Patent ID: 7590151

Claim:
A method for aligning time references in a communications network comprises: at a master device of the communications network: generating a message timestamp comprising at least a sample of a master clock source; inserting the message timestamp into the message at a predetermined message timestamp point; and sending the message to at least one slave device of the communications network; and at a slave device of the communications network: receiving the message; generating a clock timestamp corresponding to a time the message timestamp point passes a predetermined clock timestamp point as measured by a slave clock source; quantifying a measure of transmission path delay from a comparison between the message timestamp and the clock timestamp; weighting the measure of transmission path delay with a density acceptance factor, wherein the density acceptance factor is determined by: loading the measures of transmission path delay into at least one linked list ordered in accordance with delay magnitude; and comparing a number of measurements of transmission path delay in the at least one linked list with a range of delay magnitude; and adjusting the slave clock source responsive to the weighted measurement.