Battery condition evaluation device, battery condition evaluation method, and program

Abstract

A battery condition evaluation device that evaluates a battery condition comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding electrical characteristics of the battery and second information regarding external causes of deterioration of the battery; and an evaluation unit that outputs a comprehensive evaluation result regarding the condition of the battery on the basis of a first evaluation result based on the first information acquired by the acquisition unit and a second evaluation result based on the second information.

Description

Battery state evaluation device, battery state evaluation method, and program

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery state evaluation device, a battery state evaluation method, and a program. This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-154471, filed on September 28, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] In recent years, research and development has been conducted on battery sharing services that contribute to energy efficiency in order to ensure that more people have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and advanced energy. Battery sharing services are services that allow removable batteries (secondary batteries) used in electric vehicles and the like to be rented, collected, or exchanged at dedicated battery stations. Regarding such secondary batteries, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for estimating maximum capacity based on the deviation between actual charging conditions and standard charging conditions in order to evaluate battery performance with higher accuracy.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-066216

[0004] However, performance evaluations using conventional techniques have not always been able to accurately evaluate the remaining value of a battery.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery state evaluation device, a battery state evaluation method, and a program that can more accurately evaluate the residual value of a battery, which will ultimately contribute to energy efficiency.

[0006] The battery state evaluation device, battery state evaluation method, and program according to the present invention employ the following configuration: (1): A battery state evaluation device according to one aspect of the present invention is a battery state evaluation device that evaluates the state of a battery, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires first information on electrical characteristics of the battery and second information on external factors causing deterioration of the battery, and an evaluation unit that outputs a comprehensive evaluation result on the state of the battery based on a first evaluation result based on the first information acquired by the acquisition unit and a second evaluation result based on the second information.

[0007] (2): In the above aspect (1), the evaluation unit determines the evaluation result of the evaluation item with the lowest evaluation among the evaluation results for the multiple evaluation items included in the first evaluation result and the second evaluation result as the overall evaluation result for the battery.

[0008] (3): In the above aspect (1) or (2), the acquisition unit acquires image data of the exterior of the battery as the second information, and the evaluation unit outputs the overall evaluation result based on the second evaluation result registered based on the image data and the first evaluation result evaluated based on the electrical characteristics of the battery.

[0009] (4): In any of the above aspects (1) to (3), the evaluation unit acquires a second evaluation result regarding the external factors based on the result of comparing a pre-stored reference image with the image data acquired by the acquisition unit, and outputs the overall evaluation result based on the second evaluation result and the first evaluation result evaluated based on the electrical characteristics of the battery.

[0010] (5): In any of the above aspects (1) to (4), a notification unit is further provided that, if the image data as the second information has not been acquired, notifies the user of the battery to request acquisition of the image data.

[0011] (6) In any of the above aspects (1) to (5), the evaluation unit corrects the evaluation result in accordance with the supply status of the battery in the market.

[0012] (7): In one aspect of the present invention, a battery condition evaluation method includes a battery condition evaluation device that evaluates the condition of a battery, and the battery condition evaluation device acquires first information regarding the electrical characteristics of the battery and second information regarding external factors that cause deterioration of the battery, and outputs a comprehensive evaluation result regarding the condition of the battery based on the acquired first information and second information.

[0013] (8): A program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a battery state evaluation device that evaluates the state of a battery to acquire first information regarding the electrical characteristics of the battery and second information regarding external factors that cause deterioration of the battery, and outputs a comprehensive evaluation result regarding the state of the battery based on the acquired first information and second information.

[0014] According to aspects (1) to (8), it is possible to provide a battery state evaluation device, a battery state evaluation method, and a program that can more accurately evaluate the residual value of a battery.

[0015] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a battery sharing system in this embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a detachable battery; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electric motorcycle; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of a management device; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a first evaluation item; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a second evaluation item; and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in which an evaluation device evaluates the state of a target battery.

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of a battery state evaluation device, a battery state evaluation method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0017] [1. Overview of the Battery Sharing System] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a battery sharing system to which the battery state evaluation device of this embodiment is applied. The battery sharing system 1 is a system that lends batteries to users on the premise that the batteries will be shared by multiple users. Hereinafter, such a battery lending service will be referred to as a "battery sharing service." FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration in which the battery sharing system 1 provides a battery sharing service to a user U. The battery sharing system 1 includes, for example, a battery exchange station 300, an evaluation device 400, a terminal device 500 of the user U (hereinafter referred to as a "user terminal device"), and a terminal device 600 of an evaluator V (hereinafter referred to as an "evaluator terminal device"). The battery exchange station 300, the evaluation device 400, the user terminal device 500, and the evaluator terminal device 600 can communicate with each other via a communication network NW. FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration in which the battery sharing system 1 outputs an evaluation result of a battery 100 to the user terminal device 500 of the user U.

[0018] The battery 100 is a battery that is loaned to a user U by the battery exchange station 300. The user U uses the battery 100 loaned from the battery exchange station 300 to drive, for example, an electric motorcycle 200. The electric motorcycle 200 is an example of an electric device (hereinafter referred to as "purpose device") that the user U drives as the intended use of the battery 100. The battery exchange station 300 loans a charged battery 100 to the user U and collects used batteries 100 from the user U. The battery exchange station 300 can also charge the collected battery 100 to prepare it for the next loan. The battery exchange station 300 can also loan (i.e., exchange) a new charged battery 100 to the user U in exchange for a returned battery 100.

[0019] In such a battery sharing system 1, the evaluation device 400 evaluates the state of the battery 100. More specifically, the evaluation device 400 acquires characteristic information (first information) related to the electrical characteristics of the battery 100 and appearance information (second information) related to external factors of deterioration of the battery 100, and outputs a comprehensive evaluation result on the state of the battery 100 based on a first evaluation result based on the acquired characteristic information and a second evaluation result based on the appearance information. The evaluation device 400 is an example of a "battery state evaluation device." Here, an evaluator V is a person who evaluates the battery 100 based on the appearance information and provides the evaluation result (second evaluation result) to the evaluation device 400 using an evaluator terminal device 600.

[0020] [2. Overview of Components of the Battery Sharing System] The communication network NW may be a wired communication transmission path, a wireless communication transmission path, or a combination of a wireless communication transmission path and a wired communication transmission path. The communication network NW may include a wireless packet communication network, the Internet, a P2P network, a dedicated line, a VPN (Virtual Private Network), a power line communication line, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication line, a road-to-vehicle communication line, etc. The communication network NW may include (i) a mobile communication network such as a mobile phone network, or (ii) a wireless communication network such as a wireless MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) (e.g., WiMAX (registered trademark)), a wireless LAN (e.g., Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), or NFC (Near Field Communication).

[0021] The battery 100 is a battery device that is detachably mounted on an electrical device. The electrical device may be any electrical device that can be fitted with the battery 100 and can receive power from the fitted battery 100. Hereinafter, such electrical devices may be referred to as "compatible devices" to mean electrical devices that are compatible with the battery 100.

[0022] The evaluation device 400 is a device that obtains evaluation results for each of a plurality of evaluation items based on characteristic information and appearance information obtained about the battery 100 to be evaluated (hereinafter referred to as the "target battery 100"), and obtains and outputs an overall evaluation result for the target battery 100 based on the obtained plurality of evaluation results.

[0023] Here, the characteristic information is information indicating the electrical characteristics of the target battery 100, and is acquired based on various status information (hereinafter referred to as "battery information") recorded in the target battery 100. For example, the battery information includes measurement data such as the voltage and current applied to the battery 100, the temperature, and the SOC. The battery information is recorded in a memory unit inside the battery 100 by the battery 100 itself or by a compatible device connected to the battery 100. In this embodiment, the battery exchange station 300 has a circuit or the like for reading and writing battery information from the battery 100, and reads out the battery information from the battery 100 accommodated in the station and provides it to the evaluation device 400.

[0024] The evaluation device 400 acquires characteristic information indicating the electrical characteristics of the target battery 100 based on the battery information supplied from the battery exchange station 300, and based on the acquired characteristic information, acquires an evaluation result (hereinafter referred to as the "first evaluation result") for each evaluation item related to the electrical characteristics of the target battery 100. Note that the characteristic information can be acquired by performing various statistical processing and analytical processing on the target battery 100. Furthermore, the evaluation device 400 can acquire the evaluation result for each evaluation item by comparing the acquired characteristic information with evaluation criteria previously determined for each evaluation item.

[0025] On the other hand, the appearance information is information relating to the appearance of the target battery 100. Typically, the appearance information is image data obtained by capturing an image of the appearance of the target battery 100. In the example of Fig. 1 , the appearance information is acquired as image data by an imaging device such as a camera C and is supplied to the evaluation device 400. The supply of the appearance information may be achieved by communication between the camera C and the evaluation device 400, or may be achieved by connecting a storage medium on which image data is recorded by the camera C to the evaluation device 400.

[0026] The evaluation device 400 acquires a second evaluation result as an evaluation result based on the appearance information of the target battery 100. The second evaluation result is registered in the evaluation device 400, for example, as a result of an evaluator V visually checking the image data acquired as the appearance information. Note that the appearance information may be information acquired or recognized by the evaluator V by visually checking the actual target battery 100 in addition to or instead of the image data acquired by the camera C. That is, the second evaluation result may be registered in the evaluation device 400, for example, as a result of an evaluator V visually checking the actual target battery 100.

[0027] The evaluation device 400 comprehensively evaluates the first evaluation result and the second evaluation result thus obtained to determine a final evaluation result for the target battery 100 and outputs the result to the user terminal device 500 of the user U. Note that the evaluator V and the user U may be different persons or may be the same person. Furthermore, the external image of the target battery 100 may be captured by the evaluator V, the user U, or another person.

[0028] [3. Configuration of Removable Battery] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating 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 memory unit 132. The power storage unit 120 is, for example, a battery pack including a plurality of unit cells connected in series. The unit cells constituting the power storage unit 120 are secondary batteries capable of repeated charging and discharging, such as lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), nickel-metal hydride batteries, and all-solid-state batteries. Examples of the secondary batteries constituting the power storage unit 120 include lead-acid batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and other types of batteries, as well as capacitors such as electric double-layer capacitors and combination batteries that combine secondary batteries and capacitors. The configuration of the secondary batteries constituting the power storage unit 120 is not particularly limited.

[0029] The BMU 130 controls the charging and discharging of the power storage unit 120, performs cell balancing, detects abnormalities in the power storage unit 120, derives the cell temperature of the power storage unit 120, derives the charge / discharge current of the power storage unit 120, and estimates the SOC of the power storage unit 120. The BMU 130 stores the measurement results of the measurement sensor 131 and abnormalities or failures of the power storage unit 120 identified based on the measurement results in the memory unit 132 as battery state information. The measurement sensor 131 is a voltage sensor, a current sensor, a temperature sensor, etc. for measuring the state of charge of the power storage unit 120. The measurement sensor 131 outputs the measured voltage, current, temperature, etc. to the BMU 130. Note that a battery 100 that is not electrically operating may be defined as a battery 100 for which a predetermined time or more has elapsed since the end of its previous operation. Any battery 100 other than those defined as such may be defined as an electrically operating battery 100. The electrically operating state may be defined as, for example, a state in which the battery 100 is being charged or a state in which the battery 100 is being discharged. The BUM 130 may record, as the measurement results of the measurement sensor 131, information associating the measurement values ​​with the measurement times in the storage unit 132, or information associating the measurement values ​​with the measurement frequencies (so-called histogram) in the storage unit 132.

[0030] The storage unit 132 includes a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory. The storage unit 132 stores the battery status information described above. The storage unit 132 may also store identification information (battery ID) assigned to the battery 100. When the battery 100 is attached to a compatible device, the connection unit 140 is electrically connected to a battery connection unit of the compatible device. In this state, the battery 100 supplies the power stored in the power storage unit 120 to the compatible device.

[0031] [4. Example of Compatible Device] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electric motorcycle 200 as an example of a compatible device. The electric motorcycle 200 shown in Figure 3 is shown as an example of a compatible device, and compatible devices are not limited to electric motorcycles. The compatible device may be any electrical device that is compatible with the battery 100. The electric motorcycle 200 runs using the driving force of an electric motor driven by power supplied from the battery 100. However, the electric motorcycle 200 may also be a hybrid electric vehicle that runs using the driving force of a combination of 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 driving force output device 230, vehicle sensors 18, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 20, and a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 22.

[0032] The battery connector 210 is electrically connected to the battery 100 when the battery 100 is attached to the electric motorcycle 200. The battery connector 210 includes a connection terminal for a power line that receives power from the battery 100, a connection terminal for a communication line that performs data communication between the battery 100 and the vehicle control unit 220, and the like.

[0033] The vehicle control unit 220 acquires measurement results from the vehicle sensors 18, acquires various information about the power storage unit 120 (for example, SOC and DOD) from a BMU (Battery Management Unit) 110 included in the battery 100, and acquires the position of the electric motorcycle 200 from the GNSS receiver 22. The vehicle control unit 220 controls the driving force output device 230 based on the acquired data. 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.

[0034] The vehicle control unit 220 also has a function of acquiring information (hereinafter referred to as "restriction information") relating to usage restrictions on the battery 100 mounted on the electric motorcycle 200 from the battery 100, and restricting the use of the battery 100 based on the restriction information. The usage restrictions on the battery 100 will be described later.

[0035] 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 by, for example, controlling the inverter. The vehicle sensors 18 include various sensors mounted on the electric motorcycle 200, such as a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a rotational speed sensor, an odometer, and others. The vehicle sensors 18 output the measurement results to the vehicle control unit 220.

[0036] The HMI 20 outputs various information to the user of the electric motorcycle 200 and accepts input operations from the user. The HMI 20 includes various display devices (which may be a touch panel) such as a HUD (Head Up Display) and a meter display unit, a speaker, etc. The GNSS receiver 22 determines the position of the electric motorcycle 200 based on radio waves received from GNSS satellites (such as GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites), for example.

[0037] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the evaluation device 400. The evaluation device 400 includes, for example, a storage unit 410, a communication unit 420, a display unit 440, an information acquisition unit 450, an evaluation unit 460, and a notification unit 470. These components are realized by, for example, 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 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 a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0038] 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 evaluation device 400. The storage unit 410 stores, for example, the above-mentioned characteristic information 411, appearance information 412, first evaluation information 413, second evaluation information 414, and evaluation criterion information 415.

[0039] The communication unit 420 is a communication interface that connects the evaluation device 400 to the communication network NW. The communication unit 420 can communicate with the battery exchange station 300, the user terminal device 500, and the evaluator terminal device 600 via the communication network NW.

[0040] The display unit 440 is configured using a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, etc. The display unit 440 may display any information.

[0041] The information acquisition unit 450 acquires battery information of the target battery 100 from the battery exchange station 300 via the communication unit 420, generates characteristic information 411 based on the acquired battery information, and stores it in the storage unit 410. As described above, the information acquisition unit 450 generates the characteristic information 411 by performing various statistical and analytical processes on the battery information. The characteristic information 411 may be any information that enables evaluation of the target battery 100 in evaluation items based on electrical characteristics (hereinafter referred to as "first evaluation items").

[0042] The evaluation unit 460 evaluates the first evaluation item based on the characteristic information 411 and stores the evaluation result in the storage unit 410 as first evaluation information 413. More specifically, the evaluation unit 460 evaluates the first evaluation item by comparing the characteristic information 411 with evaluation criterion information 415 that indicates the evaluation criterion for the first evaluation item. Furthermore, the evaluation unit 460 performs a comprehensive evaluation of the first evaluation information 413 and the second evaluation information 414, determines a final evaluation result for the target battery 100, and transmits the final evaluation result to the user terminal device 500.

[0043] Note that transmitting the final evaluation result to the user terminal device 500 is an example of outputting the final evaluation result. The output mode of the final evaluation result may be transmission to the user terminal device 500, display on the display unit 440, or recording in the storage unit 410. In addition to these, the output mode of the final evaluation result may be output of a sound indicating the evaluation result, or may be other forms of information output.

[0044] The notification unit 470 transmits a notification for the user U to the user terminal device 500. For example, the notification unit 470 transmits a notification requesting the user U to provide appearance information about the target battery 100. For example, this notification may be sent when the user U supplies a used battery 100 to the battery sharing system 1 as an evaluation target and the evaluation device 400 detects that appearance information about the battery 100 has not been acquired. In this case, if the user U has a camera function, the user U may capture an image of the appearance of the target battery 100 using the user terminal device 500 and transmit the image data to the evaluation device 400. Note that when requesting the user U to capture an image of the target battery 100, the notification unit 470 may cause the user terminal device 500 to display information to assist the user in capturing an image so that the image data necessary for the condition evaluation can be acquired. For example, a guide display may be displayed to prompt the user to capture an image with a specific portion of the target battery 100 displayed in a specific position on the screen.

[0045] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the first evaluation items. FIG. 5 illustrates examples of the first evaluation items, including (1) whether charging and discharging is possible, (2) damage history, (3) whether charging and discharging history exists, (4) degradation curve distribution, and (5) SOH at time of collection. For each evaluation item, a correspondence relationship between an evaluation criterion value and an evaluation value is defined for the electrical characteristics of the battery 100 that can be recognized based on the characteristic information. For example, the example in FIG. 5 shows the evaluation values ​​for each evaluation item on a five-point scale, from A to E, in descending order of the highest evaluation. For example, the evaluation device 400 stores evaluation criterion information 415 indicating such evaluation criteria in the storage unit 410 in advance, and can obtain an evaluation result (first evaluation result) for the first evaluation item by comparing the characteristic information 411 with the evaluation criterion information 415.

[0046] (1) Possibility of Charging / Discharging In the example of Fig. 5, the evaluation item of "possibility of charging / discharging" evaluates the deterioration state of the target battery 100 based on whether the battery 100 can be charged / discharged. Fig. 5 shows an example of a two-stage evaluation in which the evaluation value for charge / dischargeability is the highest evaluation of "A" and the evaluation value for charge / dischargeability is the lowest evaluation of "E."

[0047] (2) Damage History In the example of FIG. 5 , the evaluation item "damage history" evaluates the degradation state of the target battery 100 based on whether or not the battery 100 has a damage history. For example, the presence or absence of a damage history can be determined by whether or not the battery information includes an error code indicating the occurrence of damage. This allows the evaluation unit 460 to recognize, for example, whether or not the battery 100 has been subjected to an impact, whether or not there is a temperature abnormality, whether or not there is a current abnormality or a voltage abnormality. FIG. 5 shows an example of a two-stage evaluation in which the evaluation value when there is "no damage history" is the highest evaluation of "A" and the evaluation value when there is "presence of damage history" is the lowest evaluation of "E."

[0048] (3) Charge / Discharge History, Deterioration Curve Distribution, and SOC at Time of Receipt In the example of Fig. 5, "charge / discharge history" is an evaluation item based on whether or not the battery 100 has a charge / discharge history. For example, the presence or absence of a charge / discharge history can be determined by referring to time-series data of current and voltage values ​​included in the battery information. In the example of Fig. 5, the deterioration state of the target battery 100 is evaluated based on whether or not there is a charge / discharge history in which the amount of SOC change during charge / discharge is equal to or greater than X1% of the maximum value.

[0049] In the example of FIG. 5 , the “deterioration curve distribution” is an evaluation item based on the distribution of the degree of deterioration of the target battery 100. Here, the deterioration curve is a curve showing the progression of the degree of deterioration of the target battery 100 and can be recognized from time-series data of various measurement values ​​included in the battery information. The evaluation unit 460 recognizes the deterioration curve of the target battery 100 and determines the overall distribution of batteries 100 with a similar degree of deterioration. For example, if distribution information indicating a correspondence between the deterioration curve of the battery 100 and the overall distribution status of the battery 100 is stored in the storage unit 415 in advance as part of the reference information 415, the evaluation unit 460 can recognize the distribution status of the target battery 100 by comparing the deterioration curve of the target battery 100 with the distribution information. In the example of FIG. 5 , the deterioration state of the target battery 100 is evaluated based on whether the deterioration curve of the target battery 100 falls into one of the “top Y1%,” “middle Y2%,” or “bottom Y3%” distributions. The distribution information may be obtained for a battery 100 that has been taken over by the battery sharing system 1 and is the subject of evaluation, or may be obtained for a battery 100 of the same type that has been released onto the market.

[0050] 5, "SOH at time of collection" is an evaluation item based on the value of the SOH (States of Health) when the target battery 100 is collected by the battery sharing system 1. In the example of Fig. 5, the degree of deterioration is evaluated based on whether the SOH value falls into one of the following categories: "Z1% or more," "Z2% or more but less than Z1%," "Z3% or more but less than Z2%," "Z4% or more but less than Z3%," or "less than Z4%."

[0051] 5 shows an example of determining the evaluation value based on a combination of these three evaluation items. For example, the evaluation value is set to the highest evaluation of "A" when the "charge / discharge history" is X1% or more, the "deterioration curve distribution" is in the top Y1%, and the "SOH at time of collection" is Z1% or more. In this way, the evaluation of the degradation state of the battery 100 may be determined for each individual evaluation item, or may be determined for a combination of multiple evaluation items.

[0052] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the second evaluation item. As described above, the second evaluation item is an evaluation item for the degree of deterioration based on appearance information of the battery 100. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the evaluation value is assigned the highest rating of "A" when it is determined that there is no damage to at least the housing and the connection portion 140 of the target battery 100, the medium rating of "C" when it is determined that there is no damage to the target battery 100 that affects at least its functionality, and the lowest rating of "E" when it is determined that there is damage to the target battery 100 that affects its functionality.

[0053] In the evaluation device 400, the evaluation unit 460 comprehensively evaluates the evaluation results of multiple evaluation items based on the appearance information and characteristic information as exemplified in Figures 5 and 6 regarding the deterioration state of the target battery 100, and determines and outputs the final evaluation result.

[0054] 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow in which the evaluation device 400 evaluates the state of the target battery 100. First, in the evaluation device 400, the information acquisition unit 450 acquires battery information of the target battery 100 from the battery exchange station 300, generates characteristic information 411 based on the acquired battery information, and stores it in the storage unit 410 (step S101). Here, it is assumed that the target battery 100 is specified in the evaluation device 400 by, for example, a user U via the user terminal device 500.

[0055] Next, the information acquisition unit 450 acquires the appearance information 412 of the target battery 100 and stores it in the storage unit 410 (step S102). For example, the information acquisition unit 450 acquires image data of the appearance of the target battery 100 from the camera C, and manages the image data as the appearance information 412 in association with the identification information of the target battery 100.

[0056] Next, the evaluation unit 460 evaluates the target battery 100 for a first evaluation item based on electrical characteristics based on the characteristic information 411 acquired in step S101, and stores the evaluation result in the memory unit 410 as first evaluation information 413 (step S103).

[0057] For example, as described in FIG. 5, the evaluation unit 460 determines whether the state of the target battery 100 corresponds to one of the candidate values ​​assumed for each evaluation item based on the electrical characteristics, and determines the evaluation value according to the corresponding candidate value or a combination thereof.

[0058] Meanwhile, the appearance information 412 acquired in step S102 is referenced by the evaluator V via the evaluator terminal device 600. The evaluator V refers to the image data of the target battery 100 managed as the appearance information 412, evaluates the second evaluation item based on the appearance information of the target battery 100, and registers the evaluation result in the evaluation device 400 (step S104). Meanwhile, in the evaluation device 400, for example, the information acquisition unit 450 acquires the evaluation result for the second evaluation item from the evaluator terminal device 600 and stores it in the storage unit 410 as second evaluation information 414.

[0059] For example, as described in Figure 6, evaluator V determines which of the possible candidate values ​​the state of the target battery 100 corresponds to for an evaluation item based on deterioration factors that can be recognized from the appearance of the battery 100, and determines an evaluation value based on the candidate value that corresponds.

[0060] Next, the evaluation unit 460 determines a comprehensive evaluation result for the state of the target battery 100 based on the first evaluation information 413 acquired in step S103 and the second evaluation information 414 acquired in step S104 (step S105). The evaluation unit 460 transmits the comprehensive evaluation result determined for the state of the target battery 100 to the user terminal device 500 of the user U (step S106).

[0061] For example, the evaluation unit 460 determines the evaluation result of the evaluation item with the lowest evaluation among the evaluation results for the multiple evaluation items included in the first evaluation result and the second evaluation result as the overall evaluation result for the target battery 100. For example, in the example of Fig. 5, if (1) "Charge / Discharge Possibility" is evaluated as "A," (2) "Damage History" is evaluated as "E," and the combination of (3) "Charge / Discharge History," (4) "Deterioration Curve Distribution," and (5) "SOH at Time of Collection" is evaluated as "C," the evaluation unit 460 determines the lowest evaluation, "E," as the overall evaluation of the target battery 100.

[0062] The evaluation unit 460 may be configured to correct the evaluation result of the target battery 100 according to the supply status of the battery 100 in the market. For example, if the evaluation unit 460 determines that the battery 100 is in oversupply in the market, the evaluation unit 460 may correct the evaluation result to a stricter rating. In this case, for example, if the overall evaluation result before the correction was a "D" rating, the evaluation unit 460 may correct it to an "E" rating. The evaluation unit 460 may also make a similar correction to the first evaluation result or the second evaluation result before the overall evaluation. In this case, information indicating the supply status of the battery 100 in the market may be stored in the storage unit 410 in advance, or may be acquired and updated from an external device when the evaluation of the target battery 100 is performed or at any time.

[0063] According to the embodiment of the battery sharing system 1 configured in this manner, the evaluation device 400, in evaluating the battery 100, obtains a first evaluation result based on the electrical characteristics as well as a second evaluation result based on deterioration factors that can be recognized from the appearance of the battery 100, and outputs the result of a comprehensive evaluation of these as the final evaluation result for the target battery 100, thereby enabling a more accurate evaluation of the residual value of the battery 100.

[0064] <Modifications> In the above embodiment, the evaluator V uses the evaluator terminal device 600 to evaluate the second evaluation item and register the evaluation result in the evaluation device 400. However, the evaluation of the second evaluation item may be performed automatically by the evaluation device 400. For example, the evaluation unit 460 may be configured to compare a reference image stored in advance for the target battery 100 with image data acquired as the appearance information 412 and acquire the second evaluation result based on the comparison result. For example, in the example of FIG. 6 , image data of the battery 100 in each state (a state in which the case and connector are undamaged, a state in which there is no damage affecting functionality, and a state in which there is damage affecting functionality) having an appearance corresponding to each candidate value may be acquired as the reference image. Image data of the appearance of the target battery 100 may be compared with each reference image to calculate the similarity with each reference image, and the candidate value corresponding to the reference image with the highest similarity may be adopted. In addition, the evaluation unit 460 may be configured to learn the relationship between image data of the appearance of the battery 100 and each candidate value through machine learning, and to determine which candidate value the state of the target battery 100 corresponds to using a trained model such as a neural network obtained as a result of the learning.

[0065] In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the target battery 100 is a battery 100 used in a battery sharing service. This is because it is convenient to perform various evaluations of the degree of deterioration if the batteries 100 to be evaluated have a certain degree of commonality. For example, if there are many types of batteries 100 to be evaluated, the number of types of information required for the evaluation (e.g., reference images, evaluation reference information, etc.) also increases, making the process complicated. However, the battery 100 to be evaluated does not necessarily have to be of one type. If the type of the target battery 100 can be recognized and the information required for evaluation is acquired and managed for each type, multiple types of batteries 100 may be evaluated.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the case where the external appearance of the target battery 100 is captured by the camera C or the user terminal device 500 has been described, but the external appearance of the target battery 100 may also be captured at the battery exchange station 300. For this purpose, a camera may be provided in the battery exchange station 300. In this case, the battery exchange station 300 may be configured to capture an image of the external appearance of the returned battery 100 and transmit the image data to the evaluation device 400.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the case where the overall evaluation result for the target battery 100 is output to the user terminal device 500 of the user U has been described, but the output destination of the overall evaluation result may be the evaluator terminal device 600 of the evaluator V, the display unit of the battery exchange station 300, or the display unit of the evaluation device 400. Also, in the above embodiment, the user U and the evaluator V are described as different people, but the user U and the evaluator V may be the same person.

[0068] The evaluation device 400 may be configured to further include an incentive granting unit that, when the notification unit 470 requests the user U to image the target battery 100, grants a predetermined incentive to the user U who images the target battery 100 in response to the request and provides the image data. For example, the incentive granting unit may grant points that can be used in the battery sharing service to the user U as an incentive. Furthermore, for example, the incentive granting unit may grant a privilege of discounting the usage fee for the battery sharing service to the user U as an incentive.

[0069] The above-described embodiment can be expressed as follows: A battery state evaluation device for evaluating a state of a battery, comprising: one or more storage media for storing computer-readable instructions; and one or more processors connected to the one or more storage media, wherein the one or more processors execute the computer-readable instructions to acquire first information on electrical characteristics of the battery and second information on external causes of deterioration of the battery, and output a comprehensive evaluation result on the state of the battery based on a first evaluation result based on the first information acquired by the acquisition unit and a second evaluation result based on the second information.

[0070] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

[0071] 1... Battery sharing system, 100... Detachable battery, 120... Power storage unit, 130... BMU, 131... Measurement sensor, 132... Memory unit, 140... Connection unit, 200... Electric motorcycle, 18... Vehicle sensor, 20... HMI, 22... GNSS receiver, 210... Battery connection unit, 220... Vehicle control unit, 230... Driving force output device, 300... Battery exchange station, 400... Evaluation device, 410... Memory unit, 411... Characteristics information, 412... Appearance information, 413... First evaluation information, 414... Second evaluation information, 415... Evaluation criterion information, 420... Communication unit, 440... Display unit, 450... Information acquisition unit, 460... Evaluation unit, 470... Notification unit, 500... User terminal device, 600... Evaluator terminal device

Claims

1. A battery status evaluation device for evaluating the state of a battery, An acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding the electrical characteristics of the battery and second information regarding external factors causing the deterioration of the battery, An evaluation unit outputs an overall evaluation result for the state of the battery based on a first evaluation result based on the first information acquired by the acquisition unit and a second evaluation result based on the second information. A battery status evaluation device equipped with the following features.

2. The evaluation unit outputs the evaluation result of the evaluation item with the lowest evaluation among the evaluation results of multiple evaluation items included in the first evaluation result and the second evaluation result as the overall evaluation result for the battery. The battery state evaluation device according to claim 1.

3. The acquisition unit acquires image data of the battery's appearance as the second information. The evaluation unit outputs the overall evaluation result based on the second evaluation result evaluated based on the image data and the first evaluation result. The battery state evaluation device according to claim 1.

4. The evaluation unit obtains the second evaluation result based on the result of comparing a pre-stored reference image with the image data obtained by the acquisition unit, and outputs the overall evaluation result based on the second evaluation result and the first evaluation result. The battery status evaluation device according to claim 3.

5. If the image data, which is the second piece of information, has not been acquired, the system further includes a notification unit that notifies the user of the battery to request that the image data be acquired. The battery status evaluation device according to claim 3.

6. The evaluation unit corrects the overall evaluation result according to the market supply status of the battery. The battery state evaluation device according to claim 1.

7. A battery status evaluation method for evaluating the state of a battery, The steps include obtaining first information regarding the electrical characteristics of the battery and second information regarding external factors causing the degradation of the battery, A step of outputting an overall evaluation result for the battery status based on the acquired first and second information, A battery state evaluation method having the following characteristics.

8. A battery status evaluation device that evaluates the state of a battery, The system acquires first information regarding the electrical characteristics of the battery and second information regarding external factors that cause the battery to deteriorate. Based on the acquired first and second information, an overall evaluation result of the battery status is output. A program for that purpose.