阅读说明：本技术 机动运载工具电池耗损监视系统和方法 (Motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system and method ) 是由 L·艾利瓦 M·帕斯库奇 于 2019-06-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种机动运载工具电池耗损监视系统(1、1A、1B),其包括获取装置(11)和处理装置/系统(12、12A、12B)。获取装置(11)：被安装在机动运载工具(2)上,该机动运载工具(2)配备有内燃机、用于提供电池电压(V-B)的电池、交流发电机、以及用于起动内燃机的起动器马达；以及被配置为接收电池电压(V-B)并输出指示电池电压(V-B)的量。处理装置/系统(12、12A、12B)：被配置为从获取装置(11)接收指示电池电压(V-B)的量；以及被编程为基于指示电池电压(V-B)的量来进行电池电压监视以检测接近电池故障。电池电压监视包括针对内燃机的每次启动而检测：作为恰好在起动器马达已开始操作以起动内燃机之后电池电压(V-B)所取的最小值的相应第一电压值(V-(MIN))；以及恰好在内燃机已被起动、起动器马达已停止操作并且交流发电机已开始操作之后电池电压(V-B)所取的相应第二电压值(V-2)。电池电压监视还包括针对内燃机的每次起动：计算指示相应第一电压值(V-(MIN))和相应第二电压值(V-2)之间的差的相应电压上升值(ΔV-R)；以及在相应电压上升值(ΔV-R)满足针对预定义电压上升阈值(T-(ΔVR))的预定义条件的情况下检测接近电池故障。(The invention relates to a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system (1, 1A, 1B) comprising an acquisition device (11) and a processing device/system (12, 12A, 12B). Acquisition means (11): is mounted on a motor vehicle (2), the motor vehicle (2) being equipped with an internal combustion engine for providing a battery voltage (V) B ) The battery, the alternator, and the starter motor for starting the internal combustion engine; and is configured to receive a battery voltage (V) B ) And outputs an indication of the battery voltage (V) B ) The amount of (c). Processing device/system (12, 12A, 12B): is configured to receive an indication of the battery voltage (V) from the acquisition means (11) B ) The amount of (c); and programmed to indicate battery voltage based thereon(V B ) To perform battery voltage monitoring to detect near battery failure. The battery voltage monitoring includes detecting for each start of the internal combustion engine: as the battery voltage (V) just after the starter motor has started operation to start the internal combustion engine B ) Corresponding first voltage value (V) of the minimum value taken MIN ) (ii) a And a battery voltage (V) just after the internal combustion engine has been started, the starter motor has stopped operating, and the alternator has started operating B ) The corresponding second voltage value (V) is taken 2 ). The battery voltage monitoring further comprises for each start of the internal combustion engine: calculating a first voltage value (V) indicative of the respective MIN ) And a corresponding second voltage value (V) 2 ) Corresponding voltage rise value (Δ V) of the difference therebetween R ) (ii) a And at the corresponding voltage rise value (Δ V) R ) Satisfying a threshold (T) for a predefined voltage rise ΔVR ) Detecting an approaching battery fault under predefined conditions.)

1. A motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system (1, 1A, 1B) comprising an acquisition device (11) and a processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B); wherein the acquisition device (11):

is mounted on a motor vehicle (2), the motor vehicle (2) being equipped with an internal combustion engine for providing a battery voltage (V)_B) The battery, the alternator, and a starter motor for starting the internal combustion engine; and

is configured to receive the battery voltage (V)_B) And outputs an indication of the battery voltage (V)_B) The amount of (c);

and wherein the processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B):

is configured to receive an indication of the battery voltage (V) from the acquisition means (11)_B) The amount of (c); and

is programmed to indicate the battery voltage (V)_B) To perform battery voltage monitoring to detect near battery failure;

wherein the battery voltage monitoring comprises detecting, for each start of the internal combustion engine:

as the battery voltage (V) just after the starter motor has started to operate to start the internal combustion engine_B) Corresponding first voltage value (V) of the minimum value taken_MIN) (ii) a And

the battery voltage (V) just after the internal combustion engine has been started, the starter motor has stopped operating, and the alternator has started operating_B) The corresponding second voltage value (V) is taken₂)；

Characterized in that the battery voltage monitoring further comprises, for each start of the internal combustion engine:

calculating a value indicative of said respective first voltage (V)_MIN) And said corresponding second voltage value (V)₂) Corresponding voltage rise value (Δ V) of the difference therebetween_R) (ii) a And

at the corresponding voltage rise value (Δ V)_R) Satisfying a threshold (T) for a predefined voltage rise_ΔVR) Detecting an approaching battery fault under predefined conditions.

2. The motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the battery voltage monitoring further comprises:

detecting an abnormal current loss from the battery while the motor vehicle is stationary and the internal combustion engine is off; and

the battery voltage (V) when the motor vehicle is stationary and the internal combustion engine is turned off_B) Becomes lower than a predefined battery voltage threshold (T)_VB) In the case of (2), an approaching battery failure is detected.

3. The motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the obtaining means (b:)11) Is configured to generate an indication of the battery voltage (V) by using the following frequency_B) The amount of (A):

a first predefined sampling frequency within a time window that begins upon a driver's engine ignition command and ends when the alternator begins operating; and

a second predefined sampling frequency outside the time window, wherein the second predefined sampling frequency is lower than the first predefined sampling frequency.

4. A motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a notification device (13, 13A, 13B), the notification device (13, 13A, 13B) being configured to alert a user (3) associated with the motor vehicle (2) of a detected approaching battery fault if the processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B) detects an approaching battery fault.

5. A motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a notification device (13, 13A, 13B), the notification device (13, 13A, 13B) being configured to:

-in the event that the processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B) detects an approaching battery fault, alerting a user (3) associated with the motor vehicle (2) of the detected approaching battery fault; and

-warning the user (3) of the detected abnormal current loss from the battery in case the processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B) detects an abnormal current loss from the battery.

6. The motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the processing device or system (12) is a cloud computing system (12A) wirelessly and remotely connected to the acquisition device (11); and wherein the notification device (13) is an electronic communication device (13A) associated with the user (3) and remotely connected to the cloud computing system (12A) via one or more wired and/or wireless networks.

7. The motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the processing device or system (12) is an electronic control unit (12B) mounted on the motor vehicle (2); and wherein the notification device (13) is a human machine interface (13B) provided on the motor vehicle (2).

8. A cloud computing system (12A) designed to receive an indication of a battery voltage (V)_B) And programmed to perform battery voltage monitoring as a processing means or system (12) of a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system (1, 1A) according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. An electronic control unit (12B) is mounted on a motor vehicle (2) and receives an indication of battery voltage (V)_B) And programmed to perform battery voltage monitoring as a processing means or system (12) of a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system (1, 1B) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or 7.

10. A computer program product comprising one or more software code portions and/or firmware code portions that:

can be loaded on a processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B), said processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B) being designed to receive an indication of the battery voltage (V)_B) The amount of (c); and

such that the processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B) is programmed, when loaded, to perform battery voltage monitoring as the processing device or system (12, 12A, 12B) of the motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system (1, 1A, 1B) of any one of claims 1 to 7.

Technical Field

The present application relates to systems and methods for monitoring the wear of a motor vehicle battery to detect and thus predict near battery failure.

Background

It is known that after a few years of operation, the batteries of automobiles, in particular of motor vehicles equipped with an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), are often exhausted without the driver being properly warned.

In fact, the main task of the motor vehicle battery is to power the starter motor to start the ICE. As with any other component, the vehicle battery is subject to degradation in use, which results in the battery becoming unable to start the ICE after several years of operation.

Typically, a motor vehicle equipped with a battery in an adverse condition cannot operate at all, since the driver is typically unable to predict a battery failure (or, more precisely, has no means for predicting a battery failure), and therefore no maintenance is performed until a failure actually occurs.

Thus, in the automotive industry, there is a clear need for techniques that can determine the state of charge of a motor vehicle battery and/or detect poor operating conditions of the battery so that appropriate repairs can be performed in a timely manner.

Such a known solution is provided, for example, in EP 1396729B 1, which relates to a method of diagnosing a motor vehicle battery. In particular, the method according to EP 1396729B 1 comprises:

sensing a plurality of parameters at each start of the vehicle engine, the plurality of parameters including an initial value of the battery voltage just before the vehicle engine starts, a drop in the battery voltage just after the vehicle engine starts, and a rise time of the battery voltage, wherein the parameters are sensed by a voltage sensor connected to a terminal of the battery to receive the battery voltage;

selecting among a plurality of databases a database corresponding to current operating conditions of the engine and the battery, each database being associated with a respective operating condition of the engine and the battery, wherein the operating conditions of the engine and the battery are defined by a set of values of at least one operating quantity comprising an air temperature and a water temperature;

inputting the sensed parameters into the selected database; and

determining the state of charge of the battery by comparing the sensed parameter with the contents of the selected database.

