ABOUT US

SOLID/LIQUID DISCRIMINATOR & INTELLIGENT ENVIRONMENTAL SENSOR R&D: Raymond J. Noack, founder of CARCO Pty Ltd (Australia), patented the first windshield rain sensor in the world, the "Control Apparatus", in 1978, and the first U.S. patent # 4,355,271 was granted in 1982. He is generally accepted by the glass industry worldwide as the father of the windshield rain sensor technology. His latest sensor development, the "Ice and Liquid Detector", U.S. patent # 5,796,106 granted in 1998, is much smaller, cheaper, a dramatic improvement on his original windshield rain sensor technology and it's applicable to many industries. As a defrost sensor, it can discriminate between solids and liquids on the sensor's package for use in the aerospace, automotive, refrigeration and environmental sensor industries. The "Ice and Liquid Detector" is the cheapest, smallest and smartest aerospace, automotive, refrigeration and environmental rain, water, frost, snow, ice, moisture, dust, temperature and ambient light sensor technology available in a single sensor. Some sensor applications are...... 1. Refrigerator Adaptive Demand defrost sensors detect the thickness of frost buildup on coil fins and the defrosting water to automatically and efficiently defrost freezers AT LESS THAN A QUARTER OF THE COST OF CURRENT ADAPTIVE DEFROST CONTROL TIMERS...... 2. Automotive rain/frost/snow/ice/ambient daylight sensors for: -(A) automatic rain sensing wipers & light sensing vehicle lights -(B) automatic dust/salt sensing windshield washers -(C) automatic defrost of frost/snow/ice on heated windshields -(D) automatic windshield rain/frost/snow/ice/ambient daylight and low temperature environmental road conditions weather alert for laser and radar based anti-collision systems and active cruise controls...... 3. Ice detectors detect wing ice thickness buildup for aircraft, UAVs and Wind Turbine blades...... 4. Anti-fogging heated bathroom mirror moisture/mist sensors...... 5. Interior demisting, defogging or defrosting windshields...... 6. Continuous automatic removal of frost/snow/ice from solar panels, satellite dishes, communications antennae/dishes, security lighting systems, railroad switchgear as well as embedded heating systems in heated: roads, paths, driveways, ramps, skyscraper roofs and gutters etc...... 7. Remote-sensing rain, frost, snow and ice weather alerts...... 8. Agricultural (farm or home garden) wireless remote sensing water-usage monitors to control efficient irrigation water use on the farm and to help encourage home garden water conservation...... 9. Many other intelligent solid/liquid discriminator environmental sensors for industry applications worldwide......

THE SENSING TECHNOLOGY : (See the movie - click on Internet Links)

