Patent ID: 9719409
Date: 2017-08-01
CPC Classifications: B60W,F01P,F02D,G01F,G01S

Claim:
1. A coolant system coupled in a vehicle, comprising: a coolant overflow container including a recess for holding fluid; a vertical, hollow tube having an internal recess, the tube positioned adjacent to the container such that a bottom-most level of the container is above a bottom-most level of the internal recess of the tube; a first hose fluidly coupling a top portion of the container to a top portion of the vertical tube; a second hose fluidly coupling the bottom-most level of the container to a bottom portion of the vertical tube at a location above the bottom-most level of the internal recess, wherein a level of fluid in the container equilibrates with a level of fluid in the vertical tube; a first sensor positioned within the internal recess; a second sensor coupled to the vehicle and external to the vertical tube for estimating a vehicle motion parameter; and a processor communicatively coupled to the first sensor in the internal recess, the processor configured with computer readable instructions in memory for estimating a fluid level in the vertical tube based on output from the first sensor and for adjusting the estimated fluid level based on output from the second sensor; wherein the adjustment of the estimated fluid level includes estimating an expected slosh based on the output of the second sensor, calculating an actual slosh based on the output of the first sensor, and adjusting the estimated fluid level with a compensation term based on the actual slosh relative to the expected slosh; and wherein estimating the fluid level in the vertical tube based on the output from the first sensor includes periodically transmitting a signal from the first sensor towards a top of the tube, receiving, at the first sensor, an echo of each transmitted signal upon reflection off the top of the vertical tube, estimating an average duration elapsed between the transmitting and the receiving, and estimating the fluid level based on the average duration.