Apparatus and method for estimating available time of battery

1. An apparatus for estimating an available time of a battery, comprising:

a current measuring unit configured to measure an output current of the battery;

a State Of Charge (SOC) estimating unit configured to estimate an SOC of the battery; and

a controller configured to estimate an available time of the battery by using the measured current value obtained by the current measuring unit, the estimated SOC value obtained by the SOC estimating unit and an entire capacity of the battery,

wherein the controller estimates the available time of the battery by multiplying the entire capacity of the battery by the estimated SOC value at a predetermined time to determine a resultant value, and dividing the resultant value by any one of an average value, a minimum value and a maximum value of currents measured during a predetermined period.

2. The apparatus for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 1 , further comprising a display unit for displaying the battery available time estimated by the controller to a user.

3. The apparatus for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 2 , wherein the display unit further displays the estimated SOC value.

4. The apparatus for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 1 , wherein the controller provides charge information of the battery to a user.

5. The apparatus for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 4 , wherein the charge information of the battery includes at least one of charge request information, charge station information, charge time information and charge price information.

6. The apparatus for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is implemented by a Battery Management System (BMS).

7. A battery pack, which comprises an apparatus for estimating an available time of a battery as defined in claim 1 .

8. A vehicle, which comprises an apparatus for estimating an available time of a battery as defined in claim 1 .

9. A method for estimating an available time of a battery, comprising:

measuring an output current of the battery;

estimating a State Of Charge (SOC) of the battery; and

estimating an available time of the battery by using the measured current value, the estimated SOC value and an entire capacity of the battery,

wherein estimating the available time of the battery includes multiplying the entire capacity of the battery by the estimated SOC value at a predetermined time to determine a resultant value, and dividing the resultant value by any one of an average value, a minimum value and a maximum value of currents during a predetermined period.

10. The method for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 9 , after the step of estimating an available time of the battery, further comprising displaying the estimated available time of a battery to a user.

11. The method for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 10 , wherein the step of displaying the estimated available time of a battery further displays the estimated SOC value together with the estimated battery available time.

12. The method for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 9 , further comprising providing charge information of the battery to a user.

13. The method for estimating an available time of a battery according to claim 12 , wherein the charge information of the battery includes at least one of charge request information, charge station information, charge time information and charge price information.