Vehicle electrical-load limiting apparatus

An apparatus, for deciding priority given over a plurality of electrical loads and restricting the driving of said electrical loads mounted on an electric vehicle in order of importance and determining the amount of drive restriction of each of said electrical loads on the basis of the remaining capacity of an electric source mounted on the electric vehicle, thereby restricting the driving of each of said electrical loads, said apparatus comprising:

• arithmetic means for setting membership functions corresponding to both (1) a deviation indicative of the difference between a standard value set for each of said electrical loads and a present value indicative of the state of the present electrical load and (2) the remaining capacity of said electric source and executing a fuzzy inference using said membership functions, thereby determining the amount of the drive restriction of each of said electrical loads from the result of the execution of said fuzzy inference;
• wherein said arithmetic means comprises:
• (a) restriction priority setting means for setting said drive restriction priority of said plurality of electrical loads mounted on the vehicle in order of importance;
• (b) restriction priority storing means for storing therein said set drive restriction priority of said plurality of electrical loads;
• (c) electrical load detecting means for detecting one of said plurality of electrical loads;
• (d) standard value arithmetic means for performing an arithmetic operation on a standard value of a desired electrical load based on the present value of said detected one electrical load;
• (e) deviation arithmetic means for calculating the deviation indicative of the difference between the present value of said detected one electrical load and said calculated standard value of said desired electrical load;
• (f) residual-capacity detecting means for detecting the remaining capacity of an electric source mounted on the vehicle;
• (g) fuzzy inference arithmetic means for reading a membership function of the deviation and the residual capacity, which has previously been stored in membership function storing means on the basis of said calculated deviation and said detected residual capacity and performing an arithmetic operation on a fuzzy inference based on said read membership function;
• (h) amount-of-drive-restriction arithmetic means for calculating the amount of the drive restriction of each of said electrical loads from the result of the arithmetic operation on said fuzzy inference;
• and
• (i) electrical-load controlling means for reading said drive restriction priority stored in said restriction priority storing means based on the result of the arithmetic operation on said amount of the drive restriction and controlling each of said electrical loads in accordance with said drive restriction priority;
• and
• wherein said electrical loads whose drive restriction priority is stored in said restriction priority storing means are divided into a first group unsuitable to the drive restriction of said electrical loads, a second group capable of adjusting the amount of the drive restriction of each of said electrical loads, a third group capable of adjusting the amount of the drive restriction of each of said electrical loads and providing economical use of said electrical loads in accordance with use environments of the vehicle, and a fourth group suitable to the drive restriction of said electrical loads and incapable of adjusting the amount of the drive restriction of each of said electrical loads.