TWI854877B - Path planning method - Google Patents

Abstract

A path planning method for a flexible flat cable is provided. The path planning method includes obtaining a model file of an electronic device including a first connector and a second connector, loading the electronic device into a three-dimensional space capable of accommodating the electronic device and dividing the three-dimensional space into a plurality of meshes; determining a plurality of obstacle meshes including the electronic device from the plurality of meshes, and determine a cable wiring path from the first connector to the second connector according to the plurality of obstacle meshes.

Description

Path planning method

The present invention relates to a path planning method, in particular to a path planning method that can avoid obstacles and has the shortest path and the least number of turns.

Flexible Flat Cable (FFC) can be used as a medium for power or signal transmission. Due to its advantages such as softness, bendability, thinness, small size, simple connection, and easy disassembly, it has been widely used in various electronic products. Flexible flat cables are often used to connect circuit signals between circuit boards. For example, the connection between the keyboard and the circuit board in a laptop or the circuit connection between the touch panel and the circuit board. Generally speaking, when designing a circuit, the cable configuration route will be designed between the two connection points of the flexible flat cable. At this time, the circuit design engineer usually needs to use his eyes to perform interference checks to determine whether the flexible flat cable interferes with other structures or whether the flexible flat cable can be correctly configured in the limited space of the circuit board. Therefore, the quality of the design often depends on the carefulness of the engineer. At the same time, the design process is cumbersome and repetitive, which also tests the patience of the engineer. However, if the circuit design engineer needs to manually determine the configuration route of the flexible flat cable during the circuit design stage, it will consume too much manpower cost and reduce the efficiency of the overall design process. In view of this, the existing technology really needs to be improved.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a path planning method that can avoid obstacles and has the shortest path and the least number of turns to solve the above problems.

The present invention provides a path planning method for a flexible flat cable, comprising: obtaining a model file of an electronic device including a first connector and a second connector; loading the electronic device into a three-dimensional space that can accommodate the electronic device and dividing the three-dimensional space into a plurality of grids; determining a plurality of obstacle grids containing the electronic device from the plurality of grids; and determining a cable routing path from the first connector to the second connector according to the plurality of obstacle grids.

10,50: Process

A1, A2: Components

BB: Bounding Box

C1: First connector

C2: Second connector

E: Electronic devices

FFC: Flexible Flat Cable

M: Grid

OM: Obstacle Grid

P: Cable routing path

S: Space

S100,S102,S104,S106,S108,S110,S500,S502,S504,S506,S508,S510: Steps

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a process of one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a model file of an electronic device including a first connector and a second connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing that the space where the electronic device is located is divided into a plurality of grids according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the obstacle grid of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another process of an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the cable routing path from the first connector to the second connector of the embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the arrangement of the flexible flat cable along the cable routing path of an embodiment of the present invention.

Certain terms are used in this specification and subsequent patent applications to refer to specific components. A person with ordinary knowledge in the field should understand that manufacturers may use different terms to refer to the same component. This specification and subsequent patent applications do not use differences in names as a way to distinguish components, but rather use differences in the functions of the components as the basis for distinction. The words "including" or "comprising" mentioned throughout the specification and subsequent patent applications are open-ended terms and should be interpreted as "including but not limited to". In addition, the word "coupled" here includes any direct and indirect electrical connection means. Therefore, if the text describes a first device coupled to a second device, it means that the first device can be directly electrically connected to the second device, or indirectly electrically connected to the second device through other devices or connection means.

The embodiment of the present invention can be applied to the manufacturing design process of the circuit board in the computer-aided design (CAD) stage. The embodiment of the present invention can be used to design a line routing path for the flexible flat cable during the design process for setting. Please refer to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of process 10 of one embodiment of the present invention. Process 10 is used to design and plan the line routing path of the flexible flat cable. Process 10 includes the following steps:

Step S100: Start.

Step S102: Obtain a model file of an electronic device including a first connector and a second connector.

Step S104: Load the electronic device into a three-dimensional space that can accommodate the electronic device and divide the three-dimensional space into a plurality of grids.

Step S106: Determine a plurality of obstacle grids containing electronic devices from a plurality of grids.

Step S108: Determine the routing path of the cable from the first connector to the second connector based on a plurality of obstacle grids.

Step S110: End.

According to process 10, in step S102, the embodiment of the present invention can obtain a model file of an electronic device including a first connector and a second connector. The model file of the electronic device including a first connector and a second connector can be generated by computer-aided design software or other tool software. The computer-aided design software can be AutoCAD, Pro/Engineer, SolidWorks, but is not limited thereto. For example, please refer to FIG. 2, which is a schematic diagram of a model file of an electronic device E including a first connector C1 and a second connector C2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the first connector C1 and the second connector C2 are respectively arranged at two different positions on the electronic device E. The electronic device E can be a circuit board, an electronic component, a housing or a combination thereof. Alternatively, the electronic device E may be a combination of multiple circuit boards, electronic components and/or housings. The first connector C1 and the second connector C2 may be used to connect a flexible flat cable. For example, the first end of the flexible flat cable is coupled to the first connector C1, and the second end of the flexible flat cable is coupled to the second connector C2 to transmit related signals. In the circuit design process, a cable routing path from the first connector C1 to the second connector C2 may be designed for the flexible flat cable by using the embodiment of the present invention.

In step S104, the electronic device including the first connector and the second connector can be loaded into a three-dimensional space that can accommodate the electronic device. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the electronic device is loaded into a three-dimensional space S. The three-dimensional space S can accommodate the electronic device E. The three-dimensional space S may include a range defined by a bounding box BB. The bounding box BB may define the boundary range of the three-dimensional space S. The bounding box BB may be the smallest polyhedron that can enclose the electronic device E. The bounding box BB may be generated based on the coordinate positions of the first connector C1 and the second connector C2 in the Cartesian coordinate system. In step S104, after the electronic device including the first connector and the second connector is loaded into the three-dimensional space, the three-dimensional space may be divided into a plurality of grids to grid the three-dimensional space. For example, the grid may be a three-dimensional grid. The grid may be a polygonal grid. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the three-dimensional space S may be divided into a plurality of grids M. For the sake of explanation, FIG. 3 only shows a portion of the plurality of grids. In one embodiment, a finite element analysis method may be used to divide the space S into a plurality of grids M, but is not limited thereto.

In step S106, a plurality of obstacle grids including the electronic device can be determined from the plurality of grids. Among the plurality of grids in the three-dimensional space, any grid that includes at least a portion of the electronic device is an obstacle grid. In other words, the position of the electronic device including the first connector and the second connector can be detected, and the grid where the electronic device is located can be determined as an obstacle grid. For example, a ray scanning method can be used to emit a plurality of rays at a specific density in a bounding box in the three-dimensional space to form a ray array. The rays are straight lines, and the rays pass through the space and pass through obstacles (for example, the electronic device E including the first connector C1 and the second connector C2 in FIG. 3). Since obstacles and space belong to different media, when the ray passes through two different media, the spatial coordinates of the junction of the two media will be recorded and the obstacle grid will be detected. For example, as shown in Figure 4, taking components A1 and A2 on the electronic device E as an example, the positions of components A1 and A2 can be detected, and the grid where the electronic device is located can be judged as the obstacle grid OM. In the right half of Figure 4, the solid dots represent the obstacle grid OM.

In step S108, a cable routing path from the first connector to the second connector can be determined based on a plurality of obstacle grids. More specifically, the grid including the first connector (i.e., the grid where the first connector is located) can be set as the starting point of the cable routing path, and the grid including the second connector (i.e., the grid where the second connector is located) can be set as the end point of the cable routing path. Then, based on a plurality of obstacle grids, a plurality of target grids are determined from a plurality of grids to form a cable routing path for a flexible flat cable. The determination method for determining a plurality of target grids based on a plurality of obstacle grids to form a cable routing path can be summarized as a process 50. Please refer to FIG. 5 . FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a process 50 of an embodiment of the present invention. The process 50 in FIG. 5 can be applied to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. According to the process 50, for each grid used to form a wiring routing path, a corresponding grid can be selected from its adjacent grids to be used as the next grid to form the wiring routing path. In step S502, a target grid determined to be used to form a wiring routing path can be set as the current target grid, and the grid scores of all adjacent grids adjacent to the current target grid are calculated based on a plurality of obstacle grids. For example, the grid containing the first connector can be set as a target grid to form a wiring routing path and as the starting point of the wiring routing path. Furthermore, the grid containing the second connector is set as a target grid for forming a wiring path and as the end point of the wiring path. In this case, the grid containing the first connector can be used as a starting point, the grid containing the first connector can be set as the current target grid and the grid scores of its adjacent grids can be calculated.

In step S502, for each neighboring grid adjacent to the current target grid, the grid score of the neighboring grid can be calculated according to at least one of the obstacle grid, the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid including the second connector (i.e., the end point of the cable routing path), the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid including the first connector (i.e., the starting point of the cable routing path), and the number of bends. In one embodiment, since the obstacle grid has been detected in step S106, the grid score of the obstacle grid can be directly set to the lowest score, for example, the grid score of the obstacle grid is set to 0. In this way, when selecting the subsequent target grid, the obstacle grid will not be selected, so as to avoid the obstacle grid when planning the wiring route. In other words, the wiring route does not include the obstacle grid. Therefore, it is possible to first determine whether the neighboring grid adjacent to the current target grid is an obstacle grid. If the neighboring grid adjacent to the current target grid is determined to be an obstacle grid, the grid score of this neighboring grid can be directly set to the lowest score (for example, the grid score of this neighboring grid is set to 0), without the need to calculate the subsequent grid score.

In step S502, for each neighboring grid adjacent to the current target grid, if the neighboring grid is an obstacle grid, the grid score of the neighboring grid is directly set to the lowest score. If the neighboring grid is not an obstacle grid, at least one of a first score determined based on the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector, a second score determined based on the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the first connector, and a third score determined based on the number of bends may be summed to generate the grid score of the neighboring grid. In one embodiment, for each neighboring grid adjacent to the current target grid, a first score of the neighboring grid can be determined according to the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector (i.e., the end point of the cable routing path). The distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector is inversely proportional to the first score. In other words, the shorter the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector, the higher the first score. The longer the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector, the lower the first score. In one embodiment, for each neighboring grid adjacent to the current target grid, a second score of the neighboring grid can be determined according to the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the first connector (i.e., the starting point of the cable routing path). The distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the first connector is inversely proportional to the second score. In other words, the shorter the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the first connector, the higher the second score. The longer the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the first connector, the lower the second score. In one embodiment, for each neighboring grid adjacent to the current target grid, a third score of the neighboring grid can be determined according to the number of bends. The number of bends can be the number of bends from the grid containing the first connector (i.e. the starting point of the cable routing path) to the adjacent grid. The number of bends is inversely proportional to the third score. In other words, the fewer the number of bends, the higher the third score. The more the number of bends, the lower the third score.

In one embodiment, at least one of a first score determined according to the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid including the second connector, a second score determined according to the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid including the first connector, and a third score determined according to the number of bends may be weighted to calculate the grid score of the neighboring grid. For example, the first score may be multiplied by a first weight to generate a first weighted score. The second score may be multiplied by a second weight to generate a second weighted score. The third score may be multiplied by a third weight to generate a third weighted score. For example, the first weight may be greater than the second weight and the third weight, and the second weight may be greater than the third weight, but is not limited thereto. Then, at least one of the calculated first weighted score, second weighted score, and third weighted score is summed up to generate a grid score of an adjacent grid.

In step S504, since the grid with a higher grid score is a more ideal path, the grid with the highest score can be selected from all adjacent grids adjacent to the target grid as the next target grid to be used as one of the multiple target grids for forming the wiring path. In step S506, after the next target grid is selected from the adjacent grids of the current target grid, it can be determined whether the selected next target grid is the end point of the wiring path (i.e., the grid containing the second connector). When it is determined that the selected next target grid is not the end point of the wiring path (i.e., the grid containing the second connector), step S508 is executed. In step S508, the selected next target grid is set as the current target grid and step S502 is executed. Then, the next target grid is found by executing steps S502 and S504. In this way, the subsequent target grids can be determined sequentially starting from the grid containing the first connector.

In step S506, when it is determined that the next target grid selected is the end point of the cable routing path (i.e., the grid including the second connector), it means that all target grids that can be used to form the cable routing path have been completely determined. All target grids are connected in series in sequence to form the cable routing path. In this way, through the aforementioned process of the embodiment of the present invention, the present invention can plan the cable routing path from the first connector to the second connector without manual interference inspection, so as to provide a flexible flat cable, so that the flexible flat cable can be coupled to the first connector and the second connector for signal transmission. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the embodiment of the present invention provides a flat cable routing path P from the first connector C1 to the second connector C2 that can avoid obstacles, has the shortest path and the least number of bends. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, after the flat cable routing path P from the first connector C1 to the second connector C2 is planned, the structure of the flexible flat cable FFC can be set along the flat cable routing path P.

In addition, in step S108, after the obstacle grid is determined through the processing of step S106, the embodiment of the present invention can also use the A star algorithm to determine a plurality of target grids from a plurality of grids according to a plurality of obstacle grids to form a wiring path.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may combine, modify or change the above-described embodiments according to the spirit of the embodiments of the present invention, but is not limited thereto. All of the above statements, steps, and/or processes (including recommended steps) can be implemented through hardware, software, firmware (i.e., a combination of hardware devices and computer instructions, the data in the hardware devices are read-only software data), electronic systems, or a combination of the above devices. The hardware may include analog, digital and hybrid circuits (i.e., microcircuits, microchips or silicon chips). For example, the hardware may be an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic element, a coupled hardware element, or a combination of the above hardware. In other embodiments, the hardware may include a general purpose processor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), or a combination of the above hardware. The software may be a combination of program codes, a combination of instructions, and/or a combination of functions (functionality) stored in a storage device, such as a computer-readable recording medium or a non-transitory computer-readable medium. For example, the computer-readable recording medium may include read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, random-access memory (RAM), subscriber identity module (SIM), hard disk, floppy disk or optical disk read-only memory (CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/BD-ROM), but is not limited thereto. The embodiment of the present invention may include an electronic system, the electronic system includes a processing circuit and a storage device. The process steps and embodiments of the embodiments of the present invention may be compiled into a program code or instruction form and stored in the storage device of the electronic device. The processing circuit of the electronic system can be used to read and execute the program code or instructions stored in the storage device to implement all the aforementioned steps and functions.

In summary, the embodiment of the present invention can plan the cable routing path from the first connector to the second connector without manual interference inspection for setting the flexible flat cable, so that the flexible flat cable can be coupled to the first connector and the second connector for signal transmission. At the same time, the path planning method of the embodiment of the present invention provides a cable routing path from the first connector to the second connector that can avoid obstacles, has the shortest path and has the least number of bends.

The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention. All equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention shall fall within the scope of the present invention.

10: Process

S100, S102, S104, S106, S108, S110: Steps

Claims (8)

A path planning method for a flexible flat cable comprises: obtaining a model file of an electronic device including a first connector and a second connector; loading the electronic device into a three-dimensional space that can accommodate the electronic device and dividing the three-dimensional space into a plurality of grids; determining a plurality of obstacle grids including the electronic device from the plurality of grids; and determining a cable routing path from the first connector to the second connector according to the plurality of obstacle grids, comprising: setting the grid including the first connector as the cable The starting point of the routing path and the grid containing the second connector are set as the end point of the routing path of the flat cable; and a plurality of target grids are determined from the plurality of grids according to the plurality of obstacle grids to form the routing path of the flat cable, wherein the step includes calculating the grid scores of the grids adjacent to the target grid according to the plurality of obstacle grids for each target grid forming the routing path of the flat cable, and selecting the grid with the highest score from the grids adjacent to the target grid as the next target grid to form the routing path of the flat cable. The path planning method as described in claim 1 further includes: setting the grid containing the first connector as the target grid for forming the wiring path of the flat cable and using the grid containing the first connector as the starting point of the wiring path of the flat cable. The path planning method as described in claim 1, wherein the step of calculating the grid score of the grid adjacent to the target grid according to the plurality of obstacle grids for each target grid forming the wiring routing path includes: for each neighboring grid adjacent to the target grid, the grid score of the neighboring grid is calculated according to at least one of the plurality of obstacle grids, the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector, the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the first connector, and the number of bends. A path planning method as described in claim 3, wherein for each neighboring grid adjacent to the target grid, the step of calculating the grid score of the neighboring grid according to at least one of the plurality of obstacle grids, the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector, the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the first connector, and the number of bends includes setting the grid score of the neighboring grid to the lowest score when the neighboring grid is determined to be an obstacle grid. A path planning method as described in claim 3, wherein for each neighboring grid adjacent to the target grid, the step of calculating the grid score of the neighboring grid according to at least one of the plurality of obstacle grids, the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector, the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the first connector, and a number of bends comprises: determining a first score of the neighboring grid according to the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector, wherein the first score of the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector are calculated based on the distance between the neighboring grid and the grid containing the second connector. The distance between the grids of the first connector is inversely proportional to the first score; a second score of the adjacent grid is determined according to the distance between the adjacent grid and the grid containing the first connector, wherein the distance between the adjacent grid and the grid containing the first connector is inversely proportional to the second score; a third score of the adjacent grid is determined according to the number of bends, wherein the number of bends is inversely proportional to the third score; and a weighted calculation is performed according to at least one of the first score, the second score and the third score to calculate the grid score of the adjacent grid. A path planning method as described in claim 5, wherein the step of performing weighted calculation according to at least one of the first score, the second score and the third score to calculate the grid score of the neighboring grid includes: multiplying the first score by a first weight to generate a first weighted score, multiplying the second score by a second weight to generate a second weighted score, and multiplying the third score by a third weight to generate a third weighted score; and summing up at least one of the calculated first weighted score, the second weighted score and the third weighted score to generate the grid score of the neighboring grid; wherein the first weight is greater than the second weight and the third weight, and the second weight is greater than the third weight. A path planning method as described in claim 1, wherein the cable routing path does not include the plurality of obstacle grids. A path planning method as described in claim 1, wherein the flexible flat cable is arranged along the cable routing path, and a first end of the flexible flat cable is coupled to the first connector and a second end of the flexible flat cable is coupled to the second connector.

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