Simultaneously viewing multi paired schematic and layout windows on printed circuit board (PCB) design software and tools

• US 9,411,925 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2014
• Issued: 08/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte., Ltd. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Meng, Jian
• Primary Examiner(s): Whitmore, Stacy
• Application Number:
  US14/252,663
• Publication Number:
  US 20150294060A1
• Time in Patent Office: 848 Days
• Field of Search: 716110-111, 716118-119, 716/122
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/741 Instruments adapted for user detection
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/65 Instruments specially adapted for specific vehicle types or users, e.g. for left- or right-hand drive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/32 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voiceprints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2115/12 Printed circuit boards [PCB] or multi-chip modules [MCM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/39 Circuit design at the physical level physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/392 Floor-planning or layout, e.g. partitioning or placement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/398 Design verification or optimisation, e.g. using design rule check [DRC], layout versus schematics [LVS] or finite element methods [FEM] optical proximity correction [OPC] design processes G03F1/36
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0005 for designing circuits by computer

Abstract

A method according to one embodiment includes receiving a printed circuit board design in a memory; generating, using a processor, multiple schematic windows of the printed circuit board design; generating, using the processor, multiple layout windows of the printed circuit board design; and outputting the multiple schematic windows of the printed circuit board design simultaneously with outputting the multiple layout windows of the printed circuit board design. A first of the schematic windows is paired with a first of the layout windows, the paired windows depicting representations of a common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a printed circuit board design in a memory;

generating, using a processor, multiple schematic windows of the printed circuit board design;

generating, using the processor, multiple layout windows of the printed circuit board design;

outputting the multiple schematic windows of the printed circuit board design simultaneously with outputting the multiple layout windows of the printed circuit board design,

wherein a first of the schematic windows is paired with a first of the layout windows, the paired windows depicting representations of a common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design; and

receiving user selection of the sub-portion of the printed circuit board design shown in one of the windows via direct user interaction with the one of the windows, and automatically selecting a second sub-portion that is connected to the selected sub-portion.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising performing cross-probing between all of the windows showing a representation of a selected component.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising performing cross-probing between a second of the layout windows and a second of the schematic windows, the second of the layout windows and the second of the schematic windows not being paired windows.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the windows are simultaneously output to multiple monitors connected to a same computer housing the processor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the layout windows depicts an entire layout of the printed circuit board design, and comprising receiving a user selection of the sub-portion of the printed circuit board design by indication of the sub-portion by the user via an interface tool that selects the sub-portion directly from the depicted entire layout of the printed circuit board design, and generating the first of the layout windows and the first of the schematic windows upon receiving the user selection.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a user selection of a sub-portion of the sub-portion of the printed circuit board design depicted in the first of the layout windows corresponding to an area delineated by at least one of a box, a circle and an oval created using a mouse coupled to the processor, and generating a second of the layout windows corresponding to the selected sub-portion of the sub-portion.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising generating a second of the schematic windows corresponding to the sub-portion of the sub-portion and outputting the second schematic window simultaneously with the first layout window and the second layout window.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising automatically selecting a second sub-portion of the printed circuit board design connected to the sub-portion of the printed circuit board design depicted in the first of the windows, and generating a second of the layout windows depicting representations of the second sub-portion of the printed circuit board design.

9. A computer program product for generating multiple schematic and layout windows depicting a printed circuit board design, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code executable by a processor to cause the processor to:

generate, by the processor, multiple schematic windows of the printed circuit board design;

generate, by the processor, multiple layout windows of the printed circuit board design;

output, by the processor, the multiple schematic windows of the printed circuit board design simultaneously with outputting the multiple layout windows of the printed circuit board design;

wherein a first of the schematic windows is paired with a first of the layout windows, the paired windows depicting representations of a first common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design,

wherein a second of the schematic windows is paired with a second of the layout windows, the paired windows depicting representations of a second common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design, the second common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design being different than the first common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design; and

performing cross-probing between the paired windows.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, comprising program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform cross-probing between all of the windows showing a representation of a selected component.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, comprising program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform cross-probing between a third one of the layout windows and a third one of the schematic windows while simultaneously outputting the first and second schematic windows and the first and second layout windows, the third one of the layout windows and the third one of the schematic windows not being paired windows;

and comprising program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to perform cross-probing between all of the windows simultaneously showing a representation of a selected component.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the windows are simultaneously output to multiple monitors connected to a same computer housing the processor.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein one of the layout windows depicts an entire layout of the printed circuit board design, and comprising program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to receive a user selection of the sub-portion of the printed circuit board design from user interaction directly in the layout window having the depiction of the entire layout of the printed circuit board design via a user interface tool, and program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to generate the first of the layout windows and the first of the schematic windows upon receiving the user selection.

14. The computer program product of claim 9, comprising program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to receive a user selection of a sub-portion of the sub-portion of the printed circuit board design depicted in the first of the layout windows, and generate a second of the layout windows corresponding to the selected sub-portion of the sub-portion.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, comprising program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to generate a second of the schematic windows corresponding to the sub-portion of the sub-portion and outputting the second schematic window simultaneously with the first layout window and the second layout window.

16. The computer program product of claim 9, comprising program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to automatically select a third sub-portion of the printed circuit board design connected to the first sub-portion of the printed circuit board design depicted in the first of the layout windows, and program code executable by the processor to cause the processor to generate a third one of the layout windows depicting representations of the third sub-portion of the printed circuit board design.

17. A system, comprising:

a processor and logic integrated with and/or executable by the processor, the logic being configured to;

receive a printed circuit board design in a memory;

generate, using a processor, multiple schematic windows of the printed circuit board design;

generate, using the processor, multiple layout windows of the printed circuit board design;

output the multiple schematic windows of the printed circuit board design simultaneously with outputting the multiple layout windows of the printed circuit board design; and

wherein a first of the schematic windows is paired with a first of the layout windows, the paired windows depicting representations of a first common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design,

wherein a second of the schematic windows is paired with a second of the layout windows, the paired windows depicting representations of a second common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design, the second common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design being different than the first common sub-portion of the printed circuit board design;

performing cross-probing between all of the windows showing a representation of a selected component;

wherein one of the layout windows depicts an entire layout of the printed circuit board design,

receiving a user selection of the first sub-portion of the printed circuit board design from user interaction directly in the layout window having the depiction of the entire layout of the printed circuit board design via an interface tool; and

generating the first of the layout windows and the first of the schematic windows upon receiving the user selection.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the windows are simultaneously output to multiple monitors.

19. The system of claim 17, comprising receiving a user selection of a sub-portion of the sub-portion of the printed circuit board design depicted in the first of the layout windows, and generating a second of the layout windows corresponding to the selected sub-portion of the sub-portion.