Systems and methods for determining vehicle battery health

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016349330-A1
Application number	US-201514727238-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 1, 2015
Priority date	Jun 1, 2015
Publication date	Dec 1, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Techniques described herein may be used to provide a driver of a vehicle with an accurate assessment of the remaining life of the vehicle battery. An on-board device may collect information from one or more sensors or devices within the vehicle. The information may be processed to generate a data set that accurately describes the current status and operating conditions of the battery. The data set may be used to evaluate the health of the battery and make predictions regarding the future performance of the battery, which may be communicated to the driver of the vehicle. Machine-learning techniques may be implemented to improve upon methodologies to evaluate the health of the battery and make predictions regarding battery performance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method performed by one or more computing device, comprising:
receiving, by the one or more computing devices, information corresponding to internal resistances of a battery of a vehicle; receiving, by the one or more computing devices, information corresponding to at least one other operating condition, in addition to the internal resistances, corresponding to the battery; receiving a model that was trained on internal resistance and other information, from a plurality of vehicles, to predict remaining battery life; evaluating the model based on the internal resistances and the at least one other operating condition to produce a prediction regarding the remaining battery life; and communicating, by the one or more computing devices, the prediction, regarding the remaining battery life, to the relevant party.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the other operating condition includes at least one of:
a make and a model of the battery, a battery type, cold cranking amps (CCAs) corresponding to the battery, conductance measurements paired with other battery or automotive data, a total number of trips associated with the battery, a humidity measurement, a temperature measurement, a range of humidity levels over a period of time, a range of temperatures over a period of time, voltage readings with the vehicle off versus on, a total number of vehicle starts corresponding to the battery, needed amperage for the make and the model of the battery, cold resets corresponding to the battery, a minimum trip mileage, a maximum trip mileage, an average trip mileage, a float voltage minimum, a float voltage maximum, a float voltage average, a coolant temperature minimum, a coolant temperature maximum, a coolant temperature average, a ride time corresponding to one or more trips, a geographical location of the vehicle, an engine load of the vehicle, revolutions per minute corresponding to the vehicle, a speed of the vehicle, a temperature of the vehicle at a start of the trip, variation of voltage over time, a driving style associated with the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle, differences between periodic voltage readings, or differences between periodic conductance readings or statistical derivations of measurement corresponding to a sensor of device of the vehicle, a barometric pressure surrounding the battery, an acceleration of the vehicle, a duration between an installation date of the battery and a current date, a manufacture date of the battery, measurements of the internal resistance measurements that are made when the engine of the vehicle is off; measurements of the internal resistance measurements that are made when the engine of the vehicle is idle, measurements of the internal resistance measurements that are made when the engine of the vehicle is moving, records of service corresponding to the battery, records of services corresponding to the vehicle, or driving behaviors of a driver of the vehicle.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more computing devices comprises a telematics device installed in the vehicle.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the internal resistances of the battery are derived from an ohmic testing device electrically coupled to the battery.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluating the prediction regarding the remaining battery life comprises:
accessing historical operating conditions of the battery; and predicting the remaining battery life of the battery based on the internal resistances of the battery, the at least one other operating condition, and the historical operating conditions of the battery.

6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing feedback, to a server device, regarding the accuracy of the prediction; receiving an updated model in response to providing the feedback to the server device.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, based on another model, at least one other prediction regarding a future performance of the battery; providing, to a server device, feedback regarding the accuracy of the at least one other prediction; and receiving an updated version of the other model in response to providing the feedback to the server device.

8 . One or more computing devices comprising circuitry to:
receive information corresponding to internal resistances of a battery of a vehicle; receive information corresponding at least one other operating condition, in addition to the internal resistances, corresponding to the battery; receive a model that was trained on internal resistance and other information, from a plurality of vehicles, to predict remaining battery life; evaluate the model based on the internal resistances and the at least one other operating condition to produce a prediction regarding the remaining battery life; and communicate the prediction, regarding the remaining battery life, to the relevant party.

9 . The one or more devices of claim 8 , wherein the other operating condition includes at least one of:
a make and a model of the battery, a battery type, cold cranking amps (CCAs) corresponding to the battery, conductance measurements paired with other battery or automotive data, a total number of trips associated with the battery, a humidity measurement, a temperature measurement, a range of humidity levels over a period of time, a range of temperatures over a period of time, voltage readings with the vehicle off versus on, a total number of vehicle starts corresponding to the battery, needed amperage for the make and the model of the battery, cold resets corresponding to the battery, a minimum trip mileage, a maximum trip mileage, an average trip mileage, a float voltage minimum, a float voltage maximum, a float voltage average, a coolant temperature minimum, a coolant temperature maximum, a coolant temperature average, a ride time corresponding to one or more trips, a geographical location of the vehicle, an engine load of the vehicle, revolutions per minute corresponding to the vehicle, a speed of the vehicle, a temperature of the vehicle at a start of the trip, variation of voltage over time, a driving style associated with the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle, differences between periodic voltage readings, or differences between periodic conductance readings or statistical derivations of measurement corresponding to a sensor of device of the vehicle, a barometric pressure surrounding the battery, an acceleration of the vehicle, a duration between an installation date of the battery and a current date, a manufacture date of the battery, measurements of the internal resistance measurements that are made when the engine of the vehicle is off; measurements of the internal resistance measurements that are made when the engine of the vehicle is idle, measurements of the internal resistance measurements that are made when the engine of the vehicle is moving, records of service corresponding to the battery, records of services corresponding to the vehicle, or driving behaviors of a driver of the vehicle.

10 . The one or more devices of claim 8 , wherein the one or more computing devices comprises a telematics device installed in the vehicle.

11 . The one or more devices of claim 8 , wherein the internal resistances of the battery are derived from an ohmic testing device that is built into the battery.

12 . The one or more devices of claim 8 , wherein, to evaluate the prediction regarding the remaining battery life, the circuitry is to:
access historical ope

Assignees

• Verizon Patent & Licensing Inc

Inventors

• Barfield Jr James Ronald
• Welch Stephen Christopher
• Taylor Thomas Steven

Classifications

• G07C5/008

  communicating information to a remotely located station (transmission systems for measured values G08C) · CPC title

• G01R31/3648 Primary

  comprising digital calculation means, e.g. for performing an algorithm · CPC title

• G07C5/0816

  Indicating performance data, e.g. occurrence of a malfunction · CPC title

• G07C5/085

  using electronic data carriers · CPC title

• G01R31/367

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