Patent ID: 8121050

Claim:
A method for maintaining time synchronization between network nodes, the method comprising: broadcasting a timing signal from a source node to neighboring nodes subsequent to an initial synchronization of the source node with respect to the neighboring nodes, the timing signal being broadcast in a dedicated source time slot of a super epoch comprising a plurality of epochs each having a plurality of fixed time slots, wherein the timing signal indicates a transmission time of the timing signal and a destination node designated for response; receiving a reply timing signal at the source node from the neighboring node designated as the destination node, the reply timing signal being received in a dedicated destination time slot of the super epoch, wherein the reply timing signal indicates a transmission time of the reply timing signal; computing at the source node a propagation delay between the source and destination nodes based on the transmission time of the timing signal and a reception time of the reply timing signal; and computing at the source node a clock drift based on the transmission time of the timing signal, the transmission time of the reply timing signal, and the reception time of the reply timing signal.