Oil life monitoring system with fuel quality factor

• US 8,868,283 B2
• Filed: 05/03/2012
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Geng, Yunpeng, Buczynsky, Andrew E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Assistant Examiner(s): GREENE, DANIEL LAWSON
• Application Number:
  US13/462,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20130297142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/29.1, 701/29.5
• US Class Current: 701/29.5
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 1/18 Indicating or safety devices concerning lubricant level F01M11/06, F01M11/12
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2011/14 for indicating the necessity to change the oil
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2011/1486 by considering duration of operation

Abstract

An oil-life monitoring system includes an engine revolution counter configured to provide an output corresponding to the rotation of a component of an engine, and a controller in communication with the engine revolution counter. The controller is configured to determine the composition/properties of a fuel being combusted by the engine, and select a fuel quality penalty factor from a table, with the fuel quality penalty factor corresponding to the determined composition/properties of the fuel. Additionally, the controller is configured to compute an adjusted revolution count by multiplying the rotations of the component of the engine by the fuel quality penalty factor, and aggregate the adjusted revolution count.

Claims

1. An oil-life monitoring system comprising:

an engine revolution counter configured to provide an output corresponding to the rotation of a component of an engine; and

a controller in communication with the engine revolution counter and configured to;

determine the composition of a fuel being combusted by the engine;

select a fuel quality penalty factor from a table, the fuel quality penalty factor corresponding to the determined composition of the fuel;

compute an adjusted revolution count by multiplying the rotations of the component of the engine by the fuel quality penalty factor; and

aggregate the adjusted revolution count for use in determining remaining oil-life.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

compare the aggregated adjusted revolution count to a threshold; and

provide an oil-change alert if the aggregated adjusted revolution count exceeds the threshold.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor in thermal communication with the engine and configured to provide an output signal corresponding to a monitored temperature of the engine;

and

wherein the controller is further configured to;

receive the output signal from the temperature sensor

select a temperature penalty factor from a table, the temperature penalty factor corresponding to the monitored temperature of the engine; and

wherein the adjusted revolution count is further multiplied by the temperature penalty factor.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a global positioning system receiver configured to output location coordinates corresponding to the location of the system;

wherein the controller is configured to receive the location coordinates and determine a geographic region corresponding to the received location coordinates; and

wherein the determined geographic region is indicative of a fuel composition.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a fuel quality sensor in communication with the controller and configured to provide the controller with a signal indicative of the composition of the fuel.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the fuel quality sensor is configured to monitor the composition of the fuel through spectroscopy.

7. A vehicle comprising:

an engine having a crankshaft and including an engine oil, the engine configured to combust a fuel to rotate the crankshaft;

an oil-life monitoring system in communication with the engine and including;

an engine revolution counter configured to provide an output corresponding to the rotation of the crankshaft; and

a controller in communication with the engine revolution counter and configured to;

determine the composition of the fuel;

select a fuel quality penalty factor from a table, the fuel quality penalty factor corresponding to the determined composition of the fuel;

multiply the output of the engine revolution counter by the fuel quality penalty factor to form an adjusted revolution count; and

aggregate the adjusted revolution count for use in determining remaining oil-life.

8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein the controller is further configured to:

compare the aggregated adjusted revolution count to a threshold; and

provide an alert if the aggregated adjusted revolution count exceeds the threshold.

9. The vehicle of claim 7, further comprising a global positioning system receiver configured to output location coordinates corresponding to the location of the vehicle;

wherein the controller is configured to receive the location coordinates and determine a geographic region corresponding to the received location coordinates; and

wherein the determined geographic region is indicative of a fuel composition.

10. The vehicle of claim 7, further comprising a temperature sensor in thermal communication with the engine and configured to provide an output signal corresponding to a monitored temperature of the engine;

and

wherein the controller is further configured to;

receive the output signal from the temperature sensor

select a temperature penalty factor from a table, the temperature penalty factor corresponding to the monitored temperature of the engine; and

wherein the adjusted revolution count is further multiplied by the temperature penalty factor.

11. The vehicle of claim 7, further comprising a fuel quality sensor in communication with the controller and configured to provide the controller with a signal indicative of the composition of the fuel.

12. The vehicle of claim 11, wherein the fuel quality sensor is configured to monitor the composition of the fuel through spectroscopy.

13. The vehicle of claim 11, further comprising a fuel reservoir;

wherein the engine further includes a fuel injector in fluid communication with the fuel reservoir; and

wherein the fuel quality sensor is fluidly disposed between the fuel reservoir and the fuel injector.

14. A method of calculating the remaining life of an engine oil within a combustion engine comprising:

determining a composition of a fuel being combusted by the engine using a controller;

selecting, using the controller, a fuel quality penalty factor from a table, the fuel quality penalty factor corresponding to the determined composition of the fuel;

counting the rotations of a component of the engine using an engine revolution counter in communication with the controller;

computing an adjusted revolution count, using the controller, by multiplying the rotations of the component of the engine by the fuel quality penalty factor;

aggregating the adjusted revolution count over a period of time;

comparing the aggregated adjusted revolution count to a threshold in order to determine remaining oil life.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising providing an alert if the aggregated adjusted revolution count exceeds the threshold.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein determining the composition of the fuel being combusted by the engine includes determining a location of the engine using a global positioning system, and wherein the determined geographic region is indicative of the fuel composition.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

monitoring a temperature of the engine;

selecting a temperature penalty factor from a table, the temperature penalty factor corresponding to the monitored temperature of the engine; and

wherein computing an adjusted revolution count further includes multiplying the rotations of the component of the engine by the temperature penalty factor.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein determining a composition of a fuel being combusted by the engine includes analyzing the fuel using a fuel quality sensor.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein monitoring the composition of the fuel includes analyzing the fuel through spectroscopy.