The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 04, 2003
Filed:
Mar. 31, 2000
Val Teodorescu, Plano, TX (US);
Alcatel, Paris, FR;
Abstract
A multi-stage clock distribution scheme for use in a signaling server organized into a plurality of uniquely addressable shelves. The signaling server includes a system timing generator, one or more clock distribution modules arranged in a nested hierarchical manner, and a plurality of bus control modules, wherein each bus control module interfaces with at least a portion of line cards disposed in a shelf. The system timing generator provides a framed serial control signal, SFI, for controlling the operation of the multi-stage clock distribution scheme. The SFI signal encodes the IDs of the clock distribution modules and bus control modules whereby a system clock generated by the system timing generator based on a select reference input is successively fanned-out by the intermediate clock distribution modules based on address and ID information encoded in select fields of the SFI frames until the fanned-out system clocks are received by the bus control modules. Thereafter, each bus control module provides a copy of the system clock to the line cards controlled by it based on the SFI signal.