Monitoring the operation of an internal combustion engine
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring the operation of an internal combustion engine having inlet ducting for admitting air or a fuel/air mixture into the engine, which method comprisessensing the degree of vacuum in the inlet ducting and providing a vacuum signal when said vacuum falls below a predetermined vacuum level;
- sensing the rotational speed of the engine and providing a first speed signal when said rotational speed exceeds a first predetermined speed value and a second speed signal when said rotational speed exceeds a second predetermined speed value greater than the first predetermined speed value;
gating the vacuum signal and the second speed signal to provide an enabling signal when either said vacuum signal or said second speed signal, or both said vacuum signal and said second speed signal are present; and
issuing a warning signal and/or making a recording under operational conditions of the engine in which both the first speed signal and the enabling signal are present.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A monitoring device for monitoring the operation of a vehicle internal combustion engine having inlet ducting for admitting a fuel/air mixture into the engine comprises vacuum sensitive apparatus for sensing the degree of vacuum in the inlet ducting, speed sensitive apparatus for sensing the rotational speed of the engine, and warning apparatus including gates, multivibrator circuitry, a loudspeaker, and a recorder. When the degree of vacuum falls below a predetermined vacuum value, warning bleeps are issued by the loudspeaker and recordings are made on the recorder. The warning apparatus is operative in response to the vacuum sensitive apparatus and the speed sensitive apparatus to provide a predetermined vacuum value which is a stepwise increasing function of rotational speed sensed.
An inclined mercury containing capsule is provided to inhibit bleeping and recording when the vehicle is inclined at more than a predetermined angle to the horizontal in the direction of travel of the vehicle.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring the operation of an internal combustion engine having inlet ducting for admitting air or a fuel/air mixture into the engine, which method comprises
sensing the degree of vacuum in the inlet ducting and providing a vacuum signal when said vacuum falls below a predetermined vacuum level; -
sensing the rotational speed of the engine and providing a first speed signal when said rotational speed exceeds a first predetermined speed value and a second speed signal when said rotational speed exceeds a second predetermined speed value greater than the first predetermined speed value; gating the vacuum signal and the second speed signal to provide an enabling signal when either said vacuum signal or said second speed signal, or both said vacuum signal and said second speed signal are present; and issuing a warning signal and/or making a recording under operational conditions of the engine in which both the first speed signal and the enabling signal are present. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A monitoring device for use in monitoring the operation of an internal combustion engine having inlet ducting for admitting air or a fuel/air mixture into the engine, which monitoring device comprises
vacuum sensitive means for sensing the degree of vacuum in the inlet ducting and being operative to provide a vacuum signal when said vacuum falls below a predetermined vacuum value; -
speed sensitive means for sensing the rotational speed of the engine and being operative to provide a first speed signal when said rotational speed exceeds a first predetermined speed value and a second speed signal when said rotational speed exceeds a second predetermined speed value greater than the first predetermined speed value; gating means which is operative in response to the speed sensitive means and the vacuum sensitive means to provide an enabling signal when either said vacuum signal or said second speed signal, or both said vacuum signal and said second speed signal are present; and warning means and/or a recorder which is operative in response to the first speed signal and the enabling signal to issue a warning signal and/or make a recording under operational conditions of the engine in which both the first speed signal and the enabling signal are present. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. In a motor vehicle including an internal combustion engine having inlet ducting for admitting air or a fuel/air mixture into the engine, vacuum sensitive means arranged to sense the degree of vacuum in the inlet ducting and being operative to provide a vacuum signal when said vacuum falls below a predetermined vacuum value, speed sensitive means arranged to sense the rotational speed of the engine and being operative to provide a first speed signal when said rotational speed exceeds a first predetermined speed value and a second speed signal when said rotational speed exceeds a second predetermined speed value greater than the first predetermined speed value, gating means which is operative in response to the speed sensitive means and the vacuum sensitive means to provide an enabling signal when either said vacuum signal or said second speed signal, or both said vacuum signal and said second speed signal are present;
- and warning means and/or a recorder which is operative in response to the first speed signal and the enabling signal to issue a warning signal and/or make a recording under operational conditions of the engine in which both the first speed signal and the enabling signal are present.
Specification