Time service device and system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a time service device and system, and the device comprises a signal receiving module, a control module, and a plurality of network port communication modules. The signal receiving module is connected to the control module, and each network port communication module is connected to the control module; the network port communication module comprises a network card unit and a network transformation unit, a first end of the network card unit is connected to the control module, a second end of the network card unit is connected to a first end of the network transformation unit, and a second end of the network transformation unit is connected to Ethernet equipment. The device can effectively improve the time service convenience and stability and reduce the time service cost. The utility model relates to the technical field of time service.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of time synchronization technology, and in particular to a time synchronization device and system. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of modern science and technology, various industries have increasingly higher requirements for the accuracy of time and frequency. Satellite time synchronization, as the most effective way to achieve high-precision time synchronization over long distances and large areas, has attracted much attention.

[0003] Currently, existing time synchronization devices (such as multi-port BeiDou NTP time synchronization devices or satellite NTP devices) all adopt a master-slave hardware architecture with multiple MCUs. This method requires the transmission of time information between the master MCU and the slave MCU, which makes time synchronization inconvenient, the cost of the time synchronization device is high, and the stability of time synchronization is not satisfactory.

[0004] Therefore, the problems existing in the current technology still need to be solved and optimized. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this utility model is to solve, to a certain extent, the technical problems existing in related technologies.

[0006] Therefore, one objective of this utility model is to provide a time synchronization device and system, wherein the device can effectively improve the convenience and stability of time synchronization and reduce the cost of time synchronization.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned technical objectives, this utility model provides a timing device, including a signal receiving module, a control module, and several network port communication modules;

[0008] The signal receiving module is connected to the control module, and each of the network port communication modules is connected to the control module respectively;

[0009] The network communication module includes a network card unit and a network transformer unit. The first end of the network card unit is connected to the control module, the second end of the network card unit is connected to the first end of the network transformer unit, and the second end of the network transformer unit is connected to the Ethernet device.

[0010] In addition, a timing device according to an embodiment of the present invention may also have the following additional technical features:

[0011] Optionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, the signal receiving module includes a satellite signal receiving chip, which is connected to the control module.

[0012] Optionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, the control module includes a clock crystal oscillator unit and a processing unit, wherein the clock crystal oscillator unit is connected to the processing unit.

[0013] Optionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, the timing device further includes a serial communication module, the first end of which is connected to the control module, and the second end of which is connected to the Ethernet device.

[0014] Optionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, the serial communication module includes a serial port level conversion chip, which is connected to the control module.

[0015] Optionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, the timing device further includes a configuration module, which is connected to the control module.

[0016] Optionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, the network card unit includes a network port communication chip, which is connected to the first end of the network transformer unit.

[0017] Optionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, the network communication chip includes a W5500 chip, and the first pin, second pin, fifth pin and sixth pin of the W5500 chip are connected to the first end of the network transformer unit.

[0018] Optionally, in one embodiment of the present invention, the network transformer unit includes a network port transformer connector, which is connected to the second end of the network card unit.

[0019] This application embodiment also provides a time synchronization system, including the above-mentioned time synchronization device and a plurality of Ethernet devices, each of the Ethernet devices being communicatively connected to a network port communication module of the time synchronization device.

[0020] The advantages and beneficial effects of this invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention:

[0021] This application discloses a time synchronization device and system. The device includes a signal receiving module, a control module, and several network communication modules. The signal receiving module is connected to the control module, and each network communication module is connected to the control module. Each network communication module includes a network interface card (NIC) unit and a network transformer unit. A first end of the NIC unit is connected to the control module, a second end of the NIC unit is connected to a first end of the network transformer unit, and the second end of the network transformer unit is connected to an Ethernet device. This device connects to several network communication modules via the control module, and each network communication module connects to a corresponding Ethernet device. It can achieve time synchronization based on a single MCU hardware architecture, which improves the convenience and stability of time synchronization and reduces its cost. Attached Figure Description

[0022] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solutions of this application and constitute a part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of this application to explain the technical solutions of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions of this application.

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the frame of a timing device provided in one embodiment of this utility model;

[0024] Figure 2 A circuit diagram of a signal receiving module provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 3 A circuit diagram of a clock crystal oscillator unit provided as an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 4 A circuit schematic diagram of a processing unit provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 5 A circuit schematic diagram of a serial communication module provided in one embodiment of this utility model;

[0028] Figure 6 A circuit schematic diagram of a configuration module provided in one embodiment of the present utility model;

[0029] Figure 7 A circuit schematic diagram of a network port unit provided in one embodiment of this utility model;

[0030] Figure 8 A circuit diagram of a network transformer unit is provided as an embodiment of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The embodiments of this utility model are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain this utility model, and should not be construed as limiting this utility model.

[0032] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "length," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "top," "inner," "outer," "axial," "radial," and "circumferential," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model. Furthermore, features defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this utility model, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0033] Currently, existing timing devices (such as multi-port BeiDou NTP timing devices or satellite NTP devices) all adopt a multi-MCU master-slave hardware architecture. Specifically, in the first master-slave hardware architecture, a network port needs to be set up in the master MCU or each slave MCU to achieve data exchange with the network; or, in the second master-slave hardware architecture, a network port needs to be set up in at least one slave MCU, and a communication mechanism needs to be established between the master MCU and each slave MCU to achieve data exchange between the MCU and the network.

[0034] In practical applications, for the first master-slave hardware architecture, different network ports will connect to different physical network segments, making it cumbersome to set the parameters of the timing device remotely, and the convenience of timing communication is not high. For the second master-slave hardware architecture, although it can set the parameters of the timing device through any network port based on the communication mechanism between MCUs, its timing communication is also more complicated and not very convenient.

[0035] Furthermore, in terms of cost, both of the above master-slave hardware architectures require MCUs with network communication capabilities for either the master or slave MCU. MCUs with network communication capabilities are expensive, have a limited range of available MCU types, and are relatively unreliable, resulting in higher costs. Additionally, both master-slave hardware architectures require coordination between the MCUs, and communication between MCUs is susceptible to external interference in real-world scenarios, posing a risk of data loss and resulting in low time synchronization stability.

[0036] In view of this, the present utility model application provides a time synchronization device and system. The device is connected to several network communication modules through a control module, and each network communication module is connected to a corresponding Ethernet device. It can realize time synchronization based on a single MCU hardware architecture, that is, it can realize time synchronization through an MCU without network communication capability, avoiding the complex communication mechanism between multiple MCUs, which helps to reduce the complexity and cost of time synchronization communication, and effectively improves the stability and convenience of time synchronization communication.

[0037] Reference Figure 1 Specifically, a timing device in one embodiment of this application includes a signal receiving module, a control module, and several network communication modules;

[0038] The signal receiving module is connected to the control module, and each of the network port communication modules is connected to the control module respectively;

[0039] The network communication module includes a network card unit and a network transformer unit. The first end of the network card unit is connected to the control module, the second end of the network card unit is connected to the first end of the network transformer unit, and the second end of the network transformer unit is connected to the Ethernet device.

[0040] In this embodiment, the signal receiving module receives satellite signals and generates a pulse-per-second (1PPS) signal corresponding to the satellite signals, and transmits the satellite signals and pulse-per-second signals to the control module; the control module obtains time information based on the satellite signals and pulse-per-second information, and connects to the Ethernet via the network port communication module. Specifically, the working principle of the time synchronization device provided in this embodiment is as follows:

[0041] The signal receiving module receives satellite signals from the satellite and generates a second pulse signal corresponding to the satellite signals. Then, the signal receiving module transmits the satellite signals and the second pulse signal to the control module. The control module obtains high-precision time information based on the satellite signals and the second pulse signal, and this high-precision time information is recorded as the time signal. Then, the control module transmits the chip select signal and the time signal to the target's network port communication module, so that the control module sends the time signal along the target's network port communication module to a specific device in the Ethernet network.

[0042] Furthermore, this timing device does not involve any software improvements; the software aspects can be easily derived from existing technology.

[0043] Reference Figure 2 In some embodiments, the signal receiving module includes a satellite signal receiving chip, which is connected to the control module.

[0044] In this embodiment, the signal receiving module may include a signal receiving antenna AE1 and a satellite signal receiving chip. The satellite signal receiving chip may be any one of a T302-3 timing chip, a T303-3 timing chip, an ATGM331C chip, or an MXT902 chip. Specifically, the satellite signal is transmitted to the satellite signal receiving chip via the signal receiving antenna AE1. The satellite signal receiving chip forwards the received satellite signal to the control module and simultaneously generates a second pulse signal based on the satellite signal. This second pulse signal is also transmitted to the control module via the I / O interface of the satellite signal receiving chip.

[0045] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 In some embodiments, the control module includes a clock crystal unit and a processing unit, wherein the clock crystal unit is connected to the processing unit.

[0046] In this embodiment, the satellite signal and second pulse signal transmitted by the satellite signal receiving chip can be transmitted to the processing unit, and the crystal oscillator signal generated by the clock crystal oscillator unit can be transmitted to the processing unit. The clock crystal oscillator unit can be a temperature-compensated crystal oscillator or a temperature-controlled crystal oscillator; for example, the crystal oscillator chip in the clock crystal oscillator unit can be a BT0507B chip. Specifically, after receiving the crystal oscillator signal, second pulse signal, and satellite signal, the processing unit can generate higher-precision time information (i.e., a time signal) and a corresponding chip select signal. Based on the chip select signal, it selects the target network communication module from all network port communication modules, and then transmits the time signal through the target network communication module to the corresponding device in the Ethernet network.

[0047] It is understood that the processing unit in the embodiments of this application may include a processing chip, which may be an MCU with network communication function, such as an STM32F407 chip; or, the processing chip may be an MCU without network communication function, such as an STM32F446 chip.

[0048] Specifically, in this embodiment of the application, taking the STM32F446 chip as the processing chip and the number of network communication modules equal to 4 as an example, the 33rd pin of the STM32F446 chip is connected to the first network communication module, the 29th pin of the STM32F446 chip is connected to the second network communication module, the 62nd pin of the STM32F446 chip is connected to the third network communication module, and the 61st pin of the STM32F446 chip is connected to the fourth network communication module.

[0049] It should be noted that for the STM32F446 chip, the chip select signal can be transmitted to the first network communication module through pin 33, and to the second network communication module through pin 29. The same applies to the other network communication modules, which can be easily deduced by analogy. This application will not elaborate further here.

[0050] In some embodiments, the timing device further includes a serial communication module, with a first end connected to the control module and a second end connected to the Ethernet device.

[0051] In this embodiment, the time synchronization device further includes a serial communication module, which is used to establish a serial communication connection between the control module and the Ethernet device. Specifically, the control module can transmit the time signal to the Ethernet device simultaneously via the serial communication module and the timestamp information corresponding to the time signal, thereby further improving the accuracy and stability of the time information.

[0052] Reference Figure 5 In some embodiments, the serial communication module includes a serial port level conversion chip, which is connected to the control module.

[0053] In this embodiment, the serial port level conversion chip can be any one of the MAX3232 chip, SIT3232 chip, GM3232 chip, SP3232 chip, etc. In this embodiment, the serial port level conversion chip is MAX3232 chip as an example. The ninth to twelfth pins of the MAX3232 chip are connected to the processing unit in the control module. The seventh and eighth pins, as well as the thirteenth and fourteenth pins of the MAX3232 chip are connected to the Ethernet device through the network interface, which is used to realize the conversion between RS232 level signals and TTL level signals.

[0054] Reference Figure 6 In some embodiments, the timing device further includes a configuration module connected to the control module.

[0055] In this embodiment, the configuration module may include a memory chip, such as a 24LC08 chip or a 24LC512 chip, and the configuration module is used to store data information provided by the control module.

[0056] In some embodiments, the network interface card (NIC) unit includes a network port communication chip, which is connected to a first terminal of the network transformer unit.

[0057] Reference Figure 7In some embodiments, the network communication chip includes a W5500 chip, and the first, second, fifth and sixth pins of the W5500 chip are connected to the first end of the network transformer unit.

[0058] Reference Figure 8 In some embodiments, the network transformer unit includes a network port transformer connector, which is connected to the second end of the network card unit.

[0059] In this embodiment, the control module can be connected to each network communication chip in the network port unit via an SPI bus. Any network communication chip can include any one of the following: W5500 chip, CH394 chip, CH390 chip, etc. Taking the W5500 chip as an example, pins 33 to 35 of each W5500 chip are connected to the processing unit of the control module, while pins 1, 2, 5, and 6 of each W5500 chip are connected to the corresponding network transformer unit.

[0060] It is understood that each W5500 chip in this embodiment receives a chip select signal from the control module via pin 32. Specifically, if all network communication modules use W5500 chips, the control module can provide a low-level chip select signal to the target network communication module (i.e., provide a low-level chip select signal to the target network communication chip); and provide a high-level chip select signal to non-target network communication modules, thereby transmitting the time signal to a specific Ethernet device.

[0061] It should be noted that for a certain network port communication module, the network port transformer connector can be any one of the HR911105A connector, HR911105C connector, etc. The network port transformer connector is used to convert the time signal into the signal level for communication in the network cable.

[0062] This application embodiment also provides a time synchronization system, including the time synchronization device as described above and a plurality of Ethernet devices, each of the Ethernet devices being communicatively connected to a network port communication module of the time synchronization device.

[0063] In this embodiment of the application, each Ethernet device can be connected to a network port communication module of the timing device, thereby enabling the timing device to provide timing communication to multiple Ethernet devices.

[0064] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "one embodiment," "another embodiment," or "some embodiments," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this utility model. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0065] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A time synchronization device, characterized in that, It includes a signal receiving module, a control module, and several network communication modules; The signal receiving module is connected to the control module, and each of the network port communication modules is connected to the control module respectively; The network communication module includes a network card unit and a network transformer unit. The first end of the network card unit is connected to the control module, the second end of the network card unit is connected to the first end of the network transformer unit, and the second end of the network transformer unit is connected to the Ethernet device.

2. The timing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The signal receiving module includes a satellite signal receiving chip, which is connected to the control module.

3. The time synchronization device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control module includes a clock crystal unit and a processing unit, with the clock crystal unit connected to the processing unit.

4. The timing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The timing device also includes a serial communication module, with a first end connected to the control module and a second end connected to the Ethernet device.

5. The timing device according to claim 4, characterized in that, The serial communication module includes a serial port level conversion chip, which is connected to the control module.

6. The timing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The timing device also includes a configuration module, which is connected to the control module.

7. The timing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The network interface card (NIC) unit includes a network port communication chip, which is connected to the first end of the network transformer unit.

8. The timing device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The network communication chip includes a W5500 chip, and the first, second, fifth and sixth pins of the W5500 chip are connected to the first end of the network transformer unit.

9. The timing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The network transformer unit includes a network port transformer connector, which is connected to the second end of the network card unit.

10. A time synchronization system, characterized in that, It includes a timing device as described in any one of claims 1-9 and a plurality of Ethernet devices, each of the Ethernet devices being communicatively connected to a network port communication module of the timing device.

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