Motor vehicles – With means responsive to speed of vehicle for maintaining... – Including electrically actuated servomechanism
Patent
1993-04-16
1994-08-09
Focarino, Margaret A.
Motor vehicles
With means responsive to speed of vehicle for maintaining...
Including electrically actuated servomechanism
180333, 180335, 180336, 180170, 200 6154, B60K 2602, B60K 4128, B60K 3102, G05G 902
Patent
active
053357434
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle control device, a vehicle control arrangement incorporating said device, and a vehicle control method based on said arrangement. More specifically, the control device, arrangement and method are intended preferably for motor vehicles fitted with a steering wheel, in which the control device is mounted on the steering wheel such as to be accessible for manual operation by the driver and in which the control device controls the operation of both the accelerator and gear change functions in a simple and safe manner to promote safe and economical driving.
STATE OF THE ART
Numerous methods of operating the accelerator, gearbox and brakes of motor vehicles are known. A foot pedal is the commonest means of operating the accelerator in a car, truck or bus powered by an internal combustion engine, regardless of whether the engine drives the wheels through a manual gearbox or automatic transmission. In some instances, this control may be augmented by means of maintaining a constant road speed, in the form of a `cruise control` (CC) function, usually operated by a lever mounted on the steering column. When activated by manual operation of the lever, the function controls the throttle in such manner that it strives to maintain the speed of the vehicle constant at the value prevailing at the instant of operation. In some instances, the cruise control lever may also incorporate throttle control functions for decelerating or accelerating the vehicle. Deceleration is achieved by abrupt closure of the throttle and acceleration by abrupt opening of the throttle to a predetermined, constant position.
Manual accelerator controls mounted on or integral with the steering wheel have been used in motor vehicles modified for handicapped persons mainly to meet the requirements of drivers whose legs are paralyzed. Examples of controls mounted on the steering wheel are disclosed in Patent Applications DE,A,2841786 and EP,A,-69090.
A brake control function can also be incorporated in this type of accelerator control in vehicles modified for handicap persons, as disclosed in Patent Application EP,A,200769 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,018.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,077,487 discloses a variant with a secondary manual brake control, mounted on the steering wheel and permitting manual operation of the brakes.
Many of the controls devised to date have necessitated control actions involving large movements, requiring the use of the complete arm or foot, or have failed to take account of all of the control actions need to ensure that the vehicle is driven in a controlled manner.
In general, wheel-mounted brake and/or accelerator controls, as used primarily in vehicles modified for handicapped persons, have been installed in vehicles with automatic transmissions. In this context, automatic transmissions suffer from the inherent disadvantage that a gear change initiated by the driver by means of the kickdown function takes place only when the engine speed has increased. On the other hand, changing gear by manual operation of the gear selector lever requires the driver to remove his hand from the wheel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to improve and simplify the control functions available to the driver, mainly those required to operate the engine and gearbox, by providing him with a readily accessible and ergonomically designed control device affording control of those operating systems necessary for driving the vehicle.
Combining the accelerator and gear-change controls in one and the same unit, using different thumb grips to operate each, and mounting the control on the steering wheel, affords a control system which is extremely practical for long-distance driving, and which does not require the driver to release his grip on the steering wheel to operate the control, or to move one or both of his feet from pedal to pedal.
In accordance with the present invention, the control is mounted on the steering wheel of the motor vehicle such as to be manually operable by one of the driver
REFERENCES:
patent: 1556885 (1925-10-01), Whyte
patent: 2777335 (1957-01-01), Engberg et al.
patent: 4476954 (1984-10-01), Johnson et al.
patent: 4604912 (1986-08-01), Sugita et al.
patent: 4701629 (1987-10-01), Citroen
patent: 4924960 (1990-05-01), Crill
patent: 5086870 (1992-02-01), Bolduc
patent: 5197563 (1993-03-01), Sakonju et al.
Elgh Bengt
Gillbrand Per
Johansson Hans
Johansson Per
English Peter
Focarino Margaret A.
Saab Automobile Aktiebolag
LandOfFree
Operation of servo devices for driving a motor vehicle - control does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Operation of servo devices for driving a motor vehicle - control, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Operation of servo devices for driving a motor vehicle - control will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-210383