DIESEL ENGINE LUBRICATING OIL CONTAMINANT SENSOR METHOD
First Claim
1. A method for determining engine lubricating oil condition of a Diesel engine, comprising the steps of:
- measuring a selected one of conductivity and conductance of lubricating oil of a Diesel engine at a frequency above of about 2 MHz to thereby provide a first measured value;
measuring the selected one of conductivity and conductance of the oil at a frequency below about 1 KHz to thereby provide a second measured value;
measuring a temperature of the oil taken substantially contemporaneously with said second step of measuring;
determining a first oil condition constant, m;
determining a second oil condition constant, b;
wherein m and b are determined based upon a predetermined relationship with respect to the measured temperature;
calculating a ratio, Y, of the first measured value with respect to the second measured value;
calculating a contaminant concentration, X, based upon a relation;
Y=mX+b; and
determining whether X has reached a predetermined threshold;
wherein if X is below the threshold, then the engine oil condition has a first condition; and
if X is at least one of at the threshold or above the threshold, then the engine oil condition has a second condition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method by which contaminant (soot) content in Diesel engine oil is determined using electrical conductivity measurements of the Diesel oil at a high frequency, or by which contaminant (soot and/or water and/or anitfreeze) content is determined using the ratio of electrical conductivity measurements of the Diesel oil at a high frequency to the electrical conductivity measurements of the Diesel oil at a low frequency. Both the conductivity ratio and the high frequency conductivity are essentially independent of the brand of oil. High frequency is defined to be above 2 MHz whereas low frequency is defined to be D.C. to about 1 kHz.
48 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for determining engine lubricating oil condition of a Diesel engine, comprising the steps of:
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measuring a selected one of conductivity and conductance of lubricating oil of a Diesel engine at a frequency above of about 2 MHz to thereby provide a first measured value;
measuring the selected one of conductivity and conductance of the oil at a frequency below about 1 KHz to thereby provide a second measured value;
measuring a temperature of the oil taken substantially contemporaneously with said second step of measuring;
determining a first oil condition constant, m;
determining a second oil condition constant, b;
wherein m and b are determined based upon a predetermined relationship with respect to the measured temperature;
calculating a ratio, Y, of the first measured value with respect to the second measured value;
calculating a contaminant concentration, X, based upon a relation;
Y=mX+b; and
determining whether X has reached a predetermined threshold;
wherein if X is below the threshold, then the engine oil condition has a first condition; and
if X is at least one of at the threshold or above the threshold, then the engine oil condition has a second condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for determining engine lubricating oil condition of a Diesel engine, comprising the steps of:
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measuring a selected one of conductivity and conductance of lubricating oil of a Diesel engine at a frequency above of about 2 MHz to thereby provide a first measured value;
measuring the selected one of conductivity and conductance of the oil at a frequency below about 1 KHz to thereby provide a second measured value;
measuring a temperature of the oil taken substantially contemporaneously with said second step of measuring;
determining a first oil condition constant, m;
determining a second oil condition constant, b;
wherein m and b are determined based upon a predetermined relationship with respect to the measured temperature;
calculating a ratio, Y, of the first measured value with respect to the second measured value;
calculating a soot concentration, X, based upon a relation;
Y=mX+b; and
determining whether X has reached a predetermined threshold;
wherein if X is below the threshold, then the engine oil condition has a first condition; and
if X is at least one of at the threshold or above the threshold, then the engine oil condition has a second condition. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for determining engine lubricating oil condition of a Diesel engine, comprising the steps of:
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measuring a selected one of conductivity and conductance of lubricating oil of a Diesel engine at a frequency above of about 2 MHz to thereby provide a measured value, Y;
determining a first oil condition constant, m;
determining a second oil condition constant, b;
calculating a soot concentration, X, based upon a relation;
Y=mX+b; and
determining whether X has reached a predetermined threshold;
wherein if X is below the threshold, then the engine oil condition has a first condition; and
if X is at least one of at the threshold or above the threshold, then the engine oil condition has a second condition. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification