Dielectric-loaded surface-condition sensor and method
US5652522A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 21, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jul 29, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 21, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N22/00
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A dielectric-loaded, microwave sensor which can detect dielectric coatings, e.g., air, water and ice, on a road surface. The sensor includes an antenna having an aperture and also includes a dielectric member with a lower surface and an upper surface. The dielectric member is arranged with its lower surface across the antenna aperture and the sensor is embedded in a road with the dielectric member's upper surface coplanar with the road's surface. An antenna beam, which is incident upon the dielectric member, generates a return microwave signal which is the composite of microwave reflections from the dielectric member's inner and outer surfaces. Air, water and ice can be uniquely identified by the absence or presence of an amplitude minimum at predetermined frequencies of the return microwave signal. The thickness of an ice coating is determined by observation of the frequency of the amplitude minimum.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.