Method and apparatus for diagnosing anomalies in environmentally friendly vehicle battery

By monitoring the voltage changes of the battery cell during the shutdown mode period of the environmentally friendly vehicle and detecting high-voltage battery abnormalities using a counter, the problem of difficulty in pre-detecting battery abnormalities in the prior art is solved, and safety and the ability to prevent accidents are improved.

CN120294573APending Publication Date: 2025-07-11HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD +1
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202411712233.4
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2024-01-11
Filing Date
2024-11-27
Publication Date
2025-07-11

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The prior art is difficult to detect abnormal signs of high-voltage batteries in environmentally friendly vehicles in advance, resulting in potential fire risks and safety hazards.

Method used

By monitoring the voltage change of the battery cell during the vehicle shutdown mode period, the defective battery cell candidate is determined by a battery management system, and abnormality is detected based on the counter value, a warning is sent and the vehicle is controlled.

Benefits of technology

Pre-detection of high-voltage battery abnormalities is realized, safety is improved, accidents are prevented, and the safety of environmentally friendly vehicles is enhanced.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a battery of an eco-friendly vehicle, in which the method for diagnosing an abnormality in a battery of an eco-friendly vehicle includes: determining and storing a defective battery cell candidate based on a voltage change of each battery cell forming a battery module during a shutdown mode period of a vehicle, a counter value is increased based on a result of comparison of the defective cell candidate during the latest off-mode period with the defective cell candidate during the next previous off-mode period, and a cell abnormality is detected based on whether the current counter value is greater than or equal to a threshold counter value.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery management system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in an environmentally friendly vehicle battery. Background Art

[0002] Environmentally friendly vehicles such as hybrid electronic vehicles (HEVs), plug-in HEVs (PHEVs), and electronic vehicles (EVs) have batteries, which are storage devices for storing electrical energy for driving an electric motor, and specifically have high-voltage batteries different from the low-voltage batteries installed in existing engine vehicles.

[0003] Due to the increasing density and energy of such high-voltage batteries, even a tiny quality problem may lead to dangerous situations such as fires. Accordingly, battery safety has become increasingly important. Monitoring logic for battery safety is also applied to mass-produced electric vehicles, but it is still insufficient to prevent accidents by detecting abnormal signs of the battery in advance.

[0004] Therefore, in the field of the present invention, there is a need for a technology capable of preventing accidents by detecting abnormal signs of the battery in advance.

[0005] The information included in the background art of the present invention is only intended to enhance the overall understanding of the present invention and should not be regarded as an admission or any form of suggestion that this information constitutes prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Aspects of the present invention aim to provide a technology capable of detecting abnormal signs of a battery in advance.

[0007] Another technical object of the present invention is to provide a logic that can diagnose a battery cell with abnormal signs by using a battery cell balancing technique for balancing voltage deviation in a high-voltage battery, thereby diagnosing the high-voltage battery.

[0008] The technical objectives to be achieved in the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above technical objectives, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will clearly understand other unmentioned technical objectives from the following description.

[0009] To achieve the object of the present invention, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for diagnosing an abnormality in a battery of an eco-friendly vehicle, the method including: determining and storing defect battery cell candidates based on voltage changes of each battery cell forming a battery module during a vehicle off-mode period; increasing a counter value based on a comparison result between the defect battery cell candidates during a most recent off-mode period and the defect battery cell candidates during a immediately preceding off-mode period; and detecting a battery cell abnormality based on whether a current counter value is greater than or equal to a threshold counter value.

[0010] In this case, the voltage change of each battery cell during the off-mode period may be determined based on the difference between the voltage of each battery cell at the moment when the vehicle switches from the start (IG ON) mode to the off (IG OFF) mode and the voltage of each battery cell at the moment when the vehicle switches from the IG OFF mode to the IG ON mode.

[0011] In this case, the defect battery cell candidates may be determined based on the voltage change of each battery cell and the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells forming the battery module.

[0012] In this case, in determining and storing the defect battery cell candidates, a battery cell for which the value obtained by subtracting the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells from the voltage change of each battery cell is greater than a threshold may be determined as a defect battery cell candidate.

[0013] In this case, the counter value may initially be set to "0" and incremented by "1".

[0014] In this case, when the state of charge (SOC) value of the battery module is higher than a threshold rate and the temperature of the battery module is higher than a threshold temperature, determining and storing the defect battery cell candidates may be performed.

[0015] In this case, in detecting the battery cell abnormality, when the current counter value is greater than or equal to the threshold counter value, a warning message may be sent to the driver and the vehicle may be controlled.

[0016] In this case, in increasing the counter value, when the defect battery cell candidates during a most recent IG OFF mode period are the same as the defect battery cell candidates during a immediately preceding IG OFF mode period, the counter value may be increased.

[0017] On the other hand, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is a device for diagnosing an abnormality in an eco-friendly vehicle battery, the device including: a battery configured to store electric energy for driving the vehicle and including a plurality of battery cells; a sensor part including a voltage sensor configured to detect the voltages of the plurality of battery cells; and a battery management part configured to determine and store defective battery cell candidates based on the voltage changes of each battery cell forming a battery module during an IG OFF mode period of the vehicle, increase a counter value based on a comparison result between the defective battery cell candidates during the most recent IG OFF mode period and the defective battery cell candidates during the immediately preceding IG OFF mode period, and detect a battery cell abnormality based on whether the current counter value is greater than or equal to a threshold counter value.

[0018] In this case, the voltage change of each battery cell during the IG OFF mode period can be determined based on the difference between the voltage of each battery cell at the moment when the vehicle switches from the IG ON mode to the IG OFF mode and the voltage of each battery cell at the moment when the vehicle switches from the IG OFF mode to the IG ON mode.

[0019] In this case, the defective battery cell candidates can be determined based on the voltage change of each battery cell and the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells forming the battery module.

[0020] In this case, the battery management part can be configured to determine as defective battery cell candidates the battery cells for which the value obtained by subtracting the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells from the voltage change of each battery cell is greater than a threshold.

[0021] In this case, the counter value can be initially set to "0" and incremented by "1".

[0022] In this case, the battery management part can be configured to determine and store defective battery cell candidates when the state of charge (SOC) value of the battery module is higher than a threshold rate and the temperature of the battery module is higher than a threshold temperature.

[0023] In this case, when the current counter value is greater than or equal to the threshold counter value, the battery management part can send a warning message to the driver and control the vehicle.

[0024] In this case, when the defective battery cell candidates during the most recent shutdown mode period are the same as the defective battery cell candidates during the immediately preceding shutdown mode period, the battery management part can increase the counter value.

[0025] According to various embodiments of the present invention as described above, abnormal signs of the battery can be detected in advance.

[0026] In addition, in a case where the power supply of a controller that performs cell balancing of a high-voltage battery is turned off, it is possible to diagnose a cell having an abnormal sign, and a logic configured to diagnose a high-voltage battery is provided.

[0027] In addition, the function of monitoring a high-voltage battery is improved, accidents are prevented, and the safety of an eco-friendly vehicle is improved.

[0028] The effects obtainable from the present invention are not limited to the above effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains from the following description.

[0029] The method and apparatus of the present invention have other characteristics and advantages, which will be apparent from or will be set forth in detail in the accompanying drawings and subsequent specific embodiments incorporated herein, and these drawings and specific embodiments together are used to explain specific principles of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a battery abnormality diagnosis device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 shows an example of the average voltage of battery cells and the voltage drop of defective battery cells in a case where a vehicle repeatedly turns on or off its starting device;

[0032] Figure 3A and Figure 3B is a flowchart showing a method for diagnosing battery abnormality according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] It should be understood that the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale and are merely a suitably simplified drawing method for illustrating the basic principles of the various features of the present invention. The predetermined design features of the present invention disclosed herein (including, for example, specific dimensions, directions, positions, and shapes) will be determined in part by the specific application and use environment.

[0034] In the drawings, throughout the several views, like reference numerals refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. Although the present invention will be described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that this specification is not intended to limit the present invention to those exemplary embodiments. On the other hand, the present invention is intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, but also various alternative embodiments, modified embodiments, equivalent embodiments, and other embodiments that may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0036] Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the same or similar components are provided with the same reference numerals regardless of the number of the drawings, and will not be described repeatedly. The terms "module" and "unit" for the components used in the following description are only for convenience of description and do not include a distinguishing meaning or function. In addition, in the following description, if it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention makes the subject matter of the exemplary embodiments described herein unclear, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, the accompanying drawings are provided only for the convenience of understanding the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and the technical spirit disclosed in this specification is not limited by the accompanying drawings, and all changes, equivalents, and substitutions should be understood to be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0037] Terms including ordinal numbers, such as "first" and "second", etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be construed as being limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one component from another.

[0038] It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected to" or "coupled to" another element, it can be directly connected to or directly coupled to another element, or connected to or coupled to another element, while additional elements may be interposed therebetween. On the other hand, it should be understood that when an element is referred to as being "directly connected to" or "directly coupled to" another element, it is connected to or coupled to another element without additional elements interposed therebetween.

[0039] Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms.

[0040] It should also be understood that the terms used in this specification, such as "including" or "having", indicate the presence of the described features, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, values, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0041] Figure 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a battery abnormality diagnosis device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Reference Figure 1 According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a battery abnormality diagnosis device 100 includes a battery 110, a battery management unit 130, a sensor unit 150, and a vehicle control unit 170.

[0043] The battery 110 stores electrical energy for driving a vehicle and includes a plurality of battery cells.

[0044] The battery management unit 130 is configured to determine a defective battery cell having an abnormality based on the voltage change of each battery cell forming the battery 110 and the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells when the vehicle is in an ignition off (IG OFF) mode.

[0045] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the battery management unit 130 may include at least one processor and a memory for storing computer-readable instructions to determine a defective battery cell having an abnormality.

[0046] For example, with reference to Figure 2 , it can be seen that from the moment when the vehicle enters the IG OFF mode to the moment when the vehicle switches to the ignition on (IG ON) mode, the voltage change of a generally good battery cell is small, but the voltage of a defective battery cell continues to decrease even when in the IG OFF mode. Therefore, the defective battery cell can be detected based on this decrease in voltage.

[0047] On the other hand, the battery management unit 130 stores the voltage change of each battery cell forming the battery 110 and the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells from the moment when the vehicle enters the IG OFF mode to the moment when the vehicle switches to the IG ON mode in a storage device such as a memory.

[0048] In this case, based on the measured value of the voltage of each battery cell immediately before the vehicle is about to enter the IG OFF mode and the measured value of the voltage of each battery cell immediately after the vehicle enters the IG ON mode, the battery management unit 130 may be configured to determine the voltage change of each battery cell and the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells.

[0049] In this case, each battery cell can be identified by an identification number, for example, it can be defined as battery cell 1, battery cell 2, or battery cell 3, etc.

[0050] In addition, the voltage of each battery cell can be defined as V 电池单元1 、V 电池单元2 or V 电池单元3For example, the voltage change of each battery cell from the moment the vehicle enters the IG OFF mode to the moment the vehicle switches to the IG ON mode can be defined as ΔV 电池单元1 、ΔV 电池单元2 or ΔV 电池单元3 and so on.

[0051] In this case, the voltage change of each battery cell can be defined as ΔV1 电池单元1 、ΔV2 电池单元1 or ΔV3 电池单元1 and so on according to the number of times the vehicle is in the IG OFF mode.

[0052] Meanwhile, when the vehicle is in the IG OFF mode, the average value of the voltage changes of all battery cells can be defined as ΔV1 电池单元平均值 、ΔV2 电池单元平均值 and ΔV3 电池单元平均值 and so on according to the number of times the vehicle is in the IG OFF mode.

[0053] In this case, the battery management section 130 can be configured to identify a battery cell as a defective battery cell candidate if the voltage change of the battery cell each time the vehicle is in the IG OFF mode is at least a threshold greater than the average voltage change of all battery cells.

[0054] In this case, the battery management section 130 can be configured to determine defective battery cell candidates based on whether the value obtained by subtracting the average value of the voltage changes of all battery cells from the voltage change of each battery cell each time the vehicle is in the IG OFF mode is greater than the threshold.

[0055] In this case, the threshold can have various values depending on user settings and can be set to 3 mV, for example.

[0056] In this case, the battery management section 130 can be configured to determine whether a defective battery cell candidate for which the value obtained by subtracting the average value of the voltage changes of all battery cells from the voltage change of each battery cell each time the vehicle is in the IG OFF mode is greater than the threshold is the same as a previous defective battery cell candidate.

[0057] For example, the battery management section 130 can store the identifier or identification number of all defective battery cell candidates each time the vehicle is in the IG OFF mode, determine whether the defective battery cell candidate is the same as a previous defective battery cell candidate, increment the value of a counter with an initial value set to "0" if the defective battery cell candidate is the same as a previous defective battery cell candidate, and store the counter value and the identifier or identification number of each defective battery cell candidate.

[0058] In addition, when the count value increased according to the determination result of whether the defective battery cell candidates in each IG OFF mode are the same is greater than or equal to the threshold value, the battery management unit 130 is configured to determine that an abnormality has occurred in the corresponding defective battery cell candidates, and send a warning message regarding the battery abnormality to the driver to control the vehicle.

[0059] The sensor unit 150 measures the voltage or temperature of the battery 110.

[0060] In this case, although not shown in the drawings, the sensor unit 150 may include at least one voltage sensor and / or at least one temperature sensor.

[0061] In this case, the sensor unit 150 may measure all voltage changes of the battery cells forming the battery 110.

[0062] The vehicle control unit 170 is configured to control the vehicle based on the output of the battery 110.

[0063] In this case, the vehicle control unit 170 receives information related to the occurrence of an abnormality in the battery 110 from the battery management unit 130, and is configured to control the vehicle based on this information.

[0064] For example, when the vehicle control unit 170 receives information related to the occurrence of an abnormality in the battery 110 from the battery management unit 130, the vehicle control unit 170 may gradually decelerate the vehicle or control the vehicle to evacuate to a safe place.

[0065] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the battery management unit 130 and the vehicle control unit 170 may be implemented as separate processors. Alternatively, the battery management unit 130 and the vehicle control unit 170 may be implemented as a single processor.

[0066] Figure 3A and Figure 3B are flowcharts showing a method for diagnosing a battery abnormality according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0067] The method for diagnosing a battery abnormality according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be performed by Figure 1 the battery management unit 130 of the battery abnormality diagnosis device 100.

[0068] Referring to Figure 3A and Figure 3B , in S305, the battery management unit 130 presets the initial value of the counter for diagnosing a battery abnormality to 0.

[0069] In addition, in S310, the battery management unit 130 is configured to determine whether the vehicle has switched from the IG ON mode to the IG OFF mode.

[0070] When the vehicle switches from the IG ON mode to the IG OFF mode, at S315, the voltages of all battery cells when the battery management unit 130 wakes up during the first RTC wake-up are measured and stored.

[0071] In this case, the battery management unit 130 may store the voltages of all the measured battery cells in a memory inside the battery management unit 130 or in a memory linked to the battery management unit 130.

[0072] In addition, at S320, the battery management unit 130 determines whether the vehicle switches from the IG OFF mode to the IG ON mode. When the vehicle switches from the IG OFF mode to the IG ON mode, at S325, it is determined whether the battery temperature is higher than a threshold temperature. When the battery temperature is higher than the threshold temperature, at S330, it is determined whether the state of charge (SOC) value of the battery is higher than its threshold rate. And when the SOC value of the battery is higher than the threshold rate, at S335, the voltages of all battery cells are measured and stored.

[0073] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the order of S325 and S330 may not be limited to this, and may also be in the order of S330 and S325.

[0074] In this case, the threshold temperature may be any preset value set by the user, such as 0°C.

[0075] In this case, the threshold may be any preset value set by the user, such as 20%.

[0076] Meanwhile, as a result of the determination at S310, when the vehicle does not switch from the IG ON mode to the IG OFF mode, the determination at S320 is executed without executing step S315.

[0077] In addition, as a result of the determination at S320, when the vehicle does not switch from the IG OFF mode to the IG ON mode, or as a result of the determination at S325, when the battery temperature is not higher than the threshold temperature, or as a result of the determination at S330, when the state of charge (SOC) value of the battery is not higher than the threshold rate, the determination at step S310 is executed.

[0078] In addition, the battery management unit 130 is configured to determine, at S340, the voltage change of each battery cell during the IG OFF mode period based on the difference between the voltages of all battery cells stored at S315 and the voltages of all battery cells measured at S335.

[0079] In addition, at S345, the battery management section 130 is configured to determine whether there is a battery cell that satisfies the condition that the value obtained by subtracting the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells from the voltage change of each battery cell is greater than a threshold value.

[0080] As a result of the determination at S345, in the case where there is a battery cell that satisfies the condition that the value obtained by subtracting the average value of the voltage changes of all the battery cells from the voltage change of each battery cell is greater than a threshold value, at S350, the battery cell that satisfies the above condition is determined as a defective battery cell candidate.

[0081] In addition, at S355, the battery management section 130 is configured to determine whether the defective battery cell candidate during the most recent IG OFF mode period is the same as the defective battery cell candidate during the immediately preceding IG OFF mode period.

[0082] As a result of the determination at S355, in the case where the defective battery cell candidate during the most recent IG OFF mode period is the same as the defective battery cell candidate during the immediately preceding IG OFF mode period, at S360, the counter value is incremented by 1.

[0083] In addition, at S365, the battery management section 130 is configured to determine whether the current counter value is greater than or equal to a threshold counter value.

[0084] As a result of the determination at S365, in the case where the current count value is greater than or equal to the threshold count value, at S370, the battery management section 130 sends a warning message regarding a battery abnormality to the driver and is configured to control the vehicle.

[0085] In this case, the warning message can be sent through the vehicle's display screen or speaker.

[0086] In this case, the battery management section 130 can send information related to the occurrence of a battery abnormality to the vehicle control section 170 to control the vehicle.

[0087] For example, in the case where the vehicle control section 170 receives information related to the occurrence of an abnormality in the battery 110 from the battery management section 130, the vehicle control section 170 can gradually decelerate the vehicle or control the vehicle to evacuate to a safe place.

[0088] According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention described so far, abnormal signs of the battery can be detected in advance.

[0089] In addition, in the case where the power supply of the controller configured to perform battery cell balancing of the high-voltage battery is turned off, it is possible to diagnose a battery cell with abnormal signs, providing a logic configured to diagnose the high-voltage battery.

[0090] In addition, the function of monitoring the high-voltage battery is improved, accidents are prevented, and the safety of the eco-friendly vehicle is enhanced.

[0091] In addition, terms related to a control device, such as "controller", "control equipment", "control unit", "control device", "control module", or "server", etc., refer to a hardware device including a memory and a processor, the hardware device being configured to execute one or more steps interpreted as an algorithm structure. The memory stores algorithm steps, and the processor executes the algorithm steps to perform one or more processes of the method according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention. The control device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can be implemented by a non-volatile memory and a processor, the non-volatile memory being configured to store an algorithm for controlling the operations of various components of the vehicle or data on software instructions for executing the algorithm, the processor being configured to use the data stored in the memory to perform the operations as described above. The memory and the processor can be separate chips. Alternatively, the memory and the processor can be integrated in a single chip. The processor can be implemented as one or more processors. The processor can include various logic circuits and operation circuits, can be configured to process data according to a program provided from the memory, and can be configured to generate a control signal according to the processing result.

[0092] The control device can be at least one microprocessor operated by a predetermined program, the predetermined program can include a series of instructions for executing the methods included in the various exemplary embodiments of the present invention described above.

[0093] The above invention can also be implemented as computer-readable code on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data readable by a computer system subsequently and store and execute program instructions readable by a computer system subsequently. Examples of computer-readable recording media include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a silicon disk drive (SDD), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, etc., and an implementation as a carrier wave (e.g., transmission through the Internet). Examples of program instructions include machine language code generated by a compiler, and high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc.

[0094] In various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, each of the above operations can be performed by a control device, and the control device can be configured by a plurality of control devices or an integrated single control device.

[0095] In various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the memory and the processor may be provided as one chip, or provided as separate chips.

[0096] In various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the scope of the present invention includes software or machine-executable instructions (e.g., operating systems, applications, firmware, programs, etc.) for enabling the operations of the methods according to various embodiments to be executed on a device or computer, and non-transitory computer-readable media include such software or instructions stored on and executable on the device or computer.

[0097] In various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the control device may be implemented in the form of hardware or software, or may be implemented in a combination of hardware and software.

[0098] Furthermore, terms such as "unit", "module", etc. included in the specification denote units for performing at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

[0099] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle may be referred to as being based on a concept including various means of transportation. In some cases, a vehicle may be interpreted as being based on a concept including not only various land vehicles traveling on roads (e.g., cars, motorcycles, large trucks, and buses), but also various means of transportation such as airplanes, drones, ships, etc.

[0100] For the convenience of explanation and precise definition of the appended claims, the terms "above", "below", "inside", "outside", "upper", "lower", "upward", "downward", "front", "rear", "back", "inner", "outer", "inwardly", "outwardly", "internal", "external", "inner side", "outer side", "forward" and "backward" are used to describe the features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of these features shown in the drawings. It will be further understood that the term "connected" or its derivatives refer to both direct connection and indirect connection.

[0101] The term "and / or" may include combinations of multiple related recited items or any one of multiple related recited items. For example, "A and / or B" includes all three cases, namely "A", "B", and "A and B".

[0102] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, "at least one of A and B" may refer to "at least one of A or B" or "at least one of combinations of at least one of A and B". Furthermore, "one or more of A and B" may refer to "one or more of A or B" or "one or more of combinations of one or more of A and B".

[0103] In this specification, unless otherwise specified, singular expressions include plural expressions, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0104] In the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that terms such as "including" or "having" are intended to indicate the presence of the features, quantities, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and do not exclude the possibility of adding or existing one or more other features, quantities, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

[0105] According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, components may be combined with each other to be implemented as one, or some components may be omitted.

[0106] The foregoing description of the specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously, many modifications and changes are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the particular principles of the invention and its practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to implement and utilize the various exemplary embodiments of the invention and their various alternative forms and modifications. The scope of the invention is intended to be defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery, the method comprising: Determining and storing defective battery cell candidates by a processor based on voltage changes of each battery cell forming a battery module during a shutdown mode period of the vehicle; Increasing a counter value based on a comparison result between defective battery cell candidates during a most recent shutdown mode period and defective battery cell candidates during a previous shutdown mode period; Detecting a battery cell abnormality based on whether a current counter value is greater than or equal to a threshold counter value.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein Determining voltage changes of each battery cell during a shutdown mode period based on a difference between the voltage of each battery cell at the moment when the vehicle switches from a start mode to a shutdown mode and the voltage of each battery cell at the moment when the vehicle switches from a shutdown mode to a start mode.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, In determining and storing defective battery cell candidates, determining defective battery cell candidates based on voltage changes of each battery cell and an average value of voltage changes of all battery cells forming the battery module.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein In determining and storing defective battery cell candidates, Based on voltage changes, determining as defective battery cell candidates those battery cells for which a value obtained by subtracting the average value of voltage changes of all battery cells from the voltage change of each battery cell is greater than a threshold.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The counter value is initially set to "0" and incremented by "1".

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining and storing defective battery cell candidates is performed in response to a power value of the battery module being higher than a threshold rate and a temperature of the battery module being higher than a threshold temperature.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein In detecting a battery cell abnormality, in response to the current counter value being greater than or equal to the threshold counter value, the processor sends a warning message to the driver and controls the vehicle.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein In response to detecting a battery cell abnormality, the processor is configured to reduce the speed of the vehicle.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein, In increasing the counter value, in response to defective battery cell candidates during a most recent shutdown mode period being the same as defective battery cell candidates during a previous shutdown mode period, the processor increases the counter value.

10. A device for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery, the device comprising: A battery configured to store electrical energy for driving the vehicle and including a plurality of battery cells; A sensor section including a voltage sensor configured to detect voltages of the plurality of battery cells; And A battery management section operably connected to the sensor section and configured to: Determine and store defective battery cell candidates based on voltage changes of each battery cell forming a battery module during a shutdown mode period of the vehicle, Increase a counter value based on a comparison result between defective battery cell candidates during a most recent shutdown mode period and defective battery cell candidates during a previous shutdown mode period, Detect a battery cell abnormality based on whether a current counter value is greater than or equal to a threshold counter value.

11. The apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery according to claim 10, wherein, Determine voltage changes of each battery cell during a shutdown mode period based on a difference between the voltage of each battery cell at the moment when the vehicle switches from a start mode to a shutdown mode and the voltage of each battery cell at the moment when the vehicle switches from a shutdown mode to a start mode.

12. The apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery according to claim 10, wherein, Determine candidate defective battery cells based on the voltage change of each battery cell and the average value of the voltage changes of all battery cells forming the battery module.

13. The apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery according to claim 12, wherein, The battery management section is further configured to: based on the voltage change, determine as candidate defective battery cells those battery cells for which the value obtained by subtracting the average value of the voltage changes of all battery cells from the voltage change of each battery cell is greater than a threshold value.

14. The apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery according to claim 10, wherein, The counter value is initially set to "0" and incremented by "1".

15. The apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery according to claim 10, wherein, The battery management section is further configured to: in response to the power value of the battery module being higher than a threshold rate and the temperature of the battery module being higher than a threshold temperature, determine and store candidate defective battery cells based on the voltage change.

16. The apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery according to claim 10, wherein, The battery management section is further configured to: in response to the current counter value being greater than or equal to a threshold counter value, send a warning message to the driver and is configured to control the vehicle.

17. The apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery according to claim 16, wherein, When a battery cell abnormality is detected, the battery management section is further configured to reduce the speed of the vehicle.

18. The apparatus for diagnosing an abnormality in a vehicle battery according to claim 10, wherein, The battery management section is further configured to: in response to the candidate defective battery cells during the most recent shutdown mode period being the same as the candidate defective battery cells during the previous shutdown mode period, increment the counter value.