Methods and systems for determining performance characteristics of mechanical systems based on fuel properties
First Claim
1. A system for use in determining one or more performance characteristics of a mechanical system that includes a combustion engine, said system comprising:
- a memory for storing a fuel-performance relationship that associates one or more values of a physical property of fuel with a performance characteristic of a mechanical system, wherein the performance characteristic includes one or more of the following;
an operating characteristic and a maintenance characteristic;
a sensor configured to produce a signal representing one or more of the following;
a physical fuel property and an identifier of a fuel; and
a processor coupled to said memory and said sensor, wherein said processor is programmed to;
determine an actual value of a physical property of the fuel by decoding one or more codes of one or more taggants within the fuel, based on the signal produced by the sensor; and
determine a predicted value of the performance characteristic based on the actual value of the physical property and the fuel-performance relationship.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems for use in determining one or more performance characteristics of a mechanical system that includes a combustion engine. One or more values of a physical property of fuel are associated with a performance characteristic (e.g., an operating characteristic and/or a maintenance characteristic) of a mechanical system to create a fuel-performance relationship. An actual value of the physical property of a fuel to be burned by the combustion engine is determined using one or more sensors. A predicted value of the performance characteristic is determined based on the actual value of the physical property and the fuel-performance relationship.
8 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for use in determining one or more performance characteristics of a mechanical system that includes a combustion engine, said system comprising:
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a memory for storing a fuel-performance relationship that associates one or more values of a physical property of fuel with a performance characteristic of a mechanical system, wherein the performance characteristic includes one or more of the following;
an operating characteristic and a maintenance characteristic;a sensor configured to produce a signal representing one or more of the following;
a physical fuel property and an identifier of a fuel; anda processor coupled to said memory and said sensor, wherein said processor is programmed to; determine an actual value of a physical property of the fuel by decoding one or more codes of one or more taggants within the fuel, based on the signal produced by the sensor; and determine a predicted value of the performance characteristic based on the actual value of the physical property and the fuel-performance relationship. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for use in determining one or more performance characteristics of a mechanical system that includes a combustion engine, said method being implemented by a computing device including a processor coupled to a memory, said method comprising:
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associating, by the computing device, one or more values of a physical property of fuel with a performance characteristic of a mechanical system to create a fuel-performance relationship, wherein the performance characteristic includes one or more of the following;
an operating characteristic and a maintenance characteristic;determining, by the computing device, using one or more sensors in the mechanical system, an actual value of the physical property of a fuel to be burned by the combustion engine by decoding one or more codes of one or more taggants within the fuel; and determining, by the computing device, a predicted value of the performance characteristic based on the actual value of the physical property and the fuel-performance relationship. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable components embodied thereon, said computer-executable components comprising:
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a property determination component that when executed by at least one processor unit causes the processor unit to determine an actual value of a physical property of a fuel based on a signal produced by a sensor configured to detect one or more codes of one or more taggants within the fuel; and a performance prediction component that when executed by at least one processor unit causes the processor unit to; associate one or more values of a physical property of fuel with a performance characteristic of a mechanical system to create a fuel-performance relationship, wherein the performance characteristic includes one or more of the following;
an operating characteristic and a maintenance characteristic; anddetermine a predicted value of the performance characteristic based on the actual value of the physical property and the fuel-performance relationship. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification