Cruise control apparatus for vehicle

Claim 1

A cruise control apparatus for a vehicle having an engine with a throttle valve, a brake system and an actuator for controlling the opening degree of the throttle valve, said cruise control apparatus comprising: a speed sensor for sensing the speed of a vehicle; cruise control setting means for setting cruise control; a first switch (2) operatively connected with the brake system in such a manner that it turns on and off the power supply to the actuator in response to brake release and application, respectively; a second switch (4) for cancelling the setting of cruise control; fault detecting means for detecting a fault in either one of said first and second switches when said fault continues for more than a time period sufficient to determine that an application of the brake is not inadvertent and when the speed of the vehicle sensed by said speed sensor is greater than a predetermined non-zero level, said fault detecting means generating a fault detection signal when such a fault is detected; and cruise control inhibiting means for inhibiting said cruise control setting means from setting cruise control when it receives the fault detection signal from said fault detecting means.