Multi-conductor water in fuel sensor for fill rate detection

摘要

A water sensor for a fuel filtration apparatus includes a main body with at least one electrical contact disposed proximate the first end of the main body. The electrical contact(s) is operatively connectable to an electronic control unit. Multiple sensor contacts are disposed proximate a second end of the main body. The sensor contacts are configured to detect multiple water levels and provide an output on each water level detected. The electrical contact is configured to send the output to an electronic control unit. The water level information provided by the water sensor can be tracked by a control device to determine if the fill rate of water meets an alarm value.

主权项

1. A filtration system for a fuel filtration apparatus comprising:
a fuel filter; an electronic control unit; and a water-in-fuel sensor comprising: a main body having a first end and a second end, at least one electrical contact disposed proximate the first end, the at least one electrical contact is operatively connectable to the electronic control unit, and multiple sensor contacts disposed proximate the second end, each of the sensor contacts configured to contact water at different water levels and provide an output that depends on whether water is detected at the sensor contact, wherein a resistance across the multiple sensor contacts is dependent on the water level, the at least one electrical contact is configured to send the output from each of the sensor contacts to the electronic control unit, wherein each of the multiple sensor contacts are resistance sensors, the water-in-fuel sensor positioned within a collection compartment, the collection compartment configured to collect water filtered from fuel in the filtration system, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to (1) detect a rate of change of water accumulation by measuring the resistance across the multiple sensor contacts during at least two time points and obtaining a time interval between the two time points and (2) determine whether the fuel has a high water content by comparing the time interval to a pre-defined time interval.