Engine speed control with optional cruise control

An apparatus for controlling engine speed in a motor vehicle engine (9), and which is connected to means (14) by which cruise control is set (20), comprising:

• an accelerator pedal (12);
• means (104) by which an actual vehicle speed is calculated;
• and an engine management system (1) with an engine control output (8,46) for regulating engine speed;
• the engine management system (1) comprising:
• a driver demand controller (38) responsive to the position (18) of the accelerator pedal (12) to provide a first control signal (40) representative of a target engine speed;
• a cruise speed controller (22) responsive to the cruise control setting and vehicle speed to provide a cruise signal (28) representative of a target engine speed;
• an idle speed controller (30) to provide an idle signal (32) representative of a target idle speed;
• a combined idle-cruise speed controller (36) to provide a second control signal (42) representative of a target engine speed and responsive to the greater of the cruise signal (28) and idle signal (32);
• and means (44) to select either the first (40) or the second (42) control signal, whichever is representative of the greater target engine speed, to generate the engine control output (8,46).