System, method, and computer program product for schematic generation

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SYSTEM, METHOD, AND COMPUTER

PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR SCHEMATIC

GENERATION

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 5

The present invention is directed, in general, to processes and systems for designing electrical schematics.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 10

The current process for generating electrical schematics for service is very manual intensive and time consuming. Engineers routinely work from stacks of printed engineering vehicle wiring diagrams with highlighters and markup pens 15 to determine circuits and then re-create a wiring schematic that is tailored to the needs of the vehicle service technician. Once the paper schematic is redrawn electronically in an illustration tool, it is validated against the as-built vehicle to ensure accuracy and currency with any engineering changes. 20 Though the original math-data is available from engineering with an electrical topology base, it cannot currently be interpreted down to the circuit or component level that is usable for service. Reasons for the disconnect between service and original data include tool translation issues, data 25 model issues, artistic interpretation issues, circuit separation issues, etc.

The current process for schematic generation is inefficient and laborious. In a typical case, engineering first creates a math-based schematic that contains electrical topology and 30 model/option variant information.

Next, in the engineering environment, the same electrical connectivity information is input to a wiring tool for development of the 3D harness model. Each wire/connector required for the harness is 3D validated against the engineering schematic requirements.

Next, in the wiring tool, the same electrical topology information is used to automatically flatten the harness into a manufacturing harness form board.

Next, using the wiring tool, harness suppliers are able to generate hard copy prints that are then distributed to both engineering and service. The harness print is used as the master document for the labor-intensive manual creation of service schematic tailored views.

Next, illustrators then add the appropriate internal circuit information, completing the schematic.

There is, therefore, a need in the art for an improved system, method, and computer program product electrical schematic creation. 50

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments provide an improved system, method, and computer program product electrical schematic 55 creation. A circuit specification file is processed to automatically design and produce an electrical schematic.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed descrip- 60 tion of the invention that follows. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that they may readily use the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed as a basis 65 for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in

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the art will also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words or phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms "include" and "comprise," as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term "or" is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases "associated with" and "associated therewith," as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term "controller" means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, whether such a device is implemented in hardware, firmware, software or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, and those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that such definitions apply in many, if not most, instances to prior as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers designate like objects, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a data processing system in which various embodiments of the present invention can be implemented;

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict placements of schematic components, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary illustration of a threedimensional schematic view; and

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
INVENTION

FIGS. 1 through 4, and the discussion below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention may be implemented in any suitably arranged device. The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with particular reference to the presently preferred embodiment.

The preferred embodiments include a system, method, and compute program product for improved schematic generation.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a data processing system in which a preferred embodiment can be implemented. The data processing system depicted includes a processor 102 connected to a level two cache/bridge 104, which is connected in turn to a local system bus 106. Local system bus 106 may be, for example, a peripheral compo

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nent interconnect (PCI) architecture bus. Also connected to local system bus in the depicted example are a main memory 108 and a graphics adapter 110.

Other peripherals, such as local area network (LAN)/ Wide Area Network/Wireless (e.g. WiFi) adapter 112, may also be connected to local system bus 106. Expansion bus interface 114 connects local system bus 106 to input/output (I/O) bus 116. I/O bus 116 is connected to keyboard/mouse adapter 118, disk controller 120, and I/O adapter 122.

Also connected to I/O bus 116 in the example shown is audio adapter 124, to which speakers (not shown) may be connected for playing sounds. Keyboard/mouse adapter 118 provides a connection for a pointing device (not shown), such as a mouse, trackball, trackpointer, etc.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware depicted in FIG. 1 may vary for particular. For example, other peripheral devices, such as an optical disk drive and the like, also may be used in addition or in place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is provided 2o for the purpose of explanation only and is not meant to imply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.

A data processing system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an operating 25 system employing a graphical user interface. The operating system permits multiple display windows to be presented in the graphical user interface simultaneously, with each display window providing an interface to a different application or to a different instance of the same application. A cursor in 30 the graphical user interface may be manipulated by a user through the pointing device. The position of the cursor may be changed and/or an event, such as clicking a mouse button, generated to actuate a desired response.

One of various commercial operating systems, such as a 35 version of Microsoft WindowsTM, a product of Microsoft Corporation located in Redmond, Wash, may be employed if suitably modified. The operating system is modified or created in accordance with the present invention as described. 40

The preferred embodiment provides a system, method, and computer program product for reading an entire electrical data file and producing a circuit/component based schematic in tailored views that are usable by the service industry.

Other solutions do not involve the entry into the engineering data stream to utilize the electronic topology data. Instead, the majority of all work is manually derived from full vehicle plots where each circuit must be manually extracted and then redrawn in an illustration tool in the view that is required. Simply creating lines and boxes based on math data will not accurately represent the complex world of the electrical schematic today.

The preferred embodiment, however, below represents 55 two very different, but connected, aspects for data creation. This embodiment directly impacts the creation process through the use of tools and procedures, but more importantly, the data model and object self-awareness builds intelligence into the individual components and allows them 60 to determine where, how and why they should be drawn.

In the disclosed embodiments, individual components have a "spatial-awareness" of where they belong on schematics, relationships to other components for position and movement, relationships to the overall drawing as well as 65 knowledge of other components that may or may not exist on the same schematic.

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Some particular features of various embodiments include the ability to auto-place roles (2D and 3D) and parameter settings, a splice modeled as a generic device, automated device alignment, global values for pin spacing, etc., terminals and ports displayed according to an assigned electrical "flow", dynamic generic device architecture (used for multiple symbols), the target wire text displayed with non-wire ports, and the reordering of master device pins for wire alignment.

Further, other features included in some embodiments include auto-connections based on spatial relationships of components, automated X-adjustment for wires that lead to doubleout conditions, automated component grouping based on electrical topology, automatic mating of ports for tailored circuit-based views, and automated net path definition.

Two particular features of the preferred embodiments, that are not known to exist in the art, are 2D/3D autoplacement capabilities and dynamic components. Known schematic generation techniques first attempt to place the components and then connect them. In the preferred embodiments, by contract, the type of connection and type of component drive the placement and the resulting tailored view.

Dynamic parametrically modeled schematic symbols: Traditional schematic building involves the use of massive "symbol libraries", containing of a symbol image file for every configuration of every component that may appear on a schematic. The preferred embodiments eliminate the need to maintain such a library by completely eliminating the image files and just using a small set of symbol files consisting of executable code. This code dynamically builds the desired symbol according to parameters that define the symbol's characteristics such as height, how many pins should be displayed, or which style the symbol should have.

These parameters are editable by the user with "stylers," using a graphical user interface, to allow modifications to be made to a completed schematic, or to display it in an alternate style.

Auto-placement of symbols and components: The autoplacement capability of the disclosed embodiments is an important feature for the automated generation of schematics.

There is a fundamental problem when creating any schematic view of increasingly complex topology, whether manually or automatically: How do you place all the various symbols on the page in an orderly, clearly understandable view, with a minimum of crossed wires and overlapping components? This challenge must be addressed in both the original view and when a user edits the view, such as to move a branch of the schematic up to make room for additional text.

This problem is addressed in the disclosed process by automatically assigning each component an "auto-place role". There are four possible roles for a component— MASTER, SLAVE DOWN, SLAVE UP, and NO REF. A component's role is determined by the component type and by its position in the net path relative to other components.

FIG. 2A depicts an exemplary placement of schematic components, using the defined auto-place roles. Note that the components shown in this figure are generic, using generic shapes, and represent any exemplary components with the illustrated connections. The connection rules of any component are loaded or defined during the generation process.

MASTER role—The device in a group with the most pins, or the top component in a group that does not include a