WIRE OPTION EXPRESSIONS IN WIRING HARNESS DESIGNS

• US 20090157209A1
• Filed: 12/14/2007
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mentor Graphics Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Mentor Graphics Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Holdsworth, Simon Edward
• Application Number:
  US11/957,313
• Publication Number:
  US 20090157209A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/97
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/16 Cables, cable trees or wire harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/30 Circuit design

Abstract

A method of designing a wiring harness using a wiring harness design tool can include creating a first wire option expression corresponding to a first wire within a wiring harness design, generating a wire option expression truth table based at least in part on the first wire option expression, modifying the first wire option expression truth table, and modifying the first wire option expression based at least in part on the modified wire option expression truth table.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

creating a first wire option expression corresponding to a first wire within a wiring harness design in a wiring harness design workspace;

generating a first wire option expression truth table based at least in part on the first wire option expression;

modifying the first wire option expression truth table; and

modifying the first wire option expression based at least in part on the modified first wire option expression truth table.

2. One or more tangible computer readable media comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform the computer-implemented method according to claim 1.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising outputting the modified first wire option expression.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein creating the first wire option expression is based at least in part on a first electrical device option expression corresponding to a first electrical device in the wiring harness design workspace.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first electrical device is electrically coupled with the first wire.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein modifying the first wire option expression truth table comprises implementing a reduction algorithm to simplify the first wire option expression truth table.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the first wire option expression truth table comprises manipulating the first wire option expression into a sum of products form and translating the sum of products form into the first wire option expression truth table.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising creating at least the first wire by performing a synthesis operation on at least part of the wiring harness design.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

creating a second wire option expression corresponding to a second wire within the wiring harness design;

generating a second wire option expression truth table based at least in part on the second wire option expression;

modifying the second wire option expression truth table; and

modifying the second wire option expression based at least in part on the modified second wire option expression truth table.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the second wire comprises a bypass wire.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising creating at least the first wire and the second wire by performing a synthesis operation on at least part of the wiring harness design.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein creating the second wire option expression is based at least in part on a second electrical device option expression corresponding to a second electrical device in the wiring harness design workspace.

13. A computer program product comprising a wiring harness design tool, the wiring harness design tool comprising:

a wiring harness design workspace in which one or more electrical devices and one or more wires can be placed in a wiring harness design within the wiring harness design workspace; and

a wire option expression generation module operable to generate an initial wire option expression corresponding to one of the one or more wires.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising a wire option expression truth table module operable to generate a wire option expression truth table based at least in part on the initial wire option expression and to modify the wire option expression truth table.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising a wire option expression modification module operable to modify the initial wire option expression based at least in part on the modified wire option expression truth table.

16. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

accessing a wiring harness design workspace;

accessing a wiring harness design within the wiring harness design workspace, wherein the wiring harness design comprises one or more wires;

determining a wire option expression, the wire option expression corresponding to one of the one or more wires; and

manipulating the wire option expression to reduce the complexity of the wire option expression.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising creating the one or more wires by performing a synthesis operation on the wiring harness design.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising constructing a wire option expression truth table based at least in part on the wire option expression.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein manipulating the wire option expression comprises applying a reduction algorithm to the wire option expression.

20. One or more tangible computer readable media comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform the computer-implemented method according to claim 16.