Battery replacement system, battery replacement method, and management device

Abstract

The present invention is provided with a station device for replacing a battery, and a management device which comprises: a management unit which manages user information including user battery usage trends that are usage trends relating to battery deterioration, and battery information including a battery deterioration state; and a determination unit which determines, on the basis of the user information and the battery information, the battery to loan to a user from among batteries stored in the station device. The battery information includes information indicating deterioration states of the positive poles and the negative poles of the batteries, and the user information includes information allowing identification of whether usage trends relating to deterioration of a battery promote deterioration of the positive pole or the negative pole of the battery. The determination unit determines the battery to loan to a user on the basis of the deterioration state of the positive pole and the negative pole of batteries which are candidates for loaning to a user and usage trends relating to deterioration of positive poles and negative poles as acquired from the user information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery replacement system, a battery replacement method, and a management device. This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-003729 filed in Japan on January 13, 2022, and incorporates its content herein by reference.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when replacing a detachable battery for use in an electric vehicle or the like at a station, it has been disclosed to determine the battery to be lent according to the attributes of the user (Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 sets the attributes of the user based on the degree of battery deterioration according to the past usage of the battery, and based on the deterioration state of the batteries circulating in the market and the future production plan of the batteries, determines whether to lend a battery with advanced deterioration or a battery with no progress of deterioration according to the attributes of the user.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the technology of Patent Document 1, the deterioration state of the battery is defined by the decrease in the full charge capacity, the increase in the internal resistance, etc., and it is not always possible to appropriately recognize the deterioration state of the battery, and there is a possibility that the deterioration state of the battery cannot be appropriately controlled.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a battery replacement system, a battery replacement method, and a management device that can more appropriately control the deterioration state of batteries circulating in the market.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The battery replacement system, battery replacement method, and management device according to this invention adopt the following configurations.

[0007] (1): A battery replacement system according to an aspect of this invention is a battery replacement system including a station device and a management device, the station device for replacing the battery used by the user by authenticating the user, a management unit for managing user information including information on the usage tendency of the battery by the user, which is information on the usage tendency related to the deterioration of the battery, and battery information including information on the deterioration state of the battery, and a determination unit for determining, based on the user information and the battery information, a battery to be lent to the user from among the batteries stored in the station device. The battery information includes, as information on the deterioration state of the battery, positive electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery and negative electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery. The user information includes information that can identify whether the usage tendency of the battery by the user promotes the deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode. The determination unit determines, based on the deterioration tendencies of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the batteries that are candidates for being lent to the user among the batteries stored in the station device and the deterioration tendencies of the positive electrode and the negative electrode obtained from the user information, a battery to be lent to the user from among the candidate batteries.

[0008] (2) In the aspect of (1) above, the battery information includes first deterioration information regarding the amount of deviation from the potential difference between the positive and negative electrodes of the battery in the initial state of the battery, and the user information includes second deterioration information regarding the degree of reduction of the potential difference that has progressed due to the user using the battery. The determination unit determines the battery to be lent to the user based on the amount of deviation of the battery that is a candidate for lending to the user among the batteries stored in the station device and the degree of reduction of the potential difference according to the usage tendency of the user.

[0009] (3) In the aspect of (1) or (2) above, the determination unit determines, as the battery to be lent to the user, a battery among the candidate batteries for lending whose degree of deviation between the tendency of deterioration from the initial states of the positive and negative electrodes and the tendency of deterioration of the positive and negative electrodes due to the user's use is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0010] (4) In the aspect of (3) above, the determination unit determines, as the battery to be lent to the user, the battery among the candidate batteries for lending that has the largest degree of deviation.

[0011] (5) In the aspect of (3) or (4) above, the apparatus further includes a display unit that displays information. When there is no battery whose degree of deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the determination unit determines, as the battery to be lent to the user, one of the candidate batteries for lending, and causes the display unit to display a usage method for suppressing the progress of deterioration for the more deteriorated electrode of the positive and negative electrodes of the determined battery.

[0012] (6) In any one of the aspects (1) to (5) above, when the management device lends the battery to the user, the management device generates limit information for limiting the discharge amount of the battery or the charge amount to the battery according to the deterioration tendency of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery, and instructs the station device to record the generated limit information in the storage unit of the battery. The management device further includes a use restriction unit for this purpose.

[0013] (7) A battery replacement method according to an aspect of the present invention is a battery replacement system including a station device and a management device. The station device authenticates a user and replaces the battery used by the user. The management device manages user information including information on the usage tendency of the battery by the user, which includes usage tendency information related to the deterioration of the battery, and battery information including information related to the deterioration state of the battery. The management device executes a determination process for determining a battery to be lent to the user from the batteries stored in the station device based on the user information and the battery information. The battery information includes, as information related to the deterioration state of the battery, positive electrode deterioration information related to the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery and negative electrode deterioration information related to the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery. The user information includes information that can identify whether the usage tendency of the battery by the user promotes the deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode. In the determination process, the management device determines a battery to be lent to the user from among the candidate batteries based on the deterioration tendencies of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the candidate batteries to be lent to the user among the batteries stored in the station device and the deterioration tendencies of the positive electrode and the negative electrode obtained from the user information.

[0014] (8) The management device according to one aspect of the present invention is a management device in a battery replacement system including a station device that replaces a battery used by a user by authenticating the user, the management device including: a management unit that manages user information including information on the usage tendency of the battery by the user, the usage tendency being related to the deterioration of the battery, and battery information including information on the deterioration state of the battery; and a determination unit that determines, based on the user information and the battery information, a battery to be lent to the user from among the batteries stored in the station device. The battery information includes, as information on the deterioration state of the battery, positive electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery and negative electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery. The user information includes information that enables identification of whether the usage tendency of the battery by the user promotes deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode. The determination unit determines, based on the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the batteries that are candidates for lending to the user among the batteries stored in the station device and the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode obtained from the user information, a battery to be lent to the user from among the candidate batteries.

[0015] (1) According to the aspects (1) to (8), based on battery information including positive electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery and negative electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery, and user information including information that enables identification of whether the usage tendency of the battery by the user promotes deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode, the management device recognizes the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the batteries that are candidates for lending to the user and the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode obtained from the user information, and determines a battery to be lent to the user based on the tendency of deterioration, whereby the deterioration state of the batteries distributed in the market can be more appropriately controlled.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016]

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[0017] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of the battery exchange system, battery exchange method, and management device of the present invention will be described.

[0018] [1. Overview of the Battery Exchange System] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the battery replacement system 1 in the present embodiment. The battery replacement system 1 includes a detachable battery 100 (hereinafter referred to as "battery 100"), an electric bike 200, a battery station device 300, a management device 400, and a user terminal device 500. The battery 100 is a battery that is lent to the user U and used as a power source for the electric bike 200. The electric bike 200 is an example of the use for which the user U uses the battery 100 and is driven using the battery 100 as a power source. The battery station device 300 holds one or more (which may be referred to as one or more) batteries 100. The battery station device 300 is a device that collects or lends out the battery 100 in response to a request from the user U. The battery station device 300 charges the collected battery 100 and lends out the charged battery 100. The management device 400 is a server that manages various information related to the lending of the battery 100 in the battery replacement system 1. The user terminal device 500 is an information communication terminal used by the user U when using the battery station device 300. The battery replacement system 1 may include one or more battery station devices 300. The management device 400 can communicate with the battery station device 300 and the user terminal device 500 of the user U via the communication network NW. The user terminal device 500 can communicate with the battery station device 300 and the management device 400 via the communication network NW.

[0019] In the present embodiment, the case where the battery replacement system 1 provides one or more batteries 100 to the user U will be described. The battery replacement system 1 may provide one or more batteries 100 to each of one or more users U. For example, the user U uses the user terminal device 500 to request the management device 400 to lend out the battery 100 held in a specific battery station device 300. The battery station device 300 and the management device 400 execute a process for lending out the battery 100 to the user U in response to the above lending request.

[0020] Incidentally, while the battery 100 is repeatedly used, the deterioration of the battery 100 progresses. Therefore, an administrator (not shown) of the battery 100 collects the battery 100 that has deteriorated more than a predetermined management standard from the battery station device 300, and introduces a new battery 100 into the battery station device 300. Thereby, the distribution of the battery 100 can be managed so that the battery 100 having appropriate charge / discharge performance circulates. Note that the provision form of the battery 100 is not limited to lending.

[0021] [2. Outline of Each Part of Battery Exchange System] The communication network NW may be a transmission path for wired communication, a transmission path for wireless communication, or a combination of a transmission path for wireless communication and a transmission path for wired communication. The communication network NW may include a wireless packet communication network, the Internet, a P2P network, a dedicated line, a VPN, a power line communication line, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication line, a road-to-vehicle communication line, and the like. The communication network NW may (i) include a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone line network, and (ii) include a wireless communication network such as a wireless MAN (for example, WiMAX (registered trademark)), a wireless LAN (for example, Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication).

