Distributed autorouting of conductive paths in printed circuit boards
First Claim
1. A method for routing conductive paths for a printed circuit board (PCB), comprising:
- (a) automatically assigning, from a list of component pin pairs for an electronic circuit, a different component pin pair to each of a plurality of client computers configured to automatically route a conductive path between two component pins;
(b) receiving, from each client of the plurality of clients, a proposed route for a conductive path connecting the pin pair assigned to the client;
(c) incorporating the proposed routes into a master PCB design; and
(d) repeating steps (a) through (c) so as to receive from the clients and incorporate into said master PCB design proposed routes for additional component pin pairs from the list of component pin pairs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A server computer maintains a master database for a PCB design, and a copy of the PCB design is provided to multiple client computers. The server assigns each client a different pair of pins for which a connection must be routed. When a client completes an assigned routing task, it requests that the server update the PCB master design with the route found by the client for its assigned pin pair. After forwarding the request, the client does not update its copy of the PCB design to reflect the found route. Instead, the client returns its copy to the state occupied prior to assignment of the pin pair by the server. Upon receiving notification that the server incorporated the found route, the client updates its copy of the design to include that route.
81 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for routing conductive paths for a printed circuit board (PCB), comprising:
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(a) automatically assigning, from a list of component pin pairs for an electronic circuit, a different component pin pair to each of a plurality of client computers configured to automatically route a conductive path between two component pins; (b) receiving, from each client of the plurality of clients, a proposed route for a conductive path connecting the pin pair assigned to the client; (c) incorporating the proposed routes into a master PCB design; and (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) so as to receive from the clients and incorporate into said master PCB design proposed routes for additional component pin pairs from the list of component pin pairs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps comprising:
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(a) automatically assigning, from a list of component pin pairs for an electronic circuit, a different component pin pair to each of a plurality of client computers configured to automatically route a conductive path between two component pins; (b) receiving, from each client of the plurality of clients, a proposed route for a conductive path connecting the pin pair assigned to the client; (c) incorporating the proposed routes into a master PCB design and (d) repeating steps (a) through (c) so as to receive from the clients and incorporate into said master PCB design propose routes for additional component pin pairs from the list of component pin pairs. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification