Fluid Tagging Material Detection via Magnetic Concentration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for identifying working/functional fluids, such as engine oils and petroleum products, are often offline, time-consuming, and do not provide real-time authentication, making it difficult to prevent counterfeiting and adulteration, and to trace the origin of leaks or spills.
Innovation Solution
A real-time identification method using a tagging material comprising a concentrator material and a light-emitting material, where the fluid passes through a conduit with a splitting region, a directing means, and a concentrator section that employs magnetic or dielectrophoretic forces to capture and concentrate the tagging material, allowing for simultaneous detection and identification using an optical detector and smart unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tagging material is added to fluid products for identification, then product authenticity can be verified, but detection sensitivity is reduced due to low concentration of tagging material in the fluid
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a concentrator as an intermediary device that collects tagging material from the fluid stream and concentrates it into a smaller volume. This mediator enables the detection system to achieve sufficient concentration for reliable detection while maintaining the low concentration tagging material in the original fluid, thus resolving the contradiction between authenticity verification and detection sensitivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection system is segmented into multiple functional components: a concentrator section that separates and concentrates tagging material, and a detection section that analyzes the concentrated sample. This segmentation allows the system to handle the low concentration tagging material effectively by processing it in stages, improving detection sensitivity without compromising product authenticity verification.
2Device complexity
If offline identification methods are used for fluid products, then detection equipment can be simple, but real-time authentication is not achieved and time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The concentrator performs preliminary action by collecting and concentrating tagging material from the fluid stream before detection. This pre-concentration step enables real-time detection with maintained sensitivity, transforming the process from offline batch analysis to continuous online monitoring, thus reducing identification time while keeping equipment complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual offline sampling and analysis with an automated online detection system that continuously monitors fluid products. The concentrator and detector work together in an automated flow-through system, eliminating manual intervention and significantly reducing identification time while maintaining equipment simplicity through integrated design.
3Stability of the object's composition
If tagging material concentration in fluid is kept low to minimize impact on fluid properties, then fluid performance is maintained, but detection becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The concentrator serves as a mediator that temporarily increases tagging material concentration from the fluid stream without permanently altering fluid composition. It extracts tagging material, concentrates it in a separate volume, and returns the bulk fluid to its original state, thus maintaining fluid performance while enabling easier detection of the concentrated tagging material.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from detecting tagging material in the original fluid dimension to detecting it in a concentrated sample dimension. By moving the tagging material from the bulk fluid phase to a concentrated phase in the concentrator, the detection process operates in a different concentration dimension where detection is significantly easier while the original fluid maintains its performance characteristics.
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
Enables real-time identification of fluid authenticity and origin, preventing counterfeiting and adulteration, and facilitating the tracing of leaks or spills, with the ability to generate unique optical codes for each fluid, reducing interference and increasing detection sensitivity.
Implementation Method 1
a concentrator which employs magnetic or dielectrophoretic forces to capture and concentrate the tagging material
Implementation Method 2
a concentrator which employs magnetic or dielectrophoretic forces to capture and concentrate the tagging material
Implementation Method 3
a tagging material comprising a concentrator material and a light-emitting material
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a real time identification method of working/functional fluid products including a specified tagging material and an apparatus which is first capturing and then identifying the tagging material using a concentrator and an optical detector, simultaneously transferring the reading to a smart unit and finally releasing the tagging material.