Battery state information providing apparatus and operating method thereof

Abstract

A battery state information providing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a generation unit for generating an experimental curve and an operation curve on the basis of an experimental life index and a driving life index; a comparison unit that compares the experiment curve and the operation curve to determine an evaluation curve from the experiment curve; and an evaluation unit for determining state information of the target battery pack based on the evaluation curve and a target life index, where the target life index may be an operating life index of a vehicle including the target battery pack.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0118199, filed on September 19, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0004] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a battery status information providing device and an operating method thereof. Background Art

[0005] Recently, people have actively carried out the research and development of secondary batteries. Here, secondary batteries are rechargeable batteries, and include all conventional Ni / Cd batteries, Ni / MH batteries and recent lithium-ion batteries. Among these secondary batteries, lithium-ion batteries have the advantage of having much higher energy density than conventional Ni / Cd batteries and Ni / MH batteries. In addition, lithium-ion batteries can be made small enough and lightweight to be used as the power source of mobile devices, and their use range has recently expanded to the power source of electric vehicles, attracting attention as a new generation of energy storage media.

[0006] Batteries installed in electric vehicles show a tendency to degrade when repeatedly charged and discharged. For example, when a battery installed in an electric vehicle is repeatedly charged and discharged to drive the electric vehicle, its capacity and resistance degrade, resulting in a decrease in the remaining life. At the same time, the degree of degradation and the remaining life of the battery may change depending on the operating conditions of the electric vehicle.

[0007] A rapid decrease in the remaining life of a battery may cause safety issues in the use of an electric vehicle. Therefore, a method is needed to pre-diagnose the status of a battery installed in an electric vehicle, prevent the risk of a sudden decrease in battery performance, and provide battery status information to a user. Summary of the invention

[0008] Technical issues

[0009] An object of the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide an apparatus for determining a state of a target battery pack installed in a vehicle based on an experimental life index and a driving life index and providing information on the state of the battery pack and an operating method thereof.

[0010] The purpose of the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide a device and an operating method thereof, which determines the state of a target battery pack installed in a vehicle by comparing an experimental curve based on an experimental life index and a driving curve based on a driving life index collected from the vehicle and vehicles of the same model as the vehicle and provides status information of the battery pack.

[0011] The technical purposes of the embodiments disclosed in this document are not limited to the above, and those skilled in the art can clearly understand other purposes not described in this document from the following description.

[0012] Technical Solution

[0013] According to an embodiment, a battery status information providing device includes: a generator, which is configured to generate an experimental curve and a driving curve based on an experimental life index and a driving life index; a comparator, which is configured to compare the experimental curve and the driving curve to determine an evaluation curve from the experimental curves; and an evaluator, which is configured to determine the status information of a target battery pack based on the evaluation curve and a target life index, wherein the target life index may be a driving life index of a vehicle including the target battery pack.

[0014] According to an embodiment, the experimental curve may be a curve in which the experimental life index of the battery pack for a preset experimental driving condition is arranged relative to the driving distance.

[0015] According to an embodiment, the driving curve may be a curve in which the driving life indexes collected from the vehicle and vehicles of the same model as the vehicle are arranged relative to driving distances.

[0016] According to an embodiment, the comparator may be configured to determine a continuous reference curve over the entire driving distance based on the driving curve.

[0017] According to an embodiment, the comparator may be configured to determine, as the first evaluation curve, an experimental curve having a higher experimental life index and a minimum slope than the reference curve within the entire driving distance.

[0018] According to an embodiment, the comparator may be configured to determine, as the second evaluation curve, an experimental curve having a lower experimental life index than the reference curve within the entire driving distance and having a maximum slope.

[0019] According to an embodiment, the comparator may be configured to determine, among the experimental curves, an experimental curve having the highest consistency with the driving curve as the reference curve.

[0020] According to an embodiment, the comparator may be configured to generate the reference curve by linearly interpolating the driving curve.

[0021] According to an embodiment, the evaluator may be configured to authenticate the state information and provide the authenticated state information to an external device.

[0022] According to an embodiment, the status information may include performance information, safety information, or price information of the target battery pack.

[0023] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a battery status information providing system includes: a vehicle, the vehicle including a target battery pack and a controller, the controller being configured to transmit a driving life index of the target battery pack; a battery status information providing device, the battery status information providing device being configured to receive an experimental life index and a driving life index, and determine status information of the target battery pack based on the experimental life index and the driving life index; and an external device, the external device being configured to output the status information of the target battery.

[0024] According to another embodiment, the external device may be configured to output the status information to an authenticated user.

[0025] According to another embodiment, the experimental life index may be a life index of the battery pack under preset experimental driving conditions.

[0026] According to another embodiment, the driving life index may be a life index collected from the vehicle and vehicles of the same model as the vehicle.

[0027] According to another embodiment of the present invention, a method for operating a battery status information providing system includes: receiving, at a generator, a driving life index from a vehicle including a target battery pack and a vehicle of the same model as the vehicle; receiving an experimental life index at the generator; generating, at the generator, an experimental curve and a driving curve based on the experimental life index and the driving life index; at a comparator, determining an evaluation curve from the experimental curves by comparing the experimental curve with the driving curve; at an evaluator, determining status information of the target battery pack based on the evaluation curve and the target life index; at the evaluator, providing the status information of the target battery pack to an external device; and outputting the status information of the target battery pack at the external device, wherein the target life index may be the driving life index of the vehicle.

[0028] According to another embodiment, the experimental curve may be a curve in which the experimental life index of the battery pack for a preset experimental driving condition is arranged relative to the driving distance.

[0029] According to another embodiment, the driving curve may be a curve in which the driving life indexes collected from the vehicle and vehicles of the same model as the vehicle are arranged relative to driving distances.

[0030] According to another embodiment, determining the evaluation curve may include: at the comparator, determining a continuous reference curve within the entire driving distance based on the driving curve; determining an experimental curve having a higher experimental life index and a minimum slope than the reference curve within the entire driving distance as a first evaluation curve; and determining an experimental curve having a lower experimental life index and a maximum slope than the reference curve within the entire driving distance as a second evaluation curve.

[0031] According to another embodiment, determining the reference curve may include determining an experimental curve among the experimental curves that has the highest consistency with the driving curve as the reference curve.

[0032] According to yet another embodiment, determining the reference curve may include generating the reference curve by linearly interpolating the driving curve.

[0033] Beneficial Effects

[0034] The battery state information providing apparatus and the operating method thereof according to the embodiments disclosed herein can reliably determine the state information of a battery pack installed in a vehicle based on an experimental life index and a driving life index.

[0035] The status information of the battery pack according to the embodiment disclosed herein may include performance information, safety information, or price information of a target battery pack installed in a vehicle, and the status information providing device provides the status information of the target battery pack to a user, thereby allowing the user to efficiently manage the battery pack.

[0036] The battery status information providing apparatus and the operating method thereof according to the embodiments disclosed herein are capable of authenticating the status information of a battery pack installed in a vehicle and providing the authenticated status information via an external device, so that a secondary buyer who wants to purchase a vehicle can be prepared for risk factors and dispute factors that may arise after purchasing the vehicle based on accurate information about the status of the vehicle's battery pack.

[0037] Furthermore, various effects confirmed directly or indirectly by this article can be provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a general battery pack;

[0039] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a battery status information providing device according to an embodiment disclosed herein;

[0040] Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining an operation method of a battery state information providing system according to an embodiment disclosed herein;

[0041] Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining an evaluation curve among a plurality of experimental curves by a battery state information providing apparatus according to an embodiment disclosed herein;

[0042] Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining a reference curve by a battery state information providing apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein;

[0043] Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining state information of a target battery pack by a battery state information providing apparatus according to an embodiment disclosed herein;

[0044] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an exemplary battery status information providing screen according to an embodiment disclosed herein;

[0045] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a battery status information providing system according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0046] Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a battery status information providing system according to another embodiment disclosed herein; and

[0047] Fig.10 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a computing system for executing an operating method of a battery status information providing apparatus or a battery status information providing system according to an embodiment disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] Hereinafter, the embodiments disclosed herein will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. When assigning reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same components have the same reference numerals as much as possible even if they are shown in different drawings. Detailed descriptions of well-known structures or functions in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be omitted to avoid blurring the understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0049] Terms such as "first", "second", "A", "B", "(a)", and "(b)" may be used to describe components of the embodiments disclosed herein. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another, and the nature, order, or sequence of the corresponding components is not limited by these terms. Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by technicians in the field to which the embodiments disclosed herein belong. 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 should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal meaning unless explicitly defined as such herein.

[0050] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a general battery pack.

[0051] Figure 1 A battery control system including a battery pack 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention and an upper level controller 200 included in an upper level system is schematically shown.

[0052] like Figure 1 As shown in , the battery pack 100 includes: a battery module 120, which is composed of one or more battery cells and can be charged and discharged; a switch unit 160, which is connected in series to the positive terminal side or the negative terminal side of the battery module 120 to control the flow of charging and discharging current of the battery module 120; and a battery management system 180 (e.g., RBMS), which controls and manages the battery pack 100 to prevent overcharging and overdischarging and monitors data about the battery module 120. Here, the battery pack 100 may include a plurality of battery modules 120, a sensor 140, a switch unit 160, and a battery management system (BMS) 180.

[0053] The sensor 140 is connected between the battery module 120 and the battery management system 180 to sense the voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance and impedance of the battery module 120 , which can be transmitted to the battery management system 180 .

[0054] The switch unit 160 is a device for controlling the flow of current to charge or discharge the battery module 120 , and for example, at least one relay or magnetic contactor, etc. may be used according to the specifications of the battery pack 100 .

[0055] The battery management system 180 is an interface for receiving the measured values ​​of the above-mentioned various parameters, and may include a plurality of terminals and a circuit connected to the terminals to process the input values. In addition, the battery management system 180 may control the on / off of the switch unit 160 (e.g., a relay or a contactor), and is connected to the battery module 120 to monitor the state of each battery module 120.

[0056] The superior controller 200 may transmit a control signal for the battery pack 100 via the battery management system 180. The operation of the battery management system 180 may be controlled based on the signal from the superior controller 200.

[0057] According to an embodiment, the battery pack 100 and the upper controller 200 may be provided in a vehicle, and the battery management system 180 may receive data of the battery module 120 (such as voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance, impedance, and charge and discharge counts) from the sensor 140 .

[0058] The data of the battery module 120 , such as voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance, impedance, and charge and discharge counts, may be data used to provide a basis for determining state information of the battery pack 100 included in the vehicle.

[0059] The battery management system 180 may transmit the data to the upper controller 200, and the upper controller 200 may perform calculations on the data to generate a life index of the battery pack 100. The generated life index may be transmitted to an external device (eg, a status information providing apparatus).

[0060] For example, the life index may refer to a state of health (SOH), which is a quality factor obtained by comparing an ideal state of the battery pack 100 with a current state of the battery pack 100. The SOH may be an index indicating the remaining life of the battery pack 100 and the current performance state.

[0061] According to an embodiment, the SOH may be calculated based on the charging rate and the discharging rate of the battery pack 100. The charging rate and the discharging rate of the battery pack 100 may be obtained by calculating the capacity difference between a fully charged state and a fully discharged state of the battery pack, and the SOH may be calculated based on data about the voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance, or impedance of the battery pack, for example.

[0062] According to an embodiment, the battery pack 100 may include a plurality of battery modules 120 , and in this case, data such as voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance, impedance, and charge and discharge counts output from any battery module 120 may be selected as basic data for generating a life index of the battery pack 100 .

[0063] According to another embodiment, the battery management system 180 may calculate the life index of each battery module 120 based on data such as the voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance, impedance, and charge and discharge counts of the battery module 120, and calculate the life index of the battery pack 100 based on the calculated life index of each battery module 120. That is, the life index may be calculated by the battery management system 180 or the superior controller 200.

[0064] The charge and discharge cycle may be performed with the battery pack 100 mounted on an actually running vehicle, or may be simulated under experimental driving conditions similar to actual driving conditions of the vehicle.

[0065] For example, the life index of the battery pack 100 calculated based on the data output from the battery module 120 of the vehicle actually running (such as voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance, impedance, and charge and discharge counts) may be referred to as a driving life index. In addition, the life index of the battery pack calculated based on the data output from the battery module 120 in the simulation of the charge and discharge cycle performed under experimental driving conditions (such as voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance, impedance, and charge and discharge counts) may be referred to as an experimental life index.

[0066] The driving conditions preset for generating the experimental life index may include, for example, acceleration driving conditions, fast charging conditions, urban driving conditions, or long-distance driving conditions of the vehicle. In addition, the preset driving conditions may reflect the driving environment of the vehicle, the type of vehicle, and the charging and discharging cycle.

[0067] That is, the preset driving condition may refer to an exemplary driving scenario condition including the behavior of the vehicle and the operating environment of the vehicle.

[0068] The data used to generate the experimental lifespan index and the generated experimental lifespan index may be stored in an external server or database.

[0069] The driving life index may be data obtained when a vehicle including the battery pack 100 actually drives. According to an embodiment, the driving life index may be affected by a driver's driving habits, an environment in which the vehicle actually operates, and actual charge and discharge cycles of the battery.

[0070] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating a battery status information providing apparatus according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0071] The battery status information providing device 300 may include: a generator 320, which generates an experimental curve and a driving curve by arranging the experimental life index and the driving life index relative to the driving distance; a comparator 340, which is configured to compare the experimental curve with the driving curve to determine a first evaluation curve and a second evaluation curve in the experimental curve; and an evaluator 360, which determines the status information of the target battery pack based on the first evaluation curve, the second evaluation curve and the target life index.

[0072] The generator 320 may generate a plurality of experimental curves by arranging the experimental life indexes with respect to the driving distance. The generator 320 may also generate a driving curve by arranging the driving life indexes with respect to the driving distance.

