Patents by Inventor Edwin F. Smith

Edwin F. Smith has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7124390
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses generate a split power plane for a multiplayer printed circuit board (PCB). An aspect of the invention supports the generation of a split power plane by constructing wireframes corresponding to each of the power voltages. If a crossover between different voltage wireframes exists, at least one of the voltage wireframes may be modified in order to eliminate the crossover. With another aspect of the invention, a trace layout, corresponding to the wireframe, is constructed in accordance with electrical current requirements, e.g. average electrical current and peak electrical current, of the associated components. With another aspect of the invention, a plane that contain the traces that associated with a power voltage may be enhanced by increasing the associated area of the layout in accordance with the available area of the split power plane. The enhancement of a plane may be prioritized in accordance with peak electrical current that is associated with the plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2006
    Assignee: Mentor Graphics Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel J. Smith, Edwin F. Smith