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SAO network analysis of patents for technology trends identification: a case study of polymer electrolyte membrane technology in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

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Abstract

This paper suggests a method for Subject–Action–Object (SAO) network analysis of patents for technology trends identification by using the concept of function. The proposed method solves the shortcoming of the keyword-based approach to identification of technology trends, i.e., that it cannot represent how technologies are used or for what purpose. The concept of function provides information on how a technology is used and how it interacts with other technologies; the keyword-based approach does not provide such information. The proposed method uses an SAO model and represents “key concept” instead of “key word”. We present a procedure that formulates an SAO network by using SAO models extracted from patent documents, and a method that applies actor network theory to analyze technology implications of the SAO network. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the SAO network this paper presents a case study of patents related to Polymer Electrolyte Membrane technology in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MEST) (No. 2009-0088379).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Republic of Korea

    Sungchul Choi, Janghyeok Yoon & Kwangsoo Kim

  2. Department of Industrial Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea

    Jae Yeol Lee

  3. Department of IT Business Engineering, Daejon University, Daejon, Republic of Korea

    Cheol-Han Kim

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  1. Sungchul Choi
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Correspondence to Kwangsoo Kim.

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Choi, S., Yoon, J., Kim, K. et al. SAO network analysis of patents for technology trends identification: a case study of polymer electrolyte membrane technology in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Scientometrics 88, 863–883 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-011-0420-z

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