Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6983236?ie=ISO-8859-1&dq=7751826
Timestamp: 2015-10-04 07:39:48
Document Index: 781458279

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US6983236 - Method for system-constraint-based selection for design components - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsA method and system for engineering discovery. A block diagram of a system can be further refined by building a basic search query listing the functional requirements for block. The search query can be expanded by selecting one or more saved rules. A database can return components or subsystems that...http://www.google.com/patents/US6983236?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6983236 - Method for system-constraint-based selection for design componentsAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6983236 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/689,178Publication dateJan 3, 2006Filing dateOct 11, 2000Priority dateOct 12, 1999Fee statusLapsedPublication number09689178, 689178, US 6983236 B1, US 6983236B1, US-B1-6983236, US6983236 B1, US6983236B1InventorsNeven Karlovac, Larry Yen, Gregg Fialcowitz, Narashimhan Kishore Mandeyam, Martin Shum, Ravi SajwanOriginal AssigneeAprisa, Inc.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (13), Non-Patent Citations (6), Referenced by (24), Classifications (4), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMethod for system-constraint-based selection for design components
US 6983236 B1Abstract
A method and system for engineering discovery. A block diagram of a system can be further refined by building a basic search query listing the functional requirements for block. The search query can be expanded by selecting one or more saved rules. A database can return components or subsystems that meet the criteria from the basic search query or the expanded search query. One or more candidates can be chosen from the answer set and assigned to the block. A system-constraint-based selection can compare combinations of the candidate components against a set of predefined criteria to indicate the components to be used for the system which meet those criteria. The design of the system can be accomplished by using generic descriptions rather than blocks.
1. A method for choosing components or subsystems during an engineer's component discovery phase for a plurality of generic descriptions in a system design in compliance with one or more system constraints, wherein the generic descriptions stand in place of and represent the components or subsystems in the system design, the method comprising:
choosing a first generic description and a second generic description from the plurality of generic descriptions; querying a database of objects for finding potential components or subsystems for the first generic description; receiving a first answer set from the database of objects, where the first answer set is comprised of at least one component or subsystem candidate for the first generic description; querying the database of objects for finding potential components or subsystems for the second generic description; receiving a second answer set from the database of objects, where the second answer set is comprised of at least one component or subsystem candidate for the second generic description; testing one or more combinations of the component or subsystem candidates from the first and second answer sets against one or more predefined system constraints; and determining at least one solution set, where each solution set is one of the combinations of the component or subsystem candidates which best complies with the one or more predefined system constraints. 2. The method for choosing components or subsystems for a plurality of generic descriptions in a system design from claim 1, wherein the generic descriptions are blocks of a block diagram.
3. The method for choosing components or subsystems for a plurality of generic descriptions in a system design from claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more predefined system constraints depends on a cumulative contribution of each of the component or subsystem candidates.
4. A method for verifying during an engineer's component discovery phase whether components or subsystems for a plurality of generic descriptions in a system comply with one or more system constraints, wherein the generic descriptions stand in place of and represent the components or subsystems of the system, the method comprising:
choosing a first generic description and a second generic description from the plurality of generic descriptions; querying a database of objects for finding potential components or subsystems for the first generic description; receiving a first answer set from the database of objects, where the first answer set is comprised of at least one component or subsystem candidate for the first generic description; assigning a first candidate object from the first answer set to the first generic description; querying the database of objects for finding potential components or subsystems for the second generic description; receiving a second answer set from the database of objects, where the second answer set is comprised of at least one component or subsystem candidate for the second generic description; assigning a second candidate object from the second answer set to the second generic description; and testing whether the first and second candidate objects comply with one or more predefined system constraints. 5. The method for verifying from claim 4, wherein the generic descriptions are blocks of a block diagram.
6. The method for verifying from claim 4, wherein at least one of the one or more predefined system constraints depends on a cumulative contribution of each of the components or subsystems.
U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,962, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Method for Building an Accreted Database and User-Defined Database Rules”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,428, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Application of Accretive Knowledge Base to Engineering Discovery”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,440, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Creation of Objects from Rules”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,963, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Generic Method and System for Modeling Objects”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,439, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Rendering Object Hierarchy and Object Relationships into Block Diagrams”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,429, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Retention of Search Engine Rules for Individual Users”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,431, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Method and System for Establishing Relationships, Constraints, and Rules Among Objects”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,430, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Method and Search Engine for the Extraction and Retrieval of Tiered, Logical and Relational Information from a Plurality of Sources”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/158,438, filed on Oct. 12, 1999, entitled “Method and Computer Program for Tokenizing Rules and Search Engine Queries”; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/167,630, filed on Nov. 26, 1999, entitled “Tool for Discovery and Heuristic System Design”; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/239,617, filed on Oct. 11, 2000, entitled “CircuitNet: A Tool for Discovery and Heuristic System Design.” The contents of these provisional applications are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to computer-aided design and particularly to a computerized discovery tool for electrical eng