JP4905226B2 - Substrate circuit block selection device, substrate circuit block selection method, and substrate circuit block selection program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a board circuit block selection device, a board circuit block selection method, and a board circuit block selection program for selecting a desired functional circuit block by designating an area on a circuit board such as a printed board.

  A plurality of circuit components belonging to a specific function such as a power supply unit, an analog signal control unit, and a digital signal control unit provided on a circuit board such as a printed circuit board are connected by a wiring pattern, a surface pattern, and a via hole. In other words, various functional circuit blocks having a predetermined function are configured on the circuit board by various combinations of the circuit elements.

  For example, in printed circuit board design CAD, there are many cases in which design is performed in consideration of such functional circuit blocks for the purpose of separation and diversion of functional circuit blocks, check processing in units of functional circuit blocks, and the like.

  In order to perform editing in consideration of the functional circuit block, it is necessary to accurately select all the board elements belonging to the same functional circuit block, for example, as required in the above-described CAD editing function.

Regarding the selection of the substrate element, as described in [Patent Document 1] and [Patent Document 2] in the CAD editing function, there is a method of performing this in a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. This method is called rectangular selection and has the advantage of easy operation. In the CAD editing function, as another method related to the selection of the substrate element, there is another method called polygon selection as shown in FIG. This method has the advantage that detailed instructions on selection are possible. In any of the selection methods, the selection screen can generally be selected while enlarging / reducing the selection screen.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-11476 JP 7-105399 A

However, in recent years, as the density of circuit boards has increased, the wiring shape has become very complex, and it has become difficult to accurately select board elements in consideration of functional circuit blocks.
For example, in the above-described rectangular selection, it is difficult to accurately select the functional circuit block by one selection due to the property of selecting the substrate element in a rectangular shape. Therefore, the selection needs to be repeated many more times, and the workability is reduced.

  In the polygon selection described above, the number of designated coordinates increases due to the increase in density, and it is necessary to frequently use operations involving the enlargement / reduction of the selection screen. It is the same for rectangle selection that operation mistakes are likely to occur due to heavy use of such operations.

  On the other hand, there is a case where a functional circuit block is grasped from input data such as a net list and the functional circuit block can be easily selected using this. For example, there are products that can recognize functional circuit blocks that are recognized on the electrical circuit system in the same way in the board design system when the board design system and the electrical circuit system are created by the same vendor. In the case of such a one package, there is data compatibility between an electric circuit system that logically creates an electric circuit and a board design system that uses circuit data output from the electric circuit system. It may be possible to easily select a functional circuit block by using it. This is because when a circuit engineer creates an electrical circuit on an electrical circuit system, it may be blocked as a functional circuit block.

  However, since the company that designs the circuit is different from the company that designs the board, it is rare for different companies to use the same system, and data compatibility is often impaired. Data for functional circuit block (data model (block identification information, circuit element identification information, circuit pattern identification information)) is lost in the process of data format conversion when an electric circuit system is output in a general data format It is. Therefore, even if the circuit data output from the electric circuit system is imported into the board design system, the board design system cannot recognize the functional circuit block.

  Furthermore, a set of recognized elements that are functional circuit blocks at the circuit creation stage is not necessarily the same functional circuit block at the board creation stage. Since board creation is performed under physical limitations, various problems that do not occur in the circuit creation stage occur. For example, if the distance between patterns is logically separated in the circuit creation stage, no problem occurs even if the verification is performed. However, the distance between patterns varies depending on the voltage level in the board creation stage. Originally, even an electric circuit engineer often causes individual differences in block formation, and naturally, if a board engineer is in a different field, the object of block formation is also different.

  In view of such circumstances, the present invention makes it easy and accurate to select a desired functional circuit block by selecting an element and a pattern desired by a user easily and accurately by a simple operation on a circuit board such as a printed circuit board. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate circuit block selection device, a substrate circuit block selection method, and a substrate circuit block selection program.

In order to achieve the above object, a board circuit block selection device, board circuit block selection method, and board circuit block selection program according to the present invention perform virtual area designation for designating a virtual area in a circuit board, and specify the virtual area. Coordinate acquisition is performed to arbitrarily acquire a plurality of coordinates along the outline of the region specified by, and a predetermined function configured by circuit elements on the circuit board is provided based on the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition. There rows functional circuit block selection for selecting the function circuit block, the coordinates as the line to avoid intersection with the functional circuit blocks connecting two arbitrary coordinates adjacent among the acquired coordinate It is set as the structure which correct | amends and changes .

Therefore, according to the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention, a plurality of coordinates are acquired along the contour of the virtual area designated by the virtual area designating means by the user, Since the functional circuit block constituted by the circuit elements on the circuit board is selected based on the acquired coordinates, the user can easily and accurately select the circuit element desired by the user and specify the region by specifying the area. The functional circuit block can be easily and accurately selected. In the functional circuit block selection, the coordinates are corrected so that a line segment connecting two adjacent arbitrary coordinates among the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition does not cross the functional circuit block. Therefore, the virtual area designated by the virtual area designation is easily corrected, and the burden on the user required for selecting the functional circuit block is reduced.

The board circuit block selection device, board circuit block selection method, and board circuit block selection program according to the present invention form a closed loop that forms the outline and designates the area by a linear trajectory in the virtual area designation. For this purpose, the first trajectory input is performed.
Therefore, according to the board circuit block selection device, board circuit block selection method, and board circuit block selection program of the present invention, a simple and easy circuit element in which a virtual region is specified by surrounding a circuit element desired by a user in a closed loop. A functional circuit block can be selected by designating a virtual area by a designation method.

