Granted Patent B2

US 8,468,982 · App. 12/534,411 · Granted Jun 25, 2013

Abstract

Claims (43)

1. An engine system of a vehicle, comprising:

a concentration determination module that determines an amount of an additive in one of oil in an oil system of an engine and fuel in a fuel system of the engine based on user input, an amount of the additive stored in an additive container, and a level of the one of the oil and the fuel; and

an additive dispensing module that dispenses supplemental additive from the additive container into the one of the oil system and the fuel system when the amount of the additive is less than or equal to a predetermined amount.

2. The engine system of claim 1 , wherein when the supplemental additive is dispensed into the oil system, the supplemental additive includes at least one of an antioxidant additive, a friction modifier additive, a dispersant additive, an anti-foam additive, and a detergent additive.

3. The engine system of claim 1 , wherein when the supplemental additive is dispensed into the fuel system, the supplemental additive includes at least one of an additive that modifies a temperature and rate of combustion in the engine, an additive that controls fuel deposits in combustion chambers of the engine, and an additive that inhibits corrosion of the fuel system.

4. The engine system of claim 1 further comprising an additive container and a valve, wherein the additive container includes the supplemental additive, and wherein the valve isolates the supplemental additive in the additive container from the one of the oil in the oil system and the fuel in the fuel system.

5. The engine system of claim 4 , wherein the additive dispensing module actuates the valve to dispense the supplemental additive into the one of the oil in the oil system and the fuel in the fuel system.

6. The engine system of claim 5 , wherein the additive dispensing module actuates the valve to dispense the supplemental additive into one of an oil filter of the oil system and a fuel filter of the fuel system.

7. A method for a vehicle, comprising:

determining, by a concentration determination module, an amount of an additive in one of oil in an oil system of an engine and fuel in a fuel system of the engine based on user input, an amount of the additive stored in an additive container, and a level of the one of the oil and the fuel; and

dispensing, by an additive dispensing module, supplemental additive from the additive container into at least the one of the oil system and the fuel system when the amount of the additive is less than or equal to a predetermined amount.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the supplemental additive includes at least one of an antioxidant additive, a friction modifier additive, a dispersant additive, an anti-foam additive, and a detergent additive when dispensing the supplemental additive into the oil system.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the supplemental additive includes an additive for at least one of modifying a temperature and rate of combustion in the engine, an additive for controlling fuel deposits in combustion chambers of the engine, and an additive for inhibiting corrosion of the fuel system.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

storing the supplemental additive in an additive container; and

isolating the supplemental additive in the additive container from the one of oil in the oil system and the fuel in the fuel system using a valve.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising actuating the valve to dispense the supplemental additive into the one of the oil in the oil system and the fuel in the fuel system.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising actuating the valve to dispense the supplemental additive into one of an oil filter of the oil system and a fuel filter of the fuel system.

13. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining a first amount of the additive depleted based on a distance of operation of the vehicle after addition of the additive; and

updating the amount of the additive in the one of the oil and the fuel based on the first amount.

14. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining a second amount of the additive depleted based on a period of operation of the engine after addition of the additive; and

updating the amount of the additive in the one of the oil and the fuel based on the second amount.

15. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining a third amount of the additive depleted based on a number of combustion events of the engine after addition of the additive; and

updating the amount of the additive in the one of the oil and the fuel based on the third amount.

16. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining a first amount of the additive depleted based on a distance of operation of the vehicle after addition of the additive;

determining a second amount of the additive depleted based on a period of operation of the engine after the addition of the additive;

determining a third amount of the additive depleted based on a number of combustion events of the engine after the addition of the additive; and

updating the amount of the additive in the one of the oil and the fuel based on the first amount, the second amount, and the third amount.

17. The engine system of claim 1 further comprising a mileage determination module that determines a first amount of the additive depleted based on a distance of operation of the vehicle after addition of the additive,

wherein the concentration determination module updates the amount of the additive in the one of the oil and the fuel based on the first amount.

18. The engine system of claim 1 further comprising a timing determination module that determines a second amount of the additive depleted based on a period of operation of the engine after addition of the additive,

wherein the concentration determination module updates the amount of the additive in the one of the oil and the fuel based on the second amount.

19. The engine system of claim 1 further comprising a combustion determination module that determines a third amount of the additive depleted based on a number of combustion events of the engine after addition of the additive,

wherein the concentration determination module updates the amount of the additive in the one of the oil and the fuel based on the third amount.

20. The engine system of claim 1 further comprising:

a mileage determination module that determines a first amount of the additive depleted based on a distance of operation of the vehicle after addition of the additive;

a timing determination module that determines a second amount of the additive depleted based on a period of operation of the engine after addition of the additive; and

a combustion determination module that determines a third amount of the additive depleted based on a number of combustion events of the engine after addition of the additive,

wherein the concentration determination module updates the amount of the additive in the one of the oil and the fuel based on the first amount, the second amount, and the third amount.

Assignments (8)