Interactive routing with poly vias
First Claim
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1. A method of implementing a layout of a circuit in a circuit structure, comprising:
- identifying a trace of the layout, the trace having an associated layer in the circuit structure;
identifying another layer in the circuit structure to which the trace needs to transition;
identifying an existing via in the layout;
determining whether the existing via can be used to connect to the trace for transitioning to the another layer, wherein determining whether the existing via can be used includes determining whether the existing via is comprised of a drill hole that allows use by multiple nets; and
adjusting a graphical indicator associated with the existing via in a display of the layout based on the determination.
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Abstract
The present embodiments are directed generally to techniques for providing an interactive environment that gives visual feedback and indicators to identify and/or encourage effective sharing of partially used drill sites, all inside a typical etch-edit environment. Such an interactive environment allows designers to effectively leverage and exploit new PCB manufacturing techniques that allow for multi-net use of a single drill hole.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of implementing a layout of a circuit in a circuit structure, comprising:
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identifying a trace of the layout, the trace having an associated layer in the circuit structure; identifying another layer in the circuit structure to which the trace needs to transition; identifying an existing via in the layout; determining whether the existing via can be used to connect to the trace for transitioning to the another layer, wherein determining whether the existing via can be used includes determining whether the existing via is comprised of a drill hole that allows use by multiple nets; and adjusting a graphical indicator associated with the existing via in a display of the layout based on the determination. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of implementing a layout of a circuit in a circuit structure, comprising:
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identifying a trace of the layout, the trace having an associated layer in the circuit structure and a via for transitioning the trace to another layer in the circuit structure; identifying an existing via in the layout; determining whether the via of the trace with the existing via for transitioning the trace to the another layer, wherein determining whether the existing via can be merged includes determining whether the existing via is comprised of a drill hole that allows use by multiple nets; and adjusting a graphical indicator associated with the existing via in a display of the layout based on the determination of whether the vias can be merged. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for implementing a layout of a circuit in a circuit structure, comprising:
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a user interface module that is configured to allow a user to identify a trace of the layout, the trace having an associated layer in the circuit structure, the user interface module further being configured to allow the user to identify another layer in the circuit structure to which the trace needs to transition; and a layout editor coupled to storage containing information about the layout, the layout editor being configured to identify an existing via in the layout based on the information and the identification of the trace from the user interface module, and to determine whether the existing via can be used to connect to the identified trace for transitioning to the another layer, wherein the layout editor is further configured to interact with the user interface module so as to adjust a graphical indicator associated with the existing via in a display of the layout based on the determination, and wherein the layout editor is configured to determine whether the existing via can be used by accessing a storage containing information regarding whether the existing via is comprised of a drill hole that allows use by multiple nets, and to determine whether the another layer is in a portion of the drill hole connected to by one or more other traces in the layout. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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Specification