Patent Description:
A battery module includes a plurality of battery cells that are stacked, and the plurality of battery cells are electrically connected, to output electric energy of the battery module for supplying power to electrical appliances. There is a risk of failure when the battery cells are charged and discharged. The failure of one battery cell may cause the entire circuit of the battery module to fail, making the battery module unable to function properly. Currently, when a battery cell fails, usually the entire battery module is replaced. However, when one battery cell of the battery module fails, other battery cells can still function properly, so the method of directly replacing the entire battery module causes a waste of resources. In addition, it takes a long time to remove and install the battery module, which reduces work efficiency.

<CIT> discloses a battery module, the battery module includes a plurality of battery packs teach being provided with an anode terminal and a cathode terminal; a plurality of coupling units each having ends coupled to the anode terminal and the cathode terminal of an adjacent battery pack, respectively, to couple the plurality of battery packs in series; an operation unit that is provided on one end of the coupling unit and ascends in accordance with an increasing internal pressure of the battery pack to open a coupling between the one end of the coupling unit and the terminals of the battery pack by raising the one end of the coupling unit; and a bypass unit having one end disposed over the one end of the coupling unit and the other end coupled to the other end of an adjacent coupling unit to maintain the other battery packs coupled in series, except for the battery packs the internal pressures of which have increased, when the one end of the coupling unit ascends by the operation unit.

<CIT> discloses a battery module having a minimized size. The battery module includes a secondary battery unit including a plurality of secondary batteries arranged with a predetermined interval in horizontal and vertical directions, a compression plate wrapping an exterior portion of the secondary battery unit and compressing the secondary battery unit with a predetermined pressure, and a housing accommodating the secondary battery unit combined with the compression plate, the housing including one or more bolt fastening units corresponding to portions between the plurality of secondary batteries arranged in the horizontal direction and protruding from a bottom surface of the housing and one or more bolts fastened with the one or more bolt fastening units by way of the portions between the plurality of secondary batteries arranged in the horizontal direction while passing through the compression plate.

<CIT> discloses a battery module which comprises a battery monomer arrangement structure, an upper cover and a lower cover, and the battery monomer arrangement structure is arranged between the upper cover and the lower cover; wherein each single battery comprises an electrode assembly and a battery shell, the electrode assembly is of a winding type structure and is flat, the outer surface of the electrode assembly comprises two flat surfaces, and the two flat surfaces face each other in the vertical direction; or the electrode assembly is of a laminated structure, and the first pole piece, the diaphragm and the second pole piece are laminated in the vertical direction.

Reference signs are described as follows:.

The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into this specification and form a part of this specification, illustrate the embodiments conforming to this application, and are intended to explain the principles of this application together with the specification.

To help better understand the technical solutions of this application, the following describes the embodiments of this application with reference to accompanying drawings.

An embodiment of this application provides a device D using battery cells <NUM> as a power supply, and a battery module M. The device D using battery cells <NUM> as a power supply includes a vehicle, a ship, a small aircraft, and other mobile devices. The device D includes a power source, and the power source is configured to provide driving force for the device D, and the power source may be configured as the battery module M supplying electric energy to the device D. The driving force of the device D may be only electric energy, or may include electric energy and another energy source (such as mechanical energy). The power source may be a battery module M, or may be a battery module M and an engine. Therefore, any device D that can use battery cells <NUM> as a power supply falls within the protection scope of this application.

As shown in <FIG>, using a vehicle as an example, the device D in this embodiment of this application may be a new energy vehicle, which may be a battery electric vehicle, or may be a hybrid electric vehicle or an extended-range electric vehicle. The vehicle may include a battery module M and a vehicle body. The battery module M is disposed in the vehicle body. The vehicle body is also provided with a drive motor, and the drive motor is electrically connected to the battery module M. The battery module M provides electric energy to the drive motor. The drive motor is connected to wheels on the vehicle body through a transmission mechanism to drive travel of the vehicle. Specifically, the battery module M may be horizontally disposed at the bottom of the vehicle body.

As shown in <FIG>, the battery module M may include a box body <NUM> (the box body <NUM> shown in <FIG> is a structure with a top cover plate omitted), and the box body <NUM> includes an accommodation cavity <NUM>. The accommodation cavity <NUM> is used to place battery cells <NUM> (see <FIG>), and a plurality of battery cells <NUM> are stacked inside the accommodation cavity <NUM>. The box body <NUM> is not limited to a specific type, and may be frame-shaped, disk-shaped, or box-shaped. Specifically, in the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the box body <NUM> may be a box body <NUM> with a rectangular structure.

More specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the battery module M includes one or more battery cell arrangement structures <NUM> (see <FIG>). The battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> includes a plurality of battery cells <NUM> arranged along a length direction X, which means that in the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, electrode terminals <NUM> of the battery cells <NUM> are arranged along the length direction X and face toward a width direction Y. The width direction Y refers to a width direction Y of the battery module M. Moreover, along the width direction Y, the battery module M may include one battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, or may include two battery cell arrangement structures <NUM>. When the battery module M includes two battery cell arrangement structures <NUM>, electrode terminals <NUM> of battery cells <NUM> in the two battery cell arrangement structures <NUM> are facing away from each other, and bottoms of the two battery cell arrangement structures are close to each other. To be specific, electrode terminals <NUM> of battery cells <NUM> in one battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> face toward one orientation of the width direction Y, electrode terminals <NUM> of battery cells <NUM> in another battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> face toward the other orientation of the width direction Y, and the two battery cell arrangement structures <NUM> are close to or abut against each other along the width direction Y.

Moreover, along a height direction Z, the battery module M may include one layer of battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, or may include two layers of battery cell arrangement structures <NUM>. Each layer may include two battery cell arrangement structures <NUM> arranged along the width direction Y. In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the battery module M includes two layers of battery cell arrangement structures <NUM>, namely, a first battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> and a second battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> which are stacked along the height direction Z.

Moreover, each battery cell <NUM> includes a positive electrode terminal 131a and a negative electrode terminal 131b (see <FIG>). In the battery module M, a plurality of battery cells <NUM> are electrically connected to form a circuit of the battery module M. Specifically, the battery cells <NUM> may be connected in series and/or parallel, and the battery cells <NUM> are connected by using adapting pieces (a first adapting piece <NUM> and a second adapting piece <NUM>). For example, when the battery cells <NUM> are connected in series, the positive electrode terminal 131a of one battery cell <NUM> and the negative electrode terminal 131b of another battery cell <NUM> are connected by using an adapting piece.

During the operation of the battery module M, the battery cells <NUM> are continuously charged and discharged, and during the charging and discharging, the battery cells <NUM> are at a risk of failure (such as thermal runaway), causing a battery cell <NUM> unable to function properly. In this case, the battery cell <NUM> failed due to a failure, that is the failed battery cell <NUM> (see <FIG>), causes the circuit of the battery module M to fail and unable to supply power normally. In this application, the technical problem is resolved by short-circuiting the failed battery cell <NUM> to form a new circuit.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, the box body <NUM> of the battery module M further includes a mounting beam <NUM>. The mounting beam <NUM> is located inside the accommodation cavity <NUM> of the box body <NUM>, and at an end of the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> along the width direction Y, which means that electrode terminals <NUM> of the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> face toward the mounting beam <NUM>. Moreover, the battery module M further includes a pressing plate <NUM>. At least part of the pressing plate <NUM> is located at an end of the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> along the height direction Z, and the pressing plate <NUM> is detachably connected to the mounting beam <NUM>. After the pressing plate <NUM> is connected to the mounting beam, the pressing plate <NUM> can be used to limit the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> along the height direction Z, thereby improving stability of the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> inside the accommodation cavity <NUM>.

Moreover, the battery module M further includes a conductive component <NUM>. When a battery cell <NUM> has failed and a failed battery cell <NUM> occurs, the conductive component <NUM> is configured to directly or indirectly connect a positive electrode terminal 131a and a negative electrode terminal 131b of the failed battery cell <NUM>. The conductive component <NUM> may be connected to the electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM> inside the failed battery cell <NUM>, or may be connected to the electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM> outside the failed battery cell <NUM>. The conductive component <NUM> may be directly connected to the electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM>, or, when the electrode terminals <NUM> are connected to the adapting pieces, the conductive component <NUM> may be connected to the adapting pieces that are connected to the electrode terminals <NUM>. Therefore, a short circuit between the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b of the failed battery cell <NUM> can be implemented by using the conductive component <NUM>, so that the failed battery cell <NUM> is removed from the charge and discharge circuit of the battery module M.

In addition, the battery cell <NUM> in the embodiments of this application may be a soft package battery, or may be a square battery or a cylindrical battery. Accordingly, the electrode terminals <NUM> (including the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b) of the battery cell <NUM> may be electrode terminals <NUM> the soft package battery, or may be electrode terminals <NUM> of the square battery or the cylindrical battery. Moreover, when an electrode pole and a tab of the battery cell <NUM> are connected by using an adapting piece, the electrode terminal <NUM> may alternatively be a structure connected to the electrode pole and the adapting piece.

Therefore, when one battery cell <NUM> or some battery cells <NUM> fail during operation of the battery module M, it is only required to connect the positive and negative electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM> by using the conductive component <NUM>, without need to replace the entire battery module M. When the battery module M is used in a vehicle, in case that one battery cell or some battery cells <NUM> fail, the vehicle can be repaired directly in a <NUM> shop, without need to return the vehicle to the factory for handling, or without need to replace the battery module M with a new battery module M, thereby improving maintenance efficiency and work efficiency (utilization) of the battery module M, simplifying a maintenance process, and reducing maintenance costs. Moreover, after the foregoing handling, a relatively small current goes through the failed battery cell <NUM>, which may not cause a significant reduction of the battery capacity of the battery module M, so that the battery module M can function properly.

In addition, for a structure in which the battery cell <NUM> is attached to the accommodation cavity <NUM> of the box body <NUM> through a structural adhesive, when a specific battery cell <NUM> fails, it is not easy to implement an operation for removing the failed battery cell <NUM> from the accommodation cavity <NUM>. Therefore, in this embodiment, the handling method of short-circuiting the failed battery cell <NUM> by using the conductive component <NUM> has the advantages of convenient operation and high efficiency.

Moreover, for the battery module M shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, along the height direction Z of the battery module M, at least part of the conductive component <NUM> is located between the mounting beam <NUM> and an uppermost portion of the pressing plate <NUM>, where the uppermost portion of the pressing plate <NUM> refers to a portion at which the pressing plate <NUM> has a highest height along the height direction (based on a same plane, for example, based on a bottom surface of the box body <NUM> of the battery module M).

Using the embodiments shown in <FIG>, <FIG> as an example, the pressing plate <NUM> includes a body part <NUM> and a connecting part <NUM>, where the body part <NUM> is a flat plate structure (the height is the same everywhere), and the connecting part <NUM> may include a first connecting section <NUM>, a second connecting section <NUM>, and a transition section <NUM>. Along the width direction Y, the transition section <NUM> connects the first connecting section <NUM> and the second connecting section <NUM>, the first connecting section <NUM> is connected to the body part <NUM>, and the second connecting part <NUM> is connected to the mounting beam <NUM>. Therefore, the first connecting section <NUM> is higher than the second connecting section <NUM> in height. The transition section <NUM> extends along the height direction Z, so that a cross section of the connecting part <NUM> is generally Z-shaped. The connecting part <NUM> with such a structure can facilitate to connecting the mounting beam <NUM> and the body part <NUM>.

The first connecting section <NUM> of the connecting part <NUM> overlaps on top of the body part <NUM>. In this case, the uppermost portion of the pressing plate <NUM> is the first connecting section <NUM>. Therefore, in this embodiment, along the height direction Z, at least part of the conductive component <NUM> is located between the second upper end surface <NUM> of the mounting beam <NUM> and the first connecting section <NUM> of the pressing plate <NUM>, that is, located above the second upper end surface <NUM> (not necessarily in contact with the second upper end surface <NUM>) and below the first connecting section <NUM> (not necessarily in contact with the first connecting section <NUM>). There may be no connection between the conductive component <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM> and between the conductive component <NUM> and the pressing plate <NUM>, or the conductive component <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM> are connected and insulated by using another component, and the conductive component <NUM> and the first connecting section <NUM> are connected and insulated by using another component.

In this embodiment, when at least part of the conductive component <NUM> is located above the second upper end surface <NUM>, the conductive component <NUM> is easily connected to or disconnected from electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM>, which means that, there is no need to remove the mounting beam <NUM> and also no need to remove the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> from the accommodation cavity <NUM>, so that a maintenance process can be further simplified and maintenance costs can be reduced.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the battery module M further include a first adapting piece <NUM> and a second adapting piece <NUM>. The first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> are connected to the electrode terminals <NUM> of the battery cells <NUM>. The conductive component <NUM> is connected to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> that are connected to the failed battery cell <NUM>, which means that in this embodiment, the conductive component <NUM> can be connected to two electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM> indirectly. Moreover, after the connection done, along the height direction Z, at least part of the first adapting piece <NUM> and part of the second adapting piece <NUM> are located between the mounting beam <NUM> and the uppermost portion of the pressing plate <NUM>.

In this embodiment, for the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> that are connected to the electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM>, when at least part of the first adapting piece <NUM> and part of the second adapting piece <NUM> are located above the second upper end surface <NUM> of the mounting beam <NUM>, the conductive component <NUM> can be easily connected to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>. Compared with the case where the conductive component <NUM> is directly connected to the electrode terminals <NUM>, when the conductive component <NUM> is connected to the adapting pieces, a contact area between the conductive component <NUM> and an adapting piece is relatively large, so that a current flowing area between the two can be increased, and a risk of overheating at the connection locations can be reduced.

More specifically, along the height direction Z, a location for connecting the conductive component <NUM> and the first adapting piece <NUM> is between the mounting beam <NUM> and the pressing plate <NUM>, and a location for connecting the conductive component <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> is between the mounting beam <NUM> and an uppermost portion of the pressing plate <NUM>. To be specific, the location for connecting the conductive component <NUM> and the first adapting piece <NUM> and the location for connecting the conductive component <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> are above the second upper end surface <NUM> of the mounting beam <NUM>, so that the conductive component <NUM> can be easily connected to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, the battery cell <NUM> includes a top cover plate <NUM>, and the electrode terminals <NUM> are disposed on the top cover plate <NUM>. Along the width direction Y, there is a preset distance between the top cover plate <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM>, and the preset distance is used to provide an electrical gap between the electrode terminals <NUM> of the battery cells <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM>, thereby avoiding electrical connection between the battery cells <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM> and ensuring that the battery module M can function properly.

Moreover, when the pressing plate <NUM> is connected to the mounting beam <NUM>, the box body <NUM>, the mounting beam <NUM>, and the pressing plate <NUM> enclose an accommodation space <NUM>, and the conductive component <NUM> is located in the accommodation space <NUM>. With the accommodation space <NUM>, the conductive component <NUM> can be easily connected to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>.

In another specific embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, the conductive component <NUM> is connected to the electrode terminals <NUM>. Specifically, when the failed battery cell <NUM> is located in the uppermost battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, the conductive component <NUM> can be directly connected to the electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the positive electrode terminal 131a of the failed battery cell <NUM> is connected to the first adapting piece <NUM>, and the negative electrode terminal 131b of the failed battery cell <NUM> is connected to the second adapting piece <NUM>. Therefore, when the conductive component <NUM> is directly connected to the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b, along the width direction Y, at least part of the conductive component <NUM> is located between the two adapting pieces and the top cover plate <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM>, thereby capable of connecting to the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b.

When the failed battery cell <NUM> is located in a lower battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, the failed battery cell <NUM> is located below the second upper end surface <NUM> of the mounting beam <NUM>, and it is not easy to directly connect the conductive component <NUM> to the failed battery cell <NUM>. The positive electrode terminal 131a of the failed battery cell <NUM> is connected to the first adapting piece <NUM>, the negative electrode terminal 131b of the failed battery cell <NUM> is connected to the second adapting piece <NUM>. In addition, the first adapting piece <NUM> is also connected to a battery cell <NUM> located on the upper layer, the second adapting piece <NUM> is also connected to a battery cell <NUM> located on the upper layer. Therefore, the conductive component <NUM> can also be connected to the electrode terminal <NUM> that is located on the upper layer and connected to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the electrode terminal <NUM> that is located on the upper layer and connected to the second adapting piece <NUM>, so as to indirectly connect the electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM>.

Specifically, when the conductive component <NUM> is connected to the electrode terminals <NUM>, they may be connected by welding. Certainly, they may alternatively be connected by another structure. For example, as shown in <FIG>, the conductive component <NUM> includes two spaced matching slots <NUM> along a length direction X. A distance between the two matching slots <NUM> is equal to a distance between the two electrode terminals <NUM> connected to the conductive component <NUM>. Using <FIG> as an example, when the conductive component <NUM> is connected to the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b of the failed battery cell <NUM>, at least part of each of the two electrode terminals <NUM> is located in a corresponding matching slot <NUM>, thereby connecting the conductive component <NUM> to the electrode terminals <NUM>.

More specifically, along the height direction Z, the matching slot <NUM> includes a downward opening, and also includes a top wall <NUM> of the opening. Moreover, along the length direction X, the matching slot <NUM> includes two opposite side walls <NUM>. When at least part of an electrode terminal <NUM> is located in the matching slot <NUM>, the electrode terminal <NUM> abuts against the top wall <NUM>, and the electrode terminal <NUM> also abuts against the two side walls <NUM>, so that the electrode terminal <NUM> and the matching slot <NUM> are adapted to improve reliability of the connection between the conductive component <NUM> and the electrode terminal <NUM>.

In addition, the conductive component <NUM> may alternatively be welded to the corresponding electrode terminal <NUM>, or may be electrically connected by a conductive adhesive.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the pressing plate <NUM> may include a body part <NUM> and a connecting part <NUM>. The body part <NUM> is located at an end of the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> along the height direction Z. One end of the connecting part <NUM> is connected to the body part <NUM>, and the other end of the connecting part <NUM> is detachably connected to the mounting beam <NUM>, thereby connecting the pressing plate <NUM> to the mounting beam <NUM>.

It should be noted that in this embodiment, along the height direction Z, the connecting part <NUM> of the pressing plate <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM> may be directly connected, or a rubber pad may also be included between the two, which means that the connecting part <NUM> may be connected to the mounting beam <NUM> by using the rubber pad. Therefore, as the battery module M vibrates, the rubber pad can cushion the vibration between the connecting part <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM>, improving reliability of the connection between the pressing plate <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM>.

In addition, when the connecting part <NUM> of the pressing plate <NUM> is detachably connected to the mounting beam <NUM>, not only the pressing plate <NUM> can be mounted on the mounting beam <NUM> to improve stability of the battery cells <NUM> in the accommodation cavity <NUM>, but also the connecting part <NUM> can be easily removed from the mounting beam <NUM>. In this way, at least part of the first adapting piece <NUM> and part of the second adapting piece <NUM> can be exposed from the mounting beam <NUM>, to allow connecting the conductive component <NUM> to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>. Moreover, when the body part <NUM> of the pressing plate <NUM> is fixedly connected (for example, bonded) to the battery cells <NUM>, the connecting part <NUM> detachably connected to the mounting beam <NUM> can be easily removed, thereby facilitating to connect the conductive component <NUM> to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, along the height direction Z, the battery cell <NUM> in the uppermost layer includes a first upper end surface <NUM>, and the body part <NUM> is connected to the first upper end surface <NUM>, where the two may be bonded by a structural adhesive, or connected by other means. Moreover, along the height direction Z, the mounting beam <NUM> includes a second upper end surface <NUM>, and the first upper end surface <NUM> is higher than the second upper end surface <NUM>, that is, the first upper end surface <NUM> is located above the second upper end surface <NUM>.

In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the first connecting section <NUM> may be connected to the upper end surface of the body part <NUM> to increase a contact area between the two. The first connection section <NUM> may overlap the top of the body part <NUM>. The first connection section <NUM> may be fixedly connected to the body part <NUM> by using screws, or the two may alternatively be connected by using a structural adhesive or by other means. In addition, the second connecting section <NUM> is detachably connected to the second upper end surface <NUM> of the mounting beam <NUM>, and the two may specifically be fastened by using bolts.

In the embodiment shown in <FIG>, the connecting part <NUM> may further include a pressing block <NUM>, and the pressing block <NUM> is connected to a lower portion of the first connecting section <NUM>. The thickness of the pressing block <NUM> along the height direction Z is the same as the thickness of the body part <NUM>. When the first connecting section <NUM> is overlapped with the body part <NUM>, the pressing block <NUM> can abut against the first upper end surface <NUM> of the battery cell <NUM>, that is, the first connecting section <NUM> is connected to the body part <NUM> and the first upper end surface <NUM>. Moreover, the second connecting section <NUM> is detachably connected to the second upper end surface <NUM> of the mounting beam <NUM>. In this embodiment, connection reliability is high between the connecting part <NUM> and the battery cells <NUM> and between the connecting part <NUM> and the body part <NUM>.

In the foregoing embodiments, the pressing plate <NUM> may include two connecting parts <NUM>. The two connecting parts <NUM> are connected to two sides of the body part <NUM> along the width direction Y, so that the two sides of the pressing plate <NUM> along the width direction Y are connected to the mounting beam <NUM>.

The first connecting section <NUM> is overlapped with the body part <NUM>, and an overlapped length of the two is <NUM> to <NUM>. For example, the overlapped length may be <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like, and when the overlapped length of the two is long, connection reliability between the connecting part <NUM> and the body part <NUM> is high.

Furthermore, when along the width direction Y, the battery module M includes one battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, the body part <NUM> is within the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> along the width direction Y, so that the body part <NUM> does not interfere with the conductive component <NUM> connecting to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>. Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in <FIG>, when along the width direction Y, the battery module M includes two battery cell arrangement structures <NUM>, along the width direction Y, one end of the body part <NUM> is within one battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, and the other end of the body part <NUM> is within the other battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, which means that a width of the body part <NUM> is less that a sum of the widths of the two battery cell arrangement structures <NUM>.

In this embodiment, even if the body part <NUM> is not removed from the pressing plate <NUM>, the body part <NUM> does not interfere with the conductive component <NUM> connecting to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>.

In addition, in the embodiments shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, along the height direction Z, the battery module M includes at least two layers of battery cell arrangement structures <NUM>, namely, the first battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> and the second battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, and along the height direction Z, the first battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> is located above the second battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>. The first adapting piece <NUM> connects a battery cell <NUM> of the first battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> and a battery cell <NUM> of the second battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, and the second adapting piece <NUM> connects a battery cell <NUM> of the first battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> and a battery cell <NUM> of the second battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>. To be specific, battery cells <NUM> of the first battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> and battery cells <NUM> of the second battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> are connected in series by using the first adapting pieces <NUM> and the second adapting pieces <NUM>, so that the first adapting pieces <NUM> and the second adapting pieces <NUM> are arranged obliquely along the height direction Z.

In this embodiment, in this connection manner, for the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> that are connected to the battery cells <NUM> of the second battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> in the lower layer, at least part of the first adapting piece <NUM> and part of the second adapting piece <NUM> are located above the second upper end surface <NUM> of the mounting beam <NUM>, so that the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> can be connected by using the conductive component <NUM>. To be specific, in this connection manner, the battery module M includes two layers of battery cell arrangement structures <NUM>. When a battery cell <NUM> of the second battery cell arrangement structure <NUM> in the lower layer fails, the failed battery cell <NUM> (located in the lower layer) can also be connected by using the conductive component <NUM>, so that the failed battery cell <NUM> can still be maintained without removing the battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>.

In addition, an embodiment of this application further provides a failure handling method for a failed battery cell <NUM>. The failure handling method includes the following steps.

S1: Remove at least part of a pressing plate <NUM> from the mounting beam <NUM>.

In this step, after at least part of the pressing plate <NUM> is removed, at least part of the failed battery cell <NUM> is exposed, which can facilitate to accordingly perform an operation on the failed battery cell <NUM>.

S2: Electrically connect the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b of the failed battery cell <NUM> by using a conductive component <NUM>, where the conductive component <NUM> may be directly connected to the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b, or may be indirectly connected to the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b (for example, by using a first adapting piece <NUM> and a second adapting piece <NUM>).

The conductive component <NUM> specifically may be a metal sheet or another structure, so as to implement a short circuit between the positive electrode terminal 131a and the negative electrode terminal 131b, and a cross-sectional area of the conductive component <NUM> should meet a current flowing requirement of the battery module M, thereby avoiding overheating at the conductive component <NUM>.

Specifically, as described above, the pressing plate <NUM> may include the body part <NUM> and the connecting part <NUM> which are connected. In the pressing plate <NUM>, the body part <NUM> is connected to a battery cell arrangement structure <NUM>, the connecting part <NUM> is connected to the mounting beam, and therefore, the above step S1 may specifically be:
S11: Remove the connecting part <NUM> from the mounting beam <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the connecting part <NUM> is detachably connected to the mounting beam <NUM> and the body part <NUM>. In maintenance of a failed battery cell <NUM>, there is no need to remove the entire pressing plate <NUM>. At least part of the failed battery cell <NUM> can be exposed by only removing the connecting part <NUM>, and therefore, the failed battery cell <NUM> can be easily maintained.

More specifically, two electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM> are connected to the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> respectively, and therefore, the above step S2 may specifically be:
S21: Electrically connect, by using the conductive component <NUM>, the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> that are connected to the failed battery cell <NUM>.

In this embodiment, two electrode terminals <NUM> of the failed battery cell <NUM> are indirectly connected by using the conductive component <NUM>, so that the failed battery cell <NUM> is short-circuited. In addition, when the conductive component <NUM> is connected to the two adapting pieces, a contact area between the conductive component <NUM> and an adapting piece is relatively large, so that a current flowing area between the two can be increased, and a risk of overheating at the connection locations between the conductive component and the adapting pieces can be reduced.

In addition, the conductive component <NUM> may be specifically connected to the two adapting pieces by welding, or may be connected by bonding, riveting and other means.

More specifically, after the step S2, the failure handling method may further include:
S3: Mount the at least part of the pressing plate <NUM> that was removed from the mounting beam <NUM> back to the mounting beam <NUM>.

When the at least part of the pressing plate <NUM> that was removed from the mounting beam <NUM> in the step S1 is the connecting part <NUM>, the step S3 specifically may be:
S31: Mount the connecting part <NUM> that was removed from the mounting beam <NUM> back to the mounting beam <NUM>.

In this step, after the removed connecting part <NUM> is re-mounted to the mounting beam <NUM>, the maintenance of the failed battery cell <NUM> is completed. In the battery module M, the battery cell arrangement structure(s) <NUM> may also be limited by the pressing plate <NUM> and the mounting beam <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A battery module (M), wherein the battery module (M) comprises:
a battery cell arrangement structure (<NUM>), comprising a plurality of battery cells (<NUM>) arranged along a length direction (X) of the battery module (M), wherein the battery cells (<NUM>) comprise electrode terminals (<NUM>) that are arranged along the length direction (X), and face toward a width direction (Y) of the battery module (M), and the battery cells (<NUM>) comprise a failed battery cell (<NUM>); characterized in that, the battery module (M) further comprises:
a box body (<NUM>), wherein the box body (<NUM>) comprises an accommodation cavity (<NUM>), and the battery cell arrangement structure (<NUM>) is located in the accommodation cavity (<NUM>);
a mounting beam (<NUM>), wherein the mounting beam (<NUM>) is located in the accommodation cavity (<NUM>) and at an end of the battery cell arrangement structure (<NUM>) along the width direction (Y), and along a height direction (Z) of the battery module (M), the mounting beam (<NUM>) comprises a second upper end surface (<NUM>);
a pressing plate (<NUM>), wherein at least part of the pressing plate (<NUM>) is located at an end of the battery cell arrangement structure (<NUM>) along the height direction (Z), and the pressing plate (<NUM>) is detachably connected to the mounting beam (<NUM>); and
a conductive component (<NUM>), wherein the conductive component (<NUM>) is connected to a positive electrode terminal (131a) and a negative electrode terminal (131b) of the failed battery cell (<NUM>);
wherein, along the height direction (Z), at least part of the conductive component (<NUM>) is located between the second upper end surface (<NUM>) and an uppermost portion of the pressing plate (<NUM>).