[0022] The battery 100 is a battery device that is detachably mounted on the electric motorcycle 200. The battery 100 supplies power to the mounted electric motorcycle 200. The battery 100 is charged by the battery station device 300. For example, when the remaining capacity of the battery 100 mounted on the electric motorcycle 200 decreases, the user U requests the management device 400 to lend out the battery 100 held in a specific battery station device 300. When the user U arrives at the battery station device 300, the user U removes the battery 100 from the electric motorcycle 200 and returns the removed battery 100 to the return space provided in the battery station device 300. The battery station device 300 charges the returned battery 100 at an appropriate time to prepare for the next use of the battery 100.

[0023] The electric motorcycle 200 consumes the power supplied by the battery 100. More specifically, the electric motorcycle 200 moves using the power supplied by the battery 100. If the battery 100 has a storage device, the electric motorcycle 200 may store at least one of the travel history and operation history of the electric motorcycle 200 in the above storage device.

[0024] The battery station device 300 holds one or more batteries 100. The battery station device 300 charges each of the one or more batteries 100. For example, the battery station device 300 acquires information regarding policies from the management device 400. The policy is a criterion for determining, when providing the battery 100 to the user U, which battery 100 among the plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery station device 300 is preferentially provided to the user U. The battery station device 300 executes a lending process of the battery 100 in response to a request from the user U. For example, an authentication process of the user U, a dispensing process of the battery 100, etc. are executed. In the lending process, the battery station device 300 determines, according to the above policy, the number of batteries 100 that matches the number requested by the user U among the plurality of batteries 100 it holds as the lending target.

[0025] The management device 400 manages the use of each of the one or more batteries 100. For example, the battery exchange system 1 manages the lending state (e.g., lendable, non-lendable, on loan, etc.), the operation state (e.g., charging, discharging, standby, etc.), the charging state (e.g., the current SOC), the storage state (e.g., temperature, humidity, etc.), the deterioration state, etc. of each of the one or more batteries 100. Further, the management device 400 determines a policy when the battery station device 300 provides the battery 100 to the user U.

[0026] The user terminal device 500 functions as an interface between the battery exchange system 1 and the user U. Based on the input from the user U, the user terminal device 500 sends various requests to the management device 400. Examples of the above requests include a search request for searching for a battery station device 300 that meets specific conditions, a reservation request for reserving an arbitrary or specific battery 100 stored in a specific battery station device 300, and the like. Also, the user terminal device 500 outputs the information received from the management device 400. The mode of information output is not limited to a specific mode. The user terminal device 500 may output an image or may output sound.

[0027] The user terminal device 500 may be any information processing terminal that can communicate with the battery station device 300 and the management device 400 via the communication network NW, and its details are not particularly limited. The user terminal device 500 may be a personal computer, or may be a portable terminal such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a PDA, a tablet, a notebook computer or a laptop computer, a wearable computer, or the like.

[0028] [3. Battery lending according to user attributes] The management device 400 determines the battery 100 to be provided to the user U according to the attributes of the user U (hereinafter referred to as "user attributes"). The user attributes of the user U may be attributes related to the usage mode of the battery 100. The user attributes related to the usage mode of the battery 100 may be the usage tendency of the battery 100 by the user U. The usage tendency of the battery 100 by the user U may be the degree of progress of the deterioration of the battery 100 due to the past usage of the user U. Examples of the degree of progress of the deterioration include (i) the amount of deterioration in a period having a predetermined length, (ii) the rate of progress of the deterioration, and the like. Examples of the above amount of deterioration include the decrease amount of the full charge capacity, the increase amount of the internal resistance, and the like. Examples of the above rate of progress of the deterioration include the decrease rate of the full charge capacity, the increase rate of the internal resistance, and the like.

[0029] The management device 400 determines the battery 100 to be provided to the user U from among the plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery station device 300 based on the user attributes of the user U. For example, the management device 400 determines the battery 100 to be provided to the user U based on the user attributes of the user U and the degradation state of the battery 100. The management device 400 notifies the battery station device 300 of the battery 100 determined to be the lending target for the user U. The battery station device 300 lends the battery 100 notified from the management device 400 to the user U.

[0030] For example, the management device 400 may determine to provide a battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation to a user U with a relatively high degradation rate of the battery 100. The management device 400 may determine to provide a battery 100 with relatively less degradation progress to a user U with a relatively low degradation rate of the battery 100. Thereby, the recovery quantity of the battery 100 in a specific period increases. Also, the management device 400 may determine to provide a battery 100 with relatively less degradation progress to a user U with a relatively high degradation rate of the battery 100. The management device 400 may determine to provide a battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation to a user U with a relatively low degradation rate of the battery 100. Thereby, the recovery quantity of the battery 100 in a specific period decreases.

[0031] [Lending according to the lending policy] The management device 400 determines the battery 100 to be preferentially provided to the user U based on the determined policy. Examples of the policy include a policy for increasing the recovery quantity of the battery 100, a policy for decreasing the recovery quantity of the battery 100, and a policy for prioritizing the charging efficiency of the battery 100 over the adjustment of the degradation of the battery 100.

[0032] For example, when it is predicted that the inventory quantity of the battery 100 will exceed the upper limit of a predetermined numerical range (which may be referred to as an inventory standard), or when the inventory quantity of the battery 100 has exceeded the upper limit of the inventory standard, the management device 400 determines a policy indicating an increase in the recovery quantity of the battery 100. In this case, the management device 400 may determine to preferentially lend out the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation. Further, the management device 400 may determine to preferentially lend out the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation to the user U who uses it in a manner that promotes the degradation of the battery 100. Thereby, the time when the degradation state of the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation reaches a predetermined threshold value (which may be referred to as a recovery standard) can be advanced. As a result, the recovery quantity of the battery 100 during a specific period increases.

[0033] Also, for example, when it is predicted that the inventory quantity of the battery 100 will fall below the lower limit of the inventory standard, or when the inventory quantity of the battery 100 has fallen below the lower limit of the inventory standard, the management device 400 determines a policy indicating a decrease in the recovery quantity of the battery 100. In this case, the management device 400 determines to preferentially lend out the battery 100 other than the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation. Thereby, the lending out of the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation is suppressed. The management device 400 may determine to preferentially lend out the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation to the user U who uses it in a manner that suppresses the degradation of the battery 100. Thereby, the time when the degradation state of the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation reaches the recovery standard can be delayed. As a result, the recovery quantity of the battery 100 during a specific period decreases.

[0034] According to the battery replacement system 1 of the embodiment configured as described above, the recovery quantity of the battery 100 can be adjusted according to the production quantity or inventory quantity of the battery 100. Since it is technically or economically difficult to rapidly increase or decrease the production quantity of the battery 100, generally, it is considered possible to cope with the increase or decrease in the recovery quantity of the battery 100 by making the inventory of the battery 100 relatively large. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, when the production quantity or inventory quantity of the battery 100 decreases, the lending of the battery 100 is adjusted so that the progress of deterioration of the battery 100 with relatively advanced deterioration is suppressed. On the contrary, when the production quantity or inventory quantity of the battery 100 increases, the lending of the battery 100 is adjusted so that the progress of deterioration of the battery 100 with relatively advanced deterioration is promoted. As a result, the inventory quantity of the battery 100 can be maintained at a relatively low level.

[0035] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the life cycle of the battery 100. In the market, a plurality of batteries 100 are circulating. The batteries 100 circulating in the market gradually deteriorate while being charged by the battery station device 300 or used in the electric motorcycle 200. Then, the battery 100A whose deterioration state has reached the recovery standard is recovered from the market and then reused or recycled. When the battery 100A whose deterioration state has reached the recovery standard is recovered from the market and the quantity of the batteries 100 circulating in the market decreases, the battery 100B produced in a predetermined period or the inventory 100C of the battery 100 is replenished.

[0036] As described above, according to the battery replacement system 1 of the present embodiment, since the battery 100 to be lent to the user U can be determined based on the user attributes of the user U regarding the usage mode of the battery 100, the recovery quantity of the battery 100 can be adjusted according to the production quantity or the inventory quantity of the battery 100. Thereby, for example, the occurrence of a significant shortage of inventory can be suppressed, or the increase in storage costs associated with the increase in surplus inventory can be suppressed. In addition, the computational load of the computer used for production management or inventory management can be reduced. Furthermore, the deterioration of the battery 100 associated with the extension of the inventory period can be suppressed.

[0037] Generally, the index of the deterioration state of the battery is defined by, for example, the decrease in the fully charged capacity or the increase in the internal resistance. However, with such an index, the deterioration state of the battery may not necessarily be appropriately recognized, and there is a possibility that the deterioration state of the battery cannot be appropriately controlled. Therefore, when determining the battery 100 to be lent to the user U based on the user attributes of the user U, the battery replacement system 1 of the present embodiment recognizes the deterioration state of the battery 100 and the usage tendency of the battery 100 by the user U for each of the positive and negative electrodes of the battery 100, and is configured to determine the battery 100 to be lent to the user U based on the recognition result. Hereinafter, the configuration of the battery replacement system 1 that realizes such a function will be described in more detail.

