A method of monitoring the usage of an internal combustion engine is provided. The method comprises performing an engine monitoring routine using a local monitoring device directly attached to an internal combustion engine. The engine monitoring routine includes generating a plurality of data points representative of the crankcase pressure of the internal combustion engine using a pressure sensor of the local monitoring device, processing the generated data points to determine a first value representative of a firing frequency of the internal combustion engine, generating an aggregated summary of the internal combustion engine usage based on the first value, and transmitting identification data for the local monitoring device and the aggregated summary from the local monitoring device to a remote application. The remote application processes the transmitted aggregated summary based on the transmitted identification data to determine engine speed usage data for the internal combustion engine.

Disclosed is a method for determining reliability regarding misfire determination of cylinders of an engine, comprising detecting a pressure in an exhaust manifold for a set of operation parameters comprising a certain range of crank angles for a certain engine load and certain engine speed so as to, for an actual cylinder setup of the engine, create pressure sample value patterns for combustion and misfire conditions. A template course is created for the thus created pressure sample value patterns comprising a set of sample points. The pressure for the created template courses is normalized at a desired crank angle. Difference values are determined based upon differences between sample points and corresponding detected and the normalized pressure values. The determined difference values are summarized so as to determine whether a predetermined share of the summarized difference values lies above or below a predetermined threshold value indicating reliability regarding misfire determination.

Disclosed is a method for determining reliability regarding misfire determination of cylinders of an engine, comprising detecting a pressure in an exhaust manifold for a set of operation parameters comprising a certain range of crank angles for a certain engine load and certain engine speed so as to, for an actual cylinder setup of the engine, create pressure sample value patterns for combustion and misfire conditions. A template course is created for the thus created pressure sample value patterns comprising a set of sample points. The pressure for the created template courses is normalized at a desired crank angle. Difference values are determined based upon differences between sample points and corresponding detected and the normalized pressure values. The determined difference values are summarized so as to determine whether a predetermined share of the summarized difference values lies above or below a predetermined threshold value indicating reliability regarding misfire determination.

An engine oil dipstick for monitoring an internal combustion engine comprises a processor and a sensor module. The sensor module is configured to sense a characteristic of the internal combustion engine and to output data representative of the sensed characteristic to the processor. The engine oil dipstick is configured to provide a housing for the processor. The processor is configured to determine a value representative of the firing frequency of the internal combustion engine based on the output data.

An engine oil dipstick for monitoring an internal combustion engine comprises a processor and a sensor module. The sensor module is configured to sense a characteristic of the internal combustion engine and to output data representative of the sensed characteristic to the processor. The engine oil dipstick is configured to provide a housing for the processor. The processor is configured to determine a value representative of the firing frequency of the internal combustion engine based on the output data.

An engine oil filler cap for monitoring an internal combustion engine comprises: a processor; and a sensor module comprising a pressure sensor configured to sense crankcase pressure of the internal combustion engine and to output data representative of the sensed crankcase pressure to the processor. The engine oil filler cap is configured to provide a housing for the processor. The processor is configured to determine a value representative of the firing frequency of the internal combustion engine based on the output data.

Disclosed is a method for determining reliability regarding misfire determination of cylinders of an engine, comprising detecting a pressure in an exhaust manifold for a set of operation parameters comprising a certain range of crank angles for a certain engine load and certain engine speed so as to, for an actual cylinder setup of the engine, create pressure sample value patterns for combustion and misfire conditions. A template course is created for the thus created pressure sample value patterns comprising a set of sample points. The pressure for the created template courses is normalized at a desired crank angle. Difference values are determined based upon differences between sample points and corresponding detected and the normalized pressure values. The determined difference values are summarized so as to determine whether a predetermined share of the summarized difference values lies above or below a predetermined threshold value indicating reliability regarding misfire determination.

Disclosed is a method for determining reliability regarding misfire determination of cylinders of an engine, comprising detecting a pressure in an exhaust manifold for a set of operation parameters comprising a certain range of crank angles for a certain engine load and certain engine speed so as to, for an actual cylinder setup of the engine, create pressure sample value patterns for combustion and misfire conditions. A template course is created for the thus created pressure sample value patterns comprising a set of sample points. The pressure for the created template courses is normalized at a desired crank angle. Difference values are determined based upon differences between sample points and corresponding detected and the normalized pressure values. The determined difference values are summarized so as to determine whether a predetermined share of the summarized difference values lies above or below a predetermined threshold value indicating reliability regarding misfire determination.

A method of monitoring the usage of an internal combustion engine is provided. The method comprises performing an engine monitoring routine using a local monitoring device directly attached to an internal combustion engine. The engine monitoring routine includes generating a plurality of data points representative of the crankcase pressure of the internal combustion engine using a pressure sensor of the local monitoring device, processing the generated data points to determine a first value representative of a firing frequency of the internal combustion engine, generating an aggregated summary of the internal combustion engine usage based on the first value, and transmitting identification data for the local monitoring device and the aggregated summary from the local monitoring device to a remote application. The remote application processes the transmitted aggregated summary based on the transmitted identification data to determine engine speed usage data for the internal combustion engine.

An engine oil tiller cap for monitoring an internal combustion engine comprises: a processor; and a sensor module comprising a pressure sensor configured to sense crankcase pressure of the internal combustion engine and to output data representative of the sensed crankcase pressure to the processor. The engine oil filler cap is configured to provide a housing for the processor. The processor is configured to determine a value representative of the firing frequency of the internal combustion engine based on the output data.