Apparatus for synchronizing a plurality of clocks in a simulcast network to a reference clock
US5416808A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 4, 1994 |
| Grant date | May 16, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 4, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG04G7/02
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A clock synchronization system for synchronizing the performance of a number of clocks (46) so that they run parallel with a reference clock is disclosed. Each clock of this synchronization system includes a counter (52) that indicates the current time and that is sequentially incremented by a counter advance signal applied thereto. A time counter controller (54) both initializes the counter and generates the clocking signal that controls the advancement of the counter. The time counter controller further monitors the time indicated by the counter and compares it to a reference-time signal received from a reference clock. Based on the comparison, the time counter controller selectively reinitializes the counter and adjusts the rate at which the clocking signal is applied to the counter so as to ensure that the counter advances at a rate equal to the rate at which the reference clock advances. In some versions of the invention, the comparison of the reference-time signal to the actual clock counter time is made at a maintenance operation point (58) remote from the clock. In these versions of the invention, the maintenance operation point reports the difference in the two times back …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.