Fast-response thermocouple probe

Claim 1

A passive fast-response insulated-foil thermocouple probe comprising (a) a mounting block movable with a handle; (b) a layer of insulating material having a low product of thermal conductivity, density, and specific heat mounted on the upper surface of said mounting block; (c) a thin-foil ribbon thermocouple comprising two dissimilar metal foils joined in a junction at corresponding ends thereof and positioned on the upper surface of said layer of insulating material; (d) a low-areal-heat-capacity cover film mounted over the upper surface of the insulating layer and the foil ribbon thermocouple thereon and extending at least partially down at least one of the sidees of the mounting block; (e) electrical connections on each of said two dissimilar metal foil ribbons of the thermocouple at their extremities adapted to electrically connect in series, said thermocouple, a reference junction, and means for sensing electromotive force developed in a circuit, whereby said sensing means responds to the differential between the electromotive force produced by the foil and reference junctions; and (f) said probe movable against an object with a preselected amount of force for measuring the temperature of an object without modifying its surface temperature.