Further, US 7,218,118B 1 discloses a method for monitoring the condition of a battery of a marine propulsion system, the method comprising: measuring a voltage characteristic of the battery; comparing the voltage characteristic to a preselected threshold; and evaluating a condition of the battery according to the voltage characteristic and the relative magnitude of the threshold. In particular, when the connection relationship between the battery and the electrical load changes, the voltage characteristic of the battery is measured after the connection event. The electrical load is typically a starter motor connected in torque-transmitting relation to the internal combustion engine. The voltage characteristic is preferably measured at its minimum value during an inrush current event immediately prior to starting the engine shaft to start the engine.

In addition, further examples of methods/systems for determining the state of charge of a motor vehicle battery and/or detecting poor operating conditions of the battery are provided in the following documents:

US 2009/326841 a1, which relates to a pattern recognition method applicable to battery diagnostics and prognostics, and discloses a method for determining the state of health of a battery in a vehicle during an engine start-up phase, wherein,

-recording characteristic data including battery voltage data and engine start rate data during an engine start phase,

-providing the feature data to a pre-processing unit normalizing the feature data for processing within the classifier,

-inputting the normalized data to a classifier for determining vehicle battery health,

-the classifier has a trained health state decision boundary derived from a plurality of trials collecting predetermined characterization data using known classes, and

-classifying the battery state of health based on the trained state of health decision boundary;

US 2009/322340 a1, which relates to a method for determining the state of health of a battery, wherein,

-measuring an initial battery voltage after a first voltage drop during the start of the engine start-up phase,

-monitoring the battery voltage during the remaining time of the engine start-up phase,

-determining a minimum battery voltage during the remaining time of the engine start-up phase,

-determining whether a voltage difference between the lowest battery voltage and an initial battery voltage at the start of the engine start-up phase is smaller than a voltage threshold, and

-identifying a low battery state of health in response to the voltage difference being less than the voltage threshold; and

J.Otjens, "A Battery's heartbeat: How to estimate the state of health of an online battery by use of non-innovative measuring methods", 10/1/2017, pages 1 to 104, XP 055571875, wherein a number of methods for measuring a voltage start-up trajectory (including a voltage start-up trajectory according to US 2009/326841A 1) to monitor the state of health of a battery are disclosed.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for monitoring wear of a motor vehicle battery to detect an approaching fault of the motor vehicle battery so that proper maintenance can be performed in a timely manner that is more efficient, accurate and reliable than currently known techniques (such as solutions according to EP 1396729B 1, US 7,218,118B 1, US 2009/326841 a1, US 2009/322340 a1 and "a base's heartbeat: How to know the state of health of an online base by use of non-invasive measurement methods", etc.).

This and other objects are achieved by the present invention in that it relates to a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system as defined in the appended claims.

In particular, the present invention relates to a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system comprising an acquisition device and a processing device or system; wherein the acquisition means:

mounted on a motor vehicle equipped with an internal combustion engine, a battery for providing a battery voltage, an alternator, and a starter motor for starting the internal combustion engine; and

configured to receive the battery voltage and output an amount indicative of the battery voltage.

The processing device or system:

configured to receive from the obtaining means an amount indicative of the battery voltage; and

programmed to perform battery voltage monitoring based on the quantity indicative of the battery voltage to detect a near battery fault.

In particular, the battery voltage monitoring comprises detecting, for each start of the internal combustion engine:

a respective first voltage value that is the minimum value taken by the battery voltage just after the starter motor has started operation to start the internal combustion engine; and

a respective second voltage value taken by the battery voltage just after the internal combustion engine has been started, the starter motor has stopped operating and the alternator has started operating.

Additionally, the battery voltage monitoring further comprises, for each start of the internal combustion engine:

calculating a respective voltage rise value indicative of a difference between the respective first voltage value and the respective second voltage value; and

detecting an approaching battery fault if the respective voltage rise value satisfies a predefined condition for a predefined voltage rise threshold.

Preferably, the battery voltage monitoring further comprises:

detecting an abnormal current loss from the battery when the motor vehicle is stationary and the internal combustion engine is switched off; and

detecting an approaching battery fault in case the battery voltage becomes lower than a predefined battery voltage threshold when the motor vehicle is stationary and the internal combustion engine is switched off.

Drawings

For a better understanding of the invention, preferred embodiments will now be described, purely by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings (all not to scale), in which:

FIG. 1 shows a typical trend of a motor vehicle battery voltage over time before and during vehicle engine starting (cranking);

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a trend of voltage rise values associated with engine starting over the years;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 4 and 5 schematically show two particularly preferred embodiments of the motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system of fig. 3.

Detailed Description

The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown and described, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein and defined in the following claims.

The present invention stems from the observation of the typical trend of motor vehicle battery voltage over time before and during vehicle engine start-up (or cranking).

In this regard, FIG. 1 illustrates a battery voltage V during ICE start-up_BTypical trend of (a). Before starting, the battery voltage V_BWith a stable initial value V₁(typically equal to 12V) because the battery supplies substantially no current. When the driver starts the motor vehicle, the starter motor draws a large current, so that the battery temporarily fails to maintain the voltage V_BInitial value of (V)₁It falls very quickly to a minimum value V_MIN(e.g., 10V) and is maintained at more or less this minimum value V for the brief period of time required for the starter motor to start the ICE_MINThereafter, the battery voltage V_BRises very quickly to generally above the initial value V₁Substantially stable value of V₂(e.g., 14V). In effect, after the ICE has been started, the starter motor stops operating, and thus stopping the traction current, while the alternator begins operating and thus charging the battery and powering the onboard device or system.

Thus, the applicant has monitored the voltage rise Δ V_R＝V₂–V_MINTo detect proximity failure of a motor vehicle battery. In fact, the applicant has noted that, in use, this voltage rise value Δ V_RIncreasing to reach a maximum voltage rise Δ V that no longer allows engine starting after a few years of operation of the motor vehicle battery_R-MAX. Voltage rise value delta V for years_RAn example of such behavior is shown in fig. 2.

Thus, the maximum voltage rise Δ V may be determined based on experimental tests and/or computer simulations_R-MAXAnd thus (conveniently, by giving a safety margin value, such as the maximum voltage rise Δ V_R-MAXGiven percentage of safety tolerance) determines that the voltage rise is below the maximum voltage rise Δ V_R-MAXVoltage rise threshold value T_ΔVR. Then, by the voltage increase value Δ V_RReaches a voltage rise threshold T_ΔVRA warning of approaching battery failure can advantageously be triggered.

In addition, according to other aspects of the invention, the battery voltage V is also conveniently monitored over time when the motor vehicle is stationary and the engine is turned off_B. In fact, in this way it is possible:

detecting an abnormal current loss from the battery (e.g. due to the fact that the radio/light is on all the time), which may result in the battery not being able to start the engine; and

checking the battery voltage V_B(in case of engine shut-down, it should have the above-mentioned value V₁) Whether it degrades over time, this fact may prevent the battery from trying to start the engine.

In particular, by monitoring the battery voltage V over time_BIt is possible to check the battery voltage V when the motor vehicle is stationary and the engine is turned off_BWhether or not it is below a predefined battery voltage threshold T_VBThis fact triggers an alarm related to an approaching battery failure.

For a better understanding of the invention, fig. 3 schematically shows (in particular by means of a block diagram) the functional architecture of a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system (indicated as a whole with 1) according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In particular, the motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system 1 comprises:

an acquisition device 11 that:

mounted on a motor vehicle (not shown in fig. 3-e.g. scooter, motorcycle, car, van, truck, etc.) equipped with an ICE, a battery, an alternator, and a starter motor for starting the ICE (wherein the ICE, battery, alternator and starter motor are not shown in fig. 3),

a vehicle bus 20 (for example based on the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus standard) coupled to the motor vehicle to receive/acquire/be supplied with the battery voltage V_B(i.e., the voltage supplied by the battery of the motor vehicle), an

-is configured to output an indication battery voltage V_BThe amount of (c); and

a processing device or system 12 connected in a wired or wireless manner to the acquisition device 11 to receive therefrom the indication battery voltage V_BAnd programmed to:

-for each start of the ICE, based on the indicated battery voltage V_BTo calculate a voltage rise value Δ V indicating a difference between_R：

-a battery voltage V just after the starter motor has started operation to start the ICE_BMinimum value of (V)_MIN(i.e., battery voltage V)_BMinimum value V taken_MIN) And an

-a battery voltage V just after the ICE has been started, the starter motor has stopped operating and the alternator has started operating_BSubstantially stable value of V₂(i.e., battery voltage V)_BThe value V taken₂) And an

-based on the calculated voltage rise value av_RTo detect near battery failure.

With regard to the acquisition device 11, it is important to note that it is connected to the vehicle bus 20 to receive/acquire/be supplied with the battery voltage V_BOnly showing options for implementing the invention. Indeed, alternatively, the acquisition means 11 may conveniently be connected directly to the terminals of the battery of the motor vehicle, or to the electric wire directly connected to the battery, or to an on-board electrical socket (such as an on-board cigarette/cigar lighter socket/socket), or even to an on-board diagnostic (OBD) power line or connector, to be powered and output an indication of the battery voltage V_BThe amount of (c).

Conveniently, the processing device or system 12 is configured to store a predefined voltage rise threshold T_ΔVRAnd is programmed to be at the calculated voltage rise value DeltaV_RSatisfying a threshold T for a predefined voltage rise_ΔVRDetecting an approaching battery fault under predefined conditions.

Obviously, the voltage rise value Δ V_RCan be calculated as V₂-V_MIN、│V_MIN-V₂L or V_MIN-V₂Wherein, due to V₂Higher than V_MINThus:

in the first and second cases (i.e. at Δ V)_R＝V₂-V_MINIn the case of or at Δ V_R＝│V_MIN-V₂In case of | if Δ V), if Δ V is greater than Δ V_R＝T_ΔVROr if Δ V_R>T_ΔVRThen a near battery fault is detected, and

in the third case (i.e. at Δ V)_R＝V_MIN-V₂In case of (1), if Δ V is present_R＝T_ΔVROr if Δ V_R<T_ΔVRThen an approaching battery fault is detected.

Conveniently, the acquisition means 11 are configured to acquire the battery voltage V by sampling it at a predefined sampling frequency (for example equal to 100Hz or higher) within a time window_BSampling to produce an indicated battery voltage V_BWherein the time window begins upon a driver engine ignition command and ends when the alternator begins operating. For example, the time window may have a time length of 10 seconds. In terms of the predefined sampling frequency, it is noted that the predefined sampling frequency enables accurate measurement of the battery voltage V during start-up of the ICE_BIs rapidly changing. The predefined sampling frequency may depend on the type of motor vehicle. Regardless, in general, the higher the predefined sampling frequency, the better the battery voltage change measurement.

Preferably, the processing device or system 12 is further programmed to base the indication on the battery voltage V_BTo monitor the battery voltage V_BTo detect abnormal current loss from the battery and to check the battery voltage V when the motor vehicle is stationary and the ICE is off_BWhether or not to decrease.

More preferably, the treatment apparatus or systemSystem 12 is configured to also store a predefined battery voltage threshold T_VBAnd is programmed to the battery voltage V when the motor vehicle is stationary and the ICE is off_BBelow a predefined battery voltage threshold T_VBA near battery fault is detected.

Conveniently, the acquisition means 11 are configured to determine the battery voltage V by counting the battery voltage V at the following frequency_BSampling to produce an indicated battery voltage V_BThe amount of (A):

a first predefined sampling frequency (for example equal to 100Hz or higher) within a time window that starts when the driver commands the engine to ignite and ends when the alternator starts to operate; and

a second predefined sampling frequency outside the time window (e.g. equal to 1Hz), wherein the second predefined sampling frequency is lower than the first predefined sampling frequency

As mentioned before, the time window may for example have a time length of 10 seconds.

Referring again to fig. 3, the motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system 1 further includes a notification device 13, the notification device 13 being configured to alert a user associated with the motor vehicle (e.g., a driver and/or owner of the motor vehicle) of the detected approaching battery fault if the processing device or system 12 detects the approaching battery fault.

Preferably, the notification device 13 is also configured to alert a user associated with the motor vehicle of the abnormal current loss detected from the battery in the event that the processing device or system 12 detects an abnormal current loss from the battery.

Fig. 4 and 5 schematically show two particularly preferred embodiments of the motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system 1.

In particular, with reference to fig. 4, in a first particularly preferred embodiment of the motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system 1 (indicated as a whole with 1A):

the processing device or system 12 is implemented/executed by a cloud computing system 12A, which cloud computing system 12A is wirelessly and remotely connected (e.g., via one or more mobile communication technologies, such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA, UMTS, LTE Advanced, and/or future fifth generation (or even further) wireless communication systems, etc.) to the acquisition device 11; and

the notification device 13 is implemented/executed by an electronic communication device 13A (such as a smartphone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer, smart TV, smart watch, etc.) that is associated with (e.g., owned and/or used by) a user (represented by 3 in fig. 4) associated with a motor vehicle (represented by 2 in fig. 4) and that is remotely connected to the cloud computing system 12A via one or more wired and/or wireless networks.

Preferably, the cloud computing system 12A is programmed to send a near battery fault notification to the electronic communication device 13A if it detects a near battery fault, the electronic communication device 13A providing the near battery fault notification to the user 3. For example, the communication device 13 may conveniently be a smartphone or tablet computer that has installed a software application (i.e., a so-called app) configured to receive push notifications from the cloud computing system 12A indicative of detected near battery failures. Other types of near battery fault notifications may also be used, such as SMS messages, e-mail messages or more generally text and/or audio and/or image and/or video and/or multimedia type messages. Preferably, the same applies to the case where an abnormal current loss from the battery is detected.

Notably, the cloud computing system 12A may be advantageously used to provide motor vehicle battery wear monitoring services to a number of motor vehicles 2 and, thus, a number of users 3.

Alternatively, referring to fig. 5, in a second particularly preferred embodiment of the motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system 1 (generally designated 1B):

the processing means or system 12 is implemented/executed by an (automotive) Electronic Control Unit (ECU)12B mounted on the motor vehicle 2; and

the notification means 13 are realized/executed by a Human Machine Interface (HMI)13B provided on the motor vehicle 2.

In the second particularly preferred embodiment 1B, the ECU 12B may conveniently alert the driver of the motor vehicle 2 of the detected approaching battery fault via a graphical and/or audible alarm generated by the HMI 13B (which may therefore conveniently include a screen and/or a graphical/audible warning indicator). Preferably, the same applies to the case where an abnormal current loss from the battery is detected.

The ECU 12B may conveniently be an ECU dedicated to battery wear monitoring, or an ECU dedicated to a number of tasks also including battery wear monitoring.

Similarly, HMI 13B may conveniently be an HMI dedicated to battery wear monitoring, or an HMI dedicated to multiple tasks that also include battery wear monitoring (e.g., an HMI for onboard telematics and/or driver assistance systems).

In view of the above, a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a battery wear monitoring step that includes providing and operating a motor vehicle battery wear monitoring system 1 to detect an approaching battery failure event (and preferably also an abnormal current wear event from the battery).

Conveniently, the motor vehicle battery wear monitoring method further comprises a preliminary step comprising performing experimental tests and/or computer simulations to determine the predefined voltage rise threshold T used by the processing device or system 12 in the battery wear monitoring step_ΔVR(and preferably also a predefined battery voltage threshold T is determined)_VB) To detect a near battery fault event.

Conveniently, in a preliminary step, respective voltage rise thresholds T may be determined for various types/models of batteries_ΔVR(and preferably also the respective battery voltage threshold T)_VB). Alternatively, the respective voltage rise threshold T may be determined for a particular type/model of battery installed on a particular model/type of motor vehicle_ΔVR(and preferably also the respective battery voltage threshold T)_VB). In other ways, a single voltage rise threshold T may be determined for any type/model of battery installed on any motor vehicle_ΔVR(and preferably also a single cell voltage threshold T is determined)_VB)。

In view of the above, the technical advantages and novel features of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

In particular, it is important to point out that the invention allows detecting and therefore predicting, in a very efficient and reliable manner, an approaching fault of a motor vehicle battery (so that appropriate repairs, such as battery replacements, etc., can be carried out in a timely manner) by means of a simple system architecture and a simple method. In this respect, it is worth noting that, contrary to the motor vehicle battery diagnosis method according to EP 1396729B 1, the present invention does not require the use of a voltage sensor connected to the terminals of the battery to sense a plurality of battery voltage related parameters at each engine start, nor does it require knowledge of the air and water temperatures, nor does it require the use of a plurality of databases.

In addition, the present invention preferably allows for the detection of abnormal current loss events from the battery also when the motor vehicle is stationary and the ICE is off.

In conclusion, it is clear that numerous modifications and variants can be made to the present invention, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.