[0073] According to an embodiment, the curve may be a two-dimensional curve representing changes in the life index (eg, SOH) according to the driving distance.

[0074] The experimental life index can be classified according to the preset experimental driving conditions, that is, the experimental life index can constitute different experimental curves corresponding to the preset experimental driving conditions.

[0075] According to an embodiment, an experimental life index may be obtained for the entire driving distance, and the experimental curve may be displayed as a continuous curve with respect to a plane having the life index and the driving distance as axes.

[0076] The generator 320 may receive a driving life index from a vehicle including a battery pack as a state information determination target and a vehicle of the same model as the vehicle. The vehicle and the vehicle of the same model as the vehicle may have different driving distances, and the driving curve may be displayed as a set of discrete points on a plane with the life index and the driving distance as axes.

[0077] The generator 320 may receive the experimental life index and the driving life index from an external server or database. According to an embodiment, the external server or database may be a platform that collects the driving life index from a plurality of vehicles including the battery pack 100 and manages the driving life index as a whole.

[0078] The comparator 340 may compare the plurality of experimental curves with the driving curve, and determine a first evaluation curve and a second evaluation curve from the experimental curves.

[0079] The comparator 340 can determine a reference curve based on the driving curve, which is a continuous curve for the entire driving distance. By determining a continuous reference curve for the entire driving distance, the first curve and the evaluation curve can be easily selected from the experimental curves.

[0080] In addition, by determining the reference curve, the battery status information providing device 300 can reflect the change trend of the driving life index when determining the status of the battery pack.

[0081] According to an embodiment, the comparator 340 may determine the experimental curve having the highest consistency with the driving curve as the reference curve, or generate the reference curve by linearly interpolating the driving curve.

[0082] The comparator 340 may determine the evaluation curve using the reference curve and the experimental curve. The evaluation curve may be a curve for evaluating a current state of a battery pack installed in a vehicle, and may include a first evaluation curve or a second evaluation curve.

[0083] According to an embodiment, the first evaluation curve may be a curve for determining an excellent or good state of the target battery pack as a state evaluation target, and the second evaluation curve may be a curve for determining an excellent or management required state of the target battery pack.

[0084] According to an embodiment, the comparator 340 may not determine some experimental curves as evaluation curves. For example, the comparator 340 may not determine an experimental curve whose life index change is less than a preset value (e.g., the change of SOH is less than 5% over the entire driving distance) or whose life index tends to be lower than the minimum life index (e.g., SOH is less than 80%) as the first evaluation curve or the second evaluation curve.

[0085] That is, the comparator 340 determines experimental curves whose life index variation over the entire driving distance is less than a preset value or whose life index tends to be lower than the minimum life index as unsuitable for evaluating the state of the battery pack, and thus does not select them as evaluation curves.

[0086] According to an embodiment, the comparator 340 may determine the experimental curve having a higher experimental life index and a minimum slope than the determined reference curve within the entire driving distance as the first evaluation curve. The comparator 340 may also determine the experimental curve having a lower experimental life index and a maximum slope than the determined reference curve within the entire driving distance as the second evaluation curve.

[0087] Since the comparator 340 according to the embodiment selects the first evaluation curve and the second evaluation curve, the shorter the driving distance, the narrower the area determined to be in a good state, and the longer the driving distance, the wider the area determined to be in a good state. The battery state information providing device 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention can determine the battery state according to a stricter standard when the driving distance is short, and determine the battery state more loosely when the driving distance is long.

[0088] The evaluator 360 may determine state information of the target battery group based on the first evaluation curve, the second evaluation curve, and the target life index.

[0089] According to an embodiment, the target life index may be a driving life index of a vehicle including the target battery pack. The driving life index may be a driving life index corresponding to a distance traveled by the vehicle until the state information of the battery pack is determined.

[0090] When the target life index is located above the first evaluation curve, the evaluator 360 may determine that the state of the target battery pack is excellent.

[0091] The excellent state of the target battery pack may mean that the target life index (the driving life index of the target battery) is higher than the variation trend of the driving life index.

[0092] When the target life index is located below the first evaluation curve and above the second evaluation curve, the evaluator 360 may determine that the target battery pack is in a good state.

[0093] The good state of the target battery pack may mean that a change trend of the driving life index is similar to a target life index.

[0094] When the target life index is below the second evaluation curve, the evaluator 360 may determine the state of the target battery group as a state requiring management.

[0095] The state requiring management may mean that since the target life index of the target battery is lower than the change trend of the driving life index, management such as driving charging mode change, battery replacement, etc. is required.

[0096] The evaluator 360 may authenticate or guarantee the determined state information of the battery pack. In addition, the state information of the battery pack determined by the evaluator 360 may include performance information, safety information, or price information of the battery pack.

[0097] According to an embodiment, the evaluator 360 may generate information on the performance of the battery pack based on the target life index of the target battery pack and the maximum performance of the battery.

[0098] The evaluator 360 may generate information about the safety of the battery pack based on the driving distance of the vehicle and the target life index of the target battery pack. For example, when the target life index is evaluated to be too low compared to the driving distance of the vehicle, the evaluator 360 may determine that there is a problem with the safety of the battery pack.

[0099] The evaluator 360 may generate price information of the battery pack based on the target life index of the target battery pack. For example, the evaluator 360 may predict the price of the battery pack by arithmetically calculating the reduction in value of the battery pack based on the target life index value compared to the maximum performance of the battery.

[0100] The evaluator 360 may transmit the generated state information of the target battery pack to an external device, and the external device may provide the state information of the target battery pack to a user.

[0101] Depending on the implementation, the status information may only be provided to authenticated external devices or authenticated or paying users.

[0102] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a battery status information providing system according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0103] Figure 3 A battery state information providing system 1 is shown, which includes a vehicle 10 , a battery state information providing apparatus 300 , and an external device 400 .

[0104] The vehicle 10 may include a battery pack 100 and a superior controller 200. The battery pack 100 as a state information determination target may be referred to as a target battery pack.

[0105] When the vehicle 10 including the battery pack 100 actually travels, the driving life index may be obtained. The driving life index may be transmitted to the battery state information providing device 300 via the upper controller 200.

[0106] According to this embodiment, the battery state information providing apparatus 300 may be connected to a plurality of vehicles 10 and obtain the driving life index from the plurality of vehicles 10. In addition, the battery state information providing apparatus 300 may receive the experimental life index from a server (not shown) or a database (not shown).

[0107] The battery state information providing apparatus 300 may determine state information of a target battery pack based on the driving life index and the experimental life index, and provide the target battery pack state information to the external device 400 .

[0108] The external device 400 may be a device including an output unit capable of displaying battery status information. According to an embodiment, the external device 400 may be a device including an authentication device for authenticating a user and a payment device for paying for the battery status information, and according to an embodiment, the external device 400 may include a mobile communication terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an electronic notebook, a smart phone, a tablet personal computer (PC), etc.

[0109] The vehicle 10 , the battery state information providing apparatus 300 , and the external device 400 may include communication devices capable of transmitting and receiving data with each other.

[0110] Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining a first evaluation curve and a second evaluation curve among a plurality of experimental curves by a battery state information providing apparatus according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0111] Figure 4 Driving curve DP and first to sixth experimental curves EP1 to EP6 are shown.

[0112] The driving curve DP and the first to sixth experimental curves EP1 to EP6 may be displayed on a plane having the driving distance and the SOH as axes.

[0113] The battery state information providing device may determine the experimental curve with the highest degree of consistency with the driving curve DP among the experimental curves EP1 to EP6 as the reference curve. For example, the battery state information providing device may determine the experimental curve with the most overlapping sections with the driving curve DP as the reference curve.

[0114] According to an embodiment, Figure 4 The third experimental curve EP3 in can be determined as a reference curve.

[0115] The battery state information providing apparatus may determine the first evaluation curve and the second evaluation curve by comparing the third experiment curve EP3 with the experiment curves EP1, EP2, EP4, EP5, and EP6.

[0116] The battery state information providing apparatus may exclude experimental curves that are not suitable for evaluating the state of the battery pack before determining the first evaluation curve and the second evaluation curve.

[0117] For example, the battery status information providing device may determine experimental curves in which the change in life index over the entire driving distance (0 to 300,000 km) is less than 5% (e.g., EP1) or the SOH drops below 80% (e.g., EP6) as being unsuitable for evaluating the state of the battery pack, and therefore select them neither as the first evaluation curve nor as the second evaluation curve.

[0118] The battery state information providing apparatus may determine the experimental curve EP2 having a higher SOH value and a minimum slope than the reference curve EP3 throughout the entire driving distance as the first evaluation curve.

[0119] according to Figure 4 , the first experimental curve EP1 whose life index changes by less than 5% is not suitable for evaluating the state of the battery pack according to the driving of the vehicle and is thus not selected as the first evaluation curve, and the second experimental curve EP2 may be selected as the first evaluation curve.

[0120] Furthermore, the battery state information providing apparatus may determine the experimental curve EP5 having a lower SOH value than the reference curve EP3 and having a maximum slope over the entire driving distance as the second evaluation curve.

[0121] The sixth experimental curve EP6 in which the SOH drops below 80% at about 200,000 km does not reflect the guaranteed performance of the battery pack (SOH is maintained at 80% or more until 300,000 km), and thus is not selected as the second evaluation curve, and the fifth experimental curve EP5 may be selected as the second evaluation curve. Figure 6 A method of determining the state information of the target battery pack based on the first evaluation curve EP2 and the second evaluation curve EP5 is described in detail.

[0122] Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of determining a reference curve by a battery state information providing apparatus according to another exemplary embodiment disclosed herein.

[0123] The battery state information providing apparatus may linearly interpolate the driving curve DP and determine the reference curve RP based on a continuous curve generated by the linear interpolation. The linear interpolation method may be a method for estimating a value between two adjacent points.

[0124] According to an embodiment, the battery state information providing apparatus may determine the reference curve RP by linearly interpolating a plurality of driving life indexes included in the driving curve DP. The reference curve RP may be a continuous curve for the entire driving distance interval.

[0125] Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining a method in which a battery status information providing apparatus determines status information of a target battery pack according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0126] Figure 6 A first evaluation curve P1 , a second evaluation curve P2 , a reference curve RP, a driving curve DP, and a target life index T of a target battery group to be determined from the state information are shown.

[0127] Figure 6 The driving curve DP shown can be compared with Figure 4 The first evaluation curve P1 can be Figure 4 The second experimental curve EP2 shown in FIG. 1 and the second evaluation curve P2 can be Figure 4 The fifth experimental curve EP5 shown in FIG. 3 . In addition, the reference curve RP may be the third experimental curve EP3.

[0128] The battery status information providing apparatus may compare the target life index T with the first evaluation curve P1 and the second evaluation curve P2 to determine status information of the target battery pack.

[0129] Since the SOH value of the target life index T is higher than the first evaluation curve P1 for the same driving distance, the battery state information providing apparatus can determine that the state of the target battery pack is excellent.

[0130] For the same driving distance, when the SOH value of the target life index T is lower than the first evaluation curve P1 and the SOH value is higher than the second evaluation curve P2, the battery state information providing apparatus may determine that the state of the target battery pack is good.

[0131] Furthermore, for the same driving distance, when the SOH value of the target life index T is lower than the second evaluation curve P2, the battery state information providing apparatus may determine that the target battery pack is in a state requiring management.

[0132] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary battery status information providing screen according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0133] The screen 420 may be provided in a display unit included in the external device, and the display unit may include, for example, a display and the like.

[0134] The external device may provide the user with the battery pack status information received from the battery status information providing apparatus via the screen 420 .

[0135] The status information may include, for example, performance information, safety information, or price information of the target battery pack.

[0136] The performance information of the target battery pack may be displayed as performance compared with the factory performance of the target battery pack, full-charge driving distance, etc., and the battery status information providing device may calculate the performance information based on the target life index and factory performance (maximum performance) of the target battery pack.

[0137] Safety information such as whether a fault code is generated from the target battery pack or whether battery balancing is maintained can be displayed. The fault code of the battery pack can be provided based on the standard code recorded in the vehicle, and the balancing of the battery pack can be calculated by comparing the individual voltage data of the battery cells included in the battery pack with the average voltage.

[0138] The price information may be displayed as an expected market price, and the battery status information providing apparatus may calculate the expected market price based on the target life index and the factory performance (maximum performance) of the target battery pack.

[0139] Depending on the implementation, the battery status information may be provided as a paid service or only to authorized users.

[0140] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a battery status information providing system according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0141] At step S100 , the generator may receive a driving life index from a vehicle including a target battery pack and vehicles of the same model as the target battery pack.

[0142] The battery state information providing apparatus or the battery state information providing system according to the embodiment of the present invention may generate a driving curve based on the driving life index received from vehicles of the same model, thereby reflecting the change of the driving life index of the target battery pack.

[0143] At step S200 , the generator may receive an experimental life index.

[0144] The generator may receive an experimental life index from an external server or database, and the experimental life index may be a battery pack life index for a preset experimental driving condition. That is, the experimental life index may be life index data obtained according to a charge and discharge result of charging and discharging the battery pack under experimental conditions corresponding to the driving condition. The experimental life index may be classified into different groups according to each driving condition.

[0145] At step S300 , the generator may generate an experimental curve and a driving curve based on the experimental life index and the driving life index.

[0146] The experimental curve and the driving curve may be curves drawn on a plane with the driving distance and the life index (e.g., SOH) as axes. Since the experimental life index can be obtained over the entire driving distance for each driving condition, the experimental curve may be a continuous curve for the entire driving distance. As many experimental curves as the number of driving conditions may be drawn on a plane.

[0147] The driving curve can be depicted as a set of discrete points on a plane. The driving curve is an arrangement of driving life indexes collected from the vehicle and vehicles of the same model with respect to driving distance, and since the driving life index is a life index of the actual driving distance of the vehicle, the driving curve can be displayed as discontinuous points within the entire driving distance.

