Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080218325 | Method for measuring the amount of air in a fluid - One embodiment of the invention includes a method comprising measuring the level of a fluid in a system in a vehicle comprising measuring an electrical property of the fluid indicative of the amount of air in the fluid; and comparing the measured electrical property to a reference. | 09-11-2008 |
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 |
20100228400 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISPENSING OIL AND FUEL ADDITIVES - An engine system includes a concentration determination module and an additive dispensing module. The concentration determination module determines an amount of an additive in at least one of an oil system of an engine and a fuel system of the engine. The additive dispensing module dispenses a supplemental additive into at least one of the oil system and the fuel system when the amount of the additive is less than or equal to a predetermined amount. | 09-09-2010 |
20100250156 | DETERMINATION OF END OF LIFE OF OIL BY ELECTRICAL MEANS - Electrical measures of resistivity and permittivity of engine lubricating oil are gathered continuously under normal vehicle engine operating conditions and combined into a composite parameter, the aggregated electrical measure, which, is indicative of engine oil condition and when plotted over the useful life of the oil displays a first linear slope anticipatory of the end of oil life followed by a second, steeper slope indicative of the end of oil life. An algorithm, implementable in an on-vehicle computer, to reliably detect these features is described. | 09-30-2010 |
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 |
20110125425 | ON-BOARD METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING ONSET OF RAPID OIL OXIDATION AND SLUDGE FORMATION IN ENGINE OILS - In one exemplary embodiment, the state of engine oil degradation is monitored and determined using the size of viscosity hysteresis during heating-cooling cycles. In another exemplary embodiment, the state of engine oil degradation is monitored and determined using the sign of viscosity hysteresis during heating-cooling cycles. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the state of engine oil degradation is monitored and determined using relative viscosity changes hysteresis during heating-cooling cycles. | 05-26-2011 |
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 |
20120044065 | AUTOMATIC ENGINE OIL LIFE DETERMINATION WITH A FACTOR FOR OIL QUALITY - 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 quality of the transferred body of oil and determining the remaining oil life based on the determined quality and volume of the body of oil. 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 |
20120046823 | AUTOMATIC ENGINE OIL LIFE DETERMINATION ADJUSTED FOR VOLUME OF OIL EXPOSED TO A COMBUSTION EVENT - 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 factor representative of a volume of oil from the transferred body of oil that is exposed to a combustion event in the engine. Additionally, the method includes determining the remaining oil life based on the determined volume of the body of oil and the determined factor representative of a volume of oil that is exposed to a combustion event. 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 |
20130146009 | MICROENCAPSULATED ENGINE LUBRICANT ADDITIVES - An engine lubricating system for an internal combustion engine. The system comprises a vehicle engine; a circulation system for providing a continuing flow of lubricant to the vehicle engine and engine components; and a lubricant disposed within the circulation system. The lubricant comprises a base oil and at least one microencapsulated oil additive. The microencapsulated oil additive is selectively released into the lubricant based one or more localized event. The localized event may include a predetermined temperature change, a predetermined pH change, a localized high friction contact, and combinations thereof. | 06-13-2013 |
20130226392 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ADVISING CUSTOMERS REGARDING VEHICLE OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE - Systems and methods for system for encouraging compliance with a recommendation related to engine oil of a vehicle. The system includes a computer-readable medium having instructions causing a processor to (A) determine that a communication regarding the engine oil life should be sent providing at least one datum of (i) information considered in generating the communication, (ii) a predicted result of following the recommendation, being a first predicted result, (iii) a predicted result of not following the recommendation, being a second predicted result, (iv) a message including a positive remark, being a first message, and (v) a message including a remark identifying an improvement that can be made, being a second message. The method can also include (B) sending the communication from the processor to a destination. | 08-29-2013 |
20130248292 | Release and Retention of Viscosity Modifiers Based on Oil Temperature - Disclosed are articles, lubrication systems, and methods that sequester lubricant viscosity modifiers via adsorption of the viscosity modifier molecules onto a molecular sieve material at lubricant temperatures below a threshold temperature and release of the viscosity modifier molecules from the molecular sieve material at lubricant temperatures at about the threshold temperature so that the viscosity modifier molecules are in the lubricant at temperatures from about the threshold temperature and higher. In this way, the viscosity modifier molecules are removed from the lubricant at temperatures where the lubricant has sufficient viscosity but released into the lubricant when they can useful increase the lubricant viscosity because it otherwise would be too low. | 09-26-2013 |
20130248293 | Lubricant Separation by Molecular Size and Temperature - A lubrication system in a machine has a lubricant comprising a plurality of differently-sized species of lubricant molecules and a pump that circulates the lubricant to an area of the machine for lubrication, wherein a molecular sieve in the lubrication system adsorbs a species of lubricant molecules in a predetermined lubricant temperature range and desorbs the species of lubricant molecules at temperatures outside the predetermined lubricant temperature range. | 09-26-2013 |
20130345925 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACCURATELY COMPENSATING FOR A CHANGE IN AMOUNT OF UNWANTED FLUID DILUTED IN ENGINE OIL RESULTING FROM A RECENT LONG TRIP - A system, for use in accounting for an effect of a long-trip cycle on remaining life of engine oil, being used in a vehicle, using a long-trip rebate value. The system includes a computer processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium that is in operative communication with the processor and has instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform various operations. The operations include determining a long-trip time indicating an amount of time that the vehicle was operated recently in the long-trip cycle. The operations further include determining the long-trip rebate according to a rebate function using the determined long-trip time. | 12-26-2013 |
20140019068 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING A STATE OF DETERIORATION OF ENGINE OIL USING MULTIPLE PRESELECTED OIL PROPERTIES - Systems and methods for automatically evaluating the useful life of an engine oil based on data corresponding to a plurality of preselected key oil properties. The evaluation includes determining, in connection with each of the pre-selected key oil properties, a first current measured oil property value, a first reference oil property value, a first deterioration-limit value, and a first weighting factor. The evaluation also includes determining a single index value, indicating a state of deterioration of the engine oil, in a calculation using each of the values and factors. | 01-16-2014 |