Power storage service system

• US 10,361,569 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2016
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yokogawa Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Yokogawa Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Hayashizaki, Hironori, Yoshitake, Satoshi, Tanaka, Ryuuta, Murai, Jun, Horie, Hideaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Pacheco, Alexis B
• Application Number:
  US15/377,228
• Publication Number:
  US 20170170668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• Field of Search: 320136, 320119, 320134, 320135, 320132
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 19/16542 for batteries charge condition monitoring in G01R31/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3647 for determining the ability of a battery to perform a critical function, e.g. cranking
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3832 without measurement of battery voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/396 Acquisition or processing of data for testing or for monitoring individual cells or groups of cells within a battery
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/4207 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/486 for measuring temperature
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0016 using shunting, discharge or bypass circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0032 disconnection of loads if battery is not under charge, e.g. in vehicle if engine is not running
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0048 Detection of remaining charge capacity or state of charge [SOC]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/005 Detection of state of health [SOH]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

The present invention is a power storage service system including: quantitatively grasping the time leading up to the expression of the abnormality; capable determining possible or impossible of avoiding stopping of the function of the assembled battery system. According to the invention, a maintenance operator and a maintenance service supplier of the assembled battery system have a time margin to plan a response schedule and to prepare responding, and it can reduce the cost of responding to the maintenance by reducing and optimizing the number of response.

One aspect of the present invention is a power storage service system configured to control a power system using an assembled battery system including a plurality of unit cells, the power storage service system including: a first measurer configured to measure a self-discharge current difference among the plurality of the unit cells; and a second measurer configured to obtain a residual time of the assembled battery using the self-discharge current difference measured by the first measurer.

Claims

1. A power storage service system configured to control a power system using an assembled battery system including a plurality of battery cells, the plurality of battery cells including a first battery cell and a second battery cell, the power storage service system comprising:

a residual capacity measurer configured to detect at least a residual capacity of the first battery cell and a residual capacity of the second battery cell;

a first measurer configured to calculate a self-discharge current difference between the first battery cell and the second battery cell, on the basis of a first difference between the residual capacities of the first battery cell and the second battery cell detected by the residual capacity measurer at a first point in time and a second difference between the residual capacities of the first battery cell and the second battery cell detected by the residual capacity measurer at a second point in time, the second point in time being later than the first point in time, the self-discharge current difference being a difference between a self-discharge current occurring in the first battery cell and a self-discharge current occurring in the second battery cell; and

a second measurer configured to obtain a residual time of the assembled battery using a difference between the residual capacities of the first battery cell and the second battery cell detected by the residual capacity measurer and the self-discharge current difference calculated by the first measurer.

2. The power storage service system according to claim 1, wherein the first measurer comprises:

a residual capacity equalizer configured to reduce the residual capacity of the first battery cell by causing the first battery cell to discharge an equalization current;

a time stamper configured to record at least an operation starting time, an operation ending time, and a measuring time of the residual capacity, of the residual capacity equalizer as a time stamp result;

a time stamp result storage configured to store the time stamp result recorded by the time stamper;

a current value detector configured to detect a current value of the equalization current as a residual capacity equalization current value and a current value of the assembled battery system;

a current value storage configured to store the residual capacity equalization current value obtained from the current value detector;

a first obtainer configured to obtain a equalization adjustment quantity for equalizing the residual capacity of the each of the battery cells using the residual capacity equalization current value obtained from the residual capacity measurer, the time stamp result stored in the time stamp result storage, and the residual capacity equalization current value stored in the current value storage; and

a second obtainer configure to obtain the self-discharge current difference from the residual capacity measurement value obtained from the residual capacity measurer, the time stamp result stored in the time stamp result storage, and the equalization adjustment quantity obtained from the first obtainer.

3. The power storage service system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a voltage measurer configured to measure a voltage of each of the battery cells;

wherein the residual capacity measurer detects the residual capacity of the battery cell by using a first differential characteristic curve of the voltage value of the battery cell measured by the voltage measurer and the current value of the assembled battery measured by the current detector, a second differential characteristic curve as a criterion, and an optimization function.

4. The power storage service system according to claim 2, wherein the first obtainer integrates the residual capacity equalization current value based on the operation starting time and the operation ending time stored in the time stamper.

5. The power storage service system according to claim 2, wherein the second obtainer obtains the self-discharge current difference based on a value obtained from the residual capacity of the battery cell measured by the residual capacity measurer by using a calculation method including at least a maximum value, a minimum value, an average value, and a multiplication of a coefficient.

6. The power storage service system according to claim 2, wherein the second obtainer obtains the self-discharge current difference based on the residual capacity of at least one battery cell obtained from the residual capacity measurer.

7. The power storage service system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a residual capacity limit value setter configured to set an upper limit value and a lower limit value of the residual capacity obtained from the residual capacity measurer; and

a residual capacity limiter configured to store the upper limit value and the lower limit value of the residual capacity measurement value set by the residual capacity limit value setter.

8. The power storage service system according to claim 2, wherein the second measurer comprises:

a third obtainer configured to obtain a time required for an additional operation of the residual capacity equalizer by using the self-discharge current difference, the residual capacity equalization current value, and the residual capacity, in a case where the self-discharge current difference obtained from the second obtainer is smaller than the residual capacity equalization current value stored in the current value storage; and

a fourth obtainer configured to obtain the residual time of the assembled battery system by using an SOC limit range, the self-discharge current difference, the residual capacity equalization current value, and the residual capacity, in a case where the self-discharge current difference is larger than the residual capacity equalization current value,

wherein the SOC limit range is a range of SOC in which each of the first and second battery cells is allowed to be charged or discharged.

9. The power storage service system according to claim 8, wherein the second measurer comprises:

a battery state value output unit configured to output a current state value indicating that the self-discharge current difference is expanding if a ratio of an absolute value of the self-discharge current difference to the residual capacity equalization current value is larger than or equal to a predetermined ratio.

10. The power storage service system according to claim 8, wherein the second measurer comprises:

a battery state value output unit configured to output a current state value indicating that the self-discharge current difference is normal if a ratio of an absolute value of the self-discharge current difference to the residual capacity equalization current value is smaller than a predetermined ratio.

11. The power storage service system according to claim 8, wherein the second measurer comprises:

a battery state value output unit configured to output a current state value indicating that a non-stationary maintenance service is required if the residual time obtained by the fourth obtainer is less than a residual time until a predetermined maintenance service time.

12. The power storage service system according to claim 7, wherein the residual capacity limiter decreases a residual capacity lower limit value based on a setting of the residual time expanding signal for expanding a time it takes for an effective SOC range of the assembled battery system to become zero, and

wherein the effective SOC range is obtained from a difference between an SOC limit range and a difference between the residual capacities of the first and second battery cells, the SOC limit range being a range of SOC in which each of the first and second battery cells is allowed to be charged or discharged.

13. The power storage service system according to claim 7, wherein the residual capacity limiter increases a residual capacity upper limit value based on a setting of the residual time expanding signal for expanding a time it takes for an effective SOC range of the assembled battery system to become zero, and

wherein the effective SOC range is obtained from a difference between an SOC limit range and a difference between the residual capacities of the first and second battery cells, the SOC limit range being a range of SOC in which each of the first and second battery cells is allowed to be charged or discharged.

14. The power storage service system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a device configured to change either the residual capacity lower limit value or the residual capacity upper limit value, or both of the residual capacity lower limit value and the residual capacity upper limit value based on a residual time expanding signal for expanding a time it takes for the effective SOC range of the assembled battery system to become zero, to re-obtain the residual time and update a battery state value, and

wherein the effective SOC range is obtained from a difference between an SOC limit range and a difference between the residual capacities of the first and second battery cells, the SOC limit range being a range of SOC in which each of the first and second battery cells is allowed to be charged or discharged.

15. The power storage service system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a physical quantity measurer configured to measure a temperature of the battery cell if a ratio of the self-discharge current difference measured by the first measurer to the equalization current value is larger than or equal to a predetermined ratio; and

a first determiner configured to compare a temperature of the battery cell of which the self-discharge current difference is large with a temperature of the battery cell which is a criterion for obtaining the self-discharge current difference or an average temperature, to determine the temperature of the battery cell of which the self-discharge current difference is larger than the temperature of the battery cell which is the criterion or the average temperature, and to output a signal representing that a measurement of the self-discharge current difference is normal.

16. The power storage service system according to claim 1, wherein the first measurer comprises:

a physical quantity measurer configured to measure a dilatation of the external form of the battery cell if a ratio of the self-discharge current difference to the equalization current value is larger than or equal to a predetermined ration;

a first determiner configured to compare a dilatation of the battery cell of which the self-discharge current difference is large with a dilatation of the battery cell which is a criterion for obtaining the self-discharge current difference or an average dilatation, to determine the dilatation of the battery cell of which the self-discharge current difference is larger than the dilatation of the battery cell which is the criterion or the average dilatation, and to output a signal representing that a measurement of the self-discharge current difference is normal.

17. The power storage service system according to claim 1, wherein the first measurer comprises a display configured to display a measurement result trend of the self-discharge current difference.

18. The power storage service system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a device configured to monitor remotely the current state value via a communication line including at least the internet.

19. The power storage service system according to claim 7, further comprising:

a maintenance service business system configured to provide a residual time expanding signal for expanding a time it takes for the effective SOC range of the assembled battery system to become zero to the residual capacity limit value setter by using the battery state value, the residual time, the self-discharge current difference, and a physical quantity which is a physical quantity for detecting an abnormal state of the battery cell, to plan a maintenance schedule of the assembled battery, and to implement a maintenance operation.