Invention creation system and program

Abstract

We provide an invention creation system and program that can systematically analyze technical and market information, accurately identify unexplored areas, and efficiently create and evaluate novel solutions for those areas. The invention creation system creates new inventions by analyzing a database containing technical literature, patent information, and market information. This invention creation system is characterized by comprising: a technology space modeling unit that analyzes the database, classifies technical elements into functional features and structural features, and maps the relationships between them onto a multidimensional technology space; a white space identification unit that identifies, as technological blank areas, areas in the multidimensional technology space where the combination density of existing technologies is low or areas where no structural features corresponding to specific functional features exist; a general-purpose design knowledge base that systematizes the mapping relationship between the functional space and the structural space and technological principles; and an automatic invention creation unit that sets required functions in the technological blank areas, searches for structural combinations that realize the required functions based on the general-purpose design knowledge base, and generates design solutions.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an invention creation system and program that can efficiently create inventions. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with regard to idea generation support and automation of the creative process, idea generation methods using idea generation mechanisms and text generation models that repeatedly diverge and converge have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). Meanwhile, with regard to the visualization and analysis of patent collections, devices that support analysis by mapping citation relationships, etc. (see, for example, Patent Document 4) and search support technologies that extract and reselect related patents based on feature vectors (see, for example, Patent Document 5) are known. Furthermore, with the recent development of artificial intelligence technologies such as large-scale language models (LLM), it has become possible to extract functional and structural features from documents written in natural language. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-323575 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2025-59349 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2025-88503 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-108467 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-225207 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, there is no practical application of a fully automated system that integrates these AI technologies into the conventional invention creation process and consistently performs technology space modeling, white space identification, invention generation, patentability evaluation, and even patent specification writing and self-improvement.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for an invention creation system that can analyze technical literature, patent information, and market information, identify unexplored technological areas in a multidimensional technological space, automatically create and evaluate novel structural solutions in those areas, and even generate patent application documents.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide an invention creation system and program that can systematically analyze technical information and market information, accurately identify unexplored areas, and efficiently create and evaluate novel solutions for those areas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, the invention provides an invention creation system that creates new inventions by analyzing a database containing technical literature, patent information, and market information. The invention creation system includes: a technology space modeling unit that analyzes the database, classifies technical elements into functional features and structural features, and maps the relationships between them onto a multidimensional technology space; a whitespace identification unit that identifies, as technological blank areas, areas in the multidimensional technology space where the combination density of existing technologies is low or areas where no structural features corresponding to specific functional features exist; a general-purpose design knowledge base that systematizes the mapping relationships between functional space and structural space and technological principles; and an automatic invention creation unit that sets required functions in the technological blank areas, searches for structural combinations that realize the required functions based on the general-purpose design knowledge base, and generates design solutions.

[0008] In the present invention, the white space identifying unit may narrow down the search target area in the multidimensional technology space based on input positioning strategy information.

[0009] In the present invention, the white space identification unit may use a causal generation model to quantitatively evaluate the value predicted when the identified technical gap is filled, and determine the priority of invention generation.

[0010] In the present invention, the automatic invention generation unit preferably includes a required function setting unit that sets required functions corresponding to the technical blank areas identified by the white space identification unit, a functional decomposition unit that decomposes the required functions into a plurality of basic functional elements, a structure search unit that searches for structure candidates corresponding to each basic functional element using the general-purpose design knowledge base, and a structure integration unit that combines the structure candidates to generate a design solution.

[0011] In the present invention, the automatic invention generation unit may further include a contradiction identification unit that identifies technical contradictions between structure candidates in the structure integration step, and a contradiction analysis unit that analyzes the causes of the technical contradictions using a causal generation model and resets new required functions that can resolve the technical contradictions.

[0012] In the present invention, the technology space modeling unit or the general-purpose design knowledge base may be constructed by automatically extracting, abstracting, and associating functional and structural features from natural language descriptions using a large-scale language model.

[0013] The invention creation system may further include a patentability evaluation unit that compares the generated design solution with the distribution of existing technologies and automatically calculates a patentability evaluation score for the design solution.

[0014] In the present invention, the patentability evaluation unit preferably evaluates the possibility of patentability in a manner substantially equivalent to that of an examination by a patent examiner, based on various patent databases and the examination standards of patent offices of various countries.

[0015] In the present invention, the automatic invention generation unit may include a patent specification generation unit that automatically generates a draft of claims and a specification based on the generated design solution, and a self-improvement unit that improves the accuracy of the general-purpose design knowledge base and the technology space modeling unit by using the validity or patent status of the generated design solution as feedback.

[0016] A program according to another example of the present invention is characterized by causing a computer to function as any one of the invention creation systems described above. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an invention creation system according to an embodiment of the present invention, together with a user terminal and an external data source. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an invention creating system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a functional block diagram of an invention creation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a three-dimensional multidimensional technology space in which the characteristics of technology elements are mapped. [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the invention creating process by the invention creating system 1. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of an automatic invention generation process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, an invention creating system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] [System configuration] Hereinafter, an invention creation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is an example for specifically explaining the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[0020] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an invention creation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, together with a user terminal 2 and an external data source 3 connected to the invention creation system 1 via a network NW. The invention creation system 1 identifies unexplored technological areas in a multidimensional technological space based on user operations using the user terminal 2 and various information provided by the external data source 3, and automatically creates novel structural solutions in those areas.

[0021] The external data sources 3 include various information sources that are analyzed by the invention creation system 1. Specifically, these include public patent databases, international patent databases, academic paper databases, commercial patent and technical information databases, corporate news and press release distribution services, industry report provision services, market research databases, and the like.

[0022] These data sources can retrieve full patent specifications, claims, abstracts, drawings, patent classification codes (IPC, CPC, etc.), citation information, paper abstracts, text, and references, company information, market statistics, product specifications, and more. The retrieved data formats can include text data (XML, JSON, CSV, etc.), image data (e.g., drawings), and numerical data (e.g., market size and number of patents). The data can be updated daily, weekly, or in real time, and can be retrieved via API integration or periodic batch processing. Furthermore, during the retrieval phase, filtering criteria such as target technology field, application date range, application country, language, and number of citations can be applied to efficiently and strategically select the analysis targets.

[0023] [Hardware configuration of invention creation system 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of the invention creation system 1. The invention creation system 1 is realized, for example, as a computer. That is, the invention creation system 1 includes a processor 101, a RAM 102, a HDD 103, a graphics processing unit 104, an input interface 105, and a network interface 106. Note that FIG. 2 shows an example in which the invention creation system 1 is realized by a single computer as a so-called standalone type. However, the invention creation system 1 can also be realized by a mode in which multiple computers (e.g., one server computer and multiple client computers connected to a LAN) cooperate with each other via a network line such as a LAN. A configuration in which distributed processing is performed by multiple virtual machines or containers on the cloud is also possible. A configuration in which part of the processing is performed by an edge terminal and privacy information is processed within the terminal can also be adopted.

[0024] The invention creation system 1 is entirely controlled by a processor 101. The processor 101 may be a multiprocessor. The processor 101 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a programmable logic device (PLD). The processor 101 may also be a combination of two or more elements of a CPU, MPU, DSP, ASIC, or PLD.

[0025] The RAM (Random Access Memory) 102 is used as the main storage device of the invention creation system 1. The RAM 102 temporarily stores at least a part of the OS (Operating System) program and application programs to be executed by the processor 101. The RAM 102 also stores various data necessary for processing by the processor 101.

[0026] The HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 103 is used as an auxiliary storage device for the invention creation system 1. The HDD 103 stores an OS program, application programs, and various data (e.g., operation logs, external database information, trained models, cache data of processing results, etc.). Note that other types of non-volatile storage devices, such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), can also be used as the auxiliary storage device.

[0027] A display device 104a is connected to the graphics processing unit 104. The graphics processing unit 104 displays an image on the screen of the display device 104a in accordance with an instruction from the processor 101. The display device 104a may be a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like.

[0028] An input device 105a is connected to the input interface 105. The input interface 105 transmits a signal output from the input device 105a to the processor 101. The input device 105a includes a keyboard and a pointing device. The pointing device includes a mouse, a touch panel, a tablet, a touch pad, a trackball, and the like.

[0029] The administrator or advertising operator uses the graphic processing unit 104 and the input interface 105 to monitor the processing status, check insights, set parameters, etc. on the GUI.

[0030] The network interface 106 realizes communication with external devices via the network NW. For example, the network interface 106 is used to connect to a cloud database or an external analysis platform, enabling real-time data updating, sharing, and external API integration. Communication via the network NW by the network interface 106 may be wired or wireless. As shown in FIG. 1, a user terminal 2 and an external data source 3 are connected to the network NW, and the invention creation system 1 can communicate with these via the network NW.

[0031] The invention creation system 1 can be realized by the hardware configuration described above.

[0032] [Functional blocks of invention creation system 1] As shown in FIG. 3, the invention creation system 1 according to this embodiment includes a technology space modeling unit 110, a white space identification unit 120, a general-purpose design knowledge base 130, an automatic invention generation unit 140, a patentability evaluation unit 150, a patent specification generation unit 160, and a self-improvement unit 170.

[0033] The technology space modeling unit 110 analyzes a database containing technical literature, patent information, and market information, and breaks down the extracted technology elements into functional features (Function) and structural features (Structural Features). "Functional features" refer to abstract descriptions that indicate the actions and effects realized by the target technology, while "structural features" refer to descriptions that indicate the physical form, components, layout, materials, etc. required to realize that function. These features are then mapped onto a multidimensional technology space.

[0034] A multidimensional technology space is a coordinate space that expresses technological elements on multiple attribute axes. The attribute axes may include position coordinates (X, Y, Z), a time axis, a patentability evaluation index, a technical value index, physical properties, a cost index, a demand forecast index, etc., and is composed of at least three dimensions, preferably seven dimensions or more. Figure 4 shows an example of a three-dimensional multidimensional technology space in which the characteristics of technological elements are mapped.

[0035] The whitespace identification unit 120 extracts areas with low combination density of existing technologies or areas lacking structural features corresponding to specific functional features based on the multidimensional technology space constructed by the technology space modeling unit 110. Here, "combination density" refers to the number of combinations of technological elements present within a given region in the multidimensional technology space divided by the volume or extent of that region. Furthermore, the search target region can be narrowed down based on input strategic information or value assessment information. Here, "value assessment information" refers to quantitative evaluation data based on the market size, growth potential, profit margin, competitive situation, etc. of the technology region, and "strategic information" refers to qualitative information such as a company's business plan, patent application policy, and R&D roadmap. Furthermore, a causal generative model is used to quantitatively evaluate the future value expected if the identified technological whitespace is filled and determine the priority of invention creation. A "causal generative model" refers to an algorithm that probabilistically or logically estimates and generates causal relationships between specific events, including Bayesian networks, structural equation modeling, Granger causality testing, and causal language models.

[0036] The general-purpose design knowledge base 130 systematically stores mapping relationships between function and structure spaces and technical principles in a form that is independent of the technology field. In other words, the general-purpose design knowledge base 130 is a data set that systematizes function-structure correspondence relationships and technical principles that can be applied across multiple technology fields. The data is stored in the form of records including function tags, structure tags, and relevance scores. Note that the technology space modeling unit 110 and / or the general-purpose design knowledge base 130 may be constructed by using a large-scale language model to automatically extract, abstract, and associate functional and structural features from natural language descriptions in the database.

[0037] The automatic invention generation unit 140 has a function of automatically generating an invention corresponding to a blank area identified by the white space identification unit 120. The automatic invention generation unit 140 comprehensively executes a series of processes from setting required functions to generating a design solution and resolving technical contradictions, and ultimately obtains an optimized design solution that meets the required functions and is free of technical contradictions.

[0038] The automatic invention generation unit 140 includes a required function setting unit 141 , a function decomposition unit 142 , a structure search unit 143 , a structure integration unit 144 , a contradiction identification unit 145 , and a contradiction analysis unit 146 .

[0039] The required function setting unit 141 sets required functions for the area identified by the whitespace identification unit 120. The functional decomposition unit 142 decomposes the required functions set by the required function setting unit 141 into multiple basic functional elements. The structure search unit 143 uses the general-purpose design knowledge base 130 to search for structural candidates capable of realizing each basic functional element. The structure integration unit 144 generates a design solution by combining the structural candidates searched by the structure search unit 143. The contradiction identification unit 145 identifies technical contradictions (trade-offs) between the structural candidates included in the design solution generated by the structure integration unit 144. A "technical contradiction" refers to a relationship in which improving one performance indicator decreases the other, or a situation in which two functional requirements are difficult to satisfy simultaneously. The contradiction analysis unit 146 analyzes the causes of the identified technical contradictions using a causal generative model and resets required functions to resolve the technical contradictions. These units work together to perform processing, enabling efficient and accurate automatic generation of inventions.

[0040] The patentability evaluation unit 150 compares the generated design solution with the distribution of existing technologies in a multidimensional technology space and calculates an evaluation score for the patentability of the design solution. For example, the patentability evaluation score may be a numerical index calculated on a scale of 0 to 100 based on evaluation criteria such as novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability. In addition to calculating a numerical score for the generated design solution based on evaluation criteria such as novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, the patentability evaluation unit 150 may also evaluate the patentability of the generated design solution from a perspective equivalent to that of a patent examiner's examination process, by referring to prior art documents recorded in various patent databases and the public examination standards of patent offices of various countries (e.g., the Japan Patent Office, the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office, etc.).

[0041] The patent specification generation unit 160 automatically generates a draft of a patent specification (which may include claims, a detailed description of the invention, a brief description of the drawings, and an abstract) based on the design solution evaluated by the patentability evaluation unit 150. The patent specification generation unit 160 is preferably implemented using a large-scale language model.

[0042] The self-improvement unit 170 obtains evaluation results such as the results of patent applications (e.g., examination results after application, cited literature analysis, etc.) and market effectiveness evaluations, and uses these results as feedback to improve the accuracy of the technology space modeling unit 110 and the general-purpose design knowledge base 130.

[0043] Next, a description will be given of the processing procedure of the invention creating process by the invention creating system 1 of this embodiment. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the invention creating process by the invention creating system 1.

[0044] When the invention creation process starts, the network interface 106 first acquires technical literature, patent information, and market information from external or internal databases (step S01). The acquired information is analyzed by the technology space modeling unit 110 using natural language processing or the like to extract functional and structural features.

[0045] Next, the technology space modeling unit 110 maps the extracted functional features and structural features onto a multidimensional technology space, and constructs a distribution model of existing technologies (step S02).

[0046] Next, the white space identification unit 120 extracts areas with low density of existing technologies or unsupported functional areas (i.e., technological blank areas; white spaces) in the multidimensional technology space (step S03). At this time, the white space identification unit 120 narrows down the search areas based on value assessment and strategic conditions, as necessary, and assigns priorities to them.

[0047] Next, the automatic invention generation unit 140 automatically generates an invention (step S04). Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of the automatic invention generation process in step S04.

[0048] In the invention automatic generation process, first, the required function setting unit 141 sets required functions for the area identified by the white space identification unit 120 (step S101). Next, the function decomposition unit 142 decomposes the required functions into a plurality of basic function elements (step S102). Subsequently, the structure search unit 143 searches for structure candidates corresponding to each basic function element using the general-purpose design knowledge base 130 (step S103). Furthermore, the structure integration unit 144 combines the searched structure candidates to generate a design solution (step S104).

[0049] The contradiction identification unit 145 determines whether or not a technical contradiction exists between the structure candidates for the generated design solution. If a technical contradiction exists (step S105; Yes), the contradiction analysis unit 146 analyzes and identifies the cause of the contradiction using a causal generative model based on the result, and resets a new required function that can resolve the contradiction (step S106). Then, the process returns to the function decomposition unit (step S102).

[0050] These processes are repeated, and when a design solution without technical contradictions is obtained (step S105; No), the automatic invention generation process ends.

[0051] Thereafter, the patentability evaluation unit 150 calculates an evaluation score regarding the patentability of the generated design solution (step S05).

[0052] Next, the patent specification generation unit 160 generates and outputs a draft of the claims and specification based on the design solution evaluated by the patentability evaluation unit 150 (step S06).

[0053] Finally, the self-improvement unit 170 analyzes the examination results or market reactions after the application, and reflects the results as feedback in the technology space modeling unit 110 and the general-purpose design knowledge base 130 to improve accuracy (step S07).

[0054] In this way, the invention creation system 1 can automatically execute a series of processes, from acquiring and analyzing technical and market information, constructing a technological space, identifying blank areas, automatically generating inventions, evaluating patentability, preparing patent specifications, and even self-improvement.

[0055] According to the present invention, the invention creation process, which has traditionally relied on manpower and experience, can be made more efficient, enabling high-quality inventions to be created comprehensively in a short time. In addition, because technological gaps can be quantitatively identified, it becomes easier to discover high-value-added technical fields that would have been overlooked using conventional methods.

[0056] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to these examples. Furthermore, any embodiment in which a person skilled in the art appropriately adds or deletes components or modifies the design of the above embodiment, or any embodiment in which the features of each embodiment are appropriately combined, is also included within the scope of the present invention as long as it includes the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 1. Invention Creation System 2. User terminal 3 External Data Sources 101 processors 104 Graphics Processing Unit 104a Display device 105 Input Interface 105a Input device 106 Network Interface 110 Technical Space Modeling Department 120 White Space Identification Part 130 General-purpose design knowledge base 140 Automatic Invention Generation Department 141 Request function setting section 142 Functional Decomposition Section 143 Structure Search Department 144 Structural Integration Department 145 Contradiction Identification Department 146 Contradiction Analysis Department 150 Patentability Evaluation Division 160 Patent Specification Generation Department 170 Self-improvement department

Claims

1. An invention creation system that creates new inventions by analyzing a database including technical literature, patent information, and market information, a technology space modeling unit that analyzes the database, classifies technology elements into functional features and structural features, and maps the relationships between them onto a multidimensional technology space; a white space identifying unit that identifies, in the multidimensional technology space, an area where the combination density of existing technologies is low or an area where there is no structural feature corresponding to a specific functional feature as a technological blank area; A general-purpose design knowledge base that systematizes the mapping relationship between functional space and structural space and technical principles; an automatic invention generation unit that sets required functions in the technical blank area, searches for structural combinations that realize the required functions based on the general-purpose design knowledge base, and generates design solutions; An invention creation system comprising:

2. 2. The invention creation system according to claim 1, wherein the white space identification unit narrows down the search target area in the multidimensional technology space based on input positioning strategy information.

3. The invention creation system described in claim 1, characterized in that the whitespace identification unit uses a causal generative model to quantitatively evaluate the value predicted when the identified technological gaps are filled, and determines the priority of invention creation.

4. The automatic invention generation unit a required function setting unit that sets required functions corresponding to the technical white space identified by the white space identifying unit; a function decomposition unit that decomposes the required function into a plurality of basic function elements; a structure search unit that searches for structure candidates corresponding to each basic functional element using the general-purpose design knowledge base; a structural integration unit that combines the structural candidates to generate a design solution; 2. The invention creating system according to claim 1, comprising:

5. The automatic invention generation unit a contradiction identification unit that identifies technical contradictions between the structure candidates in the structure integration step; a contradiction analysis unit that analyzes the causes of the technical contradiction using a causal generative model and resets new required functions that can resolve the technical contradiction; The invention creation system according to claim 4, further comprising:

6. 2. The invention creation system according to claim 1, wherein the technology space modeling unit or the general-purpose design knowledge base is constructed by using a large-scale language model to automatically extract, abstract, and associate functional and structural features from natural language descriptions.

7. 2. The invention creation system according to claim 1, further comprising a patentability evaluation unit that compares the generated design solution with the distribution of existing technologies and automatically calculates a patentability evaluation score of the design solution.

8. The invention creation system described in claim 7, characterized in that the patentability evaluation unit evaluates the possibility of patentability in a manner substantially equivalent to an examination by a patent examiner, based on various patent databases