Patent ID: 12216168

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this document, the same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions of the same components are omitted.

For the various embodiments of the present invention disclosed in this document, specific structural or functional descriptions have been exemplified for the purpose of describing the embodiments of the present invention only and various embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in this document.

Expressions such as “first”, “second”, “first”, or “second” used in various embodiments may modify various elements regardless of their order and/or importance, and do not limit the corresponding elements. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may be renamed and referred to as a first component.

Terms used in this document are only used to describe a specific embodiment, and may not be intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unless otherwise specified.

All terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art. Terms defined in a commonly used dictionary may be interpreted as having the same or similar meaning as the meaning in the context of the related technology, and are not interpreted as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in this document. In some cases, even terms defined in this document cannot be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the present invention.

FIG.1is a block diagram showing the configuration of a general battery rack.

Referring toFIG.1, it schematically shows a battery control system including a battery rack1and an upper-level controller2included in an upper-level system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown inFIG.1, the battery rack1includes a battery module10consisting of one or more battery cells and capable of charging and discharging, a switching unit14connected in series to the (+) terminal side or the (−) terminal side of the battery module10to control the charge/discharge current flow of the battery module10, and a battery management system20(e.g., MBMS) for controlling and managing the voltage, current, temperature, and the like of the battery rack1to prevent overcharging and overdischarging.

Here, the switching unit14is a semiconductor switching element for controlling the current flow for charging or discharging of a plurality of the battery modules10, and for example, at least one MOSFET, or a relay, a magnetic contactor, and the like may be used according to the specifications of the battery rack1.

In addition, in order to monitor the voltage, current, temperature, etc. of the battery rack1, the battery management system20may measure or calculate a voltage and a current of a gate, a source, and a drain of a semiconductor switching device. In addition, the battery management system20may measure the current, voltage, temperature, etc. of the battery rack1using the sensor12provided adjacent to the semiconductor switching element. Here, the sensor12may correspond to a voltage measurement unit to be described later.

The battery management system20is an interface for receiving values obtained by measuring the above-described various parameters, and may include a plurality of terminals and a circuit connected to these terminals to process input values. Also, the battery management system20may control ON/OFF of the switching unit14, and for example, a MOSFET, and may be connected to the battery module10to monitor the state of each battery module10.

Meanwhile, in the battery management system20of the present invention, the voltage in the rest section after charging and discharging of the battery cells may be calculated through a separate program as described below. In addition, by comparing the calculated voltage with the voltage detected by the sensor12, it is possible to diagnose whether the battery cell is abnormal.

The upper-level controller2may transmit a control signal for the battery module10to the battery management system20. Accordingly, the operation of the battery management system20may be controlled based on a signal applied from the upper-level controller. On the other hand, the battery cell of the present invention may be a configuration included in the battery module10used in the Energy Storage System (ESS). And in this case, the upper-level controller2may be an ESS controller. However, the battery rack1is not limited to this use.

Since the configuration of the battery rack1and the configuration of the battery management system20are known configurations, a more detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG.2is a block diagram showing the configuration of a battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG.2, a battery diagnosis device200according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a voltage measurement unit210, a fitting voltage calculation unit220, and a diagnosis unit230.

The voltage measurement unit210may measure the voltage of each battery cell. In this case, the voltage measurement unit210may measure the voltage at a set time interval. Also, the voltage measurement unit210may measure the current flowing through the battery cell. Accordingly, it may be determined whether the battery cell is in a rest section (i.e., a section in which current is 0) after charging or discharging through the current value of the battery cell measured by the voltage measurement unit210.

The fitting voltage calculation unit220may calculate the fitting voltage of the battery cell in the rest section after charging and discharging of the battery cell. Specifically, the fitting voltage calculation unit220calculates the fitting voltage of the battery cell by exponential fitting the voltage of the battery cell in a preset first section with respect to the rest section after charging and discharging of the battery cell. For example, the first section may be a section with IR Drop.

In addition, the fitting voltage calculation unit220may calculate the fitting voltage of the battery cell by linearly fitting the voltage of the battery cell in the second section after the first section. For example, the second section may be a stabilization section in which the voltage is maintained or linearly derated during rest of the battery cell.

The fitting voltage calculation unit220may preset the coefficient of the exponential part of the fitting voltage calculation equation for the rest section after charging and discharging of the battery cell to be greater than or less than 0. For example, the calculation equation in the above-described first section of the fitting voltage can be expressed as V1=a*exp(b*X)+c, and in this case, the value a, which is the coefficient of the exponent part, may be set to be greater than 0. Therefore, the shape of the fitting voltage of the battery cell can be more clearly displayed.

In addition, the fitting voltage calculation unit220may calculate the fitting voltage of the battery cell by reflecting the power consumed by the battery management system (Module Battery Management System (MBMS)) of the battery module. In this case, the fitting voltage calculation unit220may calculate the fitting voltage of the battery cell by linearly derating the voltage of the battery cell with a slope corresponding to the power consumed by the battery management system of the battery module in the second section described above. For example, power consumption of the battery management system may be converted using an Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) table that defines a relationship between battery capacity and voltage.

As such, in relation to the fitting voltage calculation unit220, in the rest section after charging and discharging the battery cell, by calculating the fitting voltage by dividing the section in which the voltage shape of the battery cell appears in exponential form and the section in which the voltage shape appears linearly, compared to the case of fitting in one way as in the prior art, abnormal voltage behavior of battery cells can be detected more accurately.

Meanwhile, the fitting voltage calculation unit220may adjust the number of voltage data (i.e., voltage) measured by the voltage measurement unit210based on the sampling time of the measured voltage data of the battery cell. For example, the number of voltage data is adjusted such as if the sampling time of voltage data is 1 minute, it is 30 pieces, and if 2 minutes, it is 15 pieces, and if 1 second, it is 1800 pieces, etc., and the exponential fitting time Tau can be set accordingly.

In addition, the fitting voltage calculation unit220may separate the measured voltage data when the measurement interval of the voltage data of the battery cell measured by the voltage measurement unit210is greater than or equal to a preset time. For example, the fitting voltage calculation unit220may calculate the fitting voltage by separating the corresponding data when the log phase time interval of the voltage data is 1 hour or more. That is, when the log interval of the voltage data is 1 hour or more, the fitting voltage can be calculated for each section by dividing it into a plurality of sections based on the corresponding part.

Regarding the rest section after charging and discharging the battery cell, the diagnosis unit230may diagnose the abnormality of the battery cell by comparing the measured voltage measured by the voltage measurement unit210with the fitting voltage calculated by the fitting voltage calculation unit220. Specifically, the diagnosis unit230may determine that an abnormality has occurred in the battery cell when the difference value between the measured voltage and the fitting voltage in the rest section of the battery cell is equal to or greater than a preset first reference value. At this time, by comparing the maximum value of the difference value between the measured voltage and the fitting voltage with the first reference value, it is possible to determine whether the battery cell is abnormal.

In addition, when the standard deviation of the difference value between the measured voltage measured by the voltage measurement unit210and the fitting voltage calculated by the fitting voltage calculation unit220is equal to or greater than a preset second reference value with respect to the rest section after charging and discharging battery cells, the diagnosis unit230may determine that an abnormality has occurred in the battery cell. In this case, the standard deviation may represent an error for each battery cell at a specific moment. For example, it is possible to determine whether the battery cell is abnormal by comparing the standard deviation of the maximum value among the difference values between the measured voltage and the fitting voltage with the second reference value.

With respect to the rest section after charging and discharging battery cells, the diagnosis unit230may determine that an abnormality has occurred in a battery cell in which the difference value between the measured voltage measured by the voltage measurement unit210and the fitting voltage calculated by the fitting voltage calculation unit220is greater than or equal to a preset first reference value twice or more. Also, as described above, the diagnosis unit230may determine that an abnormality has occurred in battery cells in which the standard deviation of the difference value between the measured voltage and the fitting voltage is greater than the second reference value twice or more.

Meanwhile, although not shown inFIG.2, the battery diagnosis device200according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a storage unit. The storage unit may store voltage and current measurement data of battery cells, calculated fitting voltage data, power consumption data of the battery management system, and the like. However, the storage unit does not necessarily have to be included in the battery diagnosis device200, and the storage unit may be included in an external server to transmit and receive data through a separate communication module (not shown).

In addition, the battery diagnosis device200according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a display unit (not shown). Therefore, the battery diagnosis device200according to an embodiment of the present invention may express the voltage or current shape measured by the voltage measurement unit210or the shape of the fitting voltage calculated through the fitting voltage calculation unit220in a graph form to the user through the display unit. In addition, the display unit may be provided with a user interface (e.g., a touch pad, etc.) to receive a user's input.

As such, according to the battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the abnormal behavior of the battery cell can be detected by simulating the shape of the voltage during rest after charging and discharging of the battery cell and comparing it with the actual measured voltage.

FIG.3is a view showing an actual voltage shape, a voltage shape of a battery cell calculated by the battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a voltage shape calculated according to the prior art. Referring toFIG.3, the x-axis represents time (minutes), and the y-axis represents voltage (V). At this time, the graph ofFIG.3shows the voltage shape fitted in exponential form with the logged voltage data after excluding the trinkle charge (i.e., the form of operating the charge in a spot-like manner to match the SOC100) in the rest section after charging.

As shown inFIG.3, it can be seen that the actual voltage in the rest section after charging the battery cell initially decreases in a similar form to an exponential function, and appears almost constant between about 8 minutes to 25 minutes, and then appears in a shape that decreases linearly again.

In this regard, it can be seen that when the voltage is simply linearly fitted as in the conventional method, an error with the actual voltage is large. Therefore, in relation to the battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in the rest voltage after charging or discharging, by fitting the voltage in the form of an exponential in the section where the voltage rapidly decreases, and by fitting it linearly in the section where the polarization is resolved, it is possible to calculate the voltage of the rest section more accurately than in the prior art. At this time, the coefficient of the exponential part in the voltage fitting equation is set to be greater than 0, and the exponential fitting time can be freely adjusted according to the sampling time.

In addition, with respect to the linear section ofFIG.3as described above, considering the power consumption of the module battery management system (MBMS), even if charging or discharging of the battery does not occur, it can be expressed in the form of linearly decreasing by reflecting a decrease in voltage due to power supplied to the battery management system.

FIG.4is a diagram illustrating a change in a voltage shape according to a fitting time in a battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG.4, voltages in the rest section after discharging when Tau values corresponding to exponential fitting times of voltages are set to 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55, respectively.FIG.4shows a comparison of the actually measured voltage data and the fitting voltage data after excluding the trinkle charge part in the rest section after discharging. In each graph ofFIG.4, the x-axis represents time (2 minutes), and the y-axis represents voltage (V).

As shown inFIG.4, it can be seen that as the Tau value decreases (e.g., Tau=15), the actual voltage and the fitting voltage tend to match at the front end of the graph, and conversely, as the value of Tau increases (e.g., Tau=55), the actual voltage and the fitting voltage tend to match at the rear end of the graph.

As such, since the section where the actual voltage and the fitting voltage match appears differently depending on the Tau value, in the battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the Tau value can be appropriately set by considering the relaxation time without fixing the exponential fitting time as a constant value. For example, in the battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the Tau value is set to 15 in the rest section after charging, considering that the rest section after discharging is longer than the rest section after charging and the tendency of the voltage to rise at the rear end, etc. it is possible to set the Tau value to 30, which is greater than the rest section after charging. However, the Tau value in the battery diagnosis device of the present invention is not limited thereto and may be set to an appropriate value in some cases.

FIG.5is a diagram illustrating current consumption of a battery management system (MBMS) of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

After charging or discharging a battery cell, the voltage may drop even in a state where no current flows in the rest section. This is mainly a voltage drop due to the current consumption of the battery management system.

Accordingly, in the battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the fitting voltage in the rest section after charging and discharging of the battery cell may be calculated in consideration of the influence of current consumption by the battery management system (e.g., MBMS). In order to reflect the influence of the current consumption of the battery management system, for example, the current consumption value measured at the ESS development center may be used.

In this regard, referring to (a) ofFIG.5shows that the average current consumption is measured for a plurality of module battery management systems. In (a) ofFIG.5, the x-axis represents samples #1 to #14, and the y-axis represents the current consumption (mA) of each sample. As shown in (a) ofFIG.5, there are some differences for each sample of each battery management system, but the current consumption of the battery management system is both within the range of 28.20 mA and 30.27 mA, and the average current consumption is 29.24 mA, indicating that the deviation is not large.

In addition, referring to (b) ofFIG.5, peak values and average values for current consumption of the battery management system are shown when the voltages of the battery cells are 3 V, 3.7 V, and 4.2 V, respectively. As shown in (b) ofFIG.5, as the voltage of the battery cell increases, the current consumption of the battery management system also increases, but it can be seen that the difference is relatively small, with a maximum of 0.3 mA.

As such, since the current consumption of the battery management system does not have a relatively large variation and appears almost constant even when the voltage of the battery cell changes, in the battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the fitting voltage may be calculated by setting the consumption current of the battery management system to a constant value (e.g., the upper limit of 30.27 mA). For example, a value corresponding to the consumption current of the battery management system may be used as a slope, and the voltage of the rest section may be linearly derated after charging and discharging of the battery cell.

FIG.6is a diagram comparing a voltage shape calculated through a battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention and an actual voltage value. The x-axis ofFIG.6represents time, and the y-axis represents the voltage of a specific battery cell included in a non-operating battery rack.

Referring toFIG.6, in a case where a plurality of battery racks in a bank of batteries are operating while some of them are not operating, it shows that the actual voltage of the battery cells in the non-operating battery rack dropped approximately 70 mV and 50 mV over 15 days, respectively.

As such, even if the battery rack is not operated, the actual voltage may tend to drop more compared to the fitting voltage after a long time. However, the difference value due to the lowered voltage is about 50 mV to about 70 mV, and the maximum error is only 0.049, and in the systematic analysis, considering the amount of voltage decrease due to the current consumption of the battery management system, it can be considered that it is in the normal range.

