Phase locked time interval analyzer
US6975106B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 15, 2004 |
| Grant date | Dec 13, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 15, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03L7/0995
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method of analysis of a time interval between two selected measurement edges of interest includes locking a plurality of at least three substantially interchangeable oscillators to a common reference frequency, the oscillators containing digital locked-loop (DLL) circuit architecture. The method includes operating one oscillator as a timebase oscillator, and operating the other oscillators as edge-resettable measurement oscillators. The method further includes coupling one oscillator with a switched and physically-immutable parametric variation, producing an offset in the frequency of the coupled oscillator relative to the frequency of the other oscillators. The method includes phase-aligning each of the measurement oscillators to a triggering pulse created by one of selected measurement edges of interest, oscillating each phase-aligned measurement oscillator until its phase matches the phase of the timebase oscillator, and counting the number of oscillation cycles of the phase-aligned measurement oscillator from the time of phase-alignment until the time of phase matching.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.