System and method for synchronizing clocks in a plurality of devices across a communication channel
US6236623A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 16, 1998 |
| Grant date | May 22, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 16, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J3/0682
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system and method is disclosed for synchronizing clocks in a plurality of devices connected by a communication channel. A master control device is coupled to one or more slave control devices, e.g., event recorders, across a communication channel. Preferably, the communication channel is implemented according to an RS-485 interface. By periodically interrogating and monitoring the responses of each of the slave control devices, the master control device determines the transit time, i.e., communication, delays to each of the slave control devices. Operating in conjunction with this data, the master control device can then interpret and/or adjust any event times reported by the event recorders to improve the relative time accuracy of the event recorders as compared to a time maintained by the master control device. Consequently, the control system can achieve a relative time synchronization accuracy between the master and slave times to within 100 microseconds and preferably 100 nanoseconds or less.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.