Multi-Board PCB Design Collaboration via Shared Virtual Models
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing design flow for electronic devices with printed circuit boards is inefficient due to ad hoc measures taken by isolated design teams to reconcile physical and electrical constraints across multiple boards, leading to iterative design processes and potential safety issues.
Innovation Solution
A shared management system that distributes virtual product models to multiple printed circuit board layout tools, allowing them to generate layout designs and system-level design rules based on shared product models, which aggregate mechanical and board assembly designs, and updates the models to prevent physical and electrical conflicts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If design teams work in isolation to develop each printed circuit board layout, then each team can focus on their specific board design, but physical collisions and electrical safety issues occur between different boards
Solution Approach 1:
A shared management system acts as an intermediary between isolated design teams, distributing virtual product models and collecting constraints from each team. The system reconciles physical collisions and electrical safety issues by processing constraints from multiple boards and notifying design teams of conflicts, enabling independent design while ensuring overall system compliance.
2Reliability
If design teams manually review and reconcile constraints between boards, then physical and electrical safety can be addressed, but the design process becomes iterative and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The shared management system performs preliminary actions by distributing virtual product models containing mechanical constraints and physical collisions before design teams begin their layout work. The system proactively identifies and notifies teams of potential conflicts based on collected constraints, preventing rather than correcting issues during iterative design cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback by monitoring constraints from each design team, comparing them against the shared product model, and notifying teams when their design constraints conflict with other boards. This real-time feedback loop eliminates the need for manual iterative reconciliation by automatically detecting and communicating conflicts.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple printed circuit boards are used to fit space constraints, then the electronic device can be implemented in the product, but physical collisions and electrical safety issues arise between boards
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges isolated design processes into a unified multi-board design environment by distributing a shared virtual product model to all design teams. Mechanical constraints, physical collisions, and electrical safety requirements from all boards are combined and reconciled through the shared management system, enabling space-efficient multi-board configurations without the harmful effects of isolated design.
Data Source
AI summary
This application discloses a computing system implementing a shared management system (340) to distribute virtual product models (343), each corresponding to a shared product model (341) describing a product having an electronic device with multiple printed circuit boards, to multiple printed circuit board layout tools (320-1 to 320-N). The printed circuit board layout tools (320-1 to 320-N) separately modify the corresponding virtual product models (343) to generate layout designs for the multiple print circuit boards and generate at least one system-level design rule describing a physical limitation for the electronic device. The shared management system (340) can update the shared product model (341) based on the modifications to at least one of the virtual product models by the printed circuit board layout tools (320-1 to 320-N), and transmit a notification (347) to at least one of the printed circuit board layout tools when the updated shared product model (341) conflicts with the physical limitation for the electronic device described in the at least one system-level design rule.