Patent ID: 8724760

Claim:
A method for generating synchronized timing pulses from a plurality of nodes, wherein one of the plurality of nodes is designated as a master node and remaining ones of the plurality of nodes are designated as auxiliary nodes, wherein each of the plurality of nodes includes a GPS receiver, reference oscillator, and time pulse signal generator, the method comprising: measuring via the GPS receiver in each of the plurality of nodes, carrier phases of satellite signals transmitted by a plurality of GPS satellites relative to a carrier phase of the reference oscillator in the respective node; providing by the master node to the auxiliary nodes, data relating to the measured carrier phases of the plurality of GPS satellites and position information of the master node; setting by the master node, a carrier phase of a signal output by the time pulse signal generator in the master node, to the phase of the reference oscillator in the master node; generating a timing pulse by the master node based on the carrier phase of the signal output by the time pulse signal generator in the master node; determining by each of the auxiliary nodes based on the data from the master node, a difference of the phase of the reference oscillator of the auxiliary node relative to the phase of the reference oscillator in the master node; aligning, for each of the auxiliary nodes, a carrier phase of a signal output by the time pulse signal generator in the auxiliary node based on the determined phase difference; generating a timing pulse by each of the auxiliary nodes based on the aligned carrier phase, wherein the timing pulses generated by the auxiliary nodes are synchronized with the timing pulse generated by the master node.