This Near Infra-Red (NIR) self-cleaning sensing technology INSTANTLY discriminates between solids, liquids and gasses on a glass or plastic sensing surface, detects change of state between ice and water, and measures frost thickness from less than 0.01mm to more than 5mm. The patented "Ice and Liquid Detector" technology functions like a crude NIR electro-optic chemical spectrometer by simply indicating the presence of a solid, liquid or gas on the glass (or plastic) sensing surface. Solids reflect NIR radiation causing an increased reflection from the surface INTO the glass, whereas, liquids absorb NIR radiation causing a decrease. The intermediate (or reference) NIR radiation reflected from the glass surface INTO the glass when clean and dry indicates a gas (air). As described later, these sensors may be manufactured smaller than a postage stamp and embedded "inside" laminated glass windshields, windows or mirrors. Also, Carco's IR sensor detects ambient temperature as well as daylight or background radiation emitted by the sun, or other incandescent lights. Carco's Ice and Liquid Detector technology discriminates between solids and liquids on the sensor's package and is an excellent defrost sensor for the refrigeration industry. With appropriate packaging, it can be utilized to detect aircraft wing ice buildup and has the added advantage of preventing excessive use of toxic deice fluids in the aircraft industry. In the thin smartcard package it can be embedded inside laminated windshields to monitor both the outside face (as a rain sensor) and the inside face (as a demister / defroster) simultaneously. Also, it senses ambient light (IR) to control vehicle lights and it will remove frost, snow and ice automatically on optional heated windscreens / windshields. ONE OF THE BIGGEST ENERGY CONSUMPTION PROBLEMS IN THE REFRIGERATION INDUSTRY TODAY IS NOT KNOWING "WHEN TO START DEFROSTING" AND "FOR HOW LONG"! These two factors vary constantly due to many changing conditions which cannot be accurately predicted, such as the number of times the freezer door is opened per day, the room temperature and humidity or the size of the freezer contents etc. Therefore, refrigerator defrost controls are designed as simple energy-inefficient pre-set timer switches, which defrost the freezer two to three times a day, with a 500 Watt or 750 Watt defrost heater whether it needs it or not, resulting in higher running costs. When the freezer door is kept closed, no moist air is admitted, and it shouldn't need to defrost again for many days or even weeks when all the family is on vacation. Detecting the frost buildup thickness solves the "WHEN" and detecting melted frost water solves the "FOR HOW LONG"! Carco's REFRIGERATOR frost/ice/water technology functions perfectly as an energy-efficient adaptive demand defrost control for frost-free/no-frost refrigerators. Our defrost sensors detect the thickness of frost buildup on the coil fins and the defrosting water to automatically and efficiently defrost freezers AT LESS THAN A QUARTER OF THE COST OF CURRENT ADAPTIVE DEFROST CONTROL TIMERS. Carco's technology replaces the defrost timer, bi-metal overtemperature sensor and most of the adaptive or fuzzy logic electronics but costs about the same as the bi-metal sensor alone! It initiates the defrost heater only when it detects the frost thickness has built up to a maximum of 2-3mm, or about half the smallest evaporator coil fin spacing, to prevent frost buildup on the coil fins from blocking the cold air flowing through the freezer. It terminates defrost heating the instant melted frost water is detected, reducing compressor motor and the 500 Watt to 750 Watt defrost heater running costs for a more efficient, reliable, cheaper and "intelligent" fridge! Carco's frost/ice/water sensors prevent unnecessary defrost cycles, thus reducing defrost heater and compressor motor running time, therefore saving refrigerator energy consumption costs by up to 15% or more. By incorporating Carco's frost/ice/water sensors the size of both the defrost heater and compressor motor can be reduced and the evaporator coil fin spacing can be much closer to increase its efficiency simply by increasing the number of fins per area. Also, our ultra-sensititive frost detectors allow super-quick defrosts using hot gas defrost to save even more energy. Current defrost options available to save unnecessary defrosting energy consumption are inefficient, adaptive defrost controls, many types using very expensive fuzzy logic timer systems to save just a few defrost cycles. TEMPERATURE SENSORS detect temperature only, they cannot detect ice or measure the thickness of frost buildup on the coil fins, nor can they detect the melted frost and ice water due to defrosting that terminates the freezer's 500 Watt to 750 Watt defrost heater automatically thus eliminating the need for defrost timer switches and defrost heater termination thermostats! The refrigerator / freezer is the perfect optical sensor environment because all dirt particles or substances are embedded in or on the surface of the frost / ice and fall to the bottom of the freezer cabinet together with the melted frost and ice water with each defrost. The evaporator coil in a frost free refrigerator is always clean because it generally defrosts two or three times per day and removes any dirt accumulation. Carco's frost / ice / water sensor window should be mounted vertically to allow the melted frost and ice to slide off quickly during defrost. For this reason, the refrigerator / freezer is a perfect environment for an optical sensor, it is tightly temperature controlled, free of harsh ambient light and it self cleans with each defrost cycle......

PATENTS / INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) :

The "Ice and Liquid Detector" international PCT patent application was granted in Australia as patent # 681037 on 04DEC97. In USA, U.S. patent # 5,796,106 was granted on 18AUG98 and the South Korean patent # 0371109 was granted on 22JAN2003. Carco's European patent # 0766815 which was granted on 18DEC2002 was published on 10DEC2003 as no opposition was filed within the time limit. The seven countries covered by the European patent are the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Sweden. The Canadian patent # 2,193,242 was granted on 17MAY2005. Carco's patented "Ice and Liquid Detector", U.S. Patent # 5,796,106, describes the above solid/liquid discriminator function and includes TWO other important features: 1. Etching the glass surface of the sensing window or target area on the glass windshield gives the clear glass a "milky" or slightly white opaque appearance. Etching improves the efficiency at least tenfold by reflecting more of the sensor's internal infrared sensing beam that would normally be lost through the clear glass. Also, etching the surface diffuses interference from strong sunlight or external ambient infrared radiation by scattering and absorbing it. But the best feature of etching is the ability to increase the sensor's sensitivity to moisture because the milky-white surface turns "clear" when wet and returns to milky-white again when dry. This single feature alone would greatly improve the performance of all current windshield rain sensors on the market today. And....2. Carco's ultra-thin unfocussed infrared sensors do not need air gaps or optical lenses and may be bonded directly to the glass or completely moulded in thin plastic. Also, silicone rubber coated smartcard-thin sensors can be embedded or sandwiched inside laminated glass during the windshield lamination process. Embedded rain sensor windshields are easier to install and to replace and add value to the windshield OEM's product.....

HOW THE SENSOR TECHNOLOGY WORKS :

Our patented Ice and Liquid Detector technology is based on IR reflective object sensors or switches. IR reflective object sensors / switches manufactured by many optoelectronic manufacturers today are designed, as the name implies, to detect the proximity of objects. They achieve this simply by sensing a reflection from any object within the sensing range of the device. As solids and liquids each reflect IR radiation in close proximity, therefore reflective object sensors cannot discriminate between them. Our patented Ice and Liquid Detector sensing technology describes how to modify current reflective object sensors / switches to discriminate between solids and liquids and therefore enable them to function as frost / ice / water sensors. For example, refrigerator / freezer frost / ice / water sensors are normal IR reflective object sensors attached to a thin sensor plate 1 mm to 2 mm thick and by etching a target area on the sensing plate's surface the sensitivity and practical application of the technology is greatly improved. The frost / ice / water sensors, which have been patented by Carco P/L worldwide, enable reflective object sensors to detect the difference between solids and liquids in direct contact with the sensor plate surface. It no longer functions as a proximity sensor because the solids or liquids on the surface reflect or absorb the sensor's internal IR radiation beam. The 1 mm to 2 mm thick sensor plate provides a reference level or partial reflection from the surface when it is clean and dry. Solids such as frost or ice provide a positive or increased reflection ABOVE the clean and dry reference reflection level. And liquids such as melted frost / ice provide a negative or decreased reflection BELOW the clean and dry reference reflection level because the IR radiation is absorbed by the liquid in contact with the surface. The positive level signals the buildup of frost on the refrigerator / freezer's evaporator coil and initiates the defrost heater, the negative level signals that the frost / ice has melted and terminates the defrost cycle. This ensures that the defrost heater is used only when required and saves 15% or more of energy by preventing unnecessary wasteful defrost cycles. All of Carco's patented Ice and Liquid Detector frost / ice / water sensors function as described in the refrigerator / freezer example above, however, the sensor packaging is different for each industry application......

WORLDWIDE MASS PRODUCTION, MARKETING AND LICENSING OPPORTUNITIES :

Carco P/L does not manufacture IR sensor components as there are no IR semiconductor fabrication or IC chipmaker manufacturing plants in Australia. Therefore, Carco Pty Ltd is prepared to grant exclusive "field of use" or non-exclusive manufacturing and/or marketing licenses in return for an upfront lump sum payment and annual license renewal fees plus a negotiated annual royalty percentage from 5% to 10%. Or, for a consulting fee and upfront lump sum payment, grant an exclusive worldwide option to negotiate a license, for a six or twelve month period, for the mass production/marketing of Carco's patented Ice and Liquid Detector sensing technology. Carco would also consider negotiating a worldwide exclusive mass production/marketing license covering all applications, or, selling an equity percentage in the granted patent rights of each country if required.