ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,305,857, issued on May 20.
"Quick change hot water heater thermocouple" was invented by John Darcy Bolton (Irvine, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A quick-change thermocouple system for hot water heaters is disclosed, comprising multiple thermocouples pre-installed on a pull bar within the flame chamber. The system allows for easy replacement of faulty thermocouples without specialized tools or technical knowledge. When a thermocouple fails, the user pulls an external handle, sliding the pull bar to position a new thermocouple over the pilot flame. This action removes the faulty thermocouple and simultaneously installs a fresh one....