Microcontroller clock calibration using data transmission from an accurate third party
First Claim
1. A method of enabling timing dependent communication between a first electronic device and a second electronic device, comprising:
- transmitting a timing independent signal from the first electronic device to a third party device to request transmission of timing information, wherein the timing independent signal is comprised of a voltage change in the timing independent signal that is detectable by the third party device;
calibrating a clock source of the first electronic device based on the timing information transmitted from the third party device and received by the first electronic device, wherein the timing information is comprised of a clock signal; and
conducting the timing dependent communication between the first electronic device and the second electronic device, wherein a data rate of the timing dependent communication is based on a clock rate of the clock source.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for calibrating the internal oscillator of a microcontroller from a remote clock source. In some embodiments, an electronic device can request timing information from a third party device using a timing independent signal. The timing information received from the third party device may be used to calibrate the microcontroller clock of the electronic device. In some embodiments, the internal oscillator may be calibrated based on timing information received from multiple third party devices. Once calibrated, the microcontroller may initiate timing dependent communication with other electronic devices using a timing dependent protocol, such as a serial protocol.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A method of enabling timing dependent communication between a first electronic device and a second electronic device, comprising:
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transmitting a timing independent signal from the first electronic device to a third party device to request transmission of timing information, wherein the timing independent signal is comprised of a voltage change in the timing independent signal that is detectable by the third party device; calibrating a clock source of the first electronic device based on the timing information transmitted from the third party device and received by the first electronic device, wherein the timing information is comprised of a clock signal; and conducting the timing dependent communication between the first electronic device and the second electronic device, wherein a data rate of the timing dependent communication is based on a clock rate of the clock source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of transmitting timing information from a first electronic device to a second electronic device, wherein the first electronic device comprises a reliable clock source, and wherein the second electronic device comprises a microcontroller with an internal oscillator, the method comprising:
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receiving a timing independent signal from the second electronic device with the first electronic device, wherein the timing independent signal is comprised of a voltage change in the timing independent signal that is detectable by the first electronic device; detecting a request for the timing information from the received timing independent signal with the first electronic device; and transmitting the timing information from the first electronic device to the second electronic device, wherein the timing information is derived from the reliable clock source, wherein the timing information is comprised of a clock signal, and wherein the timing information is used by the second electronic device to calibrate the internal oscillator of the microcontroller. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A system, comprising:
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a third party device comprising a reliable clock source, wherein the third party device is configured to transmit timing information derived from the reliable clock source in response to receiving a timing independent request, wherein the timing independent signal is comprised of a voltage change in the timing independent signal that is detectable by the third party device, wherein the timing information is comprised of a clock signal; and a first electronic device coupled to the third party device, wherein the first electronic device comprises a microcontroller with an internal oscillator, and wherein the first electronic device is configured to; transmit the timing independent request to the third party device; and calibrate the internal oscillator with the timing information received from the third party device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An electronic device, comprising:
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a first communication link for transmitting, to a second electronic device, a request for timing information using a timing independent protocol, wherein the second electronic device comprises a reliable clock source, wherein the timing independent protocol is comprised of a voltage change in a timing independent signal that is detectable by the second electronic device; a second communication link for receiving the timing information, wherein the timing information is comprised of a clock signal; and a microcontroller for controlling operations of the electronic device, wherein an internal oscillator of the microcontroller is calibrated based on the received timing information. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A method of calibrating a clock source of a first electronic device for use in enabling timing dependent communication between the first electronic device and a second electronic device, the method comprising:
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transmitting a request for timing signals from the first electronic device to a plurality of third party devices using a timing independent protocol, wherein the timing independent protocol is comprised of a voltage change in a timing independent signal that is detectable by the plurality of third party devices; receiving a plurality of timing signals with the first electronic device from the plurality of third party devices in response to the request, wherein the plurality of timing signals is comprised of clock signals; deriving timing information with the first electronic device from at least a subset of the timing signals; and calibrating the clock source based on the timing information. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification