Information processing method, information processing device, and information processing program

Abstract

An information processing method according to the present invention is an information processing method for a computer and involves acquiring a degradation level for a first battery that makes a device run, performing a first determination that determines on the basis of the degradation level of the first battery whether the degradation level of the first battery satisfies a replacement condition, outputting replacement information that indicates that the first battery is to be replaced with a second battery when the degradation level of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition, and outputting addition information that indicates that the second battery is to be added to the device when the degradation level of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition.

Description

Information processing method, information processing device, and information processing program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to techniques for managing battery-powered devices.

[0002] Conventionally, systems for searching for a battery capable of powering a predetermined device have been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system including a battery information management unit that collects and manages information regarding a first desired operating time, which indicates how long a first battery-powered terminal equipped with a first battery is desired to operate, and a battery search unit that searches for a second battery that can power the first battery-powered terminal for at least the first desired operating time from among at least one other battery equipped in at least one other battery-powered terminal.

[0003] The technology described in Patent Document 1 does not determine whether a battery should be added or replaced, and therefore cannot provide accurate information to the user regarding the above points.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-243209

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology that can present accurate information to a user as to whether a battery should be added or replaced.

[0006] An information processing method in one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method in a computer, which obtains the degree of deterioration of a first battery that operates a device, performs a first determination based on the degree of deterioration of the first battery to determine whether the degree of deterioration of the first battery satisfies a replacement condition, and if the degree of deterioration of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition, outputs replacement information indicating that the first battery should be replaced with a second battery, and if the degree of deterioration of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition, outputs additional information indicating that the second battery should be added to the device.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, accurate information can be presented to the user as to whether to add or replace a battery.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of candidate battery group information; FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of the information processing system according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of replacement information; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of additional information; FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system according to a second embodiment; and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of the information processing system according to the second embodiment.

[0009] (Background to the present disclosure) In devices that use batteries, battery deterioration over time is unavoidable. Therefore, it is conceivable to address battery deterioration by adding a battery to the device or replacing a deteriorated battery with another battery. Which approach should be taken depends on the situation.

[0010] For example, if there is no suitable battery available for replacement, adding a battery to the device is considered. Specifically, if only batteries that are more deteriorated than the battery currently in use in the device (hereinafter referred to as the "current battery") are available as replacement candidates (hereinafter referred to as the "candidate battery"), adding the candidate battery to the device may be considered to supplement the performance of the current battery.

[0011] On the other hand, if the deterioration of the battery in use progresses beyond a certain level, various problems may occur. Therefore, if the deterioration of the battery in use progresses beyond a certain level, it may be considered to replace the battery in use with a candidate battery.

[0012] Forcing a user of a device to make the above-described decision can be a burden to the user. Therefore, in a device that uses a battery, it is necessary to provide the user with accurate information on whether to add or replace a battery. The technology described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 does not address this point at all. Therefore, the above-mentioned technology is unable to provide the user with accurate information on whether to add or replace a battery.

[0013] In order to solve the above problems, the following techniques are disclosed.

[0014] (1) An information processing method in one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method in a computer, which obtains a deterioration level of a first battery that operates a device, performs a first determination based on the deterioration level of the first battery to determine whether the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies a replacement condition, and if the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition, outputs replacement information indicating that the first battery should be replaced with a second battery, and if the deterioration level of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition, outputs additional information indicating that the second battery should be added to the device.

[0015] According to this configuration, if the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition, replacement information is output indicating that the first battery should be replaced with the second battery. Furthermore, if the deterioration level of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition, additional information is output indicating that a second battery should be added to the device. Therefore, accurate information can be presented to the user regarding whether to add or replace a battery.

[0016] (2) In the information processing method described in (1) above, the deterioration level of the second battery may be further acquired, and a difference value of the deterioration level of the first battery may be calculated from the deterioration level of the second battery. In the first determination, it may be determined whether the difference value is greater than or equal to a threshold value. If the difference value is greater than or equal to the threshold value, it may be determined that the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition, and if the difference value is less than the threshold value, it may be determined that the deterioration level of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition.

[0017] The magnitude of the difference value calculated by subtracting the degradation level of the first battery from the degradation level of the second battery corresponds to the degree of degradation of the first battery. Specifically, the greater the degradation of the first battery, the greater the difference value tends to be. Here, with the above configuration, replacement information is output when the difference value is greater than the threshold, and additional information is output when the difference value is less than the threshold. That is, replacement information is output when the degradation of the first battery has progressed to the extent that the difference value is equal to or greater than the threshold, and additional information is output when the degradation level is such that the difference value is less than the threshold. In this way, more accurate information can be presented to the user regarding whether to add or replace a battery.

[0018] (3) In the information processing method described in (1) above, the required discharge amount required to operate the device may further be obtained, and in the first determination, if the deterioration level of the first battery is equal to or lower than a reference deterioration level, it may be determined that the replacement condition is met, and if it is determined that the replacement condition is met, the second battery may be identified from a group of candidate batteries based on the required discharge amount.

[0019] According to this configuration, when the deterioration level of the first battery is equal to or lower than the reference deterioration level, it is determined that the replacement condition is met, and replacement information is output. In this way, when the deterioration level of the first battery has progressed to a certain level or more, it is possible to prompt the user to replace the first battery.

[0020] (4) In the information processing method described in (1) above, further, a required discharge amount required to operate the device is obtained, and in the first determination, if the deterioration level of the first battery is greater than a reference deterioration level, it is determined that the replacement condition is not met, and further, if it is determined that the replacement condition is not met, the second battery is identified from a group of candidate batteries based on the required discharge amount, and the second battery may be a battery having a discharge capacity whose total discharge capacity with the first battery is greater than or equal to the required discharge amount.

[0021] According to this configuration, if the deterioration level of the first battery is greater than the reference deterioration level, it is determined that the replacement condition is not met, and additional information is output indicating that a second battery should be added to the storage battery. In this case, the second battery has a discharge capacity such that the sum of the discharge capacity of the second battery and the discharge capacity of the first battery is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount. In this way, it is possible to present to the user an appropriate battery to be added.

[0022] (5) In the information processing method described in (3) or (4) above, it may further be determined whether the first battery is connected in parallel with another battery, and the first determination may be performed when the first battery is connected in parallel with the other battery.

[0023] According to this configuration, the first determination is performed when the first battery is connected in parallel with another battery, and therefore, more accurate information can be presented to the user than when the first determination is performed and replacement information or additional information is output without checking whether the first battery is connected in parallel with another battery.

[0024] (6) In the information processing method described in (5) above, the method may further include obtaining a required discharge amount required to operate the device, and if the first battery is connected in series with the other battery, identifying a first battery having a discharge capacity equal to or less than the required discharge amount, identifying the second battery from a group of candidate batteries, the second battery being a battery having a discharge capacity greater than the required discharge amount, and outputting the replacement information.

[0025] According to this configuration, when the first battery is connected in series with another battery, replacement information is output indicating that the first battery, which has a discharge capacity equal to or less than the required discharge amount, should be replaced with a second battery, which has a discharge capacity equal to or greater than the required discharge amount. In this way, it is possible to present to the user an appropriate battery as a replacement battery.

[0026] (7) In the information processing method described in (3) above, the first battery may include a plurality of batteries, and in the first determination, if there is a degraded battery among the plurality of batteries whose level of degradation is equal to or lower than a standard level of degradation, it may be determined that the replacement condition is met, and the second battery may be a battery having a discharge capacity such that the total value of the discharge capacity of the second battery and batteries among the plurality of batteries other than the degraded battery is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount.

[0027] According to this configuration, if a degraded battery is included in the plurality of batteries included in the first battery, information indicating that the degraded battery should be replaced with a second battery is output as replacement information. In this case, the second battery has a discharge capacity such that the sum of the discharge capacities of the second battery and the remaining batteries other than the degraded battery is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount. In this way, an appropriate battery can be presented to the user as a replacement battery.

[0028] (8) In the information processing method described in (4) above, the first battery may include a plurality of batteries, and in the first determination, if the deterioration level of each of the plurality of batteries is greater than a reference deterioration level, it may be determined that the replacement condition is not met, and the second battery may have a discharge capacity whose sum, when combined with the sum of the discharge capacities of each of the plurality of batteries, is greater than or equal to the required discharge amount.

[0029] According to this configuration, when the degradation level of each of the plurality of batteries included in the first battery is greater than the reference degradation level, additional information is output indicating that a second battery should be added to the device. In this case, the second battery has a discharge capacity whose sum, when combined with the sum of the discharge capacities of the plurality of batteries included in the first battery, is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount. In this way, it is possible to present to the user an appropriate battery to be added.

[0030] (9) In the information processing method described in any one of (1) to (8) above, the past power consumption of the device may be acquired, and the required discharge amount required to operate the device may be estimated based on the past power consumption.

[0031] According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain a more accurate required discharge amount compared to a case where the required discharge amount is obtained without taking into account the amount of power consumption in the past.

[0032] (10) In another aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing device includes an acquisition unit that acquires a degree of deterioration of a first battery that operates the device; a judgment unit that performs a first judgment to determine whether the degree of deterioration of the first battery satisfies a replacement condition based on the degree of deterioration of the first battery; and an output unit that outputs replacement information indicating that the first battery should be replaced with a second battery if the degree of deterioration of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition, and outputs additional information indicating that the second battery should be added to the device if the degree of deterioration of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition.

[0033] According to this configuration, it is possible to provide an information processing device that can obtain the same effects as the above-described information processing method.

[0034] (11) In another aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing program causes a computer to function as an information processing device, and causes the computer to perform the following processing: acquire a deterioration level of a first battery that operates the device; perform a first determination based on the deterioration level of the first battery to determine whether the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies a replacement condition; output replacement information indicating that the first battery should be replaced with a second battery if the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition; and output additional information indicating that the second battery should be added to the device if the deterioration level of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition.

[0035] According to this configuration, it is possible to provide an information processing program that can achieve the same effect as the above-described information processing method.

[0036] The present disclosure can also be realized as an information processing system operated by such an information processing program. Needless to say, such a computer program can be distributed on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0037] Note that each of the embodiments described below represents a specific example of the present disclosure. The numerical values, shapes, components, steps, and step orders shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in the independent claims that represent the highest concept are described as optional components. Furthermore, in all of the embodiments, the respective contents can be combined.

[0038] (Embodiment 1) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system 100 according to embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 100 includes a device 2, a terminal 3, and a server 5 (an example of an information processing device). The device 2, the terminal 3, and the server 5 are connected to each other via a network NW so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0039] The device 2 is an energy management system installed in, for example, a commercial facility or a factory. The device 2 has a storage battery 1. The storage battery 1 is, for example, a stationary storage battery connected to the device 2 so as to be able to supply power. The storage battery 1 may be built into the device 2. The storage battery 1 has a slot in which the first battery 10 is installed and an empty slot for installing an additional battery. The first battery 10 is a battery that supplies power to the device 2 to operate it. In the first embodiment, the first battery 10 is a single battery. For example, the first battery 10 is a battery module composed of a plurality of chargeable and dischargeable secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries.

[0040] The terminal 3 is an information terminal operated by an administrator (an example of a user) of the device 2, and is configured, for example, as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, or a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The terminal 3 includes a display 4 for outputting the exchange information D2 or the additional information D3. The exchange information D2 and the additional information D3 will be described later.

[0041] The server 5 is, for example, a cloud server or an on-premise server including one or more computers. The server 5 manages the storage battery 1. Note that the storage battery managed by the server 5 is not limited to the storage battery 1 shown in FIG. 1 , and the server 5 may manage a storage battery other than the storage battery 1 in parallel. The server 5 includes a communication circuit 20, a memory 30, and a processor 40.

[0042] The communication circuit 20 is a communication interface circuit that supports a communication method using a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark), and connects the server 5 to the network NW.

[0043] The memory 30 is configured with a non-volatile rewritable storage device such as a solid state drive or a hard disk drive. The memory 30 has a candidate battery group information storage unit 31. The candidate battery group information storage unit 31 stores candidate battery group information D1, which is information related to the candidate battery group 15. The candidate battery group 15 refers to a plurality of batteries that are not currently installed in the storage battery 1 but have the potential to be installed in the storage battery 1 through addition or replacement.

[0044] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the candidate battery group information D1. As shown in FIG. 2, the candidate battery group information D1 has a column for battery IDs and a column for deterioration levels. The battery ID column stores battery IDs assigned to each candidate battery to distinguish them from one another. The deterioration level column stores the deterioration level of each candidate battery. The more advanced the deterioration, the smaller the value of the deterioration level, and the less advanced the deterioration, the larger the value. In the first embodiment, the deterioration level is expressed as SOH (State of Health). The SOH is calculated by "(current full charge capacity / initial full charge capacity)×100".

[0045] The memory 30 also stores the initial full charge capacity of the first battery 10 .

[0046] 1 , the processor 40 is configured by, for example, a CPU. The processor 40 has an acquisition unit 41, an identification unit 42, a calculation unit 43, a determination unit 44, and an output unit 45. The acquisition unit 41 to the output unit 45 may be realized by the processor 40 executing a predetermined program stored in the memory 30, or may be configured by a dedicated hardware circuit.

[0047] The acquisition unit 41 acquires the SOH (an example of the deterioration level) of the first battery 10. The acquisition unit 41 also acquires the deterioration level of the second battery, which will be described later.

[0048] The identifying unit 42 identifies a second battery from the candidate battery group 15 (FIG. 2).

[0049] The calculation unit 43 calculates a difference value between the deterioration level of the first battery 10 and the deterioration level of the second battery 10 .

[0050] The determination unit 44 performs a first determination based on the deterioration level of the first battery 10. In the first determination according to the first embodiment, the determination unit 44 determines whether the deterioration level of the first battery 10 satisfies the replacement condition. Specifically, the determination unit 44 determines whether the difference value calculated by the calculation unit 43 is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the difference value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the determination unit 44 determines that the deterioration level of the first battery 10 satisfies the replacement condition. On the other hand, if the difference value is smaller than the threshold value, the determination unit 44 determines that the deterioration level of the first battery 10 does not satisfy the replacement condition.

[0051] When the determination unit 44 determines that the deterioration level of the first battery 10 satisfies the replacement condition, the output unit 45 outputs replacement information D2 indicating that the first battery 10 should be replaced with the second battery. When the determination unit 44 determines that the deterioration level of the first battery 10 does not satisfy the replacement condition, the output unit 45 outputs additional information D3 indicating that the second battery should be added to the storage battery 1 of the device 2.

[0052] The processing of information processing system 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing of information processing system 100 according to embodiment 1. The processing shown in Fig. 3 starts, for example, when the administrator of device 2 inputs a signal to terminal 3 instructing the terminal 3 to output exchange information D2 or additional information D3.

[0053] In step S1, the acquisition unit 41 acquires the SOH (an example of the degree of deterioration) of the first battery 10. The SOH of the first battery 10 is calculated in advance by, for example, the device 2. Specifically, a processor (not shown) included in the device 2 calculates the SOH based on the current full charge capacity of the first battery 10 and the initial full charge capacity of the first battery 10 recorded in the memory 30. The acquisition unit 41 then communicates with the device 2 to acquire the SOH of the first battery 10. Note that the acquisition unit 41 may calculate the SOH of the first battery 10 instead of the device 2.

[0054] In step S2, the acquisition unit 41 acquires the candidate battery group information D1 from the memory 30.

[0055] In step S3, the identification unit 42 identifies a second battery from the candidate battery group 15 indicated in the candidate battery group information D1. For example, the identification unit 42 identifies as the second battery a candidate battery with the highest SOH from the candidate battery group 15. Alternatively, the identification unit 42 may randomly identify a second battery from the candidate battery group 15.

[0056] In step S4, the acquisition unit 41 acquires the SOH (an example of the deterioration level) of the second battery. Specifically, the acquisition unit 41 refers to the candidate battery group information D1 and acquires the SOH of the candidate battery identified as the second battery by the identification unit 42.

[0057] In step S5, the calculation unit 43 calculates a difference value by subtracting the SOH of the first battery 10 from the SOH of the second battery. The difference value indicates how little the second battery has deteriorated relative to the first battery. Generally speaking, if the SOH of the second battery is higher than that of the first battery, the difference value will be positive, and if the SOH of the second battery is lower than that of the first battery, the difference value will be negative.

[0058] In step S6, the determination unit 44 determines whether the difference value of the deterioration level is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the difference value is equal to or greater than the threshold value (YES in step S6), the determination unit 44 determines that the replacement condition is met, and the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the difference value is smaller than the threshold value (NO in step S6), the determination unit 44 determines that the replacement condition is not met, and the process proceeds to step S8.

