Patent Publication Number: US-2023152379-A1

Title: Apparatus and method for determining battery life

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0159628, filed on Nov. 18, 2021, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE 
     Field of the Present Disclosure 
     The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for determining a battery life. 
     Description of Related art 
     A vehicle battery is not only used to supply power to vehicle&#39;s electrical equipment, but is also applied to electric vehicles and used as a driving force for vehicle driving. Accordingly, when a battery life of a vehicle is terminated, because it not only stops the operation of the electrical equipment, but also affects the driving of the vehicle, it is very important to predict the battery life. 
     In general, the battery life is predicted using a method of measuring the capacity when the battery is fully charged, and as a result, there is a limit in that a dark current generated after a key off of the vehicle is not taken into account in predicting the battery life. Accordingly, it is difficult to accurately predict the battery life, which causes problems such as poor start-on and charging delay, and thus a technology for accurately predicting the battery life is required. 
     The information included in this Background of the present disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the present disclosure and may not be taken as an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to providing a battery life determination apparatus and method that determine the battery life in consideration of a dark current generated after a key off of a vehicle. 
     The technical problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the aforementioned problems, and any other technical problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood from the following description by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a battery life determination apparatus includes a detector that measures a voltage of a battery, and a controller that determines an average value of a battery depth of discharge based on a voltage of the battery depending on a battery discharging after key off of a vehicle and a battery charging while driving of the vehicle, and determines a battery life by comparing a number of start- on times after the key off with a number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be configured to determine a first SOC value of the battery based on the voltage of the battery measured after the key off of the vehicle, and may determine a second SOC value of the battery based on the voltage of the battery, which is measured after charging when the battery is charged due to the driving of the vehicle. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be configured to determine the battery depth of discharge based on the first SOC and the second SOC. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be configured to determine a first DOD based on the first SOC and to determine a second DOD based on the second SOC. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be configured to determine a difference between the first DOD and the second DOD as the battery depth of discharge. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be configured to determine an accumulated value by accumulating the determined battery depth of discharge, and may determine the average value by dividing the accumulated value by the number of start-on times. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus may further include storage the stores the number of battery life end cycles for each battery depth of discharge. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be configured to determine the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value based on the number of battery life end cycles stored in the storage. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be configured to determine that the battery life is ended when the number of start-on times after the key off exceeds the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may redetermine the average value when the number of start-on times after the key off does not exceed the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value. 
     According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a battery life determination method includes determining an average value of a battery depth of discharge based on a voltage of the battery depending on a battery discharging after key off of a vehicle and a battery charging while driving of the vehicle, and determining a battery life by comparing a number of start-on times after the key off with a number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the determining of the average value of the battery depth of discharge may include determining a first SOC value of the battery based on the voltage of the battery measured after the key off of the vehicle, and determining a second SOC value of the battery based on the voltage of the battery, which is measured after charging when the battery is charged due to the driving of the vehicle. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the determining of the average value of the battery depth of discharge may include determining the battery depth of discharge based on the first SOC and the second SOC. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the determining of the average value of the battery depth of discharge may include determining a first DOD based on the first SOC and determining a second DOD based on the second SOC. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the determining of the average value of the battery depth of discharge may include determining a difference between the first DOD and the second DOD as the battery depth of discharge. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the determining of the average value of the battery depth of discharge may include determining an accumulated value by accumulating the determined battery depth of discharge, and may determine the average value by dividing the accumulated value by the number of start-on times. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the method may further include storing the number of battery life end cycles for each battery depth of discharge. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the determining of the battery life may include determining the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value based on the number of battery life end cycles stored in the storage. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the determining of the battery life may include determining that the battery life is ended when the number of start-on times after the key off exceeds the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the determining of the battery life may include redetermining the average value when the number of start-on times after the key off does not exceed the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value. 
     The methods and apparatuses of the present disclosure have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a battery life determination apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a graph illustrating the number of life end cycles according to a battery depth of discharge, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  3    is a diagram illustrating a battery life determination method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  4    is a diagram illustrating a battery life determination method according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG.  5    is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a determining system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     It may be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the present disclosure. The specific design features of the present disclosure as included herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particularly intended application and use environment. 
     In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present disclosure throughout the several figures of the drawing. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present disclosure(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the present disclosure(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the present disclosure(s) to those exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. On the other hand, the present disclosure(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. 
     Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In adding the reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the identical or equivalent component is designated by the identical numeral even when they are displayed on other drawings. Furthermore, in describing the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a detailed description of the related known configuration or function will be omitted when it is determined that it interferes with the understanding of the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     In describing the components of the exemplary embodiment according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like may be used. These terms are merely intended to distinguish the components from other components, and the terms do not limit the nature, order or sequence of the components. Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning which is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
       FIG.  1    is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a battery life determination apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , a battery life determination apparatus  100  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a detector  110 , storage  120 , and a controller  130 . 
     The detector  110  may obtain state information of the battery. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the detector  110  may obtain information on a voltage of the battery, a current of the battery, and a temperature of the battery. The controller  130  may determine a remaining amount (State of Charge: SOC) of the battery based on the information obtained by the detector  110 . 
     The storage  120  may store at least one algorithm for performing operation or execution of various commands for the operation of the battery life determination apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The storage  120  may include at least one storage medium of a flash memory, a hard disk, a memory card, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the storage  120  may store the number of battery life end cycles for each battery depth of discharge (DOD). In the instant case, the battery depth of discharge may mean the amount of discharge of the battery, and may mean that as the numerical value (%) of the battery depth of discharge increases, the amount of discharge of the battery increases, and as the numerical value (%) of the battery depth of discharge decreases, the amount of discharge of the battery decreases. The battery depth of discharge is preferably understood as the opposite concept to the remaining amount of the battery. Furthermore, the number of life end portion cycle times may mean the number of cycles in which charging and discharging are possible until the battery life is terminated. 
     The number of battery life end cycles for each battery depth of discharge will be described in more detail with reference to  FIG.  2   . 
       FIG.  2    is a graph illustrating the number of life end cycles according to a battery depth of discharge, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the battery depth of discharge may include cases of 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% as illustrated in  FIG.  2   . The number of end-life cycles according to the battery depth of discharge may be obtained through a performance test in the development stage of the battery. 
     The controller  130  may be implemented with various processing devices such as a microprocessor in which a semiconductor chip configured for performing operations or execution of various commands is embedded, and may control an operation of the battery life determination apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     The controller  130  may determine an average value of the battery depth of discharge based on a battery voltage depending on a battery discharging after the key off and a battery charging while driving. 
     In detail, the controller  130  may operate the electrical equipment after the key off of the vehicle. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller  130  may operate an OTA (over-the-air: a wireless update) device, a CCS (connected vehicle service) device, and an air conditioner (a blower and a ventilation) after the key off. 
     The controller  130  may measure the voltage of the battery and determine the first SOC value of the battery when the start-on is controlled after the key off In the instant case, the reason that the controller  130  determines the first SOC value of the battery is to obtain a discharge amount of the battery which is discharged while the electrical equipment is operated after the key is turned off. 
     Thereafter, the controller  130  may allow the battery to be charged while the vehicle is driving, and may measure the voltage of the battery and determine the second SOC value of the battery when the driving of the vehicle is completed and the starting is turned off. In the instant case, the reason that the controller  130  determines the second SOC value of the battery is to obtain a charge amount of the battery charged while the vehicle is driving. 
     The controller  130  may determine the battery depth of discharge based on the first SOC and the second SOC. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller  130  may determine a first DOD, which is the amount of discharge that the battery is discharged due to an operation of the electrical equipment before the start-on, based on the first SOC. Furthermore, since the first DOD is changed according to the amount of charge of the battery charged while the vehicle is driving, the controller  130  may determine the second DOD by applying the second SOC to the first DOD. For example, when the first SOC is 70%, the first DOD may be 30%, and when the second SOC is 90%, the second DOD may be 10%. 
     The controller  130  may determine a difference between the first DOD and the second DOD as the battery depth of discharge. The reason that the controller  130  obtains the battery depth of discharge using the difference between the first DOD and the second DOD is to determine only the actually discharged battery depth of discharge excluding the amount of charge charged while the vehicle is driving. For example, even when the first DOD is 30%, when the second DOD is 10% due to charging while driving the vehicle, the battery depth of discharge may be determined as 20% according to the amount of charge. 
     The controller  130  may determine the operation until the battery depth of discharge is determined as one cycle after the key off of the vehicle. The controller  130  may repeatedly perform a cycle that determines the first SOC to determine the discharge amount due to the operation of the electrical equipment after the key off again when one cycle ends, and determines the second SOC after starting off when the amount of charge is generated by charging due to the vehicle driving. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of cycles described above may be determined as the number of start-on times. 
     The controller  130  may determine an accumulated value by accumulating the battery depth of discharge determined in each cycle, and may count the number of start-on times operated in each cycle. Furthermore, the controller  130  may determine an average value of the battery depth of discharge by dividing the accumulated value of the battery depth of discharge by the counted start-on times. 
     The controller  130  may predict the battery life by comparing the number of start-on times after the key off with the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge. 
     First, the controller  130  may determine the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller  130  may determine the number of life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge based on the number of life end cycles stored in the storage  120 . For example, the controller  130  may match the average value of the battery depth of discharge to an x-axis value (DOD %) in  FIG.  2   , and may determine the corresponding number of battery life end cycles (a y-axis value). 
     When the number of life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge is determined, the controller  130  may determine whether the number of start-on times exceeds the number of life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge. 
     When it is determined that the number of start-on times exceeds the number of life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge, the controller  130  may determine that the battery life is ended. On the other hand, when the number of start-on times after key off does not exceed the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge, the controller  130  may determine that the battery may be discharged and charged, and may redetermine the average value of the battery depth of discharge after the battery is discharged and charged. 
       FIG.  3    is a diagram illustrating a battery life determination method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG.  4    is a diagram illustrating a battery life determination method according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  3   , when it is determined that the key is off (S 110 ), the electrical equipment is operated(S 120 ) and the starting is controlled on after the key off (S 130 ), the controller  130  may measure the voltage of the battery and may determine the first SOC value of the battery (S 140 ). In S 140 , the reason that the controller  130  determines the first SOC value of the battery is to obtain a discharge amount of the battery which is discharged while the electrical equipment is operated after key off. 
     Thereafter, the controller  130  may allow the battery to be charged while the vehicle is driving (S 150 ). When the driving of the vehicle is completed and the starting is turned off (S 160 ), the controller  130  may measure the voltage of the battery and may determine the second SOC value of the battery (S 170 ). The reason that the controller  130  determines the second SOC value of the battery in S 170  is to obtain the amount of charge of the battery charged while the vehicle is driving in S 150 . 
     The controller  130  may determine the battery depth of discharge based on the first SOC and the second SOC. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, in S 180 , the controller  130  may determine a first DOD, which is the amount of discharge that the battery is discharged due to an operation of the electrical equipment before the start-on, based on the first SOC. Furthermore, since the first DOD is changed according to the amount of charge of the battery charged while the vehicle is driving, the controller  130  may determine the second DOD by applying the second SOC to the first DOD. For example, when the first SOC is 70%, the first DOD may be 30%, and when the second SOC is 90%, the second DOD may be 10%. 
     Furthermore, the controller  130  may determine the difference between the first DOD and the second DOD as the battery depth of discharge. The reason that the controller  130  obtains the battery depth of discharge using the difference between the first DOD and the second DOD is to determine only the actually discharged battery depth of discharge excluding the amount of charge charged while the vehicle is driving. For example, even when the first DOD is 30%, when the second DOD is 10% due to charging while driving the vehicle, the battery depth of discharge may be determined as 20% according to the amount of charge. 
     Although not illustrated thereafter, the controller  130  may repeatedly perform S 110  to S 180 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  4   , the controller  130  may determine the battery depth of discharge based on the battery information obtained in S 110  to S 180 . According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller  130  may accumulate the battery depth of discharge determined in each cycle to determine an accumulated value, and may count the number of start-on times operated in each cycle (S 210 ). Furthermore, the controller  130  may determine an average value of the battery depth of discharge by dividing the accumulated value of the battery depth of discharge by the counted start-on times (S 220 ). 
     The controller  130  may predict the battery life by comparing the number of start-on times after the key off with the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge (S 230 ). 
     In S 230 , the controller  130  may determine the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller  130  may determine the number of life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge based on the number of life end cycles stored in the storage  120 . For example, the controller  130  may match the average value of the battery depth of discharge to the x-axis value (DOD %) in  FIG.  2   , and may determine the corresponding number of battery life end cycles (the y-axis value). 
     When the number of life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge is determined, the controller  130  may determine whether the number of start-on times exceeds the number of life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge. 
     In S 230 , when it is determined that the number of start-on times exceeds the number of life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge (Y), the controller  130  may determine that the battery life is ended (S 240 ). 
     On the other hand, in S 230 , the controller  130  may determine that the battery may be discharged and charged when the number of start-on times after the key off does not exceed the number of battery life end cycles corresponding to the average value of the battery depth of discharge (N), may redetermine the battery depth of discharge by performing S 110  to S 180  of  FIG.  3    again(S 250 ). 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a display may be connected to the controller  130  to show the  FIG.  2    or a result of  FIGS.  3  and  4   . 
       FIG.  5    is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a computing system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG.  5   , a computing system  1000  may include at least one processor  1100 , a memory  1300 , a user interface input device  1400 , a user interface output device  1500 , storage  1600 , and a network interface  1700 , which are connected to each other via a bus  1200 . 
     The processor  1100  may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a semiconductor device that processes instructions stored in the memory  1300  and/or the storage  1600 . Each of the memory  1300  and the storage  1600  may include various types of volatile or nonvolatile storage media. For example, the memory  1300  may include a read only memory (ROM)  1310  and a random access memory (RAM)  1320 . 
     Accordingly, the operations of the method or algorithm described in connection with the exemplary embodiments included in the specification may be directly implemented with a hardware module, a software module, or a combination of the hardware module and the software module, which is executed by the processor  1100 . The software module may reside on a storage medium (i.e., the memory  1300  and/or the storage  1600 ) such as a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read only memory (ROM), an erasable and programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk drive, a removable disc, or a compact disc-ROM (CD-ROM). The storage medium may be coupled to the processor  1100 . The processor  1100  may read out information from the storage medium and may write information in the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated with the processor  1100 . The processor and storage medium may be implemented with an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC may be provided in a user terminal. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium may be implemented with separate components in the user terminal. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a battery life determination apparatus and method may accurately predict the battery life by use of a battery depth of discharge depending on a battery discharging after key off of a vehicle and a battery charging while driving. Furthermore, it is possible to minimize problems of start-on failure and charging delay, and to provide users with battery information with improved reliability. 
     The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present disclosure, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains will be able to make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure. 
     Furthermore, the term related to a control device such as “controller”, “control apparatus”, “control unit”, “control device”, “control module”, or “server”, etc refers to a hardware device including a memory and a processor configured to execute one or more steps interpreted as an algorithm structure. The memory stores algorithm steps, and the processor executes the algorithm steps to perform one or more processes of a method in accordance with various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The control device according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented through a nonvolatile memory configured to store algorithms for controlling operation of various components of a vehicle or data about software commands for executing the algorithms, and a processor configured to perform operation to be described above using the data stored in the memory. The memory and the processor may be individual chips. Alternatively, the memory and the processor may be integrated in a single chip. The processor may be implemented as one or more processors. The processor may include various logic circuits and operation circuits, may process data according to a program provided from the memory, and may generate a control signal according to the processing result. 
     The control device may be at least one microprocessor operated by a predetermined program which may include a series of commands for carrying out the method included in the aforementioned various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     The aforementioned invention can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data which may be thereafter read by a computer system and store and execute program instructions which may be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the program instruction include machine language code such as those generated by a compiler, as well as high-level language code which may be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. 
     In various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, each operation described above may be performed by a control device, and the control device may be configured by multiple control devices, or an integrated single control device. 
     In various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the control device may be implemented in a form of hardware or software, or may be implemented in a combination of hardware and software. 
     Furthermore, the terms such as “unit”, “module”, etc. Included in the specification mean units for processing at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. 
     For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner”, “outer”, “up”, “down”, “upwards”, “downwards”, “front”, “rear”, “back”, “inside”, “outside”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”, “interior”, “exterior”, “internal”, “external”, “forwards”, and “backwards” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures. It will be further understood that the term “connect” or its derivatives refer both to direct and indirect connection. 
     The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described to explain certain principles of the present disclosure and their practical application, to enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the present disclosure be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.