Battery module

Abstract

To improve the safety and ease of assembly of battery modules equipped with service plugs. [Solution] The battery module 1 comprises a plurality of battery cells 20, a cell holder 30 that holds the plurality of battery cells 20, a service plug 60 that is removably installed on the upper surface of the cell holder 30 and electrically connects or disconnects the battery cells 20, and an upper cover 55 made of insulating material that covers the upper surface of the cell holder 30. The upper cover 55 is provided with an opening 56 that exposes the service plug 60. The service plug 60 has a projection 62 that passes through the opening 56 and a visor portion 63 that extends from the upper end of the projection 62 and covers the upper surface of the upper cover 55.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery module.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a service plug device that serially connects a pair of battery modules in a releasable manner.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When installing a service plug in a single module, various requirements such as safety, assemblability, or miniaturization are assumed to occur, but no proposals have been made for such requirements in the past.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to improve the safety and assemblability of a battery module provided with a service plug.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a battery module including a plurality of battery cells, a cell holder that holds the plurality of battery cells, a service plug that is removably installed on an upper surface of the cell holder and electrically connects or disconnects the battery cells from each other, and a cover made of an insulating material that covers the upper surface of the cell holder. The cover is provided with an opening that exposes the service plug, and the service plug has a protrusion that passes through the opening and a shield portion that extends from an upper end of the protrusion and covers an upper surface of the cover.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to this disclosure, the safety and ease of assembly of battery modules equipped with a service plug can be improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] A perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows an exploded perspective view of the battery module. [Figure 3] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the cell holder, cover, and service plug in their assembled state. [Figure 4] Figure 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the cell holder, cover, and service plug. [Figure 5] A conceptual diagram showing the electrical connections in the cell holder in Figure 3. [Figure 6] Plan view of the cell holder in Figure 3. [Figure 7] Enlarged view of Figure 6. [Figure 8] Figure 3 shows a partially exploded perspective view of the cell holder and service plug. [Figure 9] Figure 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the cell holder and service plug. [Figure 10] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the cell holder and service plug in their assembled state, magnified. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] A battery module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a plurality of battery cells, a cell holder for holding the plurality of battery cells, a service plug detachably mounted on the upper surface of the cell holder for electrically connecting or disconnecting the battery cells, and a cover made of an insulating material covering the upper surface of the cell holder, wherein the cover is provided with an opening for exposing the service plug, and the service plug has a projection passing through the opening and a visor extending from the upper end of the projection and covering the upper surface of the cover.

[0010] In the above configuration, the battery cells are covered by an insulating material cover, and the service plug is exposed through an opening. The service plug is provided with a visor that covers the top surface of the cover.

[0011] Therefore, when assembling the battery module, if the service plug is installed first with the cover removed, the visor and protrusions will have difficulty passing through the opening when attempting to install the cover afterward, making it difficult to easily attach the cover. For this reason, workers are instructed to install the cover first, and then the service plug. By pinching the visor, the service plug can be easily installed into the cell holder through the opening. Therefore, even with the cover attached, the assembly of the service plug is easy.

[0012] The same applies to the disassembly of the battery module. If you try to remove the cover first while the service plug is installed, the top surface of the cover will engage with the visor, making it difficult to remove the cover. Therefore, workers are instructed to remove the service plug first before removing the cover. By pinching the visor, it is also possible to easily pull the service plug out of the cell holder. Therefore, even with the cover installed, the disassembly of the service plug is easy.

[0013] Thus, both the installation and removal of the service plug are performed with the cell holder covered by an insulating material cover. Therefore, the safety of the battery module can be improved while maintaining a high level of ease of assembly.

[0014] In another embodiment, the upper surface of the cover may be provided with a recess for receiving the awning.

[0015] With the above configuration, when assembling the service plug into the cell holder, the visor portion is received in the recess, allowing the service plug to be positioned in the cell holder. The service plug can then be properly assembled into the cell holder.

[0016] In other embodiments, the cell holder holds the plurality of battery cells in an aligned state according to a predetermined arrangement rule, and the service plug is installed in the space between two adjacent battery cells according to the arrangement rule, and the two battery cells may be conductively connected so as to be cut off.

[0017] According to the above configuration, the service plug is arranged in a narrow space between two battery cells. It is possible to provide a highly safe battery module while avoiding an increase in the size of the cell holder.

[0018] The battery module according to another embodiment further includes a first half lead plate connected to one of the two battery cells that can be conductively connected via the service plug, and a second half lead plate connected to the other of the two battery cells that can be conductively connected via the service plug, and the service plug may be removably screwed to each of the first half lead plate and the second half lead plate.

[0019] According to the above configuration, a detachable service plug can be realized by applying screwing.

[0020] In other embodiments, the service plug may be removably fixed to each of the first half lead plate and the second half lead plate with a plurality of screws.

[0021] According to the above configuration, compared with the case where the service plug is fixed to each half lead plate with one screw, it is possible to lower the head of the screw. The amount of protrusion of the screw from the cell holder can be suppressed, contributing to the reduction in the height of the battery module.

[0022] The following describes specific examples of this disclosure in detail based on the drawings. In the following description, terms indicating specific directions or locations may be used as needed. The use of such terms is for the purpose of facilitating understanding of the disclosure with reference to the drawings, and the meaning of these terms does not limit the technical scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, parts with the same reference numerals appearing in multiple drawings indicate the same or equivalent parts or components. In addition, the embodiments shown below illustrate specific examples of the technical concept of this disclosure and do not limit this disclosure to those described below. Also, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, etc., of the components described below are intended as examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure to those specific examples unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, the content described in one embodiment or example is applicable to other embodiments and examples. Also, the size and positional relationships of components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity in the explanation.

[0023] Referring to Figure 1, a battery module 1 according to one embodiment is applied to an emergency power source such as a battery backup unit (BBU). However, this disclosure does not specify the application of the battery module, and it can be used as a power source for various other electrical devices, such as a power source for a vehicle's drive motor.

[0024] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the battery module 1 comprises an outer casing 2, a battery assembly 3, and a circuit unit 4.

[0025] The outer casing 2 is, for example, a long rectangular parallelepiped, and is rectangular when viewed in the height direction Z (i.e., in a plan view). In the following description, the direction in which the long side of this rectangle extends is called the longitudinal direction X, and the direction in which the short side extends is called the width direction Y. The longitudinal direction X corresponds to the depth direction or front-to-back direction, the width direction Y corresponds to the left-to-right direction, and the height direction Z corresponds to the up-and-down direction. The longitudinal direction X, the width direction Y, and the height direction Z are orthogonal to the other two directions.

[0026] The outer casing 2 has a front end wall 11 and a rear end wall 12 facing each other in the longitudinal direction X, a bottom wall 13 and a top wall 14 facing each other in the height direction, and a pair of side walls 15 and 16 facing each other in the width direction. The bottom wall 13, the top wall 14, and the pair of side walls 15 and 16 connect the edges of the front end wall 11 and the rear end wall 12, respectively. The outer casing 2 defines the internal space enclosed by these walls.

[0027] The outer case 2 is constructed by assembling multiple case components. In the illustrated example, the outer case 2 has a case base 2a, a case cover 2b, and a pair of end plates 2c and 2d as case components, with the case base 2a forming the bottom wall 13, the case cover 2b forming the top wall 14 and a pair of side walls 15 and 16, one end plate 2c forming the front end wall 11, and the other end plate 2d forming the rear end wall 12 This constitutes the above. However, this is merely one example, and the configuration of the parts division of the outer case 2 can be changed as appropriate.

[0028] The battery assembly 3 and the circuit unit 4 are housed in the outer casing 2, aligned along the longitudinal direction X.

[0029] The battery assembly 3 includes a plurality of battery cells 20 and a cell holder 30 that holds the plurality of battery cells 20 in place. For example, the battery cells 20 are non-aqueous electrolyte secondary batteries such as lithium-ion batteries. For example, the battery cells 20 have a cylindrical container 21. However, the battery cells may be batteries other than cylindrical ones, such as prismatic batteries, and may also be batteries other than lithium-ion batteries, such as all-solid-state batteries. The battery assembly 3 as a whole is generally rectangular and elongated in the longitudinal direction X.

[0030] The circuit unit 4 may include a charge / discharge control module that controls the charging and discharging of the battery cells 20, a voltage conversion module that converts the DC voltage supplied to or from the battery cells 20 (e.g., step-down, step-up, or both), and a temperature control module that controls cooling according to the state of the battery cells 20. Some of the modules exemplified herein may be mounted on a circuit board located in another location (e.g., the space between the battery assembly 3 and the side wall).

[0031] Referring to Figures 3 and 4, the battery assembly 3 includes, in addition to the battery cells 20 and cell holders 30 described above, a current collection structure 40, a lower cover 50, an upper cover 55, and a service plug 60.

[0032] The cell holder 30 is generally rectangular in shape and elongated in the longitudinal direction X. Although not shown in detail, the multiple battery cells 20 are held in a vertical position with their axial direction oriented in the height direction Z. The cell holder 30 has multiple housing sections 31 that individually house the multiple battery cells 20. Each housing section 31 is cylindrical to house the corresponding battery cell 20. The housing sections 31 are open on both the top and bottom. In other words, the top and bottom surfaces of the cell holder 30 are provided with multiple openings 32 that correspond one-to-one with the multiple housing sections 31. As a result, both end faces of each battery cell 20 are exposed above and below, respectively, when the battery cell 20 is housed in the housing section 31. For example, the positive electrode of the battery cell 20 is provided on one end face of the battery cell 20, and the negative electrode is provided on the other end face.

[0033] The cell holder 30 holds multiple battery cells 20 in an aligned state according to a predetermined arrangement rule. As shown in the figure, the multiple battery cells 20 may be arranged in a staggered pattern in a plan view. However, the arrangement rule is not limited to a staggered arrangement; it may also be a matrix arrangement or a single-column arrangement.

[0034] In this embodiment, where a staggered arrangement rule is applied, the multiple battery cells 20 each form multiple cell rows 25 extending in the longitudinal direction X, and the multiple cell rows 25 are arranged at equal intervals in the width direction Y. In each cell row 25, the battery cells 20 are, in principle (intentional exceptions will be described later), arranged at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction X. In two adjacent cell rows 25, the arrangement of the battery cells 20 is offset in the longitudinal direction X.

[0035] More specifically, in this embodiment, there are five cell rows 25. In principle, a first cell group consisting of two battery cells 20 arranged in the width direction Y, and a second cell group consisting of three battery cells 20 arranged in the width direction Y, are arranged alternately from one side in the longitudinal direction X to the other.

[0036] As schematically shown in Figure 5, the current collection structure 40 electrically connects multiple battery cells 20 and is installed so as to overlap the cell holder 30. In this embodiment, double-sided current collection is applied to the current collection structure 40, and the current collection structure 40 is provided on both the upper and lower surfaces of the cell holder 30.

[0037] In this embodiment, multiple battery cells 20 are connected sequentially in series one by one by the current collection structure 40. As a result, the battery assembly 3 as a whole is at a high voltage. For example, in this embodiment, the current collection structure 40 is composed of multiple lead plates 41 that connect the electrodes of two adjacent battery cells 20 within the cell holder 30. The multiple lead plates 41 include multiple upper lead plates 42 installed on the upper surface of the cell holder 30 and multiple lower lead plates 43 installed on the lower surface of the cell holder 30.

[0038] One battery cell 20 (the first battery cell) has its positive electrode exposed on the upper surface of the cell holder 30 and its negative electrode exposed on the lower surface. The adjacent battery cell 20 (the second battery cell) has its negative electrode exposed on the upper surface of the cell holder 30 and its positive electrode exposed on the lower surface. One upper lead plate 42 connects the positive electrode of one of the two adjacent battery cells 20 (the first battery cell) to the negative electrode of the other (the second battery cell). Another adjacent battery cell 20 (the third battery cell) has its positive electrode exposed on the upper surface of the cell holder 30 and its negative electrode exposed on the lower surface. Another upper lead plate 42 connects the positive electrode of one of the adjacent battery cells 20 (the second battery cell) to the negative electrode of the other (the third battery cell). In this way, the battery cells 20 are connected one by one in series.

[0039] The current collection structure 40, including the service plug 60, will be further described below with reference to Figures 6 to 10. Note that in Figures 6 and 7, the service plug 60 is assembled without the upper cover 55, but this is for illustrative purposes only. In reality, as will be described later, the service plug 60 is attached and detached with the upper cover 55 assembled to the cell holder 30.

[0040] Each lead plate 41 has a base portion 41a that is placed on the surface (upper or lower surface) of the cell holder 30, and two lead wires 41b that extend from the base portion 41a and are welded to the two electrodes, respectively. The two lead wires 41b reach the electrodes in the housing portion 31 from the surface side of the cell holder 30 through the opening 32 of the cell holder 30.

[0041] For example, the voltage of each battery cell 20 is 2-5V, and the number of battery cells 20 in the battery assembly 3 is 100-150, so the battery assembly 3 as a whole can have a high voltage of 200-750V. Service plugs 60 are interposed at various points in the series connection path between multiple battery cells 20. One lead plate 41 is rigidly attached to two battery cells 20 by welding, while the service plugs 60 are removablely installed on the cell holder 30 and can electrically connect or disconnect two adjacent battery cells 20. Because the high voltage of the battery assembly 3 can be divided at the locations where the service plugs 60 are installed, assembly and disassembly of the battery assembly 3 can be performed safely.

[0042] The base portion 41a of the lead plate 41 is gourd-shaped, dumbbell-shaped, or hourglass-shaped. The base portion 41a has a pair of circular portions that cover the two battery cells 20 and a constricted portion that connects the pair of circular portions. The upper surface of the cell holder 30 is provided with a plurality of lead plate receiving portions 33 that receive one upper lead plate 42 of this shape each. Although not shown in detail, the lower surface of the cell holder 30 is also provided with a plurality of lead plate storage portions that house one lower lead plate 43 of a similar shape each.

[0043] The lower cover 50 covers the lower surface of the cell holder 30 and the lower lead plate 43 from below. The upper cover 55 covers the upper surface of the cell holder 30 and the upper lead plate 42 from above. The upper cover 55 and the lower cover 50 are made of insulating material.

[0044] Where the service plug 60 is installed, a plug receiving section 34 is provided instead of the lead plate receiving section 33. The external shape of the plug receiving section 34 is substantially the same as that of the lead plate receiving section 33. The plug receiving section 34 has two openings 32 corresponding to two housing sections 31. The plug receiving section 34 houses a pair of half-lead plates 44 and 45, which are obtained by dividing a single lead plate 41 in half. The half-lead plates 44 and 45 have a roughly circular base section 44a and 45a and a single lead wire 44b and 45b extending from the base sections 44a and 45a. One half-lead plate 44 is placed on the upper surface of the cell holder 30 so as to cover one of the two openings 32, and is welded to the electrode of one of the battery cells 20 through the opening 32. The other half-lead plate 45 is placed on the upper surface of the cell holder 30 so as to cover the other of the two openings 32, and is welded to the electrode of the other battery cell 20 through the opening 32. The half-lead plates 44 and 45 are provided with terminal portions 44c and 45c that are continuous with the base portions 44a and 45a, and each terminal portion 44c and 45c is provided with two female screw holes 44d and 45d.

[0045] The service plug 60 is installed so as to cover the two terminal portions 44c and 45c from above and is received by the plug receiving portion 34. The service plug 60 is provided with four insertion holes 61a through which four bolts 66 are inserted from above. The four bolts are screwed into the two female screw holes 44d and 45d of the two terminal portions 44c and 45c, that is, a total of four female screw holes. In this way, the service plug 60 is removably assembled to the cell holder 30. When the bolts 66 are tightened, the lower surface of the service plug 60 is in close contact with the two terminal portions 44c and 45c in a surface contact state, thereby electrically connecting the two battery cells 20 through the two half-lead plates 44 and 45 and the service plug 60.

[0046] The service plug 60 is, in general terms, a plate-shaped member made of a conductive material (for example, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, copper alloy, etc.). The service plug 60 has a main body 61 that makes surface contact with the terminal portions 44c, 45c, a projection 62 that protrudes upward from the edge of the main body 61, and a visor portion 63 that is bent at the upper end of the projection 62. On the other hand, as described above, the cell holder 30 and the upper lead plate 42 are covered by the upper cover 55, but the upper cover 55 is provided with an opening 56 that exposes the service plug 60. The projection 62 passes through the opening 56. The visor portion 63 covers the upper surface of the upper cover 55.

[0047] Thus, in this embodiment, the plug receiving portion 34 has substantially the same shape as the lead plate receiving portion 33. Therefore, the service plug 60 is installed in the space between two adjacent battery cells 20 according to a predetermined arrangement rule, and the two battery cells 20 are electrically connected in a way that allows for electrical disconnection.

[0048] Thus, if the plug receiving portion 34 and the lead plate receiving portion 33 are indistinguishable at first glance, there is a possibility that the lead plate 41 may be mistakenly assembled into the plug receiving portion 34, or conversely, that the half lead plates 44, 45 and the service plug 60 may be mistakenly assembled into the lead plate receiving portion 33. In this regard, the lead plate receiving portion 33 is provided with two positioning protrusions 33a, while the plug receiving portion 34 is provided with four positioning protrusions 34a.

[0049] Furthermore, the base portion 41a of the lead plate 41 is provided with two notches 41c on its periphery, which have a shape complementary to the two positioning protrusions 33a of the lead plate receiving portion 33. This allows the lead plate 41 to be assembled in a positioned state relative to the lead plate receiving portion 33, while preventing it from being fitted into the plug receiving portion 34. In contrast, the pair of half-lead plates 44 and 45 are each provided with two notches 44e and 45e, which have a shape complementary to two of the four positioning protrusions of the plug receiving portion 34. Therefore, they can be assembled in a positioned state relative to the plug receiving portion 34. Moreover, one of the half-lead plates 44 is provided with a protrusion 44f, which prevents the half-lead plate 44 from being fitted into the lead plate receiving portion 33. This prevents incorrect assembly of both the lead plate 41 and the service plug 60.

[0050] As just one example, all of the plug receiving portions 34 are set along the edges of the cell holder 30, particularly along a pair of long edges extending in the longitudinal direction X. Since the service plug 60 is housed in such plug receiving portions 34, the service plug 60 is also installed along the long edges. Therefore, in a plan view, the service plug 60 is positioned inside the contour line of the cell holder 30 and does not protrude from the cell holder 30 in the longitudinal direction X or the width direction Y.

[0051] When assembling the battery module 1, particularly the battery assembly 3, configured as described above, multiple battery cells 20 are housed in each of the multiple housing sections 31 of the cell holder 30, and multiple upper lead plates 42 are fitted into lead plate receiving sections 33 provided on the upper surface of the cell holder 30 and welded to the electrodes of the corresponding two battery cells 20. Similarly, multiple lower lead plates 43 are fitted into lead plate receiving sections 33 provided on the lower surface of the cell holder 30 and welded to the electrodes of the corresponding two battery cells 20. Half lead plates 44 and 45 are fitted into plug receiving sections 34 and welded to the electrodes of the corresponding battery cells 20. Next, with the service plug 60 removed, the lower cover 50 and upper cover 55 are assembled onto the cell holder 30.

[0052] Next, the service plug 60 passes through the opening 56 of the upper cover 55 to the terminal portion of the half-lead plates 44, 45. 44 It is placed on c,45c. At this time, the canopy portion 63 is positioned to cover the upper surface of the upper cover 55 and is housed in a recess 57 provided in the upper cover 55. This allows the service plug 60 to be positioned on the cell holder 30 and the insertion hole 61a of the service plug 60 to be aligned with the female screw holes 44d,45d. The service plug 60 is then fastened to the half lead plates 44,45 with four bolts 66 and assembled to the cell holder 30 via the half lead plates 44,45. Because the canopy portion 63 is housed in the recess 57, the service plug 60 is prevented from rotating along with the bolts 66 when they are tightened, making the fastening work easier.

[0053] The current collection structure 40 is completed when the service plug 60 is installed. The multiple battery cells 20 are connected in series one by one. This work is performed with the upper cover 55 made of insulating material installed, thus ensuring safety. If an attempt is made to install the upper cover 55 after installing the service plug 60, the visor portion 63 will interfere with the upper cover 55, preventing the projection 62 and the visor portion 63 from passing through the opening 56. This allows workers to be instructed to install the upper cover 55 made of insulating material before installing the service plug 60, thus ensuring safety. After the service plug 60 is assembled, a cap 70 that closes the opening 56 is installed. This further improves safety.

[0054] Conversely, when disassembling the battery assembly 3, if the upper cover 55 is removed, the visor portion 63 engages with the upper cover 55. Therefore, the upper cover 55 cannot be easily removed. For this reason, the worker is instructed to first open the cap 70, loosen the four bolts 66, and remove the service plug 60. The worker can lift the service plug 60 by pinching the visor portion 63 or projection 62, so the disassembly of the service plug 60 can be easily performed even with the upper cover 55 attached. Once the service plug 60 is completely removed, there is no longer an element (visor portion 63) that engages with the upper cover 55, so the worker can easily remove the upper cover 55.

