Gateway apparatus and method for synchronization between heterogeneous network domains within vehicle

Abstract

A gateway apparatus includes a first network controller, a second network controller, and a time synchronization control unit. The first network controller has a first timer time-synchronized with nodes within a first network domain. The second network controller has a second timer time-synchronized with nodes within a second network domain. The time synchronization control unit includes a processor configured to store the observed times of the switching points of synchronized time slots within the first network domain, based on system time within the second network domain, and adjusts the rate of the second timer based on a comparison of a time difference between the successive observed times and a nominal length of the time slots.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.