Patent ID: 8543295

Claim:
An electronically controlled speed limiting system for a turf maintenance machine, comprising: a first traction motor directly rotating a first wheel and a second traction motor directly rotating a second wheel; first and second wheel speed sensors individually connected to each of the first and second wheels, each outputting an actual wheel speed signal; a controller in communication with the first and second traction motors receiving the actual wheel speed signal from the first and second wheels, operating to compare the actual wheel speed of the first and second wheels to determine if one of the wheels is rotating faster than the other wheel, a command output from the controller to the faster rotating one of the wheels operates to reduce the actual speed of the faster moving one of the wheels to equal the actual speed of the other of the wheels, the controller further including a lookup table having recommended operating speeds for a plurality of different inclination angles of the turf maintenance machine; and an inclinometer operating to sense an angle of inclination of the turf maintenance machine and create an inclinometer signal corresponding to the angle of inclination; wherein the inclinometer signal is compared in the controller to the plurality of preset inclination angles in the lookup table, and a speed reduction command is generated by the controller used to reduce an operating speed of the turf maintenance machine to the one of the recommended operating speeds corresponding to the angle of inclination.