Synchronization of system time in electronic device

• US 8,971,154 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2009
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGRS Engineering Lab Limited
• Original Assignee: IGRS Engineering Lab Limited
• Inventors: Wei, Zhiyu
• Primary Examiner(s): Kayes, Sean
• Application Number:
  US12/502,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20110013489A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,058 Days
• Field of Search: 368 46- 47, 455/193.1, 342/357.2
• US Class Current: 368/47
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 19/08 Arrangements for preventing voltage drop due to overloading the power supply
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 5/00 Setting, i.e. correcting or changing, the time-indication radio-controlled time-pieces G04R
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 7/00 Synchronisation radio-controlled time-pieces G04R
• CPC Class Codes: G04R 20/00 Setting the time according to the time information carried or implied by the radio signal

Abstract

A method and apparatus for synchronizing a system time in an electronic device are provided. The method may include: when the electronic device is executing a boot process, disabling an external time obtaining function of the electronic device for obtaining an external reference time, obtaining an internal clock time from an internal clock unit of the electronic device and synchronizing a system time of the electronic device with the internal clock time; and when the electronic device has completed the boot process, enabling the external time obtaining function to obtain the external reference time.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing a system time in an electronic device, comprising:

when the electronic device is executing a boot process,

disabling an external time obtaining function of the electronic device for obtaining an external reference time,

obtaining an internal clock time, and

synchronizing the system time of the electronic device with the internal clock time; and

when the electronic device has completed the boot process,

enabling the external time obtaining function to obtain the external reference time.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein after enabling the external time obtaining function, the method further comprises:

obtaining, by the external time obtaining function, the external reference time via a communication network.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

disabling the external time obtaining function when connection between the electronic device and the communication network is unavailable, and

enabling the external time obtaining function when the connection between the electronic device and the communication network is available.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the external reference time is a Network Time Protocol (NTP) time, and the external time obtaining function obtains the NTP time by invoking an NTP service via the communication network.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

synchronizing the system time of the electronic device with the obtained external reference time.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

calibrating the internal clock unit using the obtained external reference time.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

performing the external time obtaining function to obtain the external reference time periodically, or at predefined time points, or in response to an external command; and

synchronizing the system time of the electronic device with the obtained external reference time periodically, or at predefined time points, or in response to an external command.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the external reference time is a Global Position System (GPS) time, and the external time obtaining function obtains the GPS time by using a GPS receiving device associated with the electronic device.

9. An apparatus for synchronizing a system time in an electronic device, comprising:

an external time obtaining module, adapted to obtain an external reference time;

an internal clock time obtaining module, adapted to obtain an internal clock time from an internal clock unit of the electronic device and use the internal clock time as the system time of the electronic device; and

a control module, adapted to disable the external time obtaining module when the electronic device is executing a boot process, and enable the external time obtaining module when the electronic device has completed the boot process to obtain the external reference time.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

the external time obtaining module is further adapted to obtain the external reference time via a communication device connectable to a communication network.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein:

the control device is further adapted to disable the external time obtaining module when connection between the electronic device and the communication network is unavailable and enable the external time obtaining module when the connection between the electronic device and the communication network is available.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the external reference time is a Network Time Protocol (NTP) time, and the external time obtaining module is adapted to invoke an NTP service via the communication network to obtain the NTP time.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

a system time synchronizing module, adapted to synchronize the system time of the electronic device with the external reference time obtained by the external time obtaining module.

14. The apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising:

an internal clock calibrating module, adapted to calibrate the internal clock unit of the electronic device using the external reference time obtained by the external time obtaining module.

15. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:

the external time obtaining module is further adapted to obtain the external reference time periodically, or at predefined time points, or in response to an external command;

the system time synchronizing module is further adapted to synchronize the system time of the electronic device with the obtained external reference time periodically, or at predefined time points, or in response to an external command.

16. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the external reference time is a Global Position System (GPS) time, and the external time obtaining module is adapted to obtain the GPS time using a GPS receiving device associated with the external time obtaining module.

17. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the apparatus is embedded in the electronic device.

18. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the electronic device is an embedded electronic device.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon machine-readable program code for, when executed by a processor, causing an information processing device to perform a method comprising:

when an electronic device is executing a boot process,

disabling an external time obtaining function of the electronic device for obtaining an external reference time,

obtaining an internal clock time, and

synchronizing a system time of the electronic device with the internal clock time; and

when the electronic device has completed the boot process,

enabling the external time obtaining function to obtain the external reference time.