Circuit board design aiding apparatus, design aiding method, and storage medium storing design aiding program

• US 20010047508A1
• Filed: 12/22/2000
• Published: 11/29/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Shibata, Osamu, Saito, Yoshiyuki, Nakayama, Takeshi, Tanimoto, Shinichi, Fukumoto, Yukihiro, Uemura, Hirokazu, Miura, Shinji, Ikeda, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 6,629,302 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 716/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347

Abstract

A design aiding apparatus and a method, and a storage medium storing a design aiding program enable the efficient layout design of components in a multilayer wiring board formed by laminating a plurality of wiring layers. The design aiding apparatus includes (a) a first acquiring unit for acquiring information showing a first location in a lamination direction of the wiring layers, (b) a second acquiring unit for acquiring information showing a second location on a two-dimensional plane that is orthogonal to the lamination direction, and (c) a placement unit for generating information showing a space to be occupied when the component is placed in such a manner that a placement reference point of the component coincides with the second location that is on the two-dimensional plane including the first location. According to the above construction, the present invention is capable of aiding layout design of components in the wiring board.

Claims

1. A design aiding apparatus that aids layout design of components in a multilayer wiring board, comprising:

a first acquiring unit operable to acquire first location information that shows a first location in a lamination direction of the multilayer wiring board;

a second acquiring unit operable to acquire second information that shows a second location on a two-dimensional plane that is orthogonal to the lamination direction; and

a placement unit operable to generate component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by the component, when the component is placed at a location determined by the acquired first location information and the acquired second location information.

2. A design aiding apparatus that aids layout design of components in a multilayer wiring board formed by laminating a plurality of wiring layers,

the design aiding apparatus comprising:

a first acquiring unit operable to acquire first location information that shows a first location in a lamination direction of the plurality of wiring layers;

a second acquiring unit operable to acquire second location information that shows a second location on a two-dimensional plane that is orthogonal to the lamination direction; and

a placement unit operable to generate component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by the component, when the component is placed in such a manner that a placement reference point of the component coincides with the second location that is on the two-dimensional plane including the first location.

3. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

, wherein the first acquiring unit includes:

a wiring layer information acquiring unit operable to acquire layer information that identifies one wiring layer out of the plurality of wiring layers; and

a wiring layer location acquiring unit operable to acquire the first location information that shows a location of the identified wiring layer in the lamination direction;

wherein the placement unit generates the component placement information, in such a manner that the placement reference point of the component coincides with the second location that is on the two-dimensional plane including the first location, the first location being the location of the identified wiring layer in the lamination direction.

4. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 3

, further comprising:

an angle acquiring unit operable to acquire angle information that shows a rotation angle at which the component is to be rotated for being placed into the multilayer wiring board; and

an angle judging unit operable to judge whether the component is placeable in a state of being rotated at the rotation angle shown by the angle information;

wherein when the angle judging unit judges that the component is placeable in a state of being rotated at the rotation angle, the placement unit generates component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in the state of being rotated at the rotation angle.

5. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 4

,

wherein the angle judging unit (a) stores, for each component, prohibited angle information that shows a range of angles at which the component is prohibited to be rotated, (b) judges whether the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information, (c) judges that the component is not placeable when the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information, and (d) judges that the component is placeable when the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is not in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information.

6. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 4

,

wherein the angle acquiring unit acquires an angle that shows a direction orthogonal to the wiring layer as the rotation angle, and

the placement unit generates the component placement information that shows the space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in a state of being rotated in the direction orthogonal to the wiring layer.

7. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 4

,

wherein at least one component has already been placed in the multilayer wiring board,

the design aiding apparatus further comprising:

a component placement information storing unit operable to store component placement information that shows a space occupied by the component that has already been placed; and

an interference judging unit operable to judge whether the space to be occupied by the component shown by the component placement information generated by the placement unit intersects with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed;

wherein when the interference judging unit judges that the space to be occupied by the component shown by the component placement information intersects with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed, the placement unit (a) calculates a rotation angle at which the component is to be rotated, in such a manner that a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in a state of being rotated at the calculated rotation angle does not intersect with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed, and (b) generates component placement information that shows the space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in the state of being rotated at the calculated rotation angle.

8. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

,

wherein the first acquiring unit includes:

a wiring layer information acquiring unit operable to acquire layer information that identifies one wiring layer out of the plurality of wiring layers;

a wiring layer location acquiring unit operable to acquire the first location information that shows a location of the identified wiring layer in the lamination direction; and

a distance acquiring unit operable to acquire distance information that shows a distance from the identified wiring layer in the lamination direction;

the placement unit generates the component placement information in such a manner that the placement reference point of the component coincides with the second location that is on the two-dimensional plane including a third location, the third location being away from the first location at the distance determined by the distance information.

9. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 8

, further comprising:

an angle acquiring unit operable to acquire angle information that shows a rotation angle at which the component is rotated for being placed into the multilayer wiring board;

an angle judging unit operable to judge whether the component is placeable in a state of being rotated at the rotation angle shown by the angle information;

wherein when the angle judging unit judges that the component is placeable in a state of being rotated at the rotation angle, the placement unit generates component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in the state of being rotated at the rotation angle.

10. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 9

, wherein the angle judging unit (a) stores, for each component, prohibited angle information that shows a range of angles at which the component is prohibited to be rotated, (b) judges whether the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information, (c) judges that the component is not placeable when the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information, and (d) judges that the component is placeable when the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is not in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information.

11. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 9

,

wherein the angle acquiring unit acquires an angle that shows a direction orthogonal to the wiring layer as the rotation angle, and

the placement unit generates the component placement information that shows the space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in a state of being rotated in the direction orthogonal to the wiring layer.

12. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 9

,

wherein at least one component has already been placed in the multilayer wiring board,

the design aiding apparatus further comprising:

a component placement information storing unit operable to store component placement information that shows a space occupied by a component that has already been placed; and

an interference judging unit operable to judge whether the space to be occupied by the component shown by the component placement information generated by the placement unit intersects with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed;

wherein when the interference judging unit judges that the space to be occupied by the component shown by the component placement information intersects with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed, the placement unit (a) calculates a rotation angle at which the component is to be rotated, in such a manner that a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in a state of being rotated at the calculated rotation angle does not intersect with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed, and (b) generates component placement information that shows the space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in the state of being rotated at the calculated rotation angle.

13. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

,

wherein the first acquiring unit includes:

a wiring layer information acquiring unit operable to acquire two sets of layer information that respectively identify adjacent two wiring layers out of the plurality of wiring layers;

a wiring layer location acquiring unit operable to acquire two sets of location information that respectively show two locations of the identified two wiring layers in the lamination direction; and

a distance adjusting unit operable to generate the first location information that shows the first location in the lamination direction of the plurality of wiring layers, in such a manner that the space to be occupied by the component is within a space between the identified two wiring layers.

14. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 13

, further comprising:

an angle acquiring unit operable to acquire angle information that shows a rotation angle at which the component is to be rotated for being placed into the multilayer wiring board; and

an angle judging unit operable to judge whether the component is placeable in a state of being rotated at the rotation angle shown by the angle information;

wherein when the angle judging unit judges that the component is placeable in a state of being rotated at the rotation angle, the placement unit generates component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in the state of being rotated at the rotation angle.

15. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 14

,

wherein the angle judging unit (a) stores, for each component, prohibited angle information that shows a range of angles at which the component is prohibited to be rotated, (b) judges whether the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information, (c) judges that the component is not placeable when the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information, and (d) judges that the component is placeable when the rotation angle shown by the acquired angle information is not in the range of angles shown by the prohibited angle information.

16. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 14

,

wherein the angle acquiring unit acquires an angle that shows a direction orthogonal to the wiring layer as the rotation angle, and

the placement unit generates the component placement information that shows the space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in a state of being rotated in the direction orthogonal to the wiring layer.

17. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 14

,

wherein at least one component has already been placed in the multilayer wiring board, the design aiding apparatus further comprising:

a component placement information storing unit operable to store component placement information that shows a space occupied by a component that has already been placed; and

an interference judging unit operable to judge whether the space to be occupied by the component shown by the component placement information generated by the placement unit intersects with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed,

wherein when the interference judging unit judges that the space to be occupied by the component shown by the component placement information intersects with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed, the placement unit (a) calculates a rotation angle at which the component is to be rotated, in such a manner that a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in a state of being rotated at the calculated rotation angle does not intersect with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed, and (b) generates component placement information that shows the space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in the state of being rotated at the calculated rotation angle.

18. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

, further comprising:

a penetration judging unit operable to judge whether a space to be occupied by the component shown by the generated component placement information intersects with a wiring layer in the multilayer wiring board; and

a cut-off information generation unit operable to generate, when the penetration judging unit judges that the space to be occupied by the component shown by the generated component placement information intersects with the wiring layer in the multilayer wiring board, plane information that shows a plane on which the space and the wiring layer intersect.

19. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

,

wherein the component includes a connection terminal,

the design aiding apparatus further comprising,

a via connecting unit operable to generate via location information that shows a placement location of a via to connect the connection terminal of the component and a wiring layer.

20. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

further aids layout design of a plurality of components that are to be placed one on top of another in the multilayer wiring board,

the design aiding apparatus comprising:

a plural component storing unit operable to store a plurality of sets of component information that respectively show a plurality of types of components that are placeable one on top of another;

wherein when the placement unit fetches the plurality of sets of component information, the placement unit generates component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by each of the plurality of types of components when the plurality of types of components shown by the read sets of component information are placed one on top of another, in such a manner that a placement reference point of one component out of the plurality of types of component coincides with the second location.

21. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 20

,

wherein each of the plurality of types of components is equipped with a connection terminal,

the design aiding apparatus further comprising,

a via connection unit operable to generate via location information that shows a placement location of a via to connect connection terminals respectively equipped on adjacent components.

22. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

,

wherein at least two components to be connected to each other are placed into the multilayer wiring board,

the design aiding apparatus further comprising:

a wiring component judging unit operable to judge whether a wiring component is necessary when the at least two components are connected; and

a wiring component generation unit operable to generate, when the wiring component judging unit judges that the wiring component is necessary, shape information that shows a shape of the wiring component on which conductive foil is laid, the wiring component used to connect the at least two components,

wherein the placement unit generates wiring component placement information that indicates a space to be occupied by the wiring component shown by the generated shape information when the wiring component is placed.

23. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

,

wherein a plurality of components are placed into the multilayer wiring board,

the design aiding apparatus further comprising:

a connection information storing unit operable to store a plurality of sets of connection information that respectively show a plurality of connections that connect the plurality of components;

a wiring information storing unit operable to store a plurality of sets of wiring information that respectively show a plurality of wirings between some components out of the plurality of components; and

an unconnection information generation unit operable to extract connections that are not realized by the plurality of wirings shown by the plurality of sets of wiring information out of the plurality of connections, and generating connection information that shows the extracted connections as unconnection information.

24. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

,

wherein a dielectric layer is formed between adjacent two wiring layers in the multilayer wiring board,

the design aiding apparatus further comprising,

a capacitor generation unit operable to generate foil location information that indicates two locations where conductive foil with a predetermined area is laid, the two locations respectively being on the two adjacent wiring layers and facing each other.

25. The design aiding apparatus of

claim 2

,

wherein at least one component has already been placed into the multilayer wiring board,

the design aiding apparatus further comprising:

a component placement information storing unit operable to store component placement information that shows a space that has been occupied by the at least one component; and

an interference judging unit operable to judge whether the space to be occupied by the component shown by the component placement information generated by the placement unit intersects with the space that has been occupied by the at least one component;

wherein when the interference judging unit judges that the space to be occupied by the component shown by the component placement information intersects with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed, the placement unit (a) calculates a placement location of the component, in such a manner that a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed at the calculated placement location does not intersect with the space occupied by the component that has already been placed, and (b) generates component placement information that shows the space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed at the calculated placement location.

26. A design aiding method that is used in a design aiding apparatus that aids layout design of components in a multilayer wiring board formed by laminating a plurality of wiring layers, the design aiding method comprising:

a first acquiring step for acquiring first location information that shows a first location in a lamination direction of the plurality of wiring layers;

a second acquiring step for acquiring second location information that shows a second location on a two-dimensional plane that is orthogonal to the lamination direction; and

a placement-step for generating component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by the component, when the component is placed in such a manner that a placement reference point of the component coincides with the second location that is on the two-dimensional plane including the first location.

27. A storage medium that stores a design aiding program used in a design aiding apparatus that aids layout design of components in a multilayer wiring board formed by laminating a plurality of wiring layers,

the design aiding program comprising:

a first acquiring step for acquiring first location information that shows a first location in a lamination direction of the plurality of wiring layers;

a second acquiring step for acquiring second location information that shows a second location on a two-dimensional plane that is orthogonal to the lamination direction; and

a placement step for generating component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in such a manner that a placement reference point of the component coincides with the second location that is on the two-dimensional plane including the first location.

28. The design aiding program of

claim 27

,

wherein the first acquiring step includes:

a wiring layer information acquiring step for acquiring layer information that identifies one wiring layer out of the plurality of wiring layers; and

a wiring layer location acquiring step for acquiring the first location information that shows a location of the identified wiring layer in the lamination direction;

wherein the placement step generates the component placement information, in such a manner that the placement reference point of the component coincides with the second location that is on the two-dimensional plane including the first location, the first location being the location of the identified wiring layer in the lamination direction.

29. The design aiding program of

claim 28

further comprising:

an angle acquiring step for acquiring angle information that shows a rotation angle at which the component is to be rotated for being placed into the multilayer wiring board; and

an angle judging step for judging whether the component is placeable in a state of being rotated at the rotation angle shown by the angle information;

wherein when the angle judging step judges that the component is placeable in a state of being rotated at the rotation angle, the placement step generates component placement information that shows a space to be occupied by the component when the component is placed in the state of being rotated at the rotation angle.