Patent ID: 7321117
Filing Date: 2008-01-22
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. An oil quality sensor apparatus, comprising: a housing; an oil flow path that said oil flows through said housing; and a plurality of photo-detectors and a plurality of light-emitting devices located within said housing proximate to said oil flow path, wherein at least one photo-detector device among said plurality of photo-detector devices is sensitive to large particulates associated with said oil and at least one other photo-detector device among said plurality of photo-detector devices is sensitive to small particulates associated with said oil to thereby provide an indication of size differences among particulates associated with said oil, and wherein at least one light-emitting device among said plurality of light-emitting devices has a wavelength approximately equivalent to a size of large particulates associated with said oil and at least one other light-emitting device among said plurality of light-emitting devices has a wavelength approximately equivalent to a size of small particulates associated with said oil to thereby provide an indication of differences among particulates associated with said oil, and wherein said housing is further configured to comprise a plurality of light absorption components, wherein each light absorption component among said plurality of light absorption components respectively faces each light-emitting device among said plurality of light-emitting devices.