Patent Application
20130291629
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the art of engine instrumentation and more particularly to a system for measuring engine wear.
2. Background of the Art
Engine diagnostic devices are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,159,236 to Uher discloses a device for continuously registering the revolutions of an internal combustion engine in consideration of the actual load. The Uher device indicates the total load taken up by a combustion engine but does not provide a digital display of the number of revolutions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,056 to Ellison discloses an engine wear meter responsive to the pressure in the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine. The engine wear meter includes a counter responsive to an output signal representative of the pressure in the intake manifold.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,463,384 to Kilbane discloses a system for sensing the wear of the vanes of a rotary compressor. The system is designed to obviate the need for disassembling a sliding vane rotary compressor to determine if the vanes need to be replaced.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,039 to Leveraus discloses an electrical circuit for operating an hour meter on a tractor for registering the operating time of the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,961 to Crew discloses an engine diagnostic system for monitoring fuel consumption. The system monitors manifold pressure and includes a counter for counting over-accelerations and the number of vacuum drops associated with engine stops.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,037 to Toalson discloses a method and apparatus for measurement of expected wear of mechanisms subjected to wear inducing factors such as time, speed, pressure, temperature, etc.
The above listed patents are herein incorporated by reference.
What is yet needed is a simple method for monitoring engine wear in an internal combustion engine or electrical engine. Learning the true wear on an engine is especially important before, for example, purchasing a used automobile. It is not sufficient to know only how many miles an automobile has traveled. For example, an automobile carrying a heavy load or traveling uphill will require more engine revolutions to supply additional power. This will cause the transmission to downshift to a lower gear and increase the rotations per minute (RPM). Accordingly, the engine will experience more wear over a particular travel distance than a similar automobile traveling the same distance but without carrying such a load. Also, over-acceleration followed by frequent braking, or long periods of idling, will also cause engine wear which is not reflected in an odometer reading. Yet such conditions are common features of city driving with stop-and-go traffic. Accordingly, the present invention is provided to address this need for a more accurate method of determining engine wear.
Provided herein is an engine wear detection system which comprises (a) detector configured for generating a signal correlated with the rotation of a rotary member of an engine; (b) processor configured to receive and process said signal to determine the number of rotations performed by the rotary member; and, (c) cyclometer display configured for visually displaying the cumulative number of rotations. An instrument panel of a motor vehicle can include a tachometer for visually displaying the engine speed and a cyclometer for displaying the cumulative number of rotations of a rotary member of the engine.
Also provided is an instrument panel of a motor vehicle having an engine, the instrument panel including a cyclometer for visually displaying the cumulative number of rotations of a rotary member of the engine.
In another embodiment the instrument panel of the motor vehicle can include both the cyclometer of the invention and a tachometer for measuring engine rotation speed.
Also provided herein is a method for determining the wear of an engine comprising: (a) measuring the number of rotations of a rotary member of the engine; and (b) visually displaying the cumulative number of rotations of the rotary member.
Various embodiments are described below with reference to the drawings wherein:
The present invention includes a cyclometric system associated with an engine for measuring the cumulative number of rotations of a rotary member of the engine (e.g., crankshaft, cam shaft, flywheel, etc.) and visually displaying the number in a cyclometer display. In an embodiment, the visual display of the number of rotations is in conjunction with a display of the rotation speed of the rotary member, for example, a combined cyclometer-tachometer display.
In another embodiment the invention includes a stand-alone cyclometer display in conjunction with the instrument panel, or dashboard, of a motor vehicle.
The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of the disclosure taken in connection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting of the claimed disclosure. Also, as used in the specification and including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particular numerical value includes at least that particular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to “about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a range is expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values are expressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It is also understood that all spatial references, such as, for example, horizontal, vertical, top, upper, lower, bottom, left and right, are for illustrative purposes only and can be varied within the scope of the disclosure. For example, the references “upper” and “lower” are relative and used only in the context to the other, and are not necessarily “superior” and “inferior”.
The following discussion includes a description of a system, mechanism and related methods of employing the system and mechanism in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. Alternate embodiments are also disclosed. Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, which are illustrated in the accompanying figures.
Referring to
In an embodiment as illustrated in
In an embodiment, as an anti-fraud feature the processing unit 110 can include encrypted storage of the cyclometric data that cannot be reset without a password or decryption key held only by the manufacturer. Also, in the event that transmission of data is sent wirelessly, the data can be encrypted.
A typical analog tachometer in an automobile comprises a circular dial having RPM indicia arranged circumferentially in the vicinity of the circumferential border of the dial. A rotary pointer 123 rotates to indicate the engine speed in RPM. In an embodiment of the present invention, the cyclometer display 124 is associated with the tachometer and preferably digitally displays the cumulative number of rotations performed by the engine. Alternatively, the cyclometer display can be a mechanical analog display comprising, for example, a circular dial and rotatably mounted pointer for indicating the cumulative number of shaft rotations. In an embodiment, the tachometer can also comprise a digital display of the rotation speed. Moreover, the digital displays of the tachometer 120 and/or cyclometer display 124 can be mechanical or electronic visual displays.
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Usually, when purchasing a used vehicle, the prospective buyer checks the odometer to determine how far the vehicle has traveled as a measure of wear. Odometer readings play a significant role in determining the price of a vehicle. However, as stated previously, vehicle rarely provides an accurate indicator of the wear on an engine. Vehicles hauling heavy loads such as trailers will require higher engine speeds and more RPM to travel the same distance as a vehicle without such a load. Since engine wear is most strongly related to the number of engine rotations, odometer readings by themselves are an indirect and rarely accurate indication of engine wear. The combination of engine rotation readings with odometer readings provides a much better indication of the condition of the motor vehicle.
Although the system of the invention is advantageously used in conjunction with such motor vehicles as automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and tractors and other farm equipment, use is not limited to such land vehicles. For example, the system of the invention can advantageously be used in conjunction with outboard or inboard marine engines for watercraft, as well as trains or aircraft engines, which do not have odometers. Moreover, the present invention is not limited to internal combustion engines but may also be advantageously used in conjunction with electric powered vehicles or any equipment having rotary or reciprocating parts such as household appliances (e.g., washing machines and dryers), lawn mowers, drills, jackhammers, pumps, fans, power saws, lathes, generators, propellers, turbines, etc.
While the above description contains many specifics, these specifics should not be construed as limitations of the invention, but merely as exemplifications of preferred embodiments thereof. Those skilled in the art will envision many other embodiments within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
