Diagnostic device, battery manufacturing system, battery pack, electric vehicle, and diagnostic method

Abstract

A diagnostic device, a battery manufacturing system, a battery pack, an electric vehicle, and a diagnostic method are provided. The diagnostic device according to the present invention is a diagnostic device for diagnosing the states of first to n-th active materials (n is a natural number of 2 or more) included in a battery electrode (the electrode is a positive electrode or a negative electrode), and includes: a profile acquisition unit configured to acquire a target electrode profile indicating a correspondence relationship between the capacity and voltage of the electrode; and a diagnostic unit configured to generate first to m-th simulation electrode profiles (m is a natural number of 2 or more) from predetermined first to n-th reference active material profiles, individually compare the first to m-th simulation electrode profiles with the target electrode profile, and diagnose the states of the first to n-th active materials based on the comparison results.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for diagnosing the individual states of multiple active materials contained in a battery electrode.

[0002] This application claims priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0181101 filed on December 21, 2022, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0181032 filed on December 13, 2023, and the contents disclosed in the specifications and drawings of those applications are incorporated herein in their entirety. [Background technology]

[0003] Recently, as demand for portable electronic products such as notebook PCs (personal computers), video cameras, and mobile phones has skyrocketed, and development of electric vehicles, energy storage batteries, robots, and satellites has gained momentum, research into high-performance batteries that can be repeatedly charged and discharged is actively underway.

[0004] Currently, commercially available batteries include nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, and lithium batteries. Of these, lithium batteries are attracting attention due to their advantages over nickel-based batteries, such as almost no memory effect, freedom in charging and discharging, a very low self-discharge rate, and high energy density.

[0005] Recently, as batteries are used in electric vehicles or energy storage batteries, increasing the energy efficiency of batteries has become one of the important research topics.

[0006] As a means for increasing the energy efficiency of a battery, a positive electrode material and / or a negative electrode material in which two or more active materials are mixed may be used.

[0007] Meanwhile, to optimize the energy efficiency of a battery, it is necessary to determine whether the battery was manufactured according to the design specifications during the manufacturing stage. Specifically, it is necessary to individually diagnose the status of each active material during the battery manufacturing stage. Furthermore, during the use stage, it is necessary to individually diagnose the status of each active material due to battery degradation and appropriately set the usage conditions based on the diagnosis results. Specifically, because the mixture ratio of each active material contained in the electrode changes as the battery deteriorates, it is necessary to individually diagnose the status of each active material during the use stage.

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for a technology that can diagnose the individual states of multiple active materials contained in a battery electrode. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide a diagnostic device, manufacturing system, battery pack, electric vehicle, and diagnostic method that can diagnose the individual conditions of active materials contained in battery electrodes.

[0010] Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood from the following description and will become more apparent from the embodiments of the present invention, and the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means and combinations thereof as claimed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] A diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present invention is a diagnostic device for diagnosing the states of first to nth active materials (n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) included in a battery electrode (the electrode is a positive electrode or a negative electrode), and may include: a profile acquisition unit configured to acquire a target electrode profile indicating a correspondence relationship between the capacity and voltage of the electrode; and a diagnostic unit configured to generate first to mth simulation electrode profiles (m is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) based on predetermined first to nth reference active material profiles, individually compare the first to mth simulation electrode profiles with the target electrode profile, and diagnose the states of the first to nth active materials based on the comparison results.

[0012] The diagnostic unit may determine first to n-th weight values ​​based on results of comparing the first to m-th simulation electrode profiles individually with the target electrode profile.

[0013] The diagnostic unit may determine a characteristic value of the kth active material included in the electrode based on a kth weighted value related to the kth active material (k is a natural number equal to or less than n) among the first to nth active materials.

[0014] The characteristic value may indicate currently available capacity, composition ratio or weight within the electrode.

[0015] The diagnostic unit may calculate the usable capacity of the kth active material by multiplying the kth weighted value by a preset kth reference electrode capacity.

[0016] The diagnostic unit can calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode by dividing the kth weighted value by the sum of all the first to nth weighted values.

[0017] The diagnosis unit can calculate the weight of the kth active material by multiplying a preset kth reference weight by the kth weighted value.

[0018] The diagnosing unit may diagnose a state of the kth active material based on a characteristic value of the kth active material and a preset kth critical value.

[0019] The kth reference active material profile (k is a natural number equal to or less than n) among the first to nth reference active material profiles may indicate the capacity-voltage relationship obtained during the charging or discharging process of the kth reference electrode.

[0020] The kth reference electrode may be fabricated to include the same type of active material as the kth active material as a single active material.

[0021] The diagnostic unit may generate the first to mth simulated electrode profiles by repeating the adjustment process and synthesis process for the first to nth reference active material profiles according to first to mth adjustment coefficient sets.

[0022] The diagnostic unit may individually use the first to nth adjustment coefficients of the jth adjustment coefficient set (j is a natural number less than or equal to m) among the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets to generate first to nth adjusted active material profiles related to the jth adjustment coefficient set from the first to nth reference active material profiles.

[0023] The kth adjusted active material profile among the first to nth adjusted active material profiles may be a profile obtained by scaling the kth reference active material profile by the kth adjustment factor along the capacity axis.

[0024] The diagnostic unit can generate a jth simulated electrode profile by combining the first to nth adjusted active material profiles related to the jth adjustment coefficient set.

[0025] The diagnosis unit may determine one of the first to m-th simulation electrode profiles that has a minimum error from the target electrode profile.

[0026] The diagnosis unit may determine any one of the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets used in the process of generating the determined simulation electrode profile as the first to nth weight values.

[0027] The profile acquisition unit may acquire the target electrode profile based on a measured full-cell profile that indicates the capacity-voltage relationship of the battery.

[0028] It should be noted that the battery manufacturing system according to another aspect of the present invention may include the diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0029] A battery pack according to yet another aspect of the present invention may include a diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0030] An electric vehicle according to yet another aspect of the present invention may include a diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0031] A diagnostic method according to yet another aspect of the present invention is a diagnostic method for diagnosing the individual states of first to nth active materials (n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) included in a battery electrode (the electrode is a positive electrode or a negative electrode), and may include the steps of: acquiring a target electrode profile based on capacity-voltage measurement information of the electrode; generating first to mth simulated electrode profiles (m is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) from first to nth reference active material profiles; and individually comparing the first to mth simulated electrode profiles with the target electrode profile to diagnose the states of the first to nth active materials. [Effects of the Invention]

[0032] According to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the state of an active material included in a battery electrode can be individually diagnosed.

[0033] Furthermore, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to diagnose the state of the electrodes and the battery based on the state of the active material contained in the electrodes without disassembling the battery.

[0034] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described above, and other effects of the present invention not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

[0035] The following drawings attached to this specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and, together with the detailed description of the invention, serve to further understand the technical concept of the present invention, so the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the matters described in the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a target electrode profile. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a first reference active material profile. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a second reference active material profile. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a simulated electrode profile. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a reference diagram for explaining the process of comparing a target electrode profile with a simulation electrode profile. [Figure 7] 4 is a graph referred to for explaining an example of a reference positive electrode profile and a reference negative electrode profile. [Figure 8] 1 is a graph referred to for explaining an example of a measured full cell profile. [Figure 9] 1 is a reference diagram showing an example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell profile used for comparison with a measured full-cell profile according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 1 is a reference diagram showing an example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell profile used for comparison with a measured full-cell profile according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 1 is a reference diagram showing an example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell profile used for comparison with a measured full-cell profile according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 10 is a reference diagram showing another example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell profile used for comparison with a measured full-cell profile according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 10 is a reference diagram showing another example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell profile used for comparison with a measured full-cell profile according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 10 is a reference diagram showing another example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell profile used for comparison with a measured full-cell profile according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] 1A and 1B illustrate exemplary configurations of battery packs according to the present invention. [Figure 16] 1 is a schematic diagram of an electric vehicle according to the present invention; [Figure 17] 1 is a flow chart illustrating a diagnostic method according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, the terms and words used in the specification and claims should not be construed as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but should be construed as having meanings and concepts corresponding to the technical ideas of the present invention, in accordance with the principle that the inventors themselves can appropriately define the concepts of terms in order to best explain the invention.

[0038] Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent the entire technical idea of ​​the present invention, and that there may be various equivalents and modifications that can be substituted for them at the time of this application.

[0039] Terms including ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," etc. are used to distinguish one of various elements from the rest, and do not limit the elements.

[0040] Furthermore, throughout the specification, when a part "includes" a certain element, this does not mean that it excludes other elements, but that it may further include other elements, unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, terms such as "diagnostic unit" in the specification refer to a unit that processes at least one function or operation, and this may be embodied in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0041] Furthermore, throughout this specification, when a part is said to be "coupled" to another part, this includes not only "directly coupled" but also "indirectly coupled" via another element in between.

[0042] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a diagnostic device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] The diagnostic device 100 is for diagnosing the condition of first to nth active materials (n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) included in a battery electrode. In this specification, an electrode refers to a positive electrode or a negative electrode. Also, a battery electrode may refer to an electrode actually included in a battery or an electrode fabricated as a sample before the battery is manufactured.

[0045] Here, a battery refers to a single independent cell that has a negative terminal and a positive terminal and can be physically separated. For example, a lithium ion battery or a lithium polymer battery may be considered a battery. The battery may be cylindrical, prismatic, or pouch-type. A battery may also refer to a battery bank, a battery module, or a battery pack in which multiple cells are connected in series and / or parallel. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, a battery will be described as a single independent cell.

[0046] The first to nth active materials are active materials that constitute the electrode to be diagnosed. Within the electrode, the first to nth active materials may be mixed in an unknown ratio.

[0047] Referring to FIG. 1, the diagnostic device 100 may include a profile acquisition unit 110 and a diagnostic unit 120 .

[0048] The profile acquisition unit 110 may be configured to acquire a target electrode profile that indicates the correspondence between the capacitance and voltage of the electrodes.

[0049] Specifically, the target electrode profile may represent the relationship between the capacity and voltage of an electrode obtained by a charging or discharging process. The voltage of an electrode may represent the difference between the potential of the electrode and a reference potential (e.g., the redox potential of lithium ions, Li / Li).

[0050] For convenience of explanation, the battery electrode is assumed to be a negative electrode.

[0051] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a target electrode profile ep.

[0052] In the embodiment of Figure 2, the horizontal axis (X axis) represents capacity (Ah) and the vertical axis (Y axis) represents voltage (V). Referring to Figure 2, one skilled in the art will readily understand that the target electrode profile ep represents the capacity-voltage relationship of the negative electrode, since the voltage decreases as the capacity increases.

[0053] In one example, the target electrode profile ep may be generated based on half-cell data acquired by charging or discharging a half-cell including a working electrode and a reference electrode. The working electrode may refer to the electrode to be diagnosed, i.e., the electrode involved in the charge / discharge reaction. The counter electrode may refer to an electrode that, unlike the working electrode, provides the reference potential instead of participating in the charge / discharge reaction. The target electrode profile ep generated based on half-cell data may be acquired during the electrode manufacturing stage. For example, it may be used to diagnose whether battery electrodes have been manufactured to meet design requirements.

[0054] In another example, the target electrode profile ep may be generated based on a measured full-cell profile (see symbol M in FIG. 8 ) based on the capacity-voltage information of the battery, a reference positive electrode profile (see symbol Rp in FIG. 7 ), and a reference negative electrode profile (see symbol Rn in FIG. 7 ). Here, the reference positive electrode profile may be a profile showing the correspondence relationship between capacity and voltage obtained by charging or discharging the reference positive electrode. For example, the reference positive electrode may be a positive electrode coin half-cell or the positive electrode of a three-electrode cell. And the reference negative electrode profile may be a profile showing the correspondence relationship between capacity and voltage obtained by charging or discharging the reference negative electrode. For example, the reference negative electrode may be a negative electrode coin half-cell or the negative electrode of a three-electrode cell.

[0055] The target electrode profile ep based on the measured full-cell profile can be obtained during the use stage of the battery and can be used, for example, to diagnose the deterioration state of the active material contained in the battery electrode.

[0056] In this specification, acquisition of any data or information may be understood to mean reception from an external device or the like via a communication means, input from a user or the like via an input means, or generation by execution of a program or the like.

[0057] For example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may be connected to an external device via a wired and / or wireless connection to directly receive the target electrode profile ep. The wired communication may be, for example, a controller area network (CAN) communication or a CAN-FD (CAN with Flexible Data Rate) communication. The wireless communication may be, for example, ZigBee or Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication. Of course, the type of communication protocol is not particularly limited as long as it supports communication between the profile acquisition unit 110 and the external device.

[0058] In another example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may receive electrode information related to the capacitance and voltage of the electrodes, and may generate a target electrode profile ep based on the received electrode information.

[0059] In yet another example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may receive capacity-voltage measurement information of the battery and acquire a measured full-cell profile (see M in FIG. 8) based thereon. The profile acquisition unit 110 may then adjust the reference positive electrode profile and the reference negative electrode profile to correspond to the measured full-cell profile, thereby generating a target electrode profile ep. Specific embodiments in which the profile acquisition unit 110 acquires the target electrode profile ep based on the measured full-cell profile will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 13.

[0060] The profile acquisition unit 110 may be communicatively connected to the diagnosis unit 120. For example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may be connected to the diagnosis unit 120 via a wire and / or wireless connection. The profile acquisition unit 110 may transmit the acquired target electrode profile ep to the diagnosis unit 120.

[0061] Fig. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a first reference active material profile m1, Fig. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a second reference active material profile m2, Fig. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a simulated electrode profile ms, and Fig. 6 is a diagram referred to in explaining the process of comparing a target electrode profile with a simulated electrode profile. For ease of explanation, the electrode to be diagnosed is assumed to be a negative electrode containing a mixed negative electrode material composed of two types of active materials (n=2), and is shown in Figs. 3 to 6.

[0062] In the embodiments of FIGS. 3 to 6, the horizontal axis (X axis) indicates capacity (Ah), and the vertical axis (Y axis) indicates voltage (V).

[0063] The diagnostic section 120 may be configured to generate first to m-th simulated electrode profiles (m is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) from predetermined first to n-th reference active material profiles.

[0064] Here, the first to n-th reference active material profiles indicate the charge or discharge characteristics of the first to n-th active materials, respectively, and may be acquired in advance and stored in the storage unit 130 or the like.

[0065] For example, the reference active material profile for any active material may be a profile showing the capacity-voltage relationship per unit weight of that active material over a predetermined voltage range (shown as 0 to 0.4 V in FIGS. 2 to 4 ), scaled along the capacity axis by the reference weight of that active material. Here, the reference weight may be individually predetermined for each of the first through nth active materials. For example, the reference weight of the kth active material may represent the design weight of the kth active material or the initial weight of the kth active material included in the battery electrode. For reference, the target electrode profile ep may also represent the capacity-voltage relationship of the electrode over the same voltage range.

[0066] In another example, the kth reference active material profile (k is a natural number equal to or less than n) among the first to nth reference active material profiles may represent the capacity-voltage relationship obtained during charging or discharging of the kth reference electrode. The kth reference electrode may be an electrode fabricated to include the same type of active material as the kth active material as a single active material. The kth reference electrode may be one electrode of a coin half cell or a three-electrode cell, or one electrode of a battery.

[0067] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate a plurality of simulated electrode profiles based on the first to nth reference active material profiles using a plurality of adjustment coefficient sets, each of which may be data defining a mixture ratio between the first to nth reference active material profiles.

[0068] Specifically, each adjustment coefficient set includes the same number of adjustment coefficients as the number of types of active materials constituting the battery electrode. That is, each adjustment coefficient set includes first through nth adjustment coefficients. That is, an adjustment coefficient can be assigned to each active material. For example, if a battery electrode is composed of two types of active materials, each adjustment coefficient set can include a first adjustment coefficient for the first active material and a second adjustment coefficient for the second active material.

[0069] The diagnosis unit 120 may generate first to mth simulated electrode profiles by repeating the adjustment and synthesis processes for the first to nth reference active material profiles according to the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets. If m different adjustment coefficient sets are used, m different simulated electrode profiles may be generated.

[0070] For example, if j is a natural number equal to or less than m, the diagnostic unit 120 may apply the jth adjustment coefficient set to the first to nth reference active material profiles to generate the jth simulated electrode profile.

[0071] The process by which the diagnostic unit 120 generates a plurality of simulated electrode profiles from a plurality of reference active material profiles will be described in more detail below.

[0072] The diagnostic unit 120 may individually use the first to nth adjustment coefficients of the jth adjustment coefficient set among the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets to generate first to nth adjusted active material profiles associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set from the first to nth reference active material profiles.

[0073] The diagnostic section 120 may apply the kth adjustment factor of the jth adjustment factor set to the kth reference active material profile to generate the kth adjusted active material profile associated with the jth adjustment factor set.

[0074] That is, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate n adjusted active material profiles by applying each adjustment coefficient set to n reference active material profiles, thereby generating a total of n×m adjusted active material profiles based on the n reference active material profiles and the m adjustment coefficient sets.

[0075] For example, when m is 4, j is 1, and n is 3, the diagnostic unit 120 may generate first to third adjusted active material profiles from the first to third reference active material profiles by individually using the first to third adjustment coefficients of the first adjustment coefficient set among the first to fourth adjustment coefficient sets. That is, the diagnostic unit 120 may generate the kth adjusted active material profile related to the jth adjustment coefficient set from the kth reference active material profile by using the kth adjustment coefficient of the jth adjustment coefficient set.

[0076] The kth adjusted active material profile associated with the jth adjustment factor set may be the kth reference active material profile scaled along the capacity axis by the kth adjustment factor of the jth adjustment factor set. For example, the kth adjusted active material profile may be a profile obtained by shrinking or expanding the kth reference active material profile along the capacity axis by a percentage of the kth adjustment factor. If the kth adjustment factor is less than 1, the kth adjusted active material profile may be a profile obtained by shrinking the kth reference active material profile. If the kth adjustment factor is greater than 1, the kth adjusted active material profile may be a profile obtained by expanding the kth reference active material profile. If the kth adjustment factor is 1, the kth adjusted active material profile may be the same profile as the kth reference active material profile.

[0077] In one example, if the kth adjustment factor is 0.8, the kth adjusted active material profile may be a profile obtained by shrinking the kth reference active material profile by a factor of 0.8 along the capacity axis, i.e., for the same voltage, the capacity of the kth adjusted active material profile may be the capacity of the kth reference active material profile multiplied by 0.8.

[0078] In another example, if the kth tuning factor is 1.2, the kth tuned active material profile may be a profile obtained by expanding the kth reference active material profile along the capacity axis by a factor of 1.2. That is, for the same voltage, the capacity of the kth tuned active material profile may be the capacity of the kth reference active material profile multiplied by 1.2.

[0079] Meanwhile, the usable capacity of an electrode can be calculated based on the usable capacity of each of the first to nth active materials constituting the mixed electrode material of the electrode. Specifically, the usable capacity of the electrode can be calculated by adding up all of the usable capacities of the first to nth active materials. For example, if the charge or discharge capacity of the first active material is 4 mAh and the charge or discharge capacity of the second active material is 3 mAh, an electrode formed by mixing the first active material and the second active material can have a usable capacity of 7 mAh.

[0080] The kth adjustment factor is a value used to generate the kth adjusted active material profile by scaling the kth reference active material profile along the capacity axis, i.e., the usable capacity calculated from the kth reference active material profile multiplied by the kth adjustment factor is the same as the usable capacity calculated from the kth adjusted active material profile.

[0081] Here, the usable capacity of any electrode or active material may indicate the difference between the capacity corresponding to the lower limit voltage and the capacity corresponding to the upper limit voltage of a predetermined voltage range. Alternatively, if the electrode being diagnosed is a positive electrode, the usable capacity of the electrode or the active material contained therein may indicate the capacity corresponding to the upper limit voltage. Similarly, if the electrode being diagnosed is a negative electrode, the usable capacity of the electrode or the active material contained therein may indicate the capacity corresponding to the lower limit voltage.

[0082] The k-th reference electrode capacity is a usable capacity calculated from the k-th reference active material profile. The k-th reference electrode capacity may be preset and stored in the storage unit 130.

[0083] For example, the kth reference electrode capacity may be the available capacity of the kth reference electrode in a beginning of life (BOL) state. In another example, the kth reference electrode capacity may be the design capacity associated with the kth active material.

[0084] That is, in order to regard the first to nth adjusted active material profiles as profiles reflecting the states of the first to nth active materials, the sum of all the usable capacities calculated from the first to nth adjusted active material profiles must be equal to the usable capacity of the electrode. Here, the usable capacity of the electrode can be calculated based on the target electrode profile ep. In one example, the difference between the capacity of the target electrode profile ep at the lower limit voltage of the lower limit voltage range and the capacity of the target electrode profile ep at the upper limit voltage of the lower limit voltage range of a predetermined voltage range is the usable capacity Q of the electrode. e can be determined by the diagnostic unit 120 as

[0085] Therefore, the diagnostic section 120 may determine the first through mth sets of adjustment coefficients based on the available capacitance of the electrodes and the first through nth reference electrode capacitances.

[0086] Specifically, the diagnostic section 120 may determine the first to n-th adjustment factors of each adjustment factor set based on the available capacity of the electrodes.

[0087] For example, the first to n-th adjustment coefficients of the adjustment coefficient set determined by the diagnosing unit 120 may satisfy the following Equation 1 (Equation 1).

[0088]

number

[0089] In the above formula, Q e denotes the available capacity of the electrode, and Q A_i denotes the capacitance of the i-th reference electrode, and a i denotes the i-th adjustment coefficient.

[0090] In each adjustment coefficient set, the i-th adjustment coefficient a i is minimum 0, maximum Q e / Q A_i may have a value of

[0091] The diagnostic unit 120 can then be configured to synthesize the first to nth adjusted active material profiles associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set among the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets to generate the jth simulated electrode profile.

[0092] For example, when m is 4, j is 1, and n is 3, the diagnostic unit 120 may combine the first to third adjusted active material profiles to generate a first simulated electrode profile associated with a first set of adjustment coefficients. In this case, 12 adjusted active material profiles and 4 simulated electrode profiles may be generated based on the three reference active material profiles and the four sets of adjustment coefficients.

[0093] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may sum up the capacities of the first to nth adjusted active material profiles for the same voltage to synthesize the first to nth adjusted active material profiles. The jth simulated electrode profile may be a profile that indicates the correspondence between the voltage and the summed capacities.

[0094] The first through n-th adjusted active material profiles generated using the j-th adjustment coefficient set may have a relationship to the j-th simulated electrode profile according to the following Equation 2 (Equation 2).

[0095]

number

[0096] In the above formula, Q S_j (V) denotes the capacitance of the jth simulated electrode profile when the voltage is V, and Q i (V) denotes the capacity of the ith adjusted active material profile when the voltage is V.

[0097] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, it is assumed that according to the first reference active material profile m1, the first active material has a capacity of 0.1 mAh at 0.4 V, and according to the second reference active material profile m2, the second active material has a capacity of 0.3 mAh at 0.4 V.

[0098] For example, if the first and second adjustment coefficients of one of the adjustment coefficient sets are both 0.5, the diagnostic unit 120 may apply the adjustment coefficient of 0.5 to the first reference active material profile m1 to generate a first adjusted active material profile, and may apply the adjustment coefficient of 0.5 to the second reference active material profile m2 to generate a second adjusted active material profile. Then, a simulated electrode profile generated based on the first adjusted active material profile and the second adjusted active material profile may be based on a data set showing a capacity of {(0.1×0.5)+(0.3×0.5)}mAh=0.2mAh at 0.4V.

[0099] In another example, if the first and second adjustment factors of another adjustment factor set are 0.2 and 0.8, respectively, the diagnostic unit 120 may apply the adjustment factor of 0.2 to the first reference active material profile m1 to generate a first adjusted active material profile, and apply the adjustment factor of 0.8 to the second reference active material profile m2 to generate a second adjusted active material profile. A simulation profile generated based on such adjusted active material profiles may be based on a data set showing a capacity of approximately {(0.1 × 0.2) + (0.3 × 0.8)} mAh = 0.26 mAh at 0.4 V.

[0100] The profile ms shown in FIG. 5 is an example of a simulated electrode profile generated by applying a specific set of adjustment factors, including a first adjustment factor and a second adjustment factor, each of which is 1, to a first reference active material profile m1 and a second reference active material profile m2.

