Filter element analysis system and associated methods

Abstract

A filter element analysis system for analyzing a filter element within a vehicle, the system including various filter sensors so as to provide information regarding various filter element parameters, a locator which configured provide vehicle position information such that conditions regarding the vehicle environment can be tracked and correlated to the location, as well as a means for transmitting information to a remote server for analysis and tracking of the filter element information with regard to environmental conditions such that a filter element status, remaining filter life, or particle load and replacement timeline can be calculated and updated so as to provide more accurate predictive models of the filter element conditions. As well as provide alerts regarding the need and scheduling of replacement or cleaning of a particular filter element.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present disclosure generally relates to the field of monitoring systems, and more particularly to a filtration monitoring system in large equipment and vehicles.BACKGROUND[0002]When using large motorized machinery, and particularly in the field of vehicles in extreme conditions it is of particular advantage to ensure that air being utilized in their respective engines be clean so as to avoid damaging the machine. It is well understood that these machines operate in an optimal fashion when the filter elements are regularly replaced or cleaned, and changing or cleaning the filter element prematurely, while ensuring smooth operation can result in unnecessary downtime, excess cost due to replacement cost, or damage to the filter element during unnecessary cleaning operations. Further, in particular environments, it can often require almost-constant supervision in order to determine precisely when a particular filter element needs replacement or cleaning. Changin...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention is a system for analyzing filter elements in equipment such as air filters. The system includes a filter element, a filter housing, and one or more sensors that generate signals correlating to various filter element parameters. The system also includes a location determination mechanism and a control unit with wireless communication capabilities. The control unit can receive environmental parameters and use them to determine the state or particle load of the filter element. The system can also include a mobile smart device with a wireless application to receive notifications from the server and provide recommendations or warnings based on the sensor data. The system can also use environmental sensors or sensor data to access desired environmental parameters from an online database. The sensor data can include pressure, accelerometers, flow sensors, strain sensors, humidity sensors, air-mass flow, temperature, particle counter, turbulence sensor, spectrometry, sound, vehicle operation parameters, and optical sensors. The method for analyzing a filter element includes steps such as providing the vehicle with the filter elements, providing the sensor data, and using the sensor data to determine the state or particle load of the filter element.

Problems solved by technology

It will also be appreciated that these types of systems often include large and robust air filtration systems with one or more filter elements which can be expensive to both clean and / or replace.

Additionally, cleaning operations can often lead to unintentional damage and thus require premature replacement of these large filter elements which is a source of undue cost.

Additionally, changing the filter elements too often can result in large amounts of wasted man hours and crop waste due to unnecessary equipment downtime.

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