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:
Apr. 16, 2002
Filed:
May. 28, 1999
James M. Ehlbeck, LaCenter, WA (US);
Freightliner LLC, Portland, OR (US);
Abstract
An electronic vehicle system monitors vehicle parameters and calculates variables such as acceleration to determine when the vehicle is cresting a hill. An action is taken to alter operation of the cruise control to avoid expending excess fuel or braking as the vehicle descends the downward grade. In one implementation, a message is displayed to a driver indicating the driver should reset the cruise set speed. In another implementation, the system automatically resets the cruise set speed without driver intervention. In yet another implementation, the system automatically resets the cruise set speed and automatically increases the set speed as the vehicle accelerates. An exemplary embodiment employs variable smoothing and a fuzzy logic system with a degree of confidence variable and an increase-in-acceleration rule.