The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 09, 1999
Filed:
May. 29, 1998
Bennie Poindexter, Westland, MI (US);
Jeffrey Thomas Remillard, Ypsilanti, MI (US);
Willes Henry Weber, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, Inc., Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
An on-board gas composition sensor is disclosed for monitoring oxygen content levels in the exhaust gas (24) of an internal combustion engine (4). The gas composition sensor includes a sensor body (20) mounted inan exhaust stream from an engine (4), with a fiber-optic cable (18) running from the sensor body (20) to a silicon chip (13) containing a sensor assembly(10). The sensor assembly (10) includes a light source (12), mounted on the chip (13), for generating excitation light. Also, a fiber-optic coupler (16), formed in the chip, operatively engages a second fiber-optic cable (15), mounted in a groove on the chip. The second cable (15) connects to a fluorescence detector (34) and an excitation detector (36). The two detectors produce output signals (35, 37) that are used by the electronic engine control (8) to adjust engine operation.