Thermopile construction with multiple EMF outputs

Abstract

An improved thermopile construction particularly adapted for use as an electric generator capable of producing multiple EMF outputs in response to heat from a pilot flame. A cluster of long elements comprised of two dissimilar metals are assembled with one end of one element joined with one end of a second element to form hot and cold thermocouple junctions which are arrayed in a circle. One of the groups of two dissimilar metals being located at the beginning of the array and being longer than the rest of the array extends beyond the other hot junctions allowing for greater sensitivity and responsiveness to changes in the temperature of the pilot flame and surrounding radiating surfaces. The cold junction of the longer elements has an extension wire connected to one of the dissimilar metals forming the thermocouple which leads from the enclosure housing the cluster of thermocouples to serve as the negative lead. The cold junction of a second of two dissimilar metals has an extension wire which leads from the enclosure of the cluster of thermocouples to serve as the positive lead for the thermocouple and thermopile array. The positive and negative leads of the longer elements carry the EMF generated by the temperature differential between the hot and cold junctions. The EMF generated by the longer thermocouple elements is large enough to operate an electromechanical device requiring less voltage than the total thermocouple cluster is capable of generating thus allowing the operation of a device requiring a small EMF and a device requiring the full EMF generated by the total array of thermocouples. Additional extension wires could be connected to additional cold junctions to provide additional EMF voltages for the operation of additional devices.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.