JPH06274558A - Automatic circuit design method and device and system therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic circuit design method for automatically generating the circuit data of a design object circuit and a device and a system therefor. CONSTITUTION:This automatic design device is provided with an input part 1 provided with an external specification information input means 5 for inputting the external specification of the design object circuit and a circuit constitution input means 6 for inputting circuit parts constitution, a storage part 3 provided with a circuit parts information storage means 7 for storing the external specification information of circuit parts and the circuit data and a processing part 4 provided with a function information collation means 13 for obtaining the connection candidate pair of the circuit for connecting the circuit parts by collating the external specification information, a connection information generation means 15 for generating connection information satisfying connection conditions based on the connection candidate pair and a circuit data generation means 16 for generating the circuit data of the design object circuit from the connection information between the circuit parts.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic circuit designing method in an information processing apparatus such as an LSI designing apparatus and the apparatus therefor, and more particularly to a circuit enabling automatic reuse design using an already designed circuit component. The present invention relates to an automatic design method and its device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional technique for automatic circuit design, a logic circuit module having a certain function is stored in a development data storage unit of a computer as connection information between logic gates, and the logic circuit module There is a method of generating a logic circuit at a logic gate level by retrieving an appropriate logic circuit module from the expanded data storage unit when needed. This conventional technique can be used to generate low-functioning functional modules such as registers, counters, and incrementers, but cannot be used to generate general high-functioning functional modules. Moreover, the combination of the functional modules had to be input in the functional diagram in consideration of the wiring of the module terminals.
In such a conventional technique, the reusable design using the designed circuit data can be performed only for the functional module such as the so-called soft macro or the hard macro whose logic or layout is fixed, which is not flexible.

A prior art showing a method for solving this problem is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 64-86276. In this prior art, in order to flexibly design a high-performance functional module such as a control module for controlling the execution of a microprogram, the information regarding the elements constituting the functional module and the operation of the module is stored in a computer. Every time, the logic circuit of the functional module including the irregular logic circuit that satisfies the requirements for the functional module by the logic designer is automatically synthesized.

[0004]

However, even in such a prior art, the target of the circuit components that can be used for the reuse design is spread to only a part of the control modules. It is not effective when reusing the CPU, FPU, or peripheral functions. In other words, the operation model of the circuit component is not versatile, and it is impossible to deal with the complicated internal state of the functional module. Therefore, general pre-designed circuit data is stored as circuit components, and when reused, connection information is manually generated while being aware of the functional interface between circuit components, which realizes flexible reuse design. Was hindering me.

An object of the present invention is to receive an input terminal or an output terminal as external specification information of a circuit component, or
Function information related to the function to be sent is stored in the memory together with the circuit data, and when the circuit designer inputs the circuit component configuration and external specification information of the desired circuit to be designed, the wiring information of the circuit connecting the circuit components An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic circuit designing method, an apparatus, and a system for automatically designing and generating circuit data of a circuit to be designed.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the above object is to provide, as external specification information of a circuit component, functional information relating to a function to be received or sent by an input terminal or an output terminal of the circuit component of a computer. It is stored in the storage unit, and based on the input circuit part configuration and external specification information of the design target circuit, the external specification information of the circuit parts that are the constituent elements of the design target circuit is searched, and the input terminal or output By collating the function information at the terminals, generating the connection information between the circuit components based on the comparison result, generating the connection information of the circuit connecting the circuit components, and automatically generating the circuit data of the circuit to be designed, To be achieved.

Further, the above object is to provide a circuit data, external specification information as circuit component information of a circuit component, and a method of applying circuit conversion means for converting the circuit data into circuit data of another level closer to the mounting level. The design procedure information shown is stored in the storage unit, the wiring information of the circuit that connects the circuit components of the design target circuit is generated, the circuit data of the design target circuit is automatically generated, and the generated circuit data is added to the generated circuit data. for,
This is achieved by executing the circuit conversion means based on the design procedure information.

[0008]

When a designer inputs a desired external specification of a circuit to be designed and a combination of circuit components as constituent elements, the circuit component information stored in the storage unit is searched for each circuit component and Get external specification information of circuit components. This external specification information has function information regarding the function that the input terminal or output terminal of the circuit component should receive or send. Therefore, the input external specification information of the circuit to be designed and the external specification information of the circuit parts are collated to find a connection candidate pair that is a combination of the input terminal and the output terminal having the same function information, and from this connection candidate pair, The circuit data of the circuit to be designed is automatically generated by generating the connection information between the circuit components of the circuit to be designed that satisfies the external specification information of the circuit component.

Further, the storage section stores, for each circuit component, design procedure information which is information relating to application of circuit data conversion means for converting the circuit data into circuit data of another level closer to the mounting level. Therefore, the design process of the generated circuit data of the circuit to be designed is automatically performed using the circuit data conversion means. As a result, it becomes possible to automate the design of a circuit defined by a combination of circuit components having a certain function.

[0010]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of an automatic circuit designing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of an automatic circuit designing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The input section 1 is an external specification information input means 5 for inputting external specification information of a circuit to be designed which is to be designed using this apparatus, and a circuit configuration for inputting the circuit component configuration of an already designed circuit. It has an input means 6. The output unit 2 outputs the circuit data resulting from the design by this automatic design device. The storage unit 3 stores, as information on the circuit components of the designed circuit,
It has an external specification information 9 and circuit component information storage means 7 storing circuit data 10. External specification information is information about the input and output of the function that the circuit represents,
It contains information about the wiring conditions for input terminals and output terminals. Further, the circuit data 10 includes one or a plurality of predesigned data among function level data called a hardware description language, a logic level netlist, a layout level schematic data, and the like. The circuit configuration input means 6 is realized by, for example, an editor or the like for selecting and arranging, one by one, a name or a block symbol representing a circuit component stored in the storage unit 3. Further, the information on the circuit components may be stored in the storage unit 3 in a plurality of combinations. In that case, the circuit configuration input means 6 selects by a name or the like representing a circuit component set formed by a combination of a plurality of circuit components.

In the processing section 4, the external specification information holding means 11 holds the function information input by the external specification information input means 5 regarding the input terminal and the output terminal of the desired circuit to be designed. On the other hand, the external specification information 9 stored in the circuit component information storage unit 7 is obtained from the combination of the circuit components that form the circuit to be designed, which is input by the circuit configuration input unit 6, for the circuit component that is the constituent element. The external specification information retrieving means 12 retrieves, and similarly, the external specification information retaining means 11 retains the function information regarding the input terminal and the output terminal of the circuit component. Further, with respect to the held function information, the function information collating unit 13 obtains a connection candidate pair in which the functions of the input terminal and the output terminal of the circuit to be designed or the circuit component which is the constituent element of the circuit is matched, and the connection candidate It is stored in the pair holding means 14. Connection information generation means 15
Finds one of the held connection candidate pairs that satisfies the connection condition described in the external specification information, generates connection information of the circuit connecting the circuit components, and finally, circuit data generation means. 16, the circuit data 10 of the circuit component of the constituent element is used to generate the circuit data of the desired circuit to be designed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the automatic design system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 21 is an input device, 22 is an output device, 23 is a processing device, and 24 is a storage device. The input device 21 is a device for inputting the information on the configuration of the circuit components of the circuit to be designed which is the input target of the automatic design system of the present invention and the external specification information to the processing device 24, and the output device 22 is the input device. It is a device that outputs desired circuit data generated from the configuration of circuit parts and external specification information. Processor 24
Executes various programs stored in the storage device 23 to perform circuit generation processing such as connection information generation between circuit components and circuit data generation.

As the input device 21, a card reader,
A schematic entry system, file, text editor, etc. are used. Further, as the output device 22, a graphic display, a plotter, a file or the like is used. Further, as the processing device 24,
General-purpose computers, engineering workstations, personal computers, etc. are used.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the storage device 23 in FIG. The design program storage unit 31 stores, as various programs for the processing device 4 to execute design processing such as circuit data generation and circuit data conversion, external specification information and circuit configuration of a desired target design target circuit. , A circuit generation program 301 for generating the circuit data of the circuit to be designed, a circuit conversion program 302 for converting the circuit data of a certain level into the circuit data of another level closer to the mounting level, and proceeding with the design,
Also, a circuit verification program 303 for verifying circuit data is stored. Further, the circuit component information storage unit 32 stores external specification information of the circuit components, circuit data of one or more levels, information on a design procedure for executing the design process by sequentially performing circuit data conversion and circuit verification, and the like. Is stored.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of the circuit component information stored in the circuit component information storage unit 32. For example, for the circuit component A, the external specification information 41, the function level data as the circuit data 42, the design procedure information 43 as the circuit data conversion processing to the logic level, the logic synthesis tool, and the circuit data conversion processing to the layout level. The information that the layout tool is used is stored in.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the external specification information 41 included in the circuit component information stored in the circuit component information storage unit 32. The external specification information 41 includes a circuit component name or a circuit name 51, a terminal set name 52 classified by the function of the circuit component or circuit, and information defined for each terminal set. For each terminal set, a function name 53, terminal role information 54 such as whether the function is received or a sender, and unconnected terminal processing information 55 and multiple terminal selection information 56 as information regarding connection conditions. Is stored.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of classification by the code number of the terminal role information 54. The code number 0 represents that a certain terminal set of the circuit plays the role of the recipient of the function. Similarly, the code number 1 indicates that the terminal set plays the role of the sender of the function, and the code number 2 indicates that the terminal set plays the role of the receiver and the sender of the function. That is, the input terminal (inp
ort) has a code number of 0 and an output terminal (output)
t) has a code number of 1, and an input / output terminal (iopor)
The code number of t) is defined as 2.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of classification by the code number of the unconnected terminal processing information 55. The unconnected terminal processing information is information that defines the action to be performed on the terminal when the partner terminal to be connected is not found in the function information matching processing. Code number 0 is left unconnected when the unconnected terminal is an input terminal or an input / output terminal, and is grounded when it is an output terminal.
It is shown to be connected to 0 '. The code number 1 is unconditionally grounded, the code number 2 is unconditionally connected to the power supply, that is, connected to '1', and the code number 3 is unconditionally left unconnected.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of classification by the code number of the multiple terminal selection information 56. The multiple terminal processing information is information for determining which terminal to connect to when there are a plurality of partner terminals that are candidates for connection in the function information matching processing. The code number 0 means that all the terminals having the same function information are connected. In addition, code number 1 is connected only to the first terminal found first, code number 2 is unconditionally unconnected, and code number 3 is the function information of a plurality of output terminals is the function information of one input terminal. It means that a multiplexer is inserted and a process for generating a function selection circuit is executed when the values match with.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the multiplexer insertion processing of the plural terminal selection information 56. Circuit part P1
If both P2 and P2 have a sender terminal with the function name func1 and the circuit component P3 has a receiver terminal with the function name func1, the code number of the multiple function selection information of the receiver terminal on the P3 side is 3 For example, the multiplexer (MUX) 91 is inserted into the circuit components P1, P2 and P3.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining an automatic circuit design method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Step 1
At 01, the external specification information of the circuit to be designed is input, and at step 102, the content is held in the external specification information holding means. In step 103, n circuit components {P1, ..., Pn} that form the circuit to be designed are input.

