Capacitive oil deterioration and contamination sensor
US5824889A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 6, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 20, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 6, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01R13/5045
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An oil deterioration and contamination sensor includes a housing, a substrate with a first capacitive plate mounted within the housing, a second capacitive plate mounted to the housing close to the first capacitive plate, and a total reference capacitor which includes an external fixed reference capacitor. The second capacitive plate is mounted to the housing such that at least one fluid including oil freely circulates within a gap between the first and second capacitive plates thereby defining an oil deterioration and contamination sensor capacitor. The respective capacitances of the oil deterioration and contamination capacitor and the total reference capacitor provide an indication of a dielectric constant of the at least one fluid including oil within the gap. The sensor also includes circuitry for generating the indication of a dielectric constant and oil contamination detection circuitry adapted to receive and process the indication of a dielectric constant and to generate an indication of oil contamination when a dielectric constant of the at least one fluid including oil exceeds a predetermined value or exceeds a predetermined value at a rate of dielectric constant change i…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.