Patent ID: 7168853

Claim:
An integrated circuit chip comprising: at least one measuring device for providing a digital value that corresponds to at least one of a plurality of physical operating parameters of said integrated chip, wherein said measuring device is contained within said integrated circuit chip; an on-chip monitoring system for self-monitoring measured operating parameters and generating control signals to execute functions in response to said measured operating parameters, wherein said on-chip monitoring system includes a general purpose register storing data of said digital value, a threshold register, and a reference register and upon receiving a set parameter instruction data is transferred from said general purpose register to one or both of said threshold register or said reference register, for use in producing a measurement value based on said digital value from said measuring device; at least one digital communication device through which said measurement value can be communicated to a plurality of other devices including a further device on said integrated circuit chip and including an internal bus connected to said general purpose register for communicating with said on-chip monitoring system, wherein said on-chip monitoring system further includes a serializer/deserializer connected to said internal bus and a multiplexer/demultiplexer connected between said serializer/deserializer and said threshold register for transferring data thereto; and an interrupt handler receiving a signal from said reference register for causing a transfer of data for said sensor register and said serializer/deserializer, and the internal bus from the general purpose register.