[0148] At step S400 , the comparator may determine the evaluation curve from the experimental curve by comparing the experimental curve with the driving curve.

[0149] The evaluation curve may be a standard for determining the state of the target battery pack, and the reference Fig. 9 Describe the determination method in detail.

[0150] At step S500 , the evaluator may determine state information of a target battery group based on the evaluation curve and the target life index.

[0151] The target life index may be a life index of the target battery pack subject to state determination, and the evaluator may determine whether the state of the target battery pack is excellent, good, or a state requiring management based on a relationship between the evaluation curve and the target life index.

[0152] At step S600, the evaluator may provide the state information of the target battery pack to an external device. The external device may include, for example, a mobile communication terminal, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an electronic organizer, a smart phone, or a user terminal such as a tablet personal computer (PC).

[0153] At step S700 , the external device may output status information of the target battery pack.

[0154] The external device may include an output unit capable of outputting status information, such as a display. The external device may selectively output status information of the target battery pack, and according to an embodiment, the external device may output status information to an authenticated user or provide status information to a user who pays for the service.

[0155] Fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a battery status information providing system according to another embodiment disclosed herein.

[0156] refer to Fig. 9 A method is described for determining a first evaluation curve and a second evaluation curve by means of a comparator.

[0157] At step S410 , the comparator may determine a continuous reference curve for the entire driving distance based on the driving curve.

[0158] According to an embodiment, the comparator may use the experimental curve with the highest consistency with the driving curve as the reference curve by performing linear interpolation on the driving curve.

[0159] Determining the reference curve as a continuous curve over the entire driving distance facilitates the comparison between the experimental curve and the reference curve.

[0160] According to an embodiment, the comparator may not determine, as the evaluation curve, an experimental curve in which a change in the life index over the entire driving distance is less than a preset value or a life index tends to be lower than a minimum life index.

[0161] At step S420 , the comparator may determine the experimental curve having a higher experimental life index and a minimum slope than the reference curve over the entire driving distance as the first evaluation curve.

[0162] At step S430 , the comparator may also determine the experimental curve having a lower experimental life index than the reference curve within the entire driving distance and having a maximum slope as the second evaluation curve.

[0163] Since the first evaluation curve and the second evaluation curve are selected by the battery status information providing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the shorter the driving distance, the narrower the area determined to be in a good battery status, and the longer the driving distance, the wider the area determined to be in a good battery status.

[0164] Fig.10 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a computing system for executing an operating method of a battery status information providing apparatus or a battery status information providing system according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0165] refer to Fig.10 , a computing system 1000 according to an embodiment disclosed herein may include an MCU 1010 , a memory 1020 , an input and output I / F 1030 , and a communication I / F 1040 .

[0166] The MCU 1010 may execute various programs stored in the memory 1020 (e.g., a program for controlling a relay included in a battery pack, a program for collecting voltage, current, temperature, internal resistance, impedance, and charge and discharge counts of a battery module, etc.), and process data for generating a driving life index via these programs. Figure 1 The processor of the battery management system 180 or the upper controller 200 described above, or the processor that executes the functions of the battery management system 180 or the upper controller 200 described above, Figure 2 The processor describes the battery status information provided by the device's functionality.

[0167] The memory 1020 can store the driving life index and experimental life index of the target battery subjected to status authentication and various programs related to data processing. The memory 1020 can be set to multiple as needed. The memory 1020 can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. The memory 1020 as a volatile memory can be a RAM, a DRAM, an SRAM, etc. The memory 1020 as a non-volatile memory can be a ROM, a PROM, an EAROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a flash memory, etc. The memory 1020 is not limited to the listed embodiments and is not limited to these embodiments.

[0168] The input and output I / F 1030 is an interface that connects an input device (not shown) such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel, an output device such as a display (not shown), and the MCU 1010 to transmit and receive data.

[0169] The communication I / F 1040 has a configuration capable of transmitting and receiving various data to and from a server, and may be various devices capable of supporting wired or wireless communication. For example, the battery state information providing device 300 may transmit and receive an experimental life index and the like to and from a separately prepared external server via the communication I / F 1040. In addition, the battery state information providing device 300 may transmit and receive a driving life index to and from the superior controller 200 via the communication I / F 1040.

[0170] Thus, the computer program according to the embodiments disclosed herein is recorded in the memory 1020 and processed by the MCU 1010 so as to be implemented as an execution Figure 1 and Figure 2 Modules with the functionality shown in .

[0171] The above description is merely an illustrative embodiment of the technical concept disclosed herein, and those skilled in the art to which the embodiments disclosed herein pertain will be able to make various modifications and changes without departing from the subject matter of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0172] Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to limit but to describe the technical concepts disclosed herein, and the scope of the technical concepts disclosed herein is not limited by the embodiments. The protection scope of the technical concepts disclosed herein should be interpreted by the attached claims, and all technical concepts within the scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as within the scope of the rights of this article.

