JP4303576B2 - Design check system, design check method, and design check program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to CAD (Computer Aided Design), and more particularly to a design check system, a design check method, and a design check program for checking electrical characteristics of board layout information (board layout CAD data).

  In recent years, digitalization and high performance of AV equipment have progressed, and LSIs in AV equipment have also become digital, high speed, and high integration. Along with this, radiation noise radiated from the substrate on which the LSI is mounted has become a problem, and board design technology for reducing radiation noise has become very important.

  In addition, with the miniaturization of AV equipment, the miniaturization of the board in the equipment has also progressed, and in order to further miniaturize, a build-up board of a new material different from the board material such as glass epoxy that has been generally used conventionally is also available. It is becoming increasingly used. In such a new material substrate, radiation characteristics of radiation noise are different from those of the conventional substrate, so that it is necessary to change the design standard and design method according to the substrate material.

In contrast, designers (registrants) who can provide information on countermeasures against radiated noise register designs and countermeasure examples in the database via the Internet, and designers (users) who need information on countermeasures against radiated noise. However, a system that can acquire information by referring to the database has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-157280 A (page 4-7, FIG. 1)

  In the above conventional technology, the registrant registers the specific circuit configuration and board layout in the database as design / measure examples, so the user acquires the specific circuit configuration and board layout by referring to the database. can do. Therefore, by analyzing the acquired circuit configuration and board layout, the user can acquire not only information related to measures against radiation noise but also detailed information related to circuit design and board design.

  For the registrant, it is not preferable for the user to acquire detailed information on circuit design and board design because it leads to leakage of know-how. Furthermore, there is a risk that the circuit configuration and board layout acquired by the user may be leaked to a third party without being charged.

  The present invention has been proposed on the basis of the above-described conventional circumstances, and provides a design check system that prevents a specific circuit configuration and a board layout from leaking and charges a fee for accessing a database. For the purpose.

  The present invention employs the following means in order to achieve the above object.

  First, the present invention is premised on a design check system for checking electrical characteristics with respect to board layout information.

  The design check system according to the present invention is based on a position specifying condition for specifying a position where an occurrence of an electrical characteristic failure due to the influence of the board layout is predicted, a feature amount item to be extracted, and a criterion for determining whether the board layout needs to be corrected. A storage unit is provided that stores a database in which a certain correction criterion is registered in association with each cause of occurrence of an electrical characteristic failure that is predicted to occur. In addition, the design check system includes a position specifying unit, a feature amount extracting unit, and a correction determining unit for checking the electrical characteristics of the board layout.

  The position specifying means is used for specifying a position where occurrence of an electrical characteristic failure is predicted from the board layout information based on a position specifying condition stored in the database. Then, the feature amount extraction unit extracts the feature amount according to the feature amount item stored in the database at the position specified by the position specifying unit.

  Further, the correction determination unit determines whether or not the board layout needs to be corrected by comparing the feature amount extracted by the feature amount extraction unit with the correction determination criterion corresponding to the feature amount read from the storage unit. To do.

  When the design check system includes a client device to which board layout information is input and a server device connected to the client device via a network, the storage unit is provided in the server device. At this time, the position specifying unit, the feature amount extracting unit, and the correction determining unit may be provided in either the server device or the client device, but the position specifying unit and the feature amount extracting unit may be provided in the same device. preferable.

  For example, when the server device includes a position specifying unit, a feature amount extraction unit, and a correction determination unit, the client device transmits the input board layout information to the server device. In this case, the server device extracts the feature amount from the received board layout information, performs the above determination, and transmits the determination result to the client device.

  Further, when the server device includes the correction determination unit and the client device includes the position specifying unit and the feature amount extraction unit, the client device extracts the feature amount from the input board layout information and transmits the feature amount to the server device. In this case, the server device performs the above determination using the received feature amount, and transmits the determination result to the client device.

  When the client device includes a position specifying unit, a feature amount extraction unit, and a correction determination unit, the client device acquires the correction determination condition from the server device and performs the determination.

  When the client device is configured to include any of a position specifying unit, a feature amount extracting unit, and a correction determining unit, each unit is stored in the server device as a program, and the client device What is necessary is just to set it as the structure acquired from a server apparatus as needed and performed.

  With any of the above configurations, the design check system can check the electrical characteristics without disclosing information such as a specific circuit configuration or a board layout.

  By the way, the server device may include a charging unit for charging in response to access from the client device to the database. In the present invention, since the design check cannot be performed unless the database is accessed, it is possible to reliably charge the information by charging according to the access to the database.

The design check system according to the present invention includes selection means that allows the client device to select whether or not to display detailed information regarding the determination result, such as an explanation of an error registered in the database and a layout correction method. The Thereby, the information regarding an electrical characteristic defect can be displayed in steps. Further, by restricting the designers who can access the detailed information, it is possible to display the detailed information only for a specific designer.

Furthermore, in the design check system according to the present invention, the server device calculates a second storage unit that accumulates feature quantities extracted from the board layout information, and a statistical quantity such as an average value of the accumulated feature quantities. A statistic calculation means is provided, and the statistic is transmitted to the client device together with the result of the determination . Thereby , the user can compare the design average value of another user with his design value, and can grasp his own design tendency.

