Component placement

• US 5,933,349 A
• Filed: 12/29/1995
• Issued: 08/03/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Compaq Computer Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Dalgleish, Alexander S., Tindall, Paul D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Garland, Steven R.
• Application Number:
  US08/580,882
• Time in Patent Office: 1,313 Days
• Field of Search: 29/740, 29/743, 29/834, 29/836, 29/832, 29/739, 53/443, 364/130, 364/488, 364/191, 364/491, 364/468.28, 364/468.03, 364/468.24, 364/468.21
• US Class Current: 700/121
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/085 Production planning, e.g. of allocation of products to machines, of mounting sequences at machine or facility level
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4913 Assembling to base an electrical component, e.g., capacitor, etc.

Abstract

The placement of components on a circuit board may be controlled automatically by creating a group containing two or more types of components to be placed on the circuit board and by developing a placement path by which any component within the group may be placed on the circuit board at any point along the placement path.

Claims

1. A method for developing a placement path along which components taken from respective component supplies will be placed on a circuit board, the method comprising:

for each location at which a component will be placed, identifying the component supply from which the component will be taken;

for at least one selected component supply, determining which, if any, of the other component supplies are identified with locations lying within a predetermined proximity of a location identified with the selected component supply; and

developing the placement path based on the proximity determinations.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

for each component supply, determining a relative frequency at which locations identified with the component supply lie within a predetermined proximity of locations identified with each of the other component supplies; and

developing the placement path based on the relative frequency determinations.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

identifying two component supplies that are associated with a given relative frequency.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the placement path is developed so that all of the locations with which the two component supplies are identified will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

identifying a third component supply that, in combination with one of the two component supplies, is associated with another given relative frequency.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the placement path is developed so that all of the locations with which the three component supplies are identified will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the placement path is developed so that all of the locations with which at least two of the component supplies are identified will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the placement path is developed so that all of the locations with which three of the component supplies are identified will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein two locations lie within the predetermined proximity only if both locations lie within a given section of the circuit board.

10. A method for developing a placement path along which components taken from respective component supplies will be placed on a circuit board having at least two sections, the method comprising:

for each location at which a component will be placed, identifying the component supply from which the component will be taken;

for each section of the circuit board, identifying which, if any, of the component supplies are identified with one of the locations in the section;

for each possible pair of the component supplies, establishing a count of how many sections, if any, are identified with both of the component supplies in the pair;

identifying, from all possible pairs of component supplies, a first pair for which the highest count is established; and

developing the placement path so that all of the locations identified with the first pair of component supplies belong to a set of locations that will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein none of the sections overlap.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein at least some of the sections overlap.

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

identifying, from all other possible pairs of component supplies that include one of the component supplies in the first pair, a second pair of component supplies, wherein the second pair has a highest count of the counts established for the other possible pairs of component supplies that include one of the component supplies in the first pair.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the placement path is developed so that all locations identified with the component supplies of the first and second pairs will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

15. A device for use in developing a placement path along which components taken from respective component supplies will be placed on a circuit board, the device comprising elements that are configured to:

identify, for each location at which a component will be placed, the component supply from which the component will be taken;

determine, for at least one selected component supply, which, if any, of the other component supplies are identified with locations lying within a predetermined proximity of a location identified with the selected component supply; and

develop the placement path based on the proximity determination.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the elements also are configured to:

determine, for each component supply, a relative frequency at which locations identified with the component supply lie within a predetermined proximity of locations identified with each of the other component supplies; and

develop the placement path based on the relative frequency determinations.

17. The device of claim 16 wherein the elements also are configured to:

identify two component supplies that are associated with a given relative frequency.

18. The device of claim 17 wherein the placement path is developed so that all of the locations with which the two component supplies are identified will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

19. The device of claim 18 wherein the elements also are configured to:

identify a third component supply that, in combination with one of the two component supplies, is associated with another given relative frequency.

20. The device of claim 19 wherein the placement path is developed so that all of the locations with which the three component supplies are identified will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

21. The device of claim 15 wherein the placement path is developed so that all of the locations with which at least two of the component supplies are identified will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

22. The device of claim 15 wherein the placement path is developed so that all of the locations with which three of the component supplies are identified will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

23. The device of claim 15 wherein two locations lie within the predetermined proximity only if both locations lie within a given section of the circuit board.

24. A device for use in developing a placement path along which components taken from respective component supplies will be placed on a circuit board having at least two sections, the device comprising elements that are configured to:

identify, for each location at which a component will be placed, the component supply from which the component will be taken;

identify, for each section of the circuit board, which, if any, of the component supplies are identified with one of the locations in the section;

establish, for each possible pair of the component supplies, a count of how many sections, if any, are identified with both of the component supplies in the pair;

identify, from all possible pairs of component supplies, a first pair for which the highest count is established; and

develop the placement path so that all of the locations identified with the first pair of component supplies are in a set of locations that will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

25. The device of claim 24 wherein none of the sections overlap.

26. The device of claim 24 wherein at least some of the sections overlap.

27. The device of claim 24 wherein the elements also are configured to:

identify, from all other possible pairs of component supplies that include one of the component supplies in the first pair, a second pair of component supplies, wherein the second pair has a highest count of the counts established for the other possible pairs of component supplies that include one of the component supplies in the first pair.

28. The device of claim 27 wherein the placement path is developed so that all locations identified with either the first or the second pair of component supplies will lie at consecutive positions along the placement path.

29. A computer system for use in developing a placement path along which components taken from respective component supplies will be placed on a circuit board, the computer system comprising:

a storage device configured to store information about the components to be placed on the board; and

a processor operable to retrieve the information and to use the information to;

identify, for each location at which a component will be placed, the component supply from which the component will be taken;

determine, for at least one selected component supply, which, if any, of the other component supplies are identified with locations lying within a predetermined proximity of a location identified with the selected component supply; and

develop the placement path based on the proximity determination.