Rechargeable Battery OCV Correction for Early Degradation Assessment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for evaluating the degradation state of rechargeable batteries require extensive data collection during normal operation and are inefficient in accurately assessing battery health, especially in the early stages of operation.

Innovation Solution

An information processing apparatus that estimates an OCV curve from operation data, corrects voltage values based on SoC, determines a suitable SoC range, and evaluates battery degradation using dispersion of corrected voltage values, enabling accurate assessment of battery health across a wide SoC range.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If on-line evaluation of battery degradation is performed using normal operation data, then continuous monitoring without stopping operation is enabled, but extensive data collection is required which increases time and computational resources

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebattery degradation evaluation accuracyVSAvoiddata collection time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent pre-calculates and stores OCV curves for various SoC values before actual battery operation. During operation, the system only needs to retrieve the pre-computed OCV curve corresponding to the current SoC and compare it with measured voltage, eliminating the need for extensive real-time data collection and computation while maintaining accurate degradation evaluation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of requiring complete charge-discharge cycles or extensive operation data for evaluation, the patent uses partial data - specifically the relationship between voltage, SoC, and OCV at various states. By focusing on this key partial information and using dispersion analysis of corrected voltage values, the system achieves accurate degradation assessment without collecting excessive data

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Productivity

If traditional evaluation methods using approximation equations are used, then evaluation can be performed with minimal data, but accuracy of degradation assessment is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveevaluation speedVSAvoiddegradation state accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces traditional mechanical/mathematical approximation methods (like Arrhenius equations) with an electrical-based approach using OCV curves and voltage dispersion analysis. This substitution enables more accurate degradation assessment by directly measuring electrical characteristics (voltage deviations from OCV) rather than relying on approximate mathematical models

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates and stores reference OCV curves that represent ideal battery behavior at different SoC levels. During evaluation, these reference curves are copied and compared against actual measured voltage values. The dispersion between measured values and the copied reference OCV curve provides accurate degradation information without requiring complex approximation calculations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP4123322B1Information processing device, information processing method, computer program and information processing system
Publication Date: 2025.09.03 KK TOSHIBA
  • EP4123322B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4123322B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP4123322B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

[Problem to be solved] An information processing method, a computer program and an information processing system for evaluating the state of a rechargeable battery is provided. [Solution] According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes: a first voltage corrector configured to correct a first voltage value of a rechargeable battery according to an amount of charged electricity of the rechargeable battery at the first voltage value to generate a second voltage value, the first voltage value including one of a charge voltage or discharge voltage; and a state evaluator configured to evaluate a state of the rechargeable battery based on the second voltage value.