Conceptual Design of the Technical System Using Complementary Use of TRIZ Function Analysis and Patent Information

Abstract

In general, patents are the outcome of research and development. TRIZ is making a real contribution to solving many problems in new research and development. Such contributions create new patents. Patent and TRIZ have an interdependent relationship from the beginning. In most cases, TRIZ will have a chance to contribute when there is a real engineering problem or when the problem is expected. This study attempts to verify that the above-mentioned relationships are made more active by increasing the interaction, and that the technology systems we want and planned are optimized more quickly. Especially, it is useful in the initial concept design phase of the product, and it is more useful in the new product design situation where the background knowledge of the product or the design experience is low or not. In brief, we propose a tear-down analysis of products that are most similar to the target technology system, or search for prior patents based on ‘technology tree’ and function. The patent research will acquire the keywords necessary for the patent search by analyzing the function or performance keyword and the similar product by the new VOC, VOB. Through this process, the core technology necessary for the initial conceptual design of the target system and the patent information to be utilized are obtained. From the obtained patent information, we get a hint about the technical components and the interaction relationship for the new system. This facilitates conceptual design for the new technology system.