Process for generating a common time base for a system with distributed computing units

Abstract

In a process for operating computing units in communication with each other by serial data transfer over a data bus, each unit having its own clock generating system and the computing units exchanging timing information over the data bus, provision is made to generate a system timing using the transfer protocol that is valid for the system. For this purpose, a time registration start signal is first fed into the data bus; thereupon, each computing unit stores its own time value upon identification of the time registration start signal, transfers the stored own time value at a later moment in time to the other computing units and stores the time values received from the other computing units. Each computing unit then compares its own stored time value with the stored time values of the other computing units and calculates the present time value of the other computing units taking into account its own present time value. Each computing node can thus very accurately ascertain the relationship between its local time base and the local time bases of the other computing nodes, or a reference node, without having to adjust or correct the local time base.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.