FILTER SYSTEM INCLUDING INTEGRATED DIAGNOSTICS
A filter system for filtering a working fluid including a disposable filter having an inlet to be disposed in fluid communication with a working fluid and an outlet to be disposed in fluid communication with a machine. The disposable filter includes a sensor assembly or accessory for monitoring a characteristic of the working fluid passing through the disposable filter and/or an operational condition of the disposable filter. The disposable filter includes a communication module for communicating the monitored characteristic or operational condition to a controller. The controller is configured to analyze the received information and generate an optimal maintenance schedule and predicted remaining useful life of the machine, disposable filter, or working fluid. A method of operating the filter system is also provided.
The subject application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/560,979 filed on Sep. 20, 2017 entitled “Filter System Including Integrated Diagnostics”, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/560,854 filed on Sep. 20, 2017 entitled a “Disposable Filter Including an Integrated Sensor Assembly”, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/560,919 filed on Sep. 20, 2017 entitled a “Disposable Filter Including an Accessory Port”, the entire disclosures of these provisional patent applications are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSUREThe present disclosure relates generally to a filter system for filtering a working fluid passing through a filter that is disposed in fluid communication with a machine. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a filter system which can autonomously provide information related to various characteristics of the filtered working fluid or the operational condition of the associated machine.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis section provides a general summary of background information and the comments and examples provided in this section are not necessarily prior art to the present disclosure.
It is known in the art for various types of machinery, e.g., automobiles, construction equipment, and manufacturing devices, to include filters for removing impurities from working fluids such as fuel, oil, gas and coolant. Cartridges of the filters are known to clog with impurities and thus must periodically be replaced. Additionally, it has been found that significant information about the working fluid and other parts of the machinery can be obtained based on characteristics of the working fluid as it passes through the filter. For example, when filtering bulk fuel delivered to a storage site, a filter system can identify contamination in the fuel and therefore identify supply chain problems. As another example, when filtering working fluid to an engine or hydraulic system, the filter system can identify abnormal chemical or physical properties of the lubricant or hydraulic fluid. Accordingly, it is known to manually conduct working fluid sampling and analysis to detect problems associated with the working fluid and other parts of the machinery for ensuring product or process fluid quality. In some cases, the filter cartridges and working fluid are manually inspected based on predetermined, static inspection schedules. However, such manual processes are not accurate enough to achieve the best cost of operation, and are subject to wasteful over-maintenance or damaging under-maintenance. It is also known for condition-based monitoring systems to be built into machines to actively monitor their working fluids. However, such condition-based monitoring systems are not readily serviceable and replaceable, and can add significant expense to the machine. Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements to such monitoring systems to reduce maintenance costs and improve machine performance, machine useful lifetime and fluid quality.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe subject invention is generally directed to a filter system which includes a disposable filter including at least one sensor assembly or accessory for monitoring a characteristic of the working fluid passing through the filter and/or an operational condition of the corresponding machine. The filter system includes a controller disposed in communication with the disposable filter for receiving the monitored characteristics and preforming prognostics that predict the machine state of deterioration. In other words, based on parameters of the working fluid as supplied by the sensor assembly or accessory of the disposable filter, the controller is configured to develop an optimal maintenance schedule as well as a prediction of the machine's remaining useful life. Thus, the filter system with the integrated sensor assembly or accessory advantageously allows condition-based maintenance and/or process fluid quality control to be quickly and easily added to existing filter systems, as needed and desired, without expensive retrofit and thus with minimal expense. Other advantages of the subject invention will be appreciated in view of the following disclosure.
The subject invention is also directed to a method of operating a filter system. The method includes connecting a disposable filter including an integrated sensor assembly or accessory to a machine such that the filter is configured to receive a working fluid of the machine. The method also includes gathering characteristics of the working fluid of the machine passing through the disposable filter with the integrated sensor assembly or accessory. The method further includes communicating the characteristics of the working fluid to a controller disposed in communication with the integrated sensor assembly or accessory. The method also includes analyzing the characteristics of the working fluid and establishing an optimal maintenance schedule based on the characteristics of the working fluid with the controller.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Example embodiments of a filter system which includes integrated diagnostics in accordance with the present disclosure will now be more fully described. Each of these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough and fully conveys the scope of the inventive concepts, features and advantages to those skilled in the art. To this end, numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices and mechanisms associated with the filter system to provide a thorough understanding of each of the embodiments associated with the present disclosure. However, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, not all specific details described herein need to be employed, the example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms, and thus should not be construed or interpreted to limit the scope of the disclosure.
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In either aspect, the sensor assembly 20 or accessory 202 is configured to measure and monitor a desired characteristic of the working fluid passing through the disposable filter 11—such as the working fluid pressure, temperature, viscosity, flow rate, moisture or additive content, electrical properties, magnetic properties—or any other filter performance characteristic(s) of interest. As best shown in
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The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
Claims
1. A filter system for filtering a working fluid comprising:
- a disposable filter having an inlet to be disposed in fluid communication with a working fluid and an outlet to be disposed in fluid communication with a machine;
- said disposable filter including a sensor assembly or accessory for monitoring a characteristic of the working fluid passing through the disposable filter and/or an operational condition of the disposable filter;
- said disposable filter including a communication module for communicating the monitored characteristic or operational condition to a controller; and
- said controller configured to analyze the received information and generate an optimal maintenance schedule and predicted remaining useful life of the machine, disposable filter, or working fluid.
2. A filter system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller is in communication with at least one component system of the machine for obtaining operational data from the component system and utilizing the received operational data in conjunction with the information received from the disposable filter to generate the optimal maintenance schedule and the predicted remaining useful life of the machine, disposable filter, or working fluid.
3. A filter system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said controller is positioned remote from and wirelessly connected to said communication module to allow the monitored characteristic or operation condition to be wirelessly transmitted to said controller.
4. A filter system as set forth in claim 1, wherein a component system of the machine is in electric communication with said controller, wherein said component system is configured to transmit machine data associated with said component system to said controller, and wherein said controller is configured to couple data obtained from said sensor assembly of said disposable filter with said machine data from said component system.
5. A filter system as set forth in claim 1 further including a notification mechanism in electrical communication with said controller for receiving information from said control and to inform a user of said information.
6. A filter system as set forth in claim 5 wherein said notification mechanism is a cellular phone.
7. A filter system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said disposable filter includes a housing defining said inlet and said outlet.
8. A filter system as set forth in claim 7 wherein a filter media is positioned in said housing between said inlet and said outlet for filtering the working fluid as it passes between said inlet and said outlet.
9. A filter system as set forth in claim 8 wherein the housing has a generally cylindrical shape and extends between a bottom surface and a top surface, and wherein said top surface of said housing defines said inlet, and wherein said top surface of said housing further defines said outlet at a position that is radially inward of said inlet.
10. A filter system as set forth in claim 9 wherein said filter media is positioned radially between said inlet and said outlet.
11. A filter system as set forth in claim 7 wherein said housing includes a connector for allowing said housing to be coupled with the machine.
12. A filter system as set forth in claim 11 wherein said connector is a threaded connection for allowing said housing to be threaded onto a corresponding threaded connection on the machine.
13. A filter system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said disposable filter includes an accessory port for being coupled with an accessory that is configured to monitor a characteristics of the working fluid.
14. A method of operating a filter system, comprising:
- connecting a disposable filter including an integrated sensor assembly or accessory to a machine such that the filter is configured to receive a working fluid of the machine;
- gathering characteristics of the working fluid of the machine passing through the disposable filter with the integrated sensor assembly or accessory;
- communicating the characteristics of the working fluid to a controller disposed in communication with the integrated sensor assembly or accessory; and
- analyzing the characteristics of the working fluid and establishing an optimal maintenance schedule based on the characteristics of the working fluid with the controller.
15. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including sending a notification including the established optimal maintenance schedule to a notification mechanism.
16. The method as set forth in claim 12 further including gathering machine data from a component system of the machine and transmitting the machine data to the controller.
17. The method as set forth in claim 14 further including coupling the data obtain from the sensory assembly of the disposable filter with the machine data.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 19, 2018
Publication Date: Mar 21, 2019
Inventors: Donald Remboski (Ann Arbor, MI), Jacqueline Dedo (Wolverine Lake, MI)
Application Number: 16/135,730