Patent ID: 8710973

Claim:
A method for determining remaining oil life prior to an oil change in an internal combustion engine that uses a body of oil, the method comprising: transferring the body of oil to the engine; determining a volume of the transferred body of oil; determining a quality of the transferred body of oil via determining a type of oil transferred to the engine; determining a number of revolutions for each combustion event of the engine and determining a number of combustion events permitted using the determined quality and volume of oil; determining the remaining oil life based on the determined quality and volume of the body of oil, the determined number of revolutions for each combustion event of the engine, and the determined number of revolutions for each combustion event permitted; activating an oil change indicator when the remaining oil life reaches a predetermined level; wherein at least one of said determining a volume of the transferred body of oil, said determining the remaining oil life, and said activating the oil change indicator is accomplished via a controller operatively connected to the engine, wherein determining the remaining oil life is defined as a number of engine revolutions permitted before changing the body of oil that is determined according to a mathematical relationship R(Rev)=K(Oil)×K(Eng)×V programmed into the controller, wherein: R(Rev) represents the number of engine revolutions permitted before changing the body of oil; K(Oil) represents the number of combustion events permitted per unit volume of the transferred body of oil; K(Eng) represents the number of revolutions for each combustion event of the engine; and V represents the determined volume of the transferred body of oil.