CRUISE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR A VEHICLE

摘要

A cruise control apparatus for a vehicle is effective to prevent hunting in the vehicle speed and resultant shocks which are apt to occur when the vehicle is travelling on a down slope under cruise control. A cruise control unit is adapted to be actuated by a driver of the vehicle for automatically controlling the opening degree of a throttle valve so that the speed of the vehicle is maintained at a predetermined target speed. A fuel control unit controls the fuel supply to the vehicle engine such that the fuel supply is cut off when the throttle valve is moved to a fully closed or idling position thereof with the number of revolutions per minute of the engine being equal to or greater than a predetermined value during cruise control. In one aspect, the fuel cut-off is cancelled when the speed of the vehicle decreases below a predetermined lower limit for the target speed during cruise control, and at the same time, the cruise control is temporarily interrupted for a predetermined length of time. In another aspect, the cut-off of the fuel supply by the fuel control unit is inhibited when the vehicle is travelling under cruise control.