Patent attributes
An oil condition sensor is proposed which can accurately determine the degree to which oil is contaminated with metallic powder. It includes a permanent magnet and a sensor head provided around the permanent magnet. The sensor head includes a cup-shaped electrode and a plurality of rod-shaped conductors that are axially spaced from the cup-shaped electrode. The conductors are connected to a power supply through separate resistors. When the amount of metallic powder in the oil increases, a greater number of conductors are electrically connected to the cup-shaped electrode. Thus, by finding the number of conductors electrically connected to the cup-shaped electrode, it is possible to determine the degree to which the oil is contaminated with metallic powder. Since the resistors need not be immersed in the oil, their specific resistivities will scarcely change, so that the degree of contamination of the oil can be determined with high accuracy.