[0038] [5. Configuration of the detachable battery] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the battery 100. The battery 100 includes, for example, a power storage unit 120, a BMU 130, and a connection unit 140. The BMU 130 includes, for example, a measurement sensor 131 and a storage unit 132. The power storage unit 120 is, for example, a battery pack in which a plurality of single cells are connected in series. The single cells constituting the power storage unit 120 are, for example, secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), nickel-metal hydride batteries, and all-solid-state batteries that can repeat charging and discharging. Examples of the secondary battery constituting the power storage unit 120 include lead-acid batteries, sodium-ion batteries, capacitors such as electric double-layer capacitors, or composite batteries combining a secondary battery and a capacitor. The configuration of the secondary battery constituting the power storage unit 120 is not particularly limited.

[0039] The BMU 130 performs control of charging and discharging of the power storage unit 120, cell balancing, detection of abnormalities in the power storage unit 120, derivation of the cell temperature of the power storage unit 120, derivation of the charge / discharge current of the power storage unit 120, estimation of the SOC of the power storage unit 120, and the like. The BMU 130 causes the storage unit 132 to store, as battery state information, the measurement results of the measurement sensor 131 and abnormalities or failures of the power storage unit 120 grasped based on the measurement results. The measurement sensor 131 is a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a temperature sensor, or the like for measuring the charge state of the power storage unit 120. The measurement sensor 131 outputs measurement results such as measured voltage, current, and temperature to the BMU 130. Note that the battery 100 that is not electrically operating may be defined as the battery 100 in which a predetermined or more time has elapsed since the end time of the previous operation. And the battery 100 other than the battery 100 defined as such may be defined as the battery 100 that is electrically operating. The state of being electrically operating may be defined, for example, as either a state in which the battery 100 is being charged or a state in which the battery 100 is being discharged. The BUM130 may record, in the storage unit 132, information associating the measured value and the measurement time as the measurement result of the measurement sensor 131, or may record, in the storage unit 132, information associating the measured value and the measurement frequency (so-called histogram).

[0040] The memory unit 132 includes, for example, non-volatile memory devices such as HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), and flash memory. The memory unit 132 stores the battery state information described above. The memory unit 132 may store identification information (battery ID) assigned to the battery 100. The connection unit 140 is electrically connected to the battery connection unit 210 of the electric motorcycle 200 when the battery 100 is mounted on the electric motorcycle 200. In this state, the battery 100 supplies the electric power stored in the power storage unit 120 to the electric motor provided in the electric motorcycle 200.

[0041] [6. Configuration of Electric Motorcycle] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the electric motorcycle 200. The electric motorcycle 200 travels by the driving force of an electric motor (electric motor) driven by the electric power supplied from the battery 100. However, the electric motorcycle 200 may be a hybrid electric vehicle that travels by a driving force combining the battery 100 and an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine. The electric motorcycle 200 includes, for example, a battery connection unit 210, a vehicle control unit 220, a traveling driving force output device 230, a vehicle sensor 18, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 20, and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 22.

[0042] The battery connection unit 210 is electrically connected to the battery 100 when the battery 100 is mounted on the electric motorcycle 200. The battery connection unit 210 includes connection terminals of power lines that receive power supply from the battery 100, connection terminals of communication lines that perform data communication between the battery 100 and the vehicle control unit 220, and the like.

[0043] The vehicle control unit 220 acquires measurement results from the vehicle sensor 18, acquires various information (such as SOC, DOD, etc.) regarding the power storage unit 120 from the BMU (Battery Management Unit) 110 provided in the battery 100, and acquires the position of the electric motorcycle 200 from the GNSS receiver 22. Based on the acquired data, the vehicle control unit 220 controls the driving force output device 230. The vehicle control unit 220 may transmit the position information of the electric motorcycle 200 acquired from the GNSS receiver 22 to the battery 100 via the battery connection unit 210.

[0044] In addition, the vehicle control unit 220 has a function of acquiring information regarding the use restriction of the battery 100 (hereinafter referred to as "restriction information") from the battery 100 mounted on the electric motorcycle 200 and restricting the use of the battery 100 based on the restriction information. The use restriction of the battery 100 will be described later.

[0045] The driving force output device 230 includes, for example, an electric motor, an inverter, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls the inverter. The ECU controls the power supplied from the battery 100 to the electric motor, for example, by controlling the inverter. The vehicle sensor 18 includes a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a rotational speed sensor, an odometer, and other various sensors mounted on the electric motorcycle 200. The vehicle sensor 18 outputs the measurement results to the vehicle control unit 220.

[0046] The HMI 20 outputs various information to the user of the electric motorcycle 200 and accepts input operations by the user. The HMI 20 includes, for example, various display devices (which may be a touch panel) such as a HUD (Head Up Display) and a meter display unit, a speaker, and the like. The GNSS receiver 22 measures the position of the electric motorcycle 200 based on, for example, radio waves arriving from GNSS satellites (such as GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites).

[0047] [7. Configuration of Battery Station Device] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the battery station device 300. The battery station device 300 includes an operation unit 301, one or more charging units 320, and a control unit 340. Each of the one or more charging units 320 includes a battery storage chamber 322, a measuring device 324, and a charging circuit 326. The operation unit 301 is an input interface for operations on the battery station device 300. The operation unit 301 includes, for example, a display device such as a touch panel or a liquid crystal display, and an input device such as a trackball, a switch, or a button. The operation unit 301 outputs the information of the input operation to the control unit 340 and displays the information output by the control unit 340.

[0048] The charging unit 320 charges the battery 100. A single charging unit 320 may charge a single battery 100, or a single charging unit 320 may charge a plurality of batteries 100. The battery storage chamber 322 stores the battery 100. The measuring device 324 measures various physical quantities related to the battery 100 stored in the battery storage chamber 322. For example, the measuring device 324 measures the voltage of the battery 100 described above. The measuring device 324 may measure at least one of the charging current and the discharging current of the battery 100 described above. The charging circuit 326 supplies power to the battery 100 to charge the battery 100.

[0049] The control unit 340 controls the operation of the battery station device 300. For example, the control unit 340 may control the operation of the battery station device 300 using the information acquired from the management device 400, or may control the operation of the battery station device 300 based on an instruction from the management device 400. The control unit 340 includes, for example, a communication control unit 342, a charge / discharge control unit 344, a lending management unit 346, and a storage unit 348.

[0050] The communication control unit 342 controls the communication between the battery station device 300 and external devices. Examples of the external devices include at least one of the battery 100, the management device 400, and the user terminal device 500. The communication control unit 342 may be a communication interface. The communication control unit 342 may support one or more types of communication methods.

[0051] The charge and discharge control unit 344 controls the charge and discharge of the battery 100 by each of one or more charging units 320. For example, the charge and discharge control unit 344 controls the charging of the battery 100 by controlling the charging circuit 326. The charge and discharge control unit 344 may control the discharge of the battery 100 by controlling a discharge circuit (not shown). The charge and discharge control unit 344 controls, for example, the timing to start the charge or discharge of each of one or more batteries 100, the timing to end the charge or discharge, the charging speed, or the discharging speed. The charge and discharge control unit 344 may control the charging operation of at least a part of one or more charging units 320 according to an instruction from the lending management unit 346.

[0052] The lending management unit 346 manages the lending of the battery 100 in the battery station device 300. The lending management unit 346 inquires of the management device 400 about the battery 100 to be lent to the user U who wishes to borrow among one or more batteries 100 held in the battery station device 300, and lends the battery 100 designated by the management device 400 to the user U. For example, the lending management unit 346 may manage the charging of the battery 100 so that the battery 100 is lent according to information on the reservation of one or more batteries 100 held in the battery station device 300 (which may be referred to as reservation information). The reservation information is managed, for example, by the management device 400 as information in which the identification information of the user U who reserved the battery 100, the time when the user U wishes to borrow, the number of batteries 100 that the user U wishes to borrow, and the conditions that the user U wishes for the charge state of the above battery 100 are associated with each other.

[0053] The lending management unit 346 may manage the states of one or more batteries 100 stored in the battery station device 300. For example, the lending management unit 346 manages at least one of the operation state, charge state, storage state, and deterioration state of the battery 100 described above. The lending management unit 346 may manage the states of one or more batteries 100 based on the measurement results of the measuring device 324. The lending management unit 346 may detect abnormalities or defects in the battery 100.

[0054] The storage unit 348 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory. The storage unit 348 is used as a storage area for various information related to the operation of the battery station device 300. For example, information in which a time and the measurement results of the measuring device 324 at that time are associated is stored in the storage unit 348.

[0055] [Configuration of Management Device] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the management device 400. The management device 400 includes, for example, a storage unit 410, a state monitoring unit 420, a circulation management unit 430, a battery management unit 440, a request processing unit 450, a priority determination unit 460, a lending target determination unit 470, and a usage restriction unit 480. These components are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit unit; circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having a non-transitory storage medium) such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed by mounting the storage medium on a drive device.

[0056] The storage unit 410 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory. The storage unit 410 is used as a storage area for various information related to the operation of the management device 400. The storage unit 410 stores, for example, battery information 412, station information 414, and user information 416. The battery information 412 includes various information related to each of the batteries 100 to be managed. For example, the battery information 412 includes information indicating the amount of electric power stored in each battery. The information indicating the amount of electric power stored in the above battery may be the value of the SOC of the battery. Further, the battery information 412 includes information indicating the progress of deterioration of each battery. The information indicating the progress of deterioration of the above battery may be the value of any index indicating the deterioration state of the battery.

