The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 04, 1992
Filed:
Dec. 21, 1990
Yoshiyuki Utsumi, Himeji, JP;
Kazuyori Katayama, Himeji, JP;
Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An improved cruise control apparatus for a vehicle having a fail-safe function is provided in which indefinite operations of the apparatus at the time of failure in the power supply thereof can be avoided. A cruise control switch has a plurality of switch elements connected in parallel with each other, the switch elements being selectively operated to change the output voltage at the output terminal of the cruise control switch so as to provide a plurality of command signals for setting and cancelling cruise control. A control unit is connected to the output terminal of the cruise control switch for performing a plurality of different cruise control operations in response to the cruise control command signals from the cruise control switch. The control unit includes a plurality of comparators each having a first input terminal connected to the output terminal of the cruise control switch and a second input terminal supplied with a reference voltage. A primary power supply is commonly connected to the input terminal of the cruise control switch and the control unit in such a manner that the second input terminals of the comparators are supplied with a plurality of different reference voltages. A secondary power supply is connected to the second input terminals of the comparators for shifting the reference voltages at the second input terminals of the comparators to a fail-safe side when the primary power supply fails.