Method and system for engine oil level sensing
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsJohn Eric Rollinger, Joshua Schumaker, Karen Willard, Allison Weir
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and systems are provided for improving engine oil level sensing while a vehicle is moving. The output of a hot wire sensor partially immersed in an engine oil well is sampled during selected vehicle moving conditions when lateral and longitudinal acceleration is limited and the vehicle is driving in a straight line. A transfer function is used to correlate a rate of change in sensor output, sampled during the selected vehicle operating conditions, with engine oil level.
Claims20
A method, comprising:
- sampling an oil level sensor at selected time intervals during vehicle motion based at least on lateral and/or longitudinal vehicle acceleration;
- and
- estimating engine oil level based on the sampling.
A method for a vehicle, comprising:
- during a vehicle moving condition, estimating engine oil level based on oil level sensor output sampled a plurality of times over a drive cycle and a first transfer function, the time intervals selected based on vehicle acceleration parameters;
- and
- during a vehicle stationary condition, estimating engine oil level based on oil level sensor output and a second transfer function.
A system for a vehicle, comprising
- an engine with an oil well;
- a vehicle speed sensor;
- an engine speed sensor;
- a lateral vehicle acceleration and a longitudinal vehicle acceleration sensor;
- an oil level sensor at least partially immersed in the oil well, the oil level sensor including a resistive wire coupled to an electrical circuit;
- and
- a controller with computer readable instructions stored on non-transitory memory that when executed, cause the controller to:
- while the vehicle is moving, and responsive to vehicle acceleration parameters being indicative of steady-state vehicle motion along a substantially straight line,
- sample oil level sensor output at defined time intervals;
- infer engine oil level based on a rate of change in sensor output over the defined time intervals;
- and
- adjust engine operation responsive to a lower than threshold engine oil level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.