PART-2. SMART ENERGY METERS– A DETAILED PATENT, PRODUCT & MARKET ANALYSIS
In part 1 of the report, the basic analysis of patenting trends in the field of smart energy meters was provided. It was seen that the patenting activity started at a slow pace around 1980 and began to increase exponentially since the mid-2000s. Patents originating from China outweighed all other countries as the origin of the technology. USA had the 2nd largest number of patents originating from it, but had only a little more than 1/3rd of the patent count as compared to China. It was also observed that among the top 5, 3 Asian countries featured prominently. They are China as already mentioned herein, South Korea and Japan. State Grid Corporation of China had the largest portfolio of patents. The technological focus of the patents tended to be in the measurement methods and devices, as would be expected in this technology.
In the 2nd part of this report, more detailed analysis with respect to various parameters is provided that gives greater insight into the development of this technology.
Figure 1. Plot of number of patents published over the years by the top assignees.
| IPC | Definition |
|---|---|
| G | Physics |
| G01 | Measuring; Testing |
| G01D | MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEASURING TWO OR MORE VARIABLES NOT COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS; TARIFF METERING APPARATUS; TRANSFERRING OR TRANSDUCING ARRANGEMENTS NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; MEASURING OR TESTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR |
| G01R | MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES |
| G05 | CONTROLLING; REGULATING |
| G05B | CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS |
| G06 | COMPUTING; CALCULATING; COUNTING |
| G06F | ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING |
| G06Q | DATA PROCESSING SYSTEMS OR METHODS, SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL, SUPERVISORY OR FORECASTING PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL, SUPERVISORY OR FORECASTING PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR |
| G07 | CHECKING-DEVICES |
| G07F | COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS |
| G08 | SIGNALLING |
| G08C | TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS |
| H | ELECTRICITY |
| H02 | GENERATION, CONVERSION, OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER |
| H02J | CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY |
| H04 | ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE |
| H04B | TRANSMISSION |
| H04L | TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION |
TABLE 1. Definitions of the most common IPC classes for patents in AMR and AMI technology