System and method for modifying electronic design data
US6938227B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 8, 2003 |
| Grant date | Aug 30, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 27, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T156/1056
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Customer data relating to the location and character of features (e.g., conductive pads to which electronic parts are soldered on a printed circuit board) are stored in a digital form (e.g., as “Gerber data”). A library of footprints that characterize the features is created from this data. A footprint filter and a modification parameter are then applied to the footprint library to select footprints for modification and to make a desired change to the selected footprints. In a printed circuit board embodiment, apertures in a stencil designed for printing solder on the printed circuit board are then cut in accordance with the footprints. Data representing all the apertures to be cut in the stencil can be moved or scaled to compensate for variations in the printed circuit board manufacturing and stencil manufacturing processes. The above-described method can be carried out via instructions stored as software code on a computer-readable medium.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.