Atmospheric condition detecting and indicating apparatus and method

Claim 2

Apparatus for determining the dew point temperature of a vaporized liquid carried within a gas atmosphere, comprising a test surface to be situated within said gas atmosphere, first means for controllably varying the temperature of said test surface, said first means being effective during a first phase of operation for cooling said test surface sufficiently to cause said vaporized liquid within said gas atmosphere to come out of suspension and precipitate as a dew upon said cooled test surface, said first means being effective during a second phase of operation for heating said test surface as to thereby vaporize from said test surface any formation thereon of said dew, second means for continually sensing the temperature of said test surface and effective for continually producing a temperature output signal in response thereto, and indicating means responsive to the formation of said dew upon said cooled test surface, said indicating means being effective upon sensing the said formation of said dew to terminate said first phase of operation and further cooling of said test surface and to initiate said second phase of operation and thereby heat said test surface and remove said formation of said dew therefrom, said indicating means being effective to cyclically initiate said first phase of operation upon the absence of said formation of said dew and being effective to initiate said second phase of operation upon the occurrence of said formation of said dew to thereby generally substantially stabilize the magnitude of the then existing temperature of said test surface thereby resulting in said stabilized magnitude of temperature being said dew point temperature, said indicating means comprising photo-optic means, a light source effective for directing a beam of light against said test surface at an angle as to have said beam of light reflect from said test surface and impinge upon said photo-optic means during both said first and second phases of operation, said beam of light being the only source of actuating light energy conveyed to said photo-optic means.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said test surface comprises thermocooler means.

Claim 4

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for continually sensing the temperature of said test surface comprises linear coefficient temperature responsive electrical resistance means situated in heat transferance relationship to said surface means.

Claim 5

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said photo-optic means is sensitive to the change in the energy level of said light energy of said beam of light reflected from said test surface during the absence of said dew thereon and the same beam of light reflected from said test surface when said dew is present on said test surface.

Claim 6

Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said light source is cyclically energized and de-energized as to cause said beam of light to be cyclically pulsed against said test surface and to be accordingly reflected from said test surface in a cyclically pulsed manner.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said test surface comprises thermocooler means, wherein said means for continually sensing the temperature of said test surface comprises linear coefficient temperature responsive electrical resistance means situated in heat transfer relationship to said test surface, and wherein said photo-optic means is sensitive to the change in the energy level of said light energy of said beam of light reflected from said test surface during the absence of said dew thereon as compared to the same said beam of light reflected from said test surface when said dew is present on said test surface.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said beam of light comprises a beam of infrared light, wherein said light source comprises infrared diode means, wherein said photo-optic means comprises phototransistor means, said infrared diode means being effective to generate and direct said beam of light against said test surface as to thereby cause said beam of light to reflect from said test surface and onto said phototransistor means, said reflected beam of infrared light being of sufficient energy to cause said phototransistor means to go into conduction when said dew is not present on said surface means, and said reflected beam of light being of insufficient energy to cause said phototransistor means to go into conduction when said dew is present on said surface means, the difference in energy between said sufficient energy and said insufficient energy being due to absorption of infrared energy by said dew.

Claim 9

Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said test surface comprises thermocooler means, and wherein said phototransistor means when not conducting is effective to de-energize electrical energization of said thermocooler means.

Claim 10

Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said vaporized liquid is water vapor, and wherein said gas atmosphere is ambient atmosphere.

Claim 11

Apparatus for detecting icing conditions on a monitored surface, comprising first means for creating a first output signal indicating that said surface has attained a temperature equivalent to a predetermined temperature, second means for creating a second output signal indicating the atmospheric dew point temperature, third means for creating a third output signal indicating the ambient atmospheric temperature, and summing means for receiving as input signals thereto said first second and third output signals to cause actuation of related output means, said summing means being ineffective to cause actuation of said related output means when said second and third output signals are received by said summing means but said first output signal is not received by said summing means.

Claim 12

Apparatus for detecting icing conditions on a monitored surface, comprising first means for creating a first output signal indicating that said surface has attained a temperature equivalent to a predetermined temperature, second means for creating a second output signal indicating the atmospheric dew point temperature, third means for creating a third output signal indicating the ambient atmospheric temperature, and summing means for receiving as input signals thereto said first second and third output signals to cause actuation of related output means, said summing means being ineffective to cause actuation of said related output means when said second and third output signals are received by said summing means but said first output signal is not received by said summing means.

Claim 13

In an atmospheric condition detecting and indicating apparatus having first means for producing a first output signal indicative of a selected freezing reference temperature, second means for producing a second output signal indicative of the dew point temperature of said atmosphere, and output means effective to be acted upon by said first and second output signals as to cause said output means to respond thereto, the improvement of having said second means comprise photo-optic hygrometer means, said photo-optic hygrometer means comprising thermocooler means having light reflecting surface means, an infrared light emitting diode, a phototransistor, said diode being effective to direct a beam of infrared light against said surface means as to cause said light to be reflected from said surface means and onto said phototransistor, said reflected light being of sufficient energy to place said phototransistor into conduction when said surface means is devoid of any atmospheric formation thereon, said phototransistor being effective when in conduction to energize related P-N junction device means in order to thereby cool said surface means to a temperature at which an atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, said reflected light being of insufficient energy to place said phototransistor into conduction when said atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, said phototransistor being effective when not in conduction to permit said surface means to become slightly heated to thereby remove said atmospheric formation from said surface means and to again cyclicly enable said reflected light to cause said phototransistor to go into conduction and thereby determine the magnitude of said dew point temperature as being generally in a range of temperatures with such range having as one limit the magnitude of the temperature of said surface means necessary to evaporate therefrom said atmospheric formation and having as the other limit the magnitude of the temperature of said surface means at which said atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means.

Claim 14

In an atmospheric condition detecting and indicating apparatus having first means for producing a first output signal indicative of a selected freezing reference temperature, second means for producing a second output signal indicative of the dew point temperature of said atmosphere, and output means effective to be acted upon by said first and second output signals as to cause said output means to respond thereto, the improvement of having said second means comprise photo-optic hygrometer means, said photo-optic hygrometer means comprising thermocooler means having light reflecting surface means, an infrared light emitting diode, a phototransistor, said diode being effective to direct a beam of infrared light against said surface means as to cause said light to be reflected from said surface means and onto said phototransistor, said reflected light being of sufficient energy to place said phototransistor into conduction when said surface means is devoid of any atmospheric formation thereon, said phototransistor being effective when in conduction to energize related P-N junction device means in order to thereby cool said surface means to a temperature at which an atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, said reflected light being of insufficient energy to place said phototransistor into conduction when said atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, said phototransistor being effective when not in conduction to permit said surface means to become slightly heated to thereby remove said atmospheric formation from said surface means and to again cyclicly enable said reflected light to cause said phototransistor to go into conduction and thereby determine the magnitude of said dew point temperature as being generally in a range of temperatures with such range having as one limit the magnitude of the temperature of said surface means necessary to evaporate therefrom said atmospheric formation and having as the other limit the magnitude of the temperature of said surface means at which said atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means.

Claim 15

Apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said light emitting diode is cyclically pulsed into energization as to thereby cause said beam of infrared light to also be cyclically emitted therefrom.

Claim 16

Apparatus according to claim 11 and further comprising additional means for sensing actual atmospheric temperature and creating a temperature signal in response thereto, means for comparing said dew point temperature and said temperature signal and effective for producing an output whenever the compared relationship of said dew point temperature and said temperature signal attains a predetermined relationship.

Claim 17

In an atmospheric condition detecting and indicating apparatus having first means for producing a first output signal indicative of a selected freezing reference temperature, second means for producing a second output signal indicative of the dew point temperature of said atmosphere and output means effective to be acted upon by said first and second output signals as to cause said output means to respond thereto, the improvement of having said second means comprise a photo-optic hygrometer means, said photo-optic hygrometer means comprising thermocooler means having light reflecting surface means, an infrared light emitting diode, a photo-transistor, said diode being effective to direct a beam of infrared light against said surface means as to cause said light to be reflected from said surface means and onto said photo-transistor, said reflected light being of sufficient energy to place said phototransistor into conduction when said surface means is devoid of any atmospheric formation thereon, said phototransistor being effective when in conduction to energize related P-N junction device means in order to thereby cool said surface means to a temperature at which an atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, said reflected light being of insufficient energy to place said phototransistor into conduction when said atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, said phototransistor being effective when not in conduction to permit said surface means to become slightly heated to thereby remove said atmospheric formation from said surface means and to again cyclically enable said reflected light to cause said phototransistor to go into conduction and thereby determine the magnitude of said dew point temperature as being generally in a range of temperatures with such range having as one limit the magnitude of the temperature of said surface means necessary to evaporate therefrom said atmospheric formation and having as the other limit the magnitude of the temperature of said surface means at which said atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, and further comprising a second infrared light emitting diode, a second phototransistor, a second surface means the temperature of which is ambiently determined, said second diode being effective to direct a second beam of infrared light against said second surface means as to cause said second beam of light to be reflected onto said second phototransistor to thereby place said second phototransistor into conduction, said second phototransistor being in parallel with said first mentioned phototransistor as to thereby serve as a variable reference to thereby compensate for possible tendencies to operationally drift because of influencing adverse temperatures.

