Patents by Inventor Vernon Middleton

Vernon Middleton has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method and apparatus for aligning time references when separated by an unreliable data packet network
    Patent number: 7590151
    Abstract: A time control mechanism accepts samples of time (true or otherwise) over a network, and enables dynamic compensation for random delays of the network in order to maintain the output of a slave clock that the time control mechanism controls within required bounds relative to the time of a master clock, even when the samples are randomly delayed. In one embodiment, a hardware timestamping method and apparatus is provided. The hardware timestamping method and apparatus is used to achieve the fine resolution required for timestamping both received samples and transmitted requests. In another embodiment, a delay-variation-smoothing method and apparatus is provided. The delay-variation-smoothing method and apparatus allows the time control mechanism to calculate the network delay in order to maintain the slave clock within the required time bounds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2009
    Assignee: Semtech Corporation
    Inventors: Vernon Middleton, David Roe, Paul Rushton, David Tonks
  • Method and apparatus for aligning time references when separated by an unreliable data packet network
    Publication number: 20050207387
    Abstract: A time control mechanism accepts samples of time (true or otherwise) over a network, and enables dynamic compensation for random delays of the network in order to maintain the output of a slave clock that the time control mechanism controls within required bounds relative to the time of a master clock, even when the samples are randomly delayed. In one embodiment, a hardware timestamping method and apparatus is provided. The hardware timestamping method and apparatus is used to achieve the fine resolution required for timestamping both received samples and transmitted requests. In another embodiment, a delay-variation-smoothing method and apparatus is provided. The delay-variation-smoothing method and apparatus allows the time control mechanism to calculate the network delay in order to maintain the slave clock within the required time bounds.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2005
    Publication date: September 22, 2005
    Inventors: Vernon Middleton, David Roe, Paul Rushton, David Tonks