In step 104, one of the circuit components forming the circuit to be designed is set as the first circuit component for which the external specification information retrieval processing is performed. That is, the first circuit component to be processed is Pi. In step 105, the circuit component Pi
For external specification information of the circuit component information storage unit 32,
In step 106, the contents are held in the external specification information holding means.

The steps of searching and writing the external specification information are executed until all n circuit components are completed. In step 107, the function information for each terminal set of the external specification information held in the external specification information holding means, that is, the function name of the terminal and its role, is collated to obtain a connection candidate pair.

In step 108, the circuit for connecting the circuit parts is selected from the connection candidate pairs obtained in step 107 based on the information regarding the connection condition of the external specification information, that is, the unconnected terminal processing information and the plural function selection information. Connection information is generated. In step 109, circuit data of a circuit connecting the circuit components is generated based on the circuit data of the circuit components forming the design target circuit and the connection information of the circuit generated in step 108, and the hierarchy of the design target circuit is generated. Generate designed circuit data.

In step 110, the circuit data generated in step 109 is output. In this example, the circuit generated in step 109 is output as it is in step 110, but the circuit data conversion processing for converting the circuit data into the circuit data of a level closer to the mounting and the input to the circuit verification processing. It doesn't matter. Also in this example,
The process of determining the connection information from the connection candidate pairs is performed after obtaining all the connection candidate pairs in the function information matching process, but it is determined by referring to the connection condition each time during the function information matching process. I don't care.

FIG. 11 shows step 107 in FIG.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of the functional information matching process of FIG. In the functional information matching process, the matching terminals are searched first in the order of first, the sender terminal of the circuit to be designed, second, the receiver terminal of the circuit to be designed, and third, the sender terminal of the circuit component to be configured. .

At step 111, the functional information of the sender terminal set of the circuit M to be designed is collated. Step 1
At 12, the collation processing of the functional information of the receiver terminal set of the design target circuit M is performed. In step 113, the function information of the sender terminal set of the circuit components {P1, ..., Pn} that form the circuit M to be designed is collated.

In step 114, among the receiver terminal sets of the circuit components {P1, ..., Pn} that form the circuit M to be designed, the receiver terminal sets that have not become the connection candidate pairs in the previous steps 112 and 113 are not yet formed. Process connection terminals. FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the method of the functional information collating process of the sender terminal of the circuit M to be designed in step 111 in FIG.

In step 121, for all sender terminal sets {e1, ..., En} of the circuit M to be designed, one of the sender terminal sets is set as the first sender terminal set for performing the function matching process. Set. That is, ex is the first set of sender terminals of the circuit to be processed. In step 122, the function name of the sender terminal set ex is read and set as Fex.

In step 123, Fex = Fo is selected from the sender terminal set of the circuit parts that constitute the circuit to be designed.
It is determined whether or not there is a set of sender terminals for the circuit component that becomes If not, it is determined in step 128 whether or not there is a sender terminal set of the design target circuit for which the matching process has not been completed, and if there is, x is replaced with x + 1 in step 130 and the process of step 122 is executed. .

At step 124, a sender terminal set {o1, ..., o of circuit components satisfying the condition of step 123 is obtained.
m}, and one of them is the connection candidate pair (e, o)
Set as the first in the sender terminal set that performs the process of determining whether or not it can be registered as connection information. That is, the first of the sender terminal set of the circuit component to be processed is oy. In step 125, the connection candidate pair (ex, oy) can be registered as the connection information based on the connection condition information of the external specification information of the design target circuit to which ex belongs and the external specification information of the circuit component to which oy belongs. Or not. If it can be registered, the processing of the next step 126 is executed. If registration is not possible, it is determined in step 127 whether or not there is a sender terminal set of the circuit component that has not been registered for the connection candidate pair, and in step 129, y is replaced with y + 1. Step 125
The process of is executed. However, at the time of the determination processing in step 125, when it is determined that the connection candidate pair (ex, oy) cannot be registered depending on the information about the connection condition,
After the connection candidate pair (ex, 1) and the like are registered, the determination process of step 127 is performed.

In step 126, the connection candidate pair (ex,
oy) is registered in the connection information. In step 127, it is judged whether or not there is a sender terminal set of the circuit component for which the registration possibility judgment processing of the connection candidate pair has not been completed, and if there is, the y is replaced with y + 1 in step 129 and the processing of step 125 is executed. Run. If not, the process of the next step 128 is executed.

In step 128, it is judged whether or not there is a sender terminal set of the circuit to be designed which has not been subjected to the collation process, and if there is, the x is replaced with x + 1 in step 130 and the process of step 122 is executed. . If not, the series of processing is terminated. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining the method of the functional information collating process of the receiving terminal of the circuit M to be designed in step 112 in FIG.

In step 131, for all the receiver terminal sets {e1, ..., En} of the circuit M to be designed, one of the receiver terminal sets is set as the first receiver terminal set for which the function matching process is performed. . That is, ex is the first set of receiver terminals of the circuit to be processed. Step 13
In 2, the function name of the receiver terminal set ex is read and Fe
Let x.

