Vehicle road speed control

Claim 1

A ROAD SPEED CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE COMPRISING: THROTTLE VALVE ACTUATING LINKAGE INCLUDING A LOST MOTION MECHANISM AND HAVING DRIVER OPERATED FIRST INPUT MEANS AND SECOND INPUT MEANS AND OUTPUT MEANS, AN ENGINE THROTTLE VALVE CONNECTED TO SAID OUTPUT MEANS AND MOVABLE BY THE DRIVER OPERATED FIRST INPUT MEANS THROUGHOUT A THROTTLE VALVE OPENING RANGE TO CONTROL VEHICLE SPEED; VEHICLE SPEED ERROR SENSING MEANS INCLUDING A VEHICLE SPEED REFLECTING MEMBER AND REFERENCE SPEED REFLECTING MEMBER; VEHICLE SPEED MAINTAINING MEANS EFFECTIVE ONLY WHEN THE VEHICLE SPEED IS WITHIN A SPEED RANGE INCLUDING THE REFERENCE SPEED AND THE DRIVER OPERATED FIRST INPUT MEANS IS MOVED BY THE DRIVER INTO A THROTTLE VALVE OPENABLE POSITION BEYOND THE THROTTLE VALVE OPENING RESULTING IN ATTAINMENT OF THE REFERENCE SPEED BY THE VEHICLE TO MAINTAIN THE VEHICLE AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT ROAD SPEED UNDER VARYING POWER DEMANDS AS REFLECTED BY VEHICLE SPEED ERROR, AND INCLUDING HOLDING MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID DRIVER OPERATED FIRST INPUT MEANS IN SAID THROTTLE VALVE OPENABLE POSITION AND FIRST MEANS OPERATED BY SAID VEHICLE SPEED ERROR SENSING MEANS AND GENERATING A FLUID PRESSURE PROPROPORTIONAL TO VEHICLE SPEED ERROE, AND SECOND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE FLUID PRESSURE GENERATED BY SAID FIRST MEANS AND ACTING THROUGH SAID THROTTLE VALVE ACTUATING LINKAGE SECOND INPUT MEANS TO PRODUCE A FORCE ON SAID THROTTLE VALVE VARYING DIRECTLY WITH THE FLUID PRESSURE APPLIED TO SAID FLUID PRESSURE RESPONSIVE SECOND MEANS AND MOVING THE THROTTLE VALVE THROUGH A THROTTLE VALVE OPENING RANGE.