Patent ID: 8440339
Filing Date: 2013-05-14
Classification: H01M,Y02E

Abstract:
1. A battery module, comprising: a housing that comprises a first plate member with an elongated shape in a flow direction of a cooling air and a second plate member provided in a position facing the first plate member with an elongated shape in the flow direction of the cooling air; a first cell string comprising a plurality of cells housed in the housing and arranged side by side along the first plate member with central axes of the cells in parallel; a second cell string comprising a plurality of cells housed in the housing and arranged side by side along the second plate member with central axes of the cells in parallel; and side plates that sandwich the plurality of cells housed in the housing from directions along which the central axes of the cells extend, wherein: the housing further comprises: the first cell string and the second cell string are arranged between the first plate member and the second plate member; the second cell string is arranged closer to the second plate member side than the first cell string is and is arranged closer to the outlet side than the first cell string is; at the inlet side of the housing, the inlet is arranged closer to the first plate member than to the second cell string, at least a part between the inlet side of the second cell string and the second plate member is covered by the inlet-side guide plate, and the cooling air is introduced into the housing through the inlet so as to form a flow of the cooling air along the first plate member and a flow of the cooling air along the inlet-side guide plate; at the outlet side of the housing, the outlet is arranged closer to the second plate member than to the first cell string, and at least a part between the outlet side of the first cell string and the first plate member is covered by the outlet-side guide plate; the plurality of cooling passages comprises: the third cooling passage is a cooling passage, using the plurality of cells as passage forming members, that is formed by sandwiching the plurality of cells with the side plates from the directions along which the central axes of the cells extend, so as to form a gap between the neighboring cells; the inlet opens on an extension of a line along which the first cell string is arranged; and at the inlet side of the housing, the cooling air collides with a cell disposed closest to the inlet side of the first cell string so as to form the flow of the cooling air along the first plate member and the flow of the cooling air along the inlet-side guide plate, wherein the plurality of cooling passages are arranged such that: