US 11,871,369 B1
Time module apparatus for use with fixed-beacon time transfer system
Markus Lutz, Mountain View, CA (US); Sassan Tabatabaei, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Charles I. Grosjean, Los Gatos, CA (US); Paul M. Hagelin, Saratoga, CA (US); and Aaron Partridge, Cupertino, CA (US)
Assigned to SiTime Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA (US)
Filed by SiTime Corporation, Santa Clara, CA (US)
Filed on Nov. 22, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/532,100.
Application 17/532,100 is a division of application No. 16/655,560, filed on Oct. 17, 2019, granted, now 11,218,984.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/747,593, filed on Oct. 18, 2018.
Int. Cl. H04W 56/00 (2009.01); H04W 40/24 (2009.01); B81B 7/02 (2006.01); G06F 7/58 (2006.01); H04W 88/08 (2009.01)
CPC H04W 56/0015 (2013.01) [B81B 7/02 (2013.01); G06F 7/582 (2013.01); H04W 40/244 (2013.01); H04W 88/085 (2013.01)] 17 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus comprising:
circuitry operable to receive and retransmit digital network traffic;
circuitry operable to receive and demodulate a radio frequency broadcast of timing synchronization information;
circuitry operable to locally generate timing;
circuitry operable to compare the timing synchronization information and the locally generated timing, to obtain correction information; and
circuitry operable to correct a time signal dependent on the correction information, and to provide the corrected time signal to the circuitry operable to receive and retransmit;
wherein the circuitry operable to receive and transmit is operable to perform at least one of reception or retransmission of the digital network traffic in dependence on the corrected time signal;
wherein the apparatus further comprises:
memory to store a position of said apparatus; and
a network interface operable to transmit the position of said apparatus to a remote digital device, together with a unique identifier (ID) of said apparatus;
wherein the memory is also to store a current operational state of said apparatus; and
wherein the network interface is also operable to transmit, to the remote digital device, and in association with the unique ID, the current operational state of said apparatus and information representing at least one of the correction information or the corrected time signal.