Patent ID: 8498795

Claim:
Method for controlling a vehicle cruise control comprising the steps of: driving the vehicle with the cruise control active and set to maintain a vehicle set target speed (Vcc set target speed); registering current vehicle condition, which comprises at least a current vehicle position (A), a currently engaged gear ratio, available gear ratios, current vehicle speed, available maximum propulsion torque and road topography of coming travelling road comprising a next coming uphill slope; based on the current vehicle condition predicting a downshift at a coming vehicle position (C) in the coming uphill slope due to vehicle speed decrease and selecting at least one activity which results in that the downshift can be postponed or avoided; controlling the cruise control according to the selected activity, and where the activity comprises: temporary lowering a downshift limit of the currently engaged gear with a predetermined possible amount to a lowered downshift speed limit (Vlow downshift speed); predicting if the downshift will be postponed enough or avoided; if predicting that the downshift will not be postponed enough or not avoided then performing the temporary lowering of the downshift limit, and additionally based on the current vehicle condition, calculating by a processor a lowest vehicle speed (vhill) for a first vehicle position (B) where the vehicle will start to retard in the uphill slope and which results in that the downshift can be enough postponed or avoided; based on the current vehicle condition controlling the cruise control in order to during vehicle driving towards the first vehicle position (B) increase vehicle speed to the lowest vehicle speed when the vehicle eventually has reached the first vehicle position (B).