Information processing device, information processing method, and management system

By acquiring and comparing the aging state and discharge time of multiple batteries and selecting a battery combination with similar performance, the problems of reduced energy efficiency and shortened battery life when multiple batteries are used simultaneously in the prior art are solved, and the consistency of battery performance and stability of energy efficiency are achieved.

JP7660688B2Active Publication Date: 2025-04-11HONDA MOTOR CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023544842
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-08-31
Publication Date
2025-04-11
Estimated Expiration
2041-08-31

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The prior art does not consider the aging state of the battery when multiple batteries are used simultaneously, resulting in reduced energy efficiency and shortened battery life.

Method used

By obtaining performance information for each battery, including aging status, comparing discharge times for each battery, selecting a battery combination with similar performance to ensure that energy efficiency remains consistent when multiple batteries are used simultaneously.

Benefits of technology

It realizes that when multiple batteries are used simultaneously, it provides a consistent battery combination, extends battery life and improves energy efficiency stability.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Patent Text Reader

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to acquire performance information for each of a plurality of batteries that can be provided to a user. In response to a user request for provision of a battery, a combination of batteries to be provided from among the plurality of batteries is selected on the basis of the performance information. The performance information includes the battery deterioration status.
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a management system. [Background technology]

[0002] When a device using multiple batteries is operated, it is assumed that batteries in different usage states are used simultaneously. In this case, depending on the combination of batteries used, each battery may not be able to fully demonstrate its performance. From this perspective, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for selectively releasing energy storage devices (batteries) arranged in a device exchange station based on characteristic information of each of the energy storage devices. In this technology, temperature, state of charge SOC, etc. are treated as characteristic information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6745867 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the deterioration state of the battery. Batteries in different deterioration states have different discharge performances, and even if both are fully charged, the energy efficiency decreases when they are used simultaneously, and the battery life may be shortened.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a battery that has the same level of performance when multiple batteries are used simultaneously, taking into account their degradation state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, A first acquisition means for acquiring performance information including a deterioration state of each of a plurality of batteries that can be provided to a user; An information processing device is provided, characterized in that it comprises: a selection means for selecting, in response to a user's request for the provision of a battery, the remaining battery of a combination of batteries to be provided from among the plurality of batteries by comparing the discharge time until the end of discharge of the battery, which is evaluated based on the deterioration state, for one battery of the combination. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide batteries that have similar performance when multiple batteries are used simultaneously, taking into account their degradation state. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a management system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of an information processing device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal device included in the charging station according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a battery according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of charging characteristic curves for different deterioration states according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal device used by a user according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI displayed by the terminal device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing in the management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a management system according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0010] [Embodiment 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a management system 100 including an information processing device 110 according to this embodiment. The management system 100 is a system that uses the information processing device 110 to manage performance information including the degradation state of batteries in a charging station, and selects a combination of batteries to be provided to a user based on the performance information of each battery. The information processing device 110 is, for example, a server or a database, and is communicatively connected to a plurality of charging stations 120 via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0011] The charging station 120 is a facility that stores a plurality of batteries 121 that can be provided to a user and charges the batteries. Here, the charging station 120 includes a plurality of charging stations such as charging station 120a and 120b as shown in the figure, but when there is no need to distinguish between them, they will be collectively referred to as the charging station 120. The charging station 120 acquires a battery provision request from a user and provides the user with a combination of batteries selected according to performance information. A detailed description of the battery selection process will be given later. Note that, hereinafter, when simply referred to as a battery (121), it refers to a battery stored in the charging station 120.

[0012] The battery 121 is an energy storage device that provides power when attached to a drive device, and is, for example, a lithium ion battery. The terminal device 122 is an example of a communication terminal installed in the charging station 120, and may be, for example, a personal computer 122a that accepts operations by an administrator, or a control computer 122b of the charging station 120. The personal computer 122a corresponds to the charging station 120a, and the control computer 122b corresponds to the charging station 120b.

[0013] The terminal device 131 is a communication terminal used by a user 132 who transmits a request to provide the battery 121, and may be, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, or a communication terminal such as a personal computer. The user 132 is a user of a driving device (not shown) that uses the battery 121, and various information input by the user 132 to the terminal device 131 is transmitted to the charging station 120 via a communication network. The driving device may have the functions of the terminal device 131. The driving device is not particularly limited as long as it is an equipment that can be driven by the battery 121, and may be, for example, an electric mobility such as an electric motorcycle, or an electric device such as a rammer or a plate compactor. In this embodiment, the driving device used by the user 132 may be registered by the terminal device 131 in association with the user 132. In the example of FIG. 1, a terminal device 131a corresponding to the user 132a and a terminal device 131b corresponding to the user 132b are shown, but when there is no need to distinguish between them, they are collectively referred to as the user 132 and the terminal device 131, respectively.

[0014] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device 110. The information processing device 110 includes a processing unit 210, a storage unit 220, and a communication unit 230. The processing unit 210 is a central processing unit such as a CPU, and executes programs stored in the storage unit 220 to perform various processes. The storage unit 220 is a storage device such as a RAM, a ROM, or a hard disk. The communication unit 230 includes a wired or wireless communication interface capable of communicating with the terminal device 122 (or the terminal device 131 depending on the configuration) via a communication network.

[0015] The storage unit 220 stores a database including various data in addition to the program executed by the processing unit 210. In the example of Fig. 3, the storage unit 220 stores databases (DB) 221 and 222. The DB 221 is a DB in which information on the user 132 is registered. The DB 221 accumulates various information used when the user 132 makes a battery supply request, such as the identification information (ID) of the user 132 or information on the movable device used by the user.

[0016] DB222 is a DB that stores battery information on the battery 121 acquired from the charging station 120. This battery information is used to evaluate the deterioration state of the battery, which will be described in detail later. The processing unit 210 manages the battery 121 by referring to the battery information in each charging station. Note that DB221 and DB222 may be implemented as separate DBs, may be integrated into one DB, or may be implemented as separate DBs.

[0017] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device 122. The terminal device 122 includes a processing unit 310, a storage unit 320, a communication unit 330, and a display unit 340. The processing unit 310 is a central processing unit such as a CPU, and executes programs stored in the storage unit 320 to perform various processes. The storage unit 320 is a storage device such as a RAM, a ROM, or a hard disk. The programs stored in the storage unit 320 include an application program for a battery provision service by the management system according to this embodiment. This application program may be downloaded from a server such as the information processing device 110, or may be distributed on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM.

[0018] The communication unit 330 includes a wired or wireless communication interface capable of communicating with the information processing device 110 and the terminal device 131 via a communication network. The display unit 340 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or a touch panel, and is capable of displaying the results of processing, such as information indicating the battery to be provided. When the user 132 directly operates the terminal device 122, the display unit 340 may additionally include an input unit (not shown) such as a keyboard and a mouse, and may present the results of processing to the user. Note that, in the present embodiment, the information processing device 110 and the terminal device 122 are described as separate devices, but, for example, each process performed by the information processing device 110 may be configured to be performed by the terminal device 122, and some of these processes may be performed by the terminal device 131.

[0019] The processing performed by the information processing device 110 and the charging station 120 will be described below. The information processing device 110 acquires performance information including the degradation state for each battery 121. In response to a user's request for provision of two or more batteries, the charging station 120 determines a combination of batteries to be provided based on the performance information. When providing multiple batteries, batteries with similar discharge performance taking into consideration the degradation state are provided, which makes it possible to suppress a decrease in energy efficiency and accelerated deterioration of the batteries caused by the performance states of batteries used simultaneously being uneven.

[0020] Here, the information processing device 110 acquires information (battery information) on each battery from the charging station 120, and estimates the deterioration state of the battery 121 based on the acquired battery information. The deterioration state of the battery 121 is information indicating the deterioration state from the initial (new) state of the battery 121, and can be indicated by, for example, an evaluation value of the deterioration state, SOH (State of Health). The SOH is calculated as a ratio of the current FCC to the initial full charge capacity FCC, for example, in the range of 1 to 110%. The method of evaluating the SOH is not particularly limited as long as it can evaluate the deterioration state of the battery, but for example, the SOH may be acquired as current information of the battery, or the SOH may be calculated using a machine learning model based on the information of each battery.

[0021] For this purpose, the charging station 120 acquires battery information from each battery 121. The battery information is information used to evaluate the SOH of the battery. Here, the battery information may be current information, history information, or individual information of the battery. The current battery information may be, for example, overall voltage information, cell voltage information, or cell temperature information. In addition, the current battery information may be information indicating the state of charge SOC (State of Charge) of the battery, information indicating the full charge capacity FCC, or information indicating the degradation state SOH.

[0022] The charging and depletion state of the battery changes depending on factors related to various usage conditions such as temperature conditions during charging or use, and total charging (use) time. Therefore, by using a model that handles time-series data such as a recurrent neural network, it is possible to evaluate the SOH and the discharge time until the end of discharge while taking such past usage information (history information) into consideration. The history information of the battery may be, for example, information indicating the charging time or discharging time (total or at the time of previous use), information indicating the average discharging load, information indicating the maximum temperature reached, or temperature information of the surrounding environment at the time of discharging. The history information may also be information indicating the date and time of the previous charging or discharging, or history information of a connected device. The individual information of the battery may be information indicating the type of the battery (such as a model number), manufacturing date and time information, a serial number, firmware information, or the like. Note that some or all of these pieces of information may be acquired from the battery 121 as battery information, or may be provided from outside the battery 121. For example, the information indicating the charging date and time may be information based on the internal clock of the battery 121, or may be information with higher accuracy, such as information calculated by an external device such as the charging station 120.

[0023] The battery information may also include information acquired during charging of the battery 121 in the charging station 120. For example, the charging station 120 may acquire a direct current internal resistance DCIR as the battery information. DCIR can be calculated based on a fluctuation in the battery voltage due to current injection (inflow) such as microcurrent charging (discharging) and normal charging (discharging). The charging station 120 may also acquire a charging characteristic curve, a current charging capacity, a temperature rise characteristic, and the like as the battery information. The charging characteristic curve and the current charging capacity can be measured by a charging measurement method, for example, during direct charging of the battery 121. The charging station 120 can also evaluate temperature information characteristics from temperature information of the cells during the charging current.

[0024] 4 is a block diagram of the battery 121 in this embodiment. The battery 121 includes a battery cell 400, which is a power storage device, and a management device 410. The management device 410 includes a control unit 420. The control unit 420 includes a processing unit 421, a storage unit 422, and an interface unit (I / F unit) 423. The processing unit 421 is a processor represented by a CPU, and executes a program stored in the storage unit 422.

[0025] The storage unit 422 is a storage device such as a RAM or a ROM. In addition to the program executed by the processing unit 421, various information is stored in the storage unit 422. Examples of the various information include individual information of the battery 121 included in the battery information, current status, history information, etc. The I / F unit 423 relays transmission and reception of signals between the processing unit 421 and an external device.

[0026] The management device 410 includes a code reader 430. The code reader 430 is, for example, a camera. In this embodiment, the management device 410 reads the usage permission code with the code reader 430, and authorizes the battery cell 400 to be charged or discharged. The usage permission code is, for example, a two-dimensional code, and is transmitted from the information processing device 110 to the terminal device 131 of the user 132. The user 132 displays the received usage permission code on the display unit of the terminal device 131 and causes the code reader 430 to read it. The usage permission code includes the ID of the usable battery 121 as well as the usage conditions of the battery 121. Examples of the usage conditions include the period during which the battery 121 can be used and the type of electrical device for which the battery 121 can be used. The control unit 420 collates the information included in the usage permission code read by the code reader 430 with information stored in the storage unit 422, and authorizes the use of the battery 121.

[0027] The management device 410 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 440. The GPS sensor 440 is a sensor that detects the current location of the battery 121. If there is a limit to the area in which the battery 121 can be used, the management device 410 can check whether the battery 121 is being used in the area in which it can be used, based on the location information of the GPS sensor 440.

[0028] The management device 410 includes a usage sensor 450. The usage sensor 450 measures various values ​​that occur during use of the battery cell 400, such as the charge / discharge amount of the battery cell 400. This allows the control unit 420 to measure battery information including history information. The usage sensor 450 measures various values ​​related to history information, such as the total charge / discharge amount of the battery 121 and temperature information during charging / discharging, and stores this in the storage unit 422 as the latest battery information. This battery information is provided to the information processing device 110 and used to calculate the SOH.

[0029] The management device 410 includes a cutoff circuit 460. The cutoff circuit 460 electrically connects and cuts off the connection between the electric device to which the battery 121 is attached and the battery cell 400. For example, if the usage permission code is not authenticated, the cutoff circuit 460 is set to a cutoff state. This disables the supply of power from the battery 121 to the electric device. The cutoff circuit 460 can also be set to a cutoff state when the electric device is used in a manner that violates the usage conditions included in the usage permission code. In this case as well, the supply of power from the battery 121 to the electric device is disabled.

[0030] The management device 410 includes a communication unit 470. The communication unit 470 includes a wireless communication device and communicates with the information processing device 110 via a communication network. The DB 223 includes information necessary for communication between each battery 121 and the management device 410. The management device 410 includes a display device 480. The display device 480 is a light-emitting element or a liquid crystal display device, and presents information to the user of the battery 121. The management device 410 includes a communication unit 490. The communication unit 490 connects the electrical device to which the battery 121 is attached and the management device 410 by wire. The management device 410 can communicate with the electrical device via the communication unit 490, and can obtain, for example, information on the type of the electrical device from the electrical device. If the type of electrical device is restricted under the lending conditions, when the battery 121 is used for an electrical device that does not meet the lending conditions, the control unit 420 can also set the cutoff circuit 460 to a cutoff state. This makes it impossible for the battery 121 to supply power to the electrical device.

[0031] As described above, the charging station 120 determines the combination of batteries to be provided based on the performance information including the deterioration state of each battery. Hereinafter, when simply written as "combination", it refers to this combination of provided batteries. For example, the charging station 120 can determine the combination by evaluating the discharge time until the end of discharge of each battery 121 (end-of-discharge characteristics) and comparing the end-of-discharge characteristics. By determining a group of batteries having similar discharge times until the end of discharge as a combination, it is possible to provide a user with batteries that can be considered to have similar performance states while taking into account the deterioration state. Here, for example, the charging station 120 may determine the combination from batteries having discharge times within a predetermined range among the stored batteries 121, or may determine the combination from batteries that are consecutive in order of discharge time.

[0032] The calculation method of the end-of-discharge characteristic according to the present embodiment is not particularly limited as long as it is evaluated as a discharge time taking into consideration the deterioration state. For example, the charging station 120 can provide a user with batteries with similar deterioration states by determining a combination of batteries 121 with similar SOH. This is an evaluation method of the end-of-discharge characteristic that is particularly effective when providing a battery in a fully charged state, but in some cases, it is also possible to use a battery that is not completely charged. In consideration of such a case, the information processing device 110 may estimate the end-of-discharge characteristic of each battery by a machine learning model that is trained using past learning data to estimate the end-of-discharge characteristic from the battery information. The information processing device 110 may also evaluate the end-of-discharge characteristic by a calculation process using the SOH and SOC.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a diagram for evaluating the end-of-discharge characteristics by illustrating charging characteristic curves for batteries with different deterioration states. In the example of FIG. 5, charging characteristic curves for batteries 121a and 121b with different SOHs are displayed, with the y-axis representing SOC (%) and the x-axis representing discharge time (t). The battery 121a is less deteriorated than the battery 121b, and can discharge for a longer time from the fully charged state to the end of discharge. On the other hand, when the SOC of the battery 121a is A%, the end-of-discharge characteristics match those of the battery 121b in the fully charged state. In this way, by referring to the charging characteristic curves of each battery, it is possible to determine whether the end-of-discharge characteristics are comparable at the current SOC even for batteries with different deterioration states. This charging characteristic curve can be estimated using a machine learning model as described above.

[0034] In Fig. 5, the battery 121a is indicated by a dotted line as being determined to have the same end-of-discharge characteristics as the battery 121b in a fully charged state when the battery 121a is at A%, but this may be a perfect match, or may be determined to be the same within a certain range. For example, the information processing device 110 may set a predetermined threshold value for the discharge time, and may determine that the two batteries have the same end-of-discharge characteristics when the absolute value of the difference in discharge time from the current charge state is equal to or less than the threshold value. This threshold value may be set in advance as an allowable range, may be calculated by learning, or may be set by the user.

[0035] As described above, when providing a battery 121 in a fully charged state, the charging station 120 may provide a combination of batteries 121 with similar SOH. In order to select batteries with similar SOH, the charging station 120 may select a combination of batteries 121 such that each SOH falls within a predetermined range, or may select a combination of batteries 121 so that the batteries are consecutive in order of SOH value. For example, the charging station 120 may select a first battery to be included in the combination, and select the remaining batteries such that the absolute value of the difference in SOH value from the first battery is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. The threshold used here may be preset as an allowable range, may be calculated by learning, or may be set by a user.

[0036] In this embodiment, the charging station 120 refers to information on a driving device used by a user who has requested the provision of a battery, and sets the number of batteries to be provided (required when using the driving device), and performs combination. Here, the charging station 120 may obtain a condition of performance information of the required battery from the information on the driving device, and select one battery that satisfies the condition from among the batteries 121 as one of the combinations. Next, the charging station 120 may select the remaining battery of the combination based on the performance information of the selected battery. For example, the charging station 120 may determine that the condition of the performance information of the required battery is satisfied when the battery has a sufficient charging capacity for the usage time of the battery estimated from the type of the driving device. That is, the charging station 120 may obtain an expected usage time of the battery from the type of the driving device, and determine a combination from among the batteries 121 that can be used during that time.

[0037] The user 132 causes the terminal device 122 of the charging station 120 to acquire the battery supply request as described above. Basically, the user 132 transmits the battery supply request via an application running on the terminal device 131, but the user 132 may make the supply request by directly operating the terminal device 122. Here, the battery supply request is linked with information indicating the user's ID, and the information processing device 110 can refer to information on the driving device used by the user based on the user's ID.

[0038] 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device 131. The terminal device 131 includes a processing unit 610, a storage unit 620, a communication unit 630, a display unit 640, and an input unit 650. The processing unit 610 is a central processing unit such as a CPU, and executes programs stored in the storage unit 620 to perform various processes. The storage unit 620 is a storage device such as a RAM, a ROM, or a hard disk. The programs stored in the storage unit 620 include a user-side application program for the battery provision service by the management system according to this embodiment. This application program may be downloaded from a server such as the information processing device 110, or may be distributed on a storage medium such as a CD-ROM.

[0039] The communication unit 630 includes a wired or wireless communication interface capable of communicating with the terminal device 131 (or with the information processing device 110 depending on the configuration) via a communication network. The display unit 640 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or a touch panel, and is capable of displaying the results of various processes, such as a screen for transmitting a request for battery provision, or information indicating the combination of batteries to be provided. The input unit 650 is a keyboard and mouse, or a touch panel that also serves as the display unit 640, and acquires input by the user. Note that the terminal device 131 may be implemented to perform part or all of the various processes performed by the terminal device 122 and the information processing device 110.

[0040] Fig. 7 shows an example of a GUI for transmitting a battery supply request, displayed on the display unit 640. In the example of Fig. 7, in addition to a button 701 for transmitting a supply request and a button 702 for canceling the supply request, an input box 703 for inputting the number of batteries requested is displayed on the display unit 640. In this embodiment, information including the type of driving device is associated with the user ID, and the number of batteries to be provided is determined by the information processing device 110 as the number of batteries used by that type of driving device, but the user may specify the number in the input box 703.

[0041] 8 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the charging station 120 according to this embodiment when a battery provision request is received from the user 132. In S801, the charging station 120 receives the battery provision request from the user 132. Here, the user 132 transmits the battery provision request via an application running on the terminal device 131.

[0042] In S802, the charging station 120 determines the number of batteries to be selected as a combination. Here, the charging station 120 acquires information on a driving device used by the user 132 from the information processing device 110, and determines the number of batteries used by that driving device as the number of combinations, but the number of batteries may be specified in the provision request as shown in Fig. 7, for example. The charging station 120 also acquires end-of-discharge characteristics requested by the driving device used by the user 132.

[0043] In S803, the charging station 120 checks whether the number of stored fully charged batteries 121 is equal to or greater than the number of batteries determined in S802. Note that here, it is assumed that the fully charged batteries 121 have sufficient performance to operate the drive device. However, the process of S803 may be a process of checking whether each fully charged battery satisfies the end-of-discharge characteristics required by the drive device, and checking whether the number of batteries that satisfy this is equal to or greater than the number of batteries determined in S802.

[0044] In S804, the charging station 120 selects one battery from the stored batteries that satisfies the end-of-discharge characteristics required by the driving device used by the user 132, obtained in S802, as one of the combinations of batteries to be provided to the user. Here, a fully charged battery is selected with priority.

[0045] In S805, the charging station 120 selects the remaining batteries of the combination of batteries to be provided to the user, the number determined in S802, from among the stored batteries, based on the performance information of the battery selected in S804. Here, for example, in order to make the discharge performance of the batteries used simultaneously as close as possible, the batteries may be selected in ascending order of difference in discharge end characteristics from the battery selected in S804. If it is confirmed in S803 that the number of fully charged batteries stored is equal to or greater than the number of batteries determined in S802, the SOH values ​​of the fully charged batteries are compared in the process of S805. On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the number of fully charged batteries stored is not equal to or greater than the number of batteries determined in S802, the remaining batteries are selected according to the discharge end characteristics taking into account the SOC and SOH values. When the process of S805 is completed, the series of processes is terminated, and the selected combination of batteries is provided to the user.

[0046] According to this process, the performance state of the battery is evaluated taking into account the deterioration state, and the combination of batteries to be provided to the user can be selected based on the evaluation of the performance state. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the decrease in energy efficiency and the accelerated deterioration of the batteries caused by the uneven performance states of the batteries used simultaneously. In addition, by using batteries with similar performance simultaneously, it is possible to equalize the deterioration level of the batteries used. This makes it easier to manage various types of management according to the deterioration state, such as management of the timing of battery replacement.

[0047] [Embodiment 2] The management system according to the first embodiment makes it possible to grasp the performance status, including the degradation status, of each battery stored in each charging station. Therefore, the management system according to the present embodiment manages the storage locations of each battery so that batteries with similar degradation status are placed in each charging station.

[0048] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a management system 900 including an information processing device 910 according to this embodiment. The information processing device 910 according to this embodiment can perform the same processing as the information processing device 110 according to the first embodiment, and similar components are indicated by the same reference numbers, so duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0049] The information processing device 910 determines a charging station to store the battery based on the evaluation value SOH of the deterioration state of the battery. Each charging station according to the present embodiment is configured to store batteries that are allocated by the information processing device and to store batteries with similar deterioration states. For example, the information processing device 910 can set a threshold value used for evaluating the SOH, and determine whether to store the battery in the charging station 120a or the charging station 120b depending on whether the SOH of the battery is greater than the threshold value. The value of this threshold value may be set as a desired value according to an operation policy based on the deterioration state of the battery. In addition, the deterioration state is classified into three stages, for example, high / medium / low deterioration state, and multiple charging stations corresponding to each of them can be prepared, but the number of these stages can be set arbitrarily, and the number of charging stations corresponding to one stage is not particularly limited. After the charging station to store the battery is allocated, the battery is transferred in / out between the charging stations. For each charging station, a battery provision request from a user is acquired and the subsequent processing is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

[0050] According to such a configuration, it is possible to determine a charging station in which a battery is to be stored based on the evaluation value of the deterioration state. Therefore, deviations in the deterioration state of each battery in a charging station are less likely to occur, and management or operation costs can be reduced. In addition, a charging station that stores a battery whose operating time has decreased due to advanced deterioration can be used to add value as a charging station that handles batteries for short-distance driving, for example, and can also be used in setting the price of a battery provision service.

[0051] <Summary of the embodiment> The above embodiment discloses at least the following information processing device, information processing method, and program.

[0052] 1. The information processing device of the above embodiment is A first acquisition means for acquiring performance information of each of a plurality of batteries that can be provided to a user; a selection means for selecting a combination of batteries to be provided from among the plurality of batteries based on the performance information in response to a battery provision request from the user, The performance information includes a deterioration state of the battery. According to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress a decrease in energy efficiency and accelerated deterioration of the batteries caused by the performance states of the batteries being used simultaneously being uneven.

[0053] 2. In the above embodiment, A discharge time until an end of discharge of the battery is evaluated based on the deterioration state; The selection means selects the combination by comparing the discharge times. According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a combination of batteries that have approximately the same discharge time until the end of discharge, taking into consideration the deterioration state of the batteries.

[0054] 3. In the above embodiment, The selection means selects, as the combination, batteries from among the plurality of batteries whose discharge times are within a predetermined range, or selects, from among the plurality of batteries, two or more batteries that are consecutive in order of length of discharge time. According to this embodiment, it is possible to select a combination of batteries that have approximately the same discharge time until the end of discharge.

[0055] 4. In the above embodiment, Further comprising a second acquisition means for acquiring information associating the user with a type of a driving device using the battery, The number of batteries included in the combination is the number of batteries used by the driving device of the type associated with the user who made the supply request. According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a combination of batteries corresponding to the number of drives used by the user.

[0056] 5. In the above embodiment, The selection means selects one battery from the combination based on a type of the drive device; and The remaining batteries in the combination are then selected based on performance information of the one battery. According to this embodiment, it is possible to select and provide batteries having similar performance conditions from batteries selected based on the type of drive device used by the user.

[0057] 6. In the above embodiment, The selection means selects, as the one battery, a battery that satisfies performance information required based on the type of the drive device. According to this embodiment, it is possible to select a battery based on the usage conditions estimated from the type of drive device used by the user.

[0058] 7. In the above embodiment, The battery satisfies the performance information required based on the type of the drive device, and has a sufficient charge capacity for the usage time of the battery estimated from the type of the drive device. According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a battery having a sufficient charge capacity to operate the drive device used by the user.

[0059] 8. In the above embodiment, The selection means selects the combination from among the plurality of batteries whose evaluation values ​​of the deterioration state are within a predetermined range, or selects from among the plurality of batteries two or more batteries that are consecutive in order of the evaluation values ​​of the deterioration state. According to this embodiment, it is possible to select a group of batteries having similar evaluation values ​​of their degradation states as a combination to be provided.

[0060] 9. In the above embodiment, The selection means selects the combination from among batteries in a fully charged state. According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a fully charged battery to the user.

[0061] 10. In the above embodiment, The device further includes a determination means for determining a station in which to store the battery based on the evaluation value of the deterioration state. According to this embodiment, it is possible to set the station in which the battery is stored depending on the deterioration state of the battery.

[0062] 11. In the above embodiment, The determination means determines to store a battery whose evaluation value of the degradation state is greater than a predetermined threshold in a first station, and determines to store a battery whose evaluation value of the degradation state is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold in a second station. According to this embodiment, it is possible to change the storage station depending on the degree of deterioration of the battery.

[0063] 12. In the above embodiment, The evaluation value of the battery's deterioration state is the SOH calculated from the full charge capacity. According to this embodiment, it is possible to use the SOH as an evaluation value of the deterioration state of the battery.

[0064] 13. The information processing method according to the above embodiment is acquiring performance information of each of a plurality of batteries that can be provided to a user; selecting a combination of batteries to be provided from among the plurality of batteries based on the performance information in response to a battery provision request from the user; The performance information includes a deterioration state of the battery. According to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress a decrease in energy efficiency and accelerated deterioration of the batteries caused by the performance states of the batteries being used simultaneously being uneven.

[0065] 14. The management system of the above embodiment is a storage means for storing a plurality of batteries that can be provided to a user; a first acquisition means for acquiring performance information of each of the plurality of batteries; a selection means for selecting a combination of batteries to be provided from among the plurality of batteries based on the performance information in response to a battery provision request from the user; providing means for providing the combination to the user; The performance information includes a deterioration state of the battery. An information processing device; an acquisition means for acquiring an input of a battery supply request from the user; a transmitting means for transmitting the provision request to the information processing device; A mobile terminal comprising: Equipped with. According to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress a decrease in energy efficiency and accelerated deterioration of the batteries caused by the performance states of the batteries being used simultaneously being uneven.

[0066] Although the embodiment of the invention has been described above, the invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 100: management system, 110: information processing device, 120: charging station, 131: terminal device

Claims

1. a first acquiring means for acquiring performance information including a degradation state of each of a plurality of batteries that can be provided to a user; and a selection means for selecting, in response to a user's request for the provision of a battery, the remaining battery of a combination of batteries to be provided from among the plurality of batteries by comparing the discharge time until the end of discharge of the battery, which is evaluated based on the deterioration state.

2. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the selection means selects the combination from among the plurality of batteries whose discharge times are within a predetermined range, or selects from among the plurality of batteries two or more batteries that are consecutive in order of length of discharge time.

3. Further comprising a second acquisition means for acquiring information associating the user with a type of a driving device using the battery, 3 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the number of the batteries included in the combination is the number of batteries used by a driving device of a type associated with the user who has made the provision request.

4. The selection means selects one battery from the combination based on the type of the drive device; 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: a step of selecting a remaining battery from said combination based on performance information of said one battery.

5. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said selection means selects, as said one battery, a battery that satisfies performance information required based on the type of said drive device.

6. 6. The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein the battery satisfies performance information required based on the type of the drive device by having a sufficient charge capacity for a usage time of the battery estimated from the type of the drive device.

7. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the selection means selects the combination from among the plurality of batteries whose evaluation values ​​of the deterioration state are within a predetermined range, or selects from among the plurality of batteries two or more batteries that are consecutive in order of the evaluation values ​​of the deterioration state.

8. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said selection means selects said combination from among batteries in a fully charged state.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a determination unit that determines a station in which to store the battery based on the evaluation value of the deterioration state.

10. 10. The information processing device according to claim 9, wherein the determination means determines to store a battery whose evaluation value of the degradation state is greater than a predetermined threshold in a first station, and determines to store a battery whose evaluation value of the degradation state is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold in a second station.

11. 11. The information processing device according to claim 7, wherein the evaluation value of the deterioration state of the battery is a state of health (SOH) calculated from a full charge capacity.

12. An information processing method executed by an information processing device, comprising: acquiring performance information, including a degradation state of each of a plurality of batteries that can be provided to a user, by the information processing device; The information processing method includes a step in which the information processing device, in response to a request from the user for the provision of a battery, selects the remaining battery from the combination of batteries to be provided from among the plurality of batteries by comparing the discharge time until the end of discharge of the battery, which is evaluated based on the deterioration state.

13. a storage means for storing a plurality of batteries that can be provided to a user; a first acquiring means for acquiring performance information of each of the plurality of batteries; a selection means for selecting, in response to a battery provision request from the user, a remaining battery from a combination of batteries to be provided from among the plurality of batteries, based on the performance information; providing means for providing the combination to the user; The performance information includes a deterioration state of the battery. An information processing device; an acquisition means for acquiring an input of a battery supply request from the user; a transmitting means for transmitting the provision request to the information processing device; A mobile terminal comprising: A management system comprising:

Citation Information

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