Oscillators having arbitrary frequencies and related systems and methods
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A circuit, comprising:
- a reference clock comprising;
a reference oscillator configured to produce a reference oscillator signal having an arbitrary frequency that is not a power of 2;
counter circuitry configured to receive the reference oscillator signal and count a number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal; and
comparator circuitry configured to compare the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal as counted by the counter circuitry to a reference number and to produce a comparator output exhibiting a state change when the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal equals or exceeds the reference number,wherein the reference clock is configured to output a reference clock signal with a time base based on the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal counted by the counter circuitry;
a real time clock coupled to the reference clock and configured to receive the reference clock signal having the time base, and configured to produce an output indicative of current time; and
a feedback loop between an output of the counter circuitry and a reset port of the counter circuitry.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for operating with oscillators configured to produce an oscillating signal having an arbitrary frequency are described. The frequency of the oscillating signal may be shifted to remove its arbitrary nature by application of multiple tuning signals or values to the oscillator. Alternatively, the arbitrary frequency may be accommodated by adjusting operation one or more components of a circuit receiving the oscillating signal.
63 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A circuit, comprising:
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a reference clock comprising; a reference oscillator configured to produce a reference oscillator signal having an arbitrary frequency that is not a power of 2; counter circuitry configured to receive the reference oscillator signal and count a number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal; and comparator circuitry configured to compare the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal as counted by the counter circuitry to a reference number and to produce a comparator output exhibiting a state change when the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal equals or exceeds the reference number, wherein the reference clock is configured to output a reference clock signal with a time base based on the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal counted by the counter circuitry; a real time clock coupled to the reference clock and configured to receive the reference clock signal having the time base, and configured to produce an output indicative of current time; and a feedback loop between an output of the counter circuitry and a reset port of the counter circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A circuit, comprising:
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a reference clock comprising; a reference oscillator configured to produce a reference oscillator signal having an arbitrary frequency that is not a power of 2; counter circuitry configured to receive the reference oscillator signal and count a number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal; and comparator circuitry configured to compare the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal as counted by the counter circuitry to a reference number and to produce a comparator output exhibiting a state change when the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal equals or exceeds the reference number, wherein the reference clock is configured to; output a reference clock signal with a time base based on the number of oscillations of the reference oscillator signal counted by the counter circuitry, determine an accumulated error, and adjust an output of the comparator circuitry based on the accumulated error; a real time clock coupled to the reference clock and configured to receive the reference clock signal having the time base, and configured to produce an output indicative of current time; and temperature compensation circuitry configured to compensate the accumulated error or the comparator output based on a measured temperature.
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12. A circuit comprising:
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a tunable reference oscillator configured to produce a tunable reference oscillating signal, wherein the tunable reference oscillator is tuned to an arbitrary frequency N Hz, wherein N is an integer; a real time clock configured to receive a reference clock signal derived from the tunable reference oscillating signal and produce an output indicative of current time; and a counter configured to count oscillations of the reference oscillating signal and to produce a clock pulse after N/2x oscillations, where x is an integer. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification