Fuel Quality Sensor Using Near-Infrared Spectrometry
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel dispensing systems face challenges in accurately measuring water content and air bubbles in fuels, which can lead to safety and quality issues, as existing methods are either inaccurate or not capable of real-time monitoring.
Innovation Solution
A fuel quality sensor system utilizing near-infrared (NIR) spectrometry with transmitters and receivers to detect fuel properties like water content, air bubbles, and octane rating by transmitting and receiving light signals at specific frequencies, with a control unit to trigger alarms or stop the pump if parameters deviate from predetermined thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional measurement methods are used for water content and air bubbles in fuel, then the system structure remains simple, but measurement precision and real-time monitoring capability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical or electrical measurement methods with optical measurement technology. Specifically, it uses light transmission and reflection principles to detect water content and air bubbles in fuel, substituting complex mechanical sensing systems with optical fields that can penetrate the fuel and detect impurities based on their different optical properties compared to clean fuel
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an optical intermediary (light) to indirectly measure fuel quality parameters. By measuring the interaction between light and fuel (transmission, reflection, absorption), the system can determine water content and air bubble presence without direct mechanical contact, thereby achieving high precision while maintaining relatively simple device structure
2Productivity
If conventional measurement methods are used for fuel quality, then the device complexity remains low, but real-time monitoring capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous real-time monitoring by maintaining constant optical measurement of the fuel flow. The optical sensors continuously transmit light through the fuel and detect changes in real-time, enabling continuous quality assessment without interrupting the fuel dispensing process, thus achieving continuous useful action for quality control
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces batch or periodic mechanical sampling methods with continuous optical measurement. The optical system can continuously analyze fuel quality as it flows through the dispenser, eliminating the need for manual sampling and laboratory analysis, thereby achieving real-time monitoring capability
3Measurement precision
If optical measurement technology is implemented for fuel quality detection, then measurement precision and real-time monitoring are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the optical sensor system to perform multiple detection functions simultaneously. A single optical measurement system can detect water content, air bubbles, and potentially other fuel quality parameters by analyzing different aspects of light-fuel interaction, thereby reducing the need for multiple separate sensors and minimizing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes changes in optical parameters (transmission intensity, reflection coefficient, absorption characteristics) that occur when light interacts with fuel containing impurities. By measuring these parameter changes, the system can precisely detect water content and air bubbles without requiring complex mechanical or chemical analysis equipment
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 accurate and real-time monitoring of fuel properties, ensuring proper fuel dispensing by continuously measuring water content, air bubbles, and octane rating, improving safety and quality with minimal alteration to existing systems.
Implementation Method 1
a fuel quality sensor for a fuel dispensing unit and a method for measuring a water content or air bubbles in a fuel... utilizing near-infrared (NIR) spectrometry with transmitters and receivers to detect fuel properties
Implementation Method 2
transmitting and receiving light signals at specific frequencies... determine at least one parameter of the fuel present in the fuel flow path based on the received first light signal
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel quality sensor can include a pump with a suction side and a pressure side for pumping fuel along a fuel flow path between an underground reservoir and a nozzle of a fuel dispensing unit; a first transmitter disposed at the suction side of the pump on a first side of a bypass plenum in fluid communication with the fuel flow path, the first transmitter configured to transmit a first light signal at a first predetermined frequency in the bypass plenum; a receiver disposed at the suction side of the pump on a second side of the bypass plenum and configured to receive the first light signal; and a control unit electrically connected to the first transmitter and the receiver and configured to determine at least one parameter of the fuel present in the fuel flow path based on the received first light signal at the first predetermined frequency.