Automatic engine oil life determination with a factor for oil quality

A system for determining remaining oil life permitted prior to an oil change in an internal combustion engine that uses a body of oil, the system comprising:

• an oil sump arranged on the engine to accept the body of oil;
• a first sensor arranged on the engine and configured to provide a signal indicative of a volume of the body of oil in the sump;
• an interface port configured to accept information indicative of a type of oil in the oil sump;
• and
• a controller operatively connected to the first sensor and to the interface port and programmed to correlate the type of oil to a quality of the body of oil via accessing a look-up table to determine the permitted remaining oil life based on the volume and the quality of the body of oil in the sump;
• wherein the controller is programmed with a number of combustion events permitted per the volume of the body of oil in the sump, and the controller additionally determines the permitted remaining oil life based on a number of engine revolutions permitted before changing the body of oil according to a mathematical relationship R(Rev)=K(Oil)×K(Eng)×V programmed into the controller,
• wherein:
• R(Rev) represents the number of engine revolutions permitted before changing the body of oil;
• K(Oil) represents the number of combustion events permitted per unit volume of the transferred body of oil;
• K(Eng) represents the number of revolutions for each combustion event of the engine;
• and
• V represents the determined volume of the transferred body of oil.

A method for determining a number of engine revolutions permitted prior to an oil change in an internal combustion engine that uses a body of oil, the method comprising:

• transferring the body of oil to the engine;
• determining a volume of the transferred body of oil;
• accepting information indicative of a type of oil transferred to the engine;
• correlating the type of oil to a quality of the transferred body of oil via accessing a look-up table;
• determining a number of engine revolutions based on the determined quality and volume of the body of oil;
• and
• activating an oil change indicator when the number of engine revolutions reaches a predetermined level;
• wherein at least one of said determining the volume of the transferred body of oil, said accepting information indicative of a type of oil transferred to the engine, said correlating the type of oil to a quality of the transferred body of oil, said determining the number of engine revolutions based on the determined quality and volume of the body of oil, and said activating the oil change indicator is accomplished via a controller operatively connected to the engine,
• wherein said determining the number of engine revolutions includes determining a number of revolutions for each combustion event of the engine, and further includes determining a number of combustion events permitted using the determined volume of oil;
• wherein said determining the number of engine revolution is determined according to a mathematical relationship R(Rev)=K(Oil)×K(Eng)×V programmed into the controller,
• wherein:
• R(Rev) represents the number of engine revolutions permitted before changing the body of oil;
• K(Oil) represents the number of combustion events permitted per unit volume of the transferred body of oil;
• K(Eng) represents the number of revolutions for each combustion event of the engine;
• and
• V represents the determined volume of the transferred body of oil.