Methods for detecting oil deterioration and oil level
First Claim
1. A method for detecting oil deterioration and oil level, comprising the steps of:
- a. providing an oil which does not contain water, said oil is disposed in an oil system of a machine;
b. providing a reference oil being free of water, said reference oil is disposed in a sealed container which is located in a common temperature environment with said oil;
c. providing a measurement sensor which includes a first capacitor;
d. providing a reference sensor which includes a second capacitor, said second capacitor is immersed in said reference oil;
e. positioning said measurement sensor wherein said first capacitor is immersed in said oil;
f. using a measuring device for measuring an electrical property of said first capacitor and an electrical property of said second capacitor from a first measurement, wherein said electrical property is one of;
an impedance of said first capacitor and an impedance of said second capacitor;
a current passing through said first capacitor and a current passing through said second capacitor;
a voltage developed across said first capacitor and a voltage developed across said second capacitor;
g. combining said electrical property of said first capacitor with said electrical property of said second capacitor to obtain a first measured temperature compensated electrical property of said first capacitor, which represents a first measured property EPT,i(M) of said oil;
h. following the steps (a) to (g) establishing a predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile for said oil, which represents a normal oil deterioration for said oil, said predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile includes a property (EPT,N), which is equal to a measured property EPT(M) of said oil if it is unused or new and dry, and another property (EPT,S), which is equal to a measured property EPT(M) of said oil if it is spent and dry;
i. establishing a full range of usages of said oil as Δ
UF=(US−
UN) according to change of said properties (EPT,N−
EPT,S), wherein a symbol U represents an actual usage of said oil which is an independent variable to a temperature compensated electrical property EPT;
said UN is an actual usage of said oil which is unused or new and dry and said US is an actual usage of said oil which is spent and dry;
j. defining a first measured normalized remaining usage ratio RM,i of said oil having said first measured property EPT,i(M) as;
RM,i=[EPT,i(M)−
EPT,S]/[EPT,N−
EPT,S], said RM,i ranges from one for said oil which is new or unused and dry to zero for said oil which is spent and dry, wherein said first measured property EPT,i(M) correlates to a first actual usage Ui of said oil and defines a first measured remaining usage of said oil as (RM,i Δ
UF);
k. from said predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile, determining a first predicted property EPT,i(P) according to said first actual usage as compared with said first measured property EPT,i(M), from which establishing a first predicated remaining usage ratio as RP,i=[EPT,i(P)−
EPT,S]/[EPT,N−
EPT,S] and a first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF) of said oil;
l. repeating steps (f) and (g) from a second measurement to obtain a second measured temperature compensated electrical property of said first capacitor which represents a second measured temperature compensated electrical property of said oil according to said first actual usage of said oil, from which obtaining a second measured remaining usage ratio and second measured remaining usage;
m. determining a normal deterioration of said oil which occurs in the absence of water if said second measured remaining usage is similar to said first predicated remaining usage (RP,i Δ
UF), and confirming said second measured remaining usage which represents an actual remaining usage of said oil;
n. determining an abnormal deterioration of said oil which occurs in the presence of water if said second measured remaining usage is less than said first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF); and
o. determining a top level of said oil which is reduced to a top level of a predetermined threshold amount of said oil if said second measured remaining usage is larger than said first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF).
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Abstract
Methods for detecting oil conditions including a top level of an oil in an oil system which is reduced to a top level of a predetermined threshold amount of the oil, a normal oil deterioration which occurs in the absence of water having a confirmed actual remaining usage of the oil, and an abnormal oil deterioration which occurs in the presence of water. The methods include a first preferred embodiment which applies reference and sensing capacitors to obtain a measured temperature compensated electrical property of the oil. From which a quantitatively measured remaining usage is obtained so as to a predicted one for the oil. Therefore, the respective top oil level, or the normal or the abnormal oil deterioration can be concluded according to the measured remaining usage which is respectively larger than, or similar to, or less than the predicted one for the oil. A second preferred embodiment only includes the sensing capacitor for obtaining the measured temperature compensated electrical property of the oil. Variations to the embodiments lead to application of at least two sensing capacitors to monitor an uneven distribution of the oil deterioration or a full range of the level of the oil in the entire oil system.
33 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method for detecting oil deterioration and oil level, comprising the steps of:
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a. providing an oil which does not contain water, said oil is disposed in an oil system of a machine; b. providing a reference oil being free of water, said reference oil is disposed in a sealed container which is located in a common temperature environment with said oil; c. providing a measurement sensor which includes a first capacitor; d. providing a reference sensor which includes a second capacitor, said second capacitor is immersed in said reference oil; e. positioning said measurement sensor wherein said first capacitor is immersed in said oil; f. using a measuring device for measuring an electrical property of said first capacitor and an electrical property of said second capacitor from a first measurement, wherein said electrical property is one of; an impedance of said first capacitor and an impedance of said second capacitor; a current passing through said first capacitor and a current passing through said second capacitor; a voltage developed across said first capacitor and a voltage developed across said second capacitor; g. combining said electrical property of said first capacitor with said electrical property of said second capacitor to obtain a first measured temperature compensated electrical property of said first capacitor, which represents a first measured property EPT,i(M) of said oil; h. following the steps (a) to (g) establishing a predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile for said oil, which represents a normal oil deterioration for said oil, said predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile includes a property (EPT,N), which is equal to a measured property EPT(M) of said oil if it is unused or new and dry, and another property (EPT,S), which is equal to a measured property EPT(M) of said oil if it is spent and dry; i. establishing a full range of usages of said oil as Δ
UF=(US−
UN) according to change of said properties (EPT,N−
EPT,S), wherein a symbol U represents an actual usage of said oil which is an independent variable to a temperature compensated electrical property EPT;
said UN is an actual usage of said oil which is unused or new and dry and said US is an actual usage of said oil which is spent and dry;j. defining a first measured normalized remaining usage ratio RM,i of said oil having said first measured property EPT,i(M) as;
RM,i=[EPT,i(M)−
EPT,S]/[EPT,N−
EPT,S], said RM,i ranges from one for said oil which is new or unused and dry to zero for said oil which is spent and dry, wherein said first measured property EPT,i(M) correlates to a first actual usage Ui of said oil and defines a first measured remaining usage of said oil as (RM,i Δ
UF);k. from said predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile, determining a first predicted property EPT,i(P) according to said first actual usage as compared with said first measured property EPT,i(M), from which establishing a first predicated remaining usage ratio as RP,i=[EPT,i(P)−
EPT,S]/[EPT,N−
EPT,S] and a first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF) of said oil;l. repeating steps (f) and (g) from a second measurement to obtain a second measured temperature compensated electrical property of said first capacitor which represents a second measured temperature compensated electrical property of said oil according to said first actual usage of said oil, from which obtaining a second measured remaining usage ratio and second measured remaining usage; m. determining a normal deterioration of said oil which occurs in the absence of water if said second measured remaining usage is similar to said first predicated remaining usage (RP,i Δ
UF), and confirming said second measured remaining usage which represents an actual remaining usage of said oil;n. determining an abnormal deterioration of said oil which occurs in the presence of water if said second measured remaining usage is less than said first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF); ando. determining a top level of said oil which is reduced to a top level of a predetermined threshold amount of said oil if said second measured remaining usage is larger than said first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for detecting oil deterioration and oil level, comprising the steps of
a. providing an oil which does not contain water, said oil is disposed in an oil system of a machine; -
b. providing a sensor which includes a capacitor; c. positioning said sensor wherein said capacitor is immersed in said oil; d. using a measuring device for measuring a first temperature compensated electrical property of said capacitor from a first measurement, which represents a first measured property EPT,i(M) of said oil, wherein said first temperature compensated electrical property of said capacitor is one of; an impedance of said capacitor; a current passing through said capacitor; a voltage developed across said capacitor; e. establishing a predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile for said oil, which resents a normal oil deterioration for said oil, said predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile includes a property (EPT,N), which is equal to a measured property EPT(M) of said oil if it is unused or new and dry, and another property (EPT,S), which is equal to a measured property EPT(M) of said oil if it is spent and dry; f. establishing a full range of usages of said oil as Δ
UF=(US−
UN) according to change of said properties (EPT,N−
EPT,S), wherein a symbol U represents an actual usage of said oil which is an independent variable to a temperature compensated electrical property EPT;
said UN is an actual usage of said oil which is unused or new and dry and said US is an actual usage of said oil which is spent and dry;g. defining a first measured normalized remaining usage ratio RM,i of said oil having said first measured property EPT,i(M) as;
RM,i=[EPT,i(M)−
EPT,S]/[EPT,N−
EPT,S], said RM,i ranges from one for said oil which is new or unused and dry to zero for said oil which is spent oil and dry;
wherein said first measured property EPT,i(M) correlates to a first actual usage Ui of said oil and defines a first measured remaining usage of said oil as (RM,iΔ
UF);h. from said predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile, determining a first predicted property EPT,i(P) according to said first actual usage as compared with said first measured property EPT,i(M), from which establishing a first predicated remaining usage ratio as RP,i=[EPT,i(P)−
EPT,S]/[EPT,N−
EPT,S] and a first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF);i. from a second measurement to obtain a second measured temperature compensated electrical property of said capacitor which represents a second measured temperature compensated electrical property of said oil according to said first actual usage, from which obtaining a second measured remaining usage ratio and second measured remaining usage; j. determining a normal deterioration of said oil which occurs in the absence of water if said second measured remaining usage is similar to said first predicated remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF), and confirming said second measured remaining usage which represents an actual remaining usage of said oil;k. determining an abnormal deterioration of said oil which occurs in the presence of water if said second measured remaining usage is less than said first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF); andl. determining a top level of said oil which is reduced to a top level of a predetermined threshold amount of said oil if said second measured remaining usage is larger than said first predicted remaining usage (RP,iΔ
UF). - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for detecting oil deterioration of an oil system of a machine including steps of applying a measurement sensor having a first capacitor immersed in an oil which does not contain water and a reference sensor having a second capacitor immersed in a reference oil being free of water;
- using a measuring device for measuring one electrical property of the first capacitor and one electrical property of the second capacitor from a first measurement;
combining the electrical properties of respective first and second capacitors to obtain a first measured temperature compensated electrical property of the first capacitor which represents a first measured temperature compensated electrical property EPT,i(M) of said oil that correlates to a first actual usage of said oil;
establishing a predicted temperature compensated electrical property profile including a first predicted temperature compensated electrical property EPT,i(P) according to said first actual usage of said oil as compared with said first measured property EPT,i(M);
establishing a first measured remaining usage ratio which determines a first measured remaining usage of said oil, and defining a first predicted remaining usage ratio which determines a first predicted remaining usage of said oil according to said first actual usage of said oil, following the above illustrated steps conducting a second measurement to obtain a second measured temperature compensated electrical property according to said first actual usage of said oil, from which to obtain a second measured remaining usage of said oil, further comprising the steps of;a. providing at least two measurement sensors, including a first of said at least two measurement sensors having a first capacitor immersed in said oil and a second of said at least two measurement sensors having a first capacitor immersed in said oil; b. positioning said first and second of the respective at least two measurement sensors at the respective locations of said oil system, said first and second of the respective at least two measurement sensors obtaining the respective second measured remaining usages of said oil located at the respective locations of said oil system; c. determining an even distribution of a normal oil deterioration of said oil which occurs in the absence of water in said oil system if said second measured remaining usages from the respective first and second of the respective at least two measurement sensors are similar to said first predicted remaining usage of said oil, and confirming one of said second measured remaining usages as an actual remaining usage of said oil in said oil system; and d. determining an uneven distribution of oil deterioration in said oil system if said second measured remaining usages form the respective first and second of said at least two measurement sensors are different from each other, as compared with said first predicted remaining usage. - View Dependent Claims (28)
- using a measuring device for measuring one electrical property of the first capacitor and one electrical property of the second capacitor from a first measurement;
Specification