Archive
CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER. Latest granted patents 2016-2018. Parabolic Trough
Summary
Parabolic trough power systems are the oldest solar concentrating technology, and use parabolic-shaped reflecting collectors to track and concentrate sunlight on a receiver tube filled with fluid. Solar thermal power plants using this technology are widespread around the world, especially in the USA and Spain, which have a solid track record of reliable operation. Certain shortcomings in parabolic trough systems are connected to the low concentration ratio of the paraboloid mirrors, difficulties in reaching the intended working temperature of the heat transfer liquid, high costs of equipment production and its repair, etc. The most recent developments in parabolic trough technology, which are best documented in the latest patents, seek to resolve some of the efficiency limitations and lower maintenance and operation cost.
A selection of patents related to parabolic trough systems and published by patent offices around the globe in 2016-2018 is provided for review in the present bulletin. General research methodology can be found on the Advanced Energy Technologies website. The present bulletin includes 593 patents, prepared by applicants from 32 countries and registered in 23 patent offices. The patent documents mention 461 applicants and 609 IPC subgroups.
Key Highlights
The bulletin provides general statistical figures, including the overall distribution of patent documents by years, by patent offices and by applicant countries, applicant-related data (residents and non-residents), data on the most frequently mentioned International Patent Classification divisions (sections, classes, subclasses, groups, and subgroups). The most popular patent offices among the applicants were: CNIPA (CN), USPTO (US), EPO, IP Australia (AU), JPO (JP), CIPC (ZA).
For each of the patent documents selected for the examination in the present bulletin the characteristics of unified indicators were preliminary defined, they include: technical problems, types of inventive solutions employed, belonging to one or other technological segment. This allows the internal content for each of the indicators in the aggregate array of documents to be visualized, for instance, to define the sequence and proportional correlation of technical problems the inventive solutions disclosed in the texts aim to solve. A list of the top 10 groups consisting of patent documents with identical unified indicators contains ID numbers and applicant names of respective documents; the groups are sorted by the number of patent documents.
The following information can be found for the top 10 applicants: breakdown of documents by problems, IPC sections, patent offices, technological indicators, as well as the estimation of their share in the established intellectual property market. The 10 leading applicants by the number of patent documents were: BASF, SE (DE), Abengoa Solar New Technologies, S.A. (ES), Siemens AG (DE), Siemens Concentrated Solar Power, Ltd. (IL), Schott AG (DE), Rioglass Solar, S.A. (ES), Glasspoint Solar, Inc. (US), Schott Solar AG (DE), 3M Innovative Properties Company (US) and Abengoa Solar Inc. (US).
The bulletin contains lists of the top 10 prominent patents having the highest bibliographical rating, the most extensive coverage of IPC sections, the shortest patent pending time.
A list of all of the documents reviewed, arranged by the top 10 groups of patent documents with identical unified indicators and by patent offices with the indication of the ID numbers of the granted patents is provided in the conclusive part of the bulletin.
Who needs this bulletin?
The data provided in the proposed bulletin is a timely reflection of the transformations that take place in the intellectual property sector of the industrial direction concerned. A thoroughly edited selection of patent documents can become a good complement to your library of available technical solutions. The bulletin is targeted at inventors, engineers, researchers, managers and business administrators involved in the development of solar energy production technologies.
