This disclosure relates to a battery management method and system, and more particularly, to a battery inspection and management method and system.
Battery recycling efforts primarily focus on extracting and reusing valuable metals such as cobalt, nickel, lithium, and copper from spent batteries. Conventionally methods include pyro metallurgy, which separates metals through high-temperature heating, and hydrometallurgy, which utilizes acid leaching to dissolve and recover metals from batteries. While these techniques effectively reclaim metal resources, they are associated with high energy consumption and pollutant emissions. In recent years, driven by environmental concerns, technological advancements have shifted toward developing low-energy consumption, low-pollution recycling methods or implementing classification-based battery recycling processes to enhance efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
However, battery inspection and management methods face certain challenges. Conventional inspection approaches are time-consuming and resource-intensive, limiting the data analysis capabilities of battery management systems when handling large volumes of data. Consequently, these systems struggle to quickly classify batteries or accurately assess health status of batteries, posing challenges for applications requiring high precision and reliability.
Accordingly, this disclosure provides a battery inspection and management method and system.
According to an embodiment of this disclosure, a battery inspection and management system comprises an inspection device, a computing device and a label printer, wherein the computing device is connected to the inspection device and label printer. The inspection device is configured to inspect a target battery to generate health inspection data; the computing device is configured to upload the health inspection data to a cloud database and determine a classification status of the target battery based on the health inspection data and a preset health range; the label printer is configured to generate a label for attachment on the target battery, wherein the label shows the classification status and configured to link to the health inspection data of the target battery in the cloud database.
According to an embodiment of this disclosure, a battery inspection and management method comprises: inspecting a target battery at a first time point to generate health inspection data; uploading the health inspection data to a cloud database; determining a classification status of the target battery based on the health inspection data and a preset health range, and generating a label for attachment on the target battery, wherein the label shows the classification status and configured to link to the health inspection data of the target battery in the cloud database; and inspecting the target battery at a second time point later than the first time point to update the health inspection data of the target battery in the cloud database.
In view of the above description, the battery inspection and management method and system of the present disclosure enable the sorting and labeling of the recycled battery, and the recycled battery may be reused after classifying of the recycled batteries, thereby enhancing efficiency and reducing environmental impact.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure and wherein:
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. According to the description, claims and the drawings disclosed in the specification, one skilled in the art may easily understand the concepts and features of the present invention. The following embodiments further illustrate various aspects of the present invention, but are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention.
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The inspection device 11 is configured to inspect a target battery to generate health inspection data. For example, the inspection device 11 may include an internal resistance tester, capacity tester, charge-discharge cycle life tester, voltage detector, temperature monitoring system, battery management system (BMS) testing equipment, BMS data collector, or combinations of one or more thereof. For example, the target battery may include a lithium-ion battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a lead-acid battery, or a lithium polymer battery. For example, the health inspection data may include the state of health (SOH), current voltage, charge impedance, voltage drop rate, voltage recovery rate, discharge impedance, usable capacity remained, and/or classification grade, etc.
In an embodiment, the inspection device 11 may be configured to establish a simulation testing procedure based on characteristic specifications of the target battery and execute the simulation testing procedure to generate the health inspection data of the target battery. For instance, the characteristic specifications of battery may be provided by a customer in a specification sheet or obtained from specification data of the battery under test.
The simulation testing procedure may involve the use of a BMS protocol and thirty golden samples for determination. The health inspection data of a battery may include a battery evaluation report, SOH status, and/or classification of battery inspection.
The computing device 12 is configured to upload the health inspection data to the cloud database and determine a classification status of the target battery based on the health inspection data and a preset health range. In an embodiment, the computing device 12 may be a server, a personal computer, a laptop, a smartphone, an industrial computer, a tablet, or a quantum computer, etc., which is capable of uploading the health inspection data to the cloud database 14 and determining whether the classification status of the target battery meets the preset health range. Additionally, the computing device 12 may include one or more processors, the processor is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microcontroller, a programmable logic controller (PLC), or other processors with signal processing capabilities. In another implementation, the computing device 12 may be one or more of a combination of a computing device of an embedded system or sensor, etc., capable of uploading inspection data to the cloud database, and a computing device of a BMS test diagnostic device, an edge computing device, a battery health monitoring system, a cloud analysis platform, etc., capable of determining whether the classification status of the battery meets the preset health range based on the health inspection data.
In an embodiment, the preset health range indicates that the state of health of the battery is greater than 20%, the classification status indicates reusing when the health inspection data meets the preset health range, and the classification status indicates scrapping when the health inspection data does not meet the preset health range. For example, a battery might be recycled when the state of health of the battery is below 80%, and may have health inspection data between 20% and 80% when the battery is classified as reusable, such battery may be downgraded for reuse in energy storage cabinet, roadside equipment, or uninterruptible power system (UPS).
In an embodiment, when difference between the health inspection data of target battery and health data of a plurality of pre-used batteries of an uninterruptible power system is less than a preset value, the inspection device 12 mark the target battery as applicable for the uninterruptible power system. For instance, when the health data of the pre-used batteries in the uninterruptible power system is 60% and the health inspection data inspected by the inspection device 11 indicates that the state of health of target battery is also 60%, the computing device 12 determines that the difference between the health inspection data of target battery and health data of the plurality of pre-used batteries of the uninterruptible power system is lower than the preset value, and marks the target battery as applicable for the uninterruptible power system. The preset value may be adjusted based on actual requirements and is not limited by this disclosure.
The label printer 13 generates a label for attachment on the target battery, wherein the label shows the classification status and configured to link to the health inspection data of the target battery in the cloud database 14. The generation of a label may be through printing, the label may be a two-dimensional barcode, a three-dimensional barcode, a quick response (QR) code, an antenna, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, and/or an encrypted electric insurance card, among others, and the label may feature different colors or patterns to indicate various classification statuses. For example, a label with a two-dimensional barcode and/or antenna generated by the label printer 13 may be scanned to link to the health inspection data of the battery in the cloud database. When the classification status is “reusing”, the generated label may be green or include a reuse-indicating pattern, and when the classification status is “scrapping”, the label may be red or include a disposal-indicating pattern.
The cloud database 14 is configured to receive the health inspection data uploaded by the computing device 12, and the health inspection data may be linked via the label generated by the label printer 13. For example, the cloud database 14 may include a relational database, a document database, and/or an automated database. The health inspection data of a battery linked via the label to the cloud database 14 may be presented as a table, a graphical file, or a text file. Specifically, the cloud database 14 may be implemented as a Global Standards One (GS1) database.
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The testing equipment 111 is configured to inspect the battery and generate battery health data. For example, the testing equipment 111 may be rapid test equipment and/or a battery rapid screening system, and may include golden sampling modeling, battery aging model, and state-of-charge (SOC) distribution model, allowing rapid inspection of battery health through intelligent computation. The BMS data collector 112 is configured to collect battery health data. For example, the BMS data collector 112 may be an intelligent battery management module, battery monitoring system, multi-channel data acquisition device, or mobile inspection equipment.
In this embodiment, the switch hub 15 may be configured to connect the computing device 12 to a plurality of communication transfer boxes 16. The communication transfer boxes 16 may be used to connect various devices to the computing device 12. The reliability testing equipment 17 may include an environmental test chamber, electrical durability test equipment, or thermal cycling test equipment, etc. The temperature collector 18 may be a thermocouple, a thermistor, or an infrared temperature sensor, etc. The voltage collector 19 may be a multimeter, a voltage divider, or a wireless voltage sensor, etc. The switch hub 15, the communication transfer boxes 16, the reliability testing equipment 17, the temperature collector 18, and/or the voltage collector 19 are optional components.
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In step S11, the inspection device 11 inspects the target battery at the first time point and generates health inspection data. Specifically, the first time point may refer to when the battery arrives at the recycling facility or when the battery is received. The battery may be an energy storage battery for an energy cabinet or a power battery for a motorcycle, a car, or a bus. The health inspection data may include a parameter such as state of health (SOH), current voltage, charging impedance, voltage drop rate, voltage recovery rate, discharge impedance, remaining usable capacity, and classification grade.
In step S13, the computing device 12 uploads the health inspection data of the target battery to the cloud database 14. Specifically, the health inspection data uploaded to the cloud database 14 may be in the form of a table, a graphical file, or a text file. The health inspection data may include the battery serial number, enabling the computing device 12 to create a lookup table in the cloud database 14 that maps the battery serial number to corresponding the inspection value.
In step S15, the computing device 12 determines the classification status of the target battery based on the health inspection data and the preset health range, and generates the label via the label printer 13 to be attached on the target battery. Specifically, the preset health range may indicate that the state of health of the target battery is greater than 20%. The classification status of the battery may indicate either reusing or scrapping. The label may be a two-dimensional barcode, a three-dimensional barcode, a quick response (QR) code, an antenna, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, and/or an encrypted electronic security card, among others, and the label may also feature different colors or patterns to show the classification status of the battery.
In step S17, the inspection device 11 inspects the target battery at the second time point, which is later than the first time point, to update the health inspection data in the cloud database for the target battery. Specifically, the second time point may correspond to when the battery is downgraded for reusing in an energy cabinet, roadside equipment, or an uninterruptible power system (UPS), and updating the health inspection data in the cloud database may involve uploading the battery health data to a Global Standards One (GS1) database. Additionally, in another embodiment, when the battery is inspected at the second time point, the classification status may be reassessed based on the health inspection data at the second time point and the preset health range. For instance, the classification status indicates reusing when the health inspection data at the second time point falls within the preset health range, and the classification status indicates scrapping when the health inspection data at the second time point does not meet the preset health range.
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In step S151, the computing device 12 determines whether the health inspection data meets the preset health range. Specifically, the preset health range may indicate that the state of health of the battery is greater than 20%, the health inspection data meets the preset health range when the state of health of the battery is greater than 20%, and the health inspection data does not meet the preset health range when the state of health of the battery is less than or equal to 20%.
In step S153, the label printer 13 generates a label with the classification status indicating scrapping. Specifically, the label generated by the label printer 13 may include a two-dimensional barcode, which may be scanned to link to the health inspection data of the battery stored in the cloud database. When the classification status of battery is scrapping, the label may be red or feature a pattern indicating scrapping.
In step S155, the label printer 13 generates a label with the classification status indicating reusing. Specifically, the label generated by the label printer 13 may include a two-dimensional barcode, which may be scanned to link to the health inspection data of the battery stored in the cloud database. When the classification status of the battery is reusing, the label may be green or feature a pattern indicating reuse.
Please refer to
In step S152, the computing device 12 determines whether difference between the health inspection data of the target battery and health data of a plurality of pre-used batteries of the uninterruptible power system is less than a preset value. Specifically, for example, the state of health of the pre-used batteries in the uninterruptible power system may be all around 60%, and when the inspection device 11 determines that the health inspection data of the target battery also indicates that a state of health is 60%, the computing device 12 determines that the difference between the health inspection data of the target battery and health data of a plurality of pre-used batteries of the uninterruptible power system is less than the preset value.
In step S154, the label printer 13 generates a label with the classification status indicating reusing, and applicable for uninterruptible power system. Specifically, for example, the state of health of the pre-used batteries in the uninterruptible power system may be 60%, and when the inspection device 11 determines that the health inspection data of the target battery indicates that the state of health of the target battery is 60%, the computing device 12 determines that the difference between the health inspection data of the target battery and health data of a plurality of pre-used batteries of the uninterruptible power system is less than the preset value, so that the label printer 13 generates a label with the classification status indicating reusing, and applicable for uninterruptible power system.
In step S156, the label printer 13 generates a label indicating the classification status of reuse. Specifically, for example, the health status of the pre-used batteries in the uninterruptible power system may be 60%. When the inspection device 11 determines that the health inspection data of the target battery indicates that the state of health is 30%, the computing device 12 determines that the difference between the health inspection data of the target battery and health data of a plurality of pre-used batteries of the uninterruptible power system is greater than the preset value, the label printer 13 generates a label with the classification status indicating reusing.
Please refer to
In step S111, the computing device 12 establishes a simulation testing procedure based on characteristic specifications of the target battery. Specifically, the characteristic specifications of a battery may include a specification sheet provided by the client or the specification of the battery to be tested. The simulation testing procedure may be determined by using a battery management system protocol and 30 standard samples.
In step S113, the inspection device 11 executes the simulation testing procedure to generate the health inspection data of the target battery. Specifically, the health inspection data of a battery may include a battery evaluation report, the state of health, and/or the battery classification.
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In this embodiment, the battery specification obtained in step S112 may be used to plan a process simulation curve. In step S114, a testing simulation curve may be predicted, and a protective point for the battery may be set. In step S116, a basic testing information is entered. During the batch operation in step S118, charge and discharge equipment may provide a real-time display panel to show the state of the battery under test. Testing may be paused at any time by a user, and the paused process may resume in another channel for continued scheduled testing. In step S118, charge and discharge equipment also generates graphical and textual test reports to provide data for cross-referencing. In step S120, artificial intelligence (AI) is used for computation, and database files are created. In step S122, the database is managed through a summary table accessed via a web query system. In step S124, a rapid battery screening evaluation report is generated, the rapid battery screening evaluation report may include the state of health (SOH), current voltage, charging impedance, voltage drop rate, voltage recovery rate, discharge impedance, remaining available capacity, and classification grades, among others.
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In this embodiment, the used batteries are received from the recycling facilities in step S201. In step S203, the used battery is tested by the inspection device 11 to generate health inspection data, which is then uploaded to the cloud database 14 in step S205 by the computing device 12. In step S207, the computing device 12 determines whether the battery meets the preset health range based on the health inspection data. When the result is “Yes”, step S209 is performed, where the label printer 13 generates a label indicating the classification status for reuse, followed by step S211, where the battery is downgraded for reuse. The downgraded battery may be applied to energy storage cabinets, roadside equipment, or uninterruptible power systems. After reuse, step S203 and the subsequent steps may be repeated. When in step S207, the computing device 12 determines that the battery does not meet the preset health range (i.e., the result is “No”), step S213 is performed, where the label printer 13 generates a label indicating the classification status as scrapping, and continuing with scrapping the battery in step S215, deregistering the battery in S217, rapid discharge of the battery in step S219, and physically crushing and performing hydrometallurgy on the battery in step S221. Rapid discharge of the battery may be achieved by using high-frequency pulse-width modulation (PWM) or direct current internal resistance (DCIR).
In view of the above description, the battery inspection and management method and system of the present disclosure enable the sorting and labeling of the recycled battery, and the recycled battery may be reused after classifying of the recycled batteries, thereby enhancing efficiency and reducing environmental impact. Additionally, by using the rapid screening equipment and classification method, the battery inspection and management method and system of the present disclosure may save a significant amount of time and resources, allowing the data analysis of the battery management system to efficiently provide the classification and perform accurate health assessment when handling large amounts of data.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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113142986 | Nov 2024 | TW | national |
This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 63/607,540 filed in US on Dec. 7, 2023 and Patent Application No(s). 113142986 filed in Republic of China on Nov. 8, 2024, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63607540 | Dec 2023 | US |