Network Clock Device Time Delay Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing home and office appliances that rely on radio clocks for time and date synchronization face increased complexity and inefficiency due to the need for separate radio clock installations, and existing network-based solutions struggle with accurately updating internal clocks across networks, especially with varying time delays.
Innovation Solution
A system where a clock device acquires a time value from a radio station or internet source and sends it to a target device through a network, with nodes adjusting for time delays to ensure accurate synchronization, including automatic daylight saving time updates and handling of devices in sleep modes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a radio clock is added to each home appliance for time synchronization, then time accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The radio clock functionality is extracted from individual appliances and centralized into a dedicated clock device. This clock device receives time signals from radio stations and distributes synchronized time information to multiple appliances through a network, eliminating the need for each appliance to have its own radio clock receiver while maintaining time accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
A networked clock device serves as an intermediary between the radio station time source and multiple target appliances. This intermediary receives time information from the radio station, processes it, and distributes it to connected appliances, simplifying each appliance's design while ensuring accurate time synchronization.
2Device complexity
If time values are sent through a network to multiple devices, then device complexity is reduced, but time synchronization accuracy deteriorates due to network delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by measuring network delay characteristics in advance using test messages exchanged between the clock device and target devices. These measured delay values are stored and used to pre-calculate compensation amounts, allowing the system to adjust time values proactively before distribution, thereby compensating for known network delays and maintaining synchronization accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where target devices send acknowledgment messages back to the clock device, allowing the clock device to measure round-trip network delays. This feedback information is used to adjust and refine time value calculations, ensuring that time synchronization accounts for actual network conditions and maintains accuracy despite variable delays.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides apparatuses and methods for updating a target device from a clock device through a network. The clock device obtains a time value from a clock source and sends the time value to a target device. A node within the network determines a time delay, adjusts the time value in accordance with the time delay, and sends the adjusted time value to the target device. The node may determine a time delay from an internal timer or from a measurement message when adjusting the time value. The clock device may send a subsequent time update message to the target device if the target device does not acknowledge reception of a time update. The clock device may also send a time update message to a target device when a status change of daylight savings time occurs and obtain a subsequent time value from a clock source.