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A battery module includes a pair of side plates arranged along two wall faces, opposing to each other in a stacking direction of battery cells, of wall faces of the battery module, a lower plate that swingably supports one end of the pair of side plates by a hinge mechanism and that is arranged alon

A battery module includes a pair of side plates arranged along two wall faces, opposing to each other in a stacking direction of battery cells, of wall faces of the battery module, a lower plate that swingably supports one end of the pair of side plates by a hinge mechanism and that is arranged along one wall face of the battery module, and an upper plate that is arranged along the wall face of the battery module so as to be opposite to the lower plate, and that connects the other ends of the pair of side plates, wherein the side plates and the upper plate are tightened and fixed by use of a fastening member with pressure being applied in the stacking direction of the battery cells in order to fix the battery module.

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1. A battery module assembly comprising: a battery module having a shape of a generally rectangular solid and formed by stacking plural rectangular battery cells;at least four plates covering the battery module from four directions, the plates including:a pair of side plates arranged along two side

1. A battery module assembly comprising: a battery module having a shape of a generally rectangular solid and formed by stacking plural rectangular battery cells;at least four plates covering the battery module from four directions, the plates including:a pair of side plates arranged along two side wall faces, opposing to each other in a stacking direction of the battery cells, of the battery module;a lower plate that swingably supports one end of the pair of side plates by a pair of hinge mechanisms located on corners of the battery module and that is arranged along a lower wall face of the battery module; andan upper plate that is arranged along an upper wall face of the battery module so as to be opposite to the lower plate, and that connects the other ends of the pair of side plates to each other, whereinthe side plates and the upper plate are tightened and fixed by use of a fastening member with pressure being applied in the stacking direction of the battery cells in order to fix the battery module, whereina seat for supporting an electrode plate serving as an output terminal of the battery module is arranged on a surface of the upper plate,wherein the battery module has a structure in which the battery cells and separators, which are arranged to secure a predetermined gap between the battery cells, are alternately stacked, each separator defining a frame adapted to receive therein adjacent battery cells,wherein the adjacent battery cells inserted into the separator together with the separator form a cooling air passage,wherein each of the separators includes a top plate and a bottom plate coupled to the top plate by a pair of side separator plates, and a partition bar spaced from each of the side separator plates and spanning between the top and bottom plates, the separators are formed with positioning projections received in positioning holes formed respectively in the upper plate and the lower plate. 2. The battery module assembly according to claim 1, wherein the upper plate and the lower plate are respectively formed with penetration slits for passing cooling air flowing between the battery cells. 3. The battery module assembly according to claim 2, wherein the separators are formed with cooling air slits provided in a position corresponding to the respective penetration slits in the upper plate and the lower plate, and the positioning projections are aligned with the partition bars of the separators. 4. The battery module assembly according to claim 3, wherein a voltage/thermal monitoring board for monitoring voltage of the battery cells is mounted on the surface of the upper plate. 5. The battery module assembly according to claim 2, wherein a voltage/thermal monitoring board for monitoring voltage of the battery cells is mounted on the surface of the upper plate. 6. The battery module assembly according to claim 2, wherein the fastening member is a fastening screw that penetrates the upper plate to be threaded to the other end of one of the side plates. 7. The battery module assembly according to claim 2, wherein an insulation sheet is provided between one of the side plates and the battery module. 8. The battery module assembly according to claim 1, wherein a voltage/thermal monitoring board for monitoring voltage of the battery cells is mounted on a surface of the upper plate. 9. The battery module assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fastening member is a fastening screw that penetrates the upper plate to be threaded to the other end of one of the side plates. 10. The battery module assembly according to claim 1, wherein an insulation sheet is provided between one of the side plates and the battery module. 11. The battery module assembly according to claim 1, wherein a voltage/thermal monitoring board for monitoring voltage of the battery cells is mounted on a surface of the upper plate. 12. A battery module assembly comprising: a battery module having a shape of a generally rectangular solid and formed by stacking plural rectangular battery cells;at least four plates covering the battery module from four directions, the plates including:a pair of side plates arranged along two side wall faces, opposing to each other in a stacking direction of the battery cells, of the battery module;a lower plate that swingably supports one end of the pair of side plates by a pair of hinge mechanisms located on corners of the battery module and that is arranged along a lower wall face of the battery module; andan upper plate that is arranged along an upper wall face of the battery module so as to be opposite to the lower plate, and that connects the other ends of the pair of side plates to each other, whereinthe side plates and the upper plate are tightened and fixed by use of a fastening member with pressure being applied in the stacking direction of the battery cells in order to fix the battery module,wherein:the battery module is configured by arranging plural physically separate battery holders, each battery holder accommodating one of the battery cells; andeach battery holder is configured such that a predetermined gap is formed between adjacent battery cells, and at least one of the battery holders is formed with a communication window for allowing an explosion-proof window formed on the one battery cell accommodated therein to be exposed to the outside,two adjacent battery cells of the stacked plural battery cells are accommodated by directly connecting adjacent battery holders of the plural battery holders, one of the adjacent battery holders including a first retaining member and the other of the adjacent battery holders including a second retaining member which is engaged by the first retaining member. 13. The battery module assembly according to claim 12, whereinwhen the adjacent battery holders are connected to each other, a semicolumnar pawl formed on each adjacent battery holder are joined to each other to form a columnar projection serving as a positioning projection of the connected adjacent battery holders which is received in a corresponding through-hole formed in one of the upper plate and lower plate. 14. A battery module assembly comprising: a battery module having a shape of a generally rectangular solid and formed by stacking plural rectangular battery cells;at least four plates covering the battery module from four directions, the plates including:a pair of side plates arranged along two side wall faces, opposing to each other in a stacking direction of the battery cells, of the battery module;a lower plate that swingably supports one end of the pair of side plates by a pair of hinge mechanisms located on corners of the battery module and that is arranged along a lower wall face of the battery module; andan upper plate that is arranged along an upper wall face of the battery module so as to be opposite to the lower plate, and that connects the other ends of the pair of side plates to each other, whereinthe side plates and the upper plate are tightened and fixed by use of a fastening member with pressure being applied in the stacking direction of the battery cells in order to fix the battery module, whereinthe battery module has a structure in which the battery cells and separators, which are arranged to secure a predetermined gap between the battery cells, are alternately stacked, each of the separators includes a top plate and a bottom plate coupled to the top plate by a pair of side separator plates, and a partition bar spanning between the top and bottom plates,at least one of the upper plate and the lower plate is formed with penetration slits for passing cooling air flowing between the battery cells, and at least one of the separators is formed with cooling air slits extending through upper and lower plates of the at least one separator and flanking the partition bar, the cooling air slits provided in a position corresponding to the penetration slits. 15. the battery module assembly according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the separators is formed with a positioning projection engaged with a positioning hole formed in one of the upper plate and the lower plate. 16. The battery module assembly according to claim 14, wherein a seat for supporting an electrode plate serving as an output terminal of the battery module is arranged on a surface of the upper plate. 17. The battery module assembly according to claim 14, wherein an insulation sheet is provided between one of the side plates and the battery module.