Apparatus and method for remotely controlling vehicle engine speed

An apparatus for remotely controlling the speed of an engine, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing;
• a control knob supported by the housing for movement;
• a position shaft fixedly connected to the control knob for rotation with the control knob;
• a position gear fixedly secured to the position shaft for rotation therewith;
• a rotary encoder having an encoder shaft in operative engagement with the position gear such that rotation of the position gear rotates the encoder shaft, the rotary encoder generating output signals based on a direction of rotation and angular displacement of the control knob;
• a processor for receiving the output signals from the rotary encoder and generating output signals proportional to the direction of rotation and angular displacement of the control knob;
• and
• a primary engine control unit remotely located with respect to the housing for receiving the output signals from the processor and directly controlling the speed of the engine based upon the received signals.