1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to printed circuit board (PCB) layout checking devices and methods, and particularly, to a device and a method for checking signal transmission lines of a PCB layout file.
2. Description of Related Art
PCB production processes may include designing a PCB layout, and manufacturing a printed wiring board (i.e., a bare board) according to the PCB layout.
Now a PCB may include more than one layer and set up with thousands of signal transmission lines in different layers. During the design process of the PCB, a signal transmission line may be laid under an interference source component (such as magnetic component, crystal oscillator or clock chip), and if a signal transmission line laid under an interference source component in a manufactured PCB, the signal transmission line and the interference source component may interfere with each other. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate design simulations and checks during the design and layout process of the PCB. With the large number of signal transmission lines distributed on the PCB, manual check operations are not only time-consuming, but also error-prone.
The disclosure, including the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements, is illustrated by way of examples and not by way of limitation. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.
In general, the word “module,” as used hereinafter, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, C, or Assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware. It will be appreciated that modules may comprised connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and may include programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other computer storage device.
In step S301, the CAD software 131 reads the PCB layout file 132 from the storage device 13 and provides a GUI to allow a user to edit the PCB layout file 132.
In step S303, the extraction module 1331 extracts arrangement information of all the interference source components and signal transmission lines from the PCB layout file 132. As mentioned above, the PCB layout file 132 includes arrangement information of all the interference source components and signal transmission lines of a PCB, such as the number, names and position data of the interference source components and the signal transmission lines arranged on the PCB.
In step S305, the display control module 1332 displays a selection interface which lists names of all the interference source components extracted from the PCB layout file in the selection interface and allows a user to make a selection of the interference source components from the selection interface.
In step S307, the selection module 1333 receives an interference source component selection from the user. In the embodiment, the user can select one interference source component at one time. In other embodiments, the user may select more than one interference source components at one time.
In step S309, the determination module 1334 checks if there is any signal transmission lines laid under the interference source component selected in step S307. If the position data of any signal transmission line overlaps with the position data of the selected interference source component, the signal transmission line is determined to be laid under the selected interference source component, and then the procedure goes to step S311 Otherwise, the procedure goes to step S307.
In step S311, the display control module 1332 displays the arrangement information of the determined signal transmission lines laid under the interference source component selected in step S307 in the selection interface. The arrangement information includes names and position data of the signal information lines.
In step S313, the prompt module 1335 marks the signal transmission lines and the interference source component selected in step S307 in the GUI that displays the PCB layout file 132. For example, the prompt module 1335 may highlight the interference source component and the signal transmission line in the PCB layout file 132.
Although certain inventive embodiments of the present disclosure have been specifically described, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited thereto. Various changes or modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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201210074249.8 | Mar 2012 | CN | national |