Secondary battery state management system, battery charger, secondary battery state management method, and electrical characteristics measurement method

• US 9,287,729 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2011
• Issued: 03/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nyu, Takayuki, Inoue, Akira, Yamazaki, Shuntaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Kik, Phallaka
• Application Number:
  US13/643,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20130093384A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,789 Days
• Field of Search: 320/107, 320/132, 320/136, 320/147, 320/149, 320/162, 320/164, 324/433
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/547 Voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/549 Current
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2250/16 by display
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/66 Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/416 Systems G01N27/27 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/367 Software therefor, e.g. for battery testing using modelling or look-up tables
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/382 Arrangements for monitoring battery or accumulator variables, e.g. SoC
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/44 Methods for charging or discharging circuits for charging H02J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/48 for electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00 Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00036 Charger exchanging data with battery
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00045 Authentication, i.e. circuits for checking compatibility between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00047 with provisions for charging different types of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/12 : Remote or cooperative charging

Abstract

A secondary battery state management system of the present invention includes: a battery charger that charges a secondary battery; and a storage server that stores electrical characteristics information which is information that indicates the electrical characteristics during charging of the secondary battery. An electrical characteristics measuring means measures the electrical characteristics during charging. A measurement information storing means stores the history of the measured electrical characteristics information for each secondary battery. A battery state determining means compares the electrical characteristics information of the secondary battery being measured by the electrical characteristics measuring means with the electrical characteristics information of the same secondary battery stored in the measurement information storing means, and determines the state of the secondary battery.

Claims

1. A secondary battery state management system comprising:

a battery charger that charges a secondary battery,

wherein the battery charger comprises;

an electrical characteristic measuring unit comprising a memory and a processor which executes operations based on code stored in the memory, the operations comprising determining a measurement condition for the second battery and measuring an electrical characteristic during charging based on the determined measurement condition; and

a storage server comprising;

a measurement information storage unit that stores a history of the electrical characteristic for the secondary battery, and

a battery state determining unit, implemented by the processor, that determines a state of the secondary battery based on the measured electrical characteristic and the history of the electrical characteristic that is stored in the measurement information storage unit and corresponds to the secondary battery.

2. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit of the battery charger measures a voltage value between power feeding lines that connect the secondary battery and the battery charger and at least one of a current value that flows through the power feeding lines, power and an electric energy as the electrical characteristics.

3. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the battery charger includes an AC signal superimposing unit that superimposes an AC signal on the power feeding lines that connect the secondary battery and the battery charger,

the electrical characteristic measuring unit of the battery charger calculates an impedance based on the AC signal and an AC voltage between the power feeding lines when the AC signal is superimposed on the power feeding lines,

the measurement information storage unit of the storage server stores the history of the calculated impedance for the secondary battery, and

the battery state determining unit of the storage server compares the calculated impedance with the impedance of the same secondary battery, stored in the measurement information storage unit to determine the state of the secondary battery.

4. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the battery state determining unit of the storage server determines the state of the secondary battery by comparing the measured electrical characteristic with the electrical characteristic of the secondary battery of which the voltage value and the current value stored in the measurement information storage unit are the same in terms of a change of the voltage value per single time.

5. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the battery state determining unit of the storage server determines the state of the secondary battery by comparing the measured electrical characteristic with the electrical characteristic of the secondary battery stored in the measurement information storage unit in terms of the electric energy supplied to the secondary battery with a change of a predetermined voltage value.

6. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the storage server includes a registration processing unit that receives the measured electrical characteristic and at least one item of information among items of information that are calculated based on the electrical characteristic from the battery charger along with identification information of the secondary battery and stores the received information in the measurement information storage unit.

7. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit of the battery charger identifies a secondary battery of which electrical characteristics are to be measured based on the identification information of the secondary battery notified when the battery charger is connected to the secondary battery,

the measurement information storage unit of the storage server stores the history of the measured electrical characteristic of the secondary battery for the identification information of the secondary battery, and

the battery state determining unit of the storage server extracts the electrical characteristic corresponding to the identification information of the secondary battery from the measurement information storage unit.

8. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit of the battery charger receives an identification number of a moving vehicle read by a moving vehicle identification number reading unit that reads the identification number expressed on the moving vehicle on which the secondary battery is mounted when the battery charger is connected to the secondary battery and identifies a secondary battery of which the electrical characteristics are to be measured based on the identification number of the moving vehicle,

the measurement information storage unit of the storage server stores the history of the measured electrical characteristic of the secondary battery for the identification number of the moving vehicle, and

the battery state determining unit of the storage server extracts the electrical characteristic corresponding to the identification number of the moving vehicle from the measurement information storage unit.

9. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit of the battery charger receives identification information of an on-vehicle device provided to a moving vehicle, on which the secondary battery is mounted, from an on-vehicle device identification information detection unit that receives the identification information from the battery charger via a radio communication line when the battery charger is connected to the secondary battery and identifies a secondary battery of which the electrical characteristics are to be measured based on the received identification information of the on-vehicle device,

the measurement information storage unit of the storage server stores the history of the measured electrical characteristic of the secondary battery for the identification information of the on-vehicle device, and

the battery state determining unit of the storage server extracts the electrical characteristic corresponding to the identification information of the on-vehicle device from the measurement information storage unit.

10. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit of the battery charger receives unique identification information assigned to a medium associated with a secondary battery from medium identification information reading unit that reads the identification information of the medium, and identifies a secondary battery of which the electrical characteristics are to be measured based on the received identification information of the medium,

the measurement information storage unit of the storage server stores the history of the measured electrical characteristic of the secondary battery for the identification information of the medium, and

the battery state determining unit of the storage server extracts the electrical characteristic corresponding to the identification information of the medium from the measurement information storage unit.

11. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the battery state determining unit uses at least one of a surface temperature of the secondary battery and an ambient temperature of the battery charger in determining the state of the secondary battery.

12. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the battery charger acquires the measurement condition determined for the secondary battery from the storage server.

13. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit measures a value of the voltage or a value of the current as the electrical characteristics in a discrete manner based on the measurement condition.

14. The secondary battery state management system according to claim 1,

wherein the measurement condition is determined for the identification information of the secondary battery, for a type of vehicle which mounts the secondary battery, or for manufacturer information.

15. A battery charger comprising:

an electrical characteristic measuring unit comprising a memory and a processor which executes operations based on code stored in the memory, the operations comprising determining a measurement condition for a secondary battery and measuring an electrical characteristic during charging of the secondary battery based on the determined measurement condition; and

a transmission unit, implemented by the processor, that transmits an electrical characteristic of the secondary battery measured by the electrical characteristic measuring unit to a determining device that determines a state of the secondary battery based on the measured electrical characteristic and a stored history of the electrical characteristic corresponding to the secondary battery.

16. The battery charger according to claim 15,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit measures a voltage value between power feeding lines that connect the secondary battery and the battery charger and at least one of a current value that flows through the power feeding lines, power and an electric energy as the electrical characteristics.

17. The battery charger according to claim 15,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit acquires the measurement condition determined for the secondary battery.

18. The battery charger according to claim 15,

wherein the electrical characteristic measuring unit measures a value of the voltage or a value of the current as the electrical characteristic in a discrete manner based on the measurement condition.

19. The battery charger according to claim 15,

wherein the measurement condition is determined for the identification information of the secondary battery, for a type of vehicle which mounts the secondary battery, or for manufacturer information.

20. The battery charger according to claim 15, further comprising

a display unit that displays the state of the secondary battery notified from the determining device.

21. A secondary battery state management method comprising:

allowing a battery charger that determines a measurement condition for a secondary battery and charges the secondary battery to measure an electrical characteristics during charging based on the determined measurement condition; and

allowing a storage server that includes a measurement information storage unit that stores a history of the electrical characteristic for the secondary battery to determine a state of the secondary battery based on the measured electrical characteristic and the history of the electrical characteristic that is stored in the measurement information storage unit and corresponds to the secondary battery.

22. The secondary battery state management method according to claim 21,

wherein when measuring the electrical characteristics, a voltage value between power feeding lines that connect the secondary battery and the battery charger and at least one of a current value that flows through the power feeding lines, power and an electric energy are measured as the electrical characteristics.

23. An electrical characteristics measurement method comprising:

allowing a battery charger that determines a measurement condition for a secondary battery and charges the secondary battery to measure an electrical characteristics during charging of the secondary battery based on the determined measurement condition; and

allowing the battery charger to transmit the measured electrical characteristic of the secondary battery to a determining device that determines a state of the secondary battery based on the received electrical characteristic and a stored history of the electrical characteristic corresponding to the secondary battery.

24. The electrical characteristics measurement method according to claim 23,

wherein when measuring the electrical characteristics, a voltage value between power feeding lines that connect the secondary battery and the battery charger and at least one of a current value that flows through the power feeding lines, power and an electric energy are measured as the electrical characteristics.

25. A non-transitory computer readable information recording medium storing an electrical characteristics measurement program that is mounted on a computer that charges a secondary battery, when executed by a processor, performs a method for:

determining a measurement condition for the secondary battery and measuring an electrical characteristic during charging of the secondary battery based on the determined measurement condition; and

transmitting an electrical characteristic of the secondary battery measured to a determining device that determines a state of the secondary battery based on the received electrical characteristic and a stored history of the electrical characteristic corresponding to the secondary battery.

26. The non-transitory computer readable information recording medium according to claim 25,

wherein the electrical characteristics measurement program causes the computer to measure a voltage value between power feeding lines that connect the secondary battery and the battery charger and at least one of a current value that flows through the power feeding lines, power and an electric energy as the electrical characteristics.