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Electronic monitoring system enabling the calculation of actual fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions for a moving, stopped or operational aircraft, with or without fuel theft exclusion

  • US 8,600,653 B2
  • Filed: 10/20/2010
  • Issued: 12/03/2013
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2009
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. An electronic monitoring system enabling real fuel consumption and CO2 emissions to be calculated for a machine in motion or stopped, with optional exclusion of thefts of fuel, the system comprising:

  • 1) a machine comprising;

    (i) an engine;

    (ii) a tank for storing fuel and comprising a top wall and a bottom wall;

    (iii) a fuel level sensor capable of supplying fuel-level data comprising quantitative measurements of the level of fuel of the tank, the sensor being calibrated before the electronic system enters service so that each output value of the sensor is associated on a one-to-one basis with a position of the fuel level between the top wall and the bottom wall of the tank and a precise volume of fuel remaining in the tank;

    (iv) an electrical power supply circuit; and

    (v) an independent battery configured to be charged while the machine is operating;

    2) an onboard sentinel configured to be;

    a) powered by electrical power supply circuit of the machine when the machine is operating;

    b) powered by the independent battery when the machine is not operating;

    c) connected to a non-mobile surveillance tool by wire or wireless means;

    and wherein the sentinel comprises;

    (i) at least one fuel-level sensor connector such that the sentinel may receive fuel level data supplied by the fuel level sensor;

    (ii) at least one clock configured to supply time and date data;

    (iii) at least one receiver for receiving geolocation data;

    (iv) at least one memory for storing successive rows of data comprising the fuel level data, the time and date data, and the geolocation data at a given time, with a periodicity in the range 1 s to 240 s; and

    (v) a data processor module capable of;

    (a) detecting a drop in fuel level at constant geographical position from successive stored rows of data;

    (b) communicating an alert in real time or in deferred time if a drop in fuel level is detected at constant geographical position, i.e. for a machine that is stopped;

    (c) communicating rows of data; and

    3) the non-mobile surveillance tool comprising;

    (i) a memory for storing alerts and rows of data sent by the data processor module of the sentinel;

    (ii) a data processor unit;

    (iii) a screen for displaying the alerts and the data communicated by the onboard sentinel; and

    (iv) means for detecting the operating or non-operating state of the engine of the machine, the engine operating state data being included in the row of data to be processed by the data processor module in such a manner as to include the operating state data of the engine in the alert communicated to the surveillance tool, such that the surveillance tool thus determines the times with the engine running with the machine stopped and the times with the engine running with the machine in motion.

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