[0057] The station information 414 includes various information regarding each of the battery station devices 300 to be managed. For example, the station information 414 includes, for each battery station, the identification information of each of the one or more batteries 100 held by the battery station. The user information 416 includes various information regarding the user U. For example, the user information 416 includes, for each user, information indicating the user attribute of the user. More specifically, the user information 416 may include, for each user, information indicating the progress of deterioration of the battery 100 due to past use by the user. The information indicating the progress of deterioration of the battery 100 due to past use by each of the above users may be information indicating the degree of deterioration that has progressed during the period in which each user uses an arbitrary battery 100, and the details thereof are not particularly limited. The information indicating the progress of deterioration of the battery 100 due to past use by each user may be information indicating the difference in the indicators related to the deterioration of the battery 100 before and after the use of the battery 100 by the user.

[0058] The state monitoring unit 420 monitors each of the battery station devices 300 to be managed. The state monitoring unit 420 acquires information regarding the state of the battery station device 300 from each of the battery station devices 300 to be managed, and manages the acquired information as the station information 414. The state monitoring unit 420 monitors each of the batteries 100 to be managed. For example, the state monitoring unit 420 acquires information regarding the state of the battery 100 stored in the battery station device 300 from each of the battery station devices 300 to be managed, and manages the acquired information as the battery information 412. The state monitoring unit 420 monitors the state of the user. For example, the state monitoring unit 420 acquires information regarding the user from the user terminal device 500, and manages the acquired information as the user information 416.

[0059] The distribution management unit 430 manages the distribution of the battery 100. For example, the distribution management unit 430 manages the number of batteries 100 distributed in the market. The distribution management unit 430 may manage the production of the battery 100. The distribution management unit 430 includes, for example, a user attribute determination unit 432, a production management unit 434, and a policy determination unit 436. The user attribute determination unit 432 determines the respective user attributes of one or more users U. For example, based on the past usage records of each user, the user attribute determination unit 432 determines, for each user, the user attribute regarding the usage mode of the battery 100. The user attribute determination unit 432 may determine the user attribute of the user U based on the progress of the deterioration of the battery 100 due to the usage of the user U. Examples of the progress of the deterioration include (i) the amount of deterioration during a period having a predetermined length, and (ii) the progress rate of the deterioration. Examples of the above-mentioned amount of deterioration include the decrease amount of the full charge capacity and the increase amount of the internal resistance. Examples of the above-mentioned progress rate of the deterioration include the decrease rate of the full charge capacity and the increase rate of the internal resistance.

[0060] For example, each time the user U uses the battery 100, the user attribute determination unit 432 determines the deterioration state of the battery 100 before the user U uses it and the deterioration state of the battery 100 after the user U uses it. The user attribute determination unit 432 determines the change amount of the deterioration state of the battery 100 based on the deterioration state of the battery 100 before the user U uses it and the deterioration state of the battery 100 after the user U uses it. The user attribute determination unit 432 classifies each user into a plurality of categories based on the change amount of the deterioration state of the battery 100. Thereby, the user attribute regarding the usage mode of the battery 100 for each user is determined.

[0061] Also, for example, the user attribute determination unit 432 acquires information regarding the state of the battery 100 during the lending period of the battery 100 for each user U. Examples of the state of the battery 100 include the output of the battery 100, the SOC of the battery 100, the DOD of the battery 100, the temperature of the battery 100, and the like. The user attribute determination unit 432 may estimate the deterioration state of the battery 100 based on the state of the battery 100. For example, when at least one of the SOC and temperature of the battery 100 is within a predetermined numerical range, the user attribute determination unit 432 calculates the length or occurrence frequency of the period during which the output of the battery 100 exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The user attribute determination unit 432 estimates the deterioration state of the battery 100 based on the length or occurrence frequency of the above period. The user attribute determination unit 432 classifies each user into a plurality of categories based on the estimated value of the deterioration state of the battery 100. Thereby, the user attributes regarding the usage mode of the battery 100 of each user are determined.

[0062] The production management unit 434 manages the production of the battery 100. For example, the production management unit 434 creates a production plan for the battery 100. The production plan of the battery 100 is information in which information indicating a period and information indicating the production quantity of the battery 100 during the period are associated. For example, the production management unit 434 can create a production plan for the battery 100 based on the statistical information on the deterioration state of the battery 100 circulating in the market. When the battery 100A whose deterioration state has reached the recovery standard is recovered from the market, the distribution of the deterioration states of the batteries 100 circulating in the market fluctuates. By the production management unit 434 creating a production plan for the battery 100 based on the statistical information on the deterioration state of the battery 100 circulating in the market, the fluctuation of the distribution of the deterioration degree of the above battery 100 can be fed back to the production plan.

[0063] The policy decision unit 436 determines a policy. As described above, examples of the policy include a policy for increasing the recovery quantity of the battery 100, a policy for decreasing the recovery quantity of the battery 100, and a policy for prioritizing the charging efficiency of the battery 100 over the adjustment of the degradation of the battery 100. More specifically, the policy decision unit 436 determines a policy based on the production quantity, inventory quantity, recovery quantity, etc. of the battery 100.

[0064] For example, the policy decision unit 436 acquires information indicating the production plan of the battery 100 from the production management unit 434. Thereby, the policy decision unit 436 can acquire information indicating the production quantity or inventory quantity of the battery 100. In addition, the policy decision unit 436 acquires information indicating the degradation state of the battery 100 circulating in the market from the battery management unit 440. The policy decision unit 436 can estimate the recovery quantity of the battery 100 based on the degradation state of the battery 100 circulating in the market.

[0065] The battery management unit 440 manages one or more batteries 100. The battery management unit 440 manages, for example, at least one of the operation state, charge state, storage state, and degradation state of the battery 100 to be managed. For example, the battery management unit 440 acquires information regarding at least one of the operation state, charge state, storage state, and degradation state of the battery 100 stored in the battery station device 300 from each of the battery station devices 300 to be managed. The battery management unit 440 acquires, for example, information indicating the amount of electric power accumulated in each of the one or more batteries 100 held by the battery station device 300. The battery management unit 440 may acquire information indicating the SOC of each of the above-mentioned one or more batteries 100. The battery management unit 440 accumulates various information regarding the state of the battery 100 thus acquired as battery information 412.

[0066] The request processing unit 450 receives various requests from the user terminal device 500 for the user U with respect to the battery replacement system 1, processes the received requests, and supplies the processing results to the user terminal device 500 that is the request source. As described above, examples of the above requests include a search request for searching for a battery station device 300 that meets specific conditions, a reservation request for reserving an arbitrary or specific battery 100 stored in a specific battery station device 300, and the like.

[0067] The priority determination unit 460 determines, for each of the plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery station device 300, the priority for the battery to be a lending target or a charging target. The priority for the battery 100 to be a lending target may be the availability of lending the battery 100, or the priority level regarding the lending of the battery 100. The priority for the battery 100 to be a charging target may be the availability of charging the battery 100, or the priority level regarding the charging of the battery 100. The above priority level may be indicated by continuous numerical values or may be indicated by stepwise classification. The priority for the battery 100 to be a lending target and the priority for the battery 100 to be a charging target may be the same.

[0068] Further, the priority determination unit 460 may determine the priority of each of the plurality of batteries 100 based on the policy determined by the policy determination unit 436. When the policy determination unit 436 determines to increase the collection quantity of the battery 100, the priority determination unit 460 determines, for example, to preferentially lend out the battery 100 with relatively advanced deterioration. In this case, the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 are determined such that the battery 100 with more advanced deterioration has a higher priority.

[0069] The priority determination unit 460 may determine to preferentially lend out the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation to the user U who uses it in a manner that promotes the degradation of the battery 100. In this case, the priority determination unit 460 determines the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 based on the user attributes of the user U who requests the lending of the battery 100. When the user attributes of the user U indicate that the degradation of the battery 100 is promoted, the priority determination unit 460 determines the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 such that the battery 100 with more advanced degradation has a higher priority. On the other hand, when the user attributes of the user U indicate that the degradation of the battery 100 is suppressed, the priority determination unit 460 determines the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 such that the battery 100 with more advanced degradation has a lower priority.

[0070] On the other hand, when the policy determination unit 436 determines to reduce the recovery quantity of the battery 100, the priority determination unit 460 determines to preferentially lend out, for example, the battery 100 other than the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation. In this case, the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 are determined such that the battery 100 with more advanced degradation has a lower priority. The priority determination unit 460 may determine to preferentially lend out the battery 100 with relatively advanced degradation to the user U who uses it in a manner that suppresses the degradation of the battery 100. In this case, the priority determination unit 460 determines the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 based on the user attributes of the user U who requests the lending of the battery 100. When the user attributes of the user U indicate that the degradation of the battery 100 is promoted, the priority determination unit 460 determines the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 such that the battery 100 with more advanced degradation has a lower priority. On the other hand, when the user attributes of the user U indicate that the degradation of the battery 100 is suppressed, the priority determination unit 460 determines the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 such that the battery 100 with more advanced degradation has a higher priority.

[0071] Also, when the policy decision unit 436 determines to prioritize the charging efficiency of the battery 100 over the adjustment of the deterioration of the battery 100, the priority determination unit 460 may determine the priority of the battery 100 so that the charging efficiency becomes greater than a predetermined value. The priority determination unit 460 may determine the priority of the battery 100 so that the total of the charging time or the charging cost becomes smaller than a predetermined value.

[0072] The lending target determination unit 470 determines a battery 100 to be provided to a specific user U in accordance with the request of the specific user U among one or more batteries 100 housed in the battery storage chamber 322 of one or more charging units 320. The lending target determination unit 470 may determine a battery 100 to be lent out from among a plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery station device 300.

[0073] For example, the lending target determination unit 470 accesses the user information 416 and acquires information indicating the user attributes of the user U. The lending target determination unit 470 extracts a battery 100 to be provided to the user U from among a plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery station device 300 based on the user attributes of the user U. Thereby, the lending target determination unit 470 can determine a battery 100 to be provided to the user U from among a plurality of batteries 100 in accordance with the request from the user U.

[0074] When the user attribute of the user U indicates that the progress rate of the deterioration of the battery 100 due to the use of the user U exceeds a predetermined first threshold value, the lending target determination unit 470 extracts the most deteriorated battery 100 among the plurality of batteries 100 as the battery 100 to be provided to the user U. When the user attribute of the user U indicates that the progress rate of the deterioration of the battery 100 due to the use of the user U is below a predetermined second threshold value, the lending target determination unit 470 extracts the most deteriorated battery 100 among the plurality of batteries 100 as the battery 100 to be provided to the user U.

[0075] Note that the lending target determination unit 470 may extract the battery 100 provided to the user U from among the batteries 100 whose deterioration state does not meet the recovery criteria. For example, the lending target determination unit 470 may access the battery information 412 to obtain information indicating the deterioration state of each of the plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery station device 300. The lending target determination unit 470 extracts the battery 100 provided to the user U from among the batteries 100 whose deterioration state is within the range that can be provided to the user U among the above plurality of batteries 100. Thereby, it is suppressed that the battery 100 whose deterioration state exceeds the recovery criteria is extracted. At this time, the lending target determination unit 470 may determine the battery 100 to be the lending target in consideration of the priority determined by the priority determination unit 460. The lending target determination unit 470 may preferentially select the battery 100 with a higher priority as the lending target.

[0076] When the user attribute of the user U who requests the lending of the battery 100 indicates that the degree of progress of the deterioration of the battery 100 due to the use by the user U exceeds a predetermined first criterion, the priority determination unit 460 determines the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 such that the higher the deterioration progress of the battery 100, the higher the priority. In this case, when the lending target determination unit 470 extracts the battery 100 provided to the user U according to the priority determined by the priority determination unit 460, the battery 100 whose deterioration state is more deteriorated than a predetermined second criterion is likely to be extracted as the battery 100 provided to the user U.

[0077] When the user attributes of user U who requests the rental of battery 100 indicate that the progress of the deterioration of battery 100 due to the use of user U exceeds the above first criterion, the priority determination unit 460 determines the priorities of the plurality of batteries 100 such that the more deteriorated the battery 100 is, the lower the priority. In this case, when the lending target determination unit 470 extracts the battery 100 provided to user U according to the priority determined by the priority determination unit 460, it becomes difficult to extract the battery 100 whose deterioration state is more deteriorated than the predetermined second criterion as the battery 100 provided to user U.

[0078] In the present embodiment, the lending target determination unit 470 accesses, for example, the production management unit 434 of the management device 400 to obtain information indicating at least one of the production plan of the battery 100, the current value of the inventory quantity, and the predicted value of the inventory quantity. The lending target determination unit 470 may determine the battery 100 to be the lending target in consideration of the priority determined by the priority determination unit 460 when at least one of the production plan of the battery 100, the current value of the inventory quantity, and the predicted value of the inventory quantity satisfies a predetermined condition. The lending target determination unit 470 may determine the battery 100 to be the lending target without considering the priority determined by the priority determination unit 460 when at least one of the production plan of the battery 100, the current value of the inventory quantity, and the predicted value of the inventory quantity does not satisfy a predetermined condition.

[0079] Examples of the predetermined conditions include a condition of being within a predetermined numerical range and a condition of being outside a predetermined numerical range. For the above numerical range, only the upper limit value may be determined, only the lower limit value may be determined, or both the upper limit value and the lower limit value may be determined. According to the present embodiment, for example, when at least one of (i) the production plan of the battery 100, the current value of the inventory quantity, and the predicted value of the inventory quantity satisfies a predetermined condition, and (ii) the user attribute of the user U who requests the lending of the battery 100 is such that the progress of the deterioration of the battery 100 due to the use by the user U exceeds the above first criterion, the lending target determination unit 470 determines the battery 100 whose deterioration state is more deteriorated than a predetermined second criterion as the lending target. Thereby, lending processing according to the policy is realized.

[0080] Taking as an example the case where the lending target determination unit 470 determines the battery 100 to be the lending target in consideration of the priority determined by the priority determination unit 460 when at least one of the production plan of the battery 100, the current value of the inventory quantity, and the predicted value of the inventory quantity satisfies a predetermined condition, the details of the battery replacement system 1 have been described. However, the battery replacement system 1 is not limited to the present embodiment. The battery replacement system 1 may determine the battery 100 provided to the user U based on at least one of the production plan of the battery 100, the current value of the inventory quantity, and the predicted value of the inventory quantity.

[0081] For example, the lending target determination unit 470 determines the battery 100 provided to the user U based on at least one of the production plan of the battery 100, the current value of the inventory quantity, and the predicted value of the inventory quantity. The priority determination unit 460 may determine the priority of the battery 100 provided to the user U based on at least one of the production plan of the battery 100, the current value of the inventory quantity, and the predicted value of the inventory quantity.

[0082] The usage restriction unit 480 restricts the use of the battery 100. More specifically, the usage restriction unit 480 compares a first user attribute, which is the most recent one among the user attributes (including usage tendencies) determined by the user attribute determination unit 432 for the user U, with a second user attribute determined prior to the first user attribute. When the degree of divergence between the usage tendency based on the first user attribute and the usage tendency based on the second user attribute is greater than a predetermined threshold, when the battery station device 300 lends the battery 100 to the user U, it instructs the battery station device 300 to record restriction information regarding the usage restriction of the battery in the storage unit 132 of the battery 100 to be lent. For example, the restriction information includes output restriction information for restricting the output (discharge amount) of the battery and charge restriction information for restricting the charge amount of the battery. The restriction information recorded in the storage unit 132 of the battery 100 is read by the electric motorcycle 200 equipped with the battery, and the vehicle control unit 220 restricts the use of the battery 100 based on the read restriction information.

[0083] Note that the usage restriction based on the usage tendency of the user U may be implemented in combination with the usage restriction based on the degree of deterioration of the battery 100 (hereinafter referred to as "normal usage restriction"). Also, the usage restriction based on the usage tendency does not necessarily have to be in the direction of making the restriction stricter, and it may be in the direction of loosening the restriction as needed. For example, when a policy of promoting the deterioration of the battery 100 lent to the user U for the purpose of controlling the degree of deterioration of the battery 100 circulating in the market is determined, the usage restriction unit 480 may perform the usage restriction based on the usage tendency in the direction of loosening the restriction more. For example, when the lending target determination unit 470 selects a user U with a high possibility of promoting deterioration in accordance with the above policy, the usage restriction unit 480 may perform the usage restriction based on the usage tendency in the direction of loosening the restriction more for the user U.

[0084] Conversely, for example, when a policy is determined to suppress the deterioration of the battery 100 lent to the user U for the purpose of controlling the degree of deterioration of the battery 100 circulating in the market, the usage restriction unit 480 may impose usage restrictions based on the usage tendency in a direction of making the restrictions more stringent. For example, the usage restriction unit 480 may impose usage restrictions based on the usage tendency in a direction of making the restrictions more stringent on the user U selected by the lending target determination unit 470 as having a high possibility of suppressing deterioration in accordance with the above policy. Not limited to the above example, whether to make the usage restrictions based on the usage tendency stricter or looser may be arbitrarily adjusted according to the policy, the deterioration state of the battery 100, etc., as long as it is in line with the purpose of controlling the degree of deterioration of the battery 100 circulating in the market.

[0085] [9. Configuration of User Terminal Device] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the user terminal device 500. The user terminal device 500 includes, for example, a storage unit 510, an input unit 520, a display unit 530, and a control unit 540. These components are realized, for example, when a hardware processor such as a CPU executes a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit unit; circuitry) such as an LSI, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a GPU, or may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having a non-transitory storage medium) such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed by mounting the storage medium on a drive device.

[0086] The storage unit 510 includes, for example, a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory. The storage unit 510 is used as a storage area for various types of information related to the operation of the user terminal device 500. The storage unit 510 stores, for example, an application program (hereinafter referred to as the "request app") AP that is used for the user U to send various requests regarding the lending of the battery 100 to the management device 400.

[0087] The input unit 520 includes input devices such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a touch panel. The input unit 520 receives inputs of various operations by the user U, converts the input operations into electrical signals, and outputs them to the control unit 540. Note that the input unit 520 may be provided with a voice input device such as a microphone and may be configured to receive input of operations by the input voice. Also, when the input unit 520 includes a touch panel, the input unit 520 may be integrally configured with the display unit 530. Further, the input unit 520 is not limited to an input device configured as a part of the user terminal device 500. For example, the input unit 520 may be configured as an input interface that inputs an electrical signal indicating an operation on the user terminal device 500 from an external device configured separately from the user terminal device 500.

[0088] The display unit 530 is configured using a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, a liquid crystal display, or an organic EL display. Alternatively, the display unit 530 may be configured as an interface for connecting these display devices to the device itself. For example, a screen of the request app is displayed on the display unit 530.

[0089] The control unit 540 controls the operations of each part of the user terminal device 500. The control unit 540 includes, for example, a request unit 541 and a display control unit 543. For example, the display control unit 543 is configured by the control unit 540 executing a request application. The request unit 541 makes various requests to the management device 400 according to the operations of the user U. As described above, examples of the various requests include a request for searching for a battery station device 300 that meets specific conditions, and a request for reserving the lending of an arbitrary or specific battery 100 stored in a specific battery station device 300. For example, the request unit 541 receives a request through various interfaces arranged on the screen of the request application, transmits it to the management device 400, and receives a processing result related to the request from the management device 400.

[0090] The display control unit 543 executes a display control process for controlling the screen display of the request application. The display control process includes processes such as screen transition and screen update accompanying the operation of the request application, and a process of recognizing the operation content of the screen and cooperating with the request unit 541.

[0091] [10. Method for Detecting Degree of Battery Deterioration] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of state transition when a battery deteriorates. In FIG. 8, graph G10 shows the state of the positive electrode potential and the negative electrode potential of the battery in the initial state, graph G11 shows the state (state A) of the battery with the positive electrode capacity deteriorated, graph G12 shows the first state (state B) of the battery with the negative electrode capacity deteriorated, and graph G13 shows the second state (state C) of the battery with the negative electrode capacity deteriorated. In the example of FIG. 8, the battery in the initial state (graph G10) is in a state where the potential difference OCVmax [V] between the positive electrode and the negative electrode is obtained when the reference capacity is 0.0 [Ah], and the potential difference OCVmin [V] is obtained when the reference capacity is 5.0 [Ah]. Graph G11 shows that when the battery in this initial state is energized (charged and discharged), the positive electrode capacity deteriorates as time elapses (increase in the amount of energization). Specifically, in this case, as shown in graph G11, the potential curve of the positive electrode scales down to the low-capacity side, and the reference capacity at which the required potential difference is obtained shifts to the low-capacity side. Note that OCVmax and OCVmin are specified by, for example, the battery manufacturer or the manufacturer of the battery replacement system 1.

[0092] On the other hand, graph G12 shows that when the battery in the initial state is energized in a low SOC state, the negative electrode capacity deteriorates as time elapses. Specifically, in this case, as shown in graph G12, the potential curve of the negative electrode scales down to the low-capacity side, and the reference capacity at which the required potential difference is obtained shifts to the low-capacity side. Also, graph G13 shows that when the battery in the initial state is energized in a high SOC state, the negative electrode capacity deteriorates as time elapses. Specifically, in this case, as shown in graph G13, the potential curve of the negative electrode shifts (substantially translates) to the low-capacity side, and the reference capacity at which the required potential difference is obtained shifts to the low-capacity side.

[0093] Thus, depending on its use, the battery deteriorates (i.e., degrades) as the reference capacity decreases due to the potential curve of the positive electrode or the negative electrode scaling down or shifting to the low-capacity side. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the state monitoring unit 420 of the management device 400 monitors the degradation of each battery 100 by monitoring such changes in the potential curve.

[0094] FIGS. 9 to 11 are diagrams for explaining an example of a method for the state monitoring unit 420 to detect the degradation state of the battery 100. FIG. 9 shows an example of a charge-discharge curve obtained by performing a power-on test for detecting the degradation state on the battery 100 to be detected. More specifically, the graph in FIG. 9 is obtained by plotting the measured values of the voltage measured when charging and discharging the target battery 100 at an extremely low current (generally 0.05CA) against the reference capacity. This power-on test may be performed, for example, by the battery station device 300 on the battery 100 held by the battery station device 300, or by the electric motorcycle 200 on the battery 100 mounted on the electric motorcycle 200. The electric motorcycle 200 may record the results of the power-on test in the storage unit 132 of the battery 100. The battery station device 300 may transmit the results of the power-on test it has performed to the management device 400, or may read the results of the power-on test recorded in the battery 100 and transmit them to the management device 400.

[0095] FIG. 10 shows the change amount of voltage with respect to the change in the reference capacity for the battery 100 to be detected. The change in the reference capacity is dV / dAh, which is generally expressed as dV / dQ. Specifically, the dV / dQ curve shown in FIG. 10 is obtained by calculating the differential value at the reference capacity for the voltage of the charge-discharge curve in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 10, by differentiating the charge-discharge curve, the state of variation of the charge-discharge curve is more emphasized. Therefore, the state monitoring unit 420 can accurately recognize the voltage variation characteristics with respect to the reference capacity of the target battery 100 by generating a dV / dQ curve (hereinafter referred to as the "test-time dV / dQ curve") as shown in FIG. 10 based on the time-series measurement data of the voltage acquired for the target battery 100. Further, the state monitoring unit 420 can detect how much the current battery 100 has deteriorated from the initial state by comparing the generated test-time dV / dQ curve with the dV / dQ curve acquired in the initial state of the battery 100.

[0096] For example, in the example of FIG. 10, peaks P11 to P13 are observed in the dV / dQ curve in the initial state, and peaks P21 to P23 are observed in the test-time dV / dQ curve. Peaks P11 and P21 are due to the characteristics of the positive electrode, and peaks P12, P13, P22, and P23 are due to the characteristics of the negative electrode. In this case, it can be seen that the distance Gr1 between the peaks P12 and P13 derived from the negative electrode in the initial state is scaled down to the distance Gr2 between the peaks P22 and P23 derived from the negative electrode at the test time. In this case, the state monitoring unit 420 can obtain the degree of deterioration of the negative electrode, for example, by calculating a value Gr2 / Gr1 indicating the degree of scaling down. In the example of FIG. 10, since there is only one peak for the positive electrode in each of the initial state and the test time, the degree of deterioration of the positive electrode cannot be estimated. However, when a plurality of peaks derived from the positive electrode are detected, the degree of deterioration of the positive electrode can be estimated in the same manner as the negative electrode.

[0097] Note that since the voltage measured by the energization test (see Fig. 9) is the potential difference between the positive and negative electrodes of the battery 100, even if this is differentiated to obtain a dV / dQ curve (see Fig. 10), it is not possible to determine whether each peak is due to the characteristics of the positive electrode or the negative electrode just from this. Therefore, in the management device 400 of the present embodiment, the state monitoring unit 420 determines whether the peak of the V / dQ curve during the test is derived from the positive electrode or the negative electrode by fitting the peak of the V / dQ curve during the test to the peaks of the respective dV / dQ curves (hereinafter referred to as "initial single-pole dV / dQ curves") obtained for each of the positive and negative electrodes in the initial state of the battery 100. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the initial single-pole dV / dQ curves of the positive and negative electrodes obtained in advance for the battery 100 to be detected. It is assumed that the management device 400 stores in advance, as battery information 412, information indicating the initial single-pole dV / dQ curves obtained for each battery 100.

[0098] For example, in the example of Fig. 11, P31, P32, P41, and P42 are shown as peaks that enable the individual recognition of the peak derived from the positive electrode and the peak derived from the negative electrode in the dV / dQ curve during the test. P31 and P32 are the peaks of the initial single-pole dV / dQ curve of the positive electrode, and P41 and P42 are the peaks of the initial single-pole dV / dQ curve of the negative electrode. Since the peaks P31, P32, P41, and P42 correspond to different reference capacities, by recognizing the correspondence between the peaks of the dV / dQ curve during the test and the dV / dQ curve in the initial state and the peaks P31, P32, P41, and P42, it becomes possible to determine whether each peak of the dV / dQ curve during the test and the dV / dQ curve in the initial state is derived from the positive electrode or the negative electrode.

[0099] To make such a determination, the state monitoring unit 420 manages, in the battery information 412, first deterioration information regarding the amount of deviation from the potential difference in the initial state of the battery 100 with respect to the potential difference between the positive and negative electrodes of the battery 100, and manages, in the user information 416, second deterioration information regarding the degree of reduction in the potential difference that has progressed due to the user U using the battery 100. The initial state dV / dQ curve and the test-time dV / dQ curve shown in FIG. 10 are examples of the first deterioration information. Also, the charge-discharge curves shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are examples of the second deterioration information. Based on such battery information 412 and user information 416, the state monitoring unit 420 recognizes the usage tendency of the user U regarding the deterioration of the battery 100, determines, by the above method, whether the recognized usage tendency promotes the deterioration of either the positive or negative electrode of the battery 100, and manages the determination result as identifiable information in the user information 416.

[0100] For example, in the example of FIG. 10, the state monitoring unit 420 can determine that the peaks P11 and P21 are peaks derived from the positive electrode by recognizing that the peaks P11 and P21 correspond to the peak P31 (the peak of the initial single-pole dV / dQ curve of the positive electrode). Also, the state monitoring unit 420 can determine that the peaks P12 and P22 are peaks derived from the negative electrode by recognizing that the peaks P12 and P22 correspond to the peak P41 (the peak of the initial single-pole dV / dQ curve of the negative electrode). Similarly, the state monitoring unit 420 can determine that the peaks P13 and P23 are peaks derived from the negative electrode by recognizing that the peaks P13 and P23 correspond to the peak P42 (the peak of the initial single-pole dV / dQ curve of the negative electrode). In this way, by identifying whether each peak of the test-time dV / dQ curve and the dV / dQ curve in the initial state is a peak derived from the positive or negative electrode, the state monitoring unit 420 can calculate the above-described degree of deterioration.

[0101] In addition to the above-described method, known methods may be used to estimate the deterioration states of the positive and negative electrodes with respect to the deterioration of the battery. For example, as an example of a known method, there is a method of estimating the deterioration states of the positive and negative electrodes by comparing the current, voltage, temperature, and DOD (Depth of Discharge) measured during battery energization with a battery deterioration model. Further, for example, as another example of a known method, a dQ / dV curve is obtained by differentiating the measured capacity Q with respect to the voltage V during battery energization, and the deterioration states of the positive and negative electrodes are estimated based on the position and intensity of the peaks recognized from the dQ / dV curve.

[0102] [11. Determination of Battery to be Lent Based on Tendency of Deterioration of Positive and Negative Electrodes] By managing the various types of information described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11 as battery information 412 and user information 416, the user attribute determination unit 432 can determine the user attribute for the user U in consideration of whether the user is a user who promotes the deterioration of either the positive or negative electrode of the battery 100. Further, by determining such a user attribute, the priority determination unit 460 can determine the priority for the batteries 100 stored in the battery station device 300 that are candidates for lending to the user U based on the tendency of promoting the deterioration of the positive and negative electrodes due to the use by the user U. Further, by determining such a priority, the lending target determination unit 470 can determine the battery 100 corresponding to the tendency of promoting the deterioration of the positive and negative electrodes due to the use by the user U as the battery 100 to be lent to the user U.

[0103] For example, for the battery 100 that is a lending candidate among the batteries 100 stored in the battery station device 300, the priority determination unit 460 calculates the degree of deviation between the degradation tendency (first degradation tendency) from the initial states of the positive electrode and the negative electrode and the degradation tendency (second degradation tendency) of the positive electrode and the negative electrode due to the use by the user U, and sets a high priority for lending for the battery 100 whose degree of deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Thereby, the lending target determination unit 470 can determine the battery 100 whose degradation tendency is not similar to the usage tendency as the target to be lent to the user U. Here, for example, the priority determination unit 460 may calculate the reciprocal of the correlation value between the first degradation tendency and the second degradation tendency as the above-mentioned degree of deviation. Note that the priority determination unit 460 may determine the battery 100 having the largest degree of deviation among the batteries 100 that are lending candidates as the target to be lent to the user U. The battery 100 that is a lending candidate may be determined based on a policy, may be determined based on the degradation state of the battery 100, or may be determined based on the reservation status, the charging state, etc. of the battery 100. In the present embodiment, the combination of the priority determination unit 460 and the lending target determination unit 470 is an example of the "determination unit".

[0104] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a method for determining the battery 100 to be lent. In FIG. 12, the graph G20 shows an example of the voltage characteristics of the positive electrode and the negative electrode in the initial state. The graph G20 represents that in the battery 100 in the initial state, the upper limit voltage Vpu1 of the positive electrode becomes the upper limit voltage VU of the battery 100, and the lower limit voltage Vnl1 of the negative electrode becomes the lower limit voltage VL of the battery 100. That is, the battery 100 in the initial state has a capacity corresponding to ΔV (=VU - VL = Vpu1 - Vnl1).

[0105] Graph G21 shows an example of the voltage characteristics of the battery 100 in which the lower limit voltage of the positive electrode has deteriorated (increased) from the lower limit voltage Vpl1 in the initial state. The state of the battery 100 in this case corresponds to, for example, state A in FIG. 8. As shown in graph G21, in the battery 100 in state A, the lower limit voltage Vpl2 of the positive electrode exceeds the lower limit voltage Vnl1 of the negative electrode (assuming no change from the initial state), and the capacity has decreased by an amount corresponding to ΔV1 (= Vpl2 - Vnl1). When it is desired to accelerate the deterioration of the battery 100 in the initial state in such a manner, it is conceivable to cause the battery 100 to be used at a deeper DOD. In this case, the management device 400 may determine the priority of the battery 100 to be deteriorated so that the battery 100 to be deteriorated is preferentially lent to the user U with a large DOD during battery use, for example, by the priority determination unit 460. Further, in this case, the management device 400 may limit the use of the battery 100 so that the DOD during battery use increases, for example, by the use restriction unit 480. As an example of such a use restriction, not charging the battery 100 until the DOD becomes deep can be mentioned.

[0106] On the one hand, graph G22 shows an example of the voltage characteristics of battery 100 that has deteriorated such that the voltage characteristics of the negative electrode shift to the high voltage side from the initial state. The state of battery 100 in this case corresponds to, for example, state C in FIG. 8. As shown in graph G22, for battery 100 in state C, since the voltage characteristics of the negative electrode have shifted to the high voltage side by ΔV2, the lower limit voltage VL of battery 100 is raised by ΔV2, and thereby the capacity has decreased by an amount corresponding to ΔV2. When it is desired to accelerate deterioration of battery 100 in such a manner with respect to the initial state of battery 100, it is conceivable to cause battery 100 to be used in a high SOC range. In this case, the management device 400 may determine the priority of battery 100 so that battery 100 to be deteriorated is preferentially lent to user U with a high SOC during battery use, for example, by the priority determination unit 460. Also, in this case, the management device 400 may limit the use of battery 100 in a low SOC range, for example, by the use restriction unit 480. Also, in this case, the management device 400 may increase the possibility that battery 100 is used in a high SOC range by not restricting charging by the use restriction unit 480, contrary to the case of state A.

[0107] [12. Notification of Battery Usage Method for User U] As described above, the management device 400 of the present embodiment determines the battery 100 for the user U based on the deterioration tendency of the battery 100 and the usage tendency of the battery 100 by the user U. However, the battery 100 whose degree of deviation between the first deterioration tendency and the second deterioration tendency is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is not always stored in the battery station device 300. Therefore, when there is no battery 100 whose degree of deviation is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the lending target determination unit 470 of the management device 400 determines one of the batteries 100 that are lending candidates (hereinafter referred to as "tentative battery") as the battery to be lent to the user U, and is configured to notify the user U of precautions regarding the usage method for the tentative battery 100 determined as the lending target. In this case, one battery 100 may be selected based on an arbitrary criterion. For example, the lending target determination unit 470 may determine the battery 100 whose degree of deviation is closest to the predetermined value as the lending target, or may determine the battery 100 with the smallest degree of deterioration as the lending target.

[0108] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a notification screen that the lending target determination unit 470 causes to be displayed in order to notify the user U of cautions regarding the usage of the provisional battery 100. For example, the notification screen D10 shown in FIG. 13 has a first display area D11 and a second display area D12. The first display area D11 is a display area for a notification that requests the user U to use the provisional battery 100 in a manner that suppresses deterioration. For example, the lending target determination unit 470 may display in the first display area D11 a usage method for suppressing the deterioration of the electrode in which deterioration has progressed more between the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the provisional battery 100. For example, when the deterioration of the positive electrode has progressed more than that of the negative electrode among the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the provisional battery 100, as in the example of FIG. 13, the lending target determination unit 470 may request an early battery replacement in order to reduce the amount of energization to suppress further deterioration of the positive electrode. The second display area D12 is an area for displaying a notification to the effect that an incentive is given to the user U who has used the battery in a manner that cooperates with the suppression of deterioration. By displaying such a notification screen, even when the management device 400 cannot lend out the battery 100 having a deterioration tendency suitable for the usage tendency to the user U, the management device 400 can increase the possibility that the user U uses the provisional battery 100 without deteriorating it. Note that the notification screen may be displayed on the operation unit 301 of the battery station device 300 or on the display unit 530 of the user terminal device 500.

[0109] In the battery replacement system 1 of the embodiment described above, the management device 400 manages user information 416 including information on the usage tendency of the battery 100 by the user U, which includes information on the usage tendency related to the deterioration of the battery 100, and battery information 412 including information on the deterioration state of the battery 100, and determines the battery 100 to be lent to the user U from among the batteries 100 stored in the battery station device 300 based on the battery information 412 and the user information 416. More specifically, the management device 400 of the present embodiment includes, as information on the deterioration state of the battery 100, positive electrode deterioration information related to the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery 100 and negative electrode deterioration information related to the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery 100 in the battery information 412, and manages the information that can identify whether the usage tendency of the battery 100 by the user U promotes the deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode in the user information 416. Thus, based on the deterioration tendency of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery 100 that is a candidate for lending to the user U among the batteries 100 stored in the battery station device 300 and the deterioration tendency of the positive electrode and the negative electrode obtained from the user information 416, the battery to be lent to the user U can be determined from among the batteries 100 that are the candidates. By having such a configuration, the battery replacement system 1 of the embodiment can more appropriately control the deterioration state of the batteries distributed in the market.

[0110] In the above embodiment, the deterioration of each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery 100 has been described in the case of being estimated based on the positive electrode capacity, the negative electrode capacity, and the deviation amount therebetween. However, the deterioration of each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode may be estimated based on measurement values other than the capacity. For example, since the positive electrode reaction resistance of the battery 100 deteriorates as current is applied to the battery 100, and the negative electrode reaction resistance deteriorates as the battery 100 is left unattended, the deterioration of each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode may be estimated based on the positive electrode reaction resistance, the negative electrode reaction resistance, and the deviation amount therebetween. In addition, for the estimation of the deterioration of each of the positive electrode and the negative electrode, the positive electrode diffusion resistance and the negative electrode diffusion resistance may be used, or the positive electrode SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interphase) capacitor capacity and the negative electrode SEI capacitor capacity may be used, or the positive electrode SEI resistance and the negative electrode SEI resistance may be used.

[0111] In this embodiment, the case where the management device 400 is configured separately from the battery station device 300 has been described. However, some functions of the management device 400 may be provided on the battery station device 300 side. For example, the function of the management device 400 for managing the user information 416 may be provided on the battery station device 300. In this case, the management device 400 may be configured to inquire the battery station device 300 about the user information of the user U.

[0112] In this embodiment, the case where the battery 100 is used as the power source of the electric motorcycle 200 will be described. However, the use of the battery 100 is not limited to this embodiment. The battery 100 may be used as the power source of various electrical devices. The above electrical devices may be a moving body having an electric motor as a power source, or a stationary power storage device. Examples of the moving body include automobiles, motorcycles, standing vehicles having a power unit, ships, aircraft, etc. Examples of automobiles include gasoline vehicles, diesel vehicles, electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, hybrid vehicles, small commuters, electric carts, etc. Examples of motorcycles include bikes, three-wheeled bikes, electric bicycles, etc. Examples of ships include ships, hovercrafts, water bikes, submarines, submersibles, underwater scooters, etc. Examples of aircraft include airplanes, airships or balloons, balloons, helicopters, drones, etc.

[0113] In this embodiment, the details of the battery exchange system 1 have been described by taking the case where the management device 400 manages one or more batteries 100 and one or more battery station devices 300 as an example. However, the battery exchange system 1 is not limited to this embodiment. At least one of the one or more battery station devices 300 may have at least a part of the functions of the above-described management device 400. For example, at least one of the one or more battery station devices 300 manages one or more batteries 100. At least one of the one or more battery station devices 300 may manage other battery station devices 300. In this case, the battery exchange system 1 may or may not include the management device 400.

[0114] In this embodiment, the details of the battery exchange system 1 were described by taking as an example the case where the battery station device 300 determines a battery 100 to be lent out from among a plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery station. However, the battery exchange system 1 is not limited to this embodiment. The management device 400 may determine a battery 100 to be lent out from among a plurality of batteries 100 held by the battery station device 300.

[0115] The above-described embodiment can be expressed as follows. One or more storage media that store computer-readable instructions, One or more processors connected to the one or more storage media, and The one or more processors execute the computer-readable instructions to Perform a station process of replacing the battery used by the user by authenticating the user, Perform a management process of managing user information including information on the usage tendency of the battery by the user, which includes information on the usage tendency related to the deterioration of the battery, and battery information including information on the deterioration state of the battery, Perform a determination process of determining a battery to be lent to the user from among the batteries stored in the station device based on the user information and the battery information, and The battery information includes, as information on the deterioration state of the battery, positive electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery and negative electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery, The user information includes information that can identify whether the usage tendency of the battery by the user promotes the deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode. In the determination process, based on the deterioration tendencies of the positive and negative electrodes of the batteries stored in the station device that are candidates for lending to the user, and the deterioration tendencies of the positive and negative electrodes obtained from the user information, a battery to be lent to the user is determined from among the candidate batteries. Battery exchange system.

[0116] As described above, the embodiments for implementing the present invention have been described using embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0117] 1... Battery exchange system, 18... Vehicle sensor, 20... HMI, 22... GNSS receiver, 100... Detachable battery, 120... Power storage unit, 130... BMU, 131... Measurement sensor, 132... Storage unit, 140... Connection unit, 200... Electric motorcycle, 210... Battery connection unit, 220... Vehicle control unit, 230... Travel driving force output device, 300... Battery station device, 301... Operation unit, 320... Charging unit, 322... Battery storage chamber, 324... Measuring instrument, 326... Charging circuit, 340... Control unit, 342... Communication control unit, 344... Charge and discharge control unit, 346... Lending management unit, 348... Storage unit, 400... Management device, 410... Storage unit, 412... Battery information, 414... Station information, 416... User information, 420... State monitoring unit, 430... Distribution management unit, 432... User attribute determination unit, 434... Production management unit, 436... Policy determination unit, 440... Battery management unit, 450... Request processing unit, 460... Priority determination unit, 470... Lending target determination unit, 480... Usage restriction unit, 500... User terminal device, 510... Storage unit, 520... Input unit, 530... Display unit, 540... Control unit, 541... Request unit, 543... Display control unit

Claims

1. A battery replacement system including a station device and a management device, a station device that replaces a battery used by a user by authenticating the user, a management unit that manages user information including information on the usage tendency of the battery by the user, which is information on the usage tendency related to the deterioration of the battery, and battery information including information on the deterioration state of the battery, and a determination unit that determines a battery to be lent to the user from among the batteries stored in the station device based on the user information and the battery information and a management device including the same, provided with, the battery information includes, as information on the deterioration state of the battery, positive electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery and negative electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery, the user information includes information that enables identification of whether the usage tendency of the battery by the user promotes the deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode, the determination unit determines a battery to be lent to the user from among the candidate batteries based on the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the batteries that are candidates for lending to the user among the batteries stored in the station device and the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode obtained from the user information. A battery replacement system.

2. the battery information includes first deterioration information regarding the potential difference between the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery and regarding the amount of deviation from the potential difference in the initial state of the battery, the user information includes second deterioration information regarding the potential difference between the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery and regarding the degree of reduction of the potential difference that has progressed due to the user using the battery, The determining unit determines the battery to be lent to the user based on the deviation amount of the battery that is a candidate for lending to the user among the batteries stored in the station device and the degree of reduction of the potential difference according to the usage tendency of the user. The battery exchange system according to claim 1.

3. The determining unit determines, as the battery to be lent to the user, a battery among the batteries that are candidates for lending, in which the degree of deviation between the tendency of deterioration from the initial states of the positive electrode and the negative electrode and the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode due to the use by the user is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The battery exchange system according to claim 1.

4. The determining unit determines, as the battery to be lent to the user, the battery having the largest degree of deviation among the batteries that are candidates for lending. The battery exchange system according to claim 3.

5. Further comprising a display unit for displaying information. When there is no battery in which the degree of deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value among the batteries that are candidates for lending, the determining unit determines, as the battery to be lent to the user, one of the batteries that are candidates for lending, and causes the display unit to display a usage method for suppressing the progress of deterioration for the electrode that is more deteriorated among the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the determined battery. The battery exchange system according to claim 3.

6. The management device further includes a usage restriction unit that, when lending a battery to the user, generates restriction information for restricting the discharge amount of the battery or restricting the charge amount to the battery according to the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery, and instructs the station device to record the generated restriction information in the storage unit of the battery. The battery exchange system according to claim 1.

7. In a battery exchange system including a station device and a management device The station device replaces the battery used by the user by authenticating the user, The management device manages user information including information on the usage tendency of the battery by the user and related to the deterioration of the battery, and battery information including information on the deterioration state of the battery, The management device executes a determination process for determining a battery to be lent to the user from among the batteries stored in the station device based on the user information and the battery information, The battery information includes, as information on the deterioration state of the battery, positive electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery and negative electrode deterioration information on the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery, The user information includes information that enables identification of whether the usage tendency of the battery by the user promotes the deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode, In the determination process, the management device determines a battery to be lent to the user from among the candidate batteries based on the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the batteries that are candidates for being lent to the user among the batteries stored in the station device and the tendency of deterioration of the positive electrode and the negative electrode obtained from the user information, Battery replacement method.

8. A management device in a battery replacement system including a station device that replaces a battery used by a user by authenticating the user, comprising: a management unit that manages user information including information on the usage tendency of the battery by the user and related to the deterioration of the battery, and battery information including information on the deterioration state of the battery; a determination unit that determines a battery to be lent to the user from among the batteries stored in the station device based on the user information and the battery information; and is provided with The battery information includes, as information regarding the deterioration state of the battery, positive electrode deterioration information regarding the deterioration state of the positive electrode of the battery and negative electrode deterioration information regarding the deterioration state of the negative electrode of the battery. The user information includes information that enables identification of whether the usage tendency of the battery by the user promotes the deterioration of either the positive electrode or the negative electrode. The determination unit determines the battery to be lent to the user from among the candidate batteries based on the deterioration tendencies of the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the batteries stored in the station device that are candidates for lending to the user and the deterioration tendencies of the positive electrode and the negative electrode obtained from the user information. Management device.

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