Engine oil level monitoring systems and methods
First Claim
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1. An oil monitoring system comprising:
- a run time module configured to determine an amount of time an engine of a vehicle is off;
a drain time module configured to determine an amount of time for oil in the engine to drain;
a control module configured to determine whether the amount of time the engine is off is greater than the amount of time for the oil to drain;
a level module configured to (i) determine N oil levels of the engine, where N is an integer greater than 1, and (ii) adjust, based on a tilt level of the vehicle or a temperature of the oil, one of the N oil levels if the amount of time the engine is off is greater than amount of time for the oil to drain;
a limit module configured to (i) determine an oil level trend based on the N oil levels including the adjusted one of the N oil levels, and (ii) estimate when a level of the oil in the engine is to be outside a predetermined range based on the oil level trend, wherein the limit module is configured to, during respective stop-start cycles of the engine, determine a plurality of slopes of oil level versus cumulative engine run time curves based on pairs of the N oil levels and respective cumulative engine run times; and
a remedial action module configured to (i) perform a remedial action based on when the level of the oil is estimated to be outside the predetermined range, and (ii) generate a warning message based collectively on the plurality of slopes.
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Abstract
An oil monitoring system includes a level module, a limit module and an remedial action module. The level module is configured to determine N oil levels of an engine of a vehicle, where N is an integer greater than 1. The limit module is configured to determine an oil level trend based on the N oil levels and estimate when a level of oil in the engine is to be outside the predetermined range based on the oil level trend. The remedial action module is configured to perform a remedial action based on the estimate of when the level of the oil is to be outside the predetermined range.
32 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An oil monitoring system comprising:
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a run time module configured to determine an amount of time an engine of a vehicle is off; a drain time module configured to determine an amount of time for oil in the engine to drain; a control module configured to determine whether the amount of time the engine is off is greater than the amount of time for the oil to drain; a level module configured to (i) determine N oil levels of the engine, where N is an integer greater than 1, and (ii) adjust, based on a tilt level of the vehicle or a temperature of the oil, one of the N oil levels if the amount of time the engine is off is greater than amount of time for the oil to drain; a limit module configured to (i) determine an oil level trend based on the N oil levels including the adjusted one of the N oil levels, and (ii) estimate when a level of the oil in the engine is to be outside a predetermined range based on the oil level trend, wherein the limit module is configured to, during respective stop-start cycles of the engine, determine a plurality of slopes of oil level versus cumulative engine run time curves based on pairs of the N oil levels and respective cumulative engine run times; and a remedial action module configured to (i) perform a remedial action based on when the level of the oil is estimated to be outside the predetermined range, and (ii) generate a warning message based collectively on the plurality of slopes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of monitoring an oil level within an engine of a vehicle, the method comprising:
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determining an amount of time the engine is off; determining an amount of time for oil in the engine to drain; determining whether the amount of time the engine is off is greater than the amount of time for the oil to drain; determining N oil levels of the engine, where N is an integer greater than 1; determining a tilt level of the vehicle or a temperature of the oil; based on the tilt level of the vehicle or the temperature of the oil, adjusting one of the N oil levels if the amount of time the engine is off is greater than the amount of time for the oil to drain; determining an oil level trend based on the N oil levels including the adjusted one of the N oil levels; estimating when a level of oil in the engine is to be outside a predetermined range based on the oil level trend; during respective stop-start cycles of the engine, determining a plurality of slopes of oil level versus cumulative engine run time curves based on pairs of the N oil levels and respective cumulative engine run times; performing a first remedial action based on the when the level of the oil is estimated to be outside the predetermined range; and generating a first warning message based collectively on the plurality of slopes. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification