Patent ID: 7496473

Claim:
A temperature sensing and diagnostics system having a temperature sensor for generating a temperature characteristic and a first bus, the system comprising: a field processing module adapted for coupling to the temperature sensor and for receiving the temperature characteristic from the temperature sensor, the field processing module including a field diagnostic component that performs a computational operation to generate a field diagnostic parameter as a function of the temperature characteristic and a field communication component configured for communication over the first bus; and an auxiliary processing module configured for communicating with the first bus and for receiving the field diagnostic parameter, said auxiliary processing module including an auxiliary diagnostic component that performs a computational operation to generate an auxiliary diagnostic parameter, and an auxiliary communication component having a second bus interface and a gateway component, said auxiliary processing module being configured for communicating the auxiliary diagnostic parameter over a second bus separate and distinct from the first bus wherein the auxiliary processing module is configured for transmitting the auxiliary diagnostic parameter to the field processing module, and wherein the field processing module is configured for communicating the field diagnostic parameter over the first bus in response to the received auxiliary diagnostic parameter.