Fabrication rules based automated design and manufacturing system and method

• US 6,110,213 A
• Filed: 11/06/1997
• Issued: 08/29/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: VLT Incorporated (Vicor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: VLT Incorporated (Vicor Corporation)
• Inventors: Foley, Jeremiah Noel, Nowak, Scott William, Vinciarelli, Patrizio, Skoolicas, Charles Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Knox, Lonnie A.
• Application Number:
  US08/965,635
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 364/468.03, 364/468.06, 364/468.13, 364/468.14, 364/468.2, 364/468, 419/36, 339/98, 174/68.5, 140/92.1, 395/200.1
• US Class Current: 703/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2113/16 Cables, cable trees or wire harnesses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/06 Power analysis or power optimisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]

Abstract

An automated custom power supply design and manufacturing system uses an expert system containing a set of rules, including manufacturing limitations to limit design choices and ensure feasibility and manufacturability of the design. A design interface collects specifications from a user. A complement of power components for satisfying the electrical specifications is defined and mechanical specifications for each component are provided by the system for use in creating the mechanical design. After the mechanical design is established a thermal analysis is performed and the completed design is returned to a host computer. After an order is received, a computer integrated manufacturing system generates all of the specifications required to manufacture the components for the system and the system.

A multiconductor snake wiring system which uses a flexible bus structure with taps for providing connections to the components is also disclosed. An automated facility for manufacturing the snake wiring system is also described. A compact multilayer wiring structure for connecting the components and a unique process for manufacturing the wiring structure are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An automated power supply design system for aiding a user to design a custom power supply to be fabricated by a predetermined fabrication facility characterized by a predefined set of tools and processes, the design system comprising:

information representing predetermined limitations which, if observed, ensure that said custom power supply can be fabricated using said predefined set of tools and processes;

an interface for receiving power supply specifications from said user;

a component definition feature having an input for receiving said power supply specifications, said component definition feature generating a complement of components based upon said power supply specifications and providing mechanical parameters for said components;

a mechanical layout feature having an input for receiving said mechanical parameters and an input for receiving said power supply specifications from said user, said system generating a mechanical design of said custom power supply constrained using said information, said system preventing generation of a design that requires tools or processes other than the predefined set of tools and processes.

2. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 further comprising:

an automated manufacturing specifications generator for providing manufacturing specifications needed by said manufacturing system to manufacture said custom power supply.

3. The automated power supply design system of claim 2 wherein said automated manufacturing specifications generator supplies specifications for manufacturing cables for said custom power supply.

4. The automated power supply design system of claim 2 wherein said automated manufacturing specifications generator supplies specifications for manufacturing a mounting plate for said custom power supply.

5. The automated power supply design system of claim 2 wherein said automated manufacturing specifications generator supplies specifications for manufacturing heatsinks for said custom power supply.

6. The automated power supply design system of claim 2 wherein said automated manufacturing specifications generator supplies specifications for manufacturing electrical power converter modules for said custom power supply.

7. The automated power supply design system of claim 2 wherein said automated manufacturing specifications generator supplies specifications for manufacturing front-end assemblies for said custom power supply.

8. The automated power supply design system of claim 7 wherein said automated manufacturing specifications generator supplies specifications for programming a programmable memory device with output control information.

9. The automated power supply design system of claim 2 further comprising:

a computer integrated manufacturing ("CIM") facility including at least one fabrication station for manufacturing at least one component for said custom power supply, said CIM facility having an input for receiving component specifications comprising selected ones of said manufacturing specifications.

10. The automated power supply design system of claim 9 further comprising:

a production scheduler connected to receive said component specifications and to allocate a time slot for production of said at least one component by said CIM facility.

11. The automated power supply design system of claim 9 wherein said CIM facility further comprises:

a wiring station having an input for receiving interconnection specifications for fabricating interconnection components.

12. The automated power supply design system of claim 11 wherein said interconnection specifications are for a circuit board and said wiring station fabricates circuit boards.

13. The automated power supply design system of claim 11 wherein said interconnection specifications are for a wiring harness and said wiring station fabricates wiring harnesses.

14. The automated power supply design system of claim 13 wherein said wiring harness comprises a flat multi-conductor cable element and at least two tap elements and said interconnection specifications include at least a length and a tap location specification.

15. The automated power supply design system of claim 14 wherein said interconnection specifications further comprise fold and bend location specifications.

16. The automated power supply design system of claim 10 wherein said CIM facility further comprises:

a heatsink station having an input for receiving heatsink specifications.

17. The automated power supply design system of claim 16 wherein said heatsink specifications comprise machining instructions and said heatsink station comprises machining equipment for fabricating a heatsink from metal stock.

18. The automated power supply design system of claim 16 wherein said heatsink specifications comprise position information and instructions for selecting and installing prefabricated heatsink components.

19. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said information comprises at least one of the following characteristics:

(a) a limitation imposed by too ling restrictions of a manufacturing line;

(b) a minimum component spacing limitation imposed to allow for wiring components;

or

(c) a component orientation limitation.

20. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said power supply specifications further comprises power supply input specifications and output specifications and said interface accepts numerical entries.

21. The automated power supply design system of claim 20 wherein said interface further comprises a layout feature in which component locations may be defined in a virtual space.

22. The automated power supply design system of claim 21 wherein said layout feature further comprises component icons representative of said complement of components and said icons may be moved around said virtual space to define said component locations.

23. The automated power supply design system of claim 22 wherein said layout feature further comprises a feature allowing the user to manipulate the size or shape of said virtual space.

24. The automated power supply design system of claim 22 wherein said layout feature further comprises a drawing feature in which said system automatically adjusts said virtual space to fit an arrangement of said component icons.

25. The automated power supply design system of claim 24 wherein said arrangement is created by said user.

26. The automated power supply design system of claim 22 wherein said layout feature further comprises an automatic arrangement feature in which said system automatically arranges said component icons and creates said virtual space to fit said arrangement of said component icons.

27. The automated power supply design system of claim 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, or 26 wherein said virtual space comprises a flat surface.

28. The automated power supply design system of claim 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, or 26 wherein said virtual space comprises at least two separate flat surfaces.

29. The automated power supply design system of claim 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, or 26 wherein said component locations and said virtual space define the mechanical specifications for said custom power supply, including a mounting surface and mounting features.

30. The automated power supply design system of claim 20 wherein said power supply specifications further comprise thermal specifications.

31. The automated power supply design system of claim 20 wherein said power supply specifications further comprise safety agency specifications.

32. The automated power supply design system of claim 20 wherein said power supply specifications further comprise information about the timing of turning on or off at least one output.

33. The automated power supply design system of claim 20 wherein said power supply specifications further comprise information about the sequence for turning on or off at least two outputs.

34. The automated power supply design system of claim 20 wherein said power supply specifications further comprise information regarding at least one of the following:

(a) an output voltage,

(b) an output power,

(c) a current limiting set point,

(d) an over voltage set point,

(e) output ripple,

(f) input voltage range, or

(g) a noise level.

35. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said power supply specifications further comprise power supply input specifications and output specifications and said interface provides a list of choices for at least one input specification.

36. The automated power supply design system of claim 35 wherein said list of choices further comprises button selectable options.

37. The automated power supply design system of claim 35 wherein said list of choices further comprises a pull-down list of options.

38. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said complement of components further comprises an electrical power converter module and said system generates an electrical design for said electrical power converter module.

39. The automated power supply design system of claim 38 wherein said system calculates an efficiency for said electrical power converter module.

40. The automated power supply design system of claim 38 wherein said system generates an electrical design which is optimized with respect to a optimization parameter such as efficiency, reliability, or cost.

41. The automated power supply design system of claim 40 wherein two or more of said optimization parameters are assigned relative weights and said system generates said electrical design optimizing said optimization parameters according to assigned relative weights.

42. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said complement of components further comprises a plurality of electrical power converter modules and said system generates an electrical design for each of said electrical power converter modules and provides an efficiency rating for each of said electrical power converter modules;

said system calculates the total input power required by said electrical power converter modules using said efficiency ratings and the power output of said custom power supply, and selects circuitry for a front-end assembly.

43. The automated power supply design system of claim 42 wherein said system further calculates a total power dissipation of said custom power supply and calculates at least one heatsink dimension.

44. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said system provides feasibility information to said user regarding at least one of the following conditions:

(a) cooling requirements;

(b) heatsink dimensions;

(c) component orientation;

(d) component spacing;

(e) safety agency requirements;

or

(f) output orientation.

45. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said custom power supply further comprises a user-defined package and said specifications further comprise at least one of the following details:

(a) a shape of said user-defined package;

(b) a dimension of said user-defined package;

(c) a position of at least one of said components in said user-defined package;

(d) an orientation of at least one of said components in said user-defined package.

46. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said system provides feasibility information to said user, said feasibility information comprising acceptable relative locations and orientations for said components.

47. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said information comprises at least one of the following:

(a) safety agency specifications;

(b) limitations imposed to allow two or more power converters to be connected into a load sharing array;

or

(c) thermal constraints.

48. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said complement of components comprises electrical power converter modules.

49. The automated power supply design system of claim 1 wherein said complement of components comprises a front end module.

50. An automated power supply design system for aiding a user to design a custom power supply to be manufactured by a predetermined manufacturing system characterized by a predefined set of tools and processes, the design system comprising:

information representing predetermined limitations which, if observed, ensure that said custom power supply can be fabricated using said predefined set of tools and processes;

an interface for receiving power supply specifications from said user;

a component definition feature having an input for receiving said power supply specifications, said component definition feature generating a complement of components based on said power supply specifications;

said power supply design system generating a custom power supply design for said custom power supply constrained using said information, said system preventing generation of a design that requires tools or processes other than the predefined set of tools and processes; and

an automated manufacturing specifications generator having an input for receiving said custom power supply design and supplying manufacturing specifications needed by said manufacturing system to manufacture said custom power supply.

