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:
Jul. 14, 2009
Filed:
Sep. 13, 2004
John B. Stratton, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Leon K. Werenka, Mukiteo, WA (US);
Daniel L. Pleasant, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Gopalakrishnan Kailasam, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Robert T. Cutler, Everett, WA (US);
John B. Stratton, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Leon K. Werenka, Mukiteo, WA (US);
Daniel L. Pleasant, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Gopalakrishnan Kailasam, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Robert T. Cutler, Everett, WA (US);
Agilent Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
A system and method are provided which add, via an add-on module, synchronization functionality to an instrument that does not otherwise support such synchronization functionality. Various synchronization techniques may be supported by the synchronization module. For instance, in certain embodiments the synchronization module supports message-based synchronization techniques and/or time-based synchronization techniques. Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the add-on module supports synchronization with another device (e.g., another instrument or another add-on module coupled to an instrument) via synchronized local clocks (e.g., IEEE 1588) and messaging over a communication network. In certain embodiments, the add-on module additionally or alternatively supports the use of 'time bombs' to trigger scheduled actions on the instrument with which the synchronization module is interfaced.