Synchronization of clocks in a satellite communication network by preassigning constants to stations of the network

A satellite communication network including a plurality of terrestrial stations, each of said plurality of terrestrial stations establishing a bidirectional link to and from at least one selected terrestrial station of said plurality of terrestrial stations through a satellite, each of said plurality of terrestrial stations including:

• a local clock for periodically indicating a current time;
• packet forming means for forming a transmission packet for transmission to said bidirectional link with said transmission packet made to additionally represent as a local time datum the current time indicated when supplied with data to be represented by said transmission packet;
• data extracting means for extracting a particular time datum from a reception packet received through said bidirectional link from said selected station;
• and
• a calculation unit connected to said local clock and to said data extracting means for calculating a propagation delay between each of said terrestrial stations and said selected station through said bidirectional link, a first station of said plurality of terrestrial stations being used as said each station to transmit a first packet as said transmission packet to the bidirectional link established thereby, a second station of said terrestrial stations being used as said selected station to transmit a second packet as said transmission packet to a particular link established thereby as said bidirectional link by using said first station as said selected station relative to said second station with said second packet made to indicate the current time thereof as said particular time datum when the packet forming means thereof is supplied with data to be represented by said second packet, said first station receiving said second packet as said reception packet through said particular link, said satellite communication network comprising a reference station for establishing a unidirectional link to each of said terrestrial stations through said satellite, wherein:
• said reference station comprises a reference clock for periodically indicating a reference time and announcing means for forming a common packet for transmission to said unidirectional link once in a predetermined duration of time to simultaneously announce said common packet to said terrestrial stations through said unidirectional link with said common packet made to indicate the reference time as a common time datum when said common packet is formed;
• said each station further comprising time setting means for extracting said common time datum as an extracted time datum from the common packet received through said unidirectional link and for setting said current time at a time instant indicated by a sum of said extracted time datum and a constant preassigned to said each station.

A satellite communication network comprising a plurality of terrestrial stations, each of said terrestrial stations establishing a bidirectional link to and from at least one selected station of said terrestrial stations through a satellite and including:

• a local clock for periodically indicating a current time;
• packet forming means for forming a transmission packet for transmission to said bidirectional link with said transmission packet made to additionally represent as a local time datum the current time indicated when supplied with data to be represented by said transmission packet;
• data extracting means for extracting a particular time datum from a reception packet received through said bidirectional link from said selected station;
• and
• a calculation unit connected to said local clock and to said data extracting means for calculating a propagation delay between said each station and said selected station through said bidirectional link, a first station of said terrestrial stations being used as said each station to transmit a first packet as said transmission packet to the bidirectional link established thereby, a second station of said terrestrial stations being used as said selected station to transmit a second packet as said transmission packet to a particular link established thereby as said bidirectional link by using said first station as said selected station relative to said second station with said second packet made to indicate the current time thereof as said particular time datum when the packet forming means thereof is supplied with data to be represented by said second packet, said first station receiving said second packet as said reception packet through said particular link, one of said terrestrial stations being used as a center station for establishing a common link as said bidirectional link with each of said terrestrial stations used as said selected station, wherein:
• said center station comprises a reference clock periodically indicating a reference time and announcing means for forming a common packet for transmission to said common link once a predetermined duration of time to simultaneously announce said common packet to said terrestrial stations through said common link with said common packet made to indicate said reference time as a common time datum when said common packet is formed;
• said each station further comprising time setting means for extracting said common time datum as an extracted time datum from the common packet received through said common link and for setting said current time at a time instant indicated by a sum of said extracted time datum and a constant preassigned to said each station.