Carbon monoxide sensor and control for motor vehicles
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring carbon monoxide (CO) levels produced by a vehicle having an engine and having a passenger compartment, the operation of the engine producing CO as a by-product, said system comprising:
- a detector in the passenger compartment for detecting the concentration of CO inside the compartment;
means for generating a HIGH CO signal when the detected concentration of CO inside the compartment is greater than a predetermined level;
means for disabling the operation of the engine in response to the HIGH CO signal and preventing re-enabling of the operation of the engine during periods when the HIGH CO signal is present;
means for sensing a status condition of the vehicle; and
means for inhibiting the disabling of the engine when the sensing means senses the status condition.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for monitoring carbon monoxide (CO) levels produced by the operation of a vehicle'"'"'s engine. The system includes a detector in the vehicle'"'"'s passenger compartment for detecting the concentration of CO inside the compartment and circuitry for generating a HIGH CO signal when the detected concentration of CO inside the compartment is greater than a predetermined level. The system disables the operation of the engine in response to the HIGH CO signal. The system also senses a status condition of the vehicle and inhibits the disabling of the engine when the status condition is sensed.
52 Citations
50 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring carbon monoxide (CO) levels produced by a vehicle having an engine and having a passenger compartment, the operation of the engine producing CO as a by-product, said system comprising:
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a detector in the passenger compartment for detecting the concentration of CO inside the compartment; means for generating a HIGH CO signal when the detected concentration of CO inside the compartment is greater than a predetermined level; means for disabling the operation of the engine in response to the HIGH CO signal and preventing re-enabling of the operation of the engine during periods when the HIGH CO signal is present; means for sensing a status condition of the vehicle; and means for inhibiting the disabling of the engine when the sensing means senses the status condition. - 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)
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24. A system for monitoring carbon monoxide (CO) levels produced by a vehicle having an engine and having a passenger compartment, the operation of the engine producing CO as a by-product, said system comprising:
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a first detector outside the passenger compartment for detecting the concentration of CO outside the compartment; means for generating a first signal representative of the detected concentration of CO outside the compartment; and means for disabling the operation of the engine in response to the first signal when the concentration of CO detected by the first CO detector is greater than a first predetermined level and preventing re-enabling of the operation of the engine during periods when the first signal is present. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A system for monitoring carbon monoxide (CO) levels produced by a vehicle having an engine and having a passenger compartment, the operation of the engine producing CO as a by-product, said system comprising:
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a detector in the passenger compartment for detecting the concentration of CO inside the compartment; means for generating a HIGH CO signal when the detected concentration of CO inside the vehicle is greater than a predetermined level; a circuit for disabling the operation of the engine in response to the HIGH CO signal wherein the disabling means disables the operation of the engine only when the detected concentration of CO is greater than the predetermined level for longer than a predetermined length of time and prevents re-enabling of the operation of the engine during periods when the HIGH CO signal is present.
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50. A method for monitoring carbon monoxide (CO) levels produced by a vehicle having an engine and having a passenger compartment, the operation of the engine producing CO as a by-product, said method comprising the steps of:
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detecting the concentration of CO inside the passenger compartment; generating a HIGH CO signal when the detected concentration of CO inside the compartment is greater than a predetermined level; disabling the operation of the engine in response to the HIGH CO signal and preventing re-enabling of the operation of the engine during periods when the HIGH CO signal is present; sensing a status condition of the vehicle; and inhibiting the disabling of the engine when the status condition is sensed at the sensing step.
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Specification