Patent ID: 7228210

Claim:
An apparatus ( 10 , 26 , 170 , 176 ) for monitoring a component ( 16 ) associated with a vehicle, including: a display device ( 22 ) external to the vehicle for displaying information associated with the monitoring; and a monitoring device ( 12 ) in operative communication with the display device and disposed within an operative vicinity of the component being monitored for selectively sensing at least one environmental parameter associated with the component being monitored and selectively communicating data associated with the monitoring to the display device, wherein the monitoring device is adapted to selectively transmit the data associated with the monitoring to the display device via a data communication network ( 18 ) and also adapted to receive command and control information via the data communication network, at least one environmental sensor for selectively sensing the at least one environmental parameter associated with the component being monitored and providing sensor data to the monitoring device, wherein the monitoring device includes the sensor data in the data communicated to the display device, and wherein the display device and the monitoring device are electrically isolated from the vehicle and the component being monitored and inoperative from equipment associated with the vehicle; and a component information server ( 14 ) for command and control of the monitoring device, wherein the component information server is adapted to selectively transmit command and control information to the monitoring device via the data communication network, wherein the component information server is adapted to receive the data associated with the monitoring from the monitoring device via the data communication network, wherein the component information server is adapted to selectively receive command and control information from the display device via a component information network ( 20 ), wherein the component information server is adapted to selectively process the data associated with the monitoring based on preprogrammed instructions and command and control information to produce the component information associated with the monitoring, wherein the component information associated with the monitoring is selectively accessible to the display device via the component information network; and wherein the preprogrammed instructions include a predetermined monitoring device profile, wherein the component information server is adapted to transmit the preprogrammed instructions to the monitoring device via the data communication network, wherein the monitoring device is adapted to receive the preprogrammed instructions via the data communication network.