Systems and methods of determining a quality and/or depth of diesel exhaust fluid
DC CAFCFirst Claim
1. A system for determining a quality of a fluid in a tank, the system comprising:
- a transducer configured to generate a sound wave and to detect an echo of the sound wave, the transducer positioned near the bottom of the tank such that the sound wave travels toward a fixed object, the fixed object positioned a known distance away from the transducer;
a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the fluid; and
a controller configured toproduce a signal to drive the transducer to produce the sound wave,receive an indication of the detected echo from the transducer,receive an indication of the temperature of the fluid from the temperature sensor, anddetermine whether a contaminant exists in the fluid based on the temperature of the fluid, a time period from when the sound wave is produced to when the echo is detected, and at least one of the group of a) whether a measured volume is out of range and b) a dilution of the fluid is detected while the measured volume of the fluid decreases.
2 Assignments
Litigations
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for determining a quality and/or depth of a fluid in a tank. The system includes a controller, one or more transducers, and a temperature sensor. A fixed distance transducer transmits a sound wave toward a fixed surface. A depth transducer transmits a sound wave which reflects off a surface of the fluid. The temperature sensor senses a temperature of the fluid in the tank and provides an indication of the temperature to the controller. The controller measures the elapsed time for the sound waves to travel between the fixed distance transducer and a fixed surface and the elapsed time for the sound waves to travel between the depth transducer and the surface of the fluid held within the container. Using the elapsed times and the temperature of the fluid, the controller is able to determine a quality and the depth of the fluid.
43 Citations
31 Claims
-
1. A system for determining a quality of a fluid in a tank, the system comprising:
-
a transducer configured to generate a sound wave and to detect an echo of the sound wave, the transducer positioned near the bottom of the tank such that the sound wave travels toward a fixed object, the fixed object positioned a known distance away from the transducer; a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the fluid; and a controller configured to produce a signal to drive the transducer to produce the sound wave, receive an indication of the detected echo from the transducer, receive an indication of the temperature of the fluid from the temperature sensor, and determine whether a contaminant exists in the fluid based on the temperature of the fluid, a time period from when the sound wave is produced to when the echo is detected, and at least one of the group of a) whether a measured volume is out of range and b) a dilution of the fluid is detected while the measured volume of the fluid decreases. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A system for determining a quality and/or a quantity of a fluid in a tank, the system comprising:
-
a transducer configured to generate a sound wave and to detect an echo of the sound wave; a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the fluid; and a controller configured to produce a first signal to drive the transducer to produce a first sound wave, receive an indication of a first detected echo from the transducer, receive an indication of the temperature of the fluid from the temperature sensor, determine whether the first detected echo was received within a near-field time, detect a second echo when the first detected echo was within the near-field time, and determine if a magnitude of the second detected echo is less than a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A system for determining a quality and/or a quantity of a fluid in a tank, the system comprising:
-
a first transducer configured to generate a first sound wave and to detect an echo of the first sound wave; a second transducer configured to generate a second sound wave and to detect an echo of the second sound wave, the second sound wave echoing off of a fixed structure a known distance from the second transducer; a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the fluid; and a controller configured to produce a first signal to drive the first transducer to produce the first sound wave, receive an indication of a first detected echo from the first transducer, receive an indication of the temperature of the fluid from the temperature sensor, and determine whether the first detected echo was received within a near-field time detect a second echo when the first detected echo was received within the near-field time, and determine if the magnitude of the second echo is below a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
-
29. A system for determining a quality and/or a quantity of a fluid in a tank, the system comprising:
-
a first transducer configured to generate a first sound wave and to detect an echo of the first sound wave; a second transducer configured to generate a second sound wave and to detect an echo of the second sound wave, the second sound wave echoing off of a fixed structure a known distance from the second transducer; a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of the fluid; and a controller coupled to the first transducer, the second transducer, and the temperature sensor, and having on-board diagnostics configured to detect an error condition based on an incorrect calculated speed of sound through the fluid, and generate a signal indicative of the error condition detected. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31)
-
Specification