Connector Refinement and Signal Mapping

Creating a Variant Connector

in the Signal Map for a Slot, Inline or Interface Connector

You can create a variant connector for a slot connector, inline connector, or interface connector in a signal map. For example, you may want left-hand drive and right-hand drive variants of a connector in a vehicle. You can do this before and after wiring synthesis.

See Connector Refinement and Signal Mapping for an overview of refined connectors.

Prerequisites

The option codes required for the variant option expressions must exist in the project.

Video

The video below shows an example of variant connectors and demonstrates how to create them.

Procedure

Select a slot, a slot’s slot connector, an inline, or an interface connector in the Diagram Window or Design Browser (Design tab) and either:Right-click the selected object and choose Signal Map.

Press Space Bar and enter Signal Map.

The Signal Map Dialog Box for Slot, Signal Map Dialog Box for Inline or Signal Map Dialog Box for Interface Connector displays.

In the Connectors tab at the top of the signal map, find the connector that is used in a particular configuration and enter the variant option expression that applies to it in the Variant column of the Connector Table.Note You can enter the expression manually or click in the field and click the ellipsis (...) button to display the Set Variant Dialog Box where you build the expression by selecting options and operators.
```
                 The Connector column drop-down list is filtered to show only connectors
                     that are present in the same configurations as the device that is being
                     mapped to. If an expected connector is missing, it may have the wrong
                     variant assigned or the plan definition could be incorrect.
```

The connector is now a variant connector.

Generally you need more than one variant connector. You can create another one by clicking the cell displaying the name of the existing variant connector and clicking the Copy connector () button.Note If you are editing an inline, you can click the Select both halves () icon and click the Copy connector button so that a variant is created for the connectors on both halves of the inline.

A row for the variant connector is added to the Connector Table. It has the same library part and cavity count as the original connector but has _1 appended to its name. The Signal Mappings tab contains a row for each cavity of the variant connector.

In the Connectors tab at the top of the signal map, enter the variant option expression that applies to the new variant connector in the Variant column of the Connector Table.
You can repeat steps 3 and 4 for each variant connector that you require.

Results

The Signal Mappings tab: Contains a row for each mapping of the variant connectors. Note If you are creating a variant connector after wiring synthesis, these cavities have the same signals and wires mapped to them as the original connector cavities but have the new variant option expression applied to them.

Displays the variant option expression in brackets next to the connector name in the Connector column.

If you create a variant connector before wiring synthesis, synthesis will: Create variant wire automatically for signals that require multiple connector configurations.

Route configuration-specific signals through the appropriate connector.

Parent Topic:

Connector Refinement and Signal Mapping