DESC:FORM 2

THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENT RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10 and Rule 13)

Title of invention:
A SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING AND INDICATING ENGINE
COOLANT QUALITY IN REAL TIME

Applicant:
BEML Limited
A company Incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Having address:
BEML Soudha, 23/1, 4th Main,
Sampangirama Nagar, Bengaluru - 560 027,
Karnataka, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY

[001] The present invention claims priority from Indian patent Provisional Application 202041051233 filed on 25 November 2020.

TECHNICAL FIELD
[002] The present subject matter described herein, in general, relates to a system for determining and indicating engine coolant quality. More specifically, the present subject matter relates to determining and indicating engine coolant quality in real time using optical means.
BACKGROUND
[003] A diesel engine is configured to convert chemical energy of diesel into heat energy, wherein the heat energy is further converted into power and torque. The heat energy generated in excess needs to be removed through cooling and lubrication systems for efficient working of the diesel engine. Thus, the coolant used in diesel engine plays a vital role, wherein the chemical and physical properties of the coolant are required to be maintained throughout the operations. The variation in coolant properties impacts the heat removing capacity. Also, if excess heat has not been removed, it may lead to engine overheating and subsequently engine failure due to excessive heat load. Conventionally, coolant is changed periodically after running the vehicle for particular hours. Thus, there is no specific mechanism to monitor the coolant quality online.
[004] Thus, it is an object of the present invention to devise a solution to overcome one or more limitations of the prior art.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[005] It is an object of the present invention to determine and indicate engine coolant quality in real time in a vehicle.
[006] Another object of the present invention is to prevent engine overheating and engine failure.
[007] Yet another object of the present invention is to remove excess heat from the engine.
SUMMARY
[008] Before the present system and method are described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or an apparatus, and methodologies described, as there can be multiple possible embodiments that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to a system for determining and indicating engine coolant quality in real time, and the aspects are further elaborated below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION
[009] Accordingly, the present invention discloses a coolant quality determining system for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time comprises; atleast one coolant pump, atleast one radiator and atleast one refractometer configured to be mounted between a radiator and a coolant pump for determining the coolant contamination through the principle of refractive index of the coolant.
Accordingly, the present invention discloses an coolant quality determining system for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time, wherein the determined quality of coolant and/or coolant contamination value are configured to be displayed on vehicle dashboard. Coolant quality is configured to be analyzed based on the principle of refractive index of the coolant. The contamination of coolant is determined based on the change of the refractive index of coolant. The said refractometer is configured with a prism, a laser beam, a sensor, a processor and a display unit. The refractometer is configured to determine the quality of engine coolant flowing through the engine and the radiator loop. The coolant quality determining system prevents engine overheating and engine failure by timely determining and alerting the coolant contamination. The coolant quality is configured to be determined based on the critical angle formed by the refracted light beam in the interface of the two mediums. The refractive index of the coolant is configured to be detected based on the temperature and wavelength of light received through coolant.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawing. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the present document example constructions of the disclosure, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and apparatus disclosed in the document and the drawing:
[0011] The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figure. In the figure, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the drawing to refer like features and components.
[0012] Figure 1 illustrates reflection and refraction of incident light in different mediums.
[0013] Figure 2 illustrates a coolant quality determining system for vehicle engine coolant.
[0014] The figure depicts various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. Although any systems and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, systems and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.
[0016] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.
[0017] Referring now to figure 1, reflection and refraction of incident light in different mediums is now disclosed. The basic principle of invention is as follows: If light is passing the interface of two media with different optical densities, and therefore different refractive indices, it will be refracted and/or reflected at the interface. Depending on the angle of incidence a part of the light will be refracted in the media while another part will be reflected. As shown in Fig 1, the angle of incidence is always defined relative to the perpendicular. With a small angle of incidence - relative to the perpendicular of the interface - the light in medium 2 (sample) will be refracted and in medium 1 (prism) partially reflected.
An opaque medium doesn’t allow light to pass through it, where transparent medium allows all the light to pass through it, like plain glass, window panes etc. A translucent medium partially allows light to pass through it (i.e. reflection) and partially refraction. When light is passed through an interface of two medium, i.e. prism and the sample which has to be measured part of light is reflected and part of light is refracted. The bigger the angle of incidence of the light beam the more the refracted light beam approaches the interface between both media until finally the refracted beam is exactly in the interface. This angle of incidence is called the critical angle of total reflection. If the angle of incidence increases further, all the light will be reflected.
[0018] Critical Angle is defined as the angle at which the refracted light beam is exactly in the interface of the two mediums ( i.e. prism and the sample to be measured)
[0019] The measuring principle is based on the determination of the angle of total reflection, as shown in Fig. 1.If the refractive index n1 of a medium and the critical angle acrit are known they can be used to determine the unknown refractive index n2 of a second medium. The relationship is explained with Snell's law:

[0020] With sinus (90°) = 1 Snell’s law results in:
If the refractive index n1 of the medium 1 (prism) is known, the refractive index of the sample (medium2) can be determined through the measurement of acrit.
Refractive Index of Water = 1.3
Ethylene Glycol = 1.43
50:50 of water +Glycol = 1.3811
[0021] The working principle of the invention is based on refractive index where each liquid has its own refractive index based on the combination of the mixes and amount of solute. For a specific application, the Ph value of the coolant has to be maintained throughout the operation intervals. The device checks the refractive index of the coolant so to monitor current Ph level and provides an online display in the dashboard. The refractive index depends on the temperature and wavelength of the light received. Hence, results can only be used for qualitative measurements and for the understanding of reflection of light and refractive index.
[0022] Figure 2 illustrates a coolant quality system (100) fitted with refractometer (40) for determining engine coolant quality. The refractometer (40) is used for measuring the liquid’s refractive index and the measured value is transmitted to the dashboard where the coolant quality can be displayed and monitored. The refractometer (40) is fitted between the radiator (50) and coolant pump (30) to determine the quality of engine coolant flowing through the engine and the radiator loop. The determined quality is then communicated to the engine dashboard for display. The refractometer (40) consists of a prism, laser beam, sensor, processor and a display unit.
[0023] Further, the invention can be used, but not limited to, in the following applications.
[0024] One embodiment of the invention can be a coolant quality online diagnostics system for heavy duty off-highway diesel engine applications.
[0025] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages.
Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include those provided by the following features.
[0026] Some object of the present invention enables to monitor engine coolant temperature and improve engine reliability.
REFERENCE NUMERALS
Element Description Reference Numeral
Coolant quality system 100
Engine 20
Pump 30
Refractometer 40
Radiator 50

,CLAIMS:
1. A coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time comprises;
atleast one coolant pump (30),
atleast one radiator (50)
and atleast one refractometer (40) configured to be mounted between a radiator (50) and a coolant pump (30) for determining the coolant contamination through the principle of refractive index of the coolant.

2. The coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determined quality of coolant and/or coolant contamination value are configured to be displayed on vehicle dashboard.
3. The coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determining coolant quality is configured to be analyzed based on the principle of refractive index of the coolant.
4. The coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time as claimed in claim 1, wherein contamination of coolant is determined based on the change of the refractive index of coolant.
5. The coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time as claimed in claim 1, wherein the said refractometer (40) is configured with a prism, a laser beam, a sensor, a processor and a display unit.
6. The coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time as claimed in claim 1, wherein said refractometer (40) is configured to determine the quality of engine coolant flowing through the engine and the radiator loop.
7. The coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system (100) is configured to prevent engine overheating and engine failure by timely determining and alerting the coolant contamination.
8. The coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time as claimed in claim 1, wherein the of coolant quality is configured to be determined based on the critical angle formed by the refracted light beam in the interface of the two mediums.
9. The coolant quality determining system (100) for determining vehicle engine coolant quality in real time as claimed in claim 1, wherein the refractive index of the coolant is configured to be detected based on the temperature and wavelength of light received through coolant.