Oil maintenance indicator
First Claim
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1. A method of enabling the determination when an oil filter of a vehicle engine has been changed, comprising:
- a) measuring a period of time required to achieve a known engine oil pressure when the engine is started;
b) comparing the measured period of time to a known period of time for achieving the known oil pressure to determine whether the oil filter has been changed since a previous start up;
c) recording that the engine oil has been serviced when it is determined that the oil filter has been changed.
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Abstract
An oil maintenance indicator for recording one or more parameters indicative of when an engine oil filter has been changed. The maintenance indicator includes a sensor that measures oil pressure of an engine at start up. A comparator compares an output provided by the sensor to known parameters to determine whether the oil filter has been changed. A recorder coupled to the comparator records one or several parameters indicative of when the oil filter has been changed.
36 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of enabling the determination when an oil filter of a vehicle engine has been changed, comprising:
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a) measuring a period of time required to achieve a known engine oil pressure when the engine is started;
b) comparing the measured period of time to a known period of time for achieving the known oil pressure to determine whether the oil filter has been changed since a previous start up;
c) recording that the engine oil has been serviced when it is determined that the oil filter has been changed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of enabling the determination of when an oil filter of a vehicle engine has been serviced, comprising:
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a) measuring a number of engine revolutions required to achieve a known engine oil pressure when the engine is started;
b) comparing the measured number of revolutions to a known number of engine revolutions required to achieve the known engine oil pressure to determine whether the oil has been changed since a previous start up, c) recording that the engine oil has been changed when it is determined that the oil has been changed. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of enabling determination of when an oil filter of a vehicle engine has been serviced, comprising:
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a) measuring a period of time required to achieve a known engine oil pressure when the engine is started;
b) comparing the measured period of time to a known period of time required to achieve the known oil pressure when an oil filter is full; and
c) recording a date when the measured period exceeds the known period by a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of enabling determination of when an oil filter of a vehicle engine has been changed, comprising:
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a) measuring a number of revolutions required to achieve a known engine oil pressure when the engine is started;
b) comparing the measured number of revolutions to a known number of revolutions required to achieve the known oil pressure when an oil filter is full; and
c) recording a vehicle odometer reading when the measured period exceeds the known period by a predetermined amount. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. An apparatus for enabling determination of when an oil filter of a vehicle has been changed, comprising:
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a) a sensor operably connected to said engine that monitors oil pressure, said sensor having a sensor output for providing a pressure signal representative of oil pressure;
b) a timer in communication with said sensor, said timer measures a time required to achieve a known oil pressure and provides a time signal representative of a measured time;
c) a comparator coupled to the timer for comparing a time required to achieve said known oil pressure to a known time for achieving said known oil pressure, said comparator having a comparator output that provides a comparator signal after the oil filter is changed;
d) a recorder coupled to said comparator output, said recorder records a date when said comparator signal indicates that the oil filter has been changed.
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24. An apparatus for enabling determination of when an oil filter of an engine has been changed, comprising:
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a) a sensor operably connected to said engine that monitors oil pressure, said sensor having a sensor output for providing a pressure signal representative of oil pressure;
b) a counter in communication with said sensor, said counter counts a number of engine revolutions required to achieve a known oil pressure and provides a counter signal representative of said number of revolutions;
c) a comparator coupled to the counter for comparing the number of revolutions required to achieve said known pressure to a known number of revolutions required to achieve said known oil pressure, said comparator having a comparator output that provides a comparator signal after the oil filter is changed;
d) a recorder coupled to said comparator output, said recorder records a date when said comparator signal indicates that the oil filter has been changed.
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25. An apparatus for determining when an oil filter of a vehicle has been changed, comprising:
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a) a sensor operably connected to said engine that monitors oil pressure when said engine is started, said sensor having a sensor output for providing a pressure signal representative of oil pressure when said engine is started;
b) a timer in communication with said sensor, said timer measures a time required to achieve a known oil pressure and provides a time signal representative of said measured time;
c) a first comparator coupled to said timer for comparing a measured time required to achieve said known oil pressure to a known time for achieving said known oil pressure, said comparator having a comparator output that provides a comparator signal when said measured time exceeds said known time;
d) a counter in communication with said sensor, said counter counts a number of engine revolutions required to achieve said known oil pressure and provides a counter signal representative of said number of revolutions;
e) a second comparator coupled to the counter for comparing a counted number of revolutions required to achieve a known oil pressure to a known number of revolutions for achieving said known oil pressure, said comparator having a comparator output that provides a comparator signal when said counted number exceeds said known number, f) a recorder input coupled to said first and second comparator outputs, said recorder records an odometer reading when said comparator signal indicates that the oil filter has been changed; and
,g) a communicator coupled to said recorder for communicating a recorded parameter for service information.
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Specification