Patent ID: 8557429

Claim:
A battery pack comprising: a plurality of battery modules, each having two opposing long sides, two opposing short sides that are shorter than the long sides, and two opposing end surfaces, being covered by a film, and including a plurality of cells arranged in line, the plurality of battery modules being arranged in a direction perpendicular to a cell arrangement direction in which the cells are arranged, each of the cells having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and a safety valve, and the cells being separate from each other, connected with each other in series, and placed so that the safety valves of the cells face one of the short sides of the battery modules, end faces of the cells face each other, and long sides of the cells form a continuous surface along each of the long sides of the battery modules; a plurality of holding spacers placed one each between the battery modules to hold the battery modules located on both sides of each holding spacer, each holding spacer including a spacer body made of resin having electrical insulating properties and formed in a plate-like shape, and the spacer body including, on both sides of the spacer body, protrusions for forming cooling passages by contacting the long sides of the battery modules, the battery modules and the holding spacers being integrally retained; and a first spacer support member and a second spacer support member which hold the holding spacers therebetween in a vertical direction perpendicular to both the cell arrangement direction and a module arrangement direction in which the battery modules are arranged, wherein: the battery modules and the holding spacers are integrated and retained by two end plates positioned on opposite sides, in the module arrangement direction, of the battery modules and the holding spacers, the end plates being held together by members extending between the end plates along the outside of the battery modules and the holding spacers; each of the holding spacers includes one or more first elastic portions arranged to face and be elastically deformed against, in the vertical direction, the first spacer support member; the holding spacers are elastically held between the first and second spacer support members while the one or more first elastic portions is elastically deformed in the vertical direction into elastic pressure contact with the first spacer support member; and each of the holding spacers includes one or more third elastic portions made of plate-like rubber members and arranged to face, hold, and be elastically deformed against, in the module arrangement direction, one of the long sides of one of the battery modules while the one or more third elastic portions are in elastic pressure contact with the one of the long sides.