Fuel sensor
First Claim
1. A fuel sensor, comprising:
- a capacitor having a first, generally cylindrical electrode and a second electrode at least partially surrounding the first electrode, the electrodes being spaced apart such that the fuel flows between the electrodes;
a first oscillator selectively coupled with the capacitor to provide an indication of the capacitance of the capacitor when the fuel is between the electrodes;
a second oscillator selectively coupled with the capacitor to provide an indication of the conductance of the capacitor when the fuel is between the electrodes; and
a controller that couples the first and second oscillators to the capacitor to obtain the respective indications.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A fuel sensor (20) includes a single capacitor (22) that operates in two different modes to obtain capacitance and conductance information when a fuel mixture flows between the electrodes (24, 26) of the capacitor. Two different oscillators (180, 182) are selectively used to obtain the conductance and capacitance information. In a disclosed embodiment, a capacitor includes an outer electrode (24) that is received around an inner electrode (26) such that there is a spacing between the electrodes through which the fuel flows. The fuel acts as a dielectric of the capacitor allowing the conductance and capacitance measurements to be made. The inventive fuel sensor can be readily incorporated into a variety of locations within a vehicle fuel supply system depending on the needs of a particular situation. In one example, a portion of the fuel rail (132) is used as one of the electrodes of the capacitor.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A fuel sensor, comprising:
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a capacitor having a first, generally cylindrical electrode and a second electrode at least partially surrounding the first electrode, the electrodes being spaced apart such that the fuel flows between the electrodes;
a first oscillator selectively coupled with the capacitor to provide an indication of the capacitance of the capacitor when the fuel is between the electrodes;
a second oscillator selectively coupled with the capacitor to provide an indication of the conductance of the capacitor when the fuel is between the electrodes; and
a controller that couples the first and second oscillators to the capacitor to obtain the respective indications. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of determining a content of a fuel mixture, comprising the steps of:
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providing a single capacitor having two electrodes between which fuel mixture flows;
using the capacitor in a first mode to obtain an indication of the conductance of the capacitor with the fuel between the electrodes;
using the capacitor in a second mode to obtain an indication of the capacitance of the capacitor with the fuel between the electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification