JP2887454B2 - Wiring processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wiring processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a plurality of components each having a plurality of terminals, a net indicating a logical connection relationship between terminals between the components, and a net. A wiring processing device, comprising: display means capable of displaying wiring of a conductor pattern between terminals between components based on the display means, and wiring the conductor pattern between terminals between components based on a net while referring to the display means. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wiring processing apparatus suitable for use in a wiring processing system in a printed circuit board CAD system or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printed circuit board CAD system,
Wiring of a conductor pattern for connecting terminals between components arranged on a printed circuit board has been performed based on a net indicating a logical connection relationship between terminals between components.

By the way, if the intersection of nets occurs when wiring conductor patterns connecting terminals between components arranged on a printed circuit board, vias (vias) are formed on the printed circuit board in order to wire the conductor patterns. ) Is required, and the wiring area may be increased.

For this reason, in a conventional wiring processing system in which wiring is manually performed while referring to components and nets displayed on the screen of a display device such as a CRT,
In order to avoid an increase in the wiring area due to the intersection of the nets, the user of the wiring processing system logically equivalents and replaces a terminal before performing wiring (hereinafter, referred to as an “equivalent terminal”). In consideration of (1), when the intersection of the nets can be avoided by exchanging the equivalent terminals, the wiring of the conductor pattern is performed after replacing the equivalent terminals as necessary so as to avoid the intersection of the nets.

Further, in a conventional automatic wiring processing system for automatically performing wiring based on a net, when a cross of a net occurs, a replaceable equivalent terminal is automatically set so as to avoid the cross of the net. After all replacement, the conductor pattern is wired.

A conventional automatic wiring processing system as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-175976 has also been proposed. After replacing all the automatically replaceable equivalent terminals to avoid crossing,
The conductor pattern was to be wired.

By the way, in the automatic wiring processing system as described above, when the wiring lengths are extremely different from each other, such as the wiring 1 and the wiring 2 in FIG. Delay was a problem. That is, since the wiring 1 has an extremely longer wiring length than the wiring 2, a signal flowing through the wiring 1 is delayed as compared with the wiring 2.

For this reason, wiring is performed without intersection in FIG. 7A, but after such wiring, the wiring length is extended so that the length of the wiring 2 becomes the same as the length of the wiring 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, the work of changing the wiring was performed.

[0009]

However, in the conventional manual wiring processing system as described above, in order to avoid the intersection of the nets, the user of the wiring processing system has to manually consider the equivalent terminals. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the equivalent terminal, and to perform a wiring operation for wiring the conductor pattern to the replaced equivalent terminal. Therefore, there is a problem that these operations are complicated and workability is deteriorated.

Further, in the conventional automatic wiring processing system as described above, when the intersection of the nets occurs, all the replaceable equivalent terminals are automatically exchanged so as to avoid the intersection of the nets. There is a problem in that there is a risk that even the equivalent terminals which should not be replaced in order to wire the conductor pattern may be replaced.

For example, in FIG. 8A, the terminal 10a of the component 10 is connected to the terminal 12b of the component 12 (net 1), and the terminal 10b of the component 10 is connected to the terminal 12a of the component 12 (net 2). ), Terminal 12c of component 12 and component 1
The terminal 14a of the component 14 is connected to the terminal 14a of the component 14 (net 3), and the terminal 14b of the component 14 is connected to the terminal 14b of the component 14 (net 4).

In the component 12, the terminals 12a and 12b are equivalent terminals and can be replaced.
It is assumed that the terminals 12c and 12d are equivalent terminals and are interchangeable, and the dot pattern display portion of the component 12 in FIG. 8 is a wiring prohibited area of the conductor pattern.

In the case shown in FIG. 8A, since the net 1 and the net 2 intersect and the net 3 and the net 4 intersect, according to the conventional automatic wiring processing system, the net 1 The terminal 12a and the terminal 12b, which are equivalent terminals, are automatically exchanged in order to avoid the intersection of the net 3 and the net 2, and the terminals 12c and the terminal which are the equivalent terminals in order to avoid the intersection of the net 3 and the net 4. 1
The exchange process with 2d is automatically performed (FIG. 8B).

When the replacement of all the equivalent terminals where the nets intersect is completed as shown in FIG. 8B, the wiring processing of the conductor pattern is performed. If the wiring of the conductor pattern by the net 3 and the net 4 is attempted while avoiding, the replacement process of the terminals 12c and 12d, which are equivalent terminals, is automatically performed in order to avoid the intersection of the nets. It has been pointed out that a problem arises in that the wiring of the pattern intersects (FIG. 8).
(C)).

[0015] The user of the conventional automatic wiring processing system is required to automatically replace the equivalent terminal and to cause a crossing of the wiring of the conductor pattern due to the automatic terminal replacement processing.
The work of replacing the equivalent terminals is manually performed to return to the original state, and then the work of wiring the conductor pattern is performed manually, which has been a problem that the work is complicated and the workability is poor.

In addition, whether or not an equivalent terminal needs to be replaced changes as the design proceeds, regardless of whether the system is a manual wiring processing system or an automatic wiring processing system. I can't decide.

However, as described above, in the conventional manual wiring processing system and automatic wiring processing system, when the replacement of the equivalent terminal and the wiring of the conductor pattern are manually performed, the replacement work of the equivalent terminal and the wiring of the conductor pattern are performed. Since the work is a process based on separate operations, it is necessary to switch between the work of replacing the equivalent terminal and the work of wiring the conductor pattern, and use the conventional manual wiring processing system and automatic wiring processing system. There is a problem that the work efficiency is reduced by interrupting the thinking of the elderly.

In a conventional automatic wiring processing system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-175076, when a wiring crossing occurs, the wiring can be automatically replaced so as to avoid the wiring crossing. After all the equivalent terminals are replaced, the conductor pattern is wired. Therefore, when the intersection of the wiring does not occur, the wiring work is performed as shown in FIG. 7A without replacing the equivalent terminal, and after the wiring, the work of changing the wiring is performed as shown in FIG. 7B. Had gone.

For this reason, there is a problem that the wiring area on the printed circuit board increases, and the total wiring length increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned various problems of the prior art, and has as its object to replace equivalent terminals in a manual wiring processing system and to wire a conductor pattern. In addition to improving the operability by reducing the operations involved, it is possible to avoid unnecessary replacement of equivalent terminals caused by the automatic wiring processing system, and to avoid signal delay without increasing the wiring area. It is another object of the present invention to provide a wiring processing apparatus that enables the replacement of equivalent terminals and the wiring of a conductor pattern without interrupting the user's thinking.

[0021]

In order to achieve the above object, a wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention provides a wiring processing apparatus which allows a user of a wiring processing apparatus to replace an equivalent terminal without performing an operation beforehand. The conductor pattern can be wired in the same state as when the equivalent terminal is replaced, and the equivalent terminal is automatically replaced in accordance with the wiring after the conductor pattern is wired.

That is, the wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a plurality of components each having a plurality of terminals; a net indicating a logical connection relationship between the terminals among the components;
Display means capable of displaying the wiring of the conductor pattern between the terminals between the components based on the net,
In a wiring processing apparatus for wiring a conductor pattern between the terminals based on the net while referring to the display means, a storage means for storing equivalent terminal information indicating an equivalent terminal which can be replaced in the part. Based on the equivalent terminal information stored in the storage unit, the terminal of the component to which the net specified by the net specification unit is connected is equivalent, based on the equivalent terminal information stored in the storage unit. Detecting means for detecting whether or not the terminal is a terminal; and when the detecting means detects that the terminal of the component to which the net specified by the net specifying means is connected is an equivalent terminal, the net specifying means For all the equivalent terminals of the component to which the net specified by is connected, based on the net specified by the net specifying means. Wiring enabling means for enabling the wiring of the body pattern, selecting means for selecting any equivalent terminal among all equivalent terminals enabled for wiring by the wiring enabling means, and selecting means for selecting the equivalent terminal. Wiring means for wiring a conductor pattern based on the net specified by the net specifying means to the equivalent terminal, and after the wiring of the conductor pattern by the wiring means is completed, the wiring corresponds to the net specified by the net specifying means. And an equivalent terminal setting means for replacing or not replacing the equivalent terminal.

Therefore, when the user of the wiring processing apparatus performs wiring, it is possible to perform wiring of the conductor pattern in the same state as when the equivalent terminal is replaced without performing the replacement operation of the equivalent terminal in advance. After the conductor pattern is wired, the equivalent terminals are automatically replaced in accordance with the wiring.

Further, the wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention may be provided with display control means for highlighting all the equivalent terminals which can be wired by the wiring enabling means.

Further, in the wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention, the wiring means may automatically perform wiring when an equivalent terminal is selected by the selection means.

Further, in the wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention, when the number of the equivalent terminals which can be wired by the wiring enabling means is two, the one equivalent terminal selected by the selecting means is connected to the one of the equivalent terminals. When the conductor pattern is wired by the wiring means, automatic wiring means for automatically wiring the conductor pattern to the other equivalent terminal not selected by the selection means may be provided.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention.

The wiring processing apparatus 100 is incorporated in a printed circuit board designing apparatus as one system constituting a printed circuit board designing apparatus, for example, a CAD system supported by a computer, and its operation is controlled by a computer. Is what is done.

The wiring processing apparatus 100 reads component data from a database 102 storing component data having the data structure shown in FIG. 2 and a net list indicating the state of the net having the data structure shown in FIG. 3, respectively. A wiring processing unit 104 that reads a netlist and performs wiring processing
And a display unit 106 for displaying components and nets based on the component data and the net list, and displaying the wiring of the conductor pattern performed by the wiring processing by the wiring processing unit 104.

The display unit 106 can be constituted by, for example, a CRT or the like, and performs the above-described display on a screen.

The wiring processing apparatus 100 includes an operation unit 1 composed of, for example, a mouse and a keyboard.
08, and the terminal of the net or figure displayed on the display unit 106 can be designated by the operation unit 108.

As described above, FIG. 2 shows the data structure of the component data, in which the component type is stored as the component name data (FIG. 2 (a)), and the number of terminals, The terminal name and the equivalent terminal information are stored (FIG. 2B).

The data values of the component data shown in FIG. 2 are merely examples for easy understanding.

FIG. 3 shows the data structure of the net list. The net name data stores the component names and terminal names of the components connected by the net specified by the net name data. Have been.

The data values of the netlist shown in FIG. 3 are merely examples for easy understanding.

FIG. 4 shows the wiring processing apparatus 100.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of processing executed by the wiring processing unit 104 of FIG.
A detection unit for detecting whether or not the terminal of the component to which the net specified by the operation unit 108 is connected is an equivalent terminal, based on the equivalent terminal information stored in the component data stored in the database 102 When the detection unit detects that the terminal of the component to which the net specified by the operation unit 108 is connected is an equivalent terminal, the operation unit 10
A wiring enabling unit that enables wiring of a conductor pattern based on the net specified by the operation unit 108 for all equivalent terminals of components to which the net specified by 8 is connected, and selection by the operation unit 108 A wiring unit for wiring a conductor pattern based on the net specified by the operation unit 18 to any one of the equivalent terminals that can be wired by the wiring enabling unit; An equivalent terminal setting unit that exchanges or does not exchange equivalent terminals so as to correspond to the net specified by the operation unit 108 after completion of wiring of the conductor pattern, and all equivalent terminals that can be wired by the wiring enabling unit in the display unit 106 And a display control unit for highlighting.

When the equivalent terminal is selected by the operation unit 18, the wiring unit automatically performs wiring for the terminal.

Therefore, according to the wiring processing apparatus 100,
When wiring a conductor pattern between components under the same conditions as in FIG. 8A shown in FIG. 5A, the conductor pattern can be wired as shown in FIG. 8B.

That is, in a state where the wiring of the conductor pattern based on the nets 1 to 4 is not performed, the user of the wiring processing apparatus 100 can, for example, operate the operation unit 108.
Specifies net 1 by Then, the detection unit of the wiring processing unit 104 detects that the terminal 12b of the component 12 connected to the net 1 is an equivalent terminal based on the equivalent terminal information of the component data stored in the database 102.

Then, the terminal 12b and the terminal 12a, which is an equivalent terminal of the terminal 12b, can be connected to the net 1 by the wiring enabling unit of the wiring processing unit 104, and the display control unit of the wiring processing unit 104 Is highlighted on the screen of the display unit 106. At this time, the net 1 and the terminal 10a which is the other terminal other than the equivalent terminal 12b connected to the net 1 are also highlighted.

When a desired equivalent terminal is selected as a wiring target from the terminals 12a and 12b, which are exchangeable equivalent terminals, by the operation unit 108, the wiring unit of the wiring processing unit 104 automatically selects a conductor pattern based on the net 1. Wiring.

When the wiring of the conductor pattern of the net 1 is completed in this manner, the equivalent terminals 12a and 12b are set by the equivalent terminal setting unit without being replaced or replaced.

Note that, in the example shown in FIG. 5B, the user of the wiring
a is selected as a wiring target, and wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net 1 is performed. Therefore, when the wiring of the conductor pattern of the net 1 is completed, the equivalent terminal setting unit replaces the terminals 12a and 12b which are equivalent terminals. Done and set.

When the wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net 1 is performed as described above, the terminals 12a, which are equivalent terminals,
12b is exchanged and set, and the wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net 2 is changed to the terminals 10b and 1
2a.

