Integrated circuit design apparatus with multiple connection modes
US5610832A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 22, 1994 |
| Grant date | Mar 11, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 22, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F30/39
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Method and apparatus for providing multiple connection modes in a CAD tool or other computer program for integrated circuit design. The apparatus includes a graphical editor for entering and modifying, in memory, circuit elements of an integrated circuit layout. Within the apparatus is an implicit connection generator for automatically extracting electrical connections between the circuit elements in the layout, the generator representing the connections by connectivity data stored in a design database contained within memory. Also within the apparatus is an explicit wiring generator for creating and preserving electrical connections between the circuit elements in response to user commands from the editor. The explicit wiring generator represents the connections by connectivity data stored in the design database. The connectivity data has the same format whether generated by the implicit connection or explicit wiring generators, and thus can be modified by either connection mode of operation regardless of how the data was originally created.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.