OPTIMIZED FUEL EFFICIENCY THROUGH THE USE OF TOPOGRAPHIC DATA BY THE SPEED CONTROL SYSTEM

摘要

A cruise control system for a vehicle having an input port for inputting a desired speed. A speed deviation is entered with a range above and below the desired vehicle speed. A memory that at least temporarily stores a data set for the topography of the highway on which the vehicle is currently driving. A controller distinguishes a soon-to-be-changing highway topography from a current highway topography using the highway topography data set; it calculates an adjusted vehicle speed with greater fuel economy for the changed conditions of the highway topography versus the fuel economy at the selected vehicle speed and the current conditions of the highway topography and changes the vehicle speed to the newly calculated value with the greater fuel economy before the changed topography the highway.