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US 6,215,862 B1Granted
Automated time synchronization of peripheral devices using a telephone
AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorRobert Joseph Lopes
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A telephone operates as a time server for synchronizing an appliance or peripheral by accessing a time service over telephone lines to obtain an accurate geographic time for the telephone, and by transmitting a synchronizing pulse to the appliance at a predetermined time to set the time function of the appliance.
Claims25
A telephone comprising:
- telephone circuitry for establishing a connection to a time service over a telephone network;
- a transmitter for transmitting a synchronization signal over a wireless channel to an appliance at a predetermnined time to set the local time of the appliance to the predetermined time corresponding to the synchronization signal, the synchronization signal corresponding to but not encoding a value of the predetermined time;
- and
- a microcontroller for controlling the telephone to access the time service using the telephone circuitry to obtain a substantially accurate geographic time associated with the telephone, and for generating the synchronization signal at the predetermined time relative to the accurate geographic time.
1 more element
An apparatus comprising:
- telephone circuitry for establishing a connection to a time service over a telephone network;
- a transmitter for transmitting a synchronization signal over a wireless channel to an appliance at a predetermined time to set the local time of the appliance to the predetermined time corresponding to the synchronizing signal, the synchronization signal corresponding to but not encoding a value of the predetermined time;
- a microcontroller for accessing the time service using the telephone circuitry to obtain a substantially accurate geographic time associated with the apparatus, and for generating the synchronization signal at the predetermined time relative to the accurate geographic time;
- a clock for measuring time intervals;
- and
- wherein the microcontroller, responsive to the time intervals, initiates a request procedure to periodically contact the time service to obtain the substantially accurate geographic time.
3 more elements
An appliance comprising:
- a decoding logic circuit, responsive to receiving one of a plurality of different predetermined synchronization signals over a wireless channel from a telephone, each of the different synchronization signals corresponding to a predetermined time value but not encoding the predetermined time value, for generating a time set signal by associating the received synchronization signal with its corresponding predetermined time value;
- and
- appliance clock circuitry for maintaining a local time, and responsive to the time set signal for resetting the local time to the predetermined time value.
A system for synchronizing a clock device, the system comprising:
- a telephone having:
- telephone circuitry for establishing a connection to a time service over a telephone network;
- a transmitter for transmitting a synchronization signal over a wireless channel at a predetermined time, the synchronization signal corresponding to but not encoding a value of the predetermined time;
- and
- a microcontroller for controlling the telephone to access the time service using the telephone circuitry to obtain an accurate geographic time associated with the telephone, and for generating the synchronization signal at the predetermine time relative to the accurate geographic time;
- and
- an appliance having:
- a decoding logic circuit, responsive to receiving a predetermined synchronization signal over the wireless channel from the telephone corresponding to a predetermined time value, for generating a time set signal;
- and
- appliance clock circuitry for maintaining a local time in the clock device associated with the appliance, the appliance clock circuitry being responsive to the time set signal for resetting the local time to the predetermined time value.
7 more elements
A system for synchronizing a clock device, the system comprising:
- a telephone having:
- telephone circuitry for establishing a connection to a time service over a telephone network;
- a transmitter for transmitting a synchronization signal over a wireless channel at a predetermined time, the synchronization signal corresponding to but not encoding a value of the predetermined time;
- a microcontroller for accessing the time service using the telephone circuitry to obtain an accurate geographic time associated with the telephone, and for generating the synchronization signal at the predetermined time relative to the accurate geographic time;
- a clock for measuring time intervals;
- and
- wherein the microcontroller, responsive to the time intervals, initiates a request procedure to periodically contact the time service to obtain the substantially accurate geographic time;
- and
- an appliance having:
- a decoding logic circuit, responsive to receiving a predetermined synchronization signal over the wireless channel from the telephone corresponding to a predetermined time value, for generating a time set signal;
- and
- appliance clock circuitry for maintaining a local time in the clock device associated with the appliance, the appliance clock circuitry being responsive to the time set signal for resetting the local time to the predetermined time value.
9 more elements
A method for synchronizing a clock device in an appliance storing a local time, the method comprising:
- using a microcontroller to cause a telephonic device to establish a connection with a time service over a telecommunication network at a predetermined time;
- receiving a substantially accurate geographic time associated with the telephonic device from the time service;
- and
- transmitting a synchronization signal over a wireless channel to an appliance at the predetermined time to thereby set the local time of the appliance to the predetermined time corresponding to the synchronization signal, the synchronization signal corresponding to but not encoding a value of the predetermined time.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.