Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Michael J O'Rourke

Louis Leonard Nagy

Marek T Wlodarczyk

Mark K Krage

David Sturge Eddy

Michael F Sultan

A central high mounted stoplight arrangement for a motor vehicle that utilizes an optical prism coupler mounted on the rear deck lid at the center thereof for receiving and projecting light rays to the rear of the vehicle.

Center high mounted stoplight

A self aligning microbend sensor comprises a tubular housing having internal threads, an expandable insert with external threads loosely threaded into the housing with sufficient tolerance to allow expansion of the insert in response to a parameter being measured while maintaining registration of the threads, and a fiber optic element between the housing and the insert and extending transverse to the threads, such that upon expansion of the insert the fiber optic element experiences microbending due to deformation by the threads.

Self aligning fiber optic microbend sensor

A microwave probe for measuring the amount of soot or water in engine crankcase oil and/or detecting the level of oil comprises a coaxial cable having a tip including five substantially parallel wires shorted together at one end and connected at the other end to the coaxial cable, one of the wires being connected to the center wire of the coaxial cable and the other four wires being connected to the sheath of the coaxial cable. The size and geometry of the wires is selected so that the impedance of the tip when immersed in oil substantially matches the impedance of the coaxial cable.

Microwave probe for detecting oil level

Microwave probe for measurement of dielectric constants

Conductive particulates in the form of soot are collected from diesel engine exhaust gases on a porous wall monolithic ceramic filter in such a way that the soot is somewhat uniformly distributed throughout the filter. The filter is housed in a chamber having a property of a microwave resonant cavity and the cavity is excited with microwave energy. As the particulates are collected the cavity appears to the microwaves to have an increasing dielectric constant even though the matter being accumulated is conductive rather than dielectric so that as collected on the porous filter it has the property of an artificial dielectric. The response of the cavity to the microwave energy is monitored to sense the effect of the dielectric constant of the material within the cavity to provide a measure of the soot content in the filter.

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Sterling Heights, MI, United States of America

Michael J O'Rourke