  The board circuit block selection apparatus, board circuit block selection method, and board circuit block selection program according to the present invention provide a second locus input for forming a linear locus for designating the area in the virtual area designation. And performing a first offset input for providing an offset for configuring the contour and designating the region based on the trajectory formed by the second trajectory input.

  Therefore, according to the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention, it is desired to select a ground level guard circuit formed so as to surround the circuit element as a functional circuit block. When the functional circuit block has a relatively long and narrow shape, the functional circuit block can be selected by designating the region having such a shape as a virtual region by marking selection which is an easy method.

  Further, the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention perform center input for forming the center of the region for designating the region in the virtual region designation, A second offset input is performed in which an offset for configuring the contour and designating the region is given based on the center formed by the center input.

Therefore, according to the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention, when the functional circuit block is circular, such as when the circuit substrate is a circular substrate, A functional circuit block can be selected by designating an area as a virtual area by circle selection which is an easy method.
The substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program according to the present invention display a circuit board, and the offset is changed according to the display magnification of the circuit board by the display. And

  Therefore, according to the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention, according to the display magnification of the circuit substrate displayed on the monitor or the like during the above-described marking selection or circle selection. Since the offset is changed, when performing such selection while repeating the enlargement / reduction according to the degree of detail of the circuit, by reducing the offset when the enlargement level is large, increasing the offset when the enlargement level is small, etc. The workability of such selection work is high and the usability is excellent.

  Further, the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention perform coordinate input to change the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition by input in the functional circuit block selection, When the coordinates are changed by this coordinate input, the functional circuit block is selected based on the changed coordinates.

  Therefore, according to the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention, the virtual region designated by the virtual region designation is manually corrected to accurately match the user's request. Selection of a functional circuit block is realized.

  The board circuit block selection device, board circuit block selection method, and board circuit block selection program according to the present invention perform layer designation for designating a layer of a circuit board, and are designated by the layer designation by the functional circuit block selection. The functional circuit block is selected by selecting the circuit element for each layer.

  Therefore, according to the board circuit block selection device, board circuit block selection method, and board circuit block selection program of the present invention, it becomes possible to perform functional circuit block selection for each specified layer, and more detailed functional circuit block selection. Is possible.

  Further, the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention display a circuit board, and by this display, the functional circuit block selected by the functional circuit block selection is displayed. It is set as the structure which emphasizes and displays compared with this part.

  Therefore, according to the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention, the selected functional circuit block is highly visible, and operations such as confirmation and change of the functional circuit block are performed. It has high characteristics and excellent usability.

  According to the substrate circuit block selection device, the substrate circuit block selection method, and the substrate circuit block selection program of the present invention, a desired function can be obtained by selecting a circuit element desired by a user easily and accurately by a simple operation and specifying a region. A circuit block can be easily and accurately selected.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a hardware configuration of a computer in which a substrate circuit block selection device to which the present invention is applied is constructed. Such a substrate circuit block selection device is used as a function of a circuit board design CAD such as a printed circuit board design CAD. Hereinafter, a case where the board circuit block selection device is used as one function of the printed circuit board design CAD will be described.

As shown in the figure, the computer 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a main memory 102, an MB chip set 103 which is a motherboard chip set, a video card 104, an HDD (Hard Disk drive) 111, a bridge circuit 112, An optical drive 121, a mouse 122, a keyboard 123, a monitor 124, an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) 131, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) bus 132, a low-speed bus 133, and the like are provided.
The main memory 102 is connected to the CPU 101 via a CPU bus and MB chip set 103 (not shown).

The video card 104 is connected to the CPU 101 via the AGP 131 and the MB chip set 103.
The HDD 111 and the monitor 124 are connected to the CPU 101 via the PCI bus 132 and the MB chip set 103.
The bridge circuit 112 connects the PCI bus 132 and the low speed bus 133.

The optical drive 121 is connected to the CPU 101 via the low-speed bus 133, the bridge circuit 112, the PCI bus 132, and the MB chip set 103. The optical drive 121 is a drive that reads or reads / writes data by irradiating an optical disc 125 as a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM with a laser beam.
The mouse 122 and the keyboard 123 are connected to the CPU 101 with the same connection configuration as the optical drive 121.

  The board circuit block selection apparatus reads out an optical disk 125 on which a computer board CAD program including a board circuit block selection program is recorded in the computer 100 from the optical drive 121, duplicates it to the HDD, and duplicates it to the main memory 102. The CAD program is constructed by performing so-called installation so that the CAD program can be loaded, and the user instructs an OS (Operating System) that controls the computer 100 to start the printed circuit board design CAD program. The program is loaded into the main memory 102 and activated. Note that this installation method is merely an example, and installation by other methods is possible, such as installation via the network when the computer 100 is connected to the network.

When the computer 100 functions as a substrate circuit block selection device, each of the above-described configurations bears the following functions.
At least the mouse 122 of the mouse 122 and the keyboard 123 functions as a virtual area designating unit for designating a virtual area on a printed circuit board as a circuit board.
The CPU 101 functions as a coordinate acquisition unit that arbitrarily acquires a plurality of coordinates along the contour of the virtual region designated by the virtual region designation unit.

The main memory 102 or the HDD 111 functions as a coordinate storage unit that stores a plurality of coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition unit.
At least the CPU 101 out of the CPU 101, mouse 122, and keyboard 123 is a circuit element on the printed circuit board based on a plurality of coordinates stored by the coordinate storage means. It functions as a functional circuit block selection means for selecting.
The monitor 124 functions as a display unit that displays the functional circuit block selected by the functional circuit block selection unit together with the printed circuit board that is the target of selection of the functional circuit block.

  Therefore, when the computer 100 functions as a board circuit block selection device, an area designation step (FIG. 8 (S23)), which is a virtual area designation step for designating a virtual area on the printed circuit board, and the area designation step. A coordinate acquisition step (FIG. 8 (S24)) for acquiring a plurality of coordinates arbitrarily along the contour of the specified region, and a board element on the circuit board based on the plurality of coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition step. A substrate circuit block selection method including an area creation step (FIG. 8 (S25)) which is a functional circuit block selection step for selecting a functional circuit block having a predetermined function to be configured is performed in these steps S23 to S25. It is executed by the substrate circuit block selection program that performs the above.

  FIG. 1 is merely an example schematically showing a hardware configuration of a computer in which a substrate circuit block selection device to which the present invention is applied is constructed. If the present invention is applicable, other various configurations are possible. Can be taken. In addition, the board circuit block selection device and the printed circuit board design CAD including the board circuit block selection apparatus can be configured as a well-known centralized type, distributed type, or stand-alone type.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the substrate circuit block selection device constructed by the computer 100. Illustrations and descriptions of functions generally provided as functions of the printed circuit board design CAD are omitted as appropriate.

  The board circuit block selection device includes a selection mode switching unit 11 for selecting and switching a mode for performing such designation when designating a virtual area on the printed board using the mouse 122 or the like in area designation step S23. Have. The selection mode switching unit 11 is realized by a mouse 122, a keyboard 124, and the like. Here, the mouse 122, the keyboard 124, and the like function as selection mode switching means for performing a selection mode switching step. Other details of the selection mode switching unit 11 will be described later.

  The board circuit block selecting apparatus also creates a virtual area designated according to each mode selected by the selection mode switching unit 11 as a freehand area by acquiring a plurality of coordinates in the area designation step S23. A freehand area creation processing unit (coordinate holding unit) 12. The freehand area creation processing unit 12 is realized by the CPU 101 as coordinate acquisition means. In the initial stage of creation, the freehand area is penetrating in common to all layers even if there are multiple layers on the printed circuit board.

  The board circuit block selection device also creates a freehand area created by the freehand area creation processing unit 12 in common for each layer of the printed circuit board and a freehand area table 13 created for each layer. have. The freehand area table 13 is created by the CPU 101 as coordinate acquisition means and is stored in the main memory 102 or the HDD 111. Here, the main memory 102 or the HDD 111 functions as a freehand area table storage unit that performs a freehand area table storage step.

  The board circuit block selection device also includes a selection element determination unit 14 in the freehand area that determines the board element of the layer of the printed circuit board included in each freehand area constituting the freehand area table 13. Yes. The selection element determination unit 14 in the freehand area is realized by the CPU 101 as a function circuit block selection unit. Other details of the selection element determination unit 14 in the freehand area will be described later.

  The board circuit block selection apparatus also includes a screen display unit 15 that displays an operation screen of printed circuit board design CAD on the monitor 124. The screen display unit 15 is realized by a video card 104 for processing data constituting a screen to be displayed on the monitor 124, a CPU 101 for controlling the video card 104, and the like. Here, the video card 104, the CPU 101, and the like function as screen display execution means for performing a screen display step. By the processing in the screen display unit 15, the monitor 124 includes, for example, a printed circuit board that is a selection target of the functional circuit block, a mouse cursor that moves according to the operation of the mouse 122, a locus formed by the movement of the mouse cursor, A functional circuit block or the like selected by processing in the selection element determination unit 14 in the freehand area based on the locus or the like is displayed. The image display unit 15 also performs processing for displaying such a printed circuit board or the like on the monitor 124 according to the display magnification designated by the display magnification designation means such as the mouse 122 and the keyboard 123.

  Such a board circuit block selection device also displays a screen so that the functional circuit block selected by the processing in the selection element determination unit 14 in the freehand area is highlighted as compared with the other parts of the printed board. The highlight processing unit 16 that processes data to be transmitted to the unit 15 is provided. The highlighting processing unit 16 is realized by the CPU 101 that controls the video card 14 and the video card 104. Here, the video card 14, the CPU 101, and the like function as an emphasis display processing unit that performs an emphasis display processing step. Examples of such emphasis include changes in color, brightness, and luminance. In addition, tone down display is performed for other portions which are non-target substrate elements by contrast with such emphasis.

  The substrate circuit block selection device also includes a freehand area manual change processing unit 17 for manually changing each freehand area constituting the freehand area table 13. The freehand area manual change processing unit 17 is realized by a functional circuit block selection unit. The functional circuit block selection means at this time includes not only the CPU 101 but also coordinate input means for changing the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition means by manual input, and when the coordinates are changed by the coordinate input means, A functional circuit block is selected based on the changed coordinates. The coordinate input means is realized by a mouse 122, a keyboard 123, and the like. Here, the CPU 101, the mouse 122, the keyboard 123, and the like function as a coordinate changing unit that performs a coordinate changing step. When the coordinates are changed, the new coordinates are newly stored in the main memory 102 or the HDD 111 or replaced with the stored coordinates. Other details of the freehand area manual change processing unit 17 will be described later.

  The substrate circuit block selection device also includes a freehand area automatic change processing unit 18 that automatically corrects and changes each freehand area constituting the freehand area table 13. The freehand area automatic change processing unit 18 is realized by the CPU 101 as a function circuit block selection unit. Here, the CPU 101 functions as a coordinate changing unit that performs a coordinate changing step. When the coordinates are changed, the new coordinates are newly stored in the main memory 102 or the HDD 111 or replaced with the stored coordinates. Other details of the freehand area automatic change processing unit 18 will be described later.

  Such a circuit board block selecting apparatus also selects a layer of a printed circuit board to be processed in the selection element determination unit 14 in the freehand area, the manual change processing unit 17 in the freehand area, and the automatic change processing unit 18 in the freehand area. A target layer specifying unit 19 is provided as a layer specifying means for specifying. The target layer specifying unit 19 is realized by a mouse 122, a keyboard 123, and the like. Here, the mouse 122, the keyboard 123, and the like function as target layer specifying means for performing a target layer specifying step. The target layer designating unit 19 is provided for the purpose of selecting a desired layer and displaying it on the monitor 124 together with the freehand area. Whether or not a desired functional circuit block is selected in the freehand area at that time for each layer because the freehand area is a penetrating common to all layers in the initial stage of creation This is because it may be necessary to check whether it is necessary to manually or automatically correct the freehand area for each layer.

  The board circuit block selection apparatus also includes an element table 20 that stores board elements determined to constitute a functional circuit block by the selection element determination unit 14 in the freehand area. This determination is appropriately performed after the processing in the freehand area manual change processing unit 17 and the freehand area automatic change processing unit 18. This element table 20 is stored in the main memory 102 or the HDD 111. Here, the main memory 102 or the HDD 111 functions as an element table storage unit that performs an element table storage step.

Among these functional blocks, details of the selection mode switching unit 11, the selection element determination unit 14 in the free hand area, the manual change processing unit 17 of the free hand area, and the automatic change processing unit 18 of the free hand area will be described.
The selection mode switching unit 11 can select any one of a loop selection mode, a marking selection mode, a circle selection mode, a rectangular selection mode, and a polygonal selection mode as a mode for designating a virtual area on the printed circuit board. Of these modes, loop selection, marking selection, and circle selection according to the present invention will be mainly described.

  3A, 3B, and 3C show a mouse 122 as a virtual area designation means for selecting a functional circuit block displayed on the monitor 122 at the time of loop selection, marking selection, and circle selection, respectively, and a keyboard. An operation screen for designating a freehand area on a printed circuit board using 123 or the like is shown.

  In each of the drawings (a), (b), and (c), the white line or white dot in the left diagram is a locus drawn using the mouse cursor, and the white area in the right diagram is the designated virtual area. Indicates the area. The white line or the white dot portion may be drawn by other methods, but here, a case where the mouse 122 is used and the mouse cursor is drawn will be described.

  The CPU 101 serving as the coordinate acquisition means automatically acquires coordinates along the contours constituting the virtual area, in other words, at any given fixed time interval. The coordinate acquisition condition may be performed at a predetermined constant distance interval together with a predetermined constant time interval or instead of the predetermined constant time interval. The time interval and the distance interval may be fixed, or may be changed by the user by coordinate acquisition condition setting means such as the mouse 122 and the keyboard 123. However, the maximum value is a range in which the smallest board element on the target printed board can be discarded.

  The loop selection uses the mouse 122 as the first trajectory input means, and, as shown in FIG. 5A, a closed loop that configures the outline of the virtual area and designates the area is displayed in a linear shape. This is done by forming the trajectory. Thus, in the loop selection, the mouse 122 functions as a virtual area designation unit. In the loop selection, a point where the locus of the mouse cursor intersects is obtained, and the area inside the closed loop portion obtained first is used as a virtual area, in other words, a freehand area. The area outside the freehand area is a selection exclusion area. As shown in the left diagram of FIG. 11A, when there is an extra trajectory when the closed loop is obtained, the extra trajectory is erased as apparent in the right diagram of FIG. If there is no intersecting point, a straight line connecting the start point and end point of the drawn linear trajectory is virtually added to create a closed loop.

  In the marking selection, the mouse 122 as the second trajectory input means for forming a linear trajectory for designating such a virtual area, and the contour of the virtual area are configured and the virtual area is designated. Using the keyboard 123 as the first offset input means for applying the offset of the virtual area based on the locus formed by the mouse 122, and as shown in the left diagram of FIG. Center line In other words, draw a linear trajectory that specifies the region that constitutes the reference line, and as shown in the right figure of FIG. In other words, a virtual hand region, that is, a freehand area is formed. Thus, in marking selection, the mouse 122 and the keyboard 123 function as a virtual area designation unit. The area outside the freehand area is a selection exclusion area.

  The marking selection is suitable for selecting the guard circuit when, for example, a ground level guard element is formed around the element. In marking selection, the line width area where the drawn trajectory is enlarged is used as a virtual area, so it is easier to specify a donut-shaped virtual area that surrounds the selection exclusion area with the virtual area compared to loop selection. Is possible.

  The circle selection is for specifying such a virtual area, a mouse 122 as a center input means for forming the center of the virtual area, and an outline of the virtual area to specify the virtual area. Using the keyboard 123 as the second offset input means for giving an offset based on such a center which is a locus formed by the mouse 122, the virtual cursor as shown in the left diagram of FIG. In other words, a reference point is drawn as a trajectory, and as shown in the right figure of FIG. 4B, a circular virtual object is formed by performing a certain width of flesh around the point by the input offset. In other words, a freehand area is formed. As described above, in the circle selection, the mouse 122 and the keyboard 123 function as virtual area designating means. The area outside the freehand area is a selection exclusion area. The offset is entered as either radius or diameter. Circle selection is suitable for circular substrates, for example.

  In the marking selection and the circle selection, the offset is input with the keyboard in the above-described example. However, it may be changed according to the display magnification of the printed board by the monitor 124 together with or instead of this. Specifically, the offset is decreased when the enlargement level is large, and the offset is increased when the enlargement level is small. For example, the offset is always 5% of the size displayed on the monitor 124. As described above, since the display magnification of the printed circuit board by the monitor 124 is designated by the display magnification designation means such as the mouse 122 and the keyboard 123, the mouse 122 etc. also functions as an offset input means. Such an offset input method is particularly effective in marking selection. This is because the locus drawing by the mouse cursor is often performed while repeating the enlargement / reduction according to the level of detail of the circuit.

  In addition, the selection mode switching unit 11 can select rectangular selection or polygon selection. These are coordinate designations for a plurality of points by the user, and are different from loop selection, marking selection, and circle selection in which acquisition of a plurality of coordinates is automatically performed. The designation of the virtual area may be performed by switching loop selection, marking selection, circle selection, rectangle selection, and polygon selection as necessary, and a combination thereof. In this case, the final virtual area is designated by storing and adding the virtual areas designated in each mode.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the selection element determination unit 14 in the freehand area performs a display layer switching process 14a and an element determination process 14b. In the display layer switching process 14 a, the freehand area of the layer of the printed circuit board designated by the target layer designation unit 19 among the freehand areas included in the freehand area table 13 is read. In the element determination process 14b, the board elements included in the freehand area read in the display layer switching process 14a are determined, and the board elements constituting the functional circuit block are output to the element table 20 of the layer, Store in the element table storage means.

  In the freehand area manual change processing unit 17, a movement change process 17a, an enlargement / reduction change process 17b, and a frame drag change process 17c can be performed. In these processes, the printed circuit board and the virtual area that has already been designated are displayed on the monitor 124, the virtual area to be manually changed is designated, and the keyboard 123 such as the left and right buttons of the mouse 122 and the mouse wheel are designated. This is performed based on the user's manual operation using the cross key, shift key, and the like.

FIG. 4 conceptually shows a method for manually changing the freehand area.
As shown in the figure, in the monitor 124, whether or not a desired functional circuit block is configured by a board element selected by a virtual area on the printed circuit board, that is, a selection element, the position and size of the virtual area. While confirming the range, the movement change process 17a, that is, the movement of the selection area that is a virtual area using the cursor key of the keyboard 123, the enlargement / reduction change process 17b, that is, the selection area that uses the mouse wheel of the mouse 122, etc. The virtual area is selected so that the board elements constituting the desired functional circuit block are selected without excess or deficiency by appropriately performing enlargement / reduction, frame drag change processing 17c, that is, selection area change and adjustment by dragging the mouse 122, etc. Manually change the contour of the area and correct it. As described above, the corrected virtual area is changed in coordinates, etc., and updated as a freehand area or newly stored.

  As will be described later, this processing can be performed for each freehand area of each layer of the printed circuit board specified by the target layer specifying unit 19 among the freehand areas included in the freehand area table 13.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the freehand area automatic change processing unit 18, in order to correct the coordinates so as to avoid the virtual region intersecting the substrate element, an area configuration line segment creation process 18 a, Substrate element intersection element search processing 18b, element shape division inclusion check processing 18c, and freehand area correction processing 18d are performed. These processes are automatically performed by the CPU 101 when the user instructs the execution of the automatic correction process for the freehand area using the mouse 122, the keyboard 123, and the like.

  FIG. 5 conceptually shows the method of automatic correction processing for the freehand area when a virtual region is designated by loop selection. In the example shown in FIG. 5, a region surrounded by a broken line is a virtual region, and among these elements A to H, which are substrate elements, a part of the elements A, B, and F are included. The elements C to E, G, and H are included in their entirety.

  Therefore, in this example, the freehand area automatic change processing unit 18 corrects the coordinates so that the virtual area does not intersect the elements A, B, and F. Coordinate correction is performed so that when the element is divided by the outline of the virtual area, the area inside the virtual area is larger than the other area so that the entire element is included in the virtual area. When the area of the inner part of the virtual region is smaller than that of the other, the entire element is excluded from the virtual region. Details of this will be described next.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a freehand area automatic correction process.
When the execution of the automatic correction process is instructed (FIG. 6 (S1)), the coordinates representing the virtual area to be processed are read from the freehand area table 13 and the points A, B, C, D shown in FIG. Are obtained as area composing points (FIG. 6 (S2)). The points A, B, C, D... Are adjacent to each other in this order.

  From the points A, B, C, D..., A point not on the substrate element is determined as a starting point (S3 in FIG. 6)). Here, it is assumed that the point A is the starting point. Next, for all coordinates, it is checked whether or not it has been determined whether or not a virtual region, specifically, a line segment described below does not intersect with the substrate element (FIG. 6 (S4)).

  If such a determination is not made, a line segment is created between the base point and the next point (FIG. 6 (S5)). Here, the starting point A corresponds to the base point, and the point B adjacent to the starting point A corresponds to the next point. At this time, a line segment AB is created in step S5. By these steps S2 to S5, an area configuration line segment creation process 18a is performed.

  A board element that intersects the created line segment, here the line segment AB is searched (FIG. 6 (S6)), and it is determined whether there is a board element that intersects (FIG. 6 (S7)). If there are no intersecting substrate elements, the process returns to step S4. The board element intersecting element search process 18b is performed in steps S6 and S7.

  In step S7, when the line segment intersects with the element so that the line segment AB intersects with the element A in this example, it is determined whether or not the next point is on the element (FIG. 6). (S8)). In this example, it is determined whether or not the next point B is on the element A.

  When the next point is on the element in step S8, the coordinates of the cut points constituting the line segment, that is, the coordinates of the base point / next point are held (FIG. 6 (S9)), and the process returns to step S4. Therefore, in this example, the process returns to step S4.

If the next point is not on the element in step S8, the element is divided by all line segments intersecting the element (FIG. 6 (S10)). For example, in this example, after returning to step S4 as described above, a line segment BC is created in step S5, a board element intersecting with the line segment BC is searched in step S6, and element A is line segment in step S7. If it is determined that it intersects with BC, it is determined in step S8 whether or not the next point C constituting the line segment BC is on the element A. However, since the next point C is not on the element A, the process proceeds to step S10. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, a divided figure obtained by dividing the element A by the line segment AB and the line segment BC is created. In FIG. 5B, the elements A-1 and A-2 are created by dividing the element A.
Thus, when the next point is not on the element in step S8, the element is divided into two at all line segments intersecting with the element.

  Next, calculate the area of the two elements formed by the division, and determine whether to include the element to be divided in the virtual region based on the size relationship between the calculated areas. (FIG. 6 (S11)). Specifically, of the two elements formed by the division, when the area of the inner part of the virtual region is larger than the other, the entire element to be divided is included in the virtual region. When the area of the inner portion of the virtual area is smaller than that of the other area, the entire element to be divided is excluded from the virtual area.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 5A, the area of the cut-out portion, that is, the area outside the virtual region, that is, the area of the element A-2 is smaller than the area of the element A-1. The virtual region is corrected so as to include the entire element A. The element shape division inclusion check process 18c is performed in steps S8 to S11.

  In accordance with the result of inclusion determination in step S11, correction is performed to add / delete the constituent points, that is, the coordinates constituting the virtual region (FIG. 6 (S12)). Specifically, the coordinates are corrected so that the contour of the virtual region follows the contour of the element. Therefore, when a constituent point is added to a portion adjacent to the intersection of the contour of the virtual region and the contour of the element and a portion where the contour is in a state along the contour of the element, and there is a constituent point on the element Remove this.

  In this example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the points X, Y, and Z are added and the point B is deleted. Point X is placed slightly outside element A at the intersection of element A and line segment AB, point Y is placed slightly outside element A at the vertex of element A-2, and point Z is The element A is arranged at a position slightly outside the element A at the intersection of the line segment BC.

  When step S12 is completed, the process returns to step S4, where it is checked whether or not the virtual region has been determined to intersect with the substrate element for all coordinates, and step S4 is performed until such a determination is made for all coordinates. ˜12 are repeated.

  In this example, since there is no substrate element that intersects the line segment CD in this process, the coordinates of the points C and D are maintained, and the substrate intersects with the point D as the base point and the next point as the next point. The same determination as described above is repeatedly performed until the starting point A becomes the next point, for example, by determining the presence or absence of an element. As a result, the coordinates of the element B are corrected so as to be excluded from the virtual area, the coordinates of the element F are corrected so as to be included in the virtual area, and after correction, as shown in FIG. Free hand area.

  When it is determined whether or not the virtual area intersects the substrate element for all coordinates, the coordinates corrected by addition / deletion are stored (FIG. 6 (S13)), and the correction ends. (FIG. 6 (S14)). In steps S12 and S13, a freehand area correction process 18d is performed.

  As described above, in the freehand area automatic change processing unit 18, a line segment connecting two adjacent arbitrary coordinates among the coordinates automatically acquired by the freehand area creation processing unit 12 intersects the functional circuit block. In order to avoid this, a coordinate correction step for automatically correcting and changing the coordinates is performed. Here, the CPU 101 functions as a coordinate correction unit that performs a coordinate correction step.

  FIG. 7 shows an example when the automatic correction of the freehand area described above is performed while visually recognizing on the monitor 124. In this example, loop selection is also employed. As shown in FIG. 6A, first, a board element included in the functional circuit block is roughly selected by freehand selection using a mouse 122 to draw a locus with a mouse cursor, and shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4C, a freehand area is created by acquiring coordinates along such a locus, and the above-mentioned automatic coordinate correction is performed as shown in FIG. Avoid crossing.

  As will be described later, this processing can be performed for each freehand area of each layer of the printed circuit board specified by the target layer specifying unit 19 among the freehand areas included in the freehand area table 13.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow from manually designating a freehand area in a printed circuit board using the substrate circuit block selecting apparatus according to the present invention until it is determined, that is, until selection of a desired functional circuit block is completed. is there. Description of the matters already described will be omitted as appropriate.

  When the selection of the freehand area is started by executing the board circuit block selection program (FIG. 8 (S21)), the locus of the mouse cursor drawn using the mouse 122 is held (FIG. 8 (S22)), and is appropriately selected. A freehand area is designated by input of an offset or the like (FIG. 8 (S23)), coordinate acquisition is performed based on the designated freehand area (FIG. 8 (S24)), and area creation for selecting a functional circuit block is performed. This is performed (FIG. 8 (S25)).

  In this state, the freehand area is common to all layers even if the printed circuit board has a plurality of layers. Accordingly, the target layer is selected by the target layer designating unit 19, the target layer is displayed on the monitor 124 together with the freehand area at that time, and whether a desired functional circuit block is selected or not is determined by the user. Each board element included in the freehand area is confirmed (FIG. 8 (S26)).

  FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an operation when confirming the substrate element in the freehand area in step S26. Since the monitor 124 displays the functional circuit block in the freehand area with emphasis as compared with the other parts of the printed circuit board based on the processing by the emphasis display processing unit 16, the board element can be easily confirmed. .

  FIG. 5A shows all layers of the printed circuit board as a target, and all the substrate elements formed on the printed circuit board are shown in a transparent state over all the layers. In this state, it is difficult to confirm whether or not a desired functional circuit block has been selected by targeting only circuit components that are generally arranged on the surface side of the printed circuit board. When performing such confirmation, as shown in FIG. 5B, the layer is selected by the target layer designating unit 19 and confirmed. Similarly, when only the backside wiring is desired to be targeted, the target layer designating unit 19 selects and confirms the layer, as shown in FIG.

  In step S26, the user manually sets the freehand area according to whether or not the desired board element group is obtained as a result of checking the board elements over the entire layer or for each desired layer as necessary. To determine whether or not it is necessary to change or automatically correct, and select whether to change the freehand area manually, automatically correct, or confirm the freehand area without making these changes / corrections (FIG. 8 (S27)).

When the process of selecting manual change is performed in step S27 (FIG. 8 (S28)), the above-described process is performed by the manual change processing unit 17 in the freehand area, and the coordinates are appropriately changed.
When the process for selecting automatic correction is performed in step S27 (FIG. 8 (S29)), the above-described process is performed by the freehand area automatic change processing unit 18 and the coordinates are appropriately changed.
In steps S28 and 29, the coordinates are changed in the same manner as in step S26 by displaying the necessary layers and performing the layer-by-layer selection, thereby selecting a substrate element and selecting a functional circuit block included in the freehand area. be able to.
When steps S28 and 29 are completed, the process returns to step S25, and a functional circuit block is selected based on the coordinates after the change / correction.

When the element selection for determining the freehand area in step S27 is performed (FIG. 8 (S30)), the function circuit block is selected on the assumption that the desired function circuit block is selected by the user. In this case, the freehand area is determined by the substrate element confirmed in step S26, and the coordinates constituting the freehand area are determined (FIG. 8 (S31)).
Since the board circuit block selection device is used as a function of a circuit board design CAD such as a printed circuit board design CAD, other processes in the circuit board design CAD are thereafter performed.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and the present invention described in the claims is not specifically limited by the above description. Various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the above.
For example, the change / correction of coordinates is performed for each layer, but may be performed through all layers. Whether or not to perform penetrating can be selected by the user.

  In the flow up to the completion of the selection of the desired functional circuit block, the timing for selecting the target layer by the target layer designating unit 19 is the time shown in FIG. 8, that is, after the creation of the freehand area shown in step S23 in FIG. Thus, even if the target layer is changed by changing the target layer, it is possible to easily select the substrate element by viewing different substrate elements for each target layer based on the freehand area that has been created through the penetration. There is.

  However, this timing is not limited to this, and may be before the freehand area creation. In this case, a freehand area can be created based on the selected target layer. It is also possible to create the first freehand area only for the selected target layer.

  It is preferable that the target layer designation for the first time is not intentionally performed by the user by the target layer designation unit 19 but the layer originally displayed on the monitor 124 is automatically designated as the target layer. Even in this case, the target layer designation unit 19 can intentionally change the target layer designation for the first time.

  In general circuit boards, circuit elements are usually mounted on the front or back surface, and only the pattern is formed on the inner layer, but technology for embedding extremely small circuit elements in the inner layer has been developed. In consideration of the fact that there are dozens of layers of server circuit boards, it is preferable that these can be selected according to the type of circuit board.

  In the printed circuit board design, such a correction is possible because the layout is made so as to form a gap between the substrate elements. Further, when the substrate element is divided, correction may be performed so that the element is included in the freehand area using the offset shape of the element instead of the shape of the element itself.

  The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

The following additional notes will be made regarding the above embodiments.
(Appendix)
(Appendix 1)
A virtual area designating means for designating a virtual area on the circuit board; a coordinate obtaining means for arbitrarily obtaining a plurality of coordinates along the contour of the area designated by the virtual area designating means; and the coordinate obtaining means. A circuit board block selecting device comprising: function circuit block selecting means for selecting a function circuit block having a predetermined function constituted by circuit elements on the circuit board based on the acquired coordinates.
(Appendix 2)
In the substrate circuit block selection device according to attachment 1, the virtual area designating unit includes a first trajectory input unit for forming a closed loop that configures the contour and designates the region by a linear trajectory. A substrate circuit block selecting device.

(Appendix 3)
The board circuit block selection device according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the virtual area designating means comprises a second trajectory input means for forming a linear trajectory for designating the area, and the contour constituting the area. And a first offset input means for providing an offset for designating the offset based on the trajectory formed by the second trajectory input means.

(Appendix 4)
The functional circuit block selection device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the virtual area designating unit includes a center input unit that forms the center of the region for designating the region, and the contour. And a second offset input means for providing an offset for designating the region based on the center formed by the center input means.

(Appendix 5)
The functional circuit block selection device according to appendix 3 or 4, further comprising display means for displaying a circuit board, wherein the offset is changed according to a display magnification of the circuit board by the display means. Block selection device.

(Appendix 6)
In the functional circuit block selection device according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, the functional circuit block selection means includes coordinate input means for changing the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition means by input, When the coordinate is changed by the coordinate input means, the functional circuit block selection device selects the functional circuit block based on the changed coordinate.

(Appendix 7)
The functional circuit block selection device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6, wherein the functional circuit block selection unit is a line segment that connects two adjacent arbitrary coordinates among the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition unit. A functional circuit block selection device comprising coordinate correction means for correcting and changing the coordinates so as to avoid crossing the functional circuit block.

(Appendix 8)
The functional circuit block selecting device according to any one of appendices 1 to 7, further comprising: a layer designating unit that designates a layer of a circuit board, wherein the functional circuit block selecting unit designates the layer designated by the layer designating unit. A functional circuit block selecting apparatus, wherein the functional circuit block is selected by selecting the circuit element for each layer.