Claims

1. A battery status information providing device, the battery status information providing device include: a generator configured to generate an experimental curve and a driving curve based on the experimental life index and the driving life index; a comparator configured to compare the experimental curve and the driving curve to determine an evaluation curve from the experimental curve; and an evaluator configured to determine state information of a target battery pack based on the evaluation curve and a target life index, The target life index is a driving life index of a vehicle including the target battery pack.

2. The battery status information providing device according to claim 1, in, The experimental curve is a curve in which the experimental life index of the battery pack under a preset experimental driving condition is arranged relative to the driving distance.

3. The battery status information providing device according to claim 1, in, The driving curve is a curve in which the driving life indexes collected from the vehicle and vehicles of the same model as the vehicle are arranged relative to driving distances.

4. The battery status information providing device according to claim 1, in, The comparator is configured to determine a continuous reference profile over the entire driving distance based on the driving profile.

5. The battery status information providing device according to claim 4, in, The comparator is configured to determine, as a first evaluation curve, an experimental curve having a higher experimental life index and a minimum slope than the reference curve within the entire driving distance.

6. The battery status information providing device according to claim 4, in, The comparator is configured to determine, as a second evaluation curve, an experimental curve having a lower experimental life index than the reference curve within the entire driving distance and having a maximum slope.

7. The battery status information providing device according to claim 4, in, The comparator is configured to determine the experimental curve among the experimental curves that has the highest consistency with the driving curve as the reference curve.

8. The battery status information providing device according to claim 4, in, The comparator is configured to generate the reference curve by linearly interpolating the driving curve.

9. The battery status information providing device according to claim 1, in, The evaluator is configured to authenticate the state information and provide the authenticated state information to an external device.

10. The battery status information providing device according to claim 1, in, The status information includes performance information, safety information or price information of the target battery pack.

11. A battery status information providing system, the battery status information providing system include: A vehicle, the vehicle comprising a target battery pack and a controller, the controller configured to transmit a driving life index of the target battery pack; a battery status information providing device configured to receive an experimental life index and a driving life index, and determine status information of the target battery pack based on the experimental life index and the driving life index; and An external device configured to output the status information of the target battery.

12. The battery status information providing system according to claim 11, in, The external device is configured to output the status information to an authenticated user.

13. The battery status information providing system according to claim 11, in, The experimental life index is a life index of the battery pack under preset experimental driving conditions.

14. The battery status information providing system according to claim 11, in, The driving life index is a life index collected from the vehicle and vehicles of the same model as the vehicle.

15. An operating method of a battery status information providing system, the operating method The following steps are involved: receiving, at a generator, driving life indexes from a vehicle including a target battery pack and a vehicle of the same model as the target battery pack; receiving, at the generator, an experimental life index; generating, at the generator, an experimental curve and a driving curve based on the experimental life index and the driving life index; determining, at a comparator, an evaluation curve from among the experimental curves by comparing the experimental curves with the driving curve; At the evaluator, determining the state information of the target battery group based on the evaluation curve and the target life index; providing, at the evaluator, the state information of the target battery pack to an external device; as well as outputting the status information of the target battery pack at the external device, The target life index is the driving life index of the vehicle.

16. The operating method according to claim 15, in, The experimental curve is a curve in which the experimental life index of the battery pack under a preset experimental driving condition is arranged relative to the driving distance.

17. The operating method according to claim 15, in, The driving curve is a curve in which the driving life indexes collected from the vehicle and vehicles of the same model as the vehicle are arranged relative to driving distances.

18. The operating method according to claim 15, in, The step of determining the evaluation curve comprises the following steps: At the comparator, a continuous reference curve over the entire driving distance is determined based on the driving curve; determining, as a first evaluation curve, an experimental curve having a higher experimental life index and a minimum slope than the reference curve within the entire driving distance; and An experimental curve having a lower experimental life index than the reference curve within the entire driving distance and having a maximum slope is determined as a second evaluation curve.

19. The operating method according to claim 18, in, The step of determining the reference curve includes determining the experimental curve among the experimental curves that has the highest consistency with the driving curve as the reference curve.

20. The operating method according to claim 18, in, The step of determining the reference curve includes generating the reference curve by linearly interpolating the driving curve.

21. A battery status information providing system, the battery status information providing system include: a battery status information providing device, the battery status information providing device being configured to receive an experimental life index and a driving life index of the target battery pack, and determine status information of the target battery pack based on the experimental life index and the driving life index; as well as an external device, the external device being configured to display the status information, The battery status information providing device authenticates the status information, and the status information includes performance information, safety information or price information of the target battery pack.

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