JP6445242B2 - Design support apparatus and design support method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a design support apparatus and a design support method, and more particularly to a circuit diagram design support apparatus and a design support method for a printed wiring board.

  A circuit diagram of the printed wiring board is created by a design support apparatus using a computer called CAD (Computer Aided Design).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a general design support apparatus.

  In FIG. 7, the actual component circuit diagram library registers the components used for realizing the functions (S601). The circuit diagram editor is used to place component symbols (S602), and the symbols are connected to create a circuit diagram (S603).

  Next, a logical library of actual parts is input to the net list conversion tool (S604), and the net list conversion tool replaces symbols in the circuit diagram with logical descriptions (S605) and converts them into a net list (S606).

  Then, the physical library of physical parts and the board information library are input (S607, S608), the parts are mounted on the board with a mounting tool (S609), and board data is created (S610). Finally, wiring design is performed (S612). When changing the part (YES in S611), the process returns to the circuit diagram editor and changes.

  Recently, the following techniques have been disclosed in order to solve the problem of facilitating component change and creation of a logic circuit diagram.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a component layout apparatus indexes an electronic component database, automatically selects a component with the lowest cost, and designs a circuit of a printed wiring board.

  Patent Document 2 assigns information on the position and number of symbolic logic terminals to the provisional logic terminal of the provisional symbol, improves the degree of freedom of setting, and creates an easy-to-see logic circuit diagram that is free from problems such as crossing of connections. Techniques that facilitate this are disclosed.

  In Patent Document 3, by performing element assignment in addition to the constraint conditions of the mounting position of the package terminals arranged on the package board on the board, the wiring processing of the package board after element assignment can be automated, and the wiring design A technique for achieving a significant reduction in man-hours and an improvement in the quality of a package substrate is disclosed.

JP 2009-110094 A JP 2008-204192 A JP-A-62-243400

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the component arrangement is not optimized, it is possible to easily change to a component with a small occupied area, but when changing to a component with a large occupied area. There was a problem that it was necessary to change after returning to the circuit diagram correction.

  With the technique described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to create an easy-to-see logic circuit diagram that is free from defects such as crossing of connections, but there is a problem that component mounting is not considered.

  With the technique described in Patent Document 3, it is possible to automate the wiring process of the package substrate after the element assignment, but there is a problem that when changing the element assignment, it is necessary to change after returning to the circuit diagram correction. .

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to provide a design support apparatus and a design support method that need not be changed after returning to the circuit diagram correction in the circuit diagram editor when changing a part.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a design support apparatus including a component database and a control unit that supports circuit diagram creation, and the control unit includes a circuit diagram editor that creates a circuit diagram, a circuit A netlist conversion tool that converts a circuit diagram created with a diagram editor into a netlist, an optimization tool that optimizes the netlist based on the information in the parts database, and a netlist that is optimized by the optimization tool And a mounting tool for converting the data into mounting data.

  The present invention also provides a design support method for a design support apparatus including a parts database and a control unit that supports circuit diagram creation, where the control unit creates a circuit diagram and creates the circuit diagram. Converting the circuit diagram created in the step into a netlist, optimizing the netlist based on the information in the parts database, and converting the netlist optimized in the optimizing step into mounting data And a step.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when changing components, it is possible to provide a design support apparatus and a design support method that require less change after returning to the circuit diagram correction in the circuit diagram editor.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the design assistance apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the design assistance apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the optimization in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the optimization in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the optimization in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the optimization in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the design assistance apparatus in the related technology of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a design support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the design support apparatus in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, a design support apparatus 10 includes an input unit 20 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display unit 30 such as a display, a control unit 40 that performs design support, and a component database 50 that stores component information. .

  The control unit 40 controls the input unit 20 and the display unit 30 based on a design support program stored in a predetermined storage unit (not shown), and uses the component information stored in the component database 50 to design the circuit. It has a function to perform circuit diagram design by a person.

  The control unit 40 has functions of a circuit diagram editor 41, a netlist conversion tool 42, an optimization tool 43, and a mounting tool 44. The component database 50 includes a circuit diagram library 51, a logical library 52, a cost library 53, a physical library 54, a board information library 55, a manufacturing cost library 56, and a mounting area definition library 57, which are temporary components and actual components, respectively. Information can be stored.

  The circuit diagram editor 41 can arrange the component symbols in the circuit diagram library 51 of the actual components and the temporary components, and can create a circuit diagram by connecting the arranged component symbols. In the circuit diagram library 51, component symbol information of actual components and temporary components is defined.

  The netlist conversion tool 42 replaces the component symbols in the circuit diagram with the logical description in the logic library 52, and replaces the connection information between the component symbols with the logical connection relationship based on the signal name, thereby converting the circuit diagram into the netlist. Convert. In the logical library 52, logical description information corresponding to the component symbols stored in the circuit diagram library 51 of the actual component and the temporary component is defined.

In the cost library 53, the cost of actual parts is defined. The manufacturing cost library 56 defines a manufacturing cost for mounting an actual part on a board when manufacturing the actual part on a board. In the mounting area definition library 57, component mounting areas of actual components are defined. This component mounting area is specified with respect to the mounting area definition library 57 using the component mounting parameters. The physical library 54 defines external information such as the sizes of actual components and temporary components. The size defines the predicted size when converted to an actual part.

  The board information library 55 defines restrictions related to component mounting, such as a mounting prohibited area, a component height limitation, and a through hole component mounting prohibition when components are mounted on the substrate.

  The mounting tool 44 arranges actual parts in the netlist on the board based on the board information.

  The optimization tool 43 outputs the optimization target component as a netlist optimized for the component according to the optimization degree and the mounting position. For the optimization target part, the real part and the temporary part to be optimized are specified in the optimization target instruction file. The optimization degree is specified by an optimization degree parameter determined by the part cost and the part size at the time of optimization.

  For the component corresponding to the mounting position, the area defined by the mounting area definition library in which the real component and the temporary component to be optimized are arranged by the mounting area instruction file. Then, even if no component is mounted by the mounting tool 44, the optimization tool 43 can perform optimization by considering the restrictions on the board.

  The operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the design support apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  If you want to create a circuit diagram or mount parts before confirming all the parts, use the parts defined in the temporary part circuit diagram library for the parts that have not been confirmed (S202). Create (S203). For the determined part, a circuit diagram is created using the part defined in the circuit diagram library of the actual part (S201) (S203).

  The generated circuit diagram (S204) is converted into a logical description by using a net library conversion tool and a symbol in the circuit diagram is converted into a logical description using a temporary component logic library (S207, S208).

  The netlist including temporary parts is the actual parts corresponding to various parameters for the parts specified in the optimization target instruction file based on the library information of cost, manufacturing cost, mounting area, and board information by the optimization tool 43. (S218). As a result, an optimized netlist is created (S219).

If the parts need to be changed after the optimization (YES in S220) , the following is performed. The optimization tool 43 reads an optimization target instruction file instructing which part to change to which part (S217), and reads from the mounting area instruction file where to mount the part instructed in the instruction file. (S216). Further, the optimization tool 43 reads out how to use the optimization degree parameter (S215). Thereafter, the optimization tool 43 performs optimization again.

  If no component change is necessary (NO in S220), mounting data is created by the mounting tool 44 (S221).

  If there is no problem in the mounting data and no component change is required (NO in S224), the data is output to the wiring design together with the board data (S222) (S226). If there is a defect in the mounting data and a component change is necessary (YES in S224), the process returns to the circuit diagram correcting step (S225).

  FIG. 3 shows an example of optimizing the temporary part of this embodiment.

  A case of realizing a multi-input logical product will be described with reference to FIG.

  When realizing a multi-input logical product, a plurality of multi-input logical products are combined. In this case, there are various combinations such as a combination with a high part cost but a small total part size, and a combination with a low part cost but a large total part size.

  Fig. 3 (a) is a schematic diagram of creating a circuit diagram using 8-input logical product parts and 10-input logical product temporary parts, and optimizing the part cost and part size with the optimization degree parameter of the optimization tool 43. FIG. 3 (b) and 3 (c), there are only 6 inputs, 4 inputs and 2 inputs as real parts of multi-input logical products, but they are prepared in advance when it is desired to realize 8-input logical products. This is an example in which a circuit diagram is created using a temporary component library of 10-input AND. The combination of actual parts by optimization changes depending on the cost and area optimization degree.

  FIG. 3B shows an example in which the cost and area are optimized with the optimization degree parameter 8: 2. This means that the importance of the cost is preferentially determined as 8, and after determining the cost, the one having a small area is determined. Specifically, once in order of cost, in the case of 8 to 2, a combination corresponding to a weight of part cost of 8 is selected, and a part having the smallest area is selected from among the combinations. FIG. 3B is an example in which cost is prioritized, the cost is 200 yen in total, and the area is 12.

  FIG. 3C shows an example in which the cost and area are optimized at 2: 8, which is an optimization degree parameter. This means that the importance of the area is preferentially determined as 8, and the cost is determined cheaply after the area is determined. FIG. 3C is an example in which the area is prioritized, the cost is 220 yen in total, and the area is 10.

  FIG. 4 is an example of optimizing the temporary component of this embodiment, as in FIG.

  A case of realizing a multi-pin connector will be described with reference to FIG.

  When realizing a multi-pin connector, it will be realized by combining multiple connectors. However, a combination with a high part cost but a small total part size, or a combination with a low part cost but a large total part size, etc. There are various combinations.

  4 (a) is a schematic diagram of an 8-pin connector and a 10-pin temporary part connector, and the optimization of the part cost and part size is visualized by the optimization degree parameter of the optimization tool 43. FIG.

  There are 8 pins, 5 pins, and 3 pins as actual parts of a multi-pin connector. If you want to realize an 8-pin connector, use a 10-pin connector temporary part library that has been prepared in advance. This is an example of creating a diagram. The combination of actual parts by optimization changes depending on the optimum degree of cost and area.

  FIG. 4B shows an example in which the cost and area are optimized at 8: 2, which is an optimization degree parameter. This means that the importance of the cost is preferentially determined as 8, and the area is determined to be small after the cost is determined. Specifically, once in order of cost, in the case of 8 to 2, a combination corresponding to a weight of part cost of 8 is selected, and a part having the smallest area is selected from among the combinations.

  FIG. 4C shows an example in which the cost and area are optimized at 2: 8, which is an optimization degree parameter. This means that the importance of the area is preferentially determined as 8, and the cost is determined cheaply after the area is determined.

  FIG. 5 is an example of performing optimization according to the mounting area of the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation for performing optimization according to the mounting area of the present embodiment.

  The case of optimizing according to the mounting area will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 5, and 6.

  FIG. 5 assumes that the through-hole type 4-pin connector part in the netlist is mounted at the coordinate B3 on the back surface of the board, but the surface-mounted part is already mounted at the coordinate B3 on the front surface. This is an example.

  The optimization tool 43 obtains an instruction for mounting the through-hole type connector component on the coordinates B3 on the back surface of the board from the mounting area instruction file (S301). The optimization tool 43 investigates the surface of the coordinate B3 (S302), and detects a mounted component on the surface of the coordinate B3 (S303). This violates the mounting restrictions defined in the board information library 55 and cannot be mounted. In this case, the optimization tool 43 changes the connector component to the surface mount type (S304). Then, the mounting tool 44 is instructed to mount the front surface mounting type 4-pin connector part on the rear surface coordinate B3 (S305). This is an example in which the optimization tool 43 gives priority to the mounting component on the front surface and changes the component mounted on the back surface.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the component cost and the component size can be optimized by the optimization degree parameter, and the fluctuation of the manufacturing cost depending on the component shape and the mounting position on the board can be included as an optimization factor. It becomes possible. Further, when mounting components in the area specified by the mounting area instruction file, it is possible to include a mounting restriction as an optimization element. The actual parts in the net list before optimization can be optimized in the same manner as the temporary parts.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the temporary part in the circuit diagram can be replaced with the actual part according to the weighting of the cost and the size from the optimization degree parameter in which the weighting of the cost and the size is defined as the priority order. Has an optimization tool. Therefore, if the cost, size, or weighting changes, the circuit diagram can be changed by changing the optimization degree parameter and executing the optimization tool again without returning to the circuit diagram creation phase. It is possible to provide a design support apparatus and a design support method that can be optimized to other actual parts without correction.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with various changes and modifications without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The present invention is applicable to a design support apparatus that creates a circuit diagram for wiring design of a printed wiring board.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Design support apparatus 20 Input part 30 Display part 40 Control part 41 Circuit diagram editor 42 Netlist conversion tool 43 Optimization tool 44 Mounting tool 50 Parts database 51 Circuit diagram library 52 Logic library 53 Cost library 54 Physical library 55 Board information library 56 Manufacturing cost library 57 Mounting area definition library

Claims (5)

A design support apparatus comprising a component database having component information of actual components used in mounting, component information of temporary components not used in the mounting and used in circuit diagram creation, and a control unit supporting the circuit diagram creation,
The control unit is a circuit diagram editor for creating a circuit diagram using the real part and the temporary part ,
A netlist conversion tool for converting a circuit diagram created by the circuit diagram editor into a netlist;
Based on the information of the component databases for the net list, among the plurality of parameters for evaluating the circuitry of the subject to be designed, using the optimized degree parameter indicating a preference of which parameters at any rate, the preliminary An optimization tool for converting a part into the actual part ;
An implementation tool for converting the netlist optimized by the optimization tool into implementation data;
A design support apparatus comprising: When performing part change after conversion from the temporary part to the actual part by the optimization tool, from the information of the part to be changed and the part after the change, the part to be changed, the optimization degree parameter after the change, The design support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optimization tool performs conversion from the temporary part to the actual part again. The temporary component has a function more than a function to be realized compared to the actual component, and the function to be realized is realized by a plurality of actual components by converting the temporary component to the actual component. The design support apparatus described . Information of the parts database used by the optimization tool is:
A cost library with the cost of the parts defined,
Physical library where the outline information of parts is defined,
A board information library that defines restrictions on component mounting on the board,
Manufacturing cost library that defines the manufacturing costs for mounting components on the board,
Mounting area definition library in which mounting areas on the board are defined,
Having at least one of
The design support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein one or more of these are used. A design support method of a design support apparatus comprising a component database having component information of actual components used for mounting, component information of temporary components not used in the mounting but used for circuit diagram creation, and a control unit for supporting circuit diagram creation. There,
The control unit creates a circuit diagram using the actual part and the temporary part ;
Converting the circuit diagram created in the step of creating the circuit diagram into a netlist;
Using the optimization degree parameter indicating which parameter has priority over a plurality of parameters for evaluating a target circuit to be designed based on the information in the component database with respect to the net list , the temporary component the optimum Kas step of converting the to the real part of,
Converting the optimized netlist by the best Kas step in mounting data,
To have a
A design support method characterized by that .

Images