EP-4742361-A1 - BATTERY AUTHENTICATION USING ELECTROCHEMICAL IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY

EP4742361A1EP 4742361 A1EP4742361 A1EP 4742361A1EP-4742361-A1

Abstract

A method for battery authentication includes, at a battery controller of a battery subsystem, measuring a test electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) response of one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller. The test EIS response is compared to a historical EIS response stored in a storage subsystem, wherein the historical EIS response corresponds to one or more authentic battery cells associated with the battery controller. Based at least in part on a measured similarity between the test EIS response and the historical EIS response, the battery controller outputs an authenticity determination for the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller.

Inventors

THIRUGNANAM, Seran
OWEN, CRAIG DANIEL

Assignees

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20251106

Claims (15)

A method for battery authentication, the method comprising: at a battery controller of a battery subsystem, measuring a test electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) response of one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller; comparing the test EIS response to a historical EIS response stored in a storage subsystem, wherein the historical EIS response corresponds to one or more authentic battery cells associated with the battery controller; and based at least in part on a measured similarity between the test EIS response and the historical EIS response, output an authenticity determination for the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller.
The method of claim 1, wherein the test EIS response is measured at one or more predetermined frequencies.
The method of claim 2, wherein measuring the test EIS response includes supplying one or more electrical pulse waves at the one or more predetermined frequencies to the one or more battery cells, and measuring electrical conditions at the one or more battery cells caused by the pulse waves, and optionally wherein the one or more predetermined frequencies are selected based at least in part on a battery model of the one or more authentic battery cells.
The method of claim 1, wherein measuring the test EIS response includes measuring a test phase-transition real impedance (PTRI) of the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller, and wherein the test PTRI is compared to a historical PTRI of the one or more authentic battery cells.
The method of claim 4, wherein the test PTRI is compared to the historical PTRI in a preliminary authenticity check, and wherein the method further comprises, responsive to the test PTRI differing from the historical PTRI by more than a preliminary threshold, performing a supplementary authenticity check in which one or more additional electrochemical features of the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller are measured.
The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the test EIS response to the historical EIS response includes converting the test EIS response into a test result vector, converting the historical EIS response into a historical result vector, and wherein the measured similarity is a computed a vector similarity between the test result vector and the historical result vector.
The method of claim 1, further comprising, based at least in part on a predetermined update interval elapsing, and based at least in part on the authenticity determination indicating that the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller are the one or more authentic battery cells, replacing the historical EIS response stored in the storage subsystem with the test EIS response.
A battery subsystem, comprising: one or more battery cells configured to store electrical energy; and a battery controller connected to the one or more battery cells, the battery controller configured to: measure a test electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) response of the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller; compare the test EIS response to a historical EIS response stored in a storage subsystem, wherein the historical EIS response corresponds to one or more authentic battery cells associated with the battery controller; and based at least in part on a measured similarity between the test EIS response and the historical EIS response, output an authenticity determination for the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller.
The battery subsystem of claim 8, wherein the test EIS response is measured at one or more predetermined frequencies, and wherein measuring the test EIS response includes supplying one or more electrical pulse waves at the one or more predetermined frequencies to the one or more battery cells.
The battery subsystem of claim 8, wherein measuring the test EIS response includes measuring a test phase-transition real impedance (PTRI) of the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller, and wherein the test PTRI is compared to a historical PTRI of the one or more authentic battery cells.
The method of claim 1 or the battery subsystem of claim 8, wherein, based at least in part on the measured similarity between the test EIS response and the historical EIS response being less than an authenticity threshold, the authenticity determination indicates that the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller are not the one or more authentic battery cells.
The method of claim 1 or the battery subsystem of claim 8, wherein, based at least in part on the measured similarity between the test EIS response and the historical EIS response being greater than an authenticity threshold, the authenticity determination indicates that the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller are the one or more authentic battery cells.
The method of claim 12 or the battery subsystem of claim 12, wherein, based at least in part on the measured similarity between the test EIS response and the historical EIS response being greater than the authenticity threshold and satisfying an update condition, the historical EIS response stored in the storage subsystem is replaced with the test EIS response.
The method of claim 1 or battery subsystem of claim 8, wherein the test EIS response is measured when the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller have a predetermined charging state.
An electronic device, comprising: a battery subsystem including a battery controller and one or more battery cells configured to supply electrical power to components of the electronic device, wherein the battery controller is configured to: measure a test electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) response of the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller; compare the test EIS response to a historical EIS response stored in a storage subsystem, wherein the historical EIS response corresponds to one or more authentic battery cells associated with the battery controller; based at least in part on a measured similarity between the test EIS response and the historical EIS response being greater than an authenticity threshold, output an authenticity determination for the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller, the authenticity determination indicating that the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller are the one or more authentic battery cells; and based at least in part on the measured similarity between the test ESI response and the historical EIS satisfying an update condition, replacing the historical EIS response with the test EIS response.

Description

BACKGROUND Many electronic devices include internal battery packs, which are used to provide electrical power to components of the electronic device. Battery packs used in electronic devices often include internal logic hardware configured to manage the battery's performance. For instance, battery controllers may be used to manage charging and discharging processes, ensure the safety of the battery pack, and prolong the lifespan of the battery pack by preventing conditions that could lead to degradation or failure. SUMMARY This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. A method for battery authentication includes, at a battery controller of a battery subsystem, measuring a test electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) response of one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller. The test EIS response is compared to a historical EIS response stored in a storage subsystem, wherein the historical EIS response corresponds to one or more authentic battery cells associated with the battery controller. Based at least in part on a difference between the test EIS response and the historical EIS response, the battery controller outputs an authenticity determination for the one or more battery cells connected to the battery controller. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 schematically shows an example electronic device including a battery subsystem.FIG. 2 illustrates an example method for battery authentication.FIGS. 3A-3C schematically illustrate battery authentication operations based at least in part on the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) response of battery cells.FIG. 4 illustrates an example battery authentication process including preliminary and supplementary authentication checks.FIG. 5 schematically shows an example computing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Many electronic devices include internal battery subsystems, which use one or more battery cells to store electrical energy. The energy stored in the battery cells is used to provide power to hardware components of the electronic device. The performance of the battery cells may be managed by a battery controller integrated into the battery subsystem. For instance, the battery controller may regulate charging voltage and/or current for the battery cells, monitor the state-of-charge and state-of-health for the battery cells, perform cell balancing, perform thermal management, store logging data, etc. In some cases, the original battery cells included in the battery subsystem may be replaced. This may be done, for instance, if the performance of the battery cells is negatively impacted by age and/or damage. However, battery cell replacement can lead to significant performance and safety concerns if the replacement battery cells are not authentic. Counterfeit or substandard battery cells can pose significant safety risks, including thermal runaway, reduced capacity, and shortened lifespan. Furthermore, replacement battery cells may in some cases be difficult to detect at the battery controller. This can cause the battery controller to apply configuration changes to the battery cells with the expectation that they will perform nominally, when in fact the battery cells may be counterfeit or otherwise defective, and thus perform in unstable and unpredictable ways. Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to techniques for authenticating the hardware components in a battery subsystem. The present disclosure primarily focuses on scenarios where the battery cells of the battery subsystem are authenticated. However, it will be understood that the techniques described herein may be used to detect changes or modifications to any electronic circuitry and components of the battery subsystem. This may include the battery cells, the battery pack protection systems, the controller circuit board, the entire battery subsystem as a whole, etc. Specifically, the battery cells (and/or other components of the battery subsystem) are authenticated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which is a technique that measures the impedance response of a battery component when stimulated by voltage or current waveforms over a range of frequencies. The impedance of a battery cell provides information about its internal electrochemical properties, including (but not limited to) charge transfer resistance, double-layer capacitance, diffusion characteristics, etc. Since these properties are inherently linked to the chemical composition, construction, and structural integrity of the battery cell, EIS can be used to di