Vehicle cruise control system
First Claim
1. A vehicle cruise control system, comprising:
- (a) a system controller adapted to process information and to establish a cruise control speed range defined by an upper set speed and a lower set speed, a target set speed being defined in such speed range, said system controller comprising a processor, and being adapted to generate and send a command;
(b) a speed sensor adapted to sense vehicle speed and to communicate vehicle speed information to the system controller;
(c) a fuel controller adapted to sense fuel flow information, and to communicate fuel flow information to said system controller, said fuel controller being further adapted to receive a command from said system controller, and to execute an action corresponding to such command; and
(d) a driver interface adapted to receive driver input and to communicate such driver input to said system controller, such driver input including at least one of a driver determined such upper set speed, and a driver determined such lower set speed, wherein at least one of the upper set speed and the lower set speed can be selected by such driver independent of the target set speed.
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Abstract
A cruise control systems for regulating vehicle speed comprises a system controller, a speed sensor, a fuel controller, and a driver interface. An operator of such cruise control system can input an upper set speed, and a lower set speed, individually or combined so as to define an allowable vehicle speed range. Accordingly, an operator of such cruise control system can modify the operating parameters of the cruise control system to correspond with the operators driving needs. An operator can define a relatively wide allowable speed range in the interest of fuel economy; alternatively an operator can define a relatively narrow allowable speed range in the interest of vehicle travel speed consistency.
96 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A vehicle cruise control system, comprising:
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(a) a system controller adapted to process information and to establish a cruise control speed range defined by an upper set speed and a lower set speed, a target set speed being defined in such speed range, said system controller comprising a processor, and being adapted to generate and send a command;
(b) a speed sensor adapted to sense vehicle speed and to communicate vehicle speed information to the system controller;
(c) a fuel controller adapted to sense fuel flow information, and to communicate fuel flow information to said system controller, said fuel controller being further adapted to receive a command from said system controller, and to execute an action corresponding to such command; and
(d) a driver interface adapted to receive driver input and to communicate such driver input to said system controller, such driver input including at least one of a driver determined such upper set speed, and a driver determined such lower set speed, wherein at least one of the upper set speed and the lower set speed can be selected by such driver independent of the target set speed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A vehicle cruise control system comprising:
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(a) a system controller adapted to process information, said system controller comprising a processor, and being adapted to generate and send a command;
(b) a speed sensor adapted to sense vehicle speed and to communicate vehicle speed information to the system controller;
(c) a fuel controller adapted to sense fuel flow information, and to communicate fuel flow information to said system controller, said fuel controller being further adapted to receive a command from said system controller, and to execute an action corresponding to such command; and
(d) a driver interface adapted to receive driver input and to communicate such driver input to said system controller, such driver input including a driver determined target set speed, and a plurality of driver selectable terrain types, each of said driver selectable terrain types having a predetermined upper set speed and a predetermined lower set speed, relative to the target set speed, corresponding to the driver selectable target set speed, said processor being adapted to process the vehicle speed, the fuel flow, and the driver input to generate a command, said system controller being adapted to communicate such command to said fuel controller. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method of controlling vehicle speed comprising:
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(a) processing information in a system controller and establishing a cruise control speed range defined by an upper set speed and a lower set speed, a target set speed being defined in such speed range;
(b) sensing vehicle speed in a speed sensor and communicating vehicle speed information to the system controller;
(c) sensing fuel flow information in a fuel controller and communicating such fuel flow information from said fuel controller to said system controller, said fuel controller being further adapted to receive a command from said system controller, and to execute an action corresponding to such command; and
(d) receiving driver input in a driver interface and communicating such driver input to said system controller, such driver input including at least one of a driver determined such upper set speed, and a driver determined such lower set speed, wherein at least one of the upper set speed and the lower set speed can be selected by such driver independent of the target set speed. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification