US6167979B1 — Dynamic speed governing of a vehicle

Claim 1

Independent Claim 179 words

An apparatus comprising: a vehicle having a drive train with an internal combustion engine, a transmission and a number of ground engaging wheels, said transmission being coupled to said internal combustion engine to turn said wheels to propel said vehicle, said vehicle further including: an operator-adjustable control to select vehicle speed, said control being monitored to provide a corresponding control setting signal; a sensor providing an observed speed signal corresponding to a measured speed of said vehicle; a controller responsive to said setting signal and said observed speed signal to generate: a target speed signal from said setting signal by reference to a predetermined schedule relating vehicle speed to control setting, said target speed signal corresponding to a first vehicle speed, an error signal corresponding to a difference between said target speed signal and said observed speed signal; and wherein said engine responds to said error signal to provide said first vehicle speed and said controller is operable to regulate said engine in accordance with said error for any operating speed of said vehicle while said engine is running.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 179 words

An apparatus comprising: a vehicle having a drive train with an internal combustion engine, a transmission and a number of ground engaging wheels, said transmission being coupled to said internal combustion engine to turn said wheels to propel said vehicle, said vehicle further including: an operator-adjustable control to select vehicle speed, said control being monitored to provide a corresponding control setting signal; a sensor providing an observed speed signal corresponding to a measured speed of said vehicle; a controller responsive to said setting signal and said observed speed signal to generate: a target speed signal from said setting signal by reference to a predetermined schedule relating vehicle speed to control setting, said target speed signal corresponding to a first vehicle speed, an error signal corresponding to a difference between said target speed signal and said observed speed signal; and wherein said engine responds to said error signal to provide said first vehicle speed and said controller is operable to regulate said engine in accordance with said error for any operating speed of said vehicle while said engine is running.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 21 words

The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said any operating speed of said vehicle includes a stopped condition of said vehicle.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 37 words

The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said engine responds to said error signal to accelerate said vehicle from a stopped condition to said first nonzero vehicle speed when said measured speed corresponds to said stopped condition.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 57 words

The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said first vehicle speed corresponds to a first position of said control and said controller is configured to adjust said error signal in response to movement of said control to a second position to decelerate said vehicle to a second speed, said second speed being less than said first speed.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 18 words

The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said transmission is a shift-by-wire type with a plurality of gears.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 27 words

The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said vehicle further includes a fueling subsystem and said error signal corresponds to a fueling command to said fueling subsystem.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 27 words

The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said control is responsive to generally continuous bearing contact to maintain a speed of said vehicle above a minimum amount.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 22 words

The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said controller further includes a backlash filter to reduce vibration-induced noise of said setting signal.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 95 words

The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein: said transmission is a nonmanual shift-by-wire type with a plurality of gears; said vehicle further includes a fueling subsystem and said error signal corresponds to a fueling command to said fueling subsystem; said control includes an accelerator pedal responsive to continuous bearing contact to maintain a selected speed of said vehicle above a minimum amount; and said controller includes a digital memory operatively coupled thereto to store data corresponding to said schedule, and said controller includes a PID compensator to generate said fueling command from said error signal.

Claim 11

Independent Claim 136 words

A method, comprising: operating a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, the vehicle defining an operator compartment providing access to an operator-adjustable throttle control for the engine; detecting position of the throttle control to provide a corresponding throttle signal to correspondingly increase and decrease speed of the vehicle in response to adjustment of the position; applying a filter to the throttle signal to reduce vibration-induced variation, the filter including a predetermined deadband to provide a filtered signal that remains generally constant until the throttle signal meets a deadband limit; determining a desired vehicle speed from the filtered signal; sensing observed vehicle speed; comparing the desired vehicle speed to the observed vehicle speed to provide a vehicle speed error; and fueling the engine as a function of the vehicle speed error to provide the desired vehicle speed.

Claim 12

Independent Claim 136 words

A method, comprising: operating a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, the vehicle defining an operator compartment providing access to an operator-adjustable throttle control for the engine; detecting position of the throttle control to provide a corresponding throttle signal to correspondingly increase and decrease speed of the vehicle in response to adjustment of the position; applying a filter to the throttle signal to reduce vibration-induced variation, the filter including a predetermined deadband to provide a filtered signal that remains generally constant until the throttle signal meets a deadband limit; determining a desired vehicle speed from the filtered signal; sensing observed vehicle speed; comparing the desired vehicle speed to the observed vehicle speed to provide a vehicle speed error; and fueling the engine as a function of the vehicle speed error to provide the desired vehicle speed.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 26 words

The method of claim 10 , further comprising bearing against said control to maintain a selected position of said control corresponding to said desired vehicle speed.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 13 words

The method of claim 11 , Wherein said control includes an accelerator pedal.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 19 words

The method of claim 12 , further comprising decreasing the desired vehicle speed by changing position of the pedal.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 20 words

The method of claim 13 , further comprising accelerating the vehicle from a stopped condition by bearing on the pedal.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 37 words

The method of claim 14 , wherein the vehicle includes a transmission operatively coupled to the engine and further comprising shifting between gears of the transmission while governing the engine in accordance with the vehicle speed error.

Claim 18

Independent Claim 100 words

A method, comprising: operating a vehicle having an engine with an operator-adjustable control to select vehicle speed; selecting a first position of the control; determining the first nonzero vehicle speed from the first position in accordance with a predetermined schedule relating a vehicle speed range to a control position range; sensing observed vehicle speed; and governing engine operation as a function of a difference between the first nonzero vehicle speed and the observed vehicle speed, said governing being operable to accelerate said vehicle from a stopped condition to the first nonzero vehicle speed when the observed vehicle speed is zero.

Claim 19

Independent Claim 100 words

A method, comprising: operating a vehicle having an engine with an operator-adjustable control to select vehicle speed; selecting a first position of the control; determining the first nonzero vehicle speed from the first position in accordance with a predetermined schedule relating a vehicle speed range to a control position range; sensing observed vehicle speed; and governing engine operation as a function of a difference between the first nonzero vehicle speed and the observed vehicle speed, said governing being operable to accelerate said vehicle from a stopped condition to the first nonzero vehicle speed when the observed vehicle speed is zero.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 23 words

The method of claim 16 , wherein said determining includes accessing data stored in a memory device, the data corresponding to the schedule.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 42 words

The method of claim 16 , further comprising repositioning the control to a second position, said second position corresponding to a second nonzero vehicle speed less than the first nonzero vehicle, said second position being maintained by bearing contact with the control.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 20 words

The method of claim 16 , wherein the control includes an accelerator pedal and said selecting includes deflecting the pedal.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 29 words

The method of claim 16 , wherein the engine is coupled to a nonmanual type of transmission and further comprising shifting between gears of the transmission during said governing.

Claim 24

Independent Claim 154 words

A method, comprising: operating a vehicle having an operator-adjustable control to select vehicle speed; keeping the control in a first position by maintaining a bearing contact therewith; determining a first desired speed of the vehicle corresponding to the selected position from a predetermined schedule relating a vehicle speed range to a control position range; detecting a first observed speed of the vehicle; adjusting operation of the vehicle to provide the first desired speed in accordance with a difference between the first observed speed and the first desired speed; repositioning the control to a second position while maintaining the bearing contact with the control; establishing a second desired speed of the vehicle corresponding to the second position from the schedule; detecting a second observed speed of the vehicle; and controlling operation of the vehicle to provide the second desired speed in accordance with a difference between the second observed speed and the second desired speed.

Claim 25

Independent Claim 154 words

A method, comprising: operating a vehicle having an operator-adjustable control to select vehicle speed; keeping the control in a first position by maintaining a bearing contact therewith; determining a first desired speed of the vehicle corresponding to the selected position from a predetermined schedule relating a vehicle speed range to a control position range; detecting a first observed speed of the vehicle; adjusting operation of the vehicle to provide the first desired speed in accordance with a difference between the first observed speed and the first desired speed; repositioning the control to a second position while maintaining the bearing contact with the control; establishing a second desired speed of the vehicle corresponding to the second position from the schedule; detecting a second observed speed of the vehicle; and controlling operation of the vehicle to provide the second desired speed in accordance with a difference between the second observed speed and the second desired speed.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 23 words

The method of claim 21 , wherein said determining includes accessing data stored in a memory device, the data corresponding to the schedule.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 33 words

The method of claim 21 , wherein the first desired speed and the second desired speed are each greater than zero and the first desired speed is greater than the second desired speed.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 36 words

The method of claim 21 , wherein the control includes an accelerator pedal and the pedal is deflected by a first amount to provide the first position and a second amount to provide the second position.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 51 words

The method of claim 21 , wherein the first observed speed corresponds to a stopped position of the vehicle and said adjusting includes accelerating the vehicle from the first observed speed to the first desired speed in response to the difference between the first observed speed and the first desired speed.

Claim 30

Independent Claim 117 words

An apparatus, comprising: a drive train configured to propel a vehicle, said drive train having an internal combustion engine and a number of ground engaging wheels; and a means for governing operation of said engine as a function of vehicle speed, said means being responsive to an operator-adjustable throttle control to determine a desired vehicle speed from a predetermined schedule relating throttle setting to vehicle speed, said means adjusting said engine to provide said desired vehicle speed in accordance with a difference of said desired vehicle speed from a detected vehicle speed, said means being operable to govern said engine at all operating speeds of said vehicle including when said vehicle is stopped with said engine running.

Claim 31

Independent Claim 117 words

An apparatus, comprising: a drive train configured to propel a vehicle, said drive train having an internal combustion engine and a number of ground engaging wheels; and a means for governing operation of said engine as a function of vehicle speed, said means being responsive to an operator-adjustable throttle control to determine a desired vehicle speed from a predetermined schedule relating throttle setting to vehicle speed, said means adjusting said engine to provide said desired vehicle speed in accordance with a difference of said desired vehicle speed from a detected vehicle speed, said means being operable to govern said engine at all operating speeds of said vehicle including when said vehicle is stopped with said engine running.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 13 words

The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein said means includes a PID compensator.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 19 words

The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein said drive train includes a shift-by-wire transmission with a plurality of gears.

Claim 34

Dependent Claim 30 words

The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein said throttle control includes an accelerator pedal requiring generally continuous bearing contact to maintain a speed of said vehicle above a minimum amount.

Claim 35

Dependent Claim 24 words

The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein said means includes a backlash filter to reduce vibration-induced noise of a signal provided by said control.

Claim 36

Dependent Claim 15 words

The apparatus of claim 26 , further comprising a fueling subsystem responsive to said means.

Claim 37

Dependent Claim 107 words

The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein: said drive train includes a shift-by-wire transmission with a plurality of gears; said throttle control includes an accelerator pedal requiring generally continuous bearing contact to maintain a selected speed of said vehicle above a minimum amount; said means includes a digital memory to store data corresponding to said schedule said means further includes a backlash filter and a PID compensator responsive to a difference between said desired vehicle speed and said detected vehicle speed to generate a fueling command; and said fueling subsystem responds to said fueling command to supply fuel to said engine to provide said desired vehicle speed.

Claim 38

Dependent Claim 35 words

The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein said means governs said engine to accelerate said vehicle from a stopped condition to said desired vehicle speed when said detected vehicle speed corresponds to said stopped condition.

Claim 39

Dependent Claim 72 words

The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein said means is operable to adjust said engine to provide said desired vehicle speed in response to a movement of said operator-adjustable throttle control from a first detected position of said operator-adjustable throttle control to a second detected position of said operator-adjustable throttle control, said first detected position being different from said second detected position, said desired vehicle speed corresponding to said second detected position.

Claim 40

Dependent Claim 43 words

The apparatus of claim 34 , wherein said vehicle is accelerated as said means adjusts said engine to provide said desired vehicle speed in response to a movement of said operator-adjustable throttle control from said first detected position to said second detected position.

Claim 41

Dependent Claim 43 words

The apparatus of claim 34 , wherein said vehicle is decelerated as said means adjusts said engine to provide said desired vehicle speed in response to a movement of said operator-adjustable throttle control from said first detected position to said second detected position.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2004-01-02	2004-07-03	2005-01-02	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2008-01-02	2008-07-03	2009-01-02	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2012-01-02	2012-07-03	2013-01-02	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Dynamic speed governing of a vehicle

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