Trw Limited

Morris Sorkin

Jeffrey A Oicles

Disclosed is an apparatus for generating a pulse train whose instantaneous repetition rate represents the instantaneous angular velocity of a rotating device. An oscillator feeds a high frequency signal to a coil through which a center pole of magnetic material projects. The rotating device causes an object such as a gear to rotate, at least a portion of the extremity of which (e.g., the tips of its teeth, in the case of a gear) repeatedly comes into close contact with the tip of the center pole, separated only by a small air gap. This results in a change in inductance of the coil, which amplitude modulates the oscillator output. The modulated output is passed through a peak voltage detector which generates the desired pulse train.

Angular velocity indicating apparatus

A sensor, such as a radar, is mounted on a moving vehicle equipped with a speed control system which normally maintains the vehicle speed constant at a pre-set speed in the absence of a preceding vehicle within a safe distance. The sensor detects the presence of a preceding vehicle and measures the distance and closing speed of the controlled vehicle with respect to the preceding vehicle, and generates an adaptive speed signal. The adaptive speed signal modifies the error signal of the speed control system which controls either the throttle or brake to cause the controlled vehicle to match its speed to the speed of the preceding vehicle, and to maintain a safe distance from it, thereby making the adaptive speed signal vanish. The error signal may be modified by the adaptive speed signal either by decreasing the desired speed or by increasing the actual speed. The desired, actual, and adaptive speeds may all be represented by digital numbers.

Digital adaptive speed control for vehicles

The present invention relates to a digital system for maintaining the speed of a motor vehicle at a preselected speed. The desired speed of the vehicle is set into a digital memory bank and the instantaneous actual speed of the vehicle is determined by a digital readout. The desired vehicle speed and the actual speed of the vehicle are compared to produce a digital error signal which is used to control the throttle setting of the vehicle to cause the actual speed of the vehicle to equal the desired speed.

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Santa Monica, CA, United States of America

Morris Sorkin