APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING TIME SYNCHRONIZATION USING GPS INFORMATION IN COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20090168808A1
• Filed: 04/04/2008
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cho, Byung-Duck, Hwang, Seong-Taek, Oh, Yun-Je, CHO, Jae-Hun
• Granted Patent: US 7,876,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/503
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 7/00 Synchronisation radio-controlled time-pieces G04R
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0644 External master-clock
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0664 unidirectional timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0667 Bidirectional timestamps, e.g. NTP or PTP for compensation of clock drift and for compensation of propagation delays arrangements for monitoring round trip delays in packet switching networks H04L43/0864
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/0697 Synchronisation in a packet node

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus and a method for performing time synchronization by using Global Positioning System (GPS) information in a communication system. The apparatus comprises a grand-master node having a GPS receiver, for generating a synchronizing message required to synchronize time on slave nodes by using Time Of Day (TOD) information received from the GPS receiver and at least one slave node for receiving the synchronizing message required to synchronize time from the grand-master node or from another slave node, for carrying out time synchronization operation by using an Offset and Frequency Compensation Clock (OFCC) synchronization process supporting time offset and frequency separation compensation, and for generating a synchronizing message required to synchronize time on other slave nodes.

Claims

1. An apparatus for performing time synchronization by using Global Positioning System (GPS) information in a communication system, the apparatus comprising:

a grand-master node having a GPS receiver, and for generating a synchronizing message including Time Of Day (TOD) information received from the GPS receiver; and

at least one slave node for receiving the synchronizing message from the grand-master node for carrying out time synchronization operation by using an Offset and Frequency Compensation Clock (OFCC) synchronization process supporting time offset and frequency separation compensation.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grand-master node having the GPS receiver comprises:

a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) generator for encapsulating the received TOD information in a PTP scheme;

a time stamp generator for generating a time stamp complying with the IEEE 1588 standard in the synchronizing message;

a time stamp checker for processing time-stamped information; and

a CPU for controlling each of configuration elements of the grand-master node.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the GPS receiver equipped within the grand-master node is configured in the form of one body with the grand-master node, or is configured in an add-on form having a separated form from the grand-master node.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the grand-master node having the GPS receiver configured in the add-on form performs a communication operation between the GPS receiver and the grand-master node by using an RS-232 port.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slave node comprises:

a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) generator for encapsulating the TOD information in a PTP scheme in order to produce a synchronizing message;

a time stamp generator for generating a time stamp according to the IEEE 1588 standard in the synchronizing message

a time stamp checker for processing time-stamped information of a synchronizing message received;

a clock and timing generating unit for generating 1 Pulse Per Second (1PPS), Pulse Per 2 Second (PP2S), and 10 MHz output signals by using the synchronized TOD information; and

a CPU for controlling each of configuration elements of the slave node, and for carrying out a time synchronization operation by using the OFCC synchronization process.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the OFCC synchronization process:

checks a point in time when the relevant synchronizing message is received in relation to a point in time of previous frequency compensation when the synchronizing message is received from the side of a master node, and confirms whether an interval between the point in time of the reception of the relevant synchronizing message and the point in time of the previous frequency compensation reaches a preset frequency compensation interval;

performs only a time offset compensation operation if it is confirmed that the interval does not reach the preset frequency compensation interval; and

performs both the time offset compensation operation and a frequency compensation operation if it is confirmed that the interval reaches the preset frequency compensation interval.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the slave node further comprises:

a Temperature-Compensated X-tal (crystal) Oscillator (TCXO) for providing an output signal having an oscillation frequency that is mechanically and physically stable.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the 10 MHz clock provided from the clock and timing generating unit is used as a system synchronizing clock.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the 10 MHz clock provided from the clock and timing generating unit corresponds to a digital 10 MHz clock synchronized by using an analog 10 MHz clock provided from the TCXO.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one slave node further:

generating a synchronizing message required to synchronize time on other slave nodes.

10. A method for performing time synchronization by using Global Positioning System (GPS) information in a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a synchronizing message required to synchronize time on at least one slave node by using Time Of Day (TOD) information that a grand-master node having a GPS receiver receives from a GPS receiver, and transmitting the generated synchronizing message to the at least one slave node; and

receiving, by the at least one slave node, the synchronizing message, carrying out time synchronization operation by using an Offset and Frequency Compensation Clock (OFCC) synchronization process supporting time offset and frequency separation compensation.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the Offset and Frequency Compensation Clock (OFCC) synchronization process employed by the slave node comprises the steps of:

checking a point in time when the relevant synchronizing message is received in relation to a point in time of previous frequency compensation when the synchronizing message is received from the side of a master node, and confirming if an interval between the point in time of the reception of the relevant synchronizing message and the point in time of the previous frequency compensation reaches a preset frequency compensation interval;

performing a time offset compensation operation if it is confirmed that the interval does not reach the preset frequency compensation interval; and

performs both the time offset compensation operation and a frequency compensation operation if it is confirmed that the interval reaches the preset frequency compensation interval.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the synchronizing message that the grand-master node generates for time synchronization of the slave node is encapsulated in a PTP scheme by using the TOD information received from the GPS receiver, and is time-stamped according to the IEEE 1588 standard.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein time-stamped information of the synchronizing message that the slave node receives from the grand-master node or from another slave node is processed by the slave node according to the IEEE 1588 standard.

14. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the synchronizing message that the slave node generates for time synchronization of another slave node is encapsulated in a PTP scheme by using the TOD information of the slave node, and is time-stamped according to the IEEE 1588 standard.

16. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said at least one slave node further executes the step of:

generating a synchronizing message required to synchronize time on other slave nodes.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a Precision Time Protocol (PTP) generator for encapsulating time of day (TOD) information in a PTP scheme in order to produce a synchronizing message;

a time stamp generator for generating a time stamp according to the IEEE 1588 standard in the synchronizing message

a time stamp checker for processing time-stamped information of a synchronizing message received;

a clock and timing generating unit for generating 1 Pulse Per Second (1PPS), Pulse Per 2 Second (PP2S), and 10 MHz output signals by using the synchronized TOD information; and

a CPU for carrying out a time synchronization operation by using an OFCC synchronization process.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the OFCC synchronization process:

checks a point in time when the relevant synchronizing message is received in relation to a point in time of previous frequency compensation when the synchronizing message is received from the side of a master node, and confirms whether an interval between the point in time of the reception of the relevant synchronizing message and the point in time of the previous frequency compensation reaches a preset frequency compensation interval;

performs a time offset compensation operation if it is confirmed that the interval does not reach the preset frequency compensation interval; and

performs the time offset compensation operation and a frequency compensation operation if it is confirmed that the interval reaches the preset frequency compensation interval.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, further comprises:

a Temperature-Compensated X-tal (crystal) Oscillator (TCXO) for providing an output signal having an oscillation frequency that is mechanically and physically stable.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the 10 MHz clock provided from the clock and timing generating unit is used as a system synchronizing clock.

21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 19, wherein the 10 MHz clock provided from the clock and timing generating unit corresponds to a digital 10 MHz clock synchronized by using an analog 10 MHz clock provided from the TCXO.

22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the TOD data is provided by a GPS.

23. The apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein said time compensation is determined as:

FreqScaleFactorn=MasterClockCountn/SlaveClockCountn.

24. The apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein said frequency compensation is determined as: