Moisture sensing control

Claim 1

A MOISTURE SENSING CONTROL FOR USE WITH APPARATUS FOR DRYING MATERIAL AND OPERATIVE TO CONTROL THE HEAT SUPPLY MEANS OF SAID APPARATUS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF SAID MATERIAL, SAID MOISTURE SENSING CONTROL COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, SENSING MEANS INCLUDING AN ELECTRODE ARRANGED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID MATERIAL, MEANS FOR APPLYING A D.C. VOLTAGE TO SAID ELECTRODE WITH THE VOLTAGE THEREON VARYING IN ACCORDANCE WITH CURRENT LEAKAGE THROUGH SAID MATERIAL SO THAT THE VOLTAGE ON SAID ELECTRODE INCREASES AS THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF SAID MATERIAL DECREASES, SWITCH MEANS FOR CONTROLLING ENERGIZATION OF SAID HEAT SUPPLY MEANS AND HAVING A SWITCH-OVER VOLTAGE AT WHICH ITS OPERATIONAL STATE IS CHANGED TO DE-ENERGIZE SAID HEAT SUPPLY MEANS, A NEON LAMP CONNECTED IN CIRCUIT BETWEEN SAID ELECTRODE AND SAID SWITCH MEANS AND HAVING A SWITCHOVER VOLTAGE AT WHICH IT IS RENDERED CONDUCTIVE AND BELOW WHICH IT IS NON-CONDUCTIVE, THE SWITCH-OVER VOLTAGE OF SAID NEON LAMP BEING BELOW THAT OF SAID SWITCH MEANS AND THE VOLTAGE ON SAID ELECTRODE AT THE INITIATION OF THE DRYING OPERATION BEING BELOW THE SWITCH-OVER VOLTAGE OF SAID NEON LAMP SO THAT SAID SWITCH MEANS IS ELECTRICALLY ISOLATED FROM SAID ELECTRODE AND IS IN A FIRST OPERATIONAL STATE, CAPACITIVE MEANS CONNECTED IN CIRCUIT WITH SAID NEON LAMP AND ELECTRODE FOR RECEIVING AND STORING A CHARGE FROM SAID ELECTRODE AND CHARACTERIZED BY HAVING A CAPACITY AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE SWITCH-OVER VOLTAGE OF SAID NEON LAMP, AND CAPACITIVE MEANS CONNECTED IN CIRCUIT BETWEEN SAID NEON LAMP AND SAID SWITCH MEANS AND CHARACTERIZED BY HAVING A CAPACITY AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE SWITCHOVER VOLTAGE OF SAID SWITCH MEANS.