Current redistribution in a printed circuit board

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10548227-B2
Application number	US-201615258472-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 7, 2016
Priority date	Oct 29, 2012
Publication date	Jan 28, 2020
Grant date	Jan 28, 2020

Abstract

In one implementation, a multilayered printed circuit board is configured to redirect current distribution. The current may be distributed by steering, blocking, or otherwise manipulating current flows. The multilayered printed circuit board includes at least one power plane layer. The power plane layer does not distribute current evenly. Instead, the power plane layer includes multiple patterns with different resistances. The patterns may include a hatching pattern, a grid pattern, a directional pattern, a slot, a void, or a continuous pattern. The pattern is a predetermined spatial variation such that current flows in a first area differently than current flows in a second area.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method for current redistribution, the method comprising:
receiving, by a processor using an input device, a printed circuit board (PCB) template;
modeling, by the processor, a PCB according to the PCB template by generating a current density map of current magnitude and current direction on the PCB, wherein the modeling determines whether current density on the PCB exceeds a current rating for a current device or a vertical interconnect access on the PCB;
modeling a current steering mechanism at a location on the PCB to steer current away from the current device or the vertical interconnect access to produce a modeled current steering mechanism; and
generating a modified PCB template including the modeled current steering mechanism.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the PCB template and the modified PCB template comprise data indicative of a plurality of layers of the PCB and the current device or the vertical interconnect access.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of layers of the PCB comprise:
a signal layer;
a power plane layer; and
an insulating layer between the signal layer and the power plane layer,
wherein a template power plane layer of the PCB of the modified PCB template comprises a conductive sheet having a predetermined spatial variation such that current flows in a first area differently than current flows in a second area.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein modeling the current steering mechanism at a location on the PCB comprises converting a portion of a power plane layer to a pattern of conductive portions.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the pattern of conductive portions comprises a hatched pattern formed in the power plane layer.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the hatched pattern formed in the power plane layer comprises a diagonally hatched pattern.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the pattern of conductive portions comprises a directional pattern formed in the power plane layer.

8. The method of claim 4 , wherein the portion of the power plane layer is a first portion and the pattern of conductive portions is a first pattern, and wherein modeling the current steering mechanism at a location on the PCB further comprises converting a second portion of the power plane layer to a second pattern of conductive portions.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein modeling the current steering mechanism at a location on the PCB comprises inserting a void into a power plane layer.

10. An apparatus comprising:
at least one processor; and
at least one memory including computer program code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform:
model a printed circuit board (PCB) by generating a current density map of current magnitude and current direction on the PCB;
determine whether current density at a location on the PCB exceeds a current rating for the location on the PCB;
model a current steering mechanism at the location on the PCB to steer current away from the location, to produce a modeled current steering mechanism; and
determine, after modeling the modeled current steering mechanism, whether current density at the location on the PCB exceeds the current rating for the location on the PCB.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the current steering mechanism comprises a first pattern of conducting material and a second pattern of conductive material.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the first pattern of conducting material is configured to steer a first flow of current in a predetermined direction and the second pattern of conducting material is configured to steer a second flow of current differently than the first pattern.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the first pattern and the second pattern are selected to steer current away from a load device or a vertical interconnect access.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the first pattern comprises a hatched pattern, a directional pattern, a continuous pattern or a multiple sided slot.

15. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media encoded with instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
model a printed circuit board (PCB) by generating a current density map of current magnitude and current direction on the PCB;
determine whether current density at a location on the PCB exceeds a current rating for the location on the PCB;
model a current steering mechanism at the location on the PCB to steer current away from the location, to produce a modeled current steering mechanism; and
determine, after modeling the modeled current steering mechanism, whether current density at the location on the PCB exceeds the current rating for the location on the PCB.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 15 , wherein the current steering mechanism comprises a first pattern of conducting material and a second pattern of conductive material.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 16 , wherein the first pattern of conducting material is configured to steer a first flow of current in a predetermined direction and the second pattern of conducting material is configured to steer a second flow of current differently than the first pattern.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 17 , wherein the first pattern and the second pattern are selected to steer current away from a load device or a vertical interconnect access.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 17 , wherein the first pattern comprises a hatched pattern, a directional pattern, a continuous pattern or a multiple sided slot.

Assignees

• Cisco Tech Inc

Inventors

• Sabavat Goutham
• Mohamed Javid
• Ramanathan Subramanian
• Scearce Stephen

Classifications

• H05K2201/093

  Layout of power planes, ground planes or power supply conductors, e.g. having special clearance holes therein · CPC title

• G06F30/39

  Circuit design at the physical level (physical level design for reconfigurable circuits G06F30/347) · CPC title

• H05K1/0265 Primary

  characterized by the lay-out of or details of the printed conductors, e.g. reinforced conductors, redundant conductors, conductors having different cross-sections · CPC title

• H05K1/0298

  Multilayer circuits · CPC title

• H05K2201/0969

  Apertured conductors · CPC title