US 12,259,747 B1
Clock monitoring using pointer techniques
Madhusudhan Harigovindan Thekkeettil, Cupertino, CA (US); and Josef Mueller, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to MARVELL ASIA PTE LTD, Singapore (SG)
Filed by Marvell Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore (SG)
Filed on Jan. 25, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/159,451.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/302,943, filed on Jan. 25, 2022.
Int. Cl. G06F 1/12 (2006.01); H04L 5/00 (2006.01); H04L 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 1/12 (2013.01) 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for mitigating clock malfunction in an automotive network wherein a monitored clock and a reference clock have a known frequency relationship, the method comprising:
initializing a first pointer and a second pointer to initial positions;
incrementing the first pointer at every M cycles of the monitored clock and the second pointer at every N cycles of the reference clock, where M and N are integers determined by the known frequency relationship;
comparing the position of the first pointer to the position of the second pointer; and
in response to determining that the position of the first pointer and the position of the second pointer differ by more than a drift threshold:
indicating a clock error; and
resetting the monitored clock.