Session: DAC-16-01-Platform Architecture and Product Family Design

Paper Number: 89405

89405 - Patent Mining to Understand Functional Evolution of Engineered Products 

This work presents a patent mining methodology to qualitatively examine functional evolution of engineering systems. Using a topic modeling method called Nonnegative Matrix Factorization, topics of nutcracker- and drone-related patents of different time frames are automatically generated to understand how the two engineering systems have functionally evolved over time. The topic modeling results demonstrate that nutcracker’s nut cracking mechanism has changed from an impact method to a rotating method for facilitating mass production. Drone system has evolved from a mechanical system with flight capability to an electromechanical system widening its application in package delivery and videography. The topic modelling results provide different design insights that could assist designers during the early product development process. In addition to the topic modelling approach, an analysis with patent citations is performed to gain additional insights about the functional evolution of the engineering systems. The patent citation analysis suggests that the topic modeling approach provides a reasonable illustration of how engineering systems have evolved over time, but the algorithm requires improvement as some functional aspects of an engineering system can be obscured by topics that simply characterize the engineering system. The objective of the study is to provide a basis for automated modeling of patents to understand the functional evolution of engineering systems.

Presenting Author: Hyeonik Song Texas A&M University

Presenting Author Biography: Hyeonik Song is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Texas A&M University. In 2021, he completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his MS (2018) and BS (2016) in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. His work focused on studying computational supports for design-by-analogy practice to facilitate more effective and innovative concept development in engineering design process.

Authors:

Hyeonik Song Texas A&M University
Daniel Selva Texas A&M University
Daniel Mcadams Texas A&M University