Battery diagnostic equipment and methods

Abstract

The invention relates to a battery diagnostic device. The battery diagnostic device, according to a design of the invention, comprises: a characteristic curve acquisition unit for acquiring differential characteristic curves for the capacity and voltage of the battery; a characteristic curve correction unit for determining the target C ratio (current ratio) corresponding to the differential characteristic curve, and correcting the differential characteristic curve based on the overvoltage characteristic curve corresponding to the target C ratio, thereby generating a corrected characteristic curve; and a control unit for determining the target peak in the corrected characteristic curve, and diagnosing the state of the battery based on the behavior of the determined target peak.

Description

Battery diagnostic device and method

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0012258, filed January 26, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a battery diagnostic device and method, and more particularly, to a battery diagnostic device and method for diagnosing the state of a battery.

[0003] Recently, as the demand for portable electronic products such as laptops, video cameras, and mobile phones has rapidly increased, and the development of electric vehicles, energy storage batteries, robots, and satellites has been in full swing, research into high-performance batteries capable of repeated charging and discharging is actively being conducted.

[0004] Currently commercialized batteries include nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, and lithium batteries. Among these, lithium batteries are receiving attention for their advantages of being able to charge and discharge freely, having a very low self-discharge rate, and having a high energy density, as they have almost no memory effect compared to nickel-based batteries.

[0005] While extensive research is being conducted on these batteries to improve capacity and density, improving lifespan and safety is also crucial. To improve battery safety, technology is required to accurately diagnose the current battery condition.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, a battery diagnostic device and method are provided for diagnosing the current state of a battery from various aspects.

[0007] Various aspects of the present invention can be understood through the following description and will be further clarified by the embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, it will be readily apparent that various aspects of the present invention can be realized by the means and combinations thereof set forth in the claims.

[0008] A battery diagnosis device according to one aspect of the present invention may include a profile acquisition unit configured to acquire a differential profile for a capacity and voltage of a battery; a profile correction unit configured to determine a target C-rate corresponding to the differential profile and generate a correction profile by correcting the differential profile based on an overvoltage profile corresponding to the target C-rate (Current-rate); and a control unit configured to determine a target peak from the correction profile and diagnose a state of the battery based on a behavior of the determined target peak.

[0009] The above profile acquisition unit may be configured to acquire a first differential profile indicating a correspondence between the capacity of the battery and the differential voltage.

[0010] The above profile correction unit may be configured to correct the first differential profile based on the first overvoltage profile to generate a first correction profile.

[0011] The control unit may be configured to determine a minimum point with the largest corresponding capacity among the minimum points included in the first correction profile as the target peak, and to diagnose the state of the battery based on a change in the behavior of the determined target peak.

[0012] The control unit may be configured to diagnose that the diffusion resistance of the battery has increased when the capacity and differential voltage corresponding to the target peak decrease as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses.

[0013] The above profile acquisition unit may be configured to acquire a second differential profile indicating a correspondence between the voltage and differential capacity of the battery.

[0014] The above profile correction unit may be configured to correct the second differential profile based on the second overvoltage profile to generate a second correction profile.

[0015] The control unit may be configured to determine the remaining peaks, excluding the peak with the largest corresponding voltage among the peaks included in the second correction profile, as a plurality of target peaks, and to diagnose the state of the battery based on a change in the behavior of the determined plurality of target peaks.

[0016] The control unit may be configured to diagnose that the ohmic resistance of the battery has increased if, even as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses, the amount of change in voltage corresponding to each of the plurality of target peaks falls within a preset first threshold range and the amount of change in differential capacity corresponding to each of the plurality of target peaks falls within a preset second threshold range.

[0017] The above profile acquisition unit may be configured to further acquire a battery profile corresponding to the capacity and voltage of the battery.

[0018] The control unit may be configured to calculate a voltage drop according to the internal resistance of the battery from the battery profile, and to diagnose the state of the battery based on the correction profile when the calculated voltage drop increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses.

[0019] The above profile correction unit may be configured to generate the correction profile by calculating the difference between the differential profile and the overvoltage profile.

[0020] The above overvoltage profile can be configured to be pre-saved for each of a plurality of C-rates.

[0021] The above profile correction unit may be configured to select an overvoltage profile corresponding to the target C-rate from among a plurality of pre-stored overvoltage profiles.

[0022] The above overvoltage profile can be preset based on a reference differential profile of the reference battery for the reference C-rate and a target differential profile of the reference battery for the target C-rate.

[0023] The above overvoltage profile can be preset to represent the difference between the reference differential profile and the target differential profile.

[0024] A battery pack according to another aspect of the present invention may include a battery diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0025] A vehicle according to another aspect of the present invention may include a battery diagnostic device according to one aspect of the present invention.

[0026] A battery diagnosis method according to another aspect of the present invention may include a profile acquisition step of acquiring a differential profile for a capacity and voltage of a battery; a target determination step of determining a target C-rate corresponding to the differential profile; a correction profile generation step of generating a correction profile by correcting the differential profile based on an overvoltage profile corresponding to the target C-rate; a target peak determination step of determining a target peak in the correction profile; and a battery diagnosis step of diagnosing a state of the battery based on a behavior of the determined target peak.

[0027] The above profile acquisition step may further include a step of acquiring a battery profile indicating a correspondence between the capacity and voltage of the battery.

[0028] A battery diagnosis method according to another aspect of the present invention may further include a voltage drop calculation step for calculating a voltage drop according to the internal resistance of the battery from the battery profile after the profile acquisition step.

[0029] The above target determination step may be configured to be performed when the voltage drop increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present invention, a non-transitory readable storage medium may store a program for executing a battery diagnosis method, the method including: a profile acquisition step of acquiring a differential profile for a capacity and voltage of a battery; a target determination step of determining a target C-rate corresponding to the differential profile; a correction profile generation step of generating a correction profile by correcting the differential profile based on an overvoltage profile corresponding to the target C-rate; a target peak determination step of determining a target peak in the correction profile; and a battery diagnosis step of diagnosing a state of the battery based on a behavior of the determined target peak.

[0031] According to one aspect of the present invention, the current state of a battery can be diagnosed from various aspects.

[0032] In addition, according to one aspect of the present invention, since the state of the battery is diagnosed through the correction profile, the state of the battery can be diagnosed relatively quickly.

[0033] The effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

[0034] The following drawings attached to this specification serve to further understand the technical idea of ​​the present invention together with the detailed description of the invention described below, and therefore the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited to the matters described in such drawings.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery diagnostic device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a battery profile according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first differential profile according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second differential profile according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an overvoltage profile according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a drawing schematically illustrating a correction profile according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating a correction profile according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a drawing illustrating another example of a profile of a battery according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a plurality of first correction profiles according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a plurality of second correction profiles according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing of a battery pack according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] FIG. 12 is a schematic drawing of a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically illustrating a battery diagnosis method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] Terms or words used in this specification and claims should not be interpreted as limited to their usual or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted as meanings and concepts that conform to the technical spirit of the present invention, based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term to explain his or her own invention in the best possible manner.

[0049] Accordingly, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations illustrated in the drawings are merely embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that there may be various equivalents and modified examples that can replace them at the time of filing this application.

[0050] In addition, when describing the present invention, if it is determined that the description of a related known configuration or function may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0051] Terms that include ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., are used to distinguish one of the various components from the rest, and are not used to limit the components by such terms.

[0052] Throughout the specification, whenever a part is said to "include" a component, this does not mean that it excludes other components, but rather that it may include other components, unless otherwise stated.

[0053] Additionally, throughout the specification, when we say that a part is "connected" to another part, this includes not only cases where it is "directly connected" but also cases where it is "indirectly connected" with other elements in between.

[0054] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery diagnostic device (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 1, the battery diagnostic device (100) may include a profile acquisition unit (110), a profile correction unit (120), a control unit (130), and a storage unit (140).

[0056] A battery may refer to a physically separate, independent cell, having a negative terminal and a positive terminal. For example, a lithium-ion battery or a lithium polymer battery may be considered a battery. Furthermore, the battery may be cylindrical, prismatic, or pouch-shaped. Furthermore, a battery may refer to a battery bank, battery module, or battery pack, in which multiple cells are connected in series and / or parallel. For convenience of explanation, the term "battery" will be described herein as referring to a single, independent cell.

[0057] The profile acquisition unit (110) can be configured to acquire a differential profile for the capacity and voltage of the battery.

[0058] For example, a battery profile (BP) is a profile that represents the relationship between the voltage (V) and the capacity (Q) when the battery's State of Charge (SOC) is a preset start SOC, or a preset end SOC from 0%, or when it is charged to 100%. As another example, a battery profile (BP) may represent the relationship between the voltage (V) and the capacity (Q) when the battery's SOC is a preset start SOC, or a preset end SOC from 100%, or when it is discharged to 0%.

[0059] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a battery profile (BP) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The battery profile (BP) can be expressed as an XY graph in which the X-axis is set to capacity (Q) and the Y-axis is set to voltage (V). The voltage range of the battery is Vi to Vf, and the capacity range of the battery is Qi to Qf.

[0060] Furthermore, when the battery profile (BP) is differentiated with respect to capacity, a differential profile representing the correspondence between differential voltage (dV / dQ) and capacity (Q) can be generated. The differential voltage is the differential value of voltage with respect to capacity, and is the value obtained by differentiating voltage with respect to capacity. Hereinafter, this differential profile obtained by differentiating voltage with respect to capacity is referred to as the first differential profile (DP1).

[0061] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first differential profile (DP1) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The first differential profile (DP1) can be expressed as an XY graph in which the X-axis is set to capacity (Q) and the Y-axis is set to differential voltage (dV / dQ).

[0062] Furthermore, when the battery profile (BP) is differentiated with respect to voltage, a differential profile representing the correspondence between the differential capacity (dQ / dV) and the voltage (V) can be generated. Here, the differential capacity is the differential value of the capacity with respect to the voltage, and is the value obtained by differentiating the capacity with respect to the voltage. Hereinafter, this differential profile obtained by differentiating the capacity with respect to the voltage is referred to as the second differential profile (DP2).

[0063] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second differential profile (DP2) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The second differential profile (DP2) can be expressed as an XY graph in which the X-axis is set to voltage (V) and the Y-axis is set to differential capacitance (dQ / dV).

[0064] For example, there are no specific restrictions on the current rate (C-rate) during charging or discharging to generate a battery profile (BP). To obtain more accurate battery profiles (BP) and differential profiles, the battery can be charged or discharged at a low rate. For example, a battery profile (BP) can be generated during the process of charging or discharging the battery at a low rate, such as 0.05C.

[0065] For example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can directly receive the differential profile of the battery from the outside. For example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can acquire the differential profile by receiving the differential profile through a wired and / or wireless connection to the outside.

[0066] As another example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can directly receive the battery profile (BP) of the battery from an external source. Furthermore, the profile acquisition unit (110) can generate a differential profile based on the received battery profile (BP). For example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can be connected to the external source via wires and / or wirelessly to receive the battery profile (BP) and directly generate a differential profile from the received battery profile (BP), thereby acquiring the differential profile.

[0067] As another example, the profile acquisition unit (110) may receive battery information regarding the voltage and capacity of the battery. Furthermore, the profile acquisition unit (110) may generate a battery profile (BP) based on the received battery information, and may generate a differential profile based on the generated battery profile (BP). The profile acquisition unit (110) may acquire the differential profile by directly generating the differential profile based on the received battery information.

[0068] The profile acquisition unit (110) may be connected to the profile correction unit (120) so as to be communicable. For example, the profile acquisition unit (110) may be connected to the profile correction unit (120) via wire and / or wirelessly. The profile acquisition unit (110) may transmit the acquired differential profile to the profile correction unit (120).

[0069] The profile correction unit (120) can be configured to determine a target C-rate corresponding to the differential profile.

[0070] Additionally, the profile correction unit (120) can obtain information on the target C-rate corresponding to the differential profile from the profile acquisition unit (110).

[0071] For example, when the battery is charged at 0.33 C, the target C-rate corresponding to the differential profile may be 0.33 C. The profile correction unit (120) may receive information about the differential profile and 0.33 C from the profile acquisition unit (110). Then, the profile correction unit (120) may determine 0.33 C corresponding to the differential profile as the target C-rate.

[0072] The profile correction unit (120) can be configured to generate a correction profile (CP) by correcting a differential profile based on an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to a target C-rate.

[0073] The overvoltage profile (OP) may be preset to represent an overvoltage portion included in the differential profile. For example, the overvoltage profile (OP) may be preset based on a reference differential profile of a reference battery for a reference C-rate and a target differential profile of the reference battery for a target C-rate. The target C-rate may be set to be greater than the reference C-rate. In one embodiment, the overvoltage profile (OP) may be preset to represent a difference between the reference differential profile and the target differential profile.

[0074] For example, when the reference C-rate is 0.05C and the target C-rate is 0.33C, when the reference battery is charged (or discharged) at 0.05C, a reference battery profile (BP) for the reference C-rate can be acquired, and a reference differential profile can be acquired based on the reference battery profile (BP). Then, when the reference battery is charged (or discharged) at 0.33C, a target battery profile (BP) for the target C-rate can be acquired, and a target differential profile can be acquired based on the target battery profile (BP). Then, an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to a C-rate of 0.33C can be generated based on the difference between the reference differential profile and the target differential profile. When the battery is charged (or discharged) at a target C-rate greater than the reference C-rate, an overvoltage may be included in the measured voltage of the battery. Accordingly, the profile correction unit (120) can generate an overvoltage profile (OP) by removing the reference differential profile based on the reference C-rate from the target differential profile based on the target C-rate.

[0075] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overvoltage profile (OP) according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 5 illustrates an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to a first differential profile (DP1).

[0076] The overvoltage profile (OP) according to the embodiment of FIG. 5 can be expressed as an XY graph in which the X-axis is set to capacity and the Y-axis is set to differential voltage. When the differential profile acquired by the profile acquisition unit (110) is the first differential profile (DP1), the overvoltage profile (OP) can represent a correspondence between the capacity and differential voltage.

[0077] The overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to the second differential profile (DP2) can be expressed as an XY graph in which the X-axis is set to voltage and the Y-axis is set to differential capacity. When the differential profile acquired by the profile acquisition unit (110) is the second differential profile (DP2), the overvoltage profile (OP) can represent a correspondence between voltage and differential capacity.

[0078] In addition, the profile correction unit (120) can be configured to select an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to the target C-rate from among a plurality of pre-stored overvoltage profiles (OP).

[0079] Overvoltage profiles (OPs) can be configured to be pre-stored for each of multiple C-rates.

[0080] There may be multiple overvoltage profiles (OPs), and the C-rates corresponding to each of the multiple overvoltage profiles (OPs) may be different from each other. For example, based on a unit C-rate, an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to each C-rate may be stored in advance.

[0081] In addition, an overvoltage profile (OP) for a C-rate that has not been experimentally obtained can be obtained and stored through interpolation or extrapolation between similar overvoltage profiles (OP). For example, the profile correction unit (120) can generate overvoltage profiles (OP) for various C-rates in addition to the pre-stored overvoltage profiles (OP) through interpolation or extrapolation, and store the generated overvoltage profiles (OP) in the storage unit (140). For example, when an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to a C-rate of 1C and an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to a C-rate of 1.2C are pre-stored, an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to a C-rate of 1.1C can be further obtained based on the difference between the two overvoltage profiles (OP).

[0082] The profile correction unit (120) can be configured to generate a correction profile (CP) by calculating the difference between the differential profile and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0083] For example, the profile correction unit (120) can generate a correction profile (CP) by calculating the difference between the differential profile and the overvoltage profile (OP) in the same way that the overvoltage profile (OP) is generated based on the difference between the reference differential profile and the target differential profile.

[0084] For example, when the differential profile is the first differential profile (DP1), the profile correction unit (120) can generate a correction profile (CP) by calculating the differential voltage difference by capacity between the first differential profile (DP1) and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0085] In another embodiment, when the differential profile is the second differential profile (DP2), the profile correction unit (120) can generate a correction profile (CP) by calculating the voltage-dependent differential capacity difference between the second differential profile (DP2) and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0086] FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are schematic drawings illustrating a correction profile (CP) according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0087] Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a correction profile (CP) corresponding to a first differential profile (DP1). In the embodiments of Figs. 5 and 6, the correction profile (CP) can be generated according to the differential voltage difference by capacity of the overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to the first differential profile (DP1). The profile correction unit (120) can generate a correction profile (CP) from which the overvoltage portion included in the first differential profile (DP1) is removed by calculating the difference between the first differential profile (DP1) and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0088] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a correction profile (CP) corresponding to a second differential profile (DP2). In the embodiment of Fig. 7, the correction profile (CP) can be generated based on the voltage-dependent differential capacity difference between the second differential profile (DP2) and the corresponding overvoltage profile (not shown). The profile correction unit (120) can generate a correction profile (CP) from which the overvoltage portion included in the second differential profile (DP2) is removed by calculating the difference between the second differential profile (DP2) and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0089] In addition, the control unit (130) can determine a target peak in the correction profile (CP) and diagnose the condition of the battery based on the behavior of the determined target peak.

[0090] The control unit (130) can diagnose whether the internal resistance of the battery has increased. In addition, when the internal resistance of the battery has increased, the control unit (130) can diagnose the cause of the increase in the internal resistance. For example, the control unit (130) can diagnose the cause of the increase in the internal resistance of the battery as an increase in the ohmic resistance (Ro) and / or an increase in the diffusion resistance (Rd).

[0091] The control unit (130) can diagnose not only whether the internal resistance of the battery has increased, but also the cause of the increase in the internal resistance of the battery. The control unit (130) can diagnose the current status of the battery from various aspects.

[0092] An embodiment in which the control unit (130) diagnoses the status of the battery is described below with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10.

[0093] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, since charging and discharging the battery at a low C-rate (e.g., 0.05 C) is not required to obtain an accurate differential profile, a correction profile (CP) with overvoltage removed can be quickly obtained. In addition, since the state of the battery is diagnosed through the correction profile (CP), the battery diagnosis device (100) has the advantage of being able to diagnose the state of the battery more quickly.

[0094] For example, when a low-rate charge / discharge cycle is forced at a C-rate of 0.05C to acquire a battery profile (BP), it can take approximately 20 hours just to acquire the BP. Furthermore, converting the acquired BP into a differential profile and diagnosing the battery's condition based on the differential profile can also take additional time. Because the process of acquiring a BP when charging / discharging at such a low C-rate requires a significant amount of time, it is difficult to quickly diagnose the battery's condition.

[0095] When the battery is charged and discharged at a C-rate of 0.33C as in one embodiment of the present invention, a battery profile (BP) can be obtained in about 3 hours. According to one embodiment of the present invention, when charging and discharging at a C-rate of 0.33C, the time required to obtain a battery profile (BP) can be reduced compared to when charging and discharging at a C-rate of 0.05C.

[0096] The battery profile (BP) obtained according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an overvoltage corresponding to noise. The battery diagnosis device (100) can quickly remove the noise included in the differential profile by calculating the difference between the differential profile and the overvoltage profile (OP). Therefore, even considering the additional time required to generate the correction profile (CP), the battery diagnosis device (100) according to one embodiment of the present invention has the advantage of being able to diagnose the condition of the battery relatively very quickly compared to a method that forces low-rate charging and discharging.

[0097] The profile acquisition unit (110), the profile correction unit (120), and the control unit (130) provided in the battery diagnostic device (100) may optionally include a processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), another chipset, a logic circuit, a register, a communication modem, a data processing device, etc. known in the art to execute various control logics performed in the present invention. In addition, when the control logic is implemented in software, the profile correction unit (120) may be implemented as a set of program modules. At this time, the program modules may be stored in a memory and executed by the profile acquisition unit (110), the profile correction unit (120), and the control unit (130). The memory may be located inside or outside the profile acquisition unit (110), the profile correction unit (120), and the control unit (130), and may be connected to the profile acquisition unit (110), the profile correction unit (120), and the control unit (130) by various well-known means.

[0098] In addition, the battery diagnostic device (100) may further include a storage unit (140). The storage unit (140) may store data or programs required for each component of the battery diagnostic device (100) to perform operations and functions, or data generated in the process of performing operations and functions. The storage unit (140) is not particularly limited in type as long as it is a known information storage means known to be able to record, erase, update, and read data. As an example, the information storage means may include a RAM (Random Access Memory), a flash memory, a ROM (Read-Only Memory), an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a register, etc. In addition, the storage unit (140) may store program codes defining processes executable by the profile acquisition unit (110), the profile correction unit (120), and the control unit (130). Additionally, the storage unit (140) can store a battery profile (BP), differential profiles (DP1, DP2), overvoltage profile (OP), and correction profile (CP).

[0099] In one embodiment, the profile acquisition unit (110) may be configured to acquire a first differential profile (DP1) indicating a correspondence between a capacity and a differential voltage. The profile correction unit (120) may be configured to correct the first differential profile (DP1) based on the first overvoltage profile (OP) to generate a first correction profile (CP). Here, the first differential profile (DP1), the first overvoltage profile (OP), and the first correction profile (CP) may indicate a correspondence between a capacity and a differential voltage.

[0100] In another embodiment, the profile acquisition unit (110) may be configured to acquire a second differential profile (DP2) indicating a correspondence between voltage and differential capacitance. The profile correction unit (120) may be configured to correct the second differential profile (DP2) based on the second overvoltage profile (OP) to generate a second correction profile (CP). Here, the second differential profile (DP2), the second overvoltage profile (OP), and the second correction profile (CP) may indicate a correspondence between voltage and differential capacitance.

[0101] Since the difference between the differential profile and the overvoltage profile (OP) must be calculated in order to generate the compensation profile (CP), the formats of the differential profile and the overvoltage profile (OP) can be identical.

[0102] If the differential profile represents a correspondence between capacitance and differential voltage, the overvoltage profile (OP) can also represent a correspondence between capacitance and differential voltage. If the differential profile represents a correspondence between voltage and differential capacity, the overvoltage profile (OP) can also represent a correspondence between voltage and differential capacity.

[0103] For example, referring to FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the first differential profile (DP1) and the overvoltage profile (OP) represent a correspondence between capacity and differential voltage. Accordingly, the profile correction unit (120) can generate a correction profile (CP) by calculating the differential voltage difference for each capacity between the first differential profile (DP1) and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0104] Below, an embodiment in which the control unit (130) diagnoses the status of the battery is described.

[0105] The control unit (130) can first consider the voltage drop of the battery to determine whether to diagnose the battery's condition. The control unit (130) can determine the need for battery condition diagnosis based on the voltage drop of the battery.

[0106] The profile acquisition unit (110) may be configured to further acquire a battery profile (BP) corresponding to the capacity and voltage of the battery.

[0107] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating another example of a battery profile (BP) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The battery profile (BP) can be expressed as an XY graph in which the X-axis is set to capacity and the Y-axis is set to voltage. The battery profile (BP) of Fig. 8 illustrates the voltage drop (△V) at the start and end of charging.

[0108] Because batteries contain internal resistance, an IR drop (i.e., voltage drop) occurs at the beginning and end of charging. This IR drop can be caused by ohmic resistance and diffusion resistance. Similarly, an IR drop also occurs at the beginning and end of discharge.

[0109] The control unit (130) may be configured to calculate the voltage drop according to the internal resistance of the battery in the battery profile (BP).

[0110] For example, if the battery profile (BP) corresponds to the charging profile of the battery, the control unit (130) can calculate the voltage drop at the start of charging and / or the end of charging. As another example, if the battery profile (BP) corresponds to the discharge profile of the battery, the control unit (130) can calculate the voltage drop at the start of discharging and / or the end of discharging.

[0111] For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 8, the control unit (130) can calculate the voltage drop at the initial point of charging as △V1 [V]. As another example, the control unit (130) can also calculate the voltage drop at the end of charging as △V2 [V]. As yet another example, the control unit (130) can also calculate the sum of the voltage drop at the start of charging (△V1 [V]) and the voltage drop at the end of charging (△V2 [V]) as the voltage drop (△V1 + △V2).

[0112] The control unit (130) may be configured to diagnose the condition of the battery based on a correction profile (CP) when the voltage drop amount produced increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses.

[0113] For example, the control unit (130) can determine whether the voltage drop amount increases by considering the change in the voltage drop amount according to the charge / discharge cycle of the battery. The fact that the voltage drop amount increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses may mean that the internal resistance of the battery is increasing because the voltage drop amount is a factor proportional to the internal resistance. The control unit (130) can diagnose that the internal resistance of the battery has increased when the voltage drop amount increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses. In addition, the control unit (130) may determine that it is necessary to diagnose the cause of the internal resistance of the battery.

[0114] When the voltage drop does not increase even as the battery's charge / discharge cycle progresses, this may mean that the internal resistance of the battery is not increasing, and the control unit (130) may determine that diagnosis of the battery's condition is unnecessary.

[0115] According to one embodiment, the control unit (130) can save system resources required for battery status diagnosis by diagnosing the battery status only when battery status diagnosis is necessary.

[0116] Below, an embodiment is described in which the voltage drop gradually increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses, and the control unit (130) diagnoses the state of the battery.

[0117] First, an embodiment in which the control unit (130) diagnoses the state of the battery based on the first correction profile (CP) is described.

[0118] The control unit (130) may be configured to determine the minimum point with the largest corresponding capacity among the minimum points included in the first correction profile (CP) as the target peak.

[0119] The first correction profile (CP) is a profile generated based on the first differential profile and the overvoltage profile (OP). The control unit (130) can determine the minimum point with the largest corresponding capacity among the multiple minimum points included in the first correction profile (CP) as the target peak.

[0120] The control unit (130) may be configured to diagnose the condition of the battery based on the change in behavior of the determined target peak.

[0121] A first correction profile (CP) may be generated for each of a plurality of battery charge / discharge cycles, and a target peak may be determined for each of the plurality of first correction profiles (CP). A plurality of target peaks corresponding to the plurality of battery charge / discharge cycles may be determined. In one embodiment, the control unit (130) may diagnose the condition of the battery by considering changes in the behavior of the plurality of target peaks over time.

[0122] For example, the control unit (130) may be configured to diagnose that the diffusion resistance of the battery has increased when the capacity and differential voltage corresponding to the target peak decrease as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses. Alternatively, the control unit (130) may diagnose that the diffusion resistance of the battery has increased when the capacity and differential voltage corresponding to the target peak decrease as the battery deteriorates.

[0123] FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a plurality of first correction profiles (CP) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The plurality of first correction profiles (CP) include first correction profiles (CP) determined in the initial cycle (ini), the 10th cycle, the 20th cycle, the 30th cycle, the 40th cycle, the 50th cycle, the 60th cycle, the 70th cycle, the 80th cycle, and the 90th cycle.

[0124] In the embodiment of Fig. 9, the point indicated by the symbol "●" corresponds to the target peak. As the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses, the capacity and differential voltage corresponding to the target peak gradually decrease, so the control unit (130) can diagnose that the diffusion resistance of the battery is increasing. The control unit (130) can diagnose that the internal resistance of the battery is increased compared to the initial state, and that the cause of the increase in the internal resistance is the increase in the diffusion resistance.

[0125] Next, an embodiment in which the control unit (130) diagnoses the state of the battery based on the second correction profile (CP) is described.

[0126] The control unit (130) may be configured to determine the remaining peaks, excluding the peak with the largest corresponding voltage among the peaks included in the second correction profile (CP), as multiple target peaks.

[0127] The second correction profile (CP) is a profile generated based on the overvoltage profile (OP) in the second differential profile. The control unit (130) can determine the remaining local maxima, excluding the local maxima with the highest corresponding voltage among the multiple local maxima included in the second correction profile (CP), as target peaks. The control unit (130) can determine multiple target peaks in the second correction profile (CP).

[0128] The control unit (130) may be configured to diagnose the state of the battery based on changes in the behavior of a plurality of determined target peaks.

[0129] A second correction profile (CP) may be generated for each charge / discharge cycle of a plurality of batteries, and a plurality of target peaks may be determined for each of the second correction profiles (CP). A plurality of target peaks corresponding to each of the plurality of cycles may be determined. According to one embodiment, the control unit (130) may diagnose the state of the battery by considering changes in behavior according to the time series of the corresponding plurality of target peaks.

[0130] For example, the control unit (130) can determine a first target peak, a second target peak, and a third target peak in the voltage order in the second correction profile (CP). For example, for a plurality of second correction profiles (CP), a plurality of first target peaks, a plurality of second target peaks, and a plurality of third target peaks can be determined. The control unit (130) can diagnose the state of the battery based on the behavioral changes according to the time series of the plurality of first target peaks, the behavioral changes according to the time series of the plurality of second target peaks, and the behavioral changes according to the time series of the plurality of third target peaks.

[0131] The control unit (130) may be configured to diagnose that the ohmic resistance of the battery has increased if, even as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses, the amount of change in voltage corresponding to each of the plurality of target peaks falls within a preset first threshold range and the amount of change in differential capacity corresponding to each of the plurality of target peaks falls within a preset second threshold range.

[0132] The first threshold range is a preset voltage range that can be determined to be below a certain level of voltage variation. For example, even if the voltage of a target peak increases or decreases according to the battery's charge / discharge cycle, if the voltage variation of multiple target peaks falls within the first threshold range, the control unit (130) can determine that the voltage variation of multiple target peaks is below a certain level.

[0133] The second threshold range is a differential capacity range preset so that the amount of change in the differential capacity can be determined to be below a certain level. For example, even if the differential capacity of the target peak increases or decreases according to the charge / discharge cycle of the battery, when the amount of change in the differential capacity of multiple target peaks falls within the second threshold range, the control unit (130) can determine that the amount of change in the differential capacity of multiple target peaks is below a certain level.

[0134] The control unit (130) can diagnose that the ohmic resistance of the battery has increased if the behavioral changes of multiple target peaks are below a certain level even when the battery is degraded. The control unit (130) can diagnose that the ohmic resistance of the battery has increased if the behavioral changes of multiple corresponding target peaks according to time series are below a certain level.

[0135] Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a plurality of second correction profiles (CP) according to one embodiment of the present invention. The plurality of second correction profiles (CP) include second correction profiles (CP) determined in the initial cycle (ini), the 10th cycle, the 20th cycle, the 30th cycle, the 40th cycle, the 50th cycle, the 60th cycle, the 70th cycle, the 80th cycle, and the 90th cycle.

[0136] In the embodiment of Fig. 10, the point indicated by the symbol "●" corresponds to a target peak. And the symbol "□" is for indicating a plurality of corresponding target peaks. Although the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses, the voltage and differential capacity of the plurality of corresponding target peaks are maintained below a certain level. In the embodiment of Fig. 10, the plurality of corresponding target peaks have a change in voltage within a first threshold range and a change in differential capacity within a second threshold range. Therefore, the control unit (130) can diagnose that the ohmic resistance of the battery has increased. The control unit (130) can diagnose that the internal resistance of the battery has increased compared to the initial state, and that the cause of the increase in the internal resistance is an increase in the ohmic resistance.

[0137] The control unit (130) can diagnose the cause of the increase in the internal resistance of the battery by considering both the first correction profile (CP) and the second correction profile (CP).

[0138] For example, the control unit (130) can diagnose that the cause of the increase in the internal resistance of the battery is an increase in ohmic resistance and / or an increase in diffusion resistance.

[0139] The battery diagnosis device (100) according to the present invention can be applied to a BMS (Battery Management System). For example, the BMS according to the present invention can include the battery diagnosis device (100) described above. In this configuration, at least some of the components of the battery diagnosis device (100) can be implemented by supplementing or adding to the functions of the components included in a conventional BMS. For example, the profile acquisition unit (110), profile correction unit (120), control unit (130), and storage unit (140) of the battery diagnosis device (100) can be implemented as components of the BMS.

[0140] Additionally, the battery diagnostic device (100) according to the present invention may be provided in a battery pack. For example, the battery pack according to the present invention may include the battery diagnostic device (100) described above and one or more battery cells. Additionally, the battery pack may further include electrical components (relays, fuses, etc.) and a case.

[0141] FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing of a battery pack (10) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0142] The positive terminal of the battery (11) can be connected to the positive terminal (P+) of the battery pack (10), and the negative terminal of the battery (11) can be connected to the negative terminal (P-) of the battery pack (10).

[0143] The measuring unit (12) can be connected to a first sensing line (SL1), a second sensing line (SL2), and a third sensing line (SL3). The measuring unit (12) can be connected to a positive terminal of the battery (11) through the first sensing line (SL1), and can be connected to a negative terminal of the battery (11) through the second sensing line (SL2). The measuring unit (12) can measure the voltage of the battery (11) based on the voltage measured at each of the first sensing line (SL1) and the second sensing line (SL2).

[0144] And, the measuring unit (12) can be connected to the current measuring unit (A) through the third sensing line (SL3). For example, the current measuring unit (A) can be an ammeter or a shunt resistor capable of measuring the charging current and discharging current of the battery (11). The measuring unit (12) can measure the charging current of the battery (11) through the third sensing line (SL3) to calculate the charging amount. In addition, the measuring unit (12) can measure the discharging current of the battery (11) through the third sensing line (SL3) to calculate the discharging amount.

[0145] For example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can receive battery information about the voltage and current of the battery from the measurement unit (12). Then, the profile acquisition unit (110) can generate a battery profile (BP) and a differential profile based on the battery information.

[0146] As another example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can receive a battery profile (BP) from the measurement unit (12). Then, the profile acquisition unit (110) can generate a differential profile based on the battery profile (BP).

[0147] As another example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can receive a differential profile from the measurement unit (12).

[0148] An external device may be connected to the positive terminal (P+) and negative terminal (P-) of the battery pack (10). For example, the external device may be a charging device or a load. In addition, the positive terminal of the battery (11), the positive terminal (P+) of the battery pack (10), the external device, the negative terminal (P-) of the battery pack (10), and the negative terminal of the battery (11) may be electrically connected.

[0149] FIG. 12 is a schematic drawing of a vehicle (1200) according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0150] Referring to FIG. 12, a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention may be included in a vehicle (1200), such as an electric vehicle (EV) or a hybrid vehicle (HV). Furthermore, the battery pack (1210) may drive the vehicle (1200) by supplying power to a motor through an inverter provided in the vehicle (1200). Here, the battery pack (1210) may include a battery diagnostic device (100). For example, the vehicle (1200) may include a battery diagnostic device (100). In this case, the battery diagnostic device (100) may be an onboard device included in the vehicle (1200).

[0151] FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically illustrating a battery management method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0152] Referring to FIG. 13, the battery management method may include a profile acquisition step (S100), a target determination step (S200), a correction profile generation step (S300), a target peak determination step (S400), and a battery diagnosis step (S500).

[0153] Each step of the battery diagnosis method can be performed by the battery diagnosis device (100).

[0154] The profile acquisition step (S100) is a step of acquiring a differential profile indicating a correspondence between the capacity of the battery and the differential voltage, or the voltage of the battery and the differential capacity, and can be performed by the profile acquisition unit (110).

[0155] For example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can directly receive the differential profile of the battery from an external source. For example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can acquire the differential profile by receiving the differential profile through a wired and / or wireless connection to the external source.

[0156] As another example, the profile acquisition unit (110) can directly receive the battery profile (BP) of the battery from the outside. Furthermore, the profile acquisition unit (110) can generate a differential profile based on the received battery profile (BP). The profile acquisition unit (110) can be connected to the outside via wired and / or wireless means to receive the battery profile (BP) and directly generate a differential profile from the received battery profile (BP), thereby acquiring the differential profile.

[0157] As another example, the profile acquisition unit (110) may receive battery information regarding the voltage and capacity of the battery. Furthermore, the profile acquisition unit (110) may generate a battery profile (BP) based on the received battery information, and may generate a differential profile based on the generated battery profile (BP). The profile acquisition unit (110) may acquire the differential profile by directly generating the differential profile based on the received battery information.

[0158] The target determination step (S200) is a step of determining a target C-rate corresponding to a differential profile, and can be performed by the profile correction unit (120).

[0159] For example, the profile correction unit (120) can receive information about the differential profile and C-rate from the profile acquisition unit (110). Then, the profile correction unit (120) can determine the C-rate corresponding to the differential profile as the target C-rate.

[0160] The correction profile generation step (S300) is a step of generating a correction profile (CP) by correcting a differential profile based on an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to a target C-rate, and can be performed by a profile correction unit (120).

[0161] In addition, the profile correction unit (120) may be configured to select an overvoltage profile (OP) corresponding to the target C-rate from among a plurality of pre-stored overvoltage profiles (OP). The profile correction unit (120) may be configured to generate a correction profile (CP) by calculating the difference between the differential profile and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0162] For example, when the differential profile is the first differential profile (DP1), the profile correction unit (120) can generate a correction profile (CP) by calculating the differential voltage difference by capacity between the first differential profile (DP1) and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0163] As another example, when the differential profile is a second differential profile (DP2), the profile correction unit (120) can generate a correction profile (CP) by calculating the voltage-dependent differential capacity difference between the second differential profile (DP2) and the overvoltage profile (OP).

[0164] The target peak determination step (S400) is a step of determining a target peak in a correction profile (CP), and can be performed by the control unit (130).

[0165] For example, the control unit (130) may be configured to determine the target peak as the minimum point with the largest corresponding capacity among the minimum points included in the first correction profile (CP).

[0166] As another example, the control unit (130) may be configured to determine the remaining peaks, excluding the peak with the largest corresponding voltage among the peaks included in the second correction profile (CP), as multiple target peaks.

[0167] The battery diagnosis step (S500) is a step for diagnosing the state of the battery based on the behavior of the determined target peak, and can be performed by the control unit (130).

[0168] For example, the control unit (130) may be configured to diagnose that the diffusion resistance of the battery has increased when the capacity and differential voltage corresponding to the target peak determined from the first correction profile (CP) decrease as the cycle progresses.

[0169] As another example, the control unit (130) may be configured to diagnose that the ohmic resistance of the battery has increased if, even as the cycle progresses, the amount of change in voltage corresponding to each of the plurality of target peaks determined from the second correction profile (CP) falls within a preset first threshold range and the amount of change in the corresponding differential capacity falls within a preset second threshold range.

[0170] A battery management method according to another embodiment of the present invention may further include a voltage drop calculation step (not shown).

[0171] In the profile acquisition step (S100), the profile acquisition unit (110) can further acquire a battery profile (BP) indicating the correspondence between the capacity and voltage of the battery.

[0172] The voltage drop calculation step is a step of calculating the voltage drop according to the internal resistance of the battery from the battery profile, and can be performed by the control unit after the profile acquisition step (S100).

[0173] In addition, the control unit (130) may be configured to diagnose the state of the battery based on the correction profile (CP) when the voltage drop amount calculated increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses. For example, in order to save system resources required for battery state diagnosis, when the voltage drop amount of the battery increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses, the target determination step (S200), the correction profile generation step (S300), the target peak determination step (S400), and the battery diagnosis step (S500) may be performed.

[0174] The embodiments of the present invention described above are not implemented only through devices and methods, but may also be implemented through a program that realizes a function corresponding to the configuration of the embodiments of the present invention or a recording medium on which the program is recorded, and such implementation can be easily implemented by an expert in the technical field to which the present invention belongs based on the description of the embodiments described above.

[0175] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto, and it is obvious that various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention and the equivalent scope of the patent claims to be described below by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.

[0176] In addition, the present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the attached drawings, and all or part of each embodiment may be selectively combined and configured so that various modifications can be made, as those skilled in the art can make various substitutions, modifications, and changes within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention.

[0177] (Explanation of symbols)

[0178] 10: Battery pack

[0179] 11: Battery

[0180] 12: Measurement section

[0181] 100: Battery Diagnostic Device

[0182] 110: Profile acquisition section

[0183] 120: Profile storage

[0184] 130: Control unit

[0185] 140: Storage

[0186] 1200: Car

[0187] 1210: Battery Pack

Claims

1. A profile acquisition unit configured to acquire a differential profile for the capacity and voltage of a battery; A profile correction unit configured to determine a target C-rate (Current-rate) corresponding to the above differential profile and generate a correction profile by correcting the differential profile based on an overvoltage profile corresponding to the target C-rate; and A battery diagnosis device comprising a control unit configured to determine a target peak from the above correction profile and diagnose the state of the battery based on the behavior of the determined target peak.

2. In paragraph 1, The above profile acquisition unit, configured to obtain a first differential profile representing a correspondence between the capacity and differential voltage of the battery, The above profile correction part, A battery diagnostic device configured to generate a first correction profile by correcting the first differential profile based on the first overvoltage profile.

3. In paragraph 2, The above control unit, A battery diagnosis device configured to determine a minimum point with the largest corresponding capacity among the minimum points included in the first correction profile as the target peak, and to diagnose the state of the battery based on a change in the behavior of the determined target peak.

4. In paragraph 3, The above control unit, A battery diagnostic device configured to diagnose that the diffusion resistance of the battery has increased when the capacity and differential voltage corresponding to the target peak decrease as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses.

5. In paragraph 1, The above profile acquisition unit, configured to obtain a second differential profile representing the correspondence between the voltage and differential capacity of the battery, The above profile correction part, A battery diagnostic device configured to generate a second correction profile by correcting the second differential profile based on the second overvoltage profile.

6. In paragraph 5, The above control unit, A battery diagnostic device configured to determine a plurality of target peaks, excluding the maximum point with the largest corresponding voltage among the maximum points included in the second correction profile, and to diagnose the state of the battery based on a change in the behavior of the determined plurality of target peaks.

7. In paragraph 6, The above control unit, A battery diagnostic device configured to diagnose that the ohmic resistance of the battery has increased when the amount of change in voltage corresponding to each of the plurality of target peaks falls within a preset first threshold range and the amount of change in differential capacity corresponding to each of the plurality of target peaks falls within a preset second threshold range, even as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses.

8. In paragraph 1, The above profile acquisition unit, It is configured to further obtain a battery profile corresponding to the capacity and voltage of the above battery, The above control unit, A battery diagnostic device configured to calculate a voltage drop according to the internal resistance of the battery from the battery profile, and to diagnose the state of the battery based on the correction profile when the calculated voltage drop increases as the charge / discharge cycle of the battery progresses.

9. In paragraph 1, The above profile correction part, A battery diagnostic device configured to generate the correction profile by calculating the difference between the differential profile and the overvoltage profile.

10. In paragraph 1, The above overvoltage profile is configured to be stored in advance for each of a plurality of C-rates, The above profile correction part, A battery diagnostic device configured to select an overvoltage profile corresponding to the target C-rate from among a plurality of pre-stored overvoltage profiles.

11. In paragraph 1, The above overvoltage profile is, A battery diagnostic device preset based on a reference differential profile of a reference battery for a reference C-rate and a target differential profile of the reference battery for the target C-rate.

12. In paragraph 11, The above overvoltage profile is, A battery diagnostic device preset to indicate the difference between the reference differential profile and the target differential profile.

13. A battery pack comprising a battery diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A vehicle including a battery diagnostic device according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

15. Profile acquisition step for acquiring a differential profile for the capacity and voltage of the battery; A target determination step for determining a target C-rate corresponding to the above differential profile; A compensation profile generation step for generating a compensation profile by compensating the differential profile based on an overvoltage profile corresponding to the target C-rate; a target peak determination step for determining a target peak in the above correction profile; and A battery diagnosis method comprising a battery diagnosis step of diagnosing the state of the battery based on the behavior of the determined target peak.

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