(Appendix 9)
The functional circuit block selecting device according to any one of appendices 1 to 8, further comprising display means for displaying a circuit board, wherein the functional circuit block selected by the functional circuit block selecting means is displayed by the display means. A functional circuit block selection device characterized by being displayed with emphasis as compared with other portions.

(Appendix 10)
A virtual region designating step for designating a virtual region on the circuit board, a coordinate obtaining step for arbitrarily obtaining a plurality of coordinates along the contour of the region designated by the virtual region designating step, and the coordinate obtaining step And a functional circuit block selecting step for selecting a functional circuit block having a predetermined function constituted by circuit elements on the circuit board based on the acquired coordinates.

(Appendix 11)
A virtual region designating step for designating a virtual region on the circuit board, a coordinate obtaining step for arbitrarily obtaining a plurality of coordinates along the contour of the region designated by the virtual region designating step, and the coordinate obtaining step A board circuit block selection program comprising: a function circuit block selection step for selecting a function circuit block having a predetermined function configured by circuit elements on the circuit board based on the acquired coordinates.

It is a hardware block diagram of the computer to which this invention is applied. It is a functional block diagram of a substrate circuit block selection device to which the present invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing of each method of freehand area designation | designated. It is a conceptual diagram of the manual change method of a freehand area. It is a conceptual diagram of the automatic correction method of a freehand area. It is a flowchart of the automatic correction process of a freehand area. It is a conceptual diagram of the automatic correction | amendment of a freehand area. It is a flowchart which shows the flow until freehand area decision. It is a conceptual diagram at the time of confirming the board | substrate element in a freehand area. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of the selection method of the conventional functional circuit block.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Selection mode switching part 12 Free hand area creation process part 13 Free hand area table 14 Selection element determination part in free hand area 15 Screen display part 16 Highlight display process part 17 Manual change process part 17a of free hand area 17a Movement change process 17b Enlargement / reduction change processing 17c Drag change processing of frame 18 Automatic change processing section of free hand area 18a Area configuration line segment creation processing 18b Substrate element intersection element search processing 18c Element shape division inclusion check processing 18d Free hand area correction processing 19 Target Layer designation unit 20 Element table 100 Substrate circuit block selection device 101 CPU (coordinate acquisition means, functional circuit block selection means, coordinate correction means)
102 Main memory (coordinate storage means)
103 MB chip set 104 Video card 111 HDD (coordinate storage means)
112 Bridge circuit 121 Optical drive block selection program)
122 mouse (virtual area designating means, functional circuit block selecting means, first trajectory input means, second trajectory input means, center input means, coordinate input means, layer designation means)
123 keyboard (virtual area specifying means, functional circuit block selecting means, first offset input means, second offset input means, coordinate input means, layer specifying means)
124 monitor (display means)
125 Optical disc (Board circuit block selection program)

Claims (7)

A virtual area designating means for designating a virtual area in the circuit board;
Coordinate acquisition means for arbitrarily acquiring a plurality of coordinates along the contour of the area designated by the virtual area designation means;
Possess a functional circuit block selection means for selecting a functional circuit block having a predetermined function constituted by the circuit elements on the circuit board based on the coordinates obtained by the coordinate obtaining means,
The functional circuit block selection unit corrects the coordinates so as to avoid a line segment connecting two adjacent arbitrary coordinates among the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition unit intersecting the functional circuit block. board circuit block select device which have a coordinate correction means for changing.

A virtual area designating means for designating a virtual area in the circuit board;
Coordinate acquisition means for arbitrarily acquiring a plurality of coordinates along the contour of the area designated by the virtual area designation means;
Functional circuit block selection means for selecting a functional circuit block having a predetermined function configured by circuit elements on the circuit board based on the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition means;
Layer specifying means for specifying the layer of the circuit board;
The substrate circuit block selecting device, wherein the functional circuit block selecting means selects the functional circuit block by selecting the circuit element for each of the layers designated by the layer designating means .

In the substrate circuit block selection device according to claim 1 ,
A layer designating unit for designating a layer of the circuit board;
The substrate circuit block selecting device, wherein the functional circuit block selecting means selects the functional circuit block by selecting the circuit element for each of the layers designated by the layer designating means .

In the board circuit block selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The virtual circuit designating means comprises a first trajectory input means for forming a closed loop constituting the contour and designating the area by a linear trajectory .

In the substrate circuit block selection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The virtual area designating means is a center input means for designating the area to form the center of the area, and an offset for configuring the contour and designating the area is formed by the center input means. A substrate circuit block selection device comprising: a second offset input means for applying based on the center .

Computer
A virtual area designating step for designating a virtual area in the circuit board;
A coordinate acquisition step for arbitrarily acquiring a plurality of coordinates along the contour of the region specified by the virtual region specification step;
Performing a functional circuit block selection step for selecting a functional circuit block having a predetermined function configured by circuit elements on the circuit board based on the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition step ;
The functional circuit block selection step corrects the coordinates so that a line segment connecting two adjacent arbitrary coordinates among the coordinates acquired in the coordinate acquisition step does not cross the functional circuit block. Substrate circuit block selection device to be changed .

A virtual area designating means for designating a virtual area in the circuit board;
Coordinate acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of coordinates arbitrarily along the contour of the specified the region by the virtual area specification means,
Cause the computer to function as a functional circuit block selection means for selecting a functional circuit block having a predetermined function constituted by the circuit elements on the circuit board based on the coordinates obtained by the coordinate obtaining means,
The functional circuit block selection unit corrects the coordinates so as to avoid a line segment connecting two adjacent arbitrary coordinates among the coordinates acquired by the coordinate acquisition unit intersecting the functional circuit block. Board circuit block selection program to be changed .