When a conductor pattern is wired based on the net 2, when the replaceable equivalent terminals such as the terminals 12a and 12b are a pair of terminals (the number of equivalent terminals is two), the equivalent terminals are replaced. When one (terminal 12b) is wired by a conductor pattern, the other of the equivalent terminals (terminal 12b)
In a), a conductor pattern may be automatically wired.

Next, in the state where the wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net 1 and the net 2 has been performed, the user of the wiring processing apparatus 100 specifies the net 3 with the operation unit 108, for example. Then, the wiring processing unit 10
The detection unit 4 detects that the terminal 12c of the component 12 connected to the net 3 is an equivalent terminal based on the equivalent terminal information of the component data stored in the database 102.

Then, the terminal 12c and the terminal 12d, which is an equivalent terminal of the terminal 12c, can be connected to the net 3 by the wiring enabling unit of the wiring processing unit 104, and the display control unit of the wiring processing unit 104 Is highlighted on the screen of the display unit 106. At this time, the net 3 and the terminal 14a which is the other terminal other than the equivalent terminal 12c connected to the net 3 are also highlighted.

When a desired equivalent terminal is selected as a wiring target from the terminals 12c and 12d, which are exchangeable equivalent terminals, by the operation unit 108, the wiring unit automatically performs wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net 1.

When the wiring of the conductor pattern of the net 3 is completed in this way, the equivalent terminals 12c and 12d are set by the equivalent terminal setting unit without being replaced or replaced.

Note that in the example shown in FIG. 5B, the user of the wiring
c is selected as the wiring target, and the wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net 3 is performed. Therefore, when the wiring of the conductor pattern of the net 3 is completed, the equivalent terminal setting unit replaces the terminals 12c and 12d which are equivalent terminals. Set without being done.

When the wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net 3 is performed as described above, the terminals 12c, which are equivalent terminals,
This is set without exchanging 12d, and wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net 4 is performed so as to connect the terminals 12d and 14b.

When wiring the conductor pattern based on the net 4, when the replaceable equivalent terminals such as the terminals 12c and 12d are a pair of terminals (the number of equivalent terminals is two), the equivalent terminals are replaced. When one (terminal 12c) is wired by a conductor pattern, the other of the equivalent terminals (terminal 12c)
The conductor pattern may be automatically wired in d).

Next, for ease of understanding, the following description will be made using the component data shown in FIG. 2 and the data values exemplified in the net list shown in FIG. Name S001 = Net 1 Part name IC01 = Part 12 Terminal B of part name IC01 = Terminal 12b of part 12 Terminal equivalent of terminal B of part name IC01 A = Terminal 12a of part 12 Part name C01 = Part 10 Terminal of part name C01 A case will be described as an example where A = correspondence of the terminal 10a of the component 10.

In this case, the net name S001 (net 1) is designated by the operation unit 108. Then,
The detection unit of the wiring processing unit 104 determines the component name IC0 connected to the net name S001 (net 1) based on the equivalent terminal information of the component data stored in the database 102.
The terminal B (terminal 12b) of 1 (component 12) is detected as an equivalent terminal.

Then, the terminal B of the component name IC01 (the terminal 12b of the component 12) and the terminal A of the component name IC01 (the terminal 12a of the component 12), which is an equivalent terminal of the terminal, are enabled by the wiring processing unit 104. Net name S0 by department
01 (net 1), and the display unit 10 is controlled by the display control unit of the wiring processing unit 104.
6 is highlighted on the screen. At this time, the net name S
001 (net 1) and the terminal B (component 12) of the component name IC01 connected to the net name S001 (net 1).
Of the other terminal which is not the terminal 12b)
Terminal A (terminal 10a of component 10) is also highlighted.

When a desired equivalent terminal is selected as a wiring target from the terminals A and B (terminals 12a and 12b of the component 12) of the component name IC01, which is a replaceable equivalent terminal, by the operation unit 108, the wiring processing unit The wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net name S001 (net 1) is automatically performed by the wiring unit 104.

Thus, the net name S001 (net 1)
When the wiring of the conductor pattern is completed, the terminals A and B of the component name IC01 (terminals 12 of the component 12) are equivalent terminals.
a, 12b) are set or not changed by the equivalent terminal setting unit.

In the example shown in FIG. 5B, the user of the wiring processing apparatus 100 selects the terminal A (terminal 12a of the component 12) of the component name IC01, which is a replaceable equivalent terminal, as a wiring target. Therefore, the wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net name S001 (net 1) is performed. Therefore, when the wiring of the conductor pattern of the net name S001 (net 1) is completed, the equivalent terminal setting unit sets the component name IC01 as the equivalent terminal. The terminal A and the terminal B (the terminals 12a and 12b of the component 12) are exchanged and set.

For this reason, the net list is set by the equivalent terminal setting unit as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 (a) shows FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b).
As shown in FIG. 6, no wiring crossing occurs even if the equivalent terminals are not replaced. However, when the equivalent terminals are replaced in FIG. 6A, the total wiring length is shortened and the wiring area is prevented from increasing. An example is shown in which wiring can be performed without causing signal delay.

That is, in the example as shown in FIG. 6A, by replacing the equivalent terminals according to the present invention and performing wiring, the total wiring length is reduced as shown in FIG. In addition, it is possible to prevent wiring from increasing and to perform wiring without signal delay.

[0063]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, the operability can be improved by reducing the operations involved in the replacement of the equivalent terminals and the wiring of the conductor patterns in the manual wiring system. In addition, unnecessary replacement of equivalent terminals caused by the automatic wiring system can be avoided, and signal delay can be avoided without increasing the wiring area. This provides an excellent effect that the possibility of interrupting the user's thinking when performing wiring can be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams schematically showing the data structure of component data. FIG. 2A shows that component types are stored as component name data, and FIG. 2B shows component type data. Indicates that the number of terminals, terminal names, and equivalent terminal information are stored.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a data structure of a net list, wherein (a) shows a state before replacement of an equivalent terminal;
(B) shows a state after replacement of the equivalent terminal.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating processing performed by a wiring processing unit of the wiring processing apparatus.

5A and 5B show a wiring example of a conductor pattern using the wiring processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 5A shows a state of a net before the wiring of the conductor pattern, and FIG. 5B shows FIG. 2 shows a state after wiring of a conductor pattern based on the net shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 (a) shows a net that does not cause wiring crossing even if equivalent terminals are replaced, and when the equivalent terminals are replaced in FIG. 6 (a), the total wiring length is shortened and the wiring area is increased. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing that a wiring shown in FIG. 4B can be obtained, which can prevent wiring from occurring and can perform wiring without signal delay.

FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram showing that wiring is performed without intersection, and FIG. 7B is a diagram in which the wiring length is extended so that the length of the wiring 2 is the same as the length of the wiring 1; FIG.

8A and 8B show a wiring example of a conductor pattern in a conventional automatic wiring system, FIG. 8A shows a state of a net before wiring of the conductor pattern, and FIG. 8B shows a state of the net shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a state in which equivalent terminals have been replaced in accordance with FIG.
8C shows a state after the wiring of the conductor pattern based on the net in a state where the equivalent terminals shown in FIG. 8B are exchanged.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 12, 14 parts 10a, 10b, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 1
4a, 14b Terminal 100 Wiring processing device 102 Database 104 Wiring processing unit 106 Display unit 108 Operator unit

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of components each having a plurality of terminals, a net indicating a logical connection relationship between the terminals between the components, and a conductor pattern between the terminals between the components based on the net. A wiring processing device for displaying a wiring and a wiring pattern for wiring a conductor pattern between the terminals between the components based on the net while referring to the display means; Storage means for storing equivalent terminal information indicating: a net specifying means for specifying a net to be wired by a conductor pattern; and specifying by the net specifying means based on the equivalent terminal information stored in the storage means. Detecting means for detecting whether or not a terminal of a component to which the connected net is connected is an equivalent terminal; When it is detected that the terminal of the component connected to the net specified by the specifying means is an equivalent terminal, the net is specified with respect to all the equivalent terminals of the component connected to the net specified by the net specifying means. Wiring enabling means for enabling wiring of a conductor pattern based on the net specified by the specifying means, and selecting means for selecting any equivalent terminal from all equivalent terminals enabled for wiring by the wiring enabling means Wiring means for wiring a conductor pattern based on the net designated by the net designation means for the equivalent terminal selected by the selection means; and after completing the wiring of the conductor pattern by the wiring means, the net designation means Equivalent terminal setting means for exchanging or not exchanging equivalent terminals corresponding to the net specified by Wiring processing device. 2. The wiring processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The wiring processing apparatus further includes a display control unit that highlights all the equivalent terminals that can be wired by the wiring enabling unit. 3. The wiring processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said wiring means automatically performs wiring when an equivalent terminal is selected by said selection means. 4. The wiring processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising the step of selecting when the number of equivalent terminals that can be wired by the wiring enabling means is two. Automatic wiring for automatically wiring a conductor pattern to the other equivalent terminal not selected by the selection means when the wiring pattern is wired by the wiring means to one of the equivalent terminals selected by the means A wiring processing apparatus comprising: