SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ACCURATELY COMPENSATING FOR A CHANGE IN AMOUNT OF UNWANTED FLUID DILUTED IN ENGINE OIL RESULTING FROM A RECENT LONG TRIP

• US 20130345925A1
• Filed: 06/20/2012
• Published: 12/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Smolenski, Donald John, Schneider, Eric W., Blossfeld, Daniel Hicks, Snider, Matthew J., Johnson, Eric R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,388,716 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/31.9
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 11/10 Indicating devices; Other safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2011/14 for indicating the necessity to change the oil
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2011/146 by considering moisture level
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2011/1473 by considering temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2011/148 by considering viscosity
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2011/1486 by considering duration of operation

Abstract

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.

Claims

1. 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 comprising:

a computer processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium that is in operative communication with the computer processor and has instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

determining a long-trip time indicating an amount of time that the vehicle was operated recently in the long-trip cycle; and

determining the long-trip rebate according to a rebate function using the determined long-trip time.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the rebate function is configured to account for an amount of unwanted fluid dissipated from the engine oil during the long-trip cycle.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said unwanted fluid includes at least one fluid selected from a group consisting of vehicle fuel and water.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine, using the long-trip rebate, a value for a total-corrected amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said unwanted fluid includes at least one fluid selected from a group consisting of water and vehicle fuel.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the instructions, in causing the processor to determine the value for the total-corrected amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil, cause the processor to determine the value for the total-corrected amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil to be a sum of the long-trip rebate and a total amount of unwanted fluid diluted in the oil over a short-trip cycle.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein:

the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine whether a temperature of the oil is greater than a predetermined threshold oil temperature; and

the instructions cause the processor to determine the value for the total-corrected amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil in response at least to determining that the temperature of the oil is greater than a predetermined threshold oil temperature.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine whether a total amount of unwanted fluid diluted in the oil over a short-trip cycle is greater than a predetermined calibration value; and

the instructions cause the processor to determine whether the temperature of the oil is greater than the predetermined threshold oil temperature in response at least to determining that the total amount of unwanted fluid diluted in the oil over the short-trip cycle is not greater than the predetermined calibration value.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the total amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil is a first total amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil;

the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine the first total amount of unwanted fluid diluted in the oil over the short-trip cycle to be a sum of a cumulative amount of the unwanted fluid diluted into the oil over the short cycle and a second total amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein:

the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine the cumulative amount of the unwanted fluid diluted into the oil over the short cycle to be a difference between (i) a level of unwanted-fluid dilution per revolution at an initial oil temperature and (ii) a result of a*b*R/2;

a is a slope of oil temperature as a function of engine revolutions; and

b is a slope of unwanted-fluid dilution per revolution as a function of oil temperature.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, using the long-trip rebate, a value for a total-corrected amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the value for the total-corrected amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil includes determining the value for the total-corrected amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil to be a sum of the long-trip rebate and a total amount of unwanted fluid diluted in the oil over a short-trip cycle.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining whether a temperature of the oil is greater than a predetermined threshold oil temperature; and

determining the value for the total-corrected amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil in response at least to determining that the temperature of the oil is greater than a predetermined threshold oil temperature.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining whether a total amount of unwanted fluid diluted in the oil over a short-trip cycle is greater than a predetermined calibration value; and

determining whether the temperature of the oil is greater than the predetermined threshold oil temperature in response at least to determining that the total amount of unwanted fluid diluted in the oil over the short-trip cycle is not greater than the predetermined calibration value.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the total amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil is a first total amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil;

the method further comprises determining the first total amount of unwanted fluid diluted in the oil over the short-trip cycle to be a sum of a cumulative amount of the unwanted fluid diluted into the oil over the short cycle and a second total amount of unwanted fluid diluted into the oil.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the method further comprises determining the cumulative amount of the unwanted fluid diluted into the oil over the short cycle to be a difference between (i) a level of unwanted-fluid dilution per revolution at an initial oil temperature and (ii) a result of a*b*R/2;

a is a slope of oil temperature as a function of engine revolutions; and

b is a slope of unwanted-fluid dilution per revolution as a function of oil temperature.

11. A method, performed by a computer processor executing computer-executable instructions stored at a non-transitory computer-readable medium, for 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, comprising:

determining, by the computer processor, a long-trip time indicating an amount of time that the vehicle was operated recently in the long-trip cycle; and

determining, by the computer processor, the long-trip rebate according to a rebate function using the determined long-trip time.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the rebate function is configured to account for an amount of unwanted fluid dissipated from the engine oil during the long-trip cycle.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said unwanted fluid includes at least one fluid selected from a group consisting of water and vehicle fuel.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

determining a long-trip time indicating an amount of time that the vehicle was operated recently in the long-trip cycle; and

determining the long-trip rebate according to a rebate function using the determined long-trip time.