  On the other hand, in the design check system of the present invention, when the circuit design data is input instead of the board layout information, the position specifying means is based on the position specifying condition that can specify the position only by the circuit design data. The position is specified from the circuit design data. At this time, the server device transmits information related to the layout design corresponding to the position specifying condition registered in the database to the client device.

  As a result, the user can acquire information related to the layout design from the database by performing a design check at the stage of circuit design.

  In another aspect, the present invention can provide a design check method including the above procedure.

  Furthermore, in another aspect, the present invention can provide a program that causes a computer to execute the design check method described above.

  In this specification, substrate layout information refers to information (device type, resistance value / capacitance value, etc.) for specifying a device constituting a circuit, and information on each wiring (propagation signal type, power supply line, ground). Etc.) and physical information related to the board layout such as wiring length / wiring width and via hole position.

  Also, the electrical characteristic failure due to the influence of the board layout refers to, for example, radiation noise generated by the arrangement of the wiring pattern, disturbance of the signal waveform due to signal interference between the wirings, and the like.

  Further, the feature amount refers to information related to occurrence of electrical characteristic failure due to the influence of the board layout in the inputted board layout information.

  Since the present invention is a configuration for performing a design check of the board layout information using parameters such as a position specifying condition, a feature amount item, and a correction determination condition stored in the server device, a specific circuit configuration or board layout The electrical characteristics of the board layout can be checked without disclosing such information. Furthermore, since a third party cannot analyze the program of the client device to obtain a determination method and determination criteria for whether or not layout correction is necessary, confidentiality is high.

  Further, in the present invention, since the determination method and determination criteria for whether or not layout correction is necessary do not leak to a third party, charging for information is ensured by charging according to access to the server device (database). Can be done.

  Furthermore, since the selection means which displays the information regarding an electrical characteristic defect in steps is provided, it becomes possible to display detailed information only to a specific user by restricting the user who can access detailed information.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing in the client device 1 a and the server device 2.

  In the design check system of the present invention, when the user inputs the board layout information to the client devices 1a, 1b,..., The design check process is executed according to the following procedure.

  First, in the database stored in the storage unit 16 of the server device 2, a position specifying condition 32 and an extracted feature value item 33 are registered in pairs as shown in FIG. The number 31 is given.

  Detailed description of each of the above items will be described later, but the position specifying condition 32 and the feature amount item 33 will be described as follows by taking the item number “1” as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 18B, when the slit 83 is formed on the ground surface 82 and the signal line 81 in the upper or lower layer straddles the slit 83, the amount of current flowing through the signal line 81 or the signal Depending on the frequency condition, radiation noise is likely to occur. In this case, the position specifying condition 32 is “a signal line across the slit of the ground layer”, and the feature item 33 is “the frequency of the signal propagating through the signal line, the amount of current flowing through the signal line, and the signal It is the area of the surface composed of lines and loop current paths.

  In the above state, first, the user inputs board layout information to the client apparatus 1a by CAD input, data file reading, or the like. For example, when the board layout information is input by CAD input, the display unit 11 of the client apparatus 1a has a screen 21 including a data display unit 51, a message display unit 52, and a command display unit 53 as shown in FIG. Is displayed. In this state, the user inputs the board layout information to the client apparatus 1a by CAD by using the layout editing button group 54 arranged on the command display unit 53.

  After inputting the board layout information, the design check is started when the check button 55 of the command display unit 53 is clicked.

  First, the client device 1a communicates with the server device 2 via the transmission / reception means 15 and 19, and the device ID or the user inputs whether the client device 1a or the user is permitted to access the database. The authentication unit 20 of the server device 2 is inquired using the user ID and password (FIG. 2, S1 and S11). If access is not permitted, the client device 1a and the server device 2 end the processing.

  When the access is permitted, the position specifying unit 12 of the client device 1a reads the position specifying condition 32 and the feature amount item 33 (hereinafter referred to as the extraction condition by combining the two items on the left) shown in FIG. All the item numbers 31 are read (S2 in FIG. 2).

  Next, the position specifying unit 12 specifies the position that matches the position specifying condition 32 from the input board layout information in the order of the item numbers 31. Then, only when the position matching the position specifying condition 32 can be specified from the board layout information, the feature amount extracting unit 13 extracts the feature amount specified by the feature amount item 33 at the specified position.

  In the example of FIG. 3, first, the position specifying unit 12 specifies a position that matches the “position where the signal line straddling the slit and the ground layer exists” which is the position specifying condition 32 of the item number “1” ( FIG. 2 S3). If the position that matches the position specifying condition 32 cannot be specified for the entire board layout information that has been input, the position specifying means 12 confirms the presence or absence of the next item (S6 in FIG. 2). Here, since there is the next item, the position specifying unit 12 specifies a position that matches the position specifying condition 32 of the item number “2”.

  On the other hand, when the position specifying unit 12 can specify a position that matches the position specifying condition 32 of the item number “1”, the feature amount extracting unit 13 determines the item 33 of the feature amount of the item number “1” from the specified position. “The frequency of the signal propagating through the signal line, the amount of current flowing through the signal line, and the area of the surface formed by the signal line and the return current path” are extracted (S4 in FIG. 2). At this time, the feature amount extraction unit 13 simultaneously extracts coordinates that are position information on the board layout information. The extracted feature amount and coordinates are stored in the storage unit 14 of the client device 1a in association with the item number 31.

  The position specifying process and the feature quantity extracting process are repeated until the process is completed for the entire input board layout information (S5 in FIG. 2). When the processing is completed for the entire board layout information, the position specifying unit 12 confirms the presence or absence of the next item (S6 in FIG. 2). Here, since there is the next item, the position that matches the position specifying condition 32 of the item number “2” is specified.

  When the above-described position specifying process and feature quantity extraction process are repeated and the process is completed for all the item numbers 31, the feature quantity extraction unit 13 stores the feature quantity and extraction position coordinates stored in the storage unit 14 of the client device 1a. The corresponding item number 31 is read out and transmitted to the server device 2 via the transmission means 15 (S7 in FIG. 2).

  The correction determination unit 17 of the server device 2 receives the transmitted feature amount, the coordinates of the extraction position, and the corresponding item number 31 via the transmission / reception unit 19 (S12 in FIG. 2). Then, the correction determination unit 17 reads the correction determination criterion 34 corresponding to the item number 31 received from the database stored in the storage unit 16, compares the read correction determination criterion 34 with the received feature amount, and the board layout. It is determined whether or not correction is necessary (S13 in FIG. 2).

  The determination is made based on whether or not the correction criterion 34 associated with the item number 31 is satisfied as shown in FIG. For example, when the feature amount of the item number “1” is transmitted from the client apparatus 1a, the correction determination unit 17 determines that the radiation noise amount calculated from the feature amount is the correction determination criterion 34 of the item number “1”. "Exceeds upper limit value". Then, a radiation noise amount is calculated from the received feature amount using a relational expression described later. When the calculated amount of radiation noise exceeds a predetermined upper limit value, the correction determination means 17 determines that correction of the board layout is necessary (error), and when it does not exceed the predetermined upper limit value, it determines that correction is not necessary.

  This determination is sequentially performed on all received feature values (S14 in FIG. 2). When the determination is completed for all feature amounts, the correction determination unit 17 transmits, for example, the coordinates of the position from which the feature amount determined to be an error is extracted to the client device 1a (FIG. 2). S15).

  According to the above configuration, the server device 2 determines the necessity of layout correction using the feature amount extracted by the client device 1a, and returns the determination result to the client device 1a. The electrical characteristics can be checked without disclosing information such as the board layout to the user.

  Therefore, even if the network 3 is connected to the Internet and an open environment where other companies can use the design check system, there is no risk that information such as circuit configuration and board layout will be leaked to other companies. Also, analyzing the program of the client device 1a is highly confidential because a third party cannot obtain the determination method and determination criteria for whether or not the board layout needs to be corrected.

  On the other hand, the client device 1a receives the determination result (S8 in FIG. 2), and displays the result on the display means 11 (S9 in FIG. 2). In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the determination result is displayed on the message display unit 52 of the screen display 21.

  This determination result includes the number of positions determined to be an error and a URL that points to a Web page as selection means 56 that can display detailed information as necessary. Detailed information on the information can be acquired (S10 in FIG. 2). In the example of FIG. 5, the browser is activated by clicking on the URL portion displayed in the message display section 52 of the screen display 21, and a Web page can be displayed.

  As shown in the Web page display example of FIG. 6, the Web page 22 showing the detailed information includes the coordinates of the error position acquired at the time of extracting the feature amount, and the error registered in association with the item number 31 in the database. An explanation and layout correction method are displayed. When the Web page 22 is referred to, the corresponding portion of the input board layout information displayed on the data display unit 51 is highlighted and the position can be confirmed.

  For example, by restricting the users who can access this detailed information and displaying the detailed information only to specific users, the detailed information is disclosed to internal users and the detailed information is not disclosed to external users. It is also possible.

  By the way, in the server device 2, when the determination result is transmitted to the client device 1a, the charging unit 18 performs a charging process according to the access from the client device 1a to the database (S16 in FIG. 2).

  The billing unit 18 monitors the access to the correction determination unit 17 and the database, and thereby, for example, the number of accesses, the access time, the number of errors, and the information provided to the user or the client device 1 a confirmed by the authentication unit 20. Charge according to the amount. The accounting unit 18 also performs accounting when the client apparatus 1a refers to the Web page 22 indicating the detailed information. In addition, it is possible not to charge for a specific ID such as an in-house user or the like by identification by device ID or user ID.

  In the present invention, as described above, the determination method and determination criteria for the necessity of layout correction are leaked to a third party, that is, since there is no information leak, charging is performed according to access to the database. It is possible to reliably charge information.

  On the other hand, the design check system of the present invention can be applied to a user's educational tool as one of its usage methods. When used as an educational tool, information such as the occurrence principle of electrical characteristics failure that is predicted to occur due to the influence of the board layout is further registered in the database, and the information is displayed on the web page indicated by the URL. It is configured so that it can be displayed with explanations.

  As a result, when it is determined that the layout needs to be corrected, the user can refer to the principle of occurrence of the electrical characteristic failure and can improve the design ability. Further, if the charging means 18 is configured to charge for each user according to the number of errors, the board layout design skill of each user can be confirmed based on the charged amount.

  In the above description, when the design check is started, the position specifying unit 12 acquires the extraction condition from the database. However, the extraction condition may be stored in the storage unit 14 provided in the client device 1a.

  As a result, the client device 1a does not need to acquire the extraction condition from the server device 2 each time a design check is performed, so that the number of data transmission / reception with the server device 2 can be reduced. In this case, at the start of each design check, the position specifying means 12 confirms whether or not there is a change to the database such as addition of a new item with a time stamp or the like, and if there is a change, acquires an extraction condition from the database and stores it. The extraction condition stored in the means 14 is updated. Thereby, all the client devices 1a, 1b,... Connected via the network 3 are always based on the latest information only by updating the database stored in the storage unit 16 of the server device 2. Design check can be performed.

  In the above description, the case of checking all the check items in the database has been described. However, as shown in the example of FIG. 7, a list of design check items registered in the database at the start of the design check is stored in the client device 1a. It is good also as a structure which can be displayed and the item which a user performs a design check can be selected by the item selection means 71 displayed on the display means 11. FIG. As a result, for example, when a design check is performed again after correcting the board layout based on the result of the design check, it is possible to check only the check items that caused an error, thereby reducing the check time. Can do.

  Further, in the above description, the client device 1a is configured to include the position specifying unit 12 and the feature amount extracting unit 13 in advance, but the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, the server device 2 is configured to store in the storage unit 16 a program that causes the client device 1a to execute the position specifying process and the feature amount extraction process (S2 to S6 in FIG. 2), and the client device performs a design check. A similar effect can be obtained even when the program is acquired from the server device when starting.

  Further, when the client device 1a is configured to acquire the program from the server device 2 as described above, the program is deleted by an instruction from the server device 2 when the check of the electrical characteristics of the board layout is completed. With the configuration, since the program is not analyzed by a third party, confidentiality can be further improved.

  In addition, the example of the above-mentioned electrical characteristic failure is only a specific example, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

(Embodiment 2)
Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 8 and the flowchart of FIG. In the drawings, blocks having the same functions as those in the first embodiment and steps for performing the same processes are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the present embodiment, the server device 2 includes the position specifying unit 12 and the feature quantity extracting unit 13 provided in the client device 1a in the first embodiment, and the client device 1 accesses the server device 2. The access means 72 is provided.

  That is, the client device 1a to which the board layout information is input communicates with the server device 2 by the server access means 72 such as a browser, and when the access to the database is permitted (S1 in FIG. 9), the input is performed. The board layout information is transmitted to the server device 2 (S21 in FIG. 9).

  When the server apparatus 2 receives the board layout information (S22 in FIG. 9), the position specifying unit 12 and the feature quantity extracting unit 13 of the server apparatus 2 perform the position specifying process described in the first embodiment according to the extraction conditions. Then, the feature amount extraction process is performed, and the feature amount and the coordinates of the extraction position are extracted from the inputted board layout information (FIG. 9, S2 to S6).

  Further, the correction determination means 17 determines whether or not the board layout needs to be corrected based on the extracted feature amount as in the first embodiment (S13 and S14 in FIG. 9), and the determination result and the feature amount are determined. The coordinates of the extracted position are transmitted to the client device 1a (S15 in FIG. 9). Note that the operation of the client device 1a when receiving the result of the determination is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to check the electrical characteristics without disclosing information such as a specific circuit configuration and a board layout to the user. In the present embodiment, since all the electrical characteristics of the board layout are checked by the server device 2, confidentiality can be further improved.

(Embodiment 3)
Still another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 10 and the flowchart of FIG. In the drawings, blocks having the same functions as those in the first embodiment and steps for performing the same processes are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In the present embodiment, the client device 1a includes the correction determination unit 12 included in the server device 2 in the first embodiment.

  That is, after the client device 1a executes the feature amount extraction processing described in the first embodiment (FIG. 11 S1 to S6) on the input board layout information, the correction provided for the client device 1a. The determination unit 17 determines whether or not the board layout needs to be corrected (S13 and S14 in FIG. 11). At this time, the correction determination means 17 reads and refers to the correction determination standard 34 associated with the item number 31 from the database stored in the storage means 16 of the server device 2 (S31 in FIG. 11).

  Since the operation when the determination result is displayed on the client device 1a is the same as the operation of the client device 1a after receiving the determination result in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted here.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to check the electrical characteristics without disclosing information such as a specific circuit configuration and a board layout to the user.

  In the above description, the client device 1a is configured to include the position specifying unit 12, the feature amount extracting unit 13, and the correction determining unit 17 in advance. However, the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, the server apparatus 2 executes the above-described position specifying process and feature amount extraction process (S2 to S6 in FIG. 11) on the client apparatus 1a, and the correction determination process (S13 and S14 in FIG. 11) to the client apparatus 1a. The same effect can be obtained when the program to be executed is stored in the storage unit 16 and the client device 1a acquires these programs from the server device when starting the design check.

  Further, when the client device 1a is configured to acquire the program from the server device 2 as described above, the program is deleted by an instruction from the server device 2 when the check of the electrical characteristics of the board layout is completed. With the configuration, since the program is not analyzed by a third party, confidentiality can be further improved.

(Embodiment 4)
In the present embodiment, the server device 2 described in each of the above embodiments includes a second storage unit 121 that accumulates feature amounts extracted from the board layout information, and an average value or maximum value of the accumulated feature amounts. And a statistic calculation means 122 for calculating the statistic such as. Here, a case where the present invention is applied to the server apparatus 2 described in the first embodiment will be described with reference to a schematic diagram of the server apparatus 2 in FIG.

  As described in the first embodiment, when the user starts the design check for the board layout, the feature amount extracted by the client device 1a, the coordinates of the extraction position, and the item number 31 are transmitted to the server device 2. Is done. In the present embodiment, the feature amount received by the server device 2 is sequentially stored together with the item number 31 in the second storage unit 121.

  When the design check of another board layout is started in the state where the feature values are accumulated in the second storage unit 121 in this way, the statistic calculation unit 122 is transferred from the second storage unit 121 to the above-mentioned. All the feature quantities corresponding to the item number 31 received together with the feature quantities are read out, and statistics such as the average value and maximum value of the feature quantities are calculated and transmitted to the client device 1a.

  Note that there are features that are not suitable for statistical calculation, such as coordinates registered in the item number “2” in FIG. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the item number 31 in which the feature amount item 33 for calculating the statistic is registered in the statistic calculation means 122 in advance, and the item for which the statistic calculation means 122 is set. Statistics are calculated only for the feature amount corresponding to the number 31.

  In the present embodiment, in order to facilitate the management of the feature quantity items for calculating such statistics, the feature quantities described in the first embodiment are stored in the database stored in the storage unit 16 of the server device 2. In addition to the item, a feature value item used only for the purpose of calculating statistics is registered. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the item number “100” is registered with the position specifying condition “LSI”, and the feature amount item 33 is registered as “the number of power supply pins and the number of bypass capacitors”.

  In this case, the position specifying unit 12 of the client device 1a specifies “LSI” of the position specifying condition corresponding to the item number “100” stored in the storage unit 16 from the board layout information. Then, the feature amount extraction unit 13 extracts the number of power pins of the identified LSI and the number of bypass capacitors connected to the power pins as feature amounts, and transmits them to the server device.

  Further, the statistic calculation means 122 reads the feature quantity corresponding to the item number “100” stored in the storage means 122 until the design check is executed, calculates the statistic, and sends it to the client device 1a. Send. At this time, since the correction determination condition corresponding to the item number “100” is not registered in the database, the correction determination unit 17 does not determine whether the board layout information needs to be corrected.

  The statistic transmitted to the client device 1a in this way is displayed on the message display unit 52 of the display screen 21 shown in FIG. 5, for example, “1.3 bypass capacitors on average per power supply pin are arranged. In contrast, this design has 0.7 units. "

  According to this configuration, the user can compare the design average value of another user with his / her own design value, and can grasp his / her own design tendency.

(Embodiment 5)
In the present embodiment, the server apparatus 2 described in the above embodiments is configured to further include a layout design information reading unit 141. Here, a case where the present invention is applied to the server apparatus 2 described in the first embodiment will be described with reference to a schematic diagram of the server apparatus 2 in FIG.

  In each of the above embodiments, the board layout information is input to the client device 1a. However, in this embodiment, circuit design data is input instead of the board layout information.

  When the design check is started in a state where the circuit design data is input in this way, the position specifying unit 12 can determine the position from the circuit design data based on the position specifying condition 32 that can specify the position only by the circuit design data. And the feature amount extraction means 13 extracts the feature amount at the specified position. Here, the position specifying condition 32 that allows the position to be specified only by the circuit design data is, for example, a “bypass capacitor” disposed between the power supply line and the ground plane or “damping” disposed between the clock pins of the LSI. Resistance "and the like. As shown in FIG. 14, the position specifying condition 32 is registered in the database in association with the item number 31 and the feature amount item 33. In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, “bypass capacitor” that is the position specifying condition 32 and “power supply pin” that is the feature amount item are registered in the item number “200”.

  Note that the procedure of the position specifying process and the feature amount extracting process is the same as the procedure of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted here.

  In the above state, for example, a case where circuit design data in which the control IC and the memory IC shown in FIG. 17 are connected is input to the client device 1a will be described below. In addition, the number described on the outer periphery of each IC in FIG. 17 indicates the pin number of each IC.

  In this case, the position specifying unit 12 and the feature amount extracting unit 13 have “C1, IC1 pin 10”, “C2, IC1” as the combination of the specified position and feature amount with respect to the item number “200”. “24th pin”,..., “C6, 27th pin of IC2”.

  On the other hand, in the database, layout design information 35, which is information related to layout design, is registered in association with the item number 31. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, in the item number “200” in which “bypass capacitor” is registered, layout design information 35 that “the bypass capacitor is arranged so that the distance from the power supply pin is the shortest” is registered. Has been.

  In the server device 2, the item number 31 transmitted from the feature amount extraction unit 13 is sequentially input to the layout information reading unit 141. For example, when the item number “200” is input, the layout information reading unit 141 displays the layout design information 35 corresponding to the item number “200” as “the distance between the bypass capacitor and the power input portion from the power supply pin or from the outside. Is arranged from the database, and the layout design information 35 is transmitted to the client apparatus 1a. At this time, although the item number “200” is also input to the correction determination unit 17, the correction determination unit 17 does not register the correction determination condition corresponding to the item number “200” in the database. It is not determined whether or not correction is necessary.

  Receiving the layout design information 35, the client apparatus 1a displays the received layout design information 35 and the above-mentioned specific position and feature amount combination corresponding to the layout design information 35 on the display screen 21 shown in FIG. Displayed on the unit 52. That is, in the above example, “the bypass capacitor C1 is arranged so that the distance from the 10th pin of IC1 is the shortest” is displayed.

  At this time, if the layout design information 35 is added to the input circuit design data as additional information, for example, in a header, the circuit design data is used when designing the board layout based on the circuit design data. This information can be confirmed by referring to.

  Since the present embodiment performs a design check on the circuit design data, the client apparatus 1a includes the item selection means 71 described in the first embodiment, and the design check system according to the present embodiment performs circuit design. It is preferable that the design check is executed only for the position specifying condition 32 in which the position can be specified only by data.

  In this way, the user can acquire information related to the layout design from the database by performing a design check at the stage of circuit design, and can reflect the information in the board layout design.

  In each of the above embodiments, the client device 1a has a DRC (checking whether a design rule (minimum line width, minimum wiring interval, via hole size, etc.) limited by the substrate manufacturing process is satisfied. (Design Rule Check) function may be provided. This is efficient because the design rule violation can be checked simultaneously with the electrical characteristic check.

(Example of electrical characteristic failure occurrence 1)
Hereinafter, in the design check system of the present invention, an example of an electrical characteristic failure that is checked will be shown.

  In the case shown in FIG. 18A, in the multilayer substrate, when the inner wiring layer is the ground plane 82 and the signal lines 81 are formed in other layers, the signal lines 81 are formed on the slits 83 that divide the ground plane 82. Is a case where is placed. Such a slit 83 on the ground surface 82 is used when a signal line 81 is connected via a via hole or a power is supplied from the power surface 86 to another layer in the multilayer substrate. There may be a series of clearance lands of via holes penetrating 82. It may also occur when the ground plane 82 is divided into a plurality of areas such as a digital ground and an analog ground.

  When there is no slit on the ground plane 82, when a current flows on the signal line 81, a return current 84 flows on the ground plane 82 immediately below the signal line in the direction opposite to the current, and generated electromagnetic waves cancel each other. become.

  However, when the slit 83 is in the path through which the return current 84 flows, the return current 84 flows along the outer periphery of the slit 83. For this reason, the electromagnetic waves generated by the current flowing through the signal line 81 and the return current 84 do not cancel each other. In such a state, radiation noise proportional to the loop area 85 which is the area of the surface formed by the path of the return current 84 and the signal line 81 is generated.

  The generation amount (E) of this radiation noise depends on the frequency (f) of the signal propagating through the signal line, the current amount (I) flowing through the signal line, and the loop area 85 (A), as shown in Equation 1. .

  In addition, α in Equation 1 is a constant derived from actual measurement, and R is a distance (for example, 3 m) from the substrate to a position where the intensity of radiation noise is measured.

  From the above, in this case, the position specifying condition is “a position where a signal line across the slit and the slit of the ground layer exists”. The item of the feature amount to be extracted is “frequency of signal propagating through signal line, amount of current flowing through signal line, and loop area”.

  Then, the correction determination criterion is set such that the amount of radiation noise (E) that can be allowed to be generated is set as the upper limit value, and “the amount of radiation noise calculated from the feature amount exceeds the upper limit value”.

(Example 2 of defective electrical characteristics)
In the case shown in FIG. 19A, in the case where the power wiring 91 is formed in the uppermost wiring layer in the multilayer substrate and the third wiring layer is used as the power surface through the insulating layer, the via hole 92 is used. This is an example in which a bypass capacitor 93 with the other end grounded is disposed on the power supply wiring 91 of the LSI 90 to which power is supplied from the power supply surface.

  As shown in FIG. 19A, when the power supply pin 94 of the LSI 90, the via hole 92 connected to the power supply surface, and the bypass capacitor 93 are connected in this order, a part of the high-frequency current flowing in and out from the power supply pin 94 of the LSI 90 Flows to the power supply surface via the via hole 92 without flowing to the bypass capacitor 93. Since the current flowing through the power supply surface fluctuates the potential of the power supply surface, radiation noise is generated. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 19B, a substrate layout in which the bypass capacitor 93 is located between the LSI 90 and the via hole 92 is better.

  In this case, the position specifying condition is “a position where an LSI, a via hole connected to the power supply surface, a bypass capacitor, and a power supply wiring exist”. In addition, the feature quantity items to be extracted are “LSI power supply pin coordinates, power supply wiring coordinates, bypass capacitor coordinates, via hole coordinates connected to the power supply surface”, and the correction criterion is “via hole and LSI power supply pin” There is no bypass capacitor in between. "

(Electric characteristic defect occurrence example 3)
In the case shown in FIG. 20, in the case where the signal line 101 is formed in the uppermost wiring layer in the multilayer substrate and the second wiring layer is used as the ground plane 102 via the insulating layer, the signal line 101 is formed at the substrate end. Is a case where is placed.

  When the signal line 101 is arranged at the end of the substrate, as shown in FIG. 20A, the electric field generated by the signal propagating through the signal line 101 does not close at the ground plane 102 but leaks outside the substrate. This electric field leaking outside the substrate generates radiation noise. The leakage of the electric field increases as the frequency of the signal propagating through the signal line 101 increases. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 20B, it is better to arrange the signal line 101 inside by a predetermined distance from the end of the substrate so that the electric field does not leak to the outside. Note that when the signal line is arranged in the inner layer and there are ground planes above and below, the leakage of the electric field is different, so this case is different from this case.

  In this case, the position specifying condition is “a signal line formed on the outermost surface at the end of the substrate”. The feature quantity items to be extracted are “the distance from the substrate edge to the signal line, the layer where the signal line is arranged, the maximum frequency of the signal propagating through the signal line (in the case of a pulse signal, the rise or fall time”). The correction determination criterion is “a signal line that propagates a signal having a maximum frequency equal to or higher than a predetermined frequency is within a predetermined distance from the end of the substrate”.

(Electric characteristic defect occurrence example 4)
The example shown in FIG. 21 is an example in which two inner wiring layers are arranged as the ground plane 111 and the power supply plane 112 in the multilayer substrate.

  When the ground surface 111 and the power supply surface 112 are arranged in the inner layer, if the end of the ground surface 111 and the end of the power supply surface 112 are aligned, the power supply surface 112 is changed to the ground surface 111 as shown in FIG. The traveling electric field reaches the ground plane 111 via the outside of the substrate. The electric field leaking outside the substrate generates radiation noise. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 21B, it is better to arrange the end portion of the power supply surface 112 at a predetermined width inside the ground layer 111 so that the electric field does not leak to the outside.

  In this case, the position specifying condition is “the ground plane and the power supply plane exist”. The feature quantity items to be extracted are “substrate layer configuration, power plane coordinates (surface coordinates), ground plane coordinates (plane coordinates),” and the correction criterion is “power The surface end portion is not inside the predetermined width or more with respect to the ground surface end portion.

  The present invention has an effect that the electrical characteristics of the board layout data can be checked without disclosing information such as a specific circuit configuration and board layout, and is useful as a design check system or the like.

Schematic showing the system configuration of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of Embodiment 1 of this invention. The figure explaining the extraction conditions of Embodiment 1 of this invention The figure explaining the correction determination conditions of Embodiment 1 of this invention Schematic which shows the example of a screen display of the client apparatus of Embodiment 1 of this invention Schematic of detailed information display of Embodiment 1 of the present invention Schematic showing the modification of the system configuration | structure of Embodiment 1 of this invention Schematic showing the system configuration of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of Embodiment 2 of this invention. Schematic showing the system configuration of Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the flow of a process of Embodiment 3 of this invention. Schematic showing the system configuration of Embodiment 4 of the present invention. The figure explaining the extraction conditions of Embodiment 4 of this invention Schematic showing the system configuration of Embodiment 5 of the present invention. The figure explaining the extraction conditions of Embodiment 5 of this invention The figure explaining the layout design information of Embodiment 5 of this invention Circuit diagram for explaining the operation of the fifth embodiment of the present invention Diagram showing an example of electrical characteristic failure Diagram showing an example of electrical characteristic failure Diagram showing an example of electrical characteristic failure Diagram showing an example of electrical characteristic failure

Explanation of symbols

1a, 1b ... Client device 2 Server device 3 Network (Internet network)
12 position specifying means 13 feature amount extracting means 14, 16 storage means 17 correction judging means 18 billing means

Claims (14)

In the design check system in which the server device checks the electrical characteristics of the board layout information input from the client device connected via the network ,
For each cause of occurrence of an electrical characteristic failure predicted to occur due to the influence of the board layout, a position specifying condition for specifying a position where an occurrence of the electrical characteristic failure is predicted from the board layout information, an item of feature quantity to be extracted, and a board Storage means for storing databases each associated with a correction determination criterion, which is a criterion for determining whether or not layout correction is necessary;
Based on the position specifying condition, position specifying means for specifying a position from the board layout information input from the client device ;
Feature amount extraction means for extracting the feature amount from the board layout information at the specified position;
A correction determination unit that determines whether or not the board layout needs to be corrected by comparing the feature amount extracted by the feature amount extraction unit and the correction determination criterion corresponding to the feature amount read from the storage unit;
A selection means for selecting whether or not to display detailed information on the error registered in the database on the display means provided in the client device when the correction determination means determines that the board layout needs to be corrected;
Second storage means for collecting feature values extracted from the board layout information;
Statistic calculation means for calculating the statistic of the feature value accumulated in the second storage means;
Equipped with a,
The design check system , wherein the server device including at least the storage unit, the second storage unit, and the statistic calculation unit transmits the statistic calculated by the statistic calculation unit to the client device . Upper Symbol server device further comprises the position specifying means, said feature extraction means and said corrected determination means,
The design check system according to claim 1, wherein the client device acquires the result of the determination from the server device via the network. A feature value which the client device is extracted and a top Symbol position specifying means and the feature extraction means and transmitted to the server apparatus,
Design checking system according to claim 1, wherein the server apparatus further comprising a top SL modification determining means, for transmitting the result of the determination to the client device.   The design check system according to claim 3, wherein the client device acquires the position specifying unit and the feature amount extracting unit from the server device via the network as necessary. The client device comprising an upper Symbol position specifying means and the feature extraction means and the modification judging unit, designed check according to claim 1 for the determination based on the modified criteria stored on SL storage means system.   The design check system according to claim 5, wherein the client device acquires the position specifying unit, the feature amount extraction unit, and the correction determination unit from the server device via the network as necessary. The design check system according to any one of claims 2 to 6 , wherein the server device includes billing means for billing according to access from the client device to the database. When the circuit design data is input instead of the board layout information, the position specifying means specifies the position from the circuit design data based on the position specifying condition that allows the position to be specified only by the circuit design data, and the server The design check system according to any one of claims 2 to 6 , wherein the device transmits information related to layout design corresponding to the position specifying condition registered in the database to the client device. A server device is a program used in a design check system for checking electrical characteristics for board layout information input from a client device connected via a network ,
Identifying a position from the board layout information input to the client device based on a position specifying condition for specifying a position where occurrence of an electrical characteristic failure due to the influence of the board layout is predicted;
Extracting the feature amount from the board layout information at the specified position;
Storing the feature amount extracted from the board layout information in a storage means provided in the server device;
In the server device, calculating a statistic of the feature value accumulated in the storage unit, and transmitting the statistic to the client device;
In the server device, for each occurrence of the predicted electrical characteristic failure, the position specifying condition, the feature item to be extracted, and the correction determination criterion that is a criterion for determining whether the board layout needs to be corrected are associated with each other. Reading the correction criterion corresponding to the feature amount extracted from the board layout from the registered database;
Determining whether or not the board layout needs to be corrected by comparing the feature amount extracted from the board layout information with the correction criterion read from the database;
In the step of determining whether or not the correction is necessary, if it is determined that the correction of the board layout is necessary, whether or not to display detailed information regarding the error registered in the database on the display unit included in the client device. A step to choose;
A program that causes a computer to execute. The steps and the extracted feature quantity extracting step and the feature quantity for identifying the position and transmitting to said server device to execute the said client device, the necessity of the step and the correction reading the modified criterion The program according to claim 9 , wherein the server device executes the step of determining The program according to claim 10 , wherein the client device is caused to execute the step of determining whether the correction is necessary instead of the server device. In the design check method in which the server device checks the electrical characteristics of the board layout information input from the client device connected via the network,
Identifying a position from the board layout information input to the client device based on a position specifying condition for specifying a position where occurrence of an electrical characteristic failure due to the influence of the board layout is predicted;
Extracting the feature amount from the board layout information at the specified position;
Transmitting the extracted feature quantity to the server device;
In the server device, the received feature values are accumulated, a statistic value of the accumulated feature value is calculated, and the statistic value is transmitted to the client device;
Corresponding to the feature quantity received from the database registered in association with the position determination condition, the feature quantity item to be extracted, and the correction judgment standard that is a standard for judging whether or not the board layout needs to be corrected in the server device Reading the correction criterion
In the server device, comparing the received feature amount with a correction determination criterion read from the database, and determining whether or not the board layout needs to be corrected;
Transmitting the result of the determination to the client device;
In the step of determining whether or not the correction is necessary, whether or not to display detailed information regarding the error registered in the database on the display unit included in the client device when it is determined that the board layout needs to be corrected. A step to choose;
A design check method characterized by comprising: The method further comprising the step of the client device acquiring from the server device a program that causes the client device to execute the step of specifying the location and the step of extracting the feature amount before executing the step of specifying the location. Item 13. The design check method according to Item 12 . 14. The method according to claim 13 , further comprising: acquiring from the server device a program that causes the client device to execute the step of determining whether the correction is necessary before executing the step of determining whether the correction is necessary. The design check method described in 1.

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