Constant-speed cruising control system
First Claim
1. A constant-speed cruising control system for a vehicle having an engine and an automatic transmission having a plurality of gear stages, comprisinga vehicle speed control means which controls an engine output control means on the basis of the difference between a target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed so that the latter approaches the former,an electromagnetic gear shifting means which receives a gear shifting command and shifts the gear stage of the automatic transmission according to the content of the gear shifting command which it receives, anda first gear-shifting control means which receives an engine load signal representing the load on the engine and a speed difference signal representing the difference between said target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed, and delivers to the electromagnetic gear shifting means during operation of the vehicle speed control means a gear shifting command which requires the gear shifting means to shift the gear stage down either when the load on the engine is not lighter than a first preset value or when the load on the engine is lighter than the first preset value and heavier than a second preset value and at the same time the difference between the target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed is larger than a preset speed.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A constant-speed cruising control system for a vehicle having an automatic transmission includes a vehicle speed controller which controls the throttle valve of the engine on the basis of the difference between a target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed so that the latter approaches the former, a gear shifting mechanism which receives a gear shifting command and shifts the gear stage of the automatic transmission according to the content of the gear shifting command which it receives, and a gear-shifting controller which receives an engine load signal representing the load on the engine and a speed difference signal representing the difference between said target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed, and delivers to the gear shifting mechanism a gear shifting command which requires the gear shifting mechanism to shift the gear stage down either when the load on the engine is not lighter than a first preset value or when the load on the engine is lighter than the first preset value and heavier than a second preset value and at the same time the difference between the target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed is larger than a preset speed.
45 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A constant-speed cruising control system for a vehicle having an engine and an automatic transmission having a plurality of gear stages, comprising
a vehicle speed control means which controls an engine output control means on the basis of the difference between a target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed so that the latter approaches the former, an electromagnetic gear shifting means which receives a gear shifting command and shifts the gear stage of the automatic transmission according to the content of the gear shifting command which it receives, and a first gear-shifting control means which receives an engine load signal representing the load on the engine and a speed difference signal representing the difference between said target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed, and delivers to the electromagnetic gear shifting means during operation of the vehicle speed control means a gear shifting command which requires the gear shifting means to shift the gear stage down either when the load on the engine is not lighter than a first preset value or when the load on the engine is lighter than the first preset value and heavier than a second preset value and at the same time the difference between the target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed is larger than a preset speed.
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9. A constant-speed cruising control system for a vehicle having an engine provided with a throttle valve for controlling the amount of intake air and an automatic transmission having a plurality of gear stages, comprising
vehicle speed control means which controls the opening of the throttle valve on the basis of the difference between a target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed so that the latter approaches the former, an electromagnetic gear shifting means which receives a gear shifting command and shifts the gear stage of the automatic transmission according to the content of the gear shifting command which it receives, and a first gear-shifting control means which receives a throttle opening signal representing the opening of the throttle valve and a speed difference signal representing the difference between said target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed, and delivers to the electromagnetic gear shifting means during operation of the vehicle speed control means a gear shifting command which requires the gear shifting means to shift down the gear stage either when the opening of the throttle valve is not smaller than a first preset value or when the opening of the throttle valve is smaller than the first preset value and larger than a second preset value and at the same time the difference between the target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed is larger than a preset speed, or when the opening of the throttle valve is smaller than a third preset value, which third preset value is smaller than the second preset value, and the actual vehicle speed is not lower than the target vehicle speed.
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11. A constant-speed cruising control method for a vehicle having an engine and an automatic transmission having a plurality of gear stages, comprising the steps of
controlling an engine output control means on the basis of the difference between a target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed so that the latter approaches the former, and controlling the automatic transmission to downshift either when the load on the engine is not lighter than a first preset value or when the load on the engine is lighter than the first preset value and heavier than a second preset value and at the same time the difference between the target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed is larger than a preset speed.
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14. A constant-speed cruising control method for a vehicle having an engine provided with a throttle valve for controlling the amount of intake air and an automatic transmission having a plurality of gear stages, comprising the steps of
controlling the opening of the throttle valve on the basis of the difference between a target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed so that the latter approaches the former, and controlling the automatic transmission to downshift when the opening of the throttle valve is not smaller than a first preset value, or when the opening of the throttle valve is smaller than the first preset value and larger than a second preset value and at the same time the difference between the target vehicle speed and the actual vehicle speed is larger than a preset speed, or when the opening of the throttle valve is smaller than a third preset value smaller than the second preset value and the actual vehicle speed is not lower than the target vehicle speed.
Specification