Motor vehicle fuel analyzer
First Claim
1. A system for classifying mixtures of hydrocarbon fuels according to octane or cetane number comprising:
- an array of gas sensors having different response characteristics to the vapors of different known and unknown fuels such that the set of responses for each of said fuels forms a distinctive signature pattern with respect to octane or cetane number of said fuels, said array comprising at least four sensors;
a data acquisition system coupled to said sensor array for deriving said distinctive signature patterns of said known fuels, said data acquisition system comprising at least an analog-to-digital convertor; and
a data analysis system comprising at least a neural network coupled to said data acquisition system for comparing the pattern of a sampled fuel mixture to the signature pattern of said known fuels whereby said sampled signature pattern of octane or cetane number is classified with respect to said known patterns of octane or cetane numbers by said neural network.
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Abstract
A gas detecting system for classifying the type of liquid fuel in a container or tank. The system includes a plurality of semiconductor gas sensors, each of which differs from the other in its response to various organic vapors. The system includes a means of processing the responses of the plurality of sensors such that the responses to any particular organic substance or mixture is sufficiently distinctive to constitute a recognizable "signature". The signature of known substances are collected and divided into two classes based on some other known characteristic of the substances. A pattern recognition system classifies the signature of an unknown substance with reference to the two user-defined classes, thereby classifying the unknown substance with regard to the characteristic of interest, such as its suitability for a particular use.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system for classifying mixtures of hydrocarbon fuels according to octane or cetane number comprising:
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an array of gas sensors having different response characteristics to the vapors of different known and unknown fuels such that the set of responses for each of said fuels forms a distinctive signature pattern with respect to octane or cetane number of said fuels, said array comprising at least four sensors; a data acquisition system coupled to said sensor array for deriving said distinctive signature patterns of said known fuels, said data acquisition system comprising at least an analog-to-digital convertor; and a data analysis system comprising at least a neural network coupled to said data acquisition system for comparing the pattern of a sampled fuel mixture to the signature pattern of said known fuels whereby said sampled signature pattern of octane or cetane number is classified with respect to said known patterns of octane or cetane numbers by said neural network. - 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, 24)
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25. A method identifying mixtures of hydrocarbon fuels according to octane or cetane number comprising the steps of:
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selecting an array of gas sensors, each of said sensors having different response characteristics to the vapors of different known fuels such that the set of sensor responses to each of said known fuels forms a distinctive signature pattern with respect to the octane or cetane number of said fuels, said array of sensors comprising at least four sensors; deriving said signature patterns of said known fuels by analog-to-digital conversion means; and analyzing the signature pattern of a sampled fuels with respect to the signature patterns of said known fuels by neural network means whereby said sampled signature pattern of octane or cetane numbers is classified with respect to said known signature patterns of octane or cetane numbers. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification