Environmental condition sensor device and method
AssigneeDallas Semiconductor Corporation
InventorsJames D. Awtrey, Hal Kurkowski, Robert D. Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device and method for measuring temperature is disclosed. The device, for example, can include a thermocouple configured to generate a voltage indicative of a junction temperature; a memory device configured to store a unique device ID and to store data; a logic unit connected to the thermocouple and the memory device; an I/O interface connected to the logic unit, the I/O interface configured to communicate with a computer system; and an internal temperature sensor connected to the logic unit, the internal temperature sensor configured to determine a cold junction temperature.
Claims30
A device for measuring temperature, the device comprising:
- a thermocouple configured to generate a voltage indicative of a junction temperature;
- a memory device configured to store a unique device ID and to store data;
- a logic unit connected to the thermocouple and the memory device;
- an I/O interface connected to the logic unit, the I/O interface configured to communicate with a computer system;
- and
- an internal temperature sensor connected to the logic unit, the internal temperature sensor configured to determine a cold junction temperature;
- wherein the logic unit is configured to use the voltage generated by the thermocouple and the cold junction temperature to produce a digital indication of the hot junction temperature.
A device for measuring temperature, the device comprising:
- a thermocouple configured to generate a voltage indicative of a temperature;
- a memory device configured to store a unique device ID and to store a temperature value;
- and
- a logic unit connected to the thermocouple and the memory device, the logic unit configured to receive at least an indication of the voltage generated by the thermocouple and to determine the temperature value that corresponds to the received voltage.
A system for monitoring environmental conditions, the system comprising:
- a computer;
- a data line connected to the computer;
- a reference line connected to the computer;
- at least one environmental monitoring device (EMD) connected to the data line and the reference line;
- wherein said at least one EMD communicates with the computer over the data line and wherein each EMD is addressable by said computer.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.