Battery system diagnostic device and method

Abstract

The diagnostic device and method for diagnosing whether or not there is a failure in a component configured in a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention monitors whether or not an abnormal state has occurred in the component based on abnormal state data related to the component, measures the duration of the abnormal state if an abnormal state occurs in the component, and compares the duration with a preset reference time. If the duration is less than the reference time, checks whether or not a preset early diagnosis condition is satisfied based on the duration, and determines whether or not there is a failure in the component based on whether or not the early diagnosis condition is satisfied. As a result, it is possible to provide a high-performance, high-precision, high-efficiency, and high-reliability diagnostic device and method that can diagnose whether or not there is a failure even for temporary abnormal state data that is less than the preset reference time, and take pre-emptive action.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit as of the filing date of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0096681, filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on 3 August 2022, and all the contents disclosed in the documents of said Korean Patent Application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a diagnostic device and method for battery systems, and more specifically, to a diagnostic device and method for diagnosing whether or not there are malfunctions in components that constitute a battery system. [Background technology]

[0003] In recent years, due to the depletion of fossil fuels and environmental pollution, interest in electric vehicles, which use electrical energy instead of fossil fuels, has been growing.

[0004] For an electric vehicle to run, it must be able to drive a high-powered drive motor. Therefore, electric vehicles generally use a battery pack in which many battery cells are connected in series, and the electricity output from the battery pack is used as the power source.

[0005] In other words, since the performance of the battery directly affects the performance of an electric vehicle, a function to measure and monitor the voltage and current status of the battery cells, as well as the operating status of electrical components, is absolutely necessary.

[0006] On the other hand, conventional diagnostic devices would only determine a malfunction if an abnormality occurred in at least one hardware component within an electric vehicle, and this abnormal phenomenon persisted for a predetermined maintenance period.

[0007] Conventional diagnostic devices have the disadvantage of being unable to detect minor component failures if the maintenance time is set too long, making pre-diagnosis difficult, and having a short maintenance time, which can lead to misinterpretation of noise signals from the external environment as failures, resulting in reduced reliability. [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] The objective of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, is to provide a diagnostic device for battery systems that is high-performance, high-precision, high-efficiency, and highly reliable.

[0009] Another objective of the present invention, in order to solve the problems described above, is to provide a method for diagnosing battery systems that is high-performance, high-precision, high-efficiency, and highly reliable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A battery system diagnostic method according to one embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above objective, which diagnoses whether or not a component in the battery system is faulty, includes the steps of: monitoring whether or not an abnormal condition has occurred in the component based on abnormal condition data relating to the component; if an abnormal condition has occurred in the component, measuring the duration of the abnormal condition; comparing the duration with a previously set reference time; and, if the duration is less than the reference time, checking whether or not a previously set early diagnostic condition is satisfied based on the duration, and determining whether or not the component is faulty based on whether or not the early diagnostic condition is satisfied.

[0011] Here, the step of determining whether the above-mentioned component is faulty may include checking whether the early diagnostic conditions are satisfied, which are defined to include at least one of the following: a first condition in which the number of occurrences of the abnormal state is equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold; a second condition in which the maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored; and a third condition in which the maintenance time is equal to or greater than a pre-set second threshold.

[0012] In this case, the step of determining whether or not the above-mentioned component is faulty may include a step of counting the occurrence of the abnormal condition if the above-mentioned maintenance time is equal to or greater than the predefined minimum maintenance time.

[0013] Here, the minimum maintenance time can be defined as being in the range of 0.4 to 0.6 times the reference time.

[0014] On the other hand, the step of determining whether the above-mentioned component is faulty may include a step of updating the above-mentioned maintenance time to the maximum maintenance time if the above-mentioned maintenance time exceeds the maximum maintenance time already stored.

[0015] Furthermore, the second threshold can be defined as being in the range of 0.7 to 0.9 times the reference time.

[0016] Furthermore, the diagnostic method for the battery system described above may further include a step of determining that the component is faulty if the maintenance time is equal to or greater than the reference time described above.

[0017] Furthermore, the step of determining whether the above-mentioned component is faulty may include a step of performing an early diagnosis of the component and determining that the component is faulty, even if the maintenance time is less than the standard time, provided that the conditions 1 to 3 above are met.

[0018] A diagnostic device for a battery system, according to another embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above objective, diagnoses whether or not a component in the battery system is faulty, and includes a memory and a processor that executes at least one instruction stored in the memory, wherein the at least one instruction includes an instruction to monitor whether or not an abnormal condition has occurred in the component based on abnormal condition data relating to the component, an instruction to measure the duration of the abnormal condition if an abnormal condition has occurred in the component, an instruction to compare the duration with a previously set reference time, and an instruction to check whether or not a previously set early diagnostic condition is satisfied based on the duration if the duration is less than the reference time, and to determine whether or not the component is faulty based on whether or not the early diagnostic condition is satisfied.

[0019] Further, at least one instruction may include an instruction to check whether the early diagnosis condition defined including at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: a first condition that the number of occurrences of an abnormal state is equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold, a second condition that the maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored, and a third condition that the maintenance time is equal to or greater than a predefined second threshold.

[0020] Also, when the maintenance time is equal to or greater than a predefined minimum maintenance time, the at least one instruction may include an instruction to count the number of occurrences of the abnormal state.

[0021] At this time, the minimum maintenance time can be defined within the range of 0.4 to 0.6 times the reference time.

[0022] Also, when the maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored, the at least one instruction may include an instruction to update the maintenance time to the longest maintenance time.

[0023] On the other hand, the second threshold can be defined within the range of 0.7 to 0.9 times the reference time.

[0024] Also, when the maintenance time is equal to or greater than the reference time, the at least one instruction may further include an instruction to determine that the component is faulty.

[0025] And, when the at least one instruction satisfies the first to third conditions, it may include an instruction to perform early diagnosis on the component and determine that the component is faulty even if the maintenance time is less than the reference time.

Advantages of the Invention

[0026] The diagnostic device and method for diagnosing the presence or absence of failures in components of a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention monitors whether an abnormal state occurs in the component based on abnormal state data relating to the component, measures the duration of the abnormal state if an abnormal state occurs in the component, compares the duration with a pre-set reference time, checks whether a pre-set early diagnosis condition is met based on the duration if the duration is less than the reference time, and determines whether the component is faulty based on whether the early diagnosis condition is met. This provides a high-performance, high-precision, high-efficiency, and high-reliability diagnostic device and method that enables early diagnosis and proactive measures for the presence or absence of failures even for temporary abnormal state data less than a pre-set reference time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0027] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of a battery system to which embodiments of the present invention can be applied. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram of a diagnostic device for a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart illustrating a diagnostic method for a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining whether or not a component is faulty, which is part of a diagnostic method for a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart illustrating the early diagnostic conditions for a battery system diagnostic method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart illustrating a diagnostic method for a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0028] The present invention can be modified in various ways and has many embodiments; therefore, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this should be understood not as limiting the present invention to specific embodiments, but rather as including all modifications, equivalents, or substitutions that fall within the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. Similar reference numerals are used for similar components in the description of each drawing.

[0029] Terms such as First, Second, A, B, etc., may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by such terms. The terms are used solely for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the First component may be named the Second component, and similarly, the Second component may be named the First component. The term "and / or" includes a combination of multiple related items or one of multiple related items.

[0030] When it is stated that one component is "linked" or "connected" to another component, it should be understood that this may mean that it is directly linked or connected to that other component, but that there may also be another component in between. Conversely, when it is stated that one component is "directly linked" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

[0031] The terms used in this application are used solely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless they are clearly different in context. In this application, terms such as “includes” or “having” are intended to specify the presence of features, figures, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof as described in the specification, and should not be understood to preemptively exclude the presence or possibility of adding one or more other features, figures, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0032] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as those generally understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. Terms as defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having the meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art, and not as ideal or overly formal unless explicitly defined herein.

[0033] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a battery system to which embodiments of the present invention can be applied.

[0035] Referring to Figure 1, a battery pack or battery module can consist of multiple battery cells connected in series. The battery cells or module can be connected to a load via positive and negative terminals to perform charging and discharging operations. The most commonly used battery cell is the lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery cell.

[0036] Such battery cells or battery modules can be integrated with a Battery Management System (BMS).

[0037] A battery management system (BMS) monitors the current, voltage, and temperature of each battery cell or module under its control, and can control charging and discharging by calculating the State of Charge (SOC) based on the monitoring results. Here, SOC (State of Charge) is the current charge level of the battery expressed as a percentage [%], and SOH (State of Health) is the current degradation level of the battery expressed as a percentage [%].

[0038] In this way, a battery management system (BMS) can monitor battery cells, read cell voltages, and transmit them to other systems connected to the battery.

[0039] Furthermore, a battery management system (BMS) can transmit status data from at least one electrical component of the battery system to other systems by monitoring it. For this purpose, a BMS may include a communication module for communicating with other systems within the device included in the battery system.

[0040] The communication module of the Battery Management System (BMS) can communicate with other systems within the device using CAN (Controller Area Network). In this case, the electrical components, modules, or systems within the Battery Management System (BMS) are connected to each other via the CAN bus. This allows the Battery Management System (BMS) to remotely transmit status data acquired through monitoring of the battery pack or module and at least one electrical component constituting the Battery Management System (BMS) to other systems using CAN communication.

[0041] On the other hand, a battery management system (BMS) evenly balances the charge of battery cells to extend the lifespan of the battery system.

[0042] To perform such operations, a battery management system (BMS) can include a variety of components such as fuses, current sensing elements, thermistors, switches, and balancers, but in most cases it further includes an MCU (Microcontroller Unit) or BMIC (Battery Monitoring Integrated Chip) to control these components in conjunction. Here, the BMIC may be an IC-type component located inside the battery management system (BMS) that measures information such as the voltage, temperature, and current of the battery cells / modules. According to the embodiment, a battery management system (BMS) can be applied to an automobile.

[0043] On the other hand, generally, a battery management system (BMS) works in conjunction with a battery protection device to shut off the charge / discharge circuit when a battery malfunction occurs. In other words, conventional battery protection circuits will shut off the charge / discharge circuit and limit battery use if a malfunction occurs in any one battery cell or module.

[0044] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a diagnostic device for a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] Referring to Figure 2, the battery system diagnostic device 1000 may be one of the components of a battery management system (BMS). This allows the diagnostic device 1000 to diagnose failures in the components that make up the battery system. Here, the components that make up the battery system may be any one of the following: a battery cell or a battery module, and at least one electrical component.

[0046] More specifically, the battery system diagnostic device 1000 can monitor whether abnormal state data deviating from pre-set condition values ​​occurs, based on state data transmitted from at least one component of the battery system.

[0047] Furthermore, the diagnostic device 1000 can diagnose early whether or not a particular component is faulty based on abnormal phenomena that occur during the monitoring of the component's condition.

[0048] More specifically, if abnormal condition data outside the pre-set condition range occurs in a component of the battery system, the diagnostic device 1000 can measure the duration for which the abnormal condition data persists. Subsequently, if the duration is less than the pre-set reference time and the early diagnosis conditions are met, the diagnostic device 1000 can diagnose whether or not the component is faulty based on the duration.

[0049] Generally, conventional diagnostic devices diagnosed a failure in at least one of the components of the battery system only if the abnormal condition data persisted for a predetermined standard time or longer. In other words, the reliability or operational stability of conventional diagnostic devices was determined by the set standard time.

[0050] For example, to explain in more detail, conventional diagnostic devices, when the reference time is shortened to improve the operational stability of at least one component of the battery system, would misinterpret abnormal state data caused by temporary noise phenomena as being due to a failure of the component, resulting in reduced reliability.

[0051] Conversely, conventional diagnostic devices, in order to increase reliability, often set a longer reference time to ignore abnormal condition data caused by temporary noise phenomena. However, this has the disadvantage of making it difficult to detect abnormal condition data caused by malfunctions early, thus hindering proactive measures.

[0052] On the other hand, the battery system diagnostic device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention can determine a failure, like a conventional diagnostic device, if the duration of abnormal state data relating to at least one component constituting the battery system is equal to or greater than a pre-set reference time. Furthermore, even if the duration of the abnormal state data is less than the reference time, it can determine whether or not the component is faulty depending on whether or not the early diagnostic conditions are met, thus enabling proactive measures.

[0053] To describe the diagnostic device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail by its components, the diagnostic device 1000 may include a memory 100, a processor 200, a transceiver 300, an input interface device 400, an output interface device 500, and a storage device 600.

[0054] According to the embodiment, the components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 included in the diagnostic device 1000 are connected by a bus 700 and can communicate with each other.

[0055] Of the above components 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600, memory 100 and storage device 600 can be composed of at least one of a volatile storage medium and a non-volatile storage medium. For example, memory 100 and storage device 600 can be composed of at least one of a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM).

[0056] Among these, memory 100 may contain at least one instruction executed by processor 200.

[0057] According to the embodiment, at least one command may include a command to monitor whether an abnormal condition has occurred in the component based on abnormal condition data relating to the component, a command to measure the duration of the abnormal condition if an abnormal condition has occurred in the component, a command to compare the duration with a previously set reference time, and a command to check whether a previously set early diagnostic condition is met based on the duration if the duration is less than the reference time, and to determine whether the component is faulty based on whether the early diagnostic condition is met.

[0058] Furthermore, at least one instruction may include an instruction that checks whether an early diagnostic condition is satisfied, which is defined by including at least one of the following: a first condition in which the number of occurrences of an abnormal state is equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold; a second condition in which the duration exceeds the longest duration already stored; and a third condition in which the duration is equal to or greater than a pre-set second threshold.

[0059] Furthermore, at least one of the above instructions may include an instruction that counts the occurrence of the abnormal state as a number of times if the duration is equal to or greater than the predefined minimum duration.

[0060] In this case, the minimum maintenance time can be defined as being in the range of 0.4 to 0.6 times the reference time.

[0061] Furthermore, at least one of the above instructions may include an instruction that updates the above-mentioned maintenance time to the longest maintenance time if the above-mentioned maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored.

[0062] On the other hand, the second threshold can be defined as being in the range of 0.7 to 0.9 times the reference time.

[0063] Furthermore, at least one of the above instructions may further include an instruction to determine that the component is faulty if the duration is equal to or greater than the reference time.

[0064] Furthermore, at least one of the above instructions may include an instruction to pre-diagnose the component and determine that the component is faulty, even if the maintenance time is less than the reference time, provided that the first to third conditions above are met.

[0065] On the other hand, processor 200 can mean a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a dedicated processor on which the method according to the embodiment of the present invention is performed.

[0066] As described above, the processor 200 can execute at least one program command stored in memory 100.

[0067] The diagnostic device according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Below, a method for diagnosing a battery system performed by the process operation within the above-described diagnostic device will be explained.

[0068] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating a diagnostic method for a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0069] Referring to Figure 3, the diagnostic device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention can monitor the state of at least one component constituting the battery system (S1000).

[0070] More specifically, the diagnostic device 1000 can monitor whether or not an abnormal condition has occurred in the above configuration by analyzing at least one state data related to the battery cells or battery modules and at least one electrical component that constitute the battery system through the operation of the processor 200.

[0071] Subsequently, if an abnormal condition occurs in any one of the components, the diagnostic device 1000 can measure the duration of the abnormal condition (S3000). For example, if the diagnostic device 1000 receives abnormal condition data for any one of the components, it can determine the duration of the abnormal condition data as the time from the time of occurrence to the time of termination.

[0072] According to one embodiment, the duration can mean the time continuously measured from the time the abnormal condition data first occurred until the time it ends.

[0073] According to another embodiment, the duration can be defined as the time from the first occurrence of an abnormal state data to the last occurrence of an abnormal state data if the abnormal state data occurs more than a predetermined number of times.

[0074] However, the maintenance time according to the present invention can be defined based on abnormal condition data relating to the relevant component.

[0075] Subsequently, the diagnostic device 1000 can determine whether or not a component is faulty based on the measured maintenance time (S5000). The method for determining whether or not a component is faulty based on the maintenance time will be explained in more detail with reference to Figures 4 and 5 below.

[0076] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining whether or not a component is faulty, which is part of a diagnostic method for a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0077] Referring to Figure 4, the diagnostic device 1000 can determine whether or not a component is faulty by comparing the maintenance time with a previously set reference time.

[0078] More specifically, the diagnostic device 1000 can compare the maintenance time with the reference time, and if the maintenance time is longer than the reference time but the same (S5100), it can determine that the component has failed.

[0079] On the other hand, if the above maintenance time is shorter than the standard time, the diagnostic device 1000 can confirm whether or not the above maintenance time satisfies the early diagnosis conditions (S5300).

[0080] In one embodiment, if the above maintenance time satisfies the early diagnosis conditions, the diagnostic device 1000 can determine that the above component has failed.

[0081] In another embodiment, if the above maintenance time does not satisfy the early diagnosis conditions, the diagnostic device 1000 can terminate the diagnosis of whether or not the above component is faulty, return to step S1000, and continue the condition monitoring.

[0082] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the early diagnostic conditions for a battery system diagnostic method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0083] Referring to Figure 5, the diagnostic device 1000 can confirm whether the maintenance time satisfies the early diagnostic conditions if the maintenance time is shorter than the reference time, as described in step S5300 above.

[0084] Here, the early diagnosis criteria may include at least one of the first, second, and third criteria.

[0085] More specifically, the first condition can be defined as a state where the number of occurrences of an abnormal state is equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold. The second condition can be defined as a state where the maintenance time of the above-mentioned component exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored, and the third condition can be defined as a state where the maintenance time of the above-mentioned component is equal to or greater than a pre-set second threshold.

[0086] The diagnostic device 1000 can determine that a malfunction has occurred in the above-mentioned component if all of the first to third conditions are satisfied (S5310, S5330, S5350) (S5500).

[0087] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a diagnostic method for a battery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0088] Referring to Figure 6, the diagnostic device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention can monitor whether or not an abnormal condition has occurred in at least one component constituting the battery system (S100).

[0089] Subsequently, if an abnormal condition occurs in any one of the components, the diagnostic device 1000 can measure the duration of that abnormal condition (S300).

[0090] The above diagnostic device 1000 has the above maintenance time (T c ) can be compared with a previously set reference time (Ts) (S310).

[0091] According to one embodiment, when the above-mentioned maintenance time (T c ) is equal to or greater than the above-mentioned reference time, the above-mentioned diagnostic device can determine that the above-mentioned component has failed (S400).

[0092] According to another embodiment, when the above-mentioned maintenance time (T c ) is less than the above-mentioned reference time, the above-mentioned diagnostic device 1000 can confirm whether the above-mentioned maintenance time (T c ) satisfies the early diagnosis condition (S330).

[0093] More specifically, the above-mentioned diagnostic device 1000 can confirm whether the above-mentioned maintenance time (T c ) satisfies the minimum maintenance time (S331). Here, the minimum maintenance time can be set by the user based on the existing failure history data. For example, the minimum maintenance time can be defined as being in the range of 0.4 times or more and less than 0.6 times the above-mentioned reference time. According to an embodiment, the minimum maintenance time may be 0.5 times the above-mentioned reference time.

[0094] At this time, when the above-mentioned maintenance time (T c ) satisfies the minimum maintenance time, the above-mentioned diagnostic device 1000 can count the number of occurrences (N) of the abnormal state of the above-mentioned component (N = N + 1) (S332).

[0095] After that, the above-mentioned diagnostic device 1000 can confirm whether the counted number of occurrences (N) of the abnormal state is equal to or greater than the first threshold value (S333). Here, the first threshold value can be set by the user. For example, the first threshold value can be defined as 5 times.

[0096] When the number of occurrences (N) of the abnormal state is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, the above-mentioned diagnostic device 1000 can compare the above-mentioned maintenance time (T c ) with the longest maintenance time (T L ) of the existing abnormal state of the above-mentioned component (S334). Here, the longest maintenance time (T L ) is the maintenance time (T cThe longest duration of the abnormal state of the above component (T) can be defined as the duration of the abnormal state of the above component. The diagnostic device 1000 determines the duration of the abnormal state of the above component (T) c ) is the longest duration (T) that has occurred in the above component. L If the above maintenance time (T) is exceeded, c ) for the maximum duration (T L ) can be updated to (S335).

[0097] Subsequently, the diagnostic device 1000 determines the maximum maintenance time (T L It is possible to confirm whether ) is greater than or equal to the second threshold (S336). According to the embodiment, the second threshold can be defined as being in the range of 0.7 to 0.9 times the reference time. For example, the second threshold may be 0.8 times the reference time.

[0098] The above diagnostic device 1000 has the above maintenance time (T c If the value exceeds the second threshold mentioned above, it can be determined that the component has failed (S400).

[0099] On the other hand, if any one of the conditions in steps S331, S333, S334, and S336 is not satisfied, the diagnostic device according to the embodiment of the present invention can return to step S100 to monitor the condition of the above-mentioned component.

[0100] The diagnostic apparatus and method for a battery system according to embodiments of the present invention have been described above.

[0101] The diagnostic device and method for diagnosing the presence or absence of failures in components of a battery system according to embodiments of the present invention monitors whether an abnormal state occurs in the component based on abnormal state data relating to the component, measures the duration of the abnormal state if an abnormal state occurs in the component, compares the duration with a pre-set reference time, checks whether a pre-set early diagnosis condition is met based on the duration if the duration is less than the reference time, and determines whether the component is faulty based on whether the early diagnosis condition is met. This provides a high-performance, high-precision, high-efficiency, and high-reliability diagnostic device and method that enables early diagnosis and proactive measures for the presence or absence of failures even for temporary abnormal state data less than a pre-set reference time.

[0102] The operation of the methods according to the embodiments and experimental examples of the present invention can be embodied as a computer-readable program or code on a computer-readable recording medium. A computer-readable recording medium includes all types of recording devices that store data that can be read by a computer system. Furthermore, computer-readable recording media can be distributed across networked computer systems, allowing computer-readable programs or code to be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

[0103] Furthermore, computer-readable recording media can include hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory. Program instructions can include not only machine code, such as that produced by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

[0104] Some aspects of the present invention have been described in the context of apparatus, but they can also be described by corresponding methods, where a block or apparatus corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Similarly, aspects described in the context of a method can be described by corresponding blocks or items or features of corresponding apparatus. Some or all of the method steps can be carried out by (or using) hardware devices such as, for example, a microprocessor, a programmable computer, or an electronic circuit. In some embodiments, one or more of the most important method steps can be carried out by such devices.

[0105] While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the present invention, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be modified and altered in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0106] 1000: Battery system diagnostic device 100: Memory 200: Processor 300: Transceiver 400: Input Interface Device 500: Output Interface Device 600: Storage device 700: Bus

Claims

1. In a battery system diagnostic method for diagnosing whether or not there are malfunctions in the components that make up the battery system, A step of monitoring whether an abnormal condition has occurred in the said part based on abnormal condition data related to the said part; If an abnormal condition occurs in the aforementioned component, the step is to measure the duration of the abnormal condition; A step of comparing the maintenance time with a previously set reference time; and If the maintenance time is less than the reference time, the step of checking whether the previously set early diagnostic conditions based on the maintenance time are satisfied, and determining whether the component is faulty based on whether the early diagnostic conditions are satisfied; The step of determining whether the aforementioned component is faulty is: The step includes checking whether an early diagnostic condition is satisfied, which is defined to include at least one of the following: a first condition in which the number of occurrences of an abnormal state is greater than or equal to a first predefined threshold; a second condition in which the maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored; and a third condition in which the maintenance time is greater than or equal to a second threshold already set; The step of determining whether the aforementioned component is faulty is: The steps include: if the aforementioned maintenance time exceeds the longest previously stored maintenance time, updating the longest maintenance time to the aforementioned maintenance time; Methods for diagnosing battery systems.

2. A method for diagnosing whether or not there is a malfunction in the components that make up the battery system, A step of monitoring whether an abnormal condition has occurred in the said part based on abnormal condition data related to the said part; If an abnormal condition occurs in the aforementioned component, the step is to measure the duration of the abnormal condition; A step of comparing the maintenance time with a previously set reference time; and If the maintenance time is less than the reference time, the step of checking whether the previously set early diagnostic conditions based on the maintenance time are satisfied, and determining whether the component is faulty based on whether the early diagnostic conditions are satisfied; The step of determining whether the aforementioned component is faulty is: The step includes checking whether an early diagnostic condition is satisfied, which is defined to include at least one of the following: a first condition in which the number of occurrences of an abnormal state is greater than or equal to a first predefined threshold; a second condition in which the maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored; and a third condition in which the maintenance time is greater than or equal to a second threshold already set; The step of determining whether the aforementioned component is faulty is: A method for diagnosing a battery system, comprising the step of early diagnosing the component and determining that the component is faulty, provided that the first to third conditions described above are met, even if the maintenance time is less than the reference time.

3. The step of determining whether the aforementioned component is faulty is: A method for diagnosing a battery system according to claim 1 or 2, comprising the step of counting the occurrence of the abnormal state as the number of occurrences if the duration is equal to or greater than a predefined minimum duration.

4. The minimum duration is, The method for diagnosing a battery system according to claim 3, defined as a range of 0.4 to 0.6 times the aforementioned reference time.

5. The second threshold is, A method for diagnosing a battery system according to claim 1 or 2, defined as a range of 0.7 to 0.9 times the reference time.

6. The diagnostic method for the aforementioned battery system is: A method for diagnosing a battery system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of determining that the component is faulty if the maintenance time is equal to or greater than the reference time.

7. In a battery system diagnostic device that diagnoses whether or not there are malfunctions in the components that make up the battery system, The diagnostic device is memory; and Includes a processor that executes at least one instruction stored in the memory, The aforementioned at least one instruction, An instruction to monitor whether an abnormal condition has occurred in the said part based on abnormal condition data relating to the said part, If an abnormal condition occurs in the aforementioned component, an instruction is given to measure the duration of the abnormal condition. An instruction to compare the aforementioned maintenance time with a previously set reference time, and The command includes, if the maintenance time is less than the reference time, checking whether the previously set early diagnostic conditions are met based on the maintenance time, and determining whether the component is faulty based on whether the early diagnostic conditions are met. The aforementioned at least one instruction, The system includes an instruction to check whether an early diagnostic condition is satisfied, which is defined to include at least one of the following: a first condition in which the number of occurrences of an abnormal state is equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold; a second condition in which the maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored; and a third condition in which the maintenance time is equal to or greater than a pre-set second threshold. The aforementioned at least one instruction, A diagnostic device for a battery system, which includes an instruction to update the longest maintenance time to the aforementioned maintenance time if the aforementioned maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored.

8. A diagnostic device for a battery system that diagnoses whether or not there is a malfunction in the components that make up the battery system, The diagnostic device is memory; and Includes a processor that executes at least one instruction stored in the memory, The aforementioned at least one instruction, An instruction to monitor whether an abnormal condition has occurred in the said part based on abnormal condition data relating to the said part, If an abnormal condition occurs in the aforementioned component, an instruction is given to measure the duration of the abnormal condition. An instruction to compare the aforementioned maintenance time with a previously set reference time, and The command includes, if the maintenance time is less than the reference time, checking whether the previously set early diagnostic conditions are met based on the maintenance time, and determining whether the component is faulty based on whether the early diagnostic conditions are met. The aforementioned at least one instruction, The system includes an instruction to check whether an early diagnostic condition is satisfied, which is defined to include at least one of the following: a first condition in which the number of occurrences of an abnormal state is equal to or greater than a predefined first threshold; a second condition in which the maintenance time exceeds the longest maintenance time already stored; and a third condition in which the maintenance time is equal to or greater than a pre-set second threshold. The aforementioned at least one instruction, A diagnostic device for a battery system, which includes a command to pre-diagnose the component and determine that the component is faulty, even if the maintenance time is less than the reference time, provided that the first to third conditions described above are met.

9. The aforementioned at least one instruction, A diagnostic device for a battery system according to claim 7 or 8, which includes an instruction to count the occurrence of the abnormal state as the number of occurrences if the maintenance time is equal to or greater than a predefined minimum maintenance time.

10. The minimum duration is, A diagnostic device for a battery system according to claim 9, defined as being in the range of 0.4 to 0.6 times the aforementioned reference time.

11. The second threshold is, A diagnostic device for a battery system according to claim 7 or 8, defined as being in the range of 0.7 to 0.9 times the aforementioned reference time.

12. The aforementioned at least one instruction, A diagnostic device for a battery system according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising an instruction to determine that the component is faulty if the maintenance time is equal to or greater than the reference time.

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