Crafitti Consulting brings to the world a unique service on finding Technological Alternatives to an invention/patent. This service can be used to grow the invention into multiple directions which even the original inventor might find extremely useful, as the process helps him/her invent faster.
Objectives and Process
The objective of a Technological Alternative Study (TAS) is to analyze a given Patent and explore various ways in which the invention described in the patent can be transformed to next levels in its evolution. Crafitti uses the methodology of TRIZ and own propriety techniques to help domain experts generate technological alternatives to a patent. There are four main phases of this study and it is always carried out with the domain experts from client organization.
Phase I: Patent study and analysis
Phase II: Preliminary ideation
Phase III: Collective brainstorm in a workshop setting
Phase IV: Solution evaluation and final report submission
Phase I: Patent study and analysis
A comprehensive search for Patents and other documents in and around the patent is carried out. This involves study of forward and backward citations of the patent as well as other state of the art documents. The patent of interest is studied comprehensively and analyzed to find key contradictions identified or solved by the patent. This phase also provides a mapping of patent on 8 the laws and lines of evolution defined by TRIZ. A claims hierarchy provides the independent and dependent claims to study the protection given in the patent. A detailed report including contradictions, claims hierarchy, lines of evolution mapping and list of documents for current relevant art is also presented.
Phase II: Preliminary ideation
Based on the analysis of patent and current state of art, preliminary first level ideation is conducted in house or in collaboration with the client domain experts. In this process, TRIZ Inventive Principles, Lines of system evolution and system complexity estimator is used to generate possible ideas to transform and develop the invention towards a more ideal system.
Phase III: Collective brainstorm in a workshop setting
Based on analysis report and preliminary ideation report, a solution generation brainstorm is conducted in a workshop setting. This involves usage of all tools and information generated during previous phases of the study.
Phase IV: Solution evaluation and final report submission
Using the methodology of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) solution directions are rank ordered and a final report is submitted which list solutions that are closer to ideality.
