A method and device for testing a battery that powers a body-wearable medical device. The battery is contacted via battery contacts and a capacitor is arranged in parallel with the battery contacts. During the battery test, a first capacitor voltage U1 is determined at a first time t1 and a second capacitor voltage U2 is determined at a second time t2 subsequent to time t1. A test current is drawn between time t1 and time t2. t1 is determined by the beginning of drawing the test current and time t2 is determined such that the capacitor voltage at time t2 is in a steady state and is substantially constant while the test current is being drawn. A charging state of the battery is determined from the difference in voltage between U1 and U2 and/or from a time difference between the time t1 and time t2.

A battery diagnostic apparatus and a battery diagnostic method that are capable of accurately determining a deteriorated state of a battery and enabling use of the battery immediately before or near the end of the battery life are provided. The battery diagnostic apparatus includes a power supply monitoring unit 5 configured to detect that a power supply voltage has changed from less than a predetermined voltage to equal to or more than the predetermined voltage, and a controller 4 configured to measure a battery voltage in a predetermined period after the detection that the power supply voltage is equal to or more than the predetermined voltage, calculate electric power associated with a remaining capacity of the battery 1 based on the battery voltage, and perform deterioration determination of the battery 1 based on the electric power associated with the remaining capacity of the battery 1.

Accelerated testing protocols that can be utilized for determining and projecting the durability of SOFC cathodes are described. The accelerated testing protocols can be carried out under simulated operation conditions so as to provide in a matter of a few hundred hours data that can correlate to the condition of the cathode following operation of the cell over the course of a typical operation life span of several thousand hours. A testing protocol can include cycling a SOFC from OCV to operating potential at a predetermined current density. Each cycle can be relatively short, for instance less than one minute.

Described herein are methods and systems for detecting variation in minor total-impedance contributors in sets of electrochemical cells. For example, a method comprises maintaining a substantially constant current through the set of electrochemical cells and obtaining multiple voltage readings of the cells while the substantially constant current is maintained. The method then proceeds with determining multiple differential capacity values from the multiple voltage readings, characterizing one or more peaks in the multiple differential capacity values, and determining the variation in the minor total-impedance contributor based on one or more peaks. More specifically, partial capacitance values can be assigned to different impedance channels based on these peaks or, more specifically, based on the separation of adjacent peaks. The variation in the minor total-impedance contributor can be attributed to one or more of a tap-weld quality, electrolyte wetting, tape damage, active material activation energy variations, and diffusion variation of the ion-conducting material.

A diagnostic device for a battery includes a measurement unit configured to acquire a current value and a voltage value of the battery, and a diagnostic unit configured to calculate an internal resistance value of the battery based on the current value and the voltage value acquired by the measurement unit, and diagnose the battery based on the internal resistance value. The diagnostic unit is configured to cause the battery to perform discharge at a first current value and a second current value smaller than a predetermined target current value during a first period and a second period shorter than a predetermined target period, respectively, estimate the internal resistance value when the battery is caused to perform the discharge at the target current value during the target period, and diagnose the battery.

A battery simulator for simulating the status of a battery connected to a load component includes a controllable current source, a voltage detector, and a gain controller. The controllable current source supplies an output current to the load component according to a current control signal. The voltage detector measures a detection voltage that is generated in response to the output current flowing through the load component. The gain controller is electrically connected to the controllable current source and the voltage detector and generates the current control signal according to a voltage control signal, a gain control signal and the detection voltage.

A method of displaying a battery life for a warming cart battery is provided. The method includes the steps of detecting with a processor that a warming cart battery voltage is out of range of a predetermined threshold, determining with a processor an operation state of each of a plurality of periphery warming cart devices, and automatically setting a battery scale of a warming cart battery based on which of the plurality of periphery warming cart devices are in an active operation state.

A battery maintenance device for performing maintenance on a battery pack of an automotive vehicle powered by the battery pack includes communication circuitry configured to retrieve information related to condition of batteries/cells of the battery pack obtained using sensors in the battery pack. Measurement circuitry couples to batteries/cells of the battery pack and obtains measurement information related to a measured condition of batteries/cells of the battery pack. A controller verifies operation of the sensors in the battery pack by comparing the retrieved information with the measurement and provides a comparison output. Output circuitry outputs an indication of a failing sensor in the battery pack based upon the comparison output.

One aspect of the present disclosure is an inspection apparatus of a battery pack for an on-site electric apparatus, which comprises a coupler, a discharger, a changer, a discharge performing device, a voltage value detector, and a calculator. The changer detects one of a nominal voltage value of the battery pack coupled to the coupler and a voltage value of a battery in the battery pack, and reduces a discharge time of the battery and/or a discharge current value of the battery as the detected value is larger.

A method of screening a lithium ion battery is provided. A number of lithium ion batteries are galvanostatically discharged to a discharge cutoff voltage V.sub.0 at a first constant current I.sub.1. The number of lithium ion batteries are rested for a first rest time T.sub.1. The number of lithium ion batteries are galvanostatically charged to a charge cutoff voltage V.sub.1 at a second constant current I.sub.2. The number of lithium ion batteries are rested for a second rest time T.sub.2, and the batteries are screened based on a self-discharge of the plurality of lithium ion batteries.