Patent ID: 8529126

Claim:
A system for measuring temperature, the system comprising: a thermowell with a measurement instrument connection and a side port, wherein the side port is an exterior side port and wherein the thermowell comprises: a well comprising an exterior surface and an interior surface; a bore cavity defined by the interior surface, wherein the bore cavity extends from the measurement instrument connection at a proximal end of the well to a sealed tip at a distal end of the well; a connection portion located on the exterior surface between the proximal end and the distal end; and a side passage extending from the exterior side port on the exterior surface to an interior side port on the interior surface, wherein the interior side port is between the proximal end and the distal end, wherein the exterior side port is between the proximal end and the connection portion, and wherein the proximal end is nearer to the exterior side port than to the interior side port; a primary temperature sensor extending into the thermowell through the measurement instrument connection; a reference sensor extending into the thermowell through the side port; and a transmitter connected to each of the primary temperature sensor and the reference sensor, wherein the transmitter comprises circuitry for measuring temperature based upon signals received from the primary temperature sensor and for concurrently calibrating based upon signals received from the reference sensor.