Claim 18

In an atmospheric condition detecting and indicating apparatus having first means for producing a first output signal indicative of a selected freezing reference temperature, second means for producing a second output signal indicative of the dew point temperature of said atmosphere and output means effective to be acted upon by said first and second output signals as to cause said output means to respond thereto, the improvement of having said second means comprise a photo-optic hygrometer means, said photo-optic hygrometer means comprising thermocooler means having light reflecting surface means, an infrared light emitting diode, a photo-transistor, said diode being effective to direct a beam of infrared light against said surface means as to cause said light to be reflected from said surface means and onto said photo-transistor, said reflected light being of sufficient energy to place said phototransistor into conduction when said surface means is devoid of any atmospheric formation thereon, said phototransistor being effective when in conduction to energize related P-N junction device means in order to thereby cool said surface means to a temperature at which an atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, said reflected light being of insufficient energy to place said phototransistor into conduction when said atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, said phototransistor being effective when not in conduction to permit said surface means to become slightly heated to thereby remove said atmospheric formation from said surface means and to again cyclically enable said reflected light to cause said phototransistor to go into conduction and thereby determine the magnitude of said dew point temperature as being generally in a range of temperatures with such range having as one limit the magnitude of the temperature of said surface means necessary to evaporate therefrom said atmospheric formation and having as the other limit the magnitude of the temperature of said surface means at which said atmospheric formation becomes present on said surface means, and further comprising a second infrared light emitting diode, a second phototransistor, a second surface means the temperature of which is ambiently determined, said second diode being effective to direct a second beam of infrared light against said second surface means as to cause said second beam of light to be reflected onto said second phototransistor to thereby place said second phototransistor into conduction, said second phototransistor being in parallel with said first mentioned phototransistor as to thereby serve as a variable reference to thereby compensate for possible tendencies to operationally drift because of influencing adverse temperatures.

Claim 19

Atmospheric condition detecting and indicating apparatus, comprising first means for establishing and producing a first signal indicative of a first reference temperature, second means for sensing ambient atmospheric temperature and effective for producing a second signal indicative of the magnitude of said sensed ambient atmospheric temperature, and third means for receiving and comparing said first and second signals in order to determine whether said ambient temperature is of a magnitude greater than the magnitude of said reference temperature, said third means being effective for producing a resulting output signal only when the magnitude of said ambient temperature is equal to or less than the magnitude of said reference temperature.

Claim 20

Atmospheric condition detecting and indicating apparatus, comprising first means for establishing and producing a first signal indicative of a first reference temperature, second means for sensing ambient atmospheric temperature and effective for producing a second signal indicative of the magnitude of said sensed ambient atmospheric temperature, and third means for receiving and comparing said first and second signals in order to determine whether said ambient temperature is of a magnitude greater than the magnitude of said reference temperature, said third means being effective for producing a resulting output signal only when the magnitude of said ambient temperature is equal to or less than the magnitude of said reference temperature.

Claim 21

Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein said first temperature is the dew point temperature, and further comprising fourth means effective for sensing and producing a fourth signal indicative of a monitored surface temperature, and fifth means for receiving said output signal and said fourth signal and in turn producing a second output signal in accordance with said output signal and said fourth signal.

Claim 24

The method according to claim 17 wherein the step of directing a beam of infrared light against said gauging surface comprises the step of cyclically energizing and de-energizing said light source as to thereby cause pulsing said beam of infrared light.

Claim 25

The method according to claim 17 and further comprising the step of monitoring the temperature of said gauging surface to determine the temperature at which said dew was evaporated and employing such temperature along with the temperature at which such infrared light energy was sufficiently absorbed as an indication of said dew point temperature.

Claim 26

The method according to claim 19 and further comprising the step of employing the temperature at which said dew was evaporated and the temperature at which such infrared light energy was sufficiently absorbed to define therebetween a very narrow range of temperatures which range contains the exact theoretical dew point temperature.

Claim 27

The method according to claim 17 and further comprising the steps of comparing said dew point temperature to the temperature of said gas atmosphere, and producing an output signal to associated output signal receiving means when the compared relationship of said dew point temperature and the temperature of said gas atmosphere attains a predetermined relationship.

Claim 28

Apparatus for detecting the presence of monitored substance on a gauging surface, comprising an infrared light generating source for directing a beam of infrared light against said gauging surface as to cause said beam of infrared light to be reflected therefrom, and an infrared light sensitive member having an actuating energy threshold positioned as to be acted upon by said reflected beam of infrared light to thereby create an output indicative thereof, said reflected beam of infrared light being the sole source for conveying light energy to said light sensitive member, said infrared light beam having a spectral range and energy level and said monitored substance having absorption characteristics as to cause absorption of a significant portion of the energy of said beam of infrared light by said monitored substance when said monitored substance is present on said gauging surface to thereby reduce the energy of said beam of infrared light impinging on said light sensitive means to a value below said energy threshold and thereby alter the action of said light sensitive means in accordance with said absorption.

Claim 29

Apparatus for detecting the presence of monitored substance on a gauging surface, comprising an infrared light generating source for directing a beam of infrared light against said gauging surface as to cause said beam of infrared light to be reflected therefrom, and an infrared light sensitive member having an actuating energy threshold positioned as to be acted upon by said reflected beam of infrared light to thereby create an output indicative thereof, said reflected beam of infrared light being the sole source for conveying light energy to said light sensitive member, said infrared light beam having a spectral range and energy level and said monitored substance having absorption characteristics as to cause absorption of a significant portion of the energy of said beam of infrared light by said monitored substance when said monitored substance is present on said gauging surface to thereby reduce the energy of said beam of infrared light impinging on said light sensitive means to a value below said energy threshold and thereby alter the action of said light sensitive means in accordance with said absorption.