[0055] Thus, both the installation and removal of the service plug 60 are performed with the upper cover 55 attached. Therefore, worker safety is ensured.

[0056] In this embodiment, the service plug 60 is removably screwed to each of the pair of half-lead plates 44 and 45. The application of screw fastening makes it easy to realize a detachable service plug 60. The service plug 60 is removably fixed to each of the pair of half-lead plates 44 and 45 with multiple bolts 66 (two bolts 66 in this example). If the service plug were fixed to each half-lead plate with a single bolt, the head of that bolt would be high. In that case, it may be necessary to make the outer case 2 taller in order to ensure sufficient insulation distance between the outer case 2 and the upper wall 14. In contrast, by fixing the service plug 60 to each half-lead plate 44 and 45 with multiple bolts 66, sufficient fastening force can be obtained even if the heads of each bolt 66 are low. Therefore, it becomes possible to bring the upper wall 14 of the outer case 2 closer to the upper cover 55, and the battery module 1 can be made smaller (lower profile).

[0057] Although this embodiment has been described so far, the above configuration can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the spirit of this disclosure.

[0058] In the above embodiment, multiple service plugs 60 are provided. However, this is just an example, and there may be only one service plug 60.

[0059] In the above embodiment, all service plugs 60 are installed along the long edge of the cell holder 30. However, this is just an example, and some or all of the service plugs 60 may be installed along the short edge of the cell holder 30, or they may be installed in the central region of the cell holder 30 in a plan view.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the service plug 60 is installed between two adjacent battery cells 20 according to a predetermined arrangement rule. However, this is just an example, and the service plug 60 may be installed in a more spacious area. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0061] 1 Battery Module 2. Outer case 2a Case base 2b Case Cover 2c End Plate 2D End Plate 3. Battery Assembly 4 Circuit Units 11 Front end wall 12 Back end wall 13 Bottom wall 14 Upper wall 15 Side wall 16 side wall 20 battery cells 21 Container 25 cell columns 30 Cell Holder 31 Storage Unit 32 Aperture 33 Lead plate receiving section 33a Positioning protrusion 34 Plug receiving section 34a Positioning projection 40 Current collection structure 41 Lead Plate 41a Base section 41b Lead wire 41c Notch 42 Upper lead plate 43 Lower lead plate 44,45 Half lead plate 44a, 45a Base section 44b, 45b Lead wires 44c,45c terminal section 44d, 45d Female threaded holes 44e, 45e Notch 44f convex part 50 Lower cover 55 Top cover 56 Opening 57 Recess 60 Service Plugs 61 Main body 62 Protrusion 63 Eaves 66 volts 70 caps

Claims

1. Multiple battery cells, A cell holder that holds the plurality of battery cells, A service plug made of a conductive material, removably installed on the upper surface of the cell holder, which electrically connects or disconnects the battery cells from each other, A cover made of insulating material that covers the upper surface of the cell holder, Equipped with, The cover is provided with an opening that exposes the service plug. The service plug has a projection that passes through the opening and a visor that extends from the upper end of the projection and covers the upper surface of the cover, The cover is further provided with a cap that is detachably attached to the cover independently of the service plug, closes the opening, and covers the service plug. Battery module.

2. The upper surface of the cover is provided with a recess for receiving the visor portion. The battery module according to claim 1.

3. The cell holder holds the plurality of battery cells in an aligned state according to a predetermined arrangement rule. The service plug is installed in the space between two adjacent battery cells in accordance with the arrangement rules, and is designed to provide a disconnectible electrical connection between the two battery cells. The battery module according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A first half-lead plate connected to one of the two battery cells that can conduct electricity via the service plug, A second half-lead plate connected to the other of the two battery cells that can conduct electricity via the service plug, Furthermore, The service plug is removably screwed to the first half-lead plate and the second half-lead plate, respectively. The battery module according to claim 3.

5. The service plug is removably fixed to the first half-lead plate and the second half-lead plate, respectively, by a plurality of screws. The battery module according to claim 4.

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