Server and method of operating server

Abstract

A server according to one embodiment disclosed in the present document includes: a communication unit that receives first data including first identification information and physical characteristic information of a battery cell from a first device included in a first process in a manufacturing process of the battery cell, and receive second data including second identification information of the battery cell from a second device included in a second process different from the first process; and a controller identifying first data corresponding to the second data based on the first identification information and the second identification information, and transmitting the first data to the second device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2023-0025410 and 10-2024-0013253, filed on February 24, 2023, and January 29, 2024, respectively, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a server and a method of operating a server. Background Art

[0004] In recent years, as demand for portable electronic products such as laptop computers, camcorders, and mobile phones has rapidly increased, and as the development of electric vehicles, energy storage batteries, robots, satellites, and the like has begun in earnest, research into high-performance batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged is being actively conducted.

[0005] The battery manufacturing process typically includes electrode production, assembly, activation, and packaging. Because each process can be performed at different locations, a device is required to identify the battery cell being manufactured and transmit information about the battery cell. To this end, a two-dimensional (2D) barcode is printed on the surface of the battery cell. The 2D barcode is then read in the next process to identify the battery cell and transmit information about the battery cell.

[0006] However, additional cost and time may be required due to printing of the 2D barcode on the surface of the battery cell and due to reworking of a defective 2D barcode, and productivity may be reduced. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Technical issues

[0008] Embodiments disclosed herein provide a server for efficiently managing information about battery cells and a method of operating the server.

[0009] The objects of the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to the above objects, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

[0010] Technical Solution

[0011] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, a server includes: a communication unit configured to receive first data including first identification information and physical property information of the battery cell from a first device included in a first process in a manufacturing process of the battery cell, and receive second data including second identification information of the battery cell from a second device included in a second process different from the first process; and a controller configured to identify the first data corresponding to the second data based on the first identification information and the second identification information, and send the first data to the second device.

[0012] According to one embodiment, when the second identification information is identical to the first identification information, the controller may determine that the second data corresponds to the first data.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the second device may obtain the second identification information by identifying an identification mark included in the battery cell.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the identification mark may be a one-dimensional (1-dimensional, 1D) barcode.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the second device may obtain the physical characteristic information by receiving data from the communication unit.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the first identification information may include an identification number of the battery cell, and the physical characteristic information may include an open circuit voltage (OCV) and a capacity of the battery cell.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the second identification information may include the identification number of the battery cell.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the controller may: generate a database including the first data; when the database includes the first identification information corresponding to the second identification information, send the first data including the first identification information to the second device; when the database does not include the first identification information corresponding to the second identification information, send a loss signal to the second device.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the first process may be an assembly process or an activation process, and the second process may be a packaging process.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the server may further include a storage device configured to store the first data.

[0021] According to one embodiment disclosed herein, a method for manufacturing a battery includes: receiving first data including first identification information and physical property information of the battery cell from a first device included in a first process in a manufacturing process of the battery cell; receiving second data including second identification information and physical property information of the battery cell from a second device included in a second process different from the first process; and sending the first data corresponding to the second data to the second device.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the method may further include: identifying the first data corresponding to the second data.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the identifying may include: when the second identification number is the same as the first identification number, determining that the second data corresponds to the first data.

[0024] According to one embodiment, the second device may obtain the second identification information by identifying an identification mark included in the battery cell.

[0025] According to one embodiment, the identification mark may be a one-dimensional (1D) barcode.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the first identification information may include an identification number of the battery cell, and the physical characteristic information may include an open circuit voltage (OCV) and a capacity of the battery cell.

[0027] According to one embodiment, the second identification information may include an identification number of the battery cell.

[0028] According to one embodiment, the first process may be an assembly process or an activation process, and the second process may be a packaging process.

[0029] Details of other implementations are included in the detailed description and accompanying drawings.

[0030] Beneficial effects

[0031] According to the server and the method of operating the server according to the embodiments disclosed herein, time and cost caused by printing and maintenance of 2D barcodes can be reduced, thereby improving battery manufacturing efficiency.

[0032] According to the server and the method of operating the server according to the embodiments disclosed herein, data transferred between processes in the manufacturing process of a battery can be effectively changed even without changing a 2D barcode. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for manufacturing a battery according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

[0034] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a server according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

[0035] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a method in which a server matches first data with second data according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

[0036] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a server according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

[0037] Figure 5 The invention relates to a computing system for executing a method of operating a server according to one embodiment disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Hereinafter, the embodiments disclosed herein will be described in detail with reference to the exemplary drawings. When adding reference numerals to components in each drawing, it should be noted that even if the same components are shown in different drawings, they are given the same reference numerals as much as possible. In addition, when describing the embodiments disclosed herein, if it is determined that a detailed description obscures the understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, a detailed description of related known configurations or functions will be omitted.

[0039] Terms such as first and second can be used to describe the components of the embodiments disclosed herein. These terms are only used to distinguish the purpose of one component from another component, and the nature, sequence, order etc. of the corresponding components are not limited by these terms. In addition, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as the meaning generally understood by those skilled in the art of the embodiments disclosed herein. The terms defined in the dictionary generally used should be interpreted as the meaning matching the meaning of the terms from the context of the relevant technology, and are not interpreted as ideal or overly formal meanings, unless clearly defined in the application.

[0040] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for manufacturing a battery according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

[0041] refer to Figure 1 , a system for manufacturing a battery according to one embodiment disclosed herein may include a server 100 , a first device 200 , and a second device 300 .

[0042] The server 100 may receive data from the first device 200. The data received by the server 100 from the first device 200 may be defined as first data data1. The server 100 may receive the first data data1 from the first device 200 and store the first data data1.

[0043] The server 100 may receive data from the second device 300. The data received by the server 100 from the second device 300 may be defined as second data data2. The server 100 may receive data from the second device 300. According to the present embodiment, the server 100 may include a cloud server 100, but is not limited thereto.

[0044] The first device 200 may include a device for manufacturing a battery. The manufacturing process of the battery may include an electrode process, an assembly process, an activation process, and a packaging process.

[0045] The electrode process may be a process of forming the positive (+) electrode and the negative (-) electrode of the battery cell, the assembly process may be a process of forming the shape of the battery cell, the activation process may be a process of activating the electrical energy of the battery cell and checking the stability, and the packaging process may be a process of modularizing the manufactured battery cell and placing the modularized battery cell into a battery pack.

[0046] Among the above processes, the activation process is a process for repeating aging, charging, and discharging of the battery cells. The activation process may generally include storing the battery cells at room temperature so that the electrolyte penetrates the positive (+) electrode and the negative (-) electrode, and charging and discharging some of the battery cells while the electrolyte is distributed in the battery cells to smoothly move ions between the positive (+) electrode and the negative (-) electrode.

[0047] According to this embodiment, the first device 200 can be used in the activation process of the battery manufacturing process. In other words, the first device 200 can be one of various devices used to drive the activation process. According to this embodiment, the first device 200 can be a storage device or charging / discharging device for the battery cell, or it can be a separate device provided for communication with the server 100 during the activation process.

[0048] The first device 200 may transmit first data data1 to the server 100. The first device 200 may transmit first data data1 to the server 100, including first identification information and physical property information of the battery cell. Here, the first identification information may include the identification number of the battery cell. Furthermore, the physical property information may include, but is not limited to, the open circuit voltage and capacity of the battery cell. In other words, the physical property information included in the first data data1 may include not only the OCV and capacity, but also various information related to the characteristics of the battery cell.

[0049] The first device 200 may manufacture a plurality of battery cells, generate first data data1 corresponding to each battery cell, and continuously transmit the first data data1 corresponding to each battery cell to the server 100. According to another embodiment, the first device 200 may be used in an assembly process in a battery manufacturing process.

[0050] Meanwhile, the battery cell manufactured by the first device 200 may include an identification mark. In other words, the battery cell may include an identification mark on its surface. Here, the identification mark may include a one-dimensional (1D) barcode. According to this embodiment, the identification mark may include information related to the identification information of the battery cell. In other words, the identification mark may indicate an identification number, which is a unique number of the battery cell.

[0051] The packaging process in battery manufacturing is the process of modularizing battery cells according to the model of the use site. The packaging process generally includes the process of manufacturing a battery pack by forming multiple battery cells in a cell-by-cell manner, securing the battery cells in a module housing, connecting multiple battery cells, assembling modules, and connecting the battery cells in a module-by-module manner.

