Apparatus and method for measuring time intervals with very high resolution
US6137749A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 18, 1998 |
| Grant date | Oct 24, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 18, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG04F10/04
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
To measure relatively long time intervals with very high resolution, apparatus and method operate to receive a first pulse and a clock signal that has a known period, synchronize the first pulse with the clock signal, stretch the first synchronized pulse in accordance with a first stretch ratio, produce a first compared output pulse corresponding to the first stretched signal, synchronize the first compared output pulse with the clock signal, generate a first pulse sequence from the first synchronized pulse and the first synchronized compared output pulse, convert times of occurrences of the edges of the first pulse sequence to respective time values, receive a second pulse and generate a second pulse sequence in a manner similar to that of the first pulse sequence, convert times of occurrences of the edges of the second pulse sequence to respective time values, count the elapsed number of clock periods between the first and second synchronized pulses, derive the time interval between the received pulses from the time values, the first and second stretch ratios, the period of the clock and the elapsed number of clock periods, and calibrate the first and second stretch ratios from t…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.