Patent Document ID: 20160112090
Application ID: 14517108
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1. In a frequency hopping network, a method for synchronizing a clock of a first network device with a network time, the first network device having a transceiver, the method comprising: listening, by the transceiver of the first network device, for information from a second network device via the frequency hopping network, wherein the first network device operates in accordance with a first frequency hopping sequence, wherein the first frequency hopping sequence includes a first plurality of data channels and a first plurality of acquisition channels, and wherein the second network device operates in accordance with a second frequency hopping sequence, wherein the second frequency hopping sequence includes a second plurality of data channels and a second plurality of acquisition channels, wherein the second frequency hopping sequence is different from the first frequency hopping sequence, and wherein the first plurality of acquisition channels of the first frequency hopping sequence and the second plurality of acquisition channels of the second frequency hopping sequence are arranged in their respective frequency hopping sequences such that when the first network device is tuned to one channel of the first plurality of acquisition channels, the second network device will be tuned to a corresponding channel of the second plurality of acquisition channels, and the frequency of each channel of the first plurality of acquisition channels is the same as the frequency of the corresponding channel of the second plurality of acquisition channels; tuning the transceiver of the first network device to one channel of the first plurality of acquisition channels of the first frequency hopping sequence; if a time synchronization message is received on the one channel of the first plurality of acquisition channels, synchronizing the clock of the first network device to the network time based on the time synchronization message; and if a time synchronization message is not received on the one channel of the first plurality of acquisition channels, tuning the transceiver of the first network device to another one of the first plurality of acquisition channels.