LSI development support system

• US 6,968,516 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2003
• Issued: 11/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Okabe, Yoji, Kanda, Shinobu, Mikami, Tsutomu
• Primary Examiner(s): WHITMORE, STACY
• Application Number:
  US10/633,038
• Publication Number:
  US 20040123250A1
• Time in Patent Office: 841 Days
• Field of Search: 716/1, 716/3, 716/18, 700/97, 700/103, 700/121, 707/102, 707/201, 715/511, 715/964
• US Class Current: 716/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/30 Circuit design
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/964 CAD or CAM, e.g. interactive design tools

Abstract

Information on a plurality of IPs (intellectual properties) serving as LSI design assets is stored in a registered-IP database, from which IP-based operation manual data, specification data and design data are extracted, and each converted and synthesized according to common individual detailed specifics (product-type-based detailed specifics). The individual detailed specifics can be prepared by filling in blanks in a detailed-specific template extracted from the registered-IP database.

Claims

1. An LSI development support system for generating design data and a document which are consistent with each other, the system comprising:

a database which includes design data and document data for modules serving as LSI design assets, the design data and the document data being mutually related on a module-by-module basis,

an input interface unit for inputting necessary information,

a detailed-specific preparation temporary unit for preparing detailed-specific management information, which indicates the configuration of modules forming an LSI to be developed, and individual detailed specifics for each said module of the LSI, based on the information inputted in the input interface unit,

a database selection unit for extracting, from the database, design data and document data for the modules specified in the detailed-specific management information, and

a data conversion and synthesis unit for converting and synthesizing the extracted design data and document data based on the individual detailed specifics,

wherein the document data includes LSI user'"'"'s manual data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the database further includes detailed-specific templates which are associated with the module-by-module design data and document data, and

the database selection unit also functions to extract, from the database, associated ones of the detailed-specific templates for the modules specified in the input interface unit and then transmit the extracted templates to the detailed-specific preparation temporary unit so that the individual detailed specifics can be prepared by filling in blanks in the detailed-specific templates.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the database further includes management data for associating the module-by-module detailed-specific templates, design data and document data with each other.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the document data includes product specification data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the data conversion and synthesis unit includes:

a data conversion unit for converting the extracted document data into a data format with tags and

a data synthesis unit for synthesizing the result of the conversion performed by the data conversion unit.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for utilizing mutually related design data and document data other than a registered data in the database.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the data conversion and synthesis unit further includes a data correction unit for correcting the results of the conversion or synthesis.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the database further includes version data which is associated with the module-by-module design and document data, and

the data correction unit includes means for determining, based on the version data, whether the conversion or synthesis results need to be corrected or not.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the data correction unit includes means for correcting text data for a document to be generated before the text data is laid out.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the data correction unit includes means for correcting data for a document to be generated after the data has been laid out.