Detection of fuel contamination in lubricating oil

• US 9,702,862 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2014
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1993
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Voelker Sensors, Inc
• Original Assignee: Voelker Sensors, Inc
• Inventors: Hedges, Joe D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Vincent Q
• Application Number:
  US14/159,807
• Publication Number:
  US 20140130579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,267 Days
• Field of Search: 324698, 73 5305, 73 5424, 73 6143
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/2888 Lubricating oil characteristics, e.g. deterioration lubricating properties G01N33/30

Abstract

A method for measuring fuel contamination in oil that uses a material in contact with oil whereby fuel intrusion into the oil will change the electrical, mechanical, and/or chemical properties of the material as compared to the same electrical, mechanical, and/or chemical properties of the material when in contact only with mineral or synthetic oil only.

Claims

1. A method for measuring oil quality, the method comprising:

measuring a property of a material in contact with oil, wherein the material is physically small enough to be placed in a sensing element having a first chamber sensitive to fuel contamination and a second chamber that is not sensitive to fuel contamination, whereby a differential signal applied to the first chamber versus that of the second chamber generates the measured property;

comparing the measured property of the material in contact with the oil against a previously measured property of the same material, wherein the previously measured property is part of a stored series of oil analyses conducted over time;

identifying a change in the measured property of the material as compared to the previously measured property of the material, wherein the change indicates fuel intrusion into and contamination of the oil; and

graphically illustrating the change of the measured property by way of a light emitting diode (LED).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the measured property of the material shows intolerance of the material to fuel.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the material includes polystyrene.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the material softens in the presence of fuel.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the material is Noryl.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the material is silicone doped with other substances.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the material includes silicone.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the material that includes silicone swells or dissolves in the presence of fuel.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the material is deposited over a conductive or semi-conductive material.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method for measuring oil quality, the method comprising:

measuring a property of a material in contact with oil with one or more sensors in communication with the processor, wherein the material is physically small enough to be placed in a sensing element of the one or more sensors having a first chamber sensitive to fuel contamination and a second chamber that is not sensitive to fuel contamination, whereby a differential signal applied to the first chamber versus that of the second chamber generates the measured property;

comparing the measured property of the material in contact with the oil against a previously measured property of the same material stored in a data repository, wherein the previously measured property is part of a stored series of oil analyses conducted over time;

identifying a change in the measured property of the material as compared to the previously measured property of the material, wherein the change indicates fuel intrusion into and contamination of the oil; and

generating a graphic indication of the change of the measured property by way of a light emitting diode (LED).

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the measured property of the material shows intolerance of the material to fuel.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the material includes polystyrene.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the material softens in the presence of fuel.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the material is Noryl.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the material is silicone doped with other substances.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the material includes silicone.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the material that includes silicone swells or dissolves in the presence of fuel.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the material is deposited over a conductive or semi-conductive material.