[0059] The processing of steps S5 and S6 will be described in detail. For example, assume that the SOH of the second battery identified by the identification unit 42 is 80% and the SOH of the first battery 10 is 60%. Here, it is assumed that the threshold value is set to +15. In this case, in step S5, the calculation unit 43 calculates "80 - 60" and calculates that the difference value is +20. Then, in step S6, the determination unit 44 determines that the difference value is equal to or greater than the threshold value and that the exchange condition is satisfied.

[0060] On the other hand, for example, assume that the SOH of the second battery is 80%, the SOH of the first battery 10 is 70%, and the threshold is set to +15. In this case, in step S5, the calculation unit 43 calculates "80 - 70" to determine that the difference is +10. Then, in step S6, the determination unit 44 determines that the difference is smaller than the threshold and that the exchange condition is not satisfied.

[0061] The threshold value may be stored in advance in a predetermined storage area of ​​the memory 30. The threshold value is not limited to the above value, and can be changed as appropriate.

[0062] If determination unit 44 determines that the exchange conditions are met (YES in step S6), in step S7, output unit 45 outputs exchange information D2 to terminal 3 using communication circuit 20. Specifically, output unit 45 outputs a signal to cause terminal 3 to output exchange information D2, and transmits this signal to terminal 3. Having received the signal, terminal 3 causes display 4 to output exchange information D2.

[0063] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the replacement information D2. As shown in FIG. 4, the replacement information D2 includes a first display area A1, a second display area A2, and a third display area A3. The first display area A1 is an area for displaying information about the device 2. For example, the first display area A1 displays a device ID assigned to the device 2 to distinguish the device 2 from other devices, a required discharge amount required to operate the device 2, and the like. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 4, it is displayed that the device ID of the device 2 is "004" and that the required discharge amount of the device 2 is 150 Ah.

[0064] The second display area A2 is an area that displays information related to the first battery 10. For example, the second display area A2 displays a battery ID (referred to as a "module ID" in FIG. 4 ) assigned to the first battery 10 to distinguish the first battery 10 from other batteries, the SOH of the first battery 10, and the like. In the example shown in FIG. 4 , it displays that the battery ID of the first battery 10 is "003" and that the SOH of the first battery 10 is 50%. It also displays information indicating that the current total value of the discharge capacity of the first battery 10 and the discharge capacity of another battery connected in parallel to the first battery 10 is 130 Ah.

[0065] The third display area A3 is an area for displaying information about the second battery to be replaced with the first battery 10. For example, the third display area A3 displays the battery ID and SOH of the second battery to be installed in the storage battery 1 in place of the first battery 10. In the example shown in FIG. 4 , the display area A3 indicates that the battery ID of the second battery is "112" and that the SOH of the second battery is 80%. The display area A3 also displays information indicating that the total discharge capacity of the second battery, when the first battery 10 is replaced with the second battery and the second battery is connected in parallel with the other battery, is 160 Ah. By outputting this replacement information D2 to the display 4 of the terminal 3, the administrator can be prompted to replace the first battery 10 with the second battery.

[0066] Note that the exchange information D2 shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example, and the exchange information D2 may include more information.

[0067] If the determination unit 44 determines that the exchange conditions are not met (NO in step S6), in step S8, the output unit 45 outputs the additional information to the terminal 3 using the communication circuit 20. Specifically, the output unit 45 outputs a signal to cause the terminal 3 to output the additional information D3, and transmits this signal to the terminal 3. Upon receiving the signal, the terminal 3 causes the display 4 to output the additional information D3.

[0068] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the additional information D3. As shown in FIG. 5, the additional information D3 includes a fourth display area A4, a fifth display area A5, and a sixth display area A6. The fourth display area A4 displays information similar to that displayed in the first display area A1. The fifth display area A5 displays information related to the battery currently in use. For example, the fifth display area A5 displays the battery ID assigned to the first battery 10, the SOH of the first battery 10, the battery ID assigned to another battery connected in parallel with the first battery 10, and the SOH of the other battery. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the display shows that the battery ID (referred to as "module ID" in FIG. 5) of the first battery 10 is "010," the SOH of the first battery 10 is 60%, the battery ID of the other battery is "011," and the SOH of the other battery is 80%. It also shows that the sum of the current discharge capacity of the first battery 10 and the current discharge capacity of the other battery is 140 Ah. The sixth display area A6 displays information about the second battery to be added to the storage battery 1. The sixth display area A6 displays the battery ID and SOH of the second battery, etc. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 5 , it is displayed that the battery ID of the second battery is "93" and that the SOH of the second battery is 60%. It also displays that adding the second battery will result in a total discharge capacity of 200 Ah. By outputting this additional information D3 to the display 4 of the terminal 3, it is possible to prompt the administrator to add a second battery to the storage battery 1 of the device 2.

[0069] The additional information D3 shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example, and the additional information D3 may include more information.

[0070] According to the information processing system 100 configured as described above, if the deterioration level of the first battery 10 satisfies the replacement condition, replacement information D2 is output indicating that the first battery 10 should be replaced with a second battery. If the deterioration level of the first battery 10 does not satisfy the replacement condition, additional information D3 is output indicating that a second battery should be added to the device 2. Therefore, the information processing system 100 can provide the administrator with accurate information regarding whether a battery should be added or replaced.

[0071] Furthermore, according to the information processing system 100, if the difference value is greater than the threshold value, replacement information D2 is output, and if the difference value is less than the threshold value, additional information D3 is output. Therefore, the information processing system 100 can present the administrator with more accurate information regarding whether a battery should be added or replaced.

[0072] The present disclosure can employ the following modifications.

[0073] (1-1) In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the device 2 is configured by an energy management system, but the configuration of the device 2 can be changed as appropriate. The device 2 may be, for example, an industrial robot used in a factory or a lighting device used in a commercial facility. Furthermore, the device 2 may be a home appliance used in a home. In this case, the storage battery 1 may be installed in the home.

[0074] (1-2) The calculation unit 43 may calculate a difference value between the degradation level of the second battery 10 and the degradation level of the first battery 10. In this case, the determination unit 44 may determine whether the difference value is smaller than a threshold value in the first determination. Then, the output unit 45 may output the replacement information D2 when the difference value is smaller than the threshold value, and may output the additional information D3 when the difference value is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

[0075] (1-3) In the first embodiment, an example in which the first battery 10 includes one battery has been described. However, the first battery 10 may include multiple batteries. In this case, the process shown in FIG. 3 may be executed for each of the multiple batteries included in the first battery 10.

[0076] Specifically, in step S1 of FIG. 3, the SOH of each battery included in the first battery 10 may be obtained.

[0077] Then, in step S5, a difference value between the SOH of the first battery 10 and that of the second battery may be calculated for each of the plurality of batteries included in the first battery 10.

[0078] Then, in step S6, it may be determined for each of the plurality of batteries whether the difference value of the deterioration level is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

[0079] Then, in step S7, information indicating that one or more of the plurality of batteries included in the first battery 10 will be replaced with one or more second batteries may be displayed as replacement information D2.

[0080] In step S8, information indicating that the second battery is to be added to the storage battery 1 while the multiple batteries included in the first battery 10 remain attached to the storage battery 1 may be displayed as additional information D3.

[0081] (1-4) The identification unit 42 is not essential. For example, the second battery may be identified in advance by an administrator or the like. Alternatively, if there is only one candidate battery and this candidate battery is inevitably identified as the second battery, the identification unit 42 is not essential. In this case, the processes of steps S2 and S3 in FIG. 3 may be omitted.

[0082] (1-5) In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the identification unit 42 identifies the candidate battery with the highest SOH among the candidate battery group 15 as the second battery, or randomly identifies a second battery from the candidate battery group 15. However, the identification method is not limited to this. For example, the second battery may be identified from the candidate battery group 15 in ascending order of battery ID, or the second battery may be identified from the candidate battery group 15 in descending order of SOH.

[0083] 3 may be repeated until the replacement information D2 or additional information D3 for all candidate batteries included in the candidate battery group 15 is output. Specifically, after the process of step S7 or step S8 is completed, a process may be further executed to determine whether the first determination has been performed for all candidate batteries included in the candidate battery group 15. If the first determination has been performed for all candidate batteries, the process may be terminated. If the first determination has not been performed for all candidate batteries, the process may be returned to step S3. In step S3, a candidate battery for which the first determination has not yet been performed may be identified as a second battery, and the processes of steps S4 to S8 may be executed again. In this manner, the replacement information D2 or additional information D3 for all candidate batteries included in the candidate battery group 15 can be output. This allows various replacement information D2 and additional information D3 to be presented to the administrator.

[0084] Second Embodiment Hereinafter, an information processing system 100A according to a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0085] Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing system 100 A. As shown in Fig. 6, the information processing system 100 A includes an apparatus 2, a terminal 3, and a server 5 A.

[0086] The device 2 has a storage battery 1A. The storage battery 1A has a slot in which a first battery 10A is installed and an empty slot for installing an additional battery. The first battery 10A includes a plurality of batteries, which will be described later.

[0087] The server 5A includes a communication circuit 20, a memory 30A, and a processor 40A.

[0088] The memory 30A includes a candidate battery group information storage unit 31, similar to the memory 30 according to the first embodiment.

[0089] The memory 30A also stores the required discharge amount required to operate the device 2. The memory 30A also stores the initial full charge capacity of each of the multiple batteries included in the first battery 10A. The memory 30A also stores information indicating whether the first battery 10A is a battery connected in parallel with another battery. The memory 30A also stores a reference deterioration level. The reference deterioration level is a deterioration level threshold. In the second embodiment, the reference deterioration level is set to, for example, SOH 50%. However, this value is an example and can be changed as appropriate to 60%, 70%, etc.

[0090] The processor 40A includes an acquisition unit 41A, a determination unit 44A, an identification unit 42A, and an output unit 45A.

[0091] The acquisition unit 41A acquires the deterioration level of the first battery 10A. Specifically, the acquisition unit 41A acquires the deterioration level of each of the multiple batteries included in the first battery 10A. The acquisition unit 41A also acquires the required discharge amount from the memory 30A. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 41A acquires the candidate battery group information D1 from the memory 30A.

[0092] The determination unit 44A performs a first determination based on the deterioration level of the first battery 10A. In the first determination, the determination unit 44A according to the second embodiment determines whether the deterioration level of the first battery 10A satisfies the replacement condition. The determination unit 44A determines that the replacement condition is satisfied if the deterioration level of the first battery 10A is equal to or lower than the reference deterioration level. That is, in the first determination, the determination unit 44A determines whether the deterioration level of the first battery 10A is equal to or lower than the reference deterioration level. Then, if the deterioration level of the first battery 10A is equal to or lower than the reference deterioration level, the determination unit 44A determines that the replacement condition is satisfied. On the other hand, if the deterioration level of the first battery 10A is greater than the reference deterioration level, the determination unit 44A determines that the replacement condition is not satisfied.

[0093] More specifically, in the first determination, the determination unit 44A determines whether any of the batteries included in the first battery 10A has a degradation level equal to or lower than the reference degradation level. If any of the batteries included in the first battery 10A has a degradation level equal to or lower than the reference degradation level, the determination unit 44A determines that the replacement condition is met. On the other hand, if the degradation level of each of the batteries included in the first battery 10A is higher than the reference degradation level, the determination unit 44A determines that the replacement condition is not met.

[0094] When the determination unit 44A determines that the deterioration level of the first battery 10A satisfies the replacement condition, the identification unit 42A identifies a second battery from the candidate battery group 15 based on the required discharge amount. Specifically, the identification unit 42A identifies, as the second battery, a battery from among the multiple batteries included in the first battery 10A, whose total discharge capacity together with the discharge capacity of the batteries other than the deteriorated battery is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount.

[0095] On the other hand, if the determination unit 44A determines that the deterioration level of the first battery 10A does not satisfy the replacement condition, the identification unit 42A identifies a second battery from the candidate battery group 15 based on the required discharge amount. Specifically, the identification unit 42A identifies as the second battery a battery having a discharge capacity such that the sum of the discharge capacity of the first battery 10A and the discharge capacity of the first battery 10A is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount. More specifically, the identification unit 42A identifies as the second battery a battery having a discharge capacity such that the sum of the discharge capacities of the first battery 10A and the sum of the discharge capacities of the multiple batteries included in the first battery 10A is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount.

[0096] Furthermore, the determination unit 44A according to the second embodiment determines whether the first battery 10A is connected in parallel with another battery. If the determination unit 44A determines that the first battery 10A is connected in parallel with another battery, the determination unit 44A performs the first determination described above.

[0097] On the other hand, if the determination unit 44A determines that the first battery 10A is not connected in parallel with another battery, the determination unit 44A determines that the first battery 10A is connected in series with another battery. If the first battery 10A is connected in series with another battery, the identification unit 42A identifies a first battery 10A having a discharge capacity equal to or less than the required discharge amount. The identification unit 42A also identifies a battery from the candidate battery group 15 having a discharge capacity equal to or greater than the required discharge amount as the second battery.

[0098] When the determination unit 44A determines that the deterioration level of the first battery 10A satisfies the replacement condition, the output unit 45A outputs replacement information D2 indicating that the first battery 10A should be replaced with the second battery. When the determination unit 44A determines that the deterioration level of the first battery 10A does not satisfy the replacement condition, the output unit 45A outputs additional information D3 indicating that the second battery should be added to the storage battery 1.

[0099] Furthermore, the output unit 45A outputs replacement information D2 when the first battery 10A is connected in series with another battery.

[0100] The processing of the information processing system 100A configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 7 . FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing of the information processing system 100A according to the second embodiment. The processing shown in FIG. 7 is initiated, for example, when an administrator inputs a signal to the terminal 3 instructing the terminal 3 to output the replacement information D2 or the additional information D3. In the following processing, it is assumed that the first battery 10A includes the first battery 101 and the first battery 102 ( FIG. 6 ) as the plurality of batteries. In the following processing, it is assumed that the initial full charge capacities of the first batteries 101 and 102 are both set to 100 Ah. Furthermore, it is assumed that the initial full charge capacities of the candidate batteries constituting the candidate battery group 15 ( FIG. 2 ) are both set to 100 Ah.

[0101] In step S101 , the acquisition unit 41A acquires the SOH (an example of the degree of deterioration) of each of the first battery 101 and the first battery 102 from the device 2 .

[0102] In step S102, the acquisition unit 41A acquires the candidate battery group information D1 from the memory 30A.

[0103] In step S103, the acquisition unit 41A acquires the required discharge amount of the device 2 from the memory 30A.

[0104] In step S104, the determination unit 44A determines whether the first batteries 101 and 102 are connected in parallel with another battery. As described above, the memory 30A according to the second embodiment stores information indicating whether the first batteries 101 and 102 are connected in parallel with another battery. Therefore, the determination unit 44A executes the process of step S104 based on the information. If the first batteries 101 and 102 are connected in parallel with another battery (YES in step S104), the process proceeds to step S105. If the first batteries 101 and 102 are not connected in parallel with another battery (NO in step S104), the determination unit 44A determines that the first batteries 101 and 102 are connected in series with another battery, and the process proceeds to step S110.

[0105] If it is determined that the first batteries 101, 102 are connected in parallel with another battery (YES in step S104), the determination unit 44A determines in step S105 whether a first battery with a degradation level equal to or lower than the reference level exists. That is, it determines whether the SOH of the first batteries 101, 102 is equal to or lower than the reference level. If a first battery with a degradation level equal to or lower than the reference level exists (YES in step S105), the determination unit 44A determines that the replacement condition is met, and the process proceeds to step S106. If a first battery with a degradation level equal to or lower than the reference level does not exist (NO in step S106), the determination unit 44A determines that the replacement condition is not met, and the process proceeds to step S108.

[0106] For example, assume that the SOH (an example of the degradation level) of the first battery 101 is 80% and the SOH of the first battery 102 is 60%. In this case, the SOH of both the first battery 101 and the first battery 102 is greater than the reference degradation level (=50%), so the determination unit 44A determines NO in step S105. On the other hand, assume that the SOH of the first battery 101 is 80% and the SOH of the first battery 102 is 40%. In this case, the SOH of the first battery 102 is equal to or less than the reference degradation level (=50%), so the determination unit 44A determines YES in step S105. In this case, the first battery 102 is a degraded battery.

[0107] If the determination unit 44A determines that there is a first battery whose deterioration level is equal to or lower than the reference level (YES in step S105), then in step S106, the identification unit 42A identifies a second battery whose discharge capacity is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount.

[0108] The process of step S106 will be described in detail. Specifically, the identifying unit 42A identifies as the second battery a battery whose total discharge capacity, including the discharge capacity of the battery other than the degraded battery, is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount. For example, assume that the SOH of the first battery 101 is 80%, the SOH of the first battery 102 is 40%, and the reference degradation level is set to SOH 50%. That is, assume that the first battery 102 corresponds to a degraded battery. Also assume that the required discharge amount of the device 2 is set to 150 Ah. In this case, the identifying unit 42A first subtracts the discharge capacity of the first battery 101 from the required discharge amount (150 Ah). As described above, the initial full charge capacity of the first battery 101 is 100 Ah, and the current SOH of the first battery 101 is 80%, so the discharge capacity of the first battery 101 is 80 Ah. Therefore, the identifying unit 42A subtracts the discharge capacity (80 Ah) of the second battery from the required discharge capacity (150 Ah) to calculate that the difference between the required discharge capacity and the second battery is 70 Ah. This allows the identifying unit 42A to determine that a battery with a discharge capacity of 70 Ah or greater could be the second battery. The identifying unit 42A then references the candidate battery group information D1 ( FIG. 2 ) acquired by the acquiring unit 41A to identify a battery with a discharge capacity of 70 Ah or greater from the candidate battery group 15. As described above, the initial full charge capacity of each candidate battery according to the second embodiment is 100 Ah. Therefore, a candidate battery with an SOH of 70% or greater could be the second battery because it has a discharge capacity of 70 Ah or greater. In the example shown in FIG. 2 , for example, the candidate battery with the battery ID “110” has an SOH of 80% and is therefore considered to have a discharge capacity of 70 Ah or greater. From the above, the identifying unit 42A identifies the candidate battery with the battery ID "110" as the second battery.

[0109] In addition, when there are multiple degraded batteries, specifically when both the first battery 101 and the first battery 102 are degraded batteries, the identifying unit 42A may identify multiple second batteries. In the example shown in Fig. 2, the identifying unit may identify a candidate battery with a battery ID of "110" and a candidate battery with a battery ID of "111" as the second battery.

[0110] In step S107, the output unit 45A outputs the replacement information D2. For example, the output unit 45A outputs information indicating that the candidate battery with the battery ID “110” is to be replaced with the first battery 102, which is a degraded battery, as the replacement information D2.

[0111] If the determination unit 44A determines that no deteriorated battery exists (NO in step S105), the identification unit 42A identifies a second battery having a discharge capacity equal to or greater than the required discharge amount in step S108. If the identification is successful (YES in step S108), the process proceeds to step S109. On the other hand, if the identification is unsuccessful (NO in step S108), the process ends.

[0112] The process of step S108 will be described in detail. The identification unit 42A identifies a second battery having a discharge capacity C3 such that the sum of the discharge capacities of the first battery 101 and the first battery 102 is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount. That is, when the discharge capacity of the first battery 101 is C1, the discharge capacity of the first battery 102 is C2, the discharge capacity of the second battery is C3, and the required discharge amount is T, the identification unit 42A identifies a second battery having a discharge capacity C3 such that "C1 + C2 + C3 ≥ T" is satisfied.

[0113] For example, assume that the SOH (an example of the degree of deterioration) of the first battery 101 is 80%, the SOH of the first battery 102 is 60%, and the required discharge amount of the device 2 is set to 150 Ah. In this case, the specifying unit 42A subtracts the sum of the discharge capacity of the first battery 101 and the discharge capacity of the first battery 102 from the required discharge amount (150 Ah). As described above, the initial full charge capacity of both first batteries 101 and 102 is 100 Ah, the current SOH of the first battery 101 is 80%, and the SOH of the first battery 102 is 60%, so the discharge capacity of the first battery 101 is 80 Ah, and the SOH of the first battery 102 is 60 Ah. The identifying unit 42A then subtracts the total discharge capacity (140 Ah) of the first batteries 101 and 102 from the required discharge capacity (150 Ah) to calculate that the difference between the required discharge capacity and the required discharge capacity is 10 Ah. As a result, the identifying unit 42A determines that a battery with a discharge capacity of 10 Ah or more corresponds to the second battery. The identifying unit 42A then references the candidate battery group information D1 ( FIG. 2 ) to identify a battery with a discharge capacity of 10 Ah or more from the candidate battery group 15. In the example shown in FIG. 2 , for example, the candidate battery with the battery ID “112” is considered to have an SOH of 60% and a discharge capacity of 60 Ah, and therefore corresponds to the second battery. Based on the above, the identifying unit 42A identifies the candidate battery with the battery ID “112” as the second battery and determines YES in step S108. On the other hand, if there is no candidate battery that can be the second battery, the identifying unit 42A determines NO in step S108.

[0114] In step S110, the output unit 45A outputs the additional information D3. For example, the output unit 45A outputs information indicating that a candidate battery with a battery ID of "112" is to be added to the storage battery 1 as the additional information D3.

[0115] If the determination unit 44A determines that the first batteries 101, 102 are not connected in parallel with another battery (NO in step S104), in step S110, the identification unit 42A identifies a first battery having a discharge capacity less than or equal to the required discharge amount.

[0116] For example, assume that the required discharge amount is set to 70 Ah, the discharge capacity of the first battery 101 is 60 Ah, and the discharge capacity of the first battery 102 is 80 Ah. In this case, the identifying unit 42A identifies the first battery 101 as the first battery having a discharge capacity equal to or less than the required discharge amount. Note that if there is no first battery having a discharge capacity equal to or less than the required discharge amount, the process ends.

[0117] In step S111, the identification unit 42A identifies a second battery having a discharge capacity equal to or greater than the required discharge amount. Specifically, the identification unit 42A refers to the candidate battery group information D1 ( FIG. 2 ) to identify a second battery having a discharge capacity equal to or greater than the required discharge amount (e.g., 70 Ah). In the example shown in FIG. 2 , for example, a candidate battery with a battery ID of "111" may correspond to the second battery. Therefore, the identification unit 42A identifies the candidate battery with a battery ID of "111" as the second battery.

[0118] In step S113, the output unit 45A outputs the replacement information D2. For example, the output unit 45A outputs information indicating that the candidate battery with the battery ID “111” is to be replaced with the first battery 101 as the replacement information D2.

[0119] According to the information processing system 100A configured as described above, if the degradation level of the first batteries 101, 102 is equal to or lower than the reference degradation level, replacement information D2 is output. On the other hand, if the degradation level of the first batteries 101, 102 is higher than the reference degradation level, additional information D3 is output. Therefore, according to the information processing system 100A, accurate information on whether a battery should be added or replaced can be presented.

[0120] Furthermore, according to the information processing system 100A, if there is a first battery whose deterioration level is below the standard level, replacement information D2 is output, so that if the deterioration of the first battery has progressed beyond a certain level, the administrator can be prompted to replace the first battery.

[0121] However, when the storage battery 1 has a series circuit and the first battery 10A is connected in series with another battery, the idea of ​​adding a battery to the storage battery 1 and summing the discharge capacities is not applicable. In contrast, the information processing system 100A determines whether the first battery 10A is connected in parallel with another battery. Then, when the first battery 10A is connected in parallel, a determination (an example of a first determination) is made as to whether a first battery with a degradation level equal to or lower than the reference level exists. Therefore, the information processing system 100A can present more accurate information to the user than when the first determination is made without checking whether the first battery 10A is connected in parallel with another battery.

[0122] The present disclosure can employ the following modifications.

[0123] (2-1) The memory 30A may store past power consumption amounts of the device 2. The acquisition unit 41A may acquire the past power consumption amounts of the device 2 from the memory 30A. Then, the acquisition unit 41A may acquire the required discharge amount by estimating the required discharge amount based on the past power consumption amounts of the device 2.

[0124] (2-2) In the second embodiment, an example was described in which the first battery 10A includes multiple batteries (first battery 101 and first battery 102), but the first battery 10A may also be composed of a single first battery.

[0125] In addition, if one first battery is a degraded battery (YES in step S105 of Figure 7), in the processing of step S106, the identification unit 42A may identify one or more candidate batteries from the group of candidate batteries 15 as the second battery, the candidate batteries having a discharge capacity whose total discharge capacity is the required discharge amount.

[0126] The present disclosure is useful in the technical field of managing devices that use batteries.

Claims

1. An information processing method in a computer, comprising: obtaining a deterioration level of a first battery that operates a device; performing a first determination based on the deterioration level of the first battery to determine whether the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies a replacement condition; outputting replacement information indicating that the first battery should be replaced with a second battery if the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition; and outputting additional information indicating that the second battery should be added to the device if the deterioration level of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition.

2. The information processing method of claim 1, further comprising: acquiring the degree of deterioration of the second battery; calculating a difference value of the degree of deterioration of the first battery from the degree of deterioration of the second battery; and in the first determination, determining whether the difference value is greater than or equal to a threshold; if the difference value is greater than or equal to the threshold, determining that the degree of deterioration of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition; and if the difference value is less than the threshold, determining that the degree of deterioration of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition.

3. The information processing method of claim 1 further comprises obtaining a required discharge amount required to operate the device, and in the first determination, determining that the replacement condition is met if the deterioration level of the first battery is equal to or lower than a reference deterioration level, and further identifying the second battery from a group of candidate batteries based on the required discharge amount if it is determined that the replacement condition is met.

4. The information processing method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining a required discharge amount required to operate the device; determining in the first determination that the replacement condition is not met if the deterioration level of the first battery is greater than a reference deterioration level; and, if it is determined that the replacement condition is not met, identifying the second battery from a group of candidate batteries based on the required discharge amount; and determining that the second battery is a battery having a discharge capacity whose total discharge capacity together with the first battery is greater than or equal to the required discharge amount.

5. The information processing method according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising determining whether the first battery is connected in parallel with another battery, the first determination being performed when the first battery is connected in parallel with the other battery.

6. The information processing method according to claim 5, further comprising: obtaining a required discharge amount required to operate the device; and, if the first battery is connected in series with the other battery, identifying a first battery having a discharge capacity equal to or less than the required discharge amount; identifying the second battery from a group of candidate batteries; the second battery being a battery having a discharge capacity greater than the required discharge amount; and outputting the replacement information.

7. The information processing method of claim 3, wherein the first battery includes a plurality of batteries, and the first determination determines that the replacement condition is met if there is a degraded battery among the plurality of batteries whose level of degradation is equal to or lower than a reference level of degradation, and the second battery is a battery having a discharge capacity such that the total value of the discharge capacity of the second battery and batteries among the plurality of batteries other than the degraded battery is equal to or greater than the required discharge amount.

8. The information processing method of claim 4, wherein the first battery includes a plurality of batteries, and the first determination determines that the replacement condition is not met if the degree of deterioration of each of the plurality of batteries is greater than a reference degree of deterioration, and the second battery has a discharge capacity whose total value with the sum of the discharge capacities of each of the plurality of batteries is greater than or equal to the required discharge amount.

9. The information processing method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: acquiring past power consumption of the device; and estimating a required discharge amount required to operate the device based on the past power consumption amount.

10. An information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires the degree of deterioration of a first battery that operates the device; a judgment unit that performs a first judgment to determine whether the degree of deterioration of the first battery satisfies a replacement condition based on the degree of deterioration of the first battery; and an output unit that outputs replacement information indicating that the first battery should be replaced with a second battery if the degree of deterioration of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition, and outputs additional information indicating that the second battery should be added to the device if the degree of deterioration of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition.

11. An information processing program that causes a computer to function as an information processing device, the information processing program causing the computer to execute the following processes: acquire the deterioration level of a first battery that operates the device; perform a first determination based on the deterioration level of the first battery to determine whether the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies a replacement condition; output replacement information indicating that the first battery should be replaced with a second battery if the deterioration level of the first battery satisfies the replacement condition; and output additional information indicating that the second battery should be added to the device if the deterioration level of the first battery does not satisfy the replacement condition.

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