Apparatus, system and method for detecting the presence of genuine serviceable product components
First Claim
1. A method of detecting a use status of a serviceable product component of an engine comprising:
- detecting, by a sensor of the engine, information from the serviceable product component installed in an engine, the information including an in-use status flag, wherein the in-use flag indicates whether the serviceable product component has been used;
receiving, at an electronic control module of the engine, the information detected from the serviceable product component at an initial system activation;
determining, by the electronic control module, that the serviceable product component has been newly installed based on the information detected from the serviceable product component at the initial system activation, wherein the initial system activation comprises an engine start-up; and
in response to determining that the serviceable product component has been newly installed, indicating, by the electronic control module and through the in-use flag, that the serviceable product component has now been used by permanently changing the in-use flag on the serviceable product component from indicating the serviceable product component has never been used to indicating that the serviceable product component has been used.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A process, system, and component configuration are described that discourages customer acceptance/use of will-fit, reconditioned, and counterfeit product components, by determining whether or not a serviceable product component is genuine. If a component is determined to not be genuine, then appropriate action may be taken to warn operators and document such findings. For example, one or more markers are disposed or otherwise put on the subject serviceable product component and serves as a targeted feature, and/or a particular characteristic of the filter itself is identified as the targeted feature. A sensor is used to detect the targeted feature and obtain information unique to the serviceable product component. The targeted feature(s) identifies the particular serviceable component as genuine and forms the basis for determining whether a genuine component has been installed. In some circumstances, a fluid filter product is the component that is the subject detection.
77 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of detecting a use status of a serviceable product component of an engine comprising:
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detecting, by a sensor of the engine, information from the serviceable product component installed in an engine, the information including an in-use status flag, wherein the in-use flag indicates whether the serviceable product component has been used; receiving, at an electronic control module of the engine, the information detected from the serviceable product component at an initial system activation; determining, by the electronic control module, that the serviceable product component has been newly installed based on the information detected from the serviceable product component at the initial system activation, wherein the initial system activation comprises an engine start-up; and in response to determining that the serviceable product component has been newly installed, indicating, by the electronic control module and through the in-use flag, that the serviceable product component has now been used by permanently changing the in-use flag on the serviceable product component from indicating the serviceable product component has never been used to indicating that the serviceable product component has been used. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for detecting a use status of a serviceable fluid filter of an engine comprising:
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a fluid filter including media that filters fluid therethrough, the fluid filter including a status module that has an in-use status information used to indicate a prior use status of the fluid filter, the in-use status information including an in-use status flag, the in-use status flag switchable from a non-used status to a used status; and an electronic control module configured to receive the in-use status information from the in-use status module; wherein the in-use status information is configured to be updated at an initial system activation comprising an engine start-up when the fluid filter has been newly installed to indicate that the fluid filter is used when the electronic control module determines that the fluid filter has been newly installed by permanently changing the in-use status flag of the fluid filter from the non-used status to the used status to indicate that the fluid filter has been used. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A fluid filter comprising:
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a filter element having a media that filters fluid therethrough; an in-use status module providing an in-use status information used to indicate a prior use status of the filter element, the in-use status module including an in-use status flag, the in-use status flag switchable from a non-used status to a used status; and an interface module configured to allow communication between the in-use status module and an electronic control module; wherein the in-use status information is configured to be updated at an initial system activation comprising an engine start-up when the fluid filter has been newly installed by permanently changing the in-use status flag from the non-used status to the used status to indicate that the fluid filter has been used after the fluid filter has been newly installed in a working position. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification