Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus – product – and – Current producing cell – elements – subcombinations and... – Plural cells
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-25
2003-04-29
Chaney, Carol (Department: 1745)
Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and
Current producing cell, elements, subcombinations and...
Plural cells
C429S149000, C429S159000, C429S163000, C429S200000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06555264
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery module constituted by connecting a plurality of cells so as to obtain a necessary power capacity.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 9
shows a conventional battery module made by connecting a plurality of rechargeable batteries and coupling them together as one so as to obtain the necessary power. In this battery module, a plurality of cells
31
(
31
a
to
31
j
) made of sealed alkaline rechargeable batteries as shown in
FIG. 10
are arranged side by side, with the long lateral walls of their battery cases
32
adjacent each other. End plates
42
are arranged against the outside of the cells
31
a
and
31
j
at both ends, and the group of batteries and the two end plates
42
are bound together with binding bands
43
so as to couple the cells together as one piece.
For the cells
31
, an electrode plate group
37
, comprising positive electrode plates and negative electrode plates layered with intervening separators, thereby constituting elements for electromotive force, is accommodated in a battery case
32
together with a liquid electrolyte, and the open end of the battery case
32
is closed with a lid
36
provided with a safety vent
35
. From the upper end at one side of the positive electrode plates forming the electrode plate group
37
, leads
39
extend upward and are connected to a positive electrode terminal
33
above them, and similarly, from the upper end of the other side of the negative electrode plates, leads
39
extend upward and are connected to an negative electrode terminal
34
above them. The positive electrode terminal
33
and the negative electrode terminal
34
are attached to the lid
36
.
The positive electrode terminals
33
and negative electrode terminals
34
of coupled neighboring cells
31
are connected by connection plates
41
, thereby connecting all cells
31
in series. When the battery cases
32
are coupled, ribs
38
, which protrude vertically from the long lateral walls of the battery cases
32
, are abutted against each other, forming coolant passages running in the vertical direction along the long lateral walls of the battery cases
32
in the space between ribs
38
. The cells
31
a
to
31
j
are cooled by flowing air through these coolant passages.
With the configuration of this conventional battery module, individual cells
31
are arranged in parallel, with the ribs
38
on the long lateral walls of the cell cases
32
being abutted each other. While each of the cells
31
can be cooled substantially uniformly by the coolant passages formed between the ribs
38
on one hand, the entire battery module cannot be made compact by the space provided for the coolant passages on the other hand.
If the pitch space between adjacent ribs
38
is made smaller, the cross-sectional area of the coolant passages formed between the ribs
38
become smaller, and the cooling performance will decrease accordingly. Conversely, if the ribs
38
area arranged at a wider pitch space, the walls of each cell case
32
will more easily expand outwards by the internal pressure of each cell
31
, whereby the cross-sectional area of the coolant passages will become smaller and the cooling performance will deteriorate. On the other hand, if the walls of the cell cases
32
are made thicker as the countermeasure against the internal pressure of the cells, heat conductivity will deteriorate, and the cooling performance will anyway deteriorate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of these problems of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery module of a compact structure, in which each of the cells constituting the battery module can be uniformly cooled highly efficiently.
To achieve the above object, a battery module according to the present invention comprises:
a plurality of prismatic cell cases having short lateral walls and long lateral walls arranged side by side, with adjacent short lateral walls being integral with each other; and
a single lid member for integrally closing upper open ends of the plurality of prismatic cell cases, wherein
each of the cell cases accommodates therein a group of electrodes comprising a group of positive electrode plates and a group of negative electrode plates stacked alternately upon one another parallel to the long lateral walls of the cell cases with intervening separators therebetween, thereby constituting rechargeable batteries respectively, and
neighboring rechargeable batteries are connected in series at their opposite lateral ends with each other.
Since neighboring cell cases share their short lateral walls, and no cooling space is provided between the cells, the battery module can be made compact as a whole. Further, since each of the cells accommodates therein a group of electrode plates stacked parallel to the long lateral walls of the cell cases, and the neighboring cells are mutually connected in series at the opposite ends of the long lateral walls, the cells can be connected together compactly. Moreover, the battery module is cooled as a whole along the long lateral walls of the integral battery case formed as one continuous plane, so that each of cells constituting the battery module is uniformly and efficiently cooled.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4339049 (1982-07-01), Gillespie
patent: 5736272 (1998-04-01), Veenstra et al.
patent: 5800942 (1998-09-01), Hamada et al.
patent: 5906899 (1999-05-01), Noda et al.
patent: 6033800 (2000-03-01), Ichiyanagi et al.
patent: 6304057 (2001-10-01), Hamada et al.
patent: 0771037 (1997-05-01), None
patent: 0817287 (1998-01-01), None
patent: 1059680 (2000-12-01), None
David Linden, “Handbook of Batteries,” McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1985.*
David LInden, “Handbook of Batteries,” McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1985.
Eto Toyohiko
Fujioka Noriyuki
Hamada Shinji
Ikoma Munehisa
Ogata Yoshiaki
Chaney Carol
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Yuan Dah-Wei
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