Ice detection apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR DETECTING THE APPROACH OF ICING CONDITIONS IN THE ATMOSPHERE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED PROBE ELEMENT OF HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY; MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE SAID PROBE ELEMENT IN A PROBE ASSEMBLY EXPOSED TO THE ATMOSPHERE; A THERMOELECTRIC HEAT PUMPING DEVICE UTILIZING THE PELTIER EFFECT; MEANS FOR SUPPLYING ELECTRICAL CURRENT TO THE SAID HEAT PUMPING DEVICE, SEPARATE HOT AND COLD JUNCTIONS THEREBY RESULTING; MEANS FOR THERMALLY COUPLING THE SAID HOT JUNCTION TO A SUBSTANTIALLY LARGE HEAT EXCHANGING SURFACE EXPOSED TO THE ATMOSPHERE, THE SAID HOT JUNCTION BEING THEREBY MAINTAINED AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE; MEANS FOR THERMALLY COUPLING THE SAID COLD JUNCTION TO THE FIRST END OF THE SAID ELONGATED PROBE ELEMENT, THE FIRST END BEING THEREBY MAINTAINED AT A TEMPERATURE SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, AND THERMAL GRADIENTS BEING THEREBY MAINTAINED ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE PROBE ELEMENT RANGING FROM SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AT THE FIRST END OF THE SAID PROBE ELEMENT TO NEAR AMBIENT TEMPERATURE AT THE SECOND END OF THE SAID PROBE ELEMENT, THE SAID SECOND END BEING MAINTAINED AT NEAR AMBIENT TEMPERATURE BY THE GRADUAL ABSORPTION OF HEAT FROM THE ATMOSPHERE ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE SAID PROBE ELEMENT; MEANS FOR DETECTING THE FORMATION OF ICE ON A PORTION OF THE SAID PROBE ELEMENT WHICH IS MAINTAINED AT BELOW AMBIENT TEMPERATURE; AND MEANS FOR INDICATING THE APPROACH OF ICING CONDITIONS AS A RESULT OF THE SAID ICE FORMATION.