51. A method for aiding a user to design a custom power supply to be manufactured by a predetermined manufacturing system characterized by a predefined set of tools and processes, the method comprising:

receiving specifications from said user;

generating a complement of components;

providing mechanical parameters for said components;

collecting, from said user, mechanical design information for said custom power supply;

generating a design for said custom power supply constrained using information representing predetermined limitations which, if observed, ensure that said custom power supply can be manufactured using said predefined tools and processes, said method preventing generation of a design that requires tools or processes other than the predefined set of tools and processes.

52. The method of claim 51 further comprising:

generating manufacturing specifications needed by said manufacturing system to manufacture said custom power supply.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein said manufacturing specifications further comprise at least one of the following:

(a) specifications for manufacturing cables for said custom power supply;

(b) specifications for manufacturing a mounting plate for said custom power supply;

(c) specifications for manufacturing heatsinks for said custom power supply;

(d) specifications for manufacturing electrical power converter modules for said custom power supply;

(e) specifications for manufacturing front-end assemblies for said custom power supply;

or

(f) specifications for programming a programmable memory device with output control information.

54. The method of claim 52 further comprising:

providing a custom power supply design to a computer integrated manufacturing ("CIM") facility including at least one fabrication station for automatically manufacturing at least one component for said custom power supply.

55. The method of claim 51 wherein said information comprises at least one of the following characteristics:

(a) a limitation imposed by tooling restrictions of a manufacturing line;

(b) a minimum component spacing limitation imposed to allow for wiring components;

or

(c) a component orientation limitation.

56. The method of claim 51 further comprising:

providing a layout feature allowing component locations to be defined within a virtual space.

57. The method of claim 56 further comprising:

providing component icons representative of said complement of components; and

allowing said user to move said icons in said virtual space to define said component locations.

58. The method of claim 56 further comprising automatically arranging said component locations and adjusting said virtual space to fit said arrangement of said component locations.

59. The method of claim 51 wherein said complement of components further comprises an electrical power converter module and said method further comprises generating an electrical design for said electrical power converter module.

60. The method of claim 51 wherein said complement of components further comprises a plurality of electrical power converter modules and said method further comprises:

generating an electrical design for each of said electrical power converter modules and provides an efficiency rating for each of said electrical power converter modules;

calculating the total input power required by said electrical power converter modules using said efficiency ratings and the power output of said custom power supply; and

selecting circuitry for a front-end assembly.

61. The method of claim 60 further comprising calculating a total power dissipation of said custom power supply and calculating at least one heatsink dimension.

62. The method of claim 51 further comprising providing feasibility information to said user regarding at least one of the following conditions:

(a) cooling requirements;

(b) heatsink dimensions;

(c) component orientation;

(d) component spacing;

(e) safety agency requirements;

or

(f) output orientation.

63. A method for aiding a user to design a custom power supply to be manufactured by a predetermined manufacturing system characterized by a predefined set of tools and processes, the method comprising:

receiving specifications from said user;

generating a complement of components based upon said specifications;

generating a design for said custom power supply constrained using information representing predetermined limitations which, if observed, ensure that said custom power supply can be manufactured using said predefined set of tools and processes, said method preventing generation of a design that requires tools or processes other than the predefined set of tools and processes; and

generating manufacturing specifications needed by said manufacturing system to manufacture said custom power supply.

64. A capacitor assembly for use with a power supply, comprising

a capacitor;

a wiring harness electrically connected to the capacitor and adapted for electrical connection with the power supply;

a mounting assembly for mechanically supporting the capacitor and adapted to allow the capacitor assembly to be thermally decoupled from the power supply.

65. A power supply, comprising:

a plurality of heat dissipative components; and

a capacitor assembly adapted for electrical connection with the power supply and adapted for mounting separate from the heat dissipative components in an environment thermally remote from said heat dissipative components.

66. A power supply, comprising:

a plurality of electrical power converter modules;

a flat multiconductor cable comprising a control line for each electrical power converter module, a power distribution line, and an auxiliary conductor for connecting adjacent modules in a load sharing array,

said auxiliary conductor including at least one discontinuity to interrupt electrical connection between adjacent electrical power converter modules which are not members of the same load sharing array.

67. An automated power supply design system for aiding a user to design a custom power supply to be fabricated by a predefined set of tools and processes, comprising:

information representing predetermined limitations which, if observed, ensure that said custom power supply can be fabricated using said predefined set of tools and processes;

an input for receiving power supply specifications;

a design engine for generating a complement of components based upon the power supply specifications, mechanical parameters for said components, and a mechanical design of said custom power supply constrained using said information, said system preventing generation of a design that requires tools or processes other than the predefined set of tools and processes.

68. The system of claim 67 wherein the system provides the user with a variety of possibilities for the mechanical design and the user is allowed to make choices about the mechanical layout through interaction with the system.