The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 23, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 17, 1999
Forrest H. Bennett, III, Menlo Park, CA (US);
John R. Koza, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
The present invention consists of a method and apparatus for the automatic creation of the topology, component sizing, placement, and routing of complex structures, such as electronic circuits or mechanical systems, to satisfy prespecified high-level design goals. The present invention uses a population of entities which are evolved over a series of generations by an iterative process involving the application of operations, such as mutation, crossover, reproduction, and architecture-altering operations. The individuals in the population are each developed, in a developmental process, into a structure that may potentially satisfy the design goals. The present invention also determines the placement of components within the developing structure and determining the routing of the connecting means (wires for electrical circuits) between the components. The behavior of the structures is evaluated in relation to the high-level design goals, and those structures more closely satisfying the design goals are evolved further until a structure is generated that either meets the prespecified design goal. In this manner, the topology, component sizing, placement, and routing of a complex structure may be obtained.