Apparatus and method for sensing particle and water concentrations in a medium

1. A method of detecting soot and water content in diesel engine oil having a dielectric constant, the method comprising:

measuring a change in the dielectric constant in a first frequency band;

measuring a change in the dielectric constant in a second frequency band;

using the measured changes in the dielectric constant in the first frequency band and the second frequency band to calculate the water content in the oil;

using the measured changes in the dielectric constant in the first frequency band and the second frequency band to calculate the soot content in the oil; and

using an imaginary part of the dielectric constant to calculate the soot content in the oil by determining the ratio of the difference between an oscillator tuning voltage generating a first standing wave passing through a portion of the oil having a first soot content and an oscillator tuning voltage generating a second standing wave passing through a portion of the oil having a second soot content over a null voltage level measured for the oil having the second soot content.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first frequency band is approximately within a sub-AM band of frequencies.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second frequency band is approximately within a microwave band of frequencies.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the frequency in the first band is approximately 100 kilohertz.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the frequency in the second band is approximately 10 gigahertz.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

transmitting data indicative of at least one of the soot content and the water content to a display device within a vehicle.

7. An apparatus for estimating a percentage of soot content or a percentage of water content in a medium having a dielectric constant, the apparatus comprising:

means for measuring a change in the dielectric constant at a first frequency;

means for measuring a change in the dielectric constant at a second frequency;

a processor configured to calculate at least one of a percentage of soot content and a percentage of water content as a function of the measured changes in the dielectric constant at the first and second frequencies;

the means for measuring a change in the dielectric constant at a second frequency comprising:

a variable frequency source for generating the second frequency band within a microwave frequency band;

a probe operatively coupled with the variable frequency source wherein at least a portion of the probe is immersed within the oil so that a standing wave is produced in response to each microwave frequency;

a detector for detecting a null voltage associated with each standing wave; and

wherein the processor is configured to measure the change in the dielectric constant at the second frequency in response to the measured null voltage.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising:

a variable frequency oscillator for generating the first and second frequencies.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the first frequency is within approximately the sub-AM band of frequencies and the second frequency is within approximately the microwave frequency band.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 , the means for measuring a change in the dielectric constant at a first frequency comprising:

a variable frequency source for generating the first frequency band within at least one of the ultrasonic and sub-AM frequency bands;

a probe operatively coupled with the variable frequency source wherein at least a portion of the probe is immersed within the oil so that a waveform of the first frequency passes within a portion of the oil; and

a capacitance detector for measuring a capacitance associated with the waveform; and

wherein the processor is configured to measure the change in the dielectric constant at the first frequency in response to the measured capacitance.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising:

means for controlling the microwave frequencies so that each null point of the standing wave for each frequency is placed at a detection point associated with the probe.

12. An apparatus for determining a concentration of soot and/or a concentration of water in diesel oil, the apparatus comprising:

at least one variable frequency source for generating one or more signals having different frequencies in a first frequency band and one or more signals having different frequencies in a second frequency band;

at least one probe operatively coupled with the at least one variable frequency source wherein at least a portion of the probe is immersed within the oil so that a respective waveform associated with the first frequency band and the second frequency band passes within a portion of the oil;

means for measuring a capacitance of the oil in response to the respective waveform associated with the first frequency passing through a portion of the oil;

a detector for detecting a null voltage level of respective waveforms associated with signals in the second frequency band; and

a processor configured to measure a first change in a dielectric constant of the diesel oil in response to the measured capacitance and a second change in the dielectric constant in response to changes in voltage standing waveforms associated with signals in the second frequency band and calculate at least one of a concentration of soot and a concentration of water where each of the calculations is a function of the measured changes in the dielectric constant.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , the at least one probe comprising:

an inner conductor configured to operate with microwave frequencies; and

an outer conductor configured to operate with at least one of an ultrasonic frequency band and a sub-AM frequency band.