Remanufacturing support server, battery collecting support server, battery database management server, vendor computer, and user computer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11488087-B2
Application number	US-202016804374-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2020
Priority date	Sep 17, 2019
Publication date	Nov 1, 2022
Grant date	Nov 1, 2022

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a remanufacturing support server includes processor. The processor is configured to: acquire specification data representing required performance of a battery product; set an allowable range of a degradation state of a secondary battery to be used in the battery product; acquire diagnostic data indicating a diagnostic result of a degradation state of a secondary battery mounted on a vehicle, the diagnostic result of the degradation state of the secondary battery falling within the allowable range as the battery product; and provide an outside with a remanufacturing plan relating to the battery product based on the diagnostic data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A remanufacturing support server, comprising:
processing circuitry configured to
acquire specification data representing required performance of a battery product, the battery product being a different product from a vehicle, wherein one or more secondary batteries, which have been used in vehicles, are planned to be mounted on the battery product;
set an allowable range of a degradation state of the one or more secondary batteries planned to be mounted on the battery product, based on the acquired specification data;
search for one or more particular secondary batteries, whose degradation states fall within the set allowable range, based on diagnostic data indicating degradation states of secondary batteries that have been used in vehicles;
create a remanufacturing plan of the battery product, the remanufacturing plan representing the found one or more particular secondary batteries, whose degradation states fall within the allowable range, as the one or more secondary batteries planned to be mounted on the battery product; and
send, to a battery collection support server, the created remanufacturing plan.

2. The remanufacturing support server of claim 1 , wherein:
the required performance includes a lifetime required for the battery product; and
the processing circuitry is further configured to set the allowable range of the degradation state of the secondary batteries planned to be mounted on the battery product to be equal to or greater than the lifetime required for the battery product.

3. The remanufacturing support server of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to
search a database, which registers diagnostic data indicating a degradation state of a certain secondary battery mounted on a certain vehicle, for diagnostic data indicating the diagnostic result of the degradation state of the secondary battery, which falls within the allowable range as the battery product; and
create the remanufacturing plan based on a result of the search of the database including the acquired diagnostic data.

4. The remanufacturing support server of claim 3 , wherein:
the required performance includes a battery capacity required for the battery product; and
the processing circuitry is further configured to
determine a number of the one or more secondary batteries required for the battery product, based on the battery capacity required for the battery product; and
create the remanufacturing plan when a number of items of diagnostic data indicating the diagnostic result of the degradation state of the certain secondary battery, which falls within the allowable range as the battery product, is equal to or larger than the number of the one or more secondary batteries required for the battery product, as a result of the search of the database.

5. The remanufacturing support server of claim 3 , wherein:
date and time data, indicating a date and a time when a degradation state diagnosis corresponding to the diagnosis data was performed for the secondary battery is registered in the database; and
the processing circuitry is further configured to search for battery data including diagnostic data indicating the diagnostic result of the degradation state of the certain secondary battery, which falls within the allowable range as the battery product, and the date and time data indicating that a diagnosis of a degradation state corresponding to the diagnostic data was performed at the date and the time that is later than a reference date and time.

6. The battery collection support server, which is used with the remanufacturing support server according to claim 1 , the battery collection support server, comprising:
a first circuitry configured to
receive the information regarding the remanufacturing plan of the battery product from the manufacturing support server; and
send information regarding a collection condition to collect a first secondary battery to an outside device, the first secondary battery being one of the one or more particular secondary batteries mounted on the battery product in the remanufacturing plan.

7. The battery collection support server of claim 6 , wherein:
the first circuitry is further configured to acquire battery data included in the remanufacturing plan as a result of the search for the one or more secondary batteries that is collectable as the one or more secondary batteries to be used in the battery product, from a database in which battery data of a certain secondary battery mounted on a certain vehicle is registered; and
the first circuitry is further configured to determine the collection condition to collect the first secondary battery, based on the result of the search from the database.

8. The battery collection support server of claim 7 , wherein the first circuitry is further configured to determine the collection condition based on at least one of diagnostic data of the first secondary battery, data regarding an owner of the first secondary battery, and data regarding a particular vehicle mounted with the first secondary battery.

9. The battery collection support server of claim 6 , wherein the collection condition includes at least one of an amount of money to purchase the first secondary battery, an amount of money to be paid by an owner of the first secondary battery when the first secondary battery is replaced with a second secondary battery, an amount of money to be paid to the owner of the first secondary battery when the first secondary battery is replaced with a third secondary battery, and an expiration date of the collection condition.

10. A battery database management server, which is used with the remanufacturing support server according to claim 1 , the battery database management server comprising circuitry configured to
acquire battery data including the diagnostic data representing the degradation states of the secondary batteries that have been used in the vehicles; and
register the diagnostic data included in the battery data, in a database.

11. The battery database management server of claim 10 , wherein the diagnostic data included in the battery data is created by one of a controller of certain a secondary battery corresponding to the battery data and a charging apparatus that charges the certain secondary battery, based on a result of a charging curve analysis of the secondary battery.

12. The battery database management server of claim 10 , wherein the circuitry is further configured to register date and time data indicating a date and a time when a degradation state diagnosis corresponding to the diagnosis data was performed for the secondary batteries.

13. A vendor computer, which is used with the remanufacturing support server of claim 1 , the vendor computer comprising circuitry configured to:
transmit the specification data representing the required performance of the battery product to the remanufacturing support server; and
receive, from the remanufacturing support server, the remanufacturing plan of the battery product.

14. A user computer, which is used with the battery collection support server of claim 6 , the user computer comprising second circuitry configured to:
transmit the diagnostic data representing the degradation states of the secondary batteries that have been used in the vehicles to an outside device; and
receive from the battery collection support server, the collection condition to collect the first secondary battery.

15. A system, comprising:
a remanufacturing support server, including first circuitry configured to
acquire specification data representing required per

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Morita Tomokazu
• Fujita Yumi
• Sugiyama Nobukatsu

Classifications

• G06F16/245

  Query processing · CPC title

• G06Q10/30 Primary

  Administration of product recycling or disposal · CPC title

• G01R31/367

  Software therefor, e.g. for battery testing using modelling or look-up tables · CPC title

• Y02W30/84

  Recycling of batteries or fuel cells · CPC title

• G01R31/371

  with remote indication, e.g. on external chargers · CPC title