Adaptive Optical Path Sensor for Variable-Pressure Gaseous Fuel Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensors for spectrometric analysis of variable-pressure gaseous fuels in automotive vehicles face imprecision due to a non-adaptive optical path, leading to noisy signals when gas pressure varies, resulting in incorrect fuel composition analysis.
Innovation Solution
A sensor with a sliding guide tube and compression spring mechanism that adjusts the distance between optical windows based on gas pressure, ensuring a consistent optical path for precise spectrometric analysis across varying pressures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the optical path is fixed in the sensor, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision deteriorates when gas pressure varies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the optical path length adjustable through a sliding guide tube mechanism. The guide tube can move axially to change the distance between the first and second windows, allowing the optical path to be dynamically adapted to different gas pressure conditions. This resolves the contradiction by enabling precision maintenance across varying pressures without requiring multiple fixed-path sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by varying the optical path length parameter according to gas pressure. The control unit adjusts the position of the sliding guide tube based on detected pressure values, thereby changing the optical path parameter to match the current pressure condition. This allows the sensor to maintain optimal measurement precision across different operating pressures.
2Measurement precision
If the optical path is increased for low-pressure gases, then the measurement precision improves, but the device complexity increases to accommodate variable path lengths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service through the automatic adaptation mechanism where the control unit autonomously adjusts the optical path length based on pressure sensor feedback. The system self-regulates without external intervention, automatically selecting the appropriate optical path length for the current pressure condition, thereby maintaining precision while managing complexity through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using a pressure detection device to monitor gas pressure and providing this information to the control unit, which then adjusts the sliding guide tube position accordingly. This closed-loop feedback system ensures the optical path length is continuously optimized for the current pressure condition, maintaining measurement precision automatically.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The sensor maintains a low signal-to-noise ratio and improves analysis precision by dynamically adapting the optical path to gas pressure changes, enhancing the accuracy of fuel composition determination.
Implementation Method 1
The means for moving the sliding guide tube comprise a compression spring fitted around the sliding guide tube and an element for driving said spring
Implementation Method 2
the optical flow is received by a receiver, which performs a spectrometric analysis on it in a known way to determine the composition of the fuel
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a sensor for spectrometric analysis of a variable-pressure gaseous fuel for automotive vehicle intended to be mounted in the flow circuit for the fuel linking the fuel tank to the engine of the vehicle. The sensor includes a circulation pipe for the variable-pressure gaseous fuel, a sliding guidance tube for an optical flux and a unit for displacement of the sliding guidance tube, on the basis of the variable-pressure gaseous fuel tapped off from the circulation pipe, so as to adapt the distance separating the first window from the second window as a function of the variation in pressure of the variable-pressure gaseous fuel circulating in the circulation pipe.