurement values ​​occur in a specific cycle among a plurality of charging cycles of a battery; instructions for checking a charging time of the battery in a next cycle after the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurred; and Instructions for diagnosing an abnormal state of the battery based on the charging time of the battery in the next cycle.

2. The battery status diagnosis device according to claim 1, wherein: The charging time includes: a first charging time, the first charging time being the duration taken to charge the battery using a constant current CC charging method; and A second charging time is a duration taken to charge the battery using a constant voltage CV charging method.

3. The battery status diagnosis device according to claim 1, wherein: The instructions for diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery include instructions for diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery by comparing a charging time of the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs with a charging time of the next cycle.

4. The battery status diagnosis device according to claim 3, wherein: The instructions for diagnosing an abnormal state of the battery include: An instruction to determine that an abnormality has occurred in the battery is provided when the constant current CC charging time of the next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the constant current CC charging time of the specific cycle, or when the constant voltage CV charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the constant voltage CV charging time of the specific cycle.

5. The battery status diagnosis device according to claim 3, wherein: The instructions for diagnosing an abnormal state of the battery include: An instruction to determine that an abnormality has occurred in the battery is determined when the constant current CC charging time of the next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the constant current CC charging time of the specific cycle and the constant voltage CV charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the constant voltage CV charging time of the specific cycle.

6. The battery status diagnosis device according to claim 1, wherein: The instructions for monitoring whether an abnormal voltage measurement value occurs in the specific cycle include: Instructions for obtaining a plurality of open circuit voltage (OCV) measurements measured for each charging cycle; instructions to monitor at least one OCV measurement from among the plurality of OCV measurements for an amount of change greater than a predefined threshold compared to an OCV measurement in a previous cycle; and Instructions for determining a charging cycle in which at least one OCV measurement value having a variation greater than a predefined threshold is detected as the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs.

7. The battery status diagnosis device according to claim 1, wherein: The abnormal state of the battery includes a state in which the battery is at risk of catching fire or a state in which gas is discharged from the battery.

8. The battery status diagnosis device according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one instruction further comprises: instructions for counting the number of times the abnormal state of the battery has been diagnosed; and Instructions for outputting an alarm when the counted number of abnormal state diagnoses is equal to or greater than a predefined threshold.

9. A method for diagnosing a battery status by a battery status diagnosis device, the method comprising: Monitoring whether abnormal voltage measurement values ​​occur in a specific cycle among multiple charging cycles of the battery; checking a charging time of the battery in a next cycle after the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs; as well as An abnormal state of the battery is diagnosed based on a charging time of the battery in the next cycle.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The charging time includes: a first charging time, the first charging time being the duration taken to charge the battery using a constant current CC charging method; and A second charging time is a duration taken to charge the battery using a constant voltage CV charging method.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery includes diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery by comparing a charging time of the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs with a charging time of the next cycle.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery includes determining that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when: In the case where the constant current CC charging time of the next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the constant current CC charging time of the specific cycle, or In a case where the constant voltage CV charging time of the next cycle is reduced by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the constant voltage CV charging time of the specific cycle.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: Diagnosing the abnormal state of the battery includes: determining that an abnormality has occurred in the battery when the constant current CC charging time of the next cycle increases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold value compared to the constant current CC charging time of the specific cycle and the constant voltage CV charging time of the next cycle decreases by an amount equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold value compared to the constant voltage CV charging time of the specific cycle.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein: Monitoring whether abnormal voltage measurements occur in a specific cycle includes: Obtaining a plurality of open circuit voltage (OCV) measurements measured for each charging cycle; monitoring at least one OCV measurement value among the plurality of OCV measurements having a change amount greater than a predefined threshold compared to an OCV measurement value in a previous cycle; and A charging cycle in which at least one OCV measurement value in which the variation amount is greater than a predefined threshold is detected is determined as the specific cycle in which the abnormality occurs.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The abnormal state of the battery includes a state in which the battery is at risk of catching fire or a state in which gas is discharged from the battery.

16. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: counting the number of times the abnormal state of the battery has been diagnosed; as well as An alarm is output when the counted number of abnormal state diagnoses is equal to or greater than a predefined threshold.

Images