Determination of number of teeth on an internal combustion engine flywheel
First Claim
1. Apparatus for determining the number of teeth on the flywheel of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- tooth sensing means adapted to be disposed to sense the passage of each tooth of the flywheel of the engine when the engine is rotating, said means providing a tooth signal each time that an integral number of teeth of the flywheel passes in proximity to said tooth sensing means;
means for registering a plurality of standard data manifestations, each one representing a number indicative of a number of teeth permissible on a flywheel of an internal combustion engine of the type under test;
processing means, responsive to the tooth signals presented by said tooth sensing means and to said registering means, for measuring the number of said tooth signals provided as the engine rotates through a known angle and presenting a measured data manifestation indicative of the number of teeth on said flywheel, for comparing said measured data manifestation with each of said standard data manifestations and for selecting one of said standard data manifestations of said registering means as a result of the comparison; and
means presenting for system use a manifestation of the standard number of teeth indicated by said selected one of said standard data manifestations as the determined number of teeth on the flywheel of the engine under test.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A transducer mounted on the flywheel housing of an internal combustion engine senses the passage of each tooth on the flywheel of the engine. The number of teeth in the flywheel (to aid in calculating factors such as engine speed) is measured by counting teeth during one full engine cycle, as determined by successive cylinder identification pulses, and the tooth count is selected from a table of industry standard numbers of permissible teeth as the one which is within two teeth of the count measured by either of the methods described hereinbefore. Display of the selected number of teeth is made without an error indication if within two teeth of a standard number from a table; if not within two teeth of a standard number, the measured number is displayed, and error is indicated. The operator can select the displayed number of teeth or enter a number which he chooses.
14 Citations
9 Claims
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1. Apparatus for determining the number of teeth on the flywheel of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
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tooth sensing means adapted to be disposed to sense the passage of each tooth of the flywheel of the engine when the engine is rotating, said means providing a tooth signal each time that an integral number of teeth of the flywheel passes in proximity to said tooth sensing means; means for registering a plurality of standard data manifestations, each one representing a number indicative of a number of teeth permissible on a flywheel of an internal combustion engine of the type under test; processing means, responsive to the tooth signals presented by said tooth sensing means and to said registering means, for measuring the number of said tooth signals provided as the engine rotates through a known angle and presenting a measured data manifestation indicative of the number of teeth on said flywheel, for comparing said measured data manifestation with each of said standard data manifestations and for selecting one of said standard data manifestations of said registering means as a result of the comparison; and means presenting for system use a manifestation of the standard number of teeth indicated by said selected one of said standard data manifestations as the determined number of teeth on the flywheel of the engine under test. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. In the method of electrically determining the number of teeth on the flywheel of an internal combustion engine, the steps of:
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sensing the number of teeth of the flywheel of the engine that pass a particular point as the engine rotates through a known angle and relating that number to a revolution of the engine to provide a measured number of teeth; and comparing the measured number of teeth with each of a plurality of permissible number of teeth and selecting one of said permissible number of teeth as the determined number of teeth on the flywheel of the engine as a result of the comparison.
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7. In the method of determining the number of teeth on the flywheel of an internal combustion engine, utilizing electronic diagnostic apparatus, the steps of:
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electrically determining the time interval for the engine to rotate through a known angle; counting the number of teeth of the flywheel which traverse a particular point during said time interval; relating the number of teeth sensed during said time interval to the number of teeth correspondingly relating to a full revolution of the engine to provide a measured number of teeth; providing manifestations of permissible number of teeth in the engine; comparing the measured number of teeth with the permissible number of teeth and selecting for use one of said permissible number of teeth which most nearly corresponds to the measured number of teeth. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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Specification