[0101] The diagnosis unit 120 may be configured to individually compare the first to mth simulation electrode profiles with the target electrode profile ep and diagnose the states of the first to nth active materials of the battery electrodes based on the comparison results.

[0102] FIG. 6 shows the target electrode profile ep shown in FIG. 2 and the simulated electrode profile ms shown in FIG. 5 together on the same graph.

[0103] Specifically, the diagnosis section 120 may determine the first to n-th weight values ​​based on the results of comparing the first to m-th simulation electrode profiles individually with the target electrode profile.

[0104] Specifically, the diagnosis section 120 can determine one of the first to m-th simulation electrode profiles that has the smallest error from the target electrode profile ep.

[0105] In this regard, various methods known at the time of filing of the present invention may be used to determine the error between two profiles, each of which can be expressed in a two-dimensional coordinate system. For example, the integral of the absolute value over the region between the two profiles, the mean square error (MSE), or the root mean square error (RMSE) may be used as the error between the two profiles. For example, referring to Figure 6, it can be seen that there is a larger error between the profiles ep and ms in the capacity ranges of 4 to 5 mAh and 7.2 to 8 mAh compared to the remaining capacity ranges.

[0106] The simulated electrode profile with the smallest error from the target electrode profile may be the profile that best reflects the current state of the electrode among the m simulated electrode profiles.

[0107] Therefore, the first through nth adjusted active material profiles used to generate the simulated electrode profile with the minimum error can each be considered as an active material profile that indicates the individual current state of the first through nth active materials contained in the electrode.

[0108] While the conventional technology has a problem in that it is not possible to directly obtain an active material profile that indicates the current state of the active material that constitutes the electrode, the diagnostic device 100 according to the present invention has the advantage that it is possible to indirectly obtain an active material profile that indicates the current state of the active material that constitutes the electrode.

[0109] Then, the diagnosing unit 120 may determine the first to n-th adjustment coefficients used in the process of generating the simulation electrode profile having the minimum error as the first to n-th weights.

[0110] The kth weighted value may refer to the percentage by which the kth adjusted active material profile, which reflects the current state of the kth active material, has changed from the kth reference active material profile. That is, the kth weighted value may refer to the percentage by which the kth adjusted active material profile, which reflects the current state of the kth active material, has changed (e.g., capacity scaling) from the kth reference active material profile.

[0111] The diagnosis unit 120 may determine at least one characteristic value of the kth active material included in the electrode based on the kth weight value associated with the kth active material among the first to nth active materials, where each characteristic value may indicate usable capacity, a composition ratio within the electrode, or a weight.

[0112] In one example, the diagnosis unit 120 may multiply the kth weighted value by the kth reference electrode capacity to calculate the usable capacity of the kth active material. The diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the usable capacity of the kth active material using the following Equation 3 (Equation 3).

[0113]

number

[0114] In the above formula, Q k denotes the available capacity of the kth active material of the electrode, and A k denotes the kth weight, and Q A_k denotes the kth reference electrode capacitance.

[0115] In another example, the diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode by dividing the kth weighted value by the sum of all the first to nth weighted values. The diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode using the following Equation 4 (Equation 4).

[0116]

number

[0117] In the above formula, R k indicates the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode.

[0118] In yet another example, the diagnosis unit 120 may calculate the weight of the kth active material included in the electrode by multiplying a preset kth reference weight by the kth weight. Here, the kth reference weight may be the initial weight of the kth active material included in the battery electrode. In another example, the kth reference weight may be the weight of the kth active material that is predetermined when manufacturing the battery electrode.

[0119] The diagnosis unit 120 may be configured to diagnose the state of the kth active material based on the characteristic value of the kth active material and a preset kth critical value.

[0120] Specifically, the diagnosing unit 120 can compare the characteristic value of the kth active material with the kth critical value to determine which is larger, and diagnose the state of the kth active material based on the comparison result.

[0121] For example, if the characteristic value of the k-th active material is equal to or greater than the k-th critical value, the diagnostic unit 120 may diagnose the state of the k-th active material as normal. If the characteristic value of the k-th active material is less than the k-th critical value, the diagnostic unit 120 may diagnose the state of the k-th active material as abnormal.

[0122] If the characteristic value is usable capacity, the diagnosis unit 120 may diagnose an active material that does not achieve the designed capacity as being in an abnormal state during the electrode design stage. In another example, during the battery use stage, the diagnosis unit 120 may diagnose an active material whose usable capacity becomes smaller than a critical value as the battery deteriorates as being in an abnormal state.

[0123] The diagnostic device 100 according to the present invention has an advantage in that it can analyze the characteristic values ​​of each active material included in a battery electrode and individually diagnose the state of the active material.

[0124] Meanwhile, the components of the diagnostic device 100 may be physically separated or, alternatively, functionally or logically separated. The profile acquisition unit 110 and the diagnosis unit 120 included in the diagnostic device 100 may optionally include a processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipsets, logic circuits, registers, a communication modem, a data processing device, and the like, known in the art, to execute various control logics performed in the present invention. Furthermore, if the control logic is embodied as software, the profile acquisition unit 110 and the diagnosis unit 120 may be embodied as a collection of program modules. In this case, the program modules may be stored in memory and executed by the profile acquisition unit 110 and the diagnosis unit 120. The memory may be internal or external to the profile acquisition unit 110 and the diagnosis unit 120 and may be connected to the profile acquisition unit 110 and the diagnosis unit 120 by various known means.

[0125] The diagnostic device 100 may further include a storage unit 130. The storage unit 130 may store data and programs necessary for each component of the diagnostic device 100 to operate and function, or data generated during the operation and function. The storage unit 130 may be any known information storage means capable of recording, erasing, updating, and reading data. Examples of the information storage means include RAM, flash memory, ROM, EEPROM, and registers. The storage unit 130 may also store program code defining processes executable by the profile acquisition unit 110 and the diagnostic unit 120.

[0126] For example, the storage unit 130 may store first to nth reference active material profiles, a reference positive electrode profile, a reference negative electrode profile, first to nth reference electrode capacities, and first to nth critical values.

[0127] The diagnostic unit 120 may be configured to diagnose the state of the electrode based on the diagnostic results for the states of the first to nth active materials.

[0128] For example, if at least one of the first to nth active materials is in an abnormal state, the diagnostic unit 120 may diagnose the state of the electrode as an abnormal state. Conversely, if all of the first to nth active materials are in a normal state, the diagnostic unit 120 may diagnose the state of the electrode as a normal state.

[0129] The diagnostic unit 120 can diagnose the state of the battery including the electrode being diagnosed based on the diagnostic results related to the state of the electrode. For example, if the positive electrode or negative electrode is in an abnormal state, the diagnostic unit 120 can diagnose the battery as being in an abnormal state. Conversely, if the positive electrode and negative electrode are in a normal state, the diagnostic unit 120 can diagnose the battery as being in a normal state.

[0130] The diagnostic device 100 according to the present invention has an advantage in that it can diagnose the state of an electrode and / or a battery based on the state of an active material contained in an electrode without disassembling the battery. That is, the battery diagnostic device 100 can diagnose the individual deterioration behavior of the active material contained in the battery electrode, thereby enabling a more detailed diagnosis of the battery state.

[0131] A specific embodiment in which the profile acquisition unit 110 generates a target electrode profile based on the measured full-cell profile will be described below.

[0132] FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating an example of a reference positive electrode profile Rp and a reference negative electrode profile Rn, and FIG. 8 is a graph illustrating an example of a measured full-cell profile M. In the graphs of FIGS. 7 and 8, the horizontal axis (X axis) represents capacity (Ah), and the vertical axis (Y axis) represents voltage (V). For reference, in FIG. 7 and other figures, the values ​​on the horizontal axis (X axis) represent the capacity of the battery. Therefore, the capacity of any electrode included in the battery is defined as 0 Ah at the left end point of the electrode profile of that electrode.

[0133] The measured full-cell profile M may indicate the capacity-voltage relationship of a battery (battery cell) including the electrode being diagnosed. For example, the measured full-cell profile M may indicate the change in OCV (Open Circuit Voltage) or CCV (Closed Circuit Voltage) due to the change in capacity of the battery (battery cell) during a charging or discharging process using a constant current, a constant voltage, or a constant power.

[0134] The profile acquisition unit 110 may be configured to compare the measured full-cell profile M with at least one comparative full-cell profile. Here, the comparative full-cell profile may be a result of generating an adjusted positive electrode profile and an adjusted negative electrode profile by adjusting the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn stored in the storage unit 140, respectively, and then synthesizing (combining) the adjusted positive electrode profile and the adjusted negative electrode profile.

[0135] In other words, if the reference full-cell profile R is the result of subtracting a portion of the reference negative electrode profile Rn from a portion of the reference positive electrode profile Rp, the comparative full-cell profile can be said to be the result of subtracting a portion of the adjusted negative electrode profile from a portion of the adjusted positive electrode profile.

[0136] The profile acquisition unit 110 may generate at least one comparative full-cell profile by directly adjusting the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn. Alternatively, at least one comparative full-cell profile may be pre-defined based on the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn and stored in the storage unit 140. In this case, the profile acquisition unit 110 may acquire the comparative full-cell profile by accessing the storage unit 140 and reading it.

[0137] The profile acquisition unit 110 can generate multiple comparative full-cell profiles from the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn by repeating an adjustment process of adjusting the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn to various levels and then combining them. The comparative full-cell profiles can be referred to as "adjusted reference full-cell profiles."

[0138] The profile acquisition unit 110 can identify one of the plurality of comparative full-cell profiles that has the smallest error from the measured full-cell profile M.

[0139] The profile acquisition unit 110 may then determine the adjusted positive electrode profile and adjusted negative electrode profile mapped to the identified comparison full-cell profile as the positive electrode profile and negative electrode profile of the battery.

[0140] In this regard, various methods known at the time of filing the present invention may be employed to determine the error between two profiles, each of which can be expressed in a two-dimensional coordinate system. For example, the integral value of the absolute value over the area between the two profiles or the RMSE (root mean square error) may be used as the error between the two profiles.

[0141] The finally determined positive electrode profile and negative electrode profile may be mapped to the comparative full-cell profile that is mapped to the minimum error. In particular, the comparative full-cell profile based on the finally determined positive electrode profile and negative electrode profile may be approximately identical in shape to the measured full-cell profile M.

[0142] The finally determined adjusted positive electrode profile and adjusted negative electrode profile can be considered as the positive electrode profile and negative electrode profile that indicate the current state of the battery. Current technology has a problem in that the positive electrode profile and negative electrode profile that indicate the current state of the battery cannot be directly obtained without directly disassembling the battery. However, with the diagnostic device 100 according to the present invention, the adjusted positive electrode profile and adjusted negative electrode profile that are the basis of the identified comparison profile can be considered as the positive electrode profile and negative electrode profile that reflect the current state of the battery.

[0143] 9 to 11 are diagrams illustrating an example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell profile to be used for comparison with the measured full-cell profile M according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0144] The process of generating a comparative full-cell profile, which will be described with reference to Figures 9 to 11, is performed in the following order: a first routine (see Figure 9) that sets four points (positive electrode involvement start point, positive electrode involvement end point, negative electrode involvement start point, and negative electrode involvement end point) corresponding to the voltage range of interest; a second routine (see Figure 10) that performs profile shifting; and a third routine (see Figure 11) that performs capacity scaling. That is, the process of generating a comparative full-cell profile according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the first to third routines.

[0145] First, referring to FIG. 9, the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn are the same as those shown in FIG.

[0146] The profile acquisition unit 110 determines a positive contribution start point pi, a positive contribution end point pf, a negative contribution start point ni, and a negative contribution end point nf in the reference positive profile Rp and the reference negative profile Rn.

[0147] Either the positive electrode involvement start point pi or the negative electrode involvement start point ni depends on the other one.

[0148] In one example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may divide the positive electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point (or a second set voltage) of the reference positive electrode profile Rp into a plurality of minute voltage sections, and then set the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections as the positive electrode involvement start point pi. Each minute voltage section may have a predetermined size (e.g., 0.01 V). Then, the profile acquisition unit 110 may set the point in the reference negative electrode profile Rn that is smaller than the positive electrode involvement start point pi by a first set voltage (e.g., 3 V) as the negative electrode involvement start point ni.

[0149] In another example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may divide the negative electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point of the reference negative electrode profile Rn into a plurality of minute voltage sections of a predetermined size, and then set the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections as the negative electrode involvement start point ni. Thereafter, the profile acquisition unit 110 may search for a point in the reference positive electrode profile Rp that is larger than the negative electrode involvement start point ni by a first set voltage, and set the searched point as the positive electrode involvement start point pi.

[0150] Either the positive electrode engagement end point pf or the negative electrode engagement end point nf depends on the other.

[0151] In one example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may divide the voltage range from the second set voltage to the end point of the reference positive electrode profile Rp into a plurality of minute voltage sections of a predetermined size, and then set the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections as the positive electrode involvement end point pf. Thereafter, the profile acquisition unit 110 may set the point in the reference negative electrode profile Rn that is smaller than the positive electrode involvement end point pf by the second set voltage (e.g., 4 V) as the negative electrode involvement end point nf.

[0152] In another example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may divide the negative electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point of the reference negative electrode profile Rn into a plurality of minute voltage sections of a predetermined size, and then set the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections as the negative electrode involvement end point nf. Thereafter, the profile acquisition unit 110 may search for a point that is larger than the negative electrode involvement end point nf by a second set voltage from the reference positive electrode profile Rp, and set the searched point as the positive electrode involvement end point pf.

[0153] Once the positive electrode involvement start point pi, positive electrode involvement end point pf, negative electrode involvement start point ni, and negative electrode involvement end point nf have been determined, the profile acquisition unit 110 shifts at least one of the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn to the left or right along the horizontal axis.

[0154] Referring to Figure 10, the profile acquisition unit 110 can shift the reference positive electrode profile Rp to the left (lower capacity side), or shift the reference negative electrode profile Rn to the right (higher capacity side), or both, so that the capacity values ​​of the positive electrode involvement starting point pi and the negative electrode involvement starting point ni match.

[0155] Alternatively, the profile acquisition unit 110 may shift the reference positive electrode profile Rp to the left, or shift the reference negative electrode profile Rn to the right, or both, so that the capacitance values ​​of the positive electrode engagement end point pf and the negative electrode engagement end point nf match.

[0156] FIG. 10 shows the result of generating an adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' by shifting only the reference positive electrode profile Rp to the left, where the capacitance value of the positive electrode involvement start point pi' matches the capacitance value of the negative electrode involvement start point ni. The adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' is the result of applying an adjustment process to the reference positive electrode profile Rp, shifting it to the left by the difference in capacitance between the positive electrode involvement start point pi and the negative electrode involvement start point ni. Therefore, the two points pi and pi' differ only in capacitance value and have the same voltage. The two points pf and pf' differ only in capacitance value and have the same voltage.

[0157] When the adjusted profiles Rp', Rn obtained by shifting at least one of the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn are obtained, the profile acquisition unit 110 scales the capacity range of at least one of the adjusted profiles Rp', Rn.

[0158] Referring to FIG. 10, the profile acquisition unit 110 further performs an adjustment process of shrinking or expanding at least one of the adjusted reference positive profile Rp' and the reference negative profile Rn along the horizontal axis.

[0159] Referring to FIG. 11, the profile acquisition unit 110 may generate an adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp″ by shrinking or expanding the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp′ so that the capacity range between the two points pi′ and pf′ of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp′ matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M. In this case, one of the two points pi′ and pf′, point pi′, may be fixed. As a result, the capacity range between the two points pi′ and pf″ of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp″ matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M.

[0160] In addition, the profile acquisition unit 110 may generate an adjusted reference anode profile Rn' by shrinking or expanding the reference anode profile Rn so that the capacity range between the two points n i and n f of the reference anode profile Rn also matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M. In this case, one of the two points n i and n f may be fixed. As a result, the capacity range between the two points n i and n f' of the adjusted reference anode profile Rn' matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M.

[0161] In FIG. 11, the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp″ is the result of shrinking the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp′ shown in FIG. 7, and the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn′ is the result of expanding the reference negative electrode profile Rn shown in FIG. 10.

[0162] The positive electrode engagement end point pf" in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp" corresponds to the positive electrode engagement end point pf' in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp'. The negative electrode engagement end point nf' in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' corresponds to the negative electrode engagement end point nf in the reference negative electrode profile Rn.

[0163] The capacity range between the positive electrode engagement start point pi' and the positive electrode engagement end point pf" of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp" matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M. Similarly, the capacity range between the negative electrode engagement start point ni and the negative electrode engagement end point nf' of the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' matches the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M.

[0164] Furthermore, the capacity range between the two points pi' and pf' of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp'' coincides with the capacity range between the two points ni and nf' of the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn'. The profile acquisition unit 110 can generate the comparative full-cell profile S by subtracting the profile between the two points pi' and pf'' of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp'' from the profile between the two points ni and nf' of the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn'.

[0165] The profile acquisition unit 110 can calculate the error between the comparative full-cell profile S and the measured full-cell profile M (profile error).

[0166] The profile acquisition unit 110 may map at least two of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp", the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn', the positive electrode engagement start point pi', the positive electrode engagement end point pf", the negative electrode engagement start point ni, the negative electrode engagement end point nf', the first scale factor, the second scale factor, the comparative full-cell profile S, and the profile error to each other and record them in the storage unit 140. The first scale factor may indicate the ratio of the capacitance difference between the two points pi' and pf" to the capacitance difference between the two points pi0 and pf0. The second scale factor may indicate the ratio of the capacitance difference between the two points ni and nf' to the capacitance difference between the two points ni0 and nf0.

[0167] Here, the profile acquisition unit 110 can calculate the positive change rate ps of the adjusted reference positive profile Rp" relative to the reference positive profile Rp. Then, the profile acquisition unit 110 can calculate the negative change rate ns of the adjusted reference negative profile Rn' relative to the reference negative profile Rn. For example, the profile acquisition unit 110 can determine the first scale factor as the positive change rate ps and the second scale factor as the negative change rate ns.

[0168] On the other hand, as described above, when the positive electrode voltage range of the reference positive electrode profile Rp is divided into a plurality of minute voltage sections, the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections can be set as the positive electrode involvement start point pi.

[0169] For example, if the positive electrode voltage range of the reference positive electrode profile Rp is divided into 100 small voltage ranges, the number of boundary points that can be set as the positive electrode involvement start point p i may be 100. Also, if the voltage range equal to or higher than the second set voltage in the reference positive electrode profile Rp is divided into 40 small voltage ranges, the number of boundary points that can be set as the positive electrode involvement end point p f may be 40. In this case, up to 4,000 different comparative full-cell profiles may be generated.

[0170] Of course, those skilled in the art will easily understand that as the size of the minute voltage section decreases, the maximum number of comparative full cell profiles that can be generated increases, and conversely, as the size of the minute voltage section increases, the maximum number of comparative full cell profiles that can be generated decreases.

[0171] The profile acquisition unit 110 may identify the minimum value among the profile errors of the multiple comparative full-cell profiles generated as described above, and then acquire information mapped to the minimum profile error (e.g., at least one of the positive electrode involvement start point, the positive electrode involvement end point, the negative electrode involvement start point, the negative electrode involvement end point, the first scale factor, and the second scale factor) from the storage unit 140.

[0172] If the comparative full-cell profile S shown in FIG. 11 has the smallest profile error in the measured full-cell profile M, then the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp″ or the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn′ can be used as the target electrode profile.

[0173] 12 to 14 are diagrams illustrating another example of a process for generating a comparative full-cell profile to be used for comparison with the measured full-cell profile M according to one embodiment of the present invention. For reference, the embodiment according to FIGS. 12 to 14 is independent of the embodiment according to FIGS. 9 to 11. Therefore, common terms and symbols in the description of the embodiment according to FIGS. 9 to 11 and the embodiment according to FIGS. 12 to 14 are limited to each embodiment.

[0174] The process of generating a comparative full-cell profile, which will be described with reference to Figures 12 to 14, is performed in the following order: a fourth routine (see Figure 12) that performs capacity scaling; a fifth routine (see Figure 13) that sets four points (positive electrode engagement start point, positive electrode engagement end point, negative electrode engagement start point, and negative electrode engagement end point); and a sixth routine (see Figure 14) that performs profile shifting. That is, the process of generating a comparative full-cell profile according to another embodiment of the present invention includes the fourth to sixth routines.

[0175] Referring to FIG. 12, the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn are the same as those shown in FIG.

[0176] The profile acquisition unit 110 applies a first scale factor and a second scale factor selected from the scaling numerical range to the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn, respectively, to generate an adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' and an adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn'.

[0177] The scaling value range may be predetermined or may vary depending on the ratio of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M to the capacity range of the reference full-cell profile R. For example, if values ​​with 0.1% intervals (i.e., 90%, 90.1%, 90.2%, ..., 98.9%, 99%) within the scaling value range (e.g., 90-99%) can be selected as the first and second scale factors, 91 values ​​can be selected as the first and second scale factors. In this case, a maximum of 8,281 adjusted profile pairs can be generated using 91 × 91 = 8,281 adjustment levels (pairs of first and second scale factors). An adjusted profile pair refers to a combination of an adjusted positive electrode profile and an adjusted negative electrode profile.

[0178] The adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' and the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' shown in Figure 12 show the results of applying a first scale factor and a second scale factor, each less than 100%, to the reference positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn.

[0179] Because the first scale factor and the second scale factor are less than 100%, the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' is the reference positive electrode profile Rp scaled down along the horizontal axis, and the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' is the reference negative electrode profile Rn scaled down along the horizontal axis. To facilitate understanding, the starting points of each of the positive electrode profile Rp and the reference negative electrode profile Rn are fixed, and only the remaining portions are shown as outlines scaled down to the left along the horizontal axis.

[0180] Referring to Figure 13, the profile acquisition unit 110 determines the positive electrode involvement start point pi', the positive electrode involvement end point pf', the negative electrode involvement start point ni', and the negative electrode involvement end point nf' in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' and the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn'.

[0181] One of the positive electrode engagement start point pi' and the negative electrode engagement start point ni' may depend on the other. Also, one of the positive electrode engagement end point pf' and the negative electrode engagement end point nf' may depend on the other. Also, one of the positive electrode engagement start point pi' and the positive electrode engagement end point pf' may be set based on the other.

[0182] That is, once any one of the positive electrode involvement start point pi', the positive electrode involvement end point pf', the negative electrode involvement start point ni', and the negative electrode involvement end point nf' is set, the remaining three points can be automatically set depending on the first set voltage, the second set voltage, and / or the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M (e.g., the charge capacity from 0 to 100% SOC).

[0183] In one example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may divide the positive electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point (or the second set voltage) of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' into a plurality of minute voltage sections, and then set the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections as the positive electrode involvement start point pi'. Thereafter, the profile acquisition unit 110 may set the point in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn that is smaller than the positive electrode involvement start point pi' by a first set voltage (e.g., 3 V) as the negative electrode involvement start point ni'.

[0184] In another example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may divide the negative electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point of the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' into a plurality of minute voltage sections of a predetermined size, and then set the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections as the negative electrode involvement start point ni'. Thereafter, the profile acquisition unit 110 may search for a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' that is greater than the negative electrode involvement start point ni' by the first set voltage, and set the searched point as the positive electrode involvement start point pi'.

[0185] In yet another example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may divide the voltage range from the second set voltage to the end point of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' into a plurality of minute voltage sections of a predetermined size, and then set the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections as the positive electrode involvement end point pf'. Thereafter, the profile acquisition unit 110 may search for a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' that is smaller than the positive electrode involvement end point pf' by the second set voltage (for example, 4 V), and set the searched point as the negative electrode involvement end point nf'.

[0186] In yet another example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may divide the negative electrode voltage range from the start point to the end point of the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' into a plurality of minute voltage sections of a predetermined size, and then set the boundary point between two adjacent minute voltage sections among the plurality of minute voltage sections as the negative electrode involvement end point nf'. Thereafter, the profile acquisition unit 110 may search for a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' that is greater than the negative electrode involvement end point nf' by a second set voltage, and set the searched point as the positive electrode involvement end point pf'.

[0187] When the profile acquisition unit 110 determines one of the positive polarity involvement start point pi', the positive polarity involvement end point pf', the negative polarity involvement start point ni', and the negative polarity involvement end point nf', it can further determine the remaining three points based on the determined point.

