PERFORMANCE MONITOR FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE

摘要

A system and method for monitoring usage of current immediately available from the traction batteries of an electric vehicle includes a means for generating a signal representative of the current being drawn from the batteries; a means for generating a signal representative of the maximum current available from the batteries for immediate use; and a means responsive to the drawn-current signal and the maximum-available-current signal for generating a usage signal representing the ratio of drawn current to maximum-available current. A display, such as an analog meter responsive to the usage signal and calibrated from zero-percent to one-hundred-percent available current usage, displays the transitory current usage as a percentage of maximum-available current. Where the batteries supply current to both the vehicle's traction motors and noncritical electrical components, a relay responsive to the usage signal sheds the noncritical component's load from the batteries when current usage rises above a given level.