Appeal No. 2000-0338 Page 2
Application No. 08/624,615
According to the appellants, however, ice can form without any
temperature increase in the surface. (Spec. at 1.) For
example, they assert that no temperature increase occurs
during the slow cooling of a wet surface; temperature
decreases only after the ice has formed. (Id. at 1-2.)
In contrast, the appellants explain that their invention
detects the formation of ice by measuring heat released during
the formation. (Appeal Br. at 3-4.) Specifically, the
invention features a sensor with a Peltier element. A first
contact surface of the element is in thermal contact with a
road surface. A second contact surface of the element is in
thermal contact with a reference surface. The sensor
passively and continuously measures a temperature difference
between the first and second contact surfaces. A signal
processing device connected to the first and second contact
surfaces detects a series of changes in outputs from the
sensor that occur when heat generated by the formation of ice
is released by the road surface.
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