[0188] In one example, when the positive electrode involvement start point pi' is determined first, the profile acquisition unit 110 may set a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' having a capacity value larger than the capacity value of the positive electrode involvement start point pi' by the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M as the positive electrode involvement end point pf'. The profile acquisition unit 110 may also search for a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' that is lower than the voltage of the positive electrode involvement start point pi' by a first set voltage, and set the found point as the negative electrode involvement start point ni'. The profile acquisition unit 110 may also set a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' having a capacity value larger than the capacity value of the negative electrode involvement start point ni' by the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M as the negative electrode involvement end point nf'.

[0189] In another example, when the positive electrode involvement end point pf' is determined first, the profile acquisition unit 110 may set the point in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' having a capacitance value smaller than the capacitance value of the positive electrode involvement end point pf' by the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M as the positive electrode involvement start point pi'. Furthermore, the profile acquisition unit 110 may search for a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' that is lower than the voltage of the positive electrode involvement end point pf' by a second set voltage, and set the searched point as the negative electrode involvement end point nf'. Furthermore, the profile acquisition unit 110 may set the point in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' having a capacitance value smaller than the capacitance value of the negative electrode involvement end point nf' by the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M as the negative electrode involvement start point ni'.

[0190] In yet another example, once the negative electrode involvement start point n i ′ is determined, the profile acquisition unit 110 may set a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn′ having a capacitance value greater than the capacitance value of the negative electrode involvement start point n i ′ by the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M as the negative electrode involvement end point n f ′. The profile acquisition unit 110 may also search for a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp′ that is higher than the voltage of the negative electrode involvement start point n i ′ by a first set voltage, and set the found point as the positive electrode involvement start point p i ′. The profile acquisition unit 110 may also set a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp′ having a capacitance value greater than the capacitance value of the positive electrode involvement start point p i ′ by the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M as the positive electrode involvement end point p f ′.

[0191] In yet another example, once the negative electrode involvement end point nf' is determined, the profile acquisition unit 110 may set a point in the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' having a capacitance value smaller than the capacitance value of the negative electrode involvement end point nf' by the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M as the negative electrode involvement start point n i'. The profile acquisition unit 110 may also search for a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' that is higher than the voltage of the negative electrode involvement end point nf' by a second set voltage, and set the found point as the positive electrode involvement end point pf'. The profile acquisition unit 110 may also set a point in the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' having a capacitance value smaller than the capacitance value of the positive electrode involvement end point pf' by the size of the capacity range of the measured full-cell profile M as the positive electrode involvement start point p i'.

[0192] Once the determination of the positive electrode involvement start point pi', the positive electrode involvement end point pf', the negative electrode involvement start point ni', and the negative electrode involvement end point nf' is completed based on the pair of the first scale factor and the second scale factor, the profile acquisition unit 110 can shift at least one of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' and the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' to the left or right along the horizontal axis so that the capacitance values ​​of the positive electrode involvement start point pi' and the negative electrode involvement start point ni' match, or so that the capacitance values ​​of the positive electrode involvement end point pf' and the negative electrode involvement end point nf' match.

[0193] The adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn" shown in Figure 14 is obtained by shifting only the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn' shown in Figure 13 to the right. As a result, the capacitance values ​​of the positive electrode involvement start point pi' and the negative electrode involvement start point ni' match each other. In relation to this, since the capacity difference between the positive electrode involvement start point pi' and the positive electrode involvement end point pf' is the same as the capacity difference between the negative electrode involvement start point ni' and the negative electrode involvement end point nf, when the capacity values ​​of the positive electrode involvement start point pi' and the negative electrode involvement start point ni" match each other, the capacity values ​​of the positive electrode involvement end point pf' and the negative electrode involvement end point nf" also match each other.

[0194] Referring to FIG. 14, the profile acquisition unit 110 can generate the comparative full-cell profile U by subtracting the partial profile between two points pi' and pf' of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp' from the partial profile between two points ni" and nf" of the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn".

[0195] The profile acquisition unit 110 can calculate the error between the comparative full-cell profile U and the measured full-cell profile M (profile error).

[0196] The profile acquisition unit 110 may map at least two of the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp', the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn", the positive electrode involvement start point pi', the positive electrode involvement end point pf', the negative electrode involvement start point ni", the negative electrode involvement end point nf", the first scale factor, the second scale factor, the comparative full-cell profile U, and the profile error to each other and record them in the storage unit 140.

[0197] Here, the profile acquisition unit 110 may calculate the positive change rate ps of the adjusted reference positive profile Rp' relative to the reference positive profile Rp. Then, the profile acquisition unit 110 may calculate the negative change rate ns of the adjusted reference negative profile Rn" relative to the reference negative profile Rn. For example, the profile acquisition unit 110 may determine the first scale factor as the positive change rate ps and the second scale factor as the negative change rate ns.

[0198] As described above, the profile acquisition unit 110 may generate a comparative full-cell profile corresponding to each pair of a first scale factor and a second scale factor selected from the scaling value range. Since there are multiple pairs of a first scale factor and a second scale factor, it is obvious that multiple comparative full-cell profiles are also generated. The profile acquisition unit 110 may identify the minimum value among the profile errors of the multiple comparative full-cell profiles and then acquire information mapped to the minimum profile error from the storage unit 140.

[0199] If the comparative full-cell profile U shown in FIG. 14 has the smallest profile error in the measured full-cell profile M, then the adjusted reference positive electrode profile Rp′ or the adjusted reference negative electrode profile Rn″ can be used as the target electrode profile.

[0200] A diagnostic device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention may be included in a battery manufacturing system (not shown).

[0201] Here, the battery manufacturing system may be a system applied to a process for manufacturing a battery. For example, a battery may be manufactured to include an electrode assembly, an exterior material, and an electrolyte. The exterior material provides a space for accommodating the electrode assembly, and the electrode assembly may be at least partially impregnated by injecting the electrolyte into the space. Then, the exterior material may be finally sealed to complete the battery manufacturing process. The battery may then be completed through an activation process, a degassing process, etc.

[0202] The condition of the manufactured battery can be diagnosed by the diagnostic device 100. Preferably, the condition of the battery can be diagnosed based on the condition of the active material included in the electrodes for the manufactured battery.

[0203] A battery manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention can diagnose the quality of a manufactured battery by diagnosing the condition of an active material included in a manufactured electrode.

[0204] The diagnostic device 100 according to the present invention may be applied to a BMS (Battery Management System). That is, the BMS according to the present invention may include the diagnostic device 100 described above. In this configuration, at least some of the components of the diagnostic device 100 may be implemented by complementing or adding functions of components included in a conventional BMS. For example, the profile acquisition unit 110, the diagnosis unit 120, and the storage unit 130 of the diagnostic device 100 may be implemented as components of the BMS.

[0205] The diagnostic device 100 according to the present invention may be included in a battery pack. That is, the battery pack according to the present invention may include the diagnostic device 100 and one or more battery cells. The battery pack may further include electrical components (relays, fuses, etc.), a case, etc.

[0206] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of a battery pack 10 according to the present invention.

[0207] The positive terminal of the battery 11 may be connected to the positive terminal P+ of the battery pack 10, and the negative terminal of the battery 11 may be connected to the negative terminal P- of the battery pack 10.

[0208] The measurement unit 20 may be connected to a first sensing line SL1, a second sensing line SL2, and a third sensing line SL3. Specifically, the measurement unit 20 may be connected to a positive terminal of the battery 11 via the first sensing line SL1 and a negative terminal of the battery 11 via the second sensing line SL2. The measurement unit 20 may measure the voltage of the battery 11 based on the voltages measured via the first sensing line SL1 and the second sensing line SL2, respectively.

[0209] The measurement unit 20 may be connected to the current measurement unit A via a third sensing line SL3. For example, the current measurement unit A may be an ammeter or a shunt resistor capable of measuring the charging current and discharging current of the battery 11. The measurement unit 20 may measure the charging current of the battery 11 via the third sensing line SL3 to calculate the charged amount. The measurement unit 20 may also measure the discharging current of the battery 11 via the third sensing line SL3 to calculate the discharged amount.

[0210] An external device (not shown) may have one end connected to the positive terminal P+ of the battery pack 10 and the other end connected to the negative terminal P- of the battery pack 10. This allows the positive terminal of the battery 11, the positive terminal P+ of the battery pack 10, the external device, the negative terminal P- of the battery pack 10, and the negative terminal of the battery 11 to be electrically connected.

[0211] For example, the external device may be a charger, or a load such as a motor of an electric vehicle that receives power from the battery 11 .

[0212] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an electric vehicle 1 according to the present invention.

[0213] 16 , a battery pack 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention may be included in an electric vehicle 1 such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a hybrid vehicle (HV). Here, the battery pack 10 may be the battery pack 10 described above. The battery pack 10 may drive the electric vehicle 1 by supplying power from an inverter provided in the electric vehicle 1 to a motor. Here, the battery pack 10 may include a diagnostic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, the electric vehicle 1 may include the diagnostic device 100.

[0214] FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating a diagnostic method according to the present invention.

[0215] A diagnostic method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a method for diagnosing the individual states of first to nth active materials (n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) included in a battery electrode, where the electrode refers to a positive electrode or a negative electrode.

[0216] Preferably, each step of the diagnostic method may be performed by the diagnostic device 100. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, the overlapping content with the above content will be omitted or will be briefly described.

[0217] Referring to FIG. 17, in step S100, the profile acquisition unit 110 may acquire a target electrode profile ep based on measurement information of capacitance-voltage of the electrode.

[0218] For example, the target electrode profile e p may be generated based on half-cell data acquired by charging or discharging a half-cell. In another example, the target electrode profile e p may be generated based on a measured full-cell profile, a reference positive electrode profile, and a reference negative electrode profile based on capacity-voltage information of the battery.

[0219] In step S200, the diagnosis unit 120 may generate first to m-th simulated electrode profiles (m is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) from the first to n-th reference active material profiles.

[0220] Specifically, the diagnostic unit 120 may generate first to n-th adjusted active material profiles associated with the j-th adjustment coefficient set from the first to n-th reference active material profiles by individually using the first to n-th adjustment coefficients of the j-th adjustment coefficient set (j is a natural number equal to or less than m) among the first to m-th adjustment coefficient sets. For example, the k-th adjusted active material profile may be a profile obtained by scaling the k-th reference active material profile along the capacity axis by the k-th adjustment coefficient. The diagnostic unit 120 may then be configured to combine the first to n-th adjusted active material profiles associated with the j-th adjustment coefficient set to generate the j-th simulated electrode profile.

[0221] In step S300, the diagnostic section 120 may individually compare the first through m-th simulation electrode profiles with the target electrode profile ep.

[0222] For example, the diagnosis section 120 may determine one of the first to m-th simulation electrode profiles that has the smallest error from the target electrode profile ep.

[0223] In step S400, the diagnosis unit 120 may diagnose the states of the first to n-th active materials.

[0224] Specifically, the diagnosis unit 120 may determine the first to nth adjustment coefficients used in the process of generating the simulated electrode profile determined in step S300 as the first to nth weights. The diagnosis unit 120 may then determine a characteristic value of the kth active material based on the kth weight associated with the kth active material among the first to nth active materials. Here, the characteristic value may be usable capacity, a composition ratio within the electrode, or a weight. The diagnosis unit 120 may diagnose the state of the kth active material based on the characteristic value of the kth active material and a preset kth critical value.

[0225] More specifically, the diagnostic unit 120 can calculate the available capacity of the kth active material by multiplying the kth weighted value by the kth reference electrode capacity (see Equation 3). The diagnostic unit 120 can calculate the composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode by dividing the kth weighted value by the sum of all the first to nth weighted values ​​(see Equation 4). If the kth reference active material profile indicates the capacity-voltage relationship per unit weight of the kth active material, the diagnostic unit 120 can calculate the available capacity of the kth active material by multiplying the unit weight by the kth weighted value A k The weight of the kth active material can be calculated by multiplying

[0226] The embodiments of the present invention described above are not necessarily embodied through devices and methods, but may be embodied through a program that realizes functions corresponding to the configuration of the embodiments of the present invention or a recording medium on which the program is recorded, and such implementation should be easily embodied by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains from the description of the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0227] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention and the scope of the claims.

[0228] Furthermore, since the above-mentioned present invention can be variously replaced, modified, and changed by a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the technical concept of the present invention, it is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and the attached drawings, and can be configured by selectively combining all or part of each embodiment to make various modifications.

Claims

1. A diagnostic device for diagnosing the states of first to n-th active materials (n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) contained in an electrode (the electrode is a positive electrode or a negative electrode) for a battery, comprising: a profile acquisition unit configured to acquire a target electrode profile indicating a correspondence relationship between the capacitance and voltage of the electrode; Based on predetermined first to nth reference active material profiles, first to mth simulated electrode profiles (m is a natural number of 2 or more) are generated. and a diagnostic unit configured to generate a simulation electrode profile based on the first to mth active materials, compare the first to mth simulation electrode profiles individually with the target electrode profile, and diagnose states of the first to nth active materials based on a comparison result.

2. The diagnostic unit determining first to n-th weight values ​​based on results of comparing the first to m-th simulation electrode profiles individually with the target electrode profile; is configured to determine a characteristic value of a kth active material included in the electrode based on a kth weighted value related to a kth active material (k is a natural number equal to or less than n) among the first to nth active materials; The diagnostic device according to claim 1 , wherein the characteristic value indicates a usable capacity, a composition ratio within the electrode, or a weight.

3. The diagnostic device according to claim 2 , wherein the diagnostic unit is configured to calculate the usable capacity of the kth active material by multiplying the kth weighted value by a preset kth reference electrode capacity.

4. 3. The diagnostic device according to claim 2, wherein the diagnostic unit is configured to calculate a composition ratio of the kth active material in the electrode by dividing the kth weighted value by a value obtained by adding up all of the first to nth weighted values.

5. The diagnostic device according to claim 2 , wherein the diagnostic unit is configured to calculate the weight of the kth active material by multiplying a preset kth reference weight by the kth weighted value.

6. The diagnostic device according to claim 2 , wherein the diagnostic unit is configured to diagnose the state of the kth active material based on the characteristic value of the kth active material and a preset kth critical value.

7. A kth reference active material profile (k is a natural number equal to or less than n) among the first to nth reference active material profiles indicates a capacity-voltage relationship obtained during charging or discharging of the kth reference electrode, The diagnostic device of claim 1 , wherein the kth reference electrode is fabricated to include the same type of active material as the kth active material as a single active material.

8. 3. The diagnostic device according to claim 2, wherein the diagnostic unit is configured to generate the first to mth simulated electrode profiles by repeating an adjustment process and a synthesis process for the first to nth reference active material profiles according to first to mth adjustment coefficient sets.

9. The diagnostic unit generating first to n-th adjusted active material profiles relating to the j-th adjustment coefficient set from the first to n-th reference active material profiles by individually using first to n-th adjustment coefficients of a j-th adjustment coefficient set (j is a natural number equal to or less than m) among the first to m-th adjustment coefficient sets; a jth simulated electrode profile is generated by combining the first through nth adjusted active material profiles associated with the jth adjustment coefficient set; 9. The diagnostic device of claim 8, wherein the kth adjusted active material profile among the first to nth adjusted active material profiles is obtained by scaling the kth reference active material profile by the kth adjustment factor along the capacity axis.

10. The diagnostic unit determining one of the first to mth simulation electrode profiles that has a minimum error with the target electrode profile; The diagnostic device of claim 9, wherein the device is configured to determine the first to nth weights as any one of the first to mth adjustment coefficient sets used in the process of generating the determined simulation electrode profile.

11. The diagnostic device of claim 1 , wherein the profile acquisition unit is configured to acquire the target electrode profile based on a measured full-cell profile that indicates a capacity-voltage relationship of the battery.

12. A battery manufacturing system including a diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. A battery pack including a diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. An electric vehicle including a diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

15. A diagnostic method for diagnosing individual states of first to n-th active materials (n is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) included in an electrode for a battery (the electrode is a positive electrode or a negative electrode), the method comprising: obtaining a target electrode profile based on capacitance-voltage measurement information of the electrode; generating first to mth simulated electrode profiles (m is a natural number equal to or greater than 2) from the first to nth reference active material profiles; comparing the first to mth simulated electrode profiles individually with the target electrode profile to diagnose the states of the first to nth active materials.

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