FIG.7is a flowchart illustrating a method for diagnosing a battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG.7, in the battery diagnosis method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the voltage of a battery cell is first measured (S710). In this case, in operation S710, the voltage may be measured at regular time intervals. In addition, although not shown inFIG.6, in operation S710, it is possible to determine whether the battery cell is a rest section after charging or discharging, that is, a section in which the current is 0 by measuring the current flowing through the battery cell.

Then, after charging and discharging the battery cell, the fitting voltage of the battery cell in the rest section is calculated (S720). Specifically, in operation S720, with respect to the rest section after charging and discharging of the battery cell, the fitting voltage of the battery cell may be calculated by exponentially fitting the voltage of the battery cell in the preset first section (e.g., IR Drop section). In addition, in the second section after the first section (e.g., voltage maintenance or linear derating section), by linearly fitting the voltage of the battery cell, the fitting voltage of the battery cell can be calculated.

In particular, in operation S720, the fitting voltage of the battery cell may be calculated by reflecting the power consumed by the battery management system (MBMS) of the battery module. In this case, the fitting voltage of the battery cell may be calculated by linearly derating the voltage of the battery cell with a slope corresponding to the power consumed by the battery management system of the battery module in the second section described above.

Then, it is determined whether a difference value between the voltage measured for the rest section of the battery cell and the fitting voltage of the battery cell is equal to or greater than a reference value (a first reference value) (S730). If the difference value is less than the reference value (NO), the process returns to operation S710again.

Meanwhile, when the difference value between the measured voltage and the fitting voltage of the battery cell is equal to or greater than the reference value (YES), it may be diagnosed that an abnormality has occurred in the corresponding battery cell (S740). In this case, it is possible to determine whether the battery cell is abnormal by comparing the maximum value of the difference value between the measured voltage and the fitting voltage with the above-described reference value.

In addition, although not shown inFIG.6, with respect to the rest section after charging and discharging of the battery cell, when the standard deviation of the difference value between the measured voltage of the battery cell and the calculated fitting voltage is equal to or greater than a preset reference value (the second reference value), it may be determined that an abnormality has occurred in the battery cell. For example, it is possible to determine whether the battery cell is abnormal by comparing the standard deviation of the maximum value among the difference values between the measured voltage and the fitting voltage with the above-mentioned reference value.

As such, according to the battery diagnosis method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the abnormal behavior of the battery cell can be detected by simulating the shape of the voltage during rest after charging and discharging of the battery cell and comparing it with the actual measured voltage.

FIG.8is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a battery diagnosis device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG.8, the battery diagnosis device800according to an embodiment of the present invention may include an MCU810, a memory820, an input/output I/F830, and a communication I/F840.

The MCU810may be a processor that executes various programs (e.g., battery diagnostic program, fitting voltage calculation program, etc.) stored in the memory820, processes various data for calculating the rest voltage of the battery cell through these programs, and performs the functions ofFIG.2described above.

The memory820may store various programs related to calculating a fitting voltage of a battery cell, diagnosing an abnormality, and the like. In addition, the memory820may store various data such as measured voltage and current data of a battery cell and current consumption of a battery management system.

A plurality of such memories820may be provided as needed. The memory820may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory. The memory820as a volatile memory may include RAM, DRAM, SRAM, or the like. The memory820as a non-volatile memory may be a ROM, PROM, EAROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, or the like. Examples of the above-listed memories820are merely examples and are not limited to these examples.

The input/output I/F830may provide an interface that connects between an input device (not shown) such as a keyboard, mouse, and touch panel and an output device such as a display (not shown) and the MCU810to transmit and receive data.

The communication I/F840is a configuration capable of transmitting and receiving various data with a server, and may be various devices capable of supporting wired or wireless communication. For example, a program for diagnosing and calculating the fitting voltage of a battery cell may be transmitted to/received from an external server provided separately through the communication I/F840.

In this way, the computer program according to an embodiment of the present invention is recorded in the memory820and processed by the MCU810, so that, for example, it may be implemented as a module that performs each functional block illustrated inFIG.2.

In the above, even if all the components constituting the embodiments of the present invention are described as being combined into one or operating in combination, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments. That is, within the scope of the object of the present invention, all of the constituent elements may be selectively combined and operated in one or more.

In addition, terms such as “include”, “consist of” or “have” described above mean that the corresponding constituent components can be present unless otherwise stated, and it should be construed that other components may be further included rather than excluding other components. All terms, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, unless otherwise defined. Terms commonly used, such as terms defined in the dictionary, should be interpreted as being consistent with the meaning of the context of the related technology, and unless explicitly defined in the present invention, they are not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal sense.

The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to make various modifications and variations without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention, but to explain, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted by the claims below, and all technical ideas within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.