A lubrication system comprises a lubricant reservoir, a motorized pump, a follower plate, a stationary rod, a movable sleeve, and a flexible connection. The motorized pump is disposed to pump fluid from the lubricant reservoir to lubricant work lines. The follower plate is situated within the lubricant reservoir. The stationary rod has a colored indicator portion. The movable sleeve disposed concentrically about the stationary rod. The flexible connection extends between the follower plate and the stationary colored rod, such that the flexible connection pulls the movable sleeve away from the stationary rod to reveal the colored indicator portion as the follower plate drops towards a bottom of the lubricant reservoir.

A method of distributing oil to a component within a gas turbine engine includes directing a first oil flow from an oil source to an engine component and back to the oil source, directing a second oil flow from the oil source to a generator driven by the engine and back to the oil source, monitoring a parameter of the second oil flow downstream of the generator and upstream of the oil source, detecting a contaminant in the second oil flow based on the parameter, and reducing the second oil flow to the generator when the contaminant is detected without reducing the first oil flow to the engine component. A shared oil system for a component of a gas turbine engine and a generator driven by the gas turbine engine is also discussed.

A system for maintaining the operating condition of a machine is provided. The system includes a dispensing device having: an interchangeable control module, the interchangeable control module including control hardware that provides a central processing unit, a data storage memory, and communication modules. The dispensing device is configured to dispense lubricant in order to maintain the operating condition of the machine. The interchangeable control module is configured to interchangeably control and interchangeably reside in either a fixed or a portable dispensing device. The interchangeable control module communicates to an external or internal intermediary computing device. The interchangeable control module includes interface hardware for facilitating with at least one condition monitoring sensors, and based on measurements received from the at least one condition monitoring sensor, the interchangeable control module determines the amount or type of lubricant required, and creates a maintenance action to be completed.

This invention encompasses embodiments for multi-modal integrated simultaneous measurement of various aspects of fluids contained in circulating systems such as automotive reciprocating engines and vehicle transmissions. These circulating systems perform constant internal lubrication, and heat and contaminant removal to protect the internal moving parts from the inherent friction and damage in normal operation. Most commonly this is achieved with fluids based on hydrocarbon and/or related synthetics, which, over time, can lose their protective properties, and vary in their performance or breakdown/decay due to internal and external events. Several components within the lubricant fluid can be measured and can provide insight into the efficacy of the system to perform its designed mission. Described herein is a real-time, simultaneous, integrated, multi-modal sensor system for early warning notification that can be further enhanced using specifically designed nanoparticles that can be introduced into the system, engineered to specifically bind with the contaminants and/or undergo an irreversible state change upon certain experienced conditions to both increase the detectability as well as provide for a framework to improve filter performance.

A lubrication system (1) for lubricating lubrication points (2-1 to 2-8). The lubrication system includes a lubricant reservoir (4), lubricant injectors (6-1 to 6-8) for providing lubricant from the lubricant reservoir to the lubrication points, and a control unit (8) for controlling the flow of lubricant from the lubricant reservoir to the lubricant injectors. The control unit controls the lubricant injectors to simultaneously deliver lubricant to the lubrication points in predefined lubrication cycles (C.sub.L). The lubrication system also includes a condition monitoring unit (10) for monitoring the condition of the lubrication points. When the condition monitoring unit determines the condition of at least one of the lubrication points is abnormal, the control unit controls the lubricant injector being associated with the lubrication point having the abnormal condition to individually deliver an additional dose of lubricant to the associated lubrication point.

A method includes providing a bearing housing configured to house a bearing, the bearing housing enclosing a free volume for receiving lubricant, providing a quantity of the lubricant in the free volume, and providing a sensor configured to measure at least one parameter affecting a degradation rate at which the lubricant will degrade and to produce at least one output signal indicative of the measured at least one parameter. The method also includes providing a pump for pumping lubricant into the bearing housing, providing a controller configured to receive the at least one output signal from the sensor and configured to control the pump based the received at least one output signal, and controlling the pump based on a function of the received at least one output signal.

A filtration monitoring system is an electronic system control module installed on an internal combustion engine or within a vehicle powered by the internal combustion engine. The filtration monitoring system monitors the health and status of the filtration systems present on the engine. The filtration monitoring system tracks filter loading patterns and predicts remaining service life of the filters by running smart algorithms based on sensor feedback (e.g., pressure sensor feedback, fluid quality characteristic sensor feedback, etc.). In some arrangements, the described filtration monitoring systems provide feedback as to whether a genuine (i.e., authorized, OEM approved, etc.) or unauthorized filter cartridge is installed in a given filtration system. The filtration monitoring system may be retrofit into an existing internal combustion engine or vehicle that does not already have a filtration monitoring system.

This invention encompasses embodiments for multi-modal integrated simultaneous measurement of various aspects of fluids contained in circulating systems such as automotive reciprocating engines and vehicle transmissions. These circulating systems perform constant internal lubrication, and heat and contaminant removal to protect the internal moving parts from the inherent friction and damage in normal operation. Most commonly this is achieved with fluids based on hydrocarbon and/or related synthetics, which, over time, can lose their protective properties, and vary in their performance or breakdown/decay due to internal and external events. Several components within the lubricant fluid can be measured and can provide insight into the efficacy of the system to perform its designed mission. Described herein is a real-time, simultaneous, integrated, multi-modal sensor system for early warning notification.

In some embodiments, there is provided a method of controlling a pressure gradient between a combustion chamber and a crankcase of an engine, the method having: receiving, at a control device, a signal indicating that a lubricant container is coupled to a lubricant circulation system associated with the engine, in response to the received signal, providing data to cause operation of a suction control device for facilitating control of the pressure gradient.

A motor control system for a lubricant pump motor comprises a pump system power input, a motor drive, a current sensor, a lubrication controller, and a drive controller. The pump system power input is configured to supply system power. The motor drive is configured to drive the lubricant pump motor using the system power. The current sensor is disposed between the pump system power input and the motor drive to sense an input current of the system power. The lubrication controller configured to provide motor activation signals. The drive controller is disposed to receive the motor activation signals via an isolated digital input, and to control the motor drive as a function of the sensed input current and a user-defined current set-point, in response to the activation signals.