[0052] According to this embodiment, the second device 300 can be used in the packaging process of the battery manufacturing process. In other words, the second device 300 can be one of the various devices used to drive the packaging process. Since the activation process and the packaging process are generally performed in different locations, the second device 300 can be located in a different location from the first device 200.

[0053] The second device 300 can identify the identification mark included in the battery cell. Because the second device 300 is included in the assembly process and the packaging process is performed after the assembly and activation processes, the battery cell identified by the second device 300 may include the identification mark. Therefore, the second device 300 can obtain information about the battery cell by identifying the identification mark provided on the surface of the battery cell. In other words, the second device 300 can obtain identification information of the battery cell by identifying the identification mark.

[0054] The second device 300 may generate the second data data2 based on the identification information obtained by identifying the battery cell. Therefore, the second data data2 may include identification information obtained by the second device 300 by identifying the identification mark of the battery cell. The identification information included in the second data data2 may be defined as second identification information. In other words, the second device 300 may generate the second data data2 including the second identification information of the battery cell. Furthermore, the second device 300 may transmit the second data data2 to the server 100.

[0055] The second device 300 may receive the third data data3 from the server 100. The third data data3 may include identification information and physical property information of the battery cell. In other words, the third data data3 may include identification information of the battery cell and the OCV and capacity of the battery cell, or include a loss signal. Here, the identification information included in the third data data3 may be the same as the identification information included in the second data data2. In other words, the second device 300 may obtain the second identification information by identifying the identification mark of the battery cell, and obtain the physical property information of the battery cell by receiving the third data data3 from the server 100. Reference will be made to Figure 3 The third data data3 will be described in detail.

[0056] The second device 300 can analyze the third data data3. According to this embodiment, when the third data data3 includes identification information, OCV, and capacity of a battery cell, the second device 300 can extract the second identification information corresponding to the identification information included in the third data data3 and match the third data data3 with the battery cell that is the basis for the second identification information. Therefore, the second device 300 can obtain information about the battery cell based on the third data data3. In other words, the second device 300 can treat the identification information, OCV, and capacity of the battery cell included in the third data data3 as information about the battery cell based on the second data data2.

[0057] According to the present embodiment, when the third data data3 includes a loss signal, the second device 300 may record the loss of information about the battery cell and display the loss of information about the battery cell by allowing the user to check the loss of information about the battery cell.

[0058] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a server according to one embodiment disclosed herein. Figure 3 3 is a diagram illustrating a method in which a server matches first data with second data according to an embodiment disclosed herein.

[0059] First, refer to Figure 2, the server 100 may include a communication unit 110, a controller 120, and a storage device 130. The communication unit 110 may communicate with other devices not included in the server 100. According to the present embodiment, the communication unit 110 may transmit and receive data with the first device 200 and the second device 300. Specifically, the communication unit 110 may receive first data data1 from the first device 200. The communication unit 110 may transmit the first data data1 received from the first device 200 to the controller 120. In addition, the communication unit 110 may receive second data data2 from the second device 300. The communication unit 110 may transmit the second data data2 received from the second device 300 to the controller 120.

[0060] The communication unit 110 may transmit the third data data3 to the second device 300. In other words, the communication unit 110 may receive the third data data3 from the controller 120 and transmit the third data data3 to the second device 300.

[0061] refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the controller 120 may generate a database 400 based on the first data data1. First, the controller 120 may receive multiple pieces of first data data1 from the communication unit 110. The controller 120 may generate the database 400 by dividing each piece of the multiple pieces of first data data1 received from the communication unit 110. In other words, the database 400 may include multiple pieces of first data data1 and store the identification information, OCV, and capacity included in each piece of first data data1. According to this embodiment, the database 400 may be a lookup table.

[0062] The controller 120 may receive the second data data2 from the communication unit 110. The controller 120 may compare the database 400 with the second data data2. According to the present embodiment, the controller 120 may determine whether there is first data data1 corresponding to the second data data2 among the plurality of first data data1 included in the database 400. To this end, the controller 120 may compare the first identification information of each first data data1 among the plurality of first data data1 included in the database 400 with the second identification information included in the second data data2. According to the present embodiment, when extracting the first identification information that is identical to the second identification information, the controller 120 may define the first data data1 including the corresponding first identification information as the third data data3.

[0063] When the controller 120 fails to find the first identification information identical to the second identification information, the controller 120 may define the loss signal as the third data data3.

[0064] The controller 120 may transmit the third data data3 to the second device 300. Specifically, the controller 120 may transmit the third data data3 to the communication unit 110 and control the communication unit 110 to transmit the third data data3 to the second device 300. Here, the third data data3 may include identification information, OCV, and a capacity or loss signal.

[0065] Return Reference Figure 2 , the storage device 130 may store the first data data1. The storage device 130 may receive the first data data1 from the communication unit 110 and store the first data data1. According to the present embodiment, the storage device 130 may receive the database 400 from the controller 120 and store the database 400.

[0066] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a server according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

[0067] Figure 4 The embodiment shown is only one embodiment, and the order of operations according to various embodiments of the present invention may be different from Figure 4 The order shown and can be omitted Figure 4 For some of the operations shown, the order of the operations may be changed, or the operations may be combined.

[0068] refer to Figure 4 , the method of operating a server may include: an operation of receiving first data from a first device included in a first process (S100); an operation of generating a database based on the first data (S200); an operation of receiving second data from a second device included in a second process (S300); an operation of determining whether first data corresponding to the second data exists (S400); an operation of sending the first data corresponding to the second data to the second device (S500); and an operation of sending a loss signal to the second device (S600).

[0069] In the following, reference will be made to Figures 1 to 3 Operations S100 to S600 are described in detail.

[0070] In operation S100, the server 100 may receive first data data1 from the first device 200 included in the first process. The server 100 may receive the first data data1 from the first device 200 and store the first data data1. Here, the first device 200 may include a device for manufacturing a battery. The manufacturing process of a battery may include an electrode process, an assembly process, an activation process, and a packaging process. According to this embodiment, the first device 200 may be used in the activation process in the manufacturing process of the battery. In other words, the first device 200 may be one of various devices for driving the activation process. In addition, the first data data1 may include identification information, OCV, and capacity of the battery cell.

[0071] In operation S200 , the server 100 may generate a database 400 based on the first data data1 .

[0072] The server 100 may generate a database 400 by dividing the plurality of pieces of first data data1 received from the first device 200. That is, the database 400 may include the plurality of pieces of first data data1 and store the identification information, OCV, and capacity included in each piece of first data data1. According to this embodiment, the database 400 may be a lookup table.

[0073] In operation S300, the server 100 may receive second data data2 from a second device 300 included in the second process. Here, the second device 300 may include a device for manufacturing a battery. According to this embodiment, the second device 300 may be used in a packaging process in the manufacturing process of the battery. In other words, the second device 300 may be one of various devices for driving the packaging process. Since the assembly process, activation process, and packaging process are generally performed at different locations, the second device 300 may be set at a different location from the first device 200.

[0074] The server 100 may receive second data data2 including identification information of the battery cell acquired by recognizing, by the second device 300 , an identification mark provided on a surface of the battery cell.

[0075] In operation S400, the server 100 may determine whether there is first data data1 corresponding to the second data data2. The server 100 may compare the database 400 with the second data data2. According to this embodiment, the server 100 may determine whether there is first data data1 corresponding to the second data data2 among the plurality of first data data1 included in the database 400. To this end, the server 100 may compare the first identification information of each piece of first data data1 among the plurality of first data data1 included in the database 400 with the second identification information included in the second data data2.

[0076] When the server 100 determines that the first data data1 corresponding to the second data data2 exists in the database 400, operation S500 may be performed. When the server 100 determines that the first data data1 corresponding to the second data data2 does not exist in the database 400, operation S600 may be performed.

[0077] In operation S500, the server 100 may transmit the first data data1 corresponding to the second data data2 to the second device 300. According to this embodiment, upon extracting the first identification information identical to the second identification information, the server 100 may define the first data data1 including the corresponding first identification information as third data data3. The server 100 may transmit the third data data3 to the second device 300. Here, the third data data3 may include the first data data1.

[0078] In operation S600, the server 100 may transmit a loss signal to the second device 300. According to this embodiment, when the server 100 fails to find the first identification information identical to the second identification information, the server 100 may define the loss signal as third data data3. The server 100 may transmit the third data data3 to the second device 300. Here, the third data data3 may include the loss signal.

[0079] Figure 5 The invention relates to a computing system for executing a method of operating a server according to one embodiment disclosed herein.

[0080] refer to Figure 5 , a computing system 500 according to one embodiment disclosed herein may include a microcontroller unit (MCU) 510 , a memory 520 , an input / output I / F 530 , and a communication I / F 540 .

[0081] The MCU 510 may be a processor configured to execute various programs (e.g., a health state (SOH) calculation program and a cell balancing execution target determination program) stored in the memory 520, process various data including the state of charge (SOC) and SOH of a plurality of battery cells through the programs, and execute the above-referenced Figures 1 to 4 The functionality of the server 100 is described.

[0082] The memory 520 may store various programs related to calculating the SOH of the battery cells and determining the cell balancing execution target. In addition, the memory 520 may store various data of each battery cell, such as SOC and SOH data.

[0083] If necessary, multiple memories 520 may be provided. The memory 520 may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. As the volatile memory 520, RAM, DRAM, SRAM, etc. may be used. As the non-volatile memory 520, ROM, PROM, EAROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, etc. may be used. The examples of the memory 520 listed above are merely illustrative and are not limited to these examples.

[0084] The input / output I / F 530 may be an interface for connecting an input device (not shown) such as a keyboard, mouse, or touch panel and an output device (not shown) such as a display to the MCU 510 and allowing the input device and the output device and the MCU 510 to transmit and receive data.

[0085] The communication I / F 540 is a component 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, a program for calculating the SOH of a battery cell or determining a balancing target, various data, and the like may be transmitted and received from a separately provided external server via the communication I / F 540.

[0086] As described above, the method of operating a server according to one embodiment disclosed herein may be recorded in the memory 520 and executed by the MCU 510 .

[0087] The above description is merely an exemplary description of the technical spirit disclosed herein, and those skilled in the art to which the embodiments disclosed herein pertain will be able to variously modify and change the present disclosure without departing from the essential features of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0088] Therefore, the embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to limit the technical spirit disclosed herein, but are used to describe it, and the scope of the technical spirit disclosed herein is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of the technical spirit disclosed herein should be interpreted by the appended claims, and all technical spirits within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as included within the scope of this document.

Claims

1. A server, comprising: a communication unit configured to receive first data including first identification information and physical characteristic information of the battery cell from a first device included in a first process of a manufacturing process of the battery cell, and receive second data including second identification information of the battery cell from a second device included in a second process different from the first process; as well as A controller is configured to identify the first data corresponding to the second data based on the first identification information and the second identification information, and transmit the first data to the second device.

2. The server according to claim 1, wherein When the second identification information is identical to the first identification information, the controller determines that the second data corresponds to the first data.

3. The server according to claim 1, wherein The second device obtains the second identification information by identifying an identification mark included in the battery cell.

4. The server according to claim 3, wherein: The identification mark is a one-dimensional 1D barcode.

5. The server according to claim 3, wherein: The second device acquires the physical characteristic information by receiving data from the communication unit. The server according to claim 1 , wherein: The first identification information includes the identification number of the battery cell, and The physical characteristic information includes the open circuit voltage (OCV) and capacity of the battery cell.

7. The server according to claim 6, wherein: The second identification information includes the identification number of the battery cell.

8. The server according to claim 7, wherein: The controller is configured to: generating a database including the first data; When the database includes the first identification information corresponding to the second identification information, sending the first data including the first identification information to the second device; When the database does not include the first identification information corresponding to the second identification information, a loss signal is sent to the second device.

9. The server according to claim 1, wherein: The first process is an assembly process or an activation process, and the second process is a packaging process. 10 . The server according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage device configured to store the first data.

11. A method for manufacturing a battery, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, from a first device included in a first process in a manufacturing process of a battery cell, first data including first identification information and physical characteristic information of the battery cell; receiving second data including second identification information and physical characteristic information of the battery cell from a second device included in a second process different from the first process; as well as The first data corresponding to the second data is sent to the second device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of identifying the first data corresponding to the second data.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein: The identifying step includes determining that the second data corresponds to the first data when the second identification number is the same as the first identification number.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein The second device obtains the second identification information by identifying an identification mark included in the battery cell.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The identification mark is a one-dimensional 1D barcode.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein The first identification information includes the identification number of the battery cell, and The physical characteristic information includes the open circuit voltage (OCV) and capacity of the battery cell.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The second identification information includes the identification number of the battery cell.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein The first process is an assembly process or an activation process, and the second process is a packaging process.

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