Patent ID: 7794870

Claim:
A battery module, including: a plurality of unit cells, each unit cell having an electrode assembly, which can be charged and discharged, the plurality of unit cells mounted in a plate-shaped battery case, wherein electrode terminals of the plurality of unit cells protrude from opposite ends of the battery case, the electrode terminals of each unit cell deviate from each other about a vertical central axis of the unit cell, the vertical axis being on a plane of the unit cell, and the electrode terminals are arranged in a symmetrical fashion, the battery case includes an upper case and a lower case, only one of which is provided with a location part for receiving the electrode assembly, and the electrode terminals deviate toward the upper or lower case which has no location part on a vertical section of the unit cell; the electrode terminals have a width which is less than one half of a width of the unit cell, and the electrode terminals deviate such that the electrode terminals are offset completely from the central axis of the unit cell; the unit cells are arranged in a three-dimensional arrangement structure of an N×n matrix in which the unit cells are arranged in a lateral direction and in a thickness direction, which is perpendicular to a lateral direction; the unit cells in the lateral direction of the three-dimensional arrangement structure have electrode terminals, which are to be electrically connected with each other, disposed adjacent to each other, and the unit cells in the thickness direction of the three-dimensional arrangement structure are disposed such that surfaces of the unit cells in the thickness direction, which do not have location parts, face each other, and the electrode terminals of the unit cells in the thickness direction, which are to be electrically connected with each other, are spaced apart from each other.