Patent 7904228 was granted and assigned to BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT on March, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A distance-related cruise control system and method for a motor vehicle performs a speed control to a predefined desired speed during free travel of the motor vehicle and performs a distance regulation to a predefined distance to the vehicle traveling ahead during following travel. After deactivation of the distance regulation during following travel, the system performs a speed control, not to the previously defined speed, but rather to the current speed of the motor vehicle at the instant of the deactivation of the distance regulation as the desired speed.