The article briefly looks at the nature of patents and how they can be used as an integral part of the product development process, in particular of lithium batteries, fuel cells and hybrid vehicles. Within this paper the developments in electric vehicle technology were analysed by using patent abstracts from 40 different issuing authorities over a five year period. To do this Derwent's World Patent Index (DWPI), a collection of 16 million patents abstracts going back some 40 years has been searched on-line, and various statistical analysis tools that are available with the file were used. From this analysis it has been identified which companies are the major players in the development of each of the technologies were focused upon. The conclusions show that published patent applications are the largest available single source of technical information in the world, giving a comprehensive coverage of all technical areas, providing details of existing technology, thus saving money on repeated research, as well as giving insight into the activities of the closest competitors or important companies working in differemt fields of technology. In particular, the analysis shows the strength of Japanese companies in the electric vehicle technology market.
Patents and alternative powered vehicles
Patente und Fahrzeugantriebe mit alternativen Energiequellen
1997
11 Seiten, 11 Tabellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
Patents and alternative powered vehicles
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