Editing Cruise control (section)

==History==
[[File:1967 Ambassador 990 4-d yellow Miami 15.jpg|thumb|upright|Cruise command push button on the left of the dashboard of a 1967 [[AMC Ambassador]] ]]
[[File:Cruise control Citroen Xsara.jpg|thumb|right|Cruise control on a [[Citroën Xsara]] ]]
[[File:2000 Jeep Steering Wheel.jpg|thumb|right|Cruise control on a 2000 [[Jeep Grand Cherokee]] steering wheel]]

Speed control existed in early automobiles such as the [[Wilson-Pilcher]] in the early 1900s. They had a lever on the steering column that could be used to set the speed to be maintained by the engine.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bober |first1=Isaac |title=What is cruise control and how does it work? |url= https://practicalmotoring.com.au/car-advice/what-is-cruise-control-how-does-it-work/ |publisher=Practical Motoring |location=Australia |date=November 8, 2016 |access-date=March 23, 2021}}</ref> In 1908, the [[Peerless Motor Company|Peerless]] included a governor to keep the speed of the engine through an extra throttle lever on the steering wheel.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The 1908 Peerless Motors and Trans Mission |journal=Scientific American |date=November 9, 1907 |volume=97 |issue=19 |pages=347–348 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican11091907-347 |url= https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-1908-peerless-motors-and-trans/ |access-date=March 23, 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Peerless successfully used a flyball governor.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vaughan |first1=Daniel |title=1909 Peerless Model 25 |url= https://www.conceptcarz.com/z18633/peerless-model-25.aspx |publisher=conceptcarz.com |date=August 2010 |access-date=March 23, 2021}}</ref> They advertised their system as being able to "maintain speed whether uphill or down." 

A governor was used by [[James Watt (inventor)|James Watt]] and [[Matthew Boulton]] in 1788 to control [[steam engine]]s, but the use of governors dates at least back to the 17th century. On an engine, the governor uses [[centrifugal force]] to adjust the throttle position to adapt the engine's speed to different loads (e.g., when going up a hill).

Modern cruise control (also known as a speedostat or tempomat) was invented in 1948 by the blind inventor and mechanical engineer [[Ralph Teetor]].<ref>Speed control device for resisting operation of the accelerator. Ralph R. Teetor. [http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/2519859 US-Patent 2519859 A] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005905/http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN/2519859 |date=December 4, 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Sightless"/> He came up with the idea due to being frustrated by his driver's habit of speeding up and slowing down as he talked. 

A more significant factor in developing cruise control was the {{convert|35|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}} speed limit imposed in the United States during World War II to reduce gasoline use and tire wear.<ref name="Sightless">{{cite web |last=Sears |first=David |title=The Sightless Visionary Who Invented Cruise Control |url= https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/sightless-visionary-who-invented-cruise-control-180968418/ |website=Smithsonian |date=March 8, 2018 |access-date=September 22, 2019}}</ref> A mechanism controlled by the driver provided resistance to further pressure on the accelerator pedal when the vehicle reached the desired speed.<ref name="Sightless"/> Teetor's idea of a dashboard speed selector with a mechanism connected to the driveshaft and a device able to push against the gas pedal was patented in 1950.<ref name="Sightless"/> He added a speed lock capability that maintained the car's speed until the driver tapped the brake pedal or turned off the system.<ref name="Sightless"/>

A 1955 U.S. patent for a "constant speed regulator" was filed in 1950 by M-Sgt Frank J. Riley.<ref>Constant Speed Regulator. Frank J. Riley. [https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/a0/26/2a/efd10f756457b1/US2714880.pdf United States Patent US2714880]</ref> He conceived the device while driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and installed his invention in his car in 1948.<ref>The Keesler News. November 4, 1948</ref> 

Another inventor named Harold Exline, working independently of Riley, also invented a type of cruise control that he first installed on his car and friends' cars. Exline filed a U.S. patent for a "vacuum powered throttle control with electrically controlled air valve" in 1951, which was granted in 1956.<ref>Vacuum powered throttle control with electrically controlled air valve. Harold Exline. [https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/ca/67/51/d749bc3153cab5/US2742123.pdf US Patent 2742123]</ref> Despite these patents, Riley, Exline, and subsequent patent holders were not able to collect royalties for any cruise control inventions.

The first car with Teetor's "speedostat" system was the 1958 [[Chrysler Imperial]] (called "auto-pilot"), using a speed control dial on the dashboard.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chrysler_and_Imperial/1958_Chrysler/1958_Chrysler_Auto-Pilot_Brochure/1958%20Chrysler%20Auto-Pilot%20Brochure-01.html |title=1958 Chrysler Auto Pilot (brochure) |page=1 |publisher=oldcarbrochures.com |access-date=March 9, 2015}}</ref> This system calculated ground speed from the rotating speedometer cable and used a bi-directional screw-drive [[electric motor]] to vary the throttle position as needed. Cadillac soon renamed and marketed the device as "cruise control."<ref name="Sightless"/> 

In 1965, [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC) introduced a low-priced automatic speed control for its large-sized cars with automatic transmissions.<ref name="CarLife1965">{{cite journal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zO46AAAAMAAJ |page=46 |title=1966 American Motors |journal=Car Life |volume=12 |year=1965 |access-date=March 9, 2015}}</ref> The AMC "cruise command" unit was actuated through a push-button on the dashboard once the car's desired speed was reached. The throttle position was automatically adjusted by a vacuum control that opened and closed the throttle based on input from the speedometer cable rather than through an adjustable control on the dashboard.<ref name="CarLife1965"/><ref>{{cite web|url= http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cruise-control2.htm |last=Nice |first=Karim |title=How Cruise Control Systems Work |date=January 15, 2001 |work=HowStuffWorks |access-date=March 9, 2015}}</ref> The unit would shut off anytime the brakes were applied.

Daniel Aaron Wisner invented an "automotive electronic cruise control" in 1968 as an engineer for [[RCA]]'s Industrial and Automation Systems Division in [[Plymouth, Michigan]]. His invention is described in two patents filed that year (US patents 3570622 and 3511329), with the second introducing [[digital memory]], and was the first electronic device that controlled a car.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Niemeier |first1=Hannah |title=Hillsdale alumnus inventor of cruise control |url= http://hillsdalecollegian.com/2016/02/hillsdale-alumnus-inventor-of-cruise-control/ |work=Hillsdale College - The Collegian |location=Hillsdale, Michigan |date=February 11, 2016 |access-date=March 23, 2021}}</ref>

Due to the [[1973 oil crisis]] and rising fuel prices, the device became more popular in the U.S.<ref name="wards-1974">{{cite journal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SMdaAAAAYAAJ&q=cruise+control+can+save+gas+by+avoiding+surges+that+expel+fuel|title=Big capacity increase |journal=Ward's Auto World |volume=10 |page=95 |year=1974 |access-date=March 9, 2015}}</ref> "Cruise control can save gas by avoiding surges that expel fuel" while driving at steady speeds.<ref name="wards-1974"/> In 1974, AMC, GM, and Chrysler priced the option at $60 to $70, while Ford charged $103.<ref name="wards-1974"/>

In the late 1980s, an [[integrated circuit]] for Wisner's design for electronic cruise control was finally commercially developed by [[Motorola]] as the MC14460 Automotive Speed Control Processor in [[CMOS]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.circuitspecialists.com/content/62634/MC14460.pdf |publisher=Motorola |title=MC14460 Low-power CMOS LSI Automotive Speed Control Processor - data sheet |access-date=June 18, 2017}}</ref> The advantage of electronic speed control over its mechanical predecessor was that it could be integrated with electronic accident avoidance and [[Engine control unit|engine management systems]].