In step 133, Fex = Fi is selected from the set of receiver terminals of the circuit parts that constitute the circuit to be designed.
It is determined whether or not there is a set of receiver terminals for the circuit component, and if there is, a process of the next step 134 is executed. If not, it is determined in step 138 whether or not there is a receiver terminal set of the design target circuit that has not been subjected to the matching process. If there is, the x is replaced with x + 1 in step 140 and the process of step 132 is executed.

In step 134, the receiver terminal set {i1, ..., i of the circuit component that satisfies the condition of step 133 is received.
m}, and one of the connection candidate pairs (e, i) is
It is set as the first in the receiver terminal set that performs the process of determining whether it can be registered as connection information. That is, the first set of receiver terminals of the circuit component to be processed is iy. In step 125, the connection candidate pair (ex, iy) can be registered as connection information based on the external specification information of the circuit to be designed to which ex belongs and the external specification information of the circuit component to which iy belongs, based on the information regarding the connection condition. Or not. If it can be registered, the processing of the next step 136 is executed. If registration is not possible, it is determined in step 137 whether or not there is a receiver terminal set of the circuit component for which the registration possibility determination processing of the connection candidate pair is not completed, and if there is, y is replaced with y + 1 in step 139. Step 135
The process of is executed. However, in the determination processing in step 135, when it is determined that the connection candidate pair (ex, iy) cannot be registered depending on the information about the connection conditions,
After registering the connection candidate pair (0, iy) and the like, the determination process of step 137 is performed.

In step 136, the connection candidate pair (ex,
Register the connection information of iy). In step 137, it is determined whether or not there is a receiver terminal set of the circuit component for which the registration possibility determination processing of the connection candidate pair has not been completed, and if there is, the y is replaced with y + 1 in step 129 and the processing of step 125 is executed. To do. If not, the process of the next step 128 is executed.

In step 128, it is judged whether or not there is a receiver terminal set of the circuit to be designed which has not been subjected to the collation process, and if there is, the x is replaced with x + 1 in step 130 and the process of step 122 is executed. If not, the series of processing is terminated. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the method of the function information collation processing of the sender terminal of the circuit component in step 113 in FIG.

In step 141, for all sender terminal sets {o1, ..., on} of the circuit components, one sender terminal set is set as the first sender terminal set for which the function matching process is performed. . That is, the first of the sender terminal set of the circuit component to be processed is ox. In step 142, the function name of the sender terminal set ox is read and set as Fox.

In step 143, Fox = Fi is selected from the set of receiver terminals of the circuit parts constituting the circuit to be designed.
It is determined whether or not there is a set of receiver terminals for the circuit component, and if there is, a process of the next step 144 is executed. If not, in step 148, it is determined whether or not there is a sender terminal set of the circuit component that has not been verified,
If there is, x is replaced with x + 1 in step 150 and the process of step 142 is executed.

In step 144, the receiver terminal set {i1, ..., i of the circuit components which satisfy the condition of step 143 is used.
m} is obtained, and one of the connection candidate pairs (o, i) is
It is set as the first in the receiver terminal set that performs the process of determining whether it can be registered as connection information. That is, the first set of receiver terminals of the circuit component to be processed is iy. In step 145, is it possible to register the connection candidate pair (ox, iy) as the connection information based on the external specification information of the circuit part to which ox belongs and the external specification information of the circuit part to which iy belongs, based on the information regarding the connection condition? Determine whether or not. If it can be registered, the processing of the next step 146 is executed. If registration is not possible, it is determined in step 147 whether or not there is a receiver terminal set of a circuit component for which the connection candidate pair registration permission determination processing has not been completed, and if there is, it is replaced with y + 1 in step 149. Step 145
The process of is executed. However, in the determination processing in step 145, when it is determined that the connection candidate pair (ox, iy) cannot be registered, depending on the information about the connection conditions,
The connection candidate pair (ox, 1) is registered, and step 14 is performed.
The determination process of 7 is performed.

In step 146, the connection candidate pair (ox,
Register the connection information of iy). In step 147, it is determined whether or not there is a receiver terminal set of the circuit component for which the registration propriety determination process of the connection candidate pair has not been completed. If there is, the y is replaced with y + 1 in step 149 and the process of step 145 is executed To do. If not, the process of the next step 148 is executed.

In step 148, it is judged whether or not there is a sender terminal set of the circuit to be designed which has not been subjected to the collating process. If there is, the x is replaced with x + 1 in step 150 and the process of step 142 is executed. . If not, the series of processing is terminated. In the following, the circuit automatic generation method of the present invention will be described using a specific example.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the external specification information and circuit configuration of the circuit to be designed, which is input in the specific example. FIG. 15A shows external specification information of the design target circuit M. Here, the external specification information is (terminal set name, function name, role code, unconnected terminal processing code, multiple function selection code) according to the code classification of FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG.
It is described in the format of.

FIG. 15B shows the circuit configuration of the design target circuit M. That is, the design target circuit M is
It is composed of a circuit component A, a circuit component B, and a circuit component C. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the external specification information of the circuit components forming the circuit to be designed in FIG. From the external specification information of the circuit component A, the circuit component B, and the circuit component C and the external specification information of the circuit M in FIG. 15A, the functional information collation processing is performed to obtain a candidate wiring pair and generate the wiring information, The circuit data of the circuit that connects the circuit components of the circuit M is generated.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a generation result of a circuit for connecting circuit components. Here, Veri
Although described in a hardware description language called log-HDL, the result of circuit data generation may be described in another description language or logic netlist, or may be schematic data with wiring. FIG. 17
FIG. 18 shows the circuit represented by the circuit data in FIG.

In this embodiment, the method of inputting a combination of a plurality of circuit components and generating the circuit data of the circuit connecting the circuit components has been described, but as shown in FIG. When the circuit data M1 hierarchically designed using a plurality of circuit components {A, B} exists, the circuit data to which the circuit component C is newly added may be generated as the design target circuit M2. . In this case,
The order of performing the functional information collation is collation of the functional information of the terminal set added to M2, collation of the functional information of the receiver set of the circuit component to be added, and collation of the functional information of the sender set of the circuit component to be added.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the automatic circuit design system for the circuit to be reuse-designed by using the circuit components stored in the memory device, the circuit component configuration of the circuit to be designed and the external specification information are input. Just by searching the external specification information of the already registered circuit parts and collating the function information, the wiring information of the circuit that connects the circuit parts is automatically generated, and the circuit data of the design target circuit is generated. To generate.
As a result, the following effects can be achieved.

(1) When a reusable design is performed using circuit components, the design can be made without paying attention to complicated wiring between circuit components. Therefore, it is possible to use an editor or the like that reflects the circuit layout (floor plan) as an input interface for inputting the circuit configuration. (2) A general-purpose circuit library in which input / output function information of each circuit component is defined as external specification information can be realized.
Flexible reuse design is possible even for large-scale functional modules.

(Embodiment 2) Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 20 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of the automatic circuit designing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. The input unit 1 is an external specification information input unit 5 for inputting external specification information of a design target circuit to be designed by using this device, and a circuit configuration input unit 6 for inputting a circuit component configuration of an already designed circuit. And a design processing command input means 201 for instructing execution of a design processing for converting the circuit data into another circuit data of a level closer to the mounting. The output unit 2 outputs the circuit data resulting from the design by this automatic design device. The storage unit 3 stores the external component information 9 as the circuit component information of the designed circuit, and the circuit component information storage unit 7 that stores the design procedure information 202 regarding the processing procedure of the design process such as the circuit data 10 and the circuit data conversion process. have.
The external specification information is information regarding the input and output of the function represented by the circuit and includes information regarding the wiring conditions of the input terminal and the output terminal. Also, circuit data 1
As 0, there is one or a plurality of pre-designed data among functional level data called hardware description language, logical level netlist, layout level schematic data, and the like. In the processing unit 4, the external specification information holding unit 11 holds the function information input by the external specification information input unit 5 regarding the input terminal and the output terminal of the desired circuit to be designed. On the other hand, the external specification information 9 stored in the circuit component information storage unit 7 is obtained from the combination of the circuit components that form the circuit to be designed, which is input by the circuit configuration input unit 6, for the circuit component that is the constituent element. The external specification information retrieving means 12 retrieves, and similarly, the external specification information retaining means 11 retains the function information regarding the input terminal and the output terminal of the circuit component. Further, with respect to the held function information, the function information collating means 13
Calculates a connection candidate pair in which the functions of the input terminal and the output terminal of the circuit to be designed or a circuit component that is a component of the circuit is obtained and stored in the connection candidate pair holding means 14. The connection information generation means 15 finds one of the held connection candidate pairs that satisfies the connection condition described in the external specification information, generates connection information of the circuit connecting the circuit components, and The data generation means 16 generates the circuit data of the desired circuit to be designed using the circuit data 10 of the circuit parts of the constituent elements. The generated circuit data is subjected to the design process instructed by the design process command input unit 201 using the circuit data conversion unit 203 and the design procedure information 202.
And output as desired circuit data such as a logical netlist and layout data.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in the circuit automatic design system for reusing design using the circuit components stored in the storage device, the circuit component configuration and external specification information of the circuit to be designed are input. Just by searching the external specification information of the already registered circuit parts and collating the function information, the wiring information of the circuit that connects the circuit parts is automatically generated, and the circuit data of the design target circuit is generated. To generate.
Further, design processing such as logic design and layout design can be automatically executed on the circuit data. This allows
The following effects can be achieved.

(1) When performing a reusable design using circuit parts, it is possible to design without considering the complicated wiring between circuit parts. The design process of the generated circuit data can be executed by the same interface. (2) Hierarchical design in reuse design can be easily executed regardless of the level of individual circuit components.

(Embodiment 3) Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 21 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of the automatic circuit designing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. The input unit 1 is an external specification information input unit 5 for inputting external specification information of a design target circuit to be designed by using this device, and a circuit configuration input unit 6 for inputting a circuit component configuration of an already designed circuit. And a design processing command input means 201 for instructing execution of a design processing for converting the circuit data into another circuit data of a level closer to the mounting. The output unit 2 outputs the circuit data resulting from the design by this automatic design device. The storage unit 3 stores the external component information 9 as the circuit component information of the designed circuit, and the circuit component information storage unit 7 that stores the design procedure information 202 regarding the processing procedure of the design process such as the circuit data 10 and the circuit data conversion process. have.
The storage unit 3 also includes a design procedure selection rule storage unit 211 that stores design procedure selection rules 212 for determining design procedure information of a circuit connecting the circuit components from the design procedure information of the circuit components that form the circuit. To have.

As the design procedure selection rule 212, for example, when there is a verification accuracy parameter as design procedure information related to a circuit verification processing procedure of a circuit component forming a circuit to be designed, a hierarchically designed upper circuit is selected. The verification accuracy stores rules such as a parameter of the minimum accuracy. The external specification information is information regarding the input and output of the function represented by the circuit and includes information regarding the wiring conditions of the input terminal and the output terminal. Further, the circuit data 10 includes one or a plurality of predesigned data among function level data called a hardware description language, a logic level netlist, a layout level schematic data, and the like. In the processing unit 4, the external specification information holding unit 11 holds the function information input by the external specification information input unit 5 regarding the input terminal and the output terminal of the desired circuit to be designed. On the other hand, the external specification information 9 stored in the circuit component information storage unit 7 is obtained from the combination of the circuit components that form the circuit to be designed, which is input by the circuit configuration input unit 6, for the circuit component that is the constituent element. The external specification information retrieving means 12 retrieves, and similarly, the external specification information retaining means 11 retains the function information regarding the input terminal and the output terminal of the circuit component. Further, with respect to the held function information, the function information collating unit 13 obtains a connection candidate pair in which the functions of the input terminal and the output terminal of the circuit to be designed or the circuit component which is the constituent element of the circuit is matched, and the connection candidate It is stored in the pair holding means 14. The connection information generation means 15 finds one of the held connection candidate pairs that satisfies the connection condition described in the external specification information, generates connection information of the circuit connecting the circuit components, and By the data generation means 16,
The circuit data 10 of the circuit component of the constituent element is used to generate hierarchically designed circuit data of the desired design target circuit.
The design procedure selection means 213 determines the design procedure information of the upper circuit that connects the circuit components in the generated hierarchical design data according to the design procedure selection rule 212. For the circuit data of the circuit to be designed, the design data designated by the design processing command input unit 201 is used by the circuit data conversion unit 203 to determine the determined design procedure information and design procedure information 2.
02, and outputs as desired circuit data such as a logical netlist and layout data.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in the automatic circuit design system for reusing design using the circuit components stored in the storage device, the circuit component configuration of the circuit to be designed and the external specification information are input. Just by searching the external specification information of the already registered circuit parts and collating the function information, the wiring information of the circuit that connects the circuit parts is automatically generated, and the circuit data of the design target circuit is generated. To generate.
Further, design processing such as logic design and layout design can be automatically executed on the circuit data in an optimum design procedure. As a result, the following effects can be achieved.

(1) Hierarchical design in reusable design can be easily executed without paying attention to a change in design procedure depending on a combination of circuit components. (Embodiment 4) Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 22 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of the automatic circuit designing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The input section 1 is an external specification information input means 5 for inputting external specification information of a circuit to be designed which is to be designed using this device, and a circuit configuration for inputting the circuit component configuration of an already designed circuit. It has an input means 6 and a design processing command input means 201 for instructing execution of design processing such as circuit data conversion processing and circuit verification processing. The output unit 2 outputs the circuit data resulting from the design by this automatic design device. The storage unit 3 has external specification information 9, circuit data 10, a verification model 224 used for circuit verification, and design procedure information 202 regarding processing procedures such as circuit data conversion processing and circuit verification processing as information of circuit components of the designed circuit. Has a circuit component information storage means 7 storing The external specification information is information regarding the input and output of the function represented by the circuit and includes information regarding the wiring conditions of the input terminal and the output terminal. Further, the circuit data 10 includes one or a plurality of predesigned data among function level data called a hardware description language, a logic level netlist, a layout level schematic data, and the like.
In the processing unit 4, the external specification information holding unit 11 holds the function information input by the external specification information input unit 5 regarding the input terminal and the output terminal of the desired circuit to be designed. On the other hand, the external specification information 9 stored in the circuit component information storage unit 7 is obtained from the combination of the circuit components that form the circuit to be designed, which is input by the circuit configuration input unit 6, for the circuit component that is the constituent element. The external specification information retrieving means 12 retrieves, and similarly, the external specification information retaining means 11 retains the function information regarding the input terminal and the output terminal of the circuit component. Further, with respect to the held function information, the function information collating unit 13 obtains a connection candidate pair in which the functions of the input terminal and the output terminal of the circuit to be designed or the circuit component which is the constituent element of the circuit is matched, and the connection candidate It is stored in the pair holding means 14. The connection information generation means 15 finds one of the held connection candidate pairs that satisfies the connection condition described in the external specification information, generates connection information of the circuit connecting the circuit components, and Data generation means 16
By using the circuit data 10 of the circuit component of the component, the circuit data of the desired circuit to be designed is generated. Similarly, the verification model generation unit 221 uses the verification model 224 of the circuit component of the constituent element to generate the verification model of the design target circuit. The generated verification model is stored in the verification model holding unit 222, and by using this, the circuit verification unit 2
23 executes a circuit verification process for the circuit data of the circuit to be designed, which is instructed by the design process command input means 201, based on the design procedure information 202.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the automatic circuit design system for the circuit to be reuse-designed by using the circuit components stored in the memory device, the circuit component configuration and the external specification information of the circuit to be designed are input. Just by searching the external specification information of the already registered circuit parts and collating the function information, the wiring information of the circuit that connects the circuit parts is automatically generated, and the circuit data of the design target circuit is generated. And generate a validation model. Furthermore, the circuit verification process can be automatically executed on the generated circuit data. As a result, the following effects can be achieved.

(1) Since the verification model is generated at the same time as the generation of the circuit data, a reusable design flow without a design error can be easily constructed.

[0061]

According to the present invention, in the circuit design from the functional level to the logic and layout level of an integrated circuit such as an LSI, the circuit parts which define the external specifications are stored for the already designed circuit data, and they are stored. It is possible to realize design automation by reusing design using. Further, it is possible to realize the construction of a general-purpose circuit component library that can be reused flexibly. Further, since the circuit design can be performed only by inputting the circuit configuration and simple external specification information, it is possible to reduce the design man-hours of the functional design, which has been difficult in the past. Therefore, it is possible to re-use a circuit that has already been built in, and it is possible to quickly perform circuit design by a computer with high quality comparable to that of an expert. therefore,
The number of design steps and costs are reduced, and the design quality is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of an automatic circuit designing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an automatic design system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a storage device in FIG.

4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of circuit component information stored in a circuit component storage unit in FIG.

5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of external specification information stored in a circuit component information storage unit in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of classification by the code number of the terminal role information in the external specification information.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an example of classification by code number of unconnected terminal processing information in external specification information.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of classification by code number of multiple function selection information in external specification information.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of multiplexer insertion processing in multiple terminal selection information.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic circuit design method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a processing method of a functional information matching step in FIG.

12 is a flowchart illustrating a processing method of a functional information collating step of a sender terminal of the circuit to be designed in FIG.

13 is a flowchart illustrating a processing method of a functional information collating step of a receiver terminal of the circuit to be designed in FIG.

14 is a flowchart illustrating a processing method of a functional information collating step of the sender terminal of the circuit component in FIG.

15A is an explanatory diagram showing external specification information of a design target circuit in a specific example of circuit generation, and FIG. 15B is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit configuration of a design target circuit in a specific example of circuit generation.

16 is an explanatory diagram showing external specification information of circuit components that form the circuit to be designed in FIG.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a generation result of a circuit connecting circuit components in a specific example of circuit generation.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a circuit represented by circuit data of a generation result in a specific example of circuit generation.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of generating circuit data of a circuit to be designed by adding a circuit component to the circuit data.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of an automatic circuit designing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of an automatic circuit designing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of an automatic circuit designing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input part 2 Output part 3 Storage part 4 Processing part 5 External specification information input means 6 Circuit configuration input means 7 Circuit part information storage means 8 Circuit part information 9 External specification information 10 Circuit data 11 External specification information holding means 12 External specification information Searching means 13 Functional information collating means 14 Connection candidate pair holding means 15 Connection information generating means 16 Circuit data generating means

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An automatic design apparatus for a circuit comprising an input section, an output section, a processing section and a storage section, the external specification information inputting means for inputting external specification information of the circuit to be designed and the circuit to be designed. And an input unit having a circuit configuration input unit for inputting the circuit component configuration, and a storage unit having a circuit component information storage unit for storing external specification information of the circuit component representing a certain function and circuit data of the circuit component. The processing section includes external specification information of the design target circuit input by the external specification information input unit, and external specification information stored in the circuit component information storage unit of a circuit component forming the design target circuit. An automatic circuit design apparatus comprising circuit generation means for automatically generating a circuit for connecting circuit components of a design target circuit from circuit data and generating circuit data of the design target circuit. 2. An automatic circuit designing apparatus comprising an input section, an output section, a storage section, and a processing section having circuit data conversion means for converting circuit data into circuit data of another level closer to the mounting level. An external specification information input means for inputting external specification information of a design target circuit, a circuit configuration input means for inputting a circuit component configuration of the design target circuit, and a design processing command input means for giving an execution command to the circuit data conversion means. And an external specification information of a circuit component showing a certain function, circuit data of at least one level of the circuit component, and design procedure information defining an application method of the circuit data conversion means. And a storage unit having a circuit component information storage unit, wherein the processing unit includes the external specification information of the design target circuit input by the external specification information input unit and the design target circuit. A circuit connecting the circuit components of the circuit to be designed from the external specification information of the circuit components constituting the circuit and the circuit data of the first level, and the circuit data of the first level of the circuit to be designed is automatically generated. The circuit data generating means and the generated first level circuit data of the circuit to be designed are converted into second level circuit data closer to the mounting level by using the design procedure information in the circuit component information storage section. Circuit data conversion means for performing the automatic circuit designing device. 3. An automatic circuit designing apparatus comprising an input section, an output section, a storage section, and a processing section having circuit verification means for verifying circuit data, wherein external specification information of a circuit to be designed is input. An external specification information input unit, a circuit configuration input unit for inputting a circuit component configuration of the circuit to be designed, an input unit having a design processing command input unit for giving an execution command to the circuit verification unit, and a circuit component representing a certain function External part specification information, circuit data of at least one level of the circuit part, a verification model used by the circuit verification part, and design procedure information defining an application method of the circuit verification part. And a storage unit having an external specification information of the design target circuit input by the external specification information input unit and an external specification of a circuit component forming the design target circuit. Circuit data generation means for generating a circuit for connecting circuit components of a design target circuit from information and circuit data and automatically generating circuit data of the design target circuit; verification model generation means for generating a verification model; An automatic circuit designing apparatus comprising: circuit verification means for executing verification of the generated circuit data of a circuit to be designed according to the design procedure information of the circuit component information storage means using a generated verification model. 4. An automatic circuit designing apparatus comprising an input section, an output section, a storage section, and a processing section having circuit data conversion means for converting circuit data into circuit data of another level closer to the mounting level. An input section having external specification information input means for inputting external specification information of the design target circuit and circuit configuration input means for inputting the circuit configuration of the design target circuit; and external specification information of a circuit component representing a certain function, A circuit component information storage unit for storing at least one level of circuit data of the circuit component and design procedure information regarding an application method of the circuit data conversion unit; and a circuit based on the design procedure information of the circuit component constituting the circuit. And a storage unit having a design procedure selection rule storage unit that stores a design procedure selection rule for determining design procedure information of a circuit connecting between components. External specification information of the input design target circuit,
Circuit generating means for automatically generating a circuit connecting the circuit components of the circuit to be designed from external specification information and circuit data of the circuit component constituting the circuit to be designed, and automatically generating circuit data of the circuit to be designed; A design procedure selecting means for deciding design procedure information of a circuit connecting circuit components of the design target circuit from design procedure information of circuit parts constituting the design target circuit by using a design procedure selection rule. Automatic circuit design device. 5. An automatic circuit designing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing section is provided with a circuit verification means, and a verification model and a method for applying the circuit verification means for verifying the function of a circuit component representing a certain function. Circuit part information storing means for storing design procedure information including information on the circuit part, and application of circuit verifying means for the circuit connecting the circuit parts from the design procedure information on the application method of the circuit verifying means for the circuit parts constituting the circuit A design procedure storing means for storing design procedure selection rules for determining design procedure information related to the method, and the processing section generates circuit data of a circuit connecting circuit components of the design target circuit, and the design target circuit Design procedure for determining the design procedure information regarding the application method of the circuit verification procedure for the circuit to be designed using the circuit generation procedure for automatically generating the circuit data and the verification model and the design procedure selection rule Automatic designing apparatus of the circuit and having an-option means. 6. A process of generating connection information of a circuit connecting circuit components forming a design target circuit from external specification information of a design target circuit and external specification information of circuit components configuring the design target circuit, A circuit automatic designing method having a process of generating circuit data of a circuit to be designed from connection information between generated circuit components and circuit data of the circuit components, wherein connection information of circuits connecting the circuit components is provided. In the process of generating, the function information is compared by comparing the function information at the input or output terminal in the external specification information of the design target circuit with the function information at the input or output terminal in the external specification information of the circuit component. It is characterized by comprising a process of obtaining a connection candidate pair that is a combination of input terminals and output terminals that match each other, and a process of generating connection information of a circuit that connects circuit components from the obtained connection candidate pair. Method of automatically designing a road. 7. The automatic circuit design method according to claim 6, wherein the circuit configuration input process of selecting circuit components that are constituent elements of the circuit to be designed and designating the combination is a combination of a plurality of circuit components. A method for automatically designing a circuit, comprising the step of selecting a circuit component set constituted by. 8. The method for automatically designing a circuit according to claim 6, wherein the process of generating the connection information of the circuit connecting the circuit components from the connection candidate pairs includes the function information of the input terminal of one circuit component. , When matching with the function information of the output terminals of a plurality of circuit parts, the input terminal and the output terminals of all the circuit parts are defined by the function selection information defined for the input terminal or the input / output terminal in the circuit part information. Generating connection information by selecting one of a process of connecting the input terminal, an output terminal of a certain circuit component, and a process of leaving the input terminal unconnected. A method for automatically designing a circuit. 9. A process of generating wiring connection information of a circuit connecting circuit components forming a design target circuit from external specification information of the design target circuit and external specification information of circuit components configuring the design target circuit, A circuit automatic designing method having a process of generating circuit data of a circuit to be designed from connection information between generated circuit components and circuit data of the circuit components, wherein connection information of circuits connecting the circuit components is provided. In the process of generating, the function information is compared by comparing the function information at the input or output terminal in the external specification information of the design target circuit with the function information at the input or output terminal in the external specification information of the circuit component. A process of obtaining a connection candidate pair that is a combination of input terminals and output terminals that match each other, a process of generating connection information of a circuit that connects circuit components from the obtained connection candidate pairs, and an unconnected input terminal or A process for processing the output terminal, method of automatically designing a circuit, characterized in that comprising a step of performing processing of the output terminals unconnected. 10. The method for automatically designing a circuit according to claim 9, wherein a process of processing an unconnected input terminal or an input / output terminal in a process of generating connection information between circuit components forming a target circuit, , The process of processing the unconnected output terminal, the unconnected terminal special processing information defined in the input terminal or input / output terminal in the circuit component information An automatic circuit design method characterized by generating connection information by selecting either a process of connecting a power source or a process of unconditionally grounding. 11. An automatic circuit design method for adding circuit components to circuit data composed of a plurality of circuit components to generate circuit data of a circuit to be designed, the process of selecting the circuit data, and the circuit. A circuit configuration input process of selecting one or more circuit components to be added to the data and designating a combination thereof, a process of inputting external specification information of the circuit to be designed, and a circuit component composed of the circuit data. Process, the process of searching the circuit part information of the circuit part to be added and the extracted circuit part and reading the external specification information, and the external specification information of the input design target circuit and the external specification of the read circuit part The process of generating the connection information of the circuit that connects the circuit components of the design target circuit from the information and the design target circuit from the generated connection information between the circuit components and the circuit data of the circuit component. Method of automatically designing a circuit, comprising a process of generating circuit data. 12. An input device for inputting a circuit component configuration of a circuit to be designed, external specification information, and a command to convert circuit data of the circuit to be designed, and various processes including a circuit data generation process and a circuit data conversion process. A processing device for execution, an output device for outputting the processing result in the processing device, and a design procedure showing external specification information, circuit data, and a conversion method of the circuit data for a circuit component representing a certain function. A circuit device information storage unit that stores information, and a storage device that includes a design data storage unit that stores a result generated by the processing unit and various information input by the input device are provided. From the external specifications and circuit component configuration of the designed circuit, the search process of the circuit component, the collation process of the external specification information of the circuit component, the circuit components that compose the circuit to be designed Circuit data generation processing, automatic design system circuit, characterized in that, the circuit data conversion processing in accordance with the design procedure information according to the conversion instructions inputted circuit data possessed by the each circuit component of the circuit to be connected.