Apparatus and method for generating and displaying fuel flow information in a GPS-equipped vehicle

• US 20040181358A1
• Filed: 03/12/2003
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: John S. Youngquist
• Original Assignee: John S. Youngquist
• Inventors: Youngquist, John S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,054,760 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/132
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 15/063 using electrical means
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 25/10 of flowmeters

Abstract

Fuel flow information is generated in an engine compartment and transmitted for display on the fuel page(s) of a GPS signal receiver located in view of a vehicle operator. A fuel transducer coupled to a pre-programmed micro-controller are provided as an integrated single unit in the engine compartment of the vehicle (e.g., an aircraft). The integrated transducer/micro-controller unit outputs RS232 fuel flow signals to the GPS signal receiver without requiring any extra panel space. Since the transducer/micro-controller is already pre-programmed to compensate for the proportionality or “K” factor, no further calibration or compensation programming is needed at installation time (or when one composite transducer/computer unit is substituted for another). Separate transducer/micro-controller power supply and grounding connections suppress common mode noise. A blinking LED power/fuel flow visual display on the unit in the engine compartment helps trouble shoot power and/or transducer problems.

Claims

1. A fuel flow measuring module for providing vehicular engine fuel flow data, said module comprising:

a fuel flow transducer and interconnected fuel flow data processing circuits providing fuel flow output data, said transducer and circuits being co-located on a common mounting structure.

2. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 1 wherein:

said fuel flow transducer is associated with a predetermined calibration constant K, proportional to a number of transducer pulses output for a predetermined quantity of fuel flow therethrough; and

said data processing circuits have been pre-configured to compensate for said predetermined calibration constant K thus automatically producing calibrated fuel flow output data from said module.

3. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 1 further comprising:

an opto-coupler disposed between said transducer and said data processing circuits; and

separate power supplies for said transducer and said data processing circuits.

4. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 1 further comprising a visual light output indicating whether electrical power is being supplied to the module.

5. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 4 wherein said data processing circuits are connected to modulate said visual light output as a function of fuel flow transducer output pulses.

6. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 1 wherein said common mounting structure comprises a common housing affixed to an engine top mounting bracket.

7. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 6 wherein an LED modulated at a fuel flow related rate by said data processing circuits is viewable via an aperture in said housing.

8. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 7 wherein said housing has apertures in opposite sides for passing input and output fuel lines and has electrical connection wires passing through a side of the housing that is orthogonal to the sides having fuel line apertures.

9. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 7 further comprising an opto-coupler interconnecting said transducer and said data processing circuits.

10. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 7 further comprising different electrical ground return connection points for said transducer and said data processing circuits.

11. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 7 further comprising separate electrical power supplies for said transducer and said data processing circuits.

12. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 11 further comprising different electrical ground return connection points for said transducer and said data processing circuits.

13. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 1 wherein said data processing circuits comprise:

a fuel flow rate calculation period timer register;

a fuel flow transducer pulse counter register;

a controller programmed (a) to calculate calibrated fuel flow rate data based on the contents of said timer and counter registers, and (b) to generate and output RS232 digital data characters in a predetermined serial format for inputting said calibrated fuel flow rate data to a GPS receiver.

14. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 13 wherein said data processing circuits further comprise:

a cumulative fuel used counter register; and

wherein said controller is programmed to also generate cumulative fuel used data and to output same within said RS232 digital data characters.

15. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 1 in combination with a GPS receiver connected to receive and display said fuel flow output data.

16. A fuel flow measuring module as in claim 1 wherein said data processing circuits include a data input port adapted to receive input fuel flow data output from another said engine fuel flow measuring module and to combine said input fuel flow data with fuel flow data locally generated therewithin and to output combined fuel flow output data representing combined fuel flow for plural engines.

17. A plurality of fuel flow measuring modules as in claim 1 in combination with

a data combining circuit adapted to receive input fuel flow data output from each of said plural modules and to combine said input data into combined fuel flow output data representing combined fuel flow for plural engines.

18. An engine fuel flow computer adapted to generate fuel flow data for display on a GPS receiver having fuel display capability, said engine fuel flow computer comprising:

a fuel flow transducer adapted to sense incremental fuel flow to an engine and to output a corresponding signal; and

digital signal processing circuits co-located and interconnected with said fuel flow transducer to calculate fuel flow rate to the engine and to output GPS display-controlling signals,

said fuel flow computer being pre-calibrated by having a proportionality K factor for said fuel flow transducer pre-programmed into said digital signal processing circuits.

19. A fuel flow computer as in claim 18 wherein said digital circuits comprise a programmed micro-controller and an opto-coupler is disposed to couple signals from said transducer to said micro-controller.

20. A fuel flow computer as in claim 18 further comprising a light emitting diode (LED) co-located and connected to indicate whether the fuel flow computer is being powered.

21. A fuel flow computer as in claim 20 wherein said LED is driven by said digital signal processing circuits so that the LED blinks at a rate proportional to fuel flow rate.

22. A fuel flow computer as in claim 18 wherein said GPS display-controlling signals comprise serial digital character data in a predetermined format recognizable by the GPS signal receiver.

23. A fuel flow computer as in claim 22 wherein said serial digital character data comprises RS232 signals.

24. A fuel flow computer as in claim 19 wherein said co-located transducer and said micro-controller are adapted for mounting to an engine in an engine compartment.

25. A fuel flow computer as in claim 19 wherein said co-located transducer and micro-controller are powered by separate power supplies connected with different ground return circuits so as to reduce otherwise superimposed common-mode noise voltages.

26. A fuel flow display system for displaying fuel flow information to an operator of a vehicle, said system comprising:

a fuel flow computer disposed in an engine compartment including,

(a) a fuel flow transducer disposed in said engine compartment and adapted to sense fuel flow to an engine of the vehicle and to output a corresponding representative signal, and

(b) digital signal processing circuits, also disposed in said engine compartment, adapted to (i) receive the signal output from said fuel flow transducer and, in response thereto, calculate the rate of fuel flow to the engine, and (ii) output display-controlling signals representing fuel flow information, said fuel flow computer being pre-calibrated by having a transducer K factor of proportionality pre-programmed into said digital processing circuits; and

a GPS signal receiver having fuel display capability disposed outside the engine compartment in view of a vehicle operator and connected to receive said output display-controlling signals from said digital circuits to display fuel flow information.

27. A system as in claim 26 wherein an opto-coupler is also disposed in the engine compartment to couple said transducer to said digital signal processing circuits while providing a separate ground connection isolated from the transducer.

28. A system as in claim 26, further comprising a light emitting diode (LED) connected (a) to indicate whether the system is being powered, and (b) to blink at a rate proportional to the rate of fuel flow to indicate whether the flow transducer is operational.

29. A fuel flow measuring method for providing vehicular engine fuel flow data, said method comprising:

co-locating a fuel flow transducer and interconnected fuel flow data processing circuits providing fuel flow output data on a common mounting structure in an engine compartment; and

transmitting said fuel flow output data outside the engine compartment.

30. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 29 wherein said fuel flow transducer is associated with a predetermined calibration constant K, proportional to a number of transducer pulses output for a predetermined quantity of fuel flow therethrough, and further comprising:

pre-configuring said data processing circuits to compensate for said predetermined calibration constant K thus automatically producing calibrated fuel flow output data.

31. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 29 further comprising:

opto-coupling pulse signals from said transducer to said data processing circuits; and

using separate power supplies and electrical return connection points for said transducer and said data processing circuits.

32. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 29 further comprising providing, in the engine compartment, a visual light output indicating whether electrical power is being supplied to the module.

33. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 32 further comprising:

modulating said visual light output as a function of fuel flow transducer output puleses.

34. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 29 wherein said co-located transducer and data processing circuits are disposed in a common housing affixed to an engine top mounting bracket.

35. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 29 wherein said data processing circuits comprise a fuel flow rate calculation period timer register and a fuel flow transducer pulse counter register and said method includes:

(a) calculating calibrated fuel flow rate data based on the contents of said timer and counter registers, and

(b) generating and outputting RS232 digital data characters in a predetermined serial format for inputting said calibrated fuel flow rate data to a GPS receiver.

36. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 35 wherein said data processing circuits further comprise a cumulative fuel used counter register and said method includes:

generating cumulative fuel used data and outputting same within said RS232 digital data characters.

37. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 29 further comprising:

inputting said fuel flow output data to a GPS receiver adapted to display said fuel flow output data.

38. A fuel flow measuring method as in claim 29 further comprising combining fuel flow data output from a first engine fuel flow measuring module with fuel flow data of a different engine fuel flow measuring module to output combined fuel flow output data representing combined fuel flow for plural engines.

39. A method for displaying fuel flow information on a GPS signal receiver disposed in the cockpit of an airplane, said method comprising:

sensing fuel flow to an engine of the airplane in an engine compartment;

calculating, in said engine compartment, based on said sensed fuel flow, the calibrated rate of fuel flow to said engine of the airplane; and

generating, in the engine compartment, calibrated fuel flow rate data and sending it to a data input port of a GPS signal receiver outside the engine compartment in a format that will cause display of such data on the GPS signal receiver.

40. A method as in claim 39, further comprising providing, in the engine compartment, a blinking visual indication that blinks at a rate representative of sensed fuel flow.

41. A method as in claim 39 wherein said calculating includes use of a calibration K factor of proportionality that is predetermined in said calculating step before a system is installed in an airplane to perform said method.