KR20170139973A - Apparatus and method for counting a cycle of a battery - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device to count a battery cycle, capable of correctly calculating a cycle count of a battery. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the device comprises: a memory to store battery parameters predetermined to a battery and a correction table representing a correlation among weights corresponding to the battery parameters; a measurement unit coupled to the battery to periodically output battery information including measurement values with respect to each battery parameter; a calculation unit to calculate the amount of additional time representing the amount of time used in the battery for a current cycle based on the battery information; a correction unit acquiring weights corresponding to at least part of measurement values from the correction table and using the acquired weights to correct the amount of additional time; an update unit to update the amount of accumulated time representing the amount of total time used in the battery up to the current cycle based on the corrected amount of additional time; and a counting unit to determine whether to increase a value of cycle counts of the battery based on a comparison result between a predetermined reference amount of time and the update amount of accumulated time.

Description

[0001] Apparatus and method for counting a cycle of a battery [

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for counting cycles of a battery, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for accurately counting a battery cycle based on an amount of time required for charging / discharging the battery.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, demand for portable electronic products such as notebook computers, video cameras, and portable telephones has been rapidly increased, and electric vehicles, storage batteries for energy storage, robots, and satellites have been developed in earnest. Are being studied actively.

Among the secondary rechargeable batteries currently available, nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydride batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, lithium secondary batteries and the like can be cited. Among them, lithium secondary batteries have almost no memory effect compared with nickel- Is free, has very low self-discharge rate, and has a high energy density.

Accurate information on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery is essential for stable use of various devices and systems that receive energy from the battery. In particular, the SOC is a measure of how long the battery can be used, so it is very important information for the user to use the device. For example, battery mounting devices such as a notebook computer, a mobile phone, and a car estimate SOC and provide information to the user in terms of the estimated SOC and the like.

In general, the SOC of a battery in which the remaining capacity with respect to the reference capacity is expressed as a percentage can be largely divided into ASOC (Absolute SOC) and RSOC (Relative SOC). ASOC is a value representing the ratio of the remaining capacity (RC) to the design capacity (DC) of the battery, and RSOC is a ratio of the remaining capacity to the full charge capacity of the battery (FCC) .

Here, the full charge capacity represents the maximum charge amount that the battery can actually accommodate. Unlike the design capacity, since the charge and discharge of the battery are repeatedly decreased as the battery is repeatedly charged, It is.

The cycle count of the battery is a value indicating the number of times the battery is charged and discharged. For example, every time the battery is discharged by its full charge capacity, the cycle count of the battery increases by one. How often the battery is charged and discharged is one of the most important data in the use of the battery, so it is necessary to calculate the cycle count accurately.

Conventionally, a technique of accumulating values of discharge capacity obtained by accumulating charge / discharge currents of a battery and dividing an accumulated value by a predetermined reference capacity value and updating the immediately preceding cycle count is used.

An error may occur between the value of the charge / discharge current measured by the current sensor coupled to the battery and the actual charge / discharge current depending on the usage environment of the battery (e.g., SOC, temperature) It can be accumulated continuously according to the passage. However, most prior arts have adopted a method of counting cycles of a battery based only on a value obtained by integrating charge / discharge current without proper consideration of the environment of use of the battery. As a result, there is a problem that the value of the incorrect cycle count reflecting the accumulated error is notified to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for correcting a cycle time of a battery, And a battery cycle counting apparatus and method for accurately calculating the value of the battery cycle count.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited thereto. It is also to be understood that the objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations thereof.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for counting a battery cycle, the apparatus comprising: a memory for storing a correction table indicating a correlation between predetermined battery parameters and corresponding weights; A measuring unit coupled to the battery and outputting battery information including measured values for each of the battery parameters at predetermined intervals; A calculating unit for calculating an amount of additional time based on the battery information, the amount of time indicating the amount of time the battery is used during the current cycle; A correction unit which obtains weights corresponding to at least a part of the measured values from the correction table and corrects the additional time amount using the obtained weights; An update unit for updating a cumulative amount of time representing the amount of time the battery is used up to the current cycle based on the corrected amount of time; And a counting unit for determining whether to increase the value of the cycle count of the battery based on a result of comparing the predetermined reference time amount and the updated accumulated time amount.

Advantageously, said predetermined battery parameters may include charge / discharge power, temperature and SOC of said battery. Optionally, the correction table includes: a first subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined SOC intervals and corresponding weights; A second subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined power rate intervals and corresponding weights; And a third subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined temperature intervals and corresponding weights.

The correction unit may acquire a first weight corresponding to an interval to which the measured SOC belongs among a plurality of SOC intervals of the first sub table from the first sub table, Acquiring a second weight corresponding to a period in which the power rate corresponding to the measured charge / discharge power belongs from the second sub table, and acquiring a second weight corresponding to the measured temperature A third weight corresponding to the section to which the first sub-table belongs can be obtained from the third sub-table. In this case, the correcting unit may correct the additional time amount using the first weight, the second weight, and the third weight.

Preferably, the counting unit may increase the value of the cycle count by a predetermined value each time the updated accumulated time amount increases by the reference time amount.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an energy storage system including: the battery cycle counting apparatus described above; And at least one battery pack coupled to the battery cycle counting device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery cycle counting method comprising: storing a correction table indicating a correlation between predetermined battery parameters and corresponding weights for a battery; Outputting battery information including measured values for each of the battery parameters every predetermined cycle; Calculating an additional amount of time based on the battery information, the amount of time indicating the amount of time the battery is used during the current period; Obtaining weights corresponding to at least some of the measurements from the correction table; Correcting the additional time amount using the obtained weight values; Updating a cumulative amount of time that indicates the amount of time the battery is used up to the present cycle based on the corrected amount of time; And determining whether to increase the cycle count value of the battery based on a result of comparing the predetermined reference time amount and the updated accumulated time amount.

Advantageously, said predetermined battery parameters may include charge / discharge power, temperature and SOC of said battery. In this case, the correction table may include: a first subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined SOC intervals and corresponding weight values; A second subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined power rate intervals and corresponding weights; And a third subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined temperature intervals and corresponding weights.

The obtaining of the weights may include obtaining a first weight from a first sub-table corresponding to an interval to which the measured SOC belongs among a plurality of SOC intervals of the first sub-table; Acquiring a second weight from a second sub-table corresponding to a period in which a power rate corresponding to the measured charge / discharge power belongs among a plurality of power rate intervals of the second sub-table; And acquiring a third weight corresponding to an interval of the temperature among the plurality of temperature intervals of the third sub table from the third sub table. In this case, the step of correcting the additional time amount may include correcting the additional time amount using the first weight, the second weight, and the third weight.

The method may further include increasing the value of the cycle count by a predetermined value each time the updated accumulated time amount increases by the reference time amount.

The details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to at least one of the embodiments of the present invention, based on the measured values of the plurality of parameters related to the battery, the amount of time due to the charge and discharge of the battery is appropriately corrected in each cycle, and based on the corrected amount of time By calculating the value of the cycle count of the battery, it is possible to provide a more accurate cycle count result.

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

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the description of the invention given below, serve to further the understanding of the technical idea of the invention. And should not be construed as limiting.
1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a battery cycle counting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figures 2 to 4 schematically illustrate sub-tables included in a correction table according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of calculating the cycle count value of the battery by the battery cycle counting apparatus shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary terms, and the inventor should appropriately interpret the concepts of the terms appropriately It should be construed as meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined.

Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, It is to be understood that equivalents and modifications are possible.

In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

Throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as "comprising ", it means that it can include other elements, not excluding other elements unless specifically stated otherwise. Also, a term such as "unit" in the description means a unit for processing at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

In addition, throughout the specification, when a portion is referred to as being "connected" to another portion, it is not necessarily the case that it is "directly connected", but also "indirectly connected" .

Hereinafter, a battery cycle counting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a functional configuration of a battery cycle counting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, a battery cycle counting apparatus 100 includes a memory 110, a measuring unit 120, a calculating unit 130, a correcting unit 140, an updating unit 150, and a counting unit 160 can do. Any one of the above components may be operably connected to at least the other. Also, the battery 10 may be one battery cell or two or more battery cells connected in series or in parallel.

The memory 110 may store various data and instructions required for the overall operation of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100. For example, the memory 110 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a solid state disk type, an SDD type (Silicon Disk Drive type), a multimedia card type micro random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), programmable read only memory (PROM) Or a storage medium of at least one type.

Such a memory 110 may store at least a correction table. The correction table may be pre-written in a look-up table (LUT) format and then stored in the memory 110. Here, the correction table may be indicative of a correlation between predetermined battery parameters for the battery 10 and corresponding weights. In addition, the correction table may include a sub-table for each battery parameter. For example, when there are three kinds of predetermined battery parameters, three sub-tables for each of the three kinds of battery parameters may be included in the correction table. Of course, the memory 110 may be temporarily or permanently stored with information that is processed by other components included in the battery cycle counting apparatus 100, or data associated therewith.

The measuring unit 120 may be coupled to the battery 10 to output battery information of the battery 10. [ Here, the battery information may include at least measurements for each of the battery parameters. Preferably, the measuring unit 120 may be configured to measure the battery information every predetermined period. At this time, each measurement value may be an average value for a specific period. Alternatively, each measured value may be a measured value at a specific time within a certain period.

The time length of each cycle can be a fixed value or a changeable value and can be appropriately set according to the environment in which the battery 10 is used or the environment in which the battery 10 is installed, can be changed. Preferably, the measuring unit 120 may adjust the time length per cycle according to the rate of change of at least one of the measured values for the battery parameters. For example, when the measured value of the charging / discharging current of the battery sharply increases or decreases within the time limit, the measuring unit 120 may reduce the time length per cycle.

The measuring unit 120 may include at least one sensor for measuring at least one of charge / discharge current, terminal voltage, and temperature of the battery 10 while the battery 10 is being charged or discharged.

Specifically, the measurement unit 120 includes a current sensor for measuring the charging / discharging current of the battery 10, a voltage sensor for measuring the terminal voltage of the battery 10, and a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the battery 10 . The temperature sensor may be configured to be attached directly to the battery 10 or may be configured to be spaced apart from the battery 10 by a predetermined distance.

The voltage sensor can measure the voltage applied across the battery 10 during use of the battery 10, i.e., while the battery 10 is being charged or discharged.

The current sensor can measure the charging / discharging current of the battery 10 while charging or discharging of the battery 10 proceeds. Also, the current sensor can measure the current rate based on the current at the time of charging or discharging the battery 10. Such a charge-discharge rate may be referred to as a " C-rate ". In this case, the charge / discharge rate is a value obtained by dividing the discharge current or charge current of the battery 10 by the rated capacity value obtained by subtracting the unit, and the unit thereof may be C.

To this end, the memory 110 may further include data indicative of the design capacity of the battery 10. For example, if the design capacity is 1000 mAh, the charge / discharge rate is 0.1 C if the discharge current is 100 mA, the charge / discharge rate is 0.5 C if the discharge current is 500 mA, and the charge / discharge rate can be measured at 1 C if the discharge current is 1000 mA. In this case, the discharge current may be a value measured at a specific point in time. Alternatively, the discharge current may be an average of discharge current values measured a plurality of times during a predetermined time period. Of course, the same method can be applied to the charging current.

The measuring unit 120 may measure the charge / discharge power, which is a product of the charge / discharge current of the battery 10 and the terminal voltage.

The measuring unit 120 may include a sensor for measuring a time when the battery 10 is used. For example, the measuring unit 120 may include a RTC (Real Time Clock), and a RTC (Real Time Clock) may measure a time when the battery 10 is used. The use of the battery 10 in the present invention may mean that the battery 10 is in at least one of the discharging state and the charging state. In other words, if neither charging nor discharging of the battery 10 is in progress, it may mean that the battery 10 is not in use.

The measurement unit 120 may measure the SOC of the battery 10 based on at least a part of the measured values for each of the battery parameters. For example, the measuring unit 120 may estimate the SOC of the battery 10 at predetermined intervals using an extended Kalman filter, and output data indicative of the estimated SOC. Data indicating the estimated SOC may be included in the battery information. The principle of the extended Kalman filter is widely known to those skilled in the art, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The calculating unit 130 may receive the battery information from the measuring unit 120. [ The calculating unit 130 may calculate an additional time amount indicating the amount of time the battery 10 is used for each cycle based on at least a part of the received battery information. That is, the additional time amount may be a value obtained by adding the charging time and the discharging time of the battery 10 during the current period. More specifically, the additional amount of time may represent a value obtained by adding the time at which the battery 10 is charged and the time at which the discharging was performed from the start point to the end point of the current cycle.

Specifically, the calculating unit 130 may accumulate the charge / discharge time of the battery 10 during the current cycle, and may set the accumulated time amount to the additional time amount. The unit of additional time amount may be seconds. For example, suppose that the length of time per cycle is 1 second. If neither charging nor discharging for the battery 10 has progressed in any one period, the amount of additional time of the battery 10 for the period measured by the measuring unit 120 may be 0 second. If the battery 10 is discharged for 0.1 second without charging, the additional amount of time of the battery 10 for the period measured by the measuring unit 120 may be 0.1 second. If the battery 10 is charged for 0.4 seconds after the battery 10 is discharged for 0.1 second, the additional amount of time of the battery 10 for the period measured by the measuring unit 120 is 0.1 seconds and 0.4 seconds. It may be 0.5 seconds in total.

The calibration unit 140 may obtain weights corresponding to at least some of the measurements from a calibration table stored in the memory 110. [ Also, when receiving the data indicating the additional time amount from the calculating unit 130, the correcting unit 140 may correct the additional time amount using the obtained weight values. Various examples for correcting the additional time amount will be described later in detail with reference to Figs. 2 to 4.

The updating unit 150 may receive the data indicating the corrected additional time amount from the correcting unit 140. [ The update unit 150 may update the cumulative amount of time that indicates the amount of time the battery 10 is used up to the present cycle based on the corrected amount of time. That is, the cumulative amount of time is a value obtained by summing the amount of time the battery 10 has been discharged from the time when the battery 10 is shipped to the end of the current cycle, and the amount of time the battery 10 has been charged have. The memory 110 may have already stored data indicating the amount of accumulated time until the previous cycle.

For example, assuming that the current n-th cycle is in progress, the accumulated amount of time A until the (n-1) -th cycle may already be stored in the memory 110. If the additional time amount calculated by the calculation unit 130 in the n-th cycle is a and the amount of additional time corrected by the correction unit 140 is a ', the updated accumulated amount of time is (n-1) th (A + a ') obtained by adding A, which is the cumulative amount of time until the cycle, and a', which is the corrected amount of time of the n-th cycle.

In addition, the updating unit 150 may store in the memory 110 data representing the updated accumulated time amount. In other words, the update unit 150 may store, in the memory 110, data representing the updated accumulated time amount each time the accumulated time amount is updated. That is, the updating unit 150 may store the data indicating the new amount of time in the memory 110 every predetermined period.

The counting unit 160 may receive data indicating the updated accumulated time amount from the memory 110 or the updating unit 150. [ Also, the counting unit 160 may compare the reference time amount and the updated accumulated time amount.

The reference time amount may be a value that can be expressed in units of time such as seconds as the unit time amount and the cumulative time amount. The reference time amount is a value corresponding to the capacity used when the full charge and the complete discharge of the battery 10 are repeated at least once under a predetermined condition and can be predetermined through experiments or simulations.

For example, based on the results of experimentation, at a room temperature (e.g., 25 占 폚), based on the result of a full charge and a full discharge of the battery 10 with a design voltage and a design current for a predetermined number of times or more, A reference time amount indicating a sum of a time taken from when the battery is fully charged to a time when the battery is fully discharged to a time when the battery is fully charged to the fully charged state. According to an embodiment, the reference amount of time may be updated according to predetermined rules when the value of the battery cycle of the battery increases. Preferably, the counting unit 160 may reduce the reference time amount by a predetermined ratio each time the value of the battery cycle increases by a predetermined value.

For example, assume that the first reference time amount is 1000 sec, and that the rule for subtracting 1% of the reference time amount every time the value of the battery cycle increases by 100 is defined in advance. If the value of the battery cycle is 100, the counting unit 160 can change the reference time amount from 1000 sec to 990 sec. Thereafter, when the value of the battery cycle reaches 200, the counting unit 160 can change the reference time amount from 990 sec to 980.1 sec.

