Patent attributes
A system for detecting a characteristic of oil in a reservoir includes a sensor at least partially located in the reservoir. The sensor has a chamber for receiving oil from the reservoir, a detector member in the chamber, and an electromagnetic coil. Application of voltage across the electromagnetic coil moves the detector member and the presence and viscosity of oil in the chamber affects the rate of that movement. The electric current through the electromagnetic coil is measured and analyzed to determine an amount of time that the detector member took to move between two positions in the chamber. That amount of time is used to determine whether there is at least a predefined amount of oil in the reservoir and, if so, the viscosity of the oil.
