Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
073114550 | Lubricant condition | 19 |
20080250851 | INTEGRATED OIL CONDITION AND LEVEL SENSOR - An oil condition and level sensor is provided that includes a solenoid body, a coil, an armature and a pole piece. The solenoid body defines an armature chamber between the armature and the pole piece. The armature is movable in the armature chamber in response to energizing of the coil. In an oil condition sensing system, the coil is operatively connected to a controller which can determine at least one of an oil temperature, oil viscosity, oil level, and an oil change occurrence. In one embodiment, four oil levels, including an overfill oil level and an excessively low oil level may be detected. The sensor is referred to as an integrated oil condition and level sensor as multiple sensing functions are integrated into one sensor. | 10-16-2008 |
20080264158 | Method for Determining Oil Dilution in a Internal Combustion Engine Featuring Post-Injection - A procedure to operate an internal combustion engine, whereby at least one fuel afterinjection is conducted, and a device to implement the procedure are proposed. An oil dilution signal is ascertained as a measurement for, for example, the volume of the oil dilution brought into the motor oil of the internal combustion engine by at least one fuel afterinjection. The fuel afterinjection, which is at least one in number, is, for example, so designed to introduce non-combusted fuel as combustible fuel into the exhaust gas area of the internal combustion engine, which reacts exothermally in the exhaust gas area to heat the exhaust gas treatment device. | 10-30-2008 |
20090084171 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MONITORING THE QUALITY OF AN OIL CHANGE AND CONDITION OF ENGINE OIL FROM AN OIL CHANGE - A device and method for measuring the quality of a vehicle oil change and the condition of oil obtained during an oil change is provided which includes an oil measurement compartment and at least one coolant sensor. The oil measurement compartment includes a conductivity sensor including a pair of horizontal parallel wires and a pair of vertical parallel wires which are capable of measuring the quantity, temperature, and conductivity of the drained oil. The coolant sensor is comprised of a hydrophilic material in contact with a permanent surface comprised of two spaced apart metal wires or traces. The coolant sensor measures the viscosity, coolant concentration, and overall condition of the oil. | 04-02-2009 |
20090145211 | VIRTUAL ENGINE OIL QUALITY SENSOR - A method for diagnosis of oil quality within an internal combustion engine includes analyzing input data from an oil level sensor and generating a warning if the input data includes an oil level change indicative of a sub-standard oil quality condition. | 06-11-2009 |
20100011851 | METHOD AND SYSTEM TO DETERMINE COMPOSITION OF FUEL ENTERING COMBUSTOR - Disclosed is a method and system for determining composition of a fuel entering a combustor. The method includes determining a temperature of the fuel entering the combustor, calculating a first estimated total fuel flow utilizing fuel properties and fuel nozzle effective area (A | 01-21-2010 |
20100050756 | Drain Pan Level Monitoring System - A drain pan level monitoring system of an air conditioning system comprises a level sensor that generates a level sensor output signal related to a sensed level of condensation buildup within a drain pan. A method of monitoring a liquid level buildup in a drain pan of an air handling unit comprises determining a level of liquid buildup in the drain pan and determining whether an action should be taken in response to the determined level of liquid buildup by comparing the determined level of liquid buildup to a predetermined value. A method of preventing liquid overflow of a drain pan of an air handling unit comprises monitoring a pressure related to a liquid level buildup within the drain pan and taking an action when the pressure meets a predetermined criteria. | 03-04-2010 |
20100058847 | METHOD OF ENGINE OIL CONSUMPTION - The disclosure is directed to a method to determine oil consumption in an internal combustion engine that does not require extended operation of the engine in the files and is adaptable to be useful at production facilities for testing of sample engines from the line without installation of the engine into a vehicle and operating the vehicle in order to determine oil consumption of the engine during operating conditions. | 03-11-2010 |
20100300188 | ON-VEHICLE EVALUATION OF OIL FORMULATION - This invention is a method for determining the quality of lubrication oil added to a quantity of used oil in an operating engine or mechanism such as occurs during an oil change or when additional oil is added to maintain the vehicle manufacturer's specified total volume of oil. The method is based on identifying the electrical resistivity characteristics of the oil addition, representative of both the base oil formulation and its additive package, and, through comparison with previously-generated resistivity data on multiple oils identifying the oil addition. The added oil may then be compared with manufacturer specifications for the specific application to determine whether it meets recommended manufacturer requirements. | 12-02-2010 |
20100307230 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE STATE OF AN ENGINE OIL IN AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE - A method for monitoring the state or an engine oil in an internal combustion engine, in which first the viscosity of the engine oil is determined at different temperatures of the engine oil, after which a viscosity index is ascertained from the viscosity and the temperature of the engine oil, which method permits a reliable statement about the state of the engine oil during its issue in the internal combustion engine to be made, the viscosity index of the engine oil is determined at different successive times and the change of the viscosity index over time is used as a measure for assessing the oil state. | 12-09-2010 |
20120042717 | AUTOMATIC ENGINE OIL LIFE DETERMINATION WITH A FACTOR FOR DEGRADATION BASED ON AN INITIAL VOLUME OF OIL - A method is provided for determining remaining oil life prior to an oil change in an internal combustion engine that has a sump and uses a body of oil. The method includes transferring the body of oil to the engine and determining a volume of the transferred body of oil. The method also includes determining degradation of the determined volume of oil in response to oxidation and/or decomposition. The method additionally includes determining the remaining oil life based on the determined volume and degradation of the transferred body of oil. Furthermore, the method includes activating an oil change indicator when the remaining oil life reaches a predetermined level. A system for determining a number of engine revolutions permitted on a volume of oil is also disclosed. | 02-23-2012 |
20120042718 | AUTOMATIC ENGINE OIL LIFE DETERMINATION ADJUSTED FOR CONSUMED VOLUME OF OIL - A method is provided for determining remaining oil life prior to an oil change in an internal combustion engine that uses a body of oil. The method includes transferring the body of oil to the engine and determining a volume of the transferred body of oil. The method also includes determining a volume of oil consumed by the engine from the transferred body of oil and determining the remaining oil life based on the determined volume of the body of oil and the determined volume of oil consumed. The method additionally includes activating an oil change indicator when the remaining oil life reaches a predetermined level. A system for determining a number of engine revolutions permitted on a volume of oil is also disclosed. | 02-23-2012 |
20120042719 | AUTOMATIC ENGINE OIL LIFE DETERMINATION ADJUSTED FOR PRESENCE OF OIL SQUIRTERS - A method is provided for determining remaining oil life prior to an oil change in an internal combustion engine that uses a body of oil. The method includes transferring the body of oil to the engine and determining a volume of the transferred body of oil. The method also includes determining whether an oil squirter is present in the engine. Additionally, the method includes determining the remaining oil life based on the determined volume of the body of oil and whether an oil squirter is present in the engine. Moreover, the method includes activating an oil change indicator when the remaining oil life reaches a predetermined level. A system for determining a number of engine revolutions permitted on a volume of oil is also disclosed. | 02-23-2012 |
20130205880 | TILTING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TESTING ENGINE LUBRICANTS - Systems and methods for testing an engine lubricant are provided. The system includes a tilting platform selectively movable between tilt angles and at least one test tray. The tilting platform includes a heated block with a heat source. The test tray has the engine lubricant therein. The test tray also has a heated portion and an unheated portion. The test tray is tiltably positionable on the tilting platform with the heated portion heatable by the heated block whereby the engine lubricant is selectively positionable about the heated and unheated portions of the test tray. | 08-15-2013 |
20140020460 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MONITORING ENGINE OIL TEMPERATURE OF AN OPERATING ENGINE - Systems and methods for monitoring engine oil temperatures to detect higher than normal oil temperatures are provided. The system comprises a plurality of sensors for obtaining input signals from the operating engine for a predetermined set of engine conditions. At least one of the plurality of sensors includes an oil temperature sensor for measuring an engine oil temperature. The system also includes an engine control unit (ECU) where a plurality of predetermined limit values corresponding to at least one predetermined set of engine operating conditions is stored. The engine control unit is configured to select a predetermined limit value corresponding to a measured set of engine operating conditions, to calculate a maintenance limit value using the selected predetermined limit value, and to compare the measured oil temperature with the maintenance limit value. An output unit outputs a predetermined output depending on the result of the comparison. | 01-23-2014 |
20140130587 | MULTI-MODAL FLUID CONDITION SENSOR PLATFORM AND SYSTEM THEREOF - This invention encompasses embodiments for multi-modal integrated simultaneous measurement of various aspects of fluids contained in circulating systems such as automotive reciprocating engines and vehicle transmissions. These circulating systems perform constant internal lubrication, and heat and contaminant removal to protect the internal moving parts from the inherent friction and damage in normal operation. Most commonly this is achieved with fluids based on hydrocarbon and/or related synthetics, which, over time, can lose their protective properties, and vary in their performance or breakdown/decay due to internal and external events. Several components within the lubricant fluid can be measured and can provide insight into the efficacy of the system to perform its designed mission. The mass and level of the fluid may also be monitored on an on-going basis. Described herein is a real-time, simultaneous, integrated, multi-modal sensor system for early warning notification. | 05-15-2014 |
20150075268 | Fluid Quality Sensing Means with Reference Sensor - A sensing apparatus for detecting fluid quality change using signals obtained from a fluid quality sensor for exposure to a fluid and a reference sensor positioned in a reference sensing means having a fluid trap section holding a part of the fluid. Sensing values obtained from the fluid quality sensor and the reference sensor are compared in determining an aging factor. An application of the sensing apparatus is an apparatus for detecting engine oil quality change in an engine system. With the sensing apparatus, a first aging factor can be calculated after an engine cold soak and a second one can be obtained during engine operation. With these two aging factors, in addition to oil quality change, failures in the engine system and sensors, and oil change events can also be detected. Additionally, since reference sensing values are provided by the reference sensor, power disconnections have least effects. | 03-19-2015 |
20150090018 | DEVICE FOR DETERMINING A FILLING LEVEL - A device for determining a filling level of a container is provided, having a damping cup, a measuring section extending vertically inside the damping cup, and having an ultrasound converter arranged at its lower end region, and at least one antechamber. A calming structure is arranged in at least a part of at least one antechamber, to achieve as much degassing of the liquid as possible. The part of the antechamber having the calming structure is designed to be open towards the top over a large area and is connected, via a venting channel, with a vent in the upper region of the device. | 04-02-2015 |
20150346181 | DEVICE AND SYSTEM TO DETERMINE ENGINE LUBRICATION HEALTH - A health analysis system for an engine lubrication system is disclosed. The engine lubrication system includes a sump, a lubricant quality sensor to detect quality related to at least one parameter of a lubricant, and a conduit. The health analysis system includes a bypass line connected from the conduit to the sump to facilitate passage of a sample engine lubricant. Further, a patch containment assembly is included that has a first housing with a first passage. A second housing, defining a second passage, is removably connectable to the first housing. Moreover, a patch member is removably positioned within one of the first housing or the second housing. The first passage is in fluid communication with the second passage through the patch member. | 12-03-2015 |
20160061805 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ESTIMATING ENGINE OIL HEALTH - A system includes a sensor that may measure one or more engine oil parameters to assess engine oil health of an engine and a processor communicatively coupled to the sensor and that may receive a signal from the sensor. The signal is representative of a real-time measurement of the one or more engine oil parameters. The processor may also estimate the one or more engine oil parameters over time via an adaptive predictive model associated with the one or more engine oil parameters to generate estimated data and reconcile the real-time measurement and the estimated data to generate an integrated engine oil degradation model and predict engine oil remaining useful life based on the integrated engine oil degradation model and one or more condemn limits associated with the one or more engine oil parameters. | 03-03-2016 |