Patent ID: 11912420
Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 11:
12. A method comprising:
communicatively coupling a control unit with a first icing detector, wherein the first icing detector is an icing conditions detector configured to detect both ice water content and liquid water content, wherein the icing conditions detector is unable to differentiate between the ice water content and the liquid water content, wherein the first icing detector is configured to detect a first icing condition in relation to one or more portions of an aircraft, and wherein the first icing detector is configured to output a first icing signal indicative of the first icing condition;
communicatively coupling the control unit with a second icing detector, wherein the second icing detector is configured to detect a second icing condition in relation to the one or more portions of the aircraft, wherein the second icing detector is a magnetostrictive ice detector configured to detect the liquid water content, and wherein the magnetostrictive ice detector is unable to detect the ice water content, wherein the second icing detector is located aft in relation to the first icing detector, and wherein the second icing detector is configured to output a second icing signal indicative of the second icing condition;
receiving, by the control unit, one or both of the first icing signal from the first icing detector and the second icing signal from the second icing detector; and
distinguishing, by the control unit, independent of water drop size or temperature, between a presence of supercooled liquid water and ice crystal icing in response to receiving one or both of the first icing signal or the second icing signal.