Data indicating the reference time amount may be stored in advance in at least one of the counting unit 160 and the memory 110. [

In addition, the counting unit 160 can determine whether to increase the value of the cycle count of the battery 10 based on the result of the comparison. Preferably, the counting unit 160 may increase the value of the cycle count by a predetermined value each time the updated accumulated time amount increases by the reference time amount.

For example, every time the reference time amount is 1000 sec and the accumulated time amount updated in the (n-2) th cycle is 50000 sec and the updated count time amount is increased by the reference time amount, the cycle count value is increased by the predetermined value P Let's assume that is set to be. For example, P may be one. In this case, the cycle count at the end of the (n-2) th cycle will be (50000 sec / 1000 sec) x P = 50. If the corrected additional time amount of the (n-1) th cycle immediately after the (n-2) th cycle is 500 seconds, the accumulated time amount will be updated to 50000 sec + 500 sec = 50500 sec. In this case, the amount of accumulated time up to the (n-1) th cycle is increased by 500 sec from the cumulative amount of time until the (n-2) th cycle and is less than the reference time amount of 1000 sec. ) Can keep the cycle count at the same 50 as the previous cycle at the end of the (n-1) th cycle. Thereafter, if the corrected additional time amount of the nth cycle immediately after the (n-1) th cycle is 1000 seconds, the accumulated time amount will be updated to 50500 sec + 1000 sec = 51500 sec. In this case, the cumulative amount of time until the n-th cycle is increased by 1500 sec from the accumulated time until the (n-2) -th cycle, which is larger than the reference time amount of 1000 sec, At the end of the cycle, the cycle count can be increased from 50 to 51.

The calculating unit 130, the correcting unit 140, the updating unit 150 and the counting unit 160 may be implemented in hardware by application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processors processing units, programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), micro-controllers, microprocessors, and other units for performing other functions . Alternatively, at least two of the calculating unit 130, the correcting unit 140, the updating unit 150, and the counting unit 160 may be implemented integrally using a single hardware means.

In FIG. 1, it is shown that any one of the components is connected to the other through at least one connection line. It should be understood, however, that this is exemplary and that the actual implementation among the components of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 is not limited to the connection lines shown in FIG.

In addition, some of the components of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 may be omitted from the battery cycle counting apparatus 100. Accordingly, the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 may have fewer components than those listed above, or may be further configured to include additional components not listed above.

The battery cycle counting apparatus 100 according to the present invention can be implemented in a form of being included in a battery pack associated therewith. That is, the battery pack according to the present invention may include a battery cycle counting apparatus 100.

Also, the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 according to the present invention may be included in a small-sized device such as a cellular phone. Alternatively, the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 may be included in a medium or large-sized apparatus such as an automobile or an energy storage system (ESS). Particularly, it is very important that an electric vehicle including a hybrid vehicle accurately counts the cycle of the battery 10, since the driving power of the motor is supplied by the battery 10.

Figures 2 to 4 schematically illustrate sub-tables included in a correction table according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, FIG. 2 illustrates the first sub-table 111. FIG. In the present invention, the first sub-table 111 may be a table indicating a correlation between predetermined SOC intervals and corresponding weights.

The SOC intervals of the first sub-table 111 are divided into 10 groups of 10% from 0% to 100%. In addition, the weights of the first sub-table 111 are also divided into ten. In the first sub-table 111, it can be confirmed that any one of the weights is in a relationship corresponding to any one SOC interval. Also, in the first sub-table 111, it can be confirmed that any one of the SOC intervals corresponds to one of the weights.

Also, in the first sub-table 111, the weight of a relatively small value may be created so as to have a correlation corresponding to a SOC section having a relatively low value. For example, the weight corresponding to the SOC interval of 0 to 10% is 0.8, while the weight corresponding to the relatively high SOC interval of 10 to 20% may be 0.85, which is larger than 0.8.

Next, FIG. 3 illustrates the second sub-table 112. In the present invention, the second sub-table 112 may be a table indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined power rate intervals and corresponding weights. At this time, the power rate is a value obtained by dividing the power at the time of charging and discharging of the battery 10 by the rated power minus a unit, and can be called a 'contant power rate' or a 'CP-rate', and the unit thereof may be a CP.

In other words, the power rate intervals of the second sub-table 112 are divided by 10 CPs from 0 CP to 1 CP by 0.1 CP. Also, the weights of the second sub-table 112 are also divided into ten. In the second sub-table 112, it can be confirmed that any one of the weights is in a relationship corresponding to any one of the power rate intervals. It is also possible to confirm that a power ratio section in the second sub-table 112 corresponds to one of the weight values.

Also, in the second sub-table 112, the weight of a relatively small value can be created so as to have a correlation corresponding to a relatively low power-rate interval. For example, a weight corresponding to a power rate interval of 0.5 to 0.6 CP is 1.1, while a weight corresponding to a relatively high power rate interval of 0.6 to 0.7 CP may be 1.2, which is greater than 1.1.

Next, Fig. 4 illustrates the third sub-table 113. Fig. In the present invention, the third sub-table 113 may be a table indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined temperature intervals and corresponding weights.

In other words, the delivery intervals of the third sub-table 113 are divided into 7 groups, ranging from -10 ° C to 60 ° C by 10 ° C. In addition, the weights of the third sub-table 113 are also divided into seven groups. In the third sub-table 113, it can be confirmed that any one of the weights is in a relationship corresponding to one of the temperature intervals. Also, in the second sub-table 112, it can be confirmed that any one of the temperature sections corresponds to a certain weight value.

Further, in the third sub-table 113, the weight corresponding to the temperature interval relatively far from the appropriate temperature interval may be created to have a larger correlation than the weight value corresponding to the temperature interval relatively close to the appropriate temperature interval . For example, assuming that the optimum temperature range is 20 to 30 ° C, the weight corresponding to the temperature range of 10 to 20 ° C, which is relatively close to the optimum temperature range, is 1.1, The weight corresponding to the temperature interval of 10 DEG C is 1.3, which is larger than 1.1.

Preferably, each section of the first to third sub-tables 111, 112, and 113 may be set so as not to overlap with the adjacent section. In addition, the first to third sub-tables 111, 112 and 113 may be formed in the form of a look-up table.

On the other hand, the first to third sub-tables 111, 112 and 113 are not limited to the examples shown in Figs. For example, although the range of one section of the first sub-table 111 is shown to be the same as the range of other sections, it may have a different range for each section. As another example, the third sub-table 113 is composed of a total of seven temperature intervals, but may be configured to have more or fewer temperature intervals as needed.

Hereinafter, a method of counting the number of cycles of the battery 10 by the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the current cycle is the n-th cycle. The symbol '[]' used in Equation (1) below represents a floor function. That is, when x is a real number, [x] is the largest integer not greater than x.

When the unit of the additional time amount is set to the second (sec), the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 can calculate the value of the cycle count of the battery 10 using the following equation (1).

Where C _n is the value of the cycle count at the end of the n th cycle, T _ref is the reference time amount, E _k is the additional time amount of the k th cycle, I 1 _k is the first weight of the k th cycle, I2 _k is the second weight of the k-th cycle, I3 _k is a third weight for the k-th cycle. The calculation unit 130 can calculate E _k based on the battery information as described above. In addition, the time length per cycle can be freely set and changed as needed. For example, the time length of a single period may be 50 sec.

Further, E _n 'is a value obtained by correcting E _n using I1 _n , I2 _n and I3 _n . The correction unit 140 obtains I1 _n , I2 _n, and I3 _n from the first through third sub tables 111, 112, and 113, respectively. Then, the correction section 140 may calculate the E _n 'by multiplying all of the E _{n, n} I1, I2 and I3 _{n n.} That is, the E _n E _n is immediately 'corrected by the _n I1, I2 and I3 _{n n.}

Also, F _{n -1} is the accumulated amount of time up to the (n-1) th cycle, and may be stored in the memory 110 before the nth cycle starts. F _n is the cumulative amount of time up to the n-th cycle. That is, F _n is _n F _- is the sum of ₁ and E _n '. In other words, the updated value of F _{n - 1} using E _n 'is F _n .

Suppose, for example, that T _ref is 7200 sec, F _{n -1} is 5183000 sec, and E _n is 20 sec. the cycle count CC _{n - 1} at the end of the (n-1) th cycle would be [5183000 sec / 7200 sec] = [719.86] = 719. If the SOC of the battery 10 is 95%, the power rate is 0.95 CP, and the temperature is 55 캜, the correcting unit 140 sets the SOC of the 95% It is possible to obtain a weight of 1.8 corresponding to the interval. Accordingly, I1 _n may be set to 1.8. Also, the correcting unit 140 can acquire 1.5, which is a weight corresponding to the power rate interval in which the 0.95 CP belongs, from the second subtable 112. [ Accordingly, I2 _n may be set to 1.5. In addition, the correcting unit 140 can obtain the weighting value 1.2 corresponding to the temperature section in which 55 占 폚 belongs from the third sub-table 113. [ Accordingly, I3 _n may be set to 1.2. Next, correction section 140 may calculate the E _n 'I1 multiplied by _{n, n} I2 and I3 _n to E _n. Thus, E _n 'is 64.8 sec and F _n is 5183064.8 sec. Therefore, the CC _n calculated by the counting unit 160 is [5183064.8 sec / 7200 sec] = [719.87] = 719, which is the same value as CC _{n - 1} . That is, if the difference between the cumulative amount of time at which the cycle count of the battery 10 lastly increases and the cumulative amount of time at the end of the present cycle is less than the reference time amount, the counting unit 160 stores the value of the cycle count as it is .

If, m is to say one or more natural number, (n + m) when the F _{n + m} amount accumulated time in the second period to reach the 5184000sec, CC _{n + m} calculated by the counting unit 160 to be 720 will be.

5 is a flowchart schematically showing a method of calculating the cycle count value of the battery 10 by the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, in step S510, the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 stores a correction table in the memory 110. FIG. For example, the correction table may be received via an interface (e.g., a touch screen, keyboard, etc.) provided separately to the battery cycle counting device 100 and then stored in the memory 110. [ The correction table indicates a correlation between predetermined battery parameters and corresponding weights for the battery 10, and may be prewritten in the form of a look-up table. In some cases, the correction table may already be stored at the time of manufacture of the battery 10 or the battery cycle counting apparatus 100, in which case the step S510 may be omitted.

In step S515, the measurement unit 120 of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 outputs battery information every predetermined cycle. Here, the battery information may include at least measurements for each of the battery parameters. For example, the battery parameters may include the terminal voltage of the battery 10, charge / discharge current, charge / discharge power, temperature, charge / discharge time, and the like. Also, the battery information may include data (e.g., SOC) calculated based on the measured values of the respective battery parameters.

In step S520, the calculation unit 130 of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 calculates an additional time amount indicating the amount of time the battery 10 is used during the current cycle, based on the battery information output . The additional time amount may be a current amount obtained by integrating the charging / discharging current of the battery 10 with respect to time. Alternatively, the amount of additional time may be the amount of electric power accumulated over time in the charge / discharge power of battery 10. Alternatively, the additional amount of time may be the amount of time accumulated in the charge / discharge time of the battery 10. For example, if the battery 10 has been charged for 10 seconds in the present cycle and the discharge time is 5 seconds in total, the additional amount of time may be 15 seconds.

In step S525, the calibration unit 140 of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 may obtain weights corresponding to at least some of the measured values included in the battery information for the current period from the correction table.

In step S530, the calibration unit 140 of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 may correct the additional time amount using the obtained weight values. Preferably, the corrector 140 may multiply the obtained weights by an additional time amount, respectively, to correct the additional time amount.

In step S535, the updating unit 150 of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 updates the cumulative amount of time, which indicates the amount of time the battery 10 has been used up to the current cycle, based on the corrected amount of time do. For example, the update unit 150 can update the previous accumulated time amount by adding the additional time amount to the accumulated time amount until the previous cycle.

In step S540, the counting unit 160 of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 may determine whether the increase amount of the accumulated time amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference time amount. That is, the counting unit 160 may compare the predetermined reference amount of time with the updated accumulated amount of time, and may determine whether to increase the value of the cycle count of the battery 10 based on the result of the comparison. If it is determined that the increase amount of the accumulated time amount is equal to or larger than the predetermined reference time amount, step S545 is performed. If it is determined that the increase amount of the accumulated time amount is less than the predetermined reference time amount, the process can return to step S515.

The counting unit 160 of the battery cycle counting apparatus 100 may increase the value of the cycle count of the battery 10 in step S545. For example, the value of the cycle count may be incremented by one each time the updated accumulated time amount is increased by the reference time amount.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details thereof and that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. And various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

The features described in the individual embodiments herein may be combined and implemented in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described herein in a single embodiment may be implemented in various embodiments individually or in a suitable subcombination.

10: Battery
100: Battery cycle counting device
110: Memory
111: first subtable
112: second subtable
113: third subtable
120:
130:
140:
150:
160:

Claims (11)

A memory for storing a correction table indicating a correlation between predefined battery parameters for the battery and corresponding weights;
A measuring unit coupled to the battery and outputting battery information including measured values for each of the battery parameters at predetermined intervals;
A calculating unit for calculating an amount of additional time based on the battery information, the amount of time indicating the amount of time the battery is used during the current cycle;
A correction unit which obtains weights corresponding to at least a part of the measured values from the correction table and corrects the additional time amount using the obtained weights;
An update unit for updating a cumulative amount of time representing the amount of time the battery is used up to the current cycle based on the corrected amount of time; And
A counting unit that determines whether to increase the value of the cycle count of the battery based on a result of comparing a predetermined reference time amount and the updated accumulated time amount;
And the battery cycle counting device. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the predetermined battery parameters include charge / discharge power, temperature and SOC of the battery,
Wherein the correction table includes:
A first sub-table indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined SOC intervals and corresponding weights;
A second subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined power rate intervals and corresponding weights; And
A third subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined temperature intervals and corresponding weights;
And the battery cycle counting device. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein,
Acquiring, from the first subtable, a first weight corresponding to a section to which the measured SOC belongs among a plurality of SOC intervals of the first subtable;
Acquiring from the second subtable a second weight corresponding to a period in which a power rate corresponding to the measured charge / discharge power belongs to a plurality of power rate intervals of the second sub table,
And acquires from the third sub-table a third weight corresponding to a period in which the measured temperature belongs among a plurality of temperature intervals of the third sub-table. The method of claim 3,
Wherein,
And corrects the additional time amount using the first weight, the second weight, and the third weight. The method according to claim 1,
The counting unit counts,
And increases the value of the cycle count by a predetermined value each time the updated accumulated time amount increases by the reference time amount. A battery cycle counting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; And
And at least one battery pack coupled to the battery cycle counting device. Storing a correction table indicating a correlation between predetermined battery parameters and corresponding weights for the battery;
Outputting battery information including measured values for each of the battery parameters every predetermined cycle;
Calculating an additional amount of time based on the battery information, the amount of time indicating the amount of time the battery is used during the current period;
Obtaining weights corresponding to at least some of the measurements from the correction table;
Correcting the additional time amount using the obtained weight values;
Updating a cumulative amount of time that indicates the amount of time the battery is used up to the present cycle based on the corrected amount of time; And
Determining whether to increase the value of the cycle count of the battery based on a result of comparing the predetermined reference time amount and the updated accumulated time amount;
/ RTI > 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the predetermined battery parameters include charge / discharge power, temperature and SOC of the battery,
Wherein the correction table includes:
A first sub-table indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined SOC intervals and corresponding weights;
A second subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined power rate intervals and corresponding weights; And
A third subtable indicating a correlation between a plurality of predetermined temperature intervals and corresponding weights;
/ RTI > The method of claim 1, wherein the battery cycle counting method comprises: 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein obtaining the weights comprises:
Acquiring, from the first sub-table, a first weight corresponding to an interval to which the measured SOC belongs among a plurality of SOC intervals of the first sub-table;
Acquiring a second weight from a second sub-table corresponding to a period in which a power rate corresponding to the measured charge / discharge power belongs among a plurality of power rate intervals of the second sub-table;
Obtaining a third weight from a third sub-table corresponding to an interval of the measured temperature among a plurality of temperature intervals of the third sub-table;
/ RTI > 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the step of correcting the additional amount of time comprises:
Wherein the additional time amount is corrected using the first weight, the second weight, and the third weight. 8. The method of claim 7,
Increasing the value of the cycle count by a predetermined value each time the updated accumulated time amount is increased by the reference time amount;
Further comprising the steps of:

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