Battery cell ID recovery device and operation method thereof

Abstract

A cell ID recovery apparatus according to an embodiment disclosed herein may include a communication circuit and a processor configured to: acquire a plurality of IDs of a plurality of unit cells, respectively, via the communication circuit; sorting the plurality of IDs according to a specified standard; exporting an ID configuration rule of the plurality of IDs based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the specified standard; detecting unidentified battery cells in the plurality of unit battery cells based on the plurality of IDs; and configuring the ID of the unidentified battery cell based on the ID of at least one unit battery cell adjacent to the unidentified battery cell and the ID configuration rule.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0105651 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on August 23, 2022, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0047483 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on April 11, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0004] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a cell ID recovery device and an operating method thereof. Background Art

[0005] Unlike primary batteries, secondary batteries have recently been widely researched and developed due to rechargeability and the possibility of having a smaller size and a larger capacity. With the technological development and increase in demand for mobile devices, the demand for secondary batteries as energy sources has rapidly increased.

[0006] The secondary battery is manufactured by inserting the electrode assembly into a cylindrical or prismatic case made of a metal material or a pouch-shaped case of a laminate containing aluminum and sealing the case after injecting an electrolyte solution.

[0007] The electrode assembly has a structure in which the cathode and the anode are laminated so that the separator is inserted between the cathode and the anode, and is classified into: a core-wound electrode assembly having a structure in which the separator is inserted between the long sheet-like cathode and the anode coated with an active material and is wound; a stacked electrode assembly in which the plate-like cathode and the anode are laminated with the separator sandwiched therebetween; a stacked and folded electrode assembly having a structure in which the unit cells are arranged on the long sheet-like separator and then the separator is repeatedly folded in the same direction from one end; and a laminated and stacked electrode assembly having a structure in which the unit cells are laminated after the separator is inserted between the unit cells.

[0008] Here, the unit cell may be formed by a single cell in which each of the cathode and the anode is positioned at one of the two sides of its outermost portion, a double cell in which electrodes having the same polarity are positioned at the two sides of the outermost portion, or a half cell in which the cathode or the anode is positioned between separators formed at the two sides of the outermost portion.

[0009] The electrode assembly manufacturing process may include a groove forming electrode tabs on electrode sheets of a unit cell, a lamination process combining the unit cell with a separator, and / or a process of forming an electrode assembly by placing a plurality of unit cells in units of a specified number and stacking or folding the unit cells.

[0010] In order to manage problems that occur in the electrode assembly manufacturing process, it is necessary to ensure the tracking rate of each unit cell. In order to ensure this tracking rate, the electrode assembly manufacturing process may include a process of assigning an ID to the unit cell and identifying the ID assigned to each unit cell. For example, the electrode assembly manufacturing process may include a process of assigning an ID to the unit cell by marking a barcode on the electrode connector of the unit cell and identifying the assigned ID by identifying the barcode marked on the electrode connector via a barcode reader (BCR). Summary of the invention

[0011] Technical issues

[0012] When the ID of the unit cell cannot be recognized due to a problem occurring in a process of allocating the ID to the unit cell or in a process of recognizing the ID allocated to each unit cell, it is difficult to ensure a traceability rate for each unit cell.

[0013] An object of the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide a cell ID recovery device capable of recovering the ID of an unidentified cell whose ID is not recognized and an operating method thereof.

[0014] The objects of the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to the above objects, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

[0015] Technical Solution

[0016] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, a battery cell identification (ID) recovery device includes: a communication circuit; and a processor, wherein the processor is configured to: obtain multiple IDs corresponding to multiple unit cells via the communication circuit; sort the multiple IDs according to specified criteria; derive ID setting rules for the multiple IDs based on the multiple IDs sorted according to the specified criteria; detect unidentified batteries among the multiple unit cells based on the multiple IDs; and set the ID of the unidentified battery cell based on the ID of at least one unit cell adjacent to the unidentified battery cell and the ID setting rules.

[0017] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the processor may be configured to: obtain the multiple IDs corresponding to the multiple unit cells from the first discharge unit of the first process, the second discharge unit of the second process, the first delivery unit of the third process and / or the third delivery unit of the third process via the communication circuit, wherein the first process may be a grooving process for forming electrode joints on the electrode sheets of each unit cell in the multiple unit cells, the second process may be a lamination process for combining the multiple unit cells with a separator, the third process may be a process for forming an electrode assembly by delivering the multiple unit cells in units of specified quantities, and the third process includes a stacking process; and sort the multiple IDs based on the time sequence in which the multiple IDs are acquired.

[0018] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the processor may be configured to obtain the multiple IDs corresponding to the multiple unit cells from the second delivery unit of the fourth process via the communication circuit, wherein the fourth process may be a process for forming an electrode assembly by delivering the multiple unit cells in units of specified quantities, and the fourth process may include a folding process; and sort the multiple IDs based on the order in which the multiple unit cells are delivered into the fourth process and the time series in which the multiple IDs are acquired.

[0019] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the processor may be configured to: obtain the multiple IDs corresponding to the multiple unit cells from a fourth discharge unit of a fourth process via the communication circuit, wherein the fourth process may be a process for forming an electrode assembly by placing the multiple unit cells in units of specified quantities, and the fourth process may include a folding process; and sort the multiple IDs based on the arrangement order of the multiple unit cells formed in the electrode assembly via the fourth process and the time series in which the multiple IDs are obtained.

[0020] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the processor may be configured to detect the unidentified cell having an ID including designated numeric or alphabetic characters among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs.

[0021] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the processor may be configured to detect the unidentified cell having an ID outside the ID setting rule among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the specified standard.

[0022] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the processor can be configured to: identify the first ID of a first unit battery cell and the second ID of a second unit battery cell adjacent to the unidentified battery cell based on the multiple IDs sorted according to the specified standard; derive a first ID candidate group to be set between the first ID and the second ID based on the ID setting rule; and set at least some IDs in the first ID candidate group as the IDs of the unidentified battery cell.

[0023] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the cell distance between the first unit cell and the second unit cell and the unidentified cell may be 1 or less.

[0024] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the processor may be configured to: derive a second ID candidate group from the first ID candidate group that is not set as the ID of the plurality of unit cells; and set at least some IDs in the second ID candidate group as the ID of the unidentified cell.

[0025] According to an embodiment disclosed herein, the processor may be configured to set all IDs included in the second ID candidate group as IDs of the unidentified battery cells.

[0026] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, a method for operating a battery cell identification (ID) recovery device includes: an operation of acquiring multiple IDs corresponding to multiple unit batteries; an operation of sorting the multiple IDs according to specified criteria; an operation of deriving ID setting rules for the multiple IDs based on the multiple IDs sorted according to the specified criteria; an operation of detecting unidentified batteries among the multiple unit batteries that have IDs other than the ID setting rules based on the multiple IDs; and an operation of setting the ID of the unidentified battery based on the ID of at least one unit battery adjacent to the unidentified battery and the ID setting rules.

[0027] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, the operation of detecting the unidentified cell may include an operation of detecting the unidentified cell having an ID outside the ID setting rule among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the specified standard.

[0028] The method described in accordance with one embodiment disclosed herein may include: an operation of identifying a first ID of a first unit battery cell and a second ID of a second unit battery cell adjacent to the unidentified battery cell based on the multiple IDs sorted according to the specified standard; an operation of deriving a first ID candidate group to be set between the first ID and the second ID based on the ID setting rule; and an operation of setting at least some IDs in the first ID candidate group as the IDs of the unidentified battery cell.

[0029] The method according to one embodiment disclosed herein may include: an operation of deriving a second ID candidate group that is not set as the IDs of the plurality of unit cells from the first ID candidate group; and an operation of setting at least some IDs in the second ID candidate group as the IDs of the unidentified cells.

[0030] The method according to one embodiment disclosed herein may include an operation of setting all IDs included in the second ID candidate group as the IDs of the unidentified battery cells.

[0031] Beneficial Effects

[0032] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the tracking rate of the unit cells may be improved by restoring the IDs of unidentified cells whose IDs have not been identified.

[0033] According to the embodiments disclosed herein, the recovery rate of the unidentified cell can be improved by the range recovery method of restoring all IDs included in the ID candidate group to the ID of the unidentified cell.

[0034] Furthermore, various effects that can be directly or indirectly recognized herein can be provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a cell ID restoring device according to one embodiment.

[0036] Figure 2 is an operation flow chart of a battery cell ID recovery device according to one embodiment.

[0037] Figure 3a FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example in which a cell ID restoration device according to an embodiment sorts a plurality of acquired IDs and detects unidentified cells.

[0038] Figure 3b FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example in which a cell ID restoration apparatus according to one embodiment sets an ID of an unrecognized cell.

[0039] Figure 4a FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example in which a cell ID restoration device according to an embodiment sorts a plurality of acquired IDs and detects unidentified cells.

[0040] Figure 4b FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example in which a cell ID restoration apparatus according to one embodiment sets an ID of an unrecognized cell. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, but includes various modifications, equivalents and / or alternatives of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0042] It should be understood that the various embodiments and terms used herein are not intended to limit the technical features described herein to specific embodiments, and include various variations, equivalents or alternatives of the corresponding embodiments. In the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals may be used for the same or related parts. The singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one item or multiple items, unless the relevant context clearly states otherwise.

[0043] Herein, each of phrases such as "A or B", "at least one of A and B", "at least one of A or B", "A, B or C", "at least one of A, B and C", and "at least one of A, B or C" may include any of the items listed together in the corresponding phrases among these phrases or all possible combinations thereof. Terms such as "first", "second", "first", "second", "A", "B", "(a)", or "(b)" may be used simply to distinguish a corresponding component from another component and do not limit the corresponding component in another aspect (e.g., importance or order) unless otherwise specifically stated.

[0044] In this document, when a certain component (for example, a first) is described as being “connected”, “coupled” or “combined” or is described as being “coupled” or “connected” to another (for example, a second) component, whether or not the term “functionally” or “communicatively” is used, this means that the certain component can be connected to the other component directly (for example, by wire), wirelessly or through a third component.

[0045] According to one embodiment, the methods according to various embodiments disclosed herein may be provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a commodity between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a device-readable storage medium (e.g., a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM)), or may be distributed online (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) via an application store or directly between two user devices. In the case of online distribution, at least part of the computer program product may be at least temporarily stored or temporarily generated in a device-readable storage medium, such as a memory of a manufacturer's server, a server of an application store, or a relay server.

[0046] According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., module or program) of the above-mentioned components may include a single object or multiple objects, and some of the multiple objects may be individually arranged in another component. According to various embodiments, one or more components or operations in the above-mentioned corresponding components may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, multiple components (e.g., module or program) may be integrated into one component. In this case, the integrated component may perform one or more functions of each of the multiple components identically or similarly to the functions performed by the corresponding components in the multiple components before integration. According to various embodiments, the operations performed by modules, programs or other components may be performed sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly or heuristically, or one or more operations may be omitted or performed in different orders, or one or more other operations may be added.

[0047] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a cell ID restoring device according to one embodiment.

[0048] refer to Figure 1 , the cell ID recovery device 110 may include a communication circuit 111 and / or a processor 113. According to a specific embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may be omitted Figure 1 At least one of the components of the battery cell ID recovery device 110 may be included, or one or more other components may be added to the battery cell ID recovery device 110. According to a specific embodiment, some of these components may be implemented as a single integrated circuit.

[0049] The communication circuit 111 can send data to and receive data from the first discharge unit 120 of the first process, the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, the first delivery unit 140 of the third process, the third discharge unit 150 of the third process, the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process and / or the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process by wire or wirelessly.

[0050] According to one embodiment, the first process, the second process, the third process, and the fourth process may be included in the process of manufacturing an electrode assembly constituting a secondary battery. For example, the first process may be a grooving process for forming an electrode joint on an electrode sheet of each unit cell in a plurality of unit cells. The second process may be a lamination process combining a plurality of unit cells and a separator. The third process and the fourth process may be processes for forming an electrode assembly by placing a plurality of unit cells in units of a specified number. The third process may include a stacking process. The stacking process may be a process for forming an electrode assembly by stacking a plurality of unit cells with a separator sandwiched therebetween. The fourth process may include a folding process. The folding process may be a process for forming an electrode assembly by arranging a plurality of unit cells on a long sheet-like separator and then repeatedly folding the separator from one end in the same direction.

[0051] According to one embodiment, the first discharge unit 120 of the first process, the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, the first delivery unit 140 of the third process, the third discharge unit 150 of the third process, the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process, and / or the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process can identify multiple IDs of each of the multiple unit cells. For example, the first discharge unit 120 of the first process, the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, the first delivery unit 140 of the third process, the third discharge unit 150 of the third process, the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process, and / or the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process can identify the ID by identifying the barcode on the electrode connector of each of the multiple unit cells through the BCR.

[0052] According to one embodiment, the first discharge unit 120 of the first process (or the second discharge unit 130 of the second process) can identify the IDs of multiple unit cells discharged via the first process (or the second process) and send the identified IDs to the communication circuit 111 of the cell ID recovery device 110.

[0053] According to one embodiment, the first delivery unit 140 of the third process (or the third discharge unit 150 of the third process) can identify the IDs of multiple unit cells discharged through the third process (to be delivered into the third process) and send the identified IDs to the communication circuit 111 of the cell ID recovery device 110.

[0054] According to one embodiment, the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process can identify the ID and delivery order of multiple unit cells for each unit cell to be delivered to the fourth process before delivering the multiple unit cells to the fourth process. For example, when the fourth process is a process of folding 15 unit cells, the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process can identify the ID and delivery order (for example, NO.1 to NO.15) of the 15 unit cells to be delivered for the first folding. In addition, the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process can identify the ID and delivery order of the 15 unit cells to be delivered for the second folding after the first folding. The second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process can send information about the identified ID and delivery order of each unit cell in the multiple unit cells to the communication circuit 111 of the cell ID recovery device 110.

[0055] According to one embodiment, the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process can identify the ID and arrangement order of the electrode assembly of the plurality of unit cells included in the electrode assembly discharged via the fourth process. For example, when the fourth process is a process of folding 15 unit cells, the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process can identify the ID and arrangement order (e.g., NO.1 to NO.15) of the 15 unit cells included in the first electrode assembly formed by the initial folding. In addition, the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process can identify the ID and arrangement order of the 15 unit cells included in the second electrode assembly formed by the secondary folding after the initial folding. The fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process can send information about the identification ID of each unit cell in the plurality of unit cells and the arrangement order in the electrode assembly to the communication circuit 111 of the cell ID recovery device 110.

[0056] According to one embodiment, the communication circuit 111 can send information about multiple IDs of each unit cell in the multiple unit cells and / or the process delivery order (or the arrangement order in the electrode assembly) received from the first discharge unit 120 of the first process, the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, the first delivery unit 140 of the third process, the third discharge unit 150 of the third process, the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process and / or the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process.

[0057] The processor 113 may control one or more other components connected to the processor 113 by executing software, and perform various data processing or calculations. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may control the overall operation of the cell ID recovery device 110 by controlling one or more other components connected to the processor 113. The processor 113 may include at least one of processing devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, or a microprocessor.

[0058] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may obtain multiple IDs for multiple unit cells via the communication circuit 111. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may obtain multiple IDs for multiple unit cells from the first discharge unit 120 of the first process, the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, and / or the delivery unit 140 of the third process. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may obtain information about multiple IDs of each unit cell in the multiple unit cells and / or the process delivery order from the delivery unit 140 of the third process.

[0059] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may sort the multiple IDs based on the time sequence in which the multiple IDs are acquired. According to one embodiment, when the processor 113 acquires the multiple IDs from the first discharge unit 120 of the first process or the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, the processor 113 may sort the multiple IDs based on the time sequence in which the multiple IDs are acquired. For example, the processor 113 may sort the multiple IDs in descending order (or in ascending order) according to the acquired time sequence.

[0060] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may sort the multiple IDs based on the order in which the multiple unit cells are placed in the process and the time sequence in which the multiple IDs are acquired. According to one embodiment, when the processor 113 acquires multiple IDs from the placement unit 140 of the third process, the processor 113 may sort the multiple IDs based on the order in which the multiple unit cells are placed in the process and the time sequence in which the multiple IDs are acquired. For example, when the third process is a process of stacking or folding two unit cells, the processor 113 may first classify the IDs of the unit cells that have the same placement order (e.g., NO.1 or NO.2) placed in the third process. More specifically, when the third process is stacked or folded three times, the IDs of the three unit cells with a placement order of NO.1 and the IDs of the three unit cells with a placement order of NO.2 may be classified in each stacking or folding process.

[0061] The processor 113 may sort the classified IDs based on the acquired time series. For example, the processor 113 may sort the classified IDs in descending order (or in ascending order) according to the acquired time series. More specifically, when the third process performs three stacking or folding processes, the processor 113 may sort the IDs of the three unit cells with the order of placement of NO.1 (or NO.2) in each stacking or folding in descending order (or in ascending order).

[0062] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 can derive the ID setting rules of multiple IDs. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 can derive the ID setting rules of multiple IDs based on multiple IDs sorted according to a specified standard. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 can derive the ID setting rules based on the digits or letter characters at the last digits of multiple sorting IDs. For example, the processor 113 can derive such a rule, wherein the digits at the last digits of multiple sorting IDs are set to digits that increase by N (where N is a natural number) in the sorting order. As another embodiment, the processor 113 can derive such a rule, wherein the letters at the last digits of multiple sorting IDs are set to the letters before the Nth position in the sorting order.

[0063] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may detect unidentified cells among the plurality of unit cells.

[0064] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may detect an unidentified cell among the plurality of unit cells based on the acquired plurality of IDs. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may detect an unidentified cell having an ID including a specified number or alphabetic character among the plurality of unit cells. For example, the specified alphabetic character may be a lowercase letter o. In this case, the processor 113 may detect the unit cell having an ID including the lowercase letter o as an unidentified cell.

[0065] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may detect unidentified cells among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to a specified standard. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may detect unidentified cells having IDs outside of an ID setting rule among the plurality of unit cells.

[0066] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may set the ID of the unidentified cell. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may set the ID of the unidentified cell based on the ID of at least one unit cell adjacent to the unidentified cell and the ID setting rule derived in operation 215 .

[0067] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may identify a first ID of a first unit cell and a second ID of a second unit cell adjacent to an unidentified cell based on a plurality of IDs sorted according to a specified standard. For example, on the ID sorting table, the first unit cell and the second unit cell may have a cell distance of 1 or less from the unidentified cell.

[0068] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may derive a first ID candidate group that may be set between the first ID and the second ID based on the ID setting rule. For example, the ID setting rule is a rule in which NBG80050 is set before the last digit of the ID and the number in the last digit is set to a number that increases by 3, the first ID may be NBG800501, and the second ID may be NBG800507. In one embodiment, the processor 113 may derive a first ID candidate group (e.g., NBG800502 to NBG800506) based on the ID setting rule in which the ID has NBG80050 set before the last digit and the number in the last digit is set to a number between 1 and 7. In another embodiment, the processor 113 may derive a first ID candidate group (e.g., NBG800504) based on the ID setting rule in which the ID has NBG80050 set before the last digit and the number in the last digit is set to 4, which number 4 increases by 3 from 1 and decreases by 3 from 7. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may set at least some of the first ID candidate groups as IDs of unidentified cells.

[0069] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may derive a second ID candidate group of IDs of multiple unit cells that are not set as the first ID candidate group. For example, when NBG800502 and NBG800506 of the first ID candidate group (e.g., NBG800502 to NBG800506) are set as IDs of other unit cells, the processor 113 may derive the remaining IDs (e.g., NBG800503, NBG800504, and NBG800505) excluding NBG800502 and NBG800506 as the second ID candidate group. According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may set at least some of the second ID candidate groups as IDs of unidentified cells.

[0070] According to one embodiment, the processor 113 may set all IDs included in the second ID candidate group as IDs of unidentified cells. For example, the processor 113 may set all NBG800503, NBG800504, and NBG800505 included in the second ID candidate group as IDs of unidentified cells. Hereinafter, the method of setting multiple IDs included in the ID candidate group as the ID of one unidentified cell may be referred to as a range recovery method. The cell ID recovery device 110 may improve the cell ID recovery rate through the range recovery method.

[0071] According to one embodiment, multiple IDs of each unit cell in a plurality of unit cells may be interlocked with the ID of a secondary battery (e.g., a battery cell) that is finally manufactured. According to one embodiment, a secondary battery may be manufactured in the following manner: an electrode assembly is formed by stacking or folding a specified number of unit cells, the electrode assembly is embedded in a cylindrical or prismatic shell made of a metal material or in a pouch-shaped shell of an aluminum-containing laminate, and the shell is sealed after injecting an electrolyte solution. In this case, the ID of a specified number of unit cells embedded in the secondary battery may be interlocked with the ID of the secondary battery. Here, the ID of the secondary battery may be an ID marked on the shell of the secondary battery. Therefore, when a problem occurs with the secondary battery, the ID of a specified number of unit cells interlocked with the ID of the secondary battery may be tracked.

[0072] Figure 2 is an operation flow chart of a battery cell ID recovery device according to one embodiment. Figure 1 Describe the components in Figure 2 .

[0073] Figure 2 The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is only one embodiment, and the order of operations according to various embodiments of the present invention may be different from the embodiment shown in FIG. Figure 2 different from those shown and may be omitted Figure 2 For some of the operations shown in , the order of the operations may be changed, or the operations may be combined.

[0074] According to one embodiment, it can be understood that operations 205 to 225 are performed by the processor 113 of the cell ID recovery device 110 .

[0075] refer to Figure 2 In operation 205, the cell ID recovery device 110 may obtain a plurality of IDs, each ID corresponding to one of the plurality of unit cells. According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may obtain a plurality of IDs for the plurality of unit cells from the first discharge unit 120 of the first process, the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, the first delivery unit 140 of the third process, the third discharge unit 150 of the third process, the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process, and / or the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process. According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may obtain information about a plurality of IDs of each of the plurality of unit cells and / or a process delivery sequence from the second delivery unit 160 of the fourth process. According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may obtain information about a plurality of IDs of each of the plurality of unit cells and an arrangement sequence in the electrode assembly from the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process.

[0076] Here, the first process may be a groove forming process of forming an electrode joint on an electrode sheet of each unit cell in a plurality of unit cells. The second process may be a lamination process combining a plurality of unit cells and a separator. The third process may be a process of forming an electrode assembly by placing a plurality of unit cells in units of a specified number. The third process may include a stacking process. The stacking process may be a process of forming an electrode assembly by stacking a plurality of unit cells with a separator sandwiched therebetween. The fourth process may include a folding process. The folding process may be a process of forming an electrode assembly by arranging a plurality of unit cells on a long sheet-like separator and then repeatedly folding the separator from one end in the same direction.

[0077] In operation 210 , the cell ID restoring apparatus 110 may sort the plurality of IDs acquired in operation 205 according to a designated standard.

[0078] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the multiple IDs based on the time sequence of acquiring the multiple IDs. According to one embodiment, when the cell ID recovery device 110 acquires multiple IDs from the first discharge unit 120 of the first process, the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, the first delivery unit 140 of the third process, or the third discharge unit 150 of the third process in operation 205, the cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the multiple IDs based on the time sequence of acquiring the multiple IDs. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the multiple IDs in descending order (or in ascending order) according to the acquired time sequence.

[0079] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 can sort the multiple IDs based on the order in which the multiple unit cells are placed in the process and the time sequence in which the multiple IDs are obtained. According to one embodiment, when in operation 205, the cell ID recovery device 110 obtains multiple IDs from the second placement unit 160 of the fourth process, the cell ID recovery device 110 can sort the multiple IDs based on the order in which the multiple unit cells are placed in the process and the time sequence in which the multiple IDs are obtained. For example, when the fourth process is a process of folding two unit cells, the cell ID recovery device 110 can first classify the IDs of the unit cells that have the same placement order (e.g., NO.1 or NO.2) to be placed in the fourth process. More specifically, when the fourth process is folded three times, the IDs of the three unit cells with a placement order of NO.1 and the IDs of the three unit cells with a placement order of NO.2 can be classified in each folding process.

[0080] The cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the classified IDs based on the acquired time series. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the classified IDs in descending order (or in ascending order) according to the acquired time series. More specifically, when the fourth process performs three folding processes, the cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the IDs of the three unit cells with the placement order of NO.1 (or NO.2) in each folding in descending order (or in ascending order) according to the time series.

[0081] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 can sort multiple IDs based on the arrangement order in the electrode assembly of multiple unit cells and the time sequence of obtaining multiple IDs. According to one embodiment, when in operation 205, the cell ID recovery device 110 obtains multiple IDs from the fourth delivery unit 170 of the fourth process, the cell ID recovery device 110 can sort multiple IDs based on the arrangement order in the electrode assembly of multiple unit cells and the time sequence of obtaining multiple IDs. For example, when the fourth process is a process of folding two unit cells, the cell ID recovery device 110 can first classify the IDs of the unit cells with the same arrangement order (e.g., NO.1 or NO.2) in the electrode assembly formed by the fourth process. More specifically, when the fourth process is folded three times, the IDs of the three unit cells with an arrangement order of NO.1 in the electrode assembly formed by each folding and the IDs of the three unit cells with an arrangement order of NO.2 can be classified.

[0082] The cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the classified IDs based on the acquired time sequence. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the classified IDs in descending order (or in ascending order) according to the acquired time sequence. More specifically, when the fourth process performs three folding processes, the cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the IDs of the three unit cells whose arrangement order is NO.1 (or NO.2) in the electrode assembly formed by each folding process in descending order (or in ascending order) according to the time sequence.

[0083] In operation 215, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive ID setting rules for multiple IDs. According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive ID setting rules for multiple IDs based on the multiple IDs sorted in operation 210. According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive ID setting rules based on numbers or alphabetical characters located at the last digits of the multiple sorted IDs. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a rule in which numbers located at the last digits of the multiple sorted IDs are set to numbers that increase by N (where N is a natural number) in the sorting order. As another embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a rule in which letters located at the last digits of the multiple sorted IDs are set to letters before the Nth digit in the sorting order.

[0084] In operation 220 , the cell ID restoring apparatus 110 may detect an unidentified cell among a plurality of unit cells.

[0085] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect an unidentified cell among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs acquired in operation 205. According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect an unidentified cell having an ID including a specified number or alphabetic character among the plurality of unit cells. For example, the specified alphabetic character may be a lowercase letter o. In this case, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect the unit cell having an ID including the lowercase letter o as an unidentified cell.

[0086] According to one embodiment, the cell ID restoring device 110 may detect unidentified cells among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs sorted in operation 210. According to one embodiment, the cell ID restoring device 110 may detect unidentified cells having IDs other than the ID setting rule derived in operation 215 among the plurality of unit cells.

[0087] In operation 225, the cell ID restoring device 110 may set the ID of the unidentified cell detected in operation 220. According to one embodiment, the cell ID restoring device 110 may set the ID of the unidentified cell based on the ID of at least one unit cell adjacent to the unidentified cell and the ID setting rule derived in operation 215.

[0088] According to one embodiment, the cell ID restoring device 110 may identify a first ID of a first unit cell and a second ID of a second unit cell adjacent to the unidentified cell based on the plurality of IDs sorted in operation 210. For example, on the ID sorting table, the first unit cell and the second unit cell may have a cell distance of 1 or less from the unidentified cell.

[0089] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a first ID candidate group that may be set between the first ID and the second ID based on the ID setting rule. For example, the ID setting rule is a rule in which NBG80050i is set before the last digit of the ID and the number in the last digit is set to a number that increases by 3, the first ID may be NBG80050i1, and the second ID may be NBG80050i7. In one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a first ID candidate group (e.g., NBG80050i2 to NBG80050i6) based on the ID setting rule in which the ID has NBG80050i set before the last digit and the number in the last digit is set to a number between 1 and 7. In another embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a first ID candidate group (e.g., NBG80050i4) based on the ID setting rule in which the ID has NBG80050i set before the last digit and the number in the last digit is set to 4, which number 4 increases by 3 from 1 and decreases by 3 from 7. According to one embodiment, the cell ID restoring device 110 may set at least some of the first ID candidate groups as IDs of unidentified cells.

[0090] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a second ID candidate group of IDs of a plurality of unit cells that are not set as the first ID candidate group. For example, when NBG80050i2 and NBG80050i6 of the first ID candidate group (e.g., NBG80050i2 to NBG80050i6) are set as IDs of other unit cells, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive the remaining IDs (e.g., NBG80050i3, NBG80050i4, and NBG80050i5) excluding NBG80050i2 and NBG80050i6 as the second ID candidate group. According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may set at least some of the second ID candidate group as IDs of unidentified cells.

[0091] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may set all IDs included in the second ID candidate group as IDs of unidentified cells. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may set all NBG80050i3, NBG80050i4, and NBG80050i5 included in the second ID candidate group as IDs of unidentified cells. The cell ID recovery device 110 may improve the cell ID recovery rate through a range recovery method.

[0092] In the following, reference will be made to Figure 3a3B describes that the cell ID recovery device 110 according to one embodiment performs after obtaining a plurality of IDs from the first discharge unit 120 of the first process, the second discharge unit 130 of the second process, the first delivery unit 140 of the third process, or the third discharge unit 150 of the third process. Figure 2 Embodiment of the operation of.

[0093] Figure 3a is a diagram showing an example of a battery cell ID recovery device according to one embodiment sorting a plurality of acquired IDs and detecting unidentified batteries. Figure 1 Describe the components in Figure 3a .

[0094] refer to Figure 3a The cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the multiple IDs obtained in ascending order according to the acquisition time sequence in table 300 .

[0095] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive an ID setting rule based on the plurality of IDs sorted in the table 300. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a rule in which NBG80050i is set before the last digit of the plurality of sorted IDs and the number in the last digit is set to a number starting from 2 and increasing by 1.

[0096] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect an unidentified cell among a plurality of cell units. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect a cell unit having an ID 310 (e.g., 9BGIo00DMX) including a lowercase letter o in the fifth digit as an unidentified cell. As another embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect a cell unit having an ID 310 according to an ID setting rule, in which the last digit is not preceded by NBG80050i or the number in the last digit is not 5 obtained by increasing 1 from 4.

[0097] Figure 3b 1 is a diagram showing an example of setting the ID of an unidentified cell by a cell ID recovery device according to one embodiment. Figure 1 Describe the components in Figure 3b .

[0098] refer to Figure 3b, the cell ID recovery device 110 may identify a first ID 320 (e.g., NBG80050i4) and a second ID 330 (e.g., NBG80050i6) adjacent to the ID 310 (e.g., 9BGIo00DMX) of the unidentified cell on the table 300. Here, on the table 300, the first ID 320 and the second ID 330 may have a cell distance of 1 or less from the ID 310 of the unidentified cell. More specifically, on the table 300, the first ID 320 may be located one row above the ID 310 of the unidentified cell, and the second ID 330 may be located one row below the ID 310 of the unidentified cell.

[0099] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a first ID candidate group that may be set between the first ID 320 and the second ID 330 based on the ID setting rule. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive NBG80050i5 as the first ID candidate group, where NBG80050i is set before the last digit, and the number in the last digit is set to a number between 4 and 6.

[0100] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may identify whether NBG80050i5 included in the first ID candidate group is set as the ID of other unit cells. When NBG80050i5 is not set as the ID of other unit cells, the cell ID recovery device 110 may set NBG80050i5 as the ID of an unidentified cell.

[0101] In the following, reference will be made to Figure 4a and Figure 4b The cell ID recovery device 110 according to one embodiment is described as follows: after obtaining a plurality of IDs from the second feeding unit 160 of the fourth process or the fourth discharge unit 170 of the fourth process, Figure 2 Embodiment of the operation of.

[0102] Figure 4a is a diagram showing an example of a battery cell ID recovery device according to one embodiment sorting a plurality of acquired IDs and detecting unidentified batteries. Figure 1 Describe the components in Figure 4a .

[0103] refer to Figure 4a , the cell ID recovery device 110 may obtain information about multiple IDs of each of the multiple unit cells and / or the process placement sequence (or the arrangement sequence in the electrode assembly) from the second placement unit 160 of the fourth process, as in the first table 410. For example, the fourth process may be a process of folding 15 unit cells.

[0104] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 can obtain information about the ID and placement order (e.g., NO.1 to NO.15) of 15 unit cells to be placed for initial folding. In addition, the cell ID recovery device 110 can obtain information about the ID and placement order of unit cells to be placed for multiple folding in the fourth process after the initial folding in units of 15. According to another embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 can obtain information about the ID and arrangement order (e.g., NO.1 to NO.15) of the 15 unit cells included in the first electrode assembly formed by the initial folding. In addition, the cell ID recovery device 110 can obtain information about the ID and arrangement order of the unit cells included in each of the multiple electrode assemblies formed by multiple folding in the fourth process after the initial folding in units of 15.

[0105] According to one embodiment, the cell ID restoring device 110 may sort the multiple IDs based on the order in which the multiple unit cells are put into the process (or the arrangement order in the electrode assembly) and the time series in which the multiple IDs are acquired, as shown in the second table 420 .

[0106] According to one embodiment, when the third process performs 15 stacking or folding, the cell ID recovery device 110 can classify the ID of the 15 unit cells whose placement order (or arrangement order in the electrode assembly) is NO.1 and the ID of the 15 unit cells whose placement order (or arrangement order in the electrode assembly) is one of NO.2 to NO.15 at each folding.

[0107] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may sort the IDs of the 15 unit cells with a placement order (or arrangement order in the electrode assembly) of NO.1 (or NO.2 to NO.15) in ascending order in each folding according to the time series.

[0108] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive an ID setting rule based on the plurality of IDs sorted in the second table 420. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a rule in which DCCE05907 is set before the last digit of the plurality of sorted IDs, and the number in the last digit starts with a lowercase letter z, and is set to the fourth letter or number from the lowercase letter z one row at a time as the last digit goes down.

[0109] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect an unidentified cell among a plurality of unit cells. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect a unit cell having an ID 421 (e.g., IBIUoHKyex) as an unidentified cell, where the ID 421 includes a lowercase letter o in the fifth digit. As another embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may detect a unit cell having an ID 421 as an unidentified cell according to an ID setting rule, where the last digit is not preceded by DCCE05907 or the number in the last digit is not the fourth uppercase letter W from the letter a.

[0110] Figure 4b 1 is a diagram showing an example of setting the ID of an unidentified cell by a cell ID recovery device according to one embodiment. Figure 1 Describe the components in Figure 4b .

[0111] refer to Figure 4b , the cell ID recovery device 110 may identify a first ID 423 (e.g., DCCE05907a) and a second ID 425 (e.g., DCCE05907S) adjacent to the ID 421 (e.g., IBIUoHKyex) of the unidentified cell on the second table 420. Here, on the second table 420, the first ID 423 and the second ID 425 may have a cell distance of 1 or less from the ID 421 of the unidentified cell. More specifically, on the second table 420, the first ID 423 may be located one row above the ID 421 of the unidentified cell, and the second ID 425 may be located one row below the ID 421 of the unidentified cell.

[0112] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive, based on the ID setting rule, a first ID candidate group that may be set between the first ID 423 and the second ID 425. For example, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a second ID candidate group (e.g., DCCE05907Z, DCCE05907Y, DCCE05907X, DCCE05907W, DCCE05907V, DCCE05907U, and DCCE05907T) in which the ID has DCCE05907 set before the last digit, and the last digit is set to an alphabetical character between a lowercase letter a and an uppercase letter S.

[0113] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may derive a second ID candidate group (e.g., DCCE05907W and DCCE05907V) of IDs of other unit cells that are not set as the first ID candidate group. According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may set at least some of the second ID candidate group as IDs of unidentified cells.

[0114] According to one embodiment, the cell ID recovery device 110 may set DCCE05907W and DCCE05907V included in the second ID candidate group as IDs of unidentified cells. The cell ID recovery device 110 may improve the cell ID recovery rate through a range recovery method.

[0115] Unless otherwise specified, the above terms such as "including", "consisting of" or "having" mean that the corresponding components can be inherent and should be interpreted as further including another component rather than excluding another component. Unless otherwise defined, the meaning of all terms, including technical or scientific terms, is the same as that generally understood by technicians in the field to which the embodiments disclosed herein belong. Commonly used terms (such as those defined in dictionaries) should be interpreted as being consistent with the contextual meaning of the relevant technology and are not interpreted as ideal or overly formal meanings unless clearly defined herein.

Claims

1. A battery cell ID recovery device, the battery cell ID recovery device comprising: Communication circuits; as well as processor, Wherein, the processor is configured as follows: Acquiring a plurality of IDs corresponding to a plurality of unit cells via the communication circuit; sorting the plurality of IDs according to a specified criterion; deriving ID setting rules for the plurality of IDs based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the specified criteria; Detecting unidentified cells among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs; and The ID of the unidentified cell is set based on the ID of at least one unit cell adjacent to the unidentified cell and the ID setting rule.

2. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is configured as follows: acquiring the plurality of IDs corresponding to the plurality of unit cells from a first discharge unit of a first process, a second discharge unit of a second process, a first delivery unit of a third process, and / or a third discharge unit of a third process via the communication circuit, wherein the first process is a grooving process for forming electrode tabs on electrode sheets of each of the plurality of unit cells, the second process is a lamination process for combining the plurality of unit cells with a separator, the third process is a process for forming an electrode assembly by delivering the plurality of unit cells in units of a specified number, and the third process includes a stacking process; and The multiple IDs are sorted based on the time sequence in which the multiple IDs are acquired.

3. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is configured as follows: acquiring the plurality of IDs corresponding to the plurality of unit cells from a second dropping unit of a fourth process via the communication circuit, wherein the fourth process is a process of forming an electrode assembly by dropping the plurality of unit cells in units of a specified number, and the fourth process includes a folding process; and The plurality of IDs are sorted based on the order in which the plurality of unit cells are put into the fourth process and the time series in which the plurality of IDs are acquired.

4. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is configured as follows: acquiring the plurality of IDs corresponding to the plurality of unit cells from a fourth discharge unit of a fourth process via the communication circuit, wherein the fourth process is a process of forming an electrode assembly by dropping the plurality of unit cells in units of a specified number, and the fourth process includes a folding process; and The IDs are sorted based on an arrangement order in which the unit cells are formed in the electrode assembly through the fourth process and a time series in which the IDs are acquired.

5. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is configured to detect the unidentified cell having an ID including a designated number or alphabetical character among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs.

6. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is configured to detect the unidentified cell having an ID outside the ID setting rule among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the designated standard.

7. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is configured as follows: identifying, based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the specified criteria, a first ID of a first unit cell and a second ID of a second unit cell adjacent to the unidentified cell; Based on the ID setting rule, deriving a first ID candidate group to be set between the first ID and the second ID; as well as At least some IDs in the first ID candidate group are set as IDs of the unidentified battery cells.

8. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 7, wherein: The cell distances between the first unit cell and the second unit cell and the unidentified cell are 1 or less.

9. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 7, wherein: The processor is configured as follows: deriving a second ID candidate group which is not set as the IDs of the plurality of unit cells from the first ID candidate group; and At least some IDs in the second ID candidate group are set as IDs of the unidentified battery cells.

10. The battery cell ID recovery device according to claim 9, wherein: The processor is configured to set all IDs included in the second ID candidate group as IDs of the unidentified battery cells.

11. A method for operating a battery cell ID recovery device, the method comprising: An operation of obtaining multiple IDs corresponding to multiple battery cells; An operation of sorting the plurality of IDs according to a specified criterion; An operation of deriving ID setting rules for the plurality of IDs based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the specified criteria; Based on the plurality of IDs, detecting an operation of an unidentified cell having an ID outside the ID setting rule among the plurality of unit cells; as well as An operation of setting the ID of the unidentified cell based on the ID of at least one unit cell adjacent to the unidentified cell and the ID setting rule.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The operation of detecting the unidentified cell includes an operation of detecting the unidentified cell having an ID outside the ID setting rule among the plurality of unit cells based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the specified standard.

13. The method according to claim 11, comprising: an operation of identifying a first ID of a first unit cell and a second ID of a second unit cell adjacent to the unidentified cell based on the plurality of IDs sorted according to the specified standard; An operation of deriving a first ID candidate group to be set between the first ID and the second ID based on the ID setting rule; as well as An operation of setting at least some IDs in the first ID candidate group as IDs of the unidentified battery cells.

14. The method according to claim 13, comprising: An operation of deriving a second ID candidate group which is not set as the IDs of the plurality of unit cells from the first ID candidate group; as well as An operation of setting at least some IDs in the second ID candidate group as IDs of the unidentified battery cells.

15. The method according to claim 14, comprising: An operation of setting all IDs included in the second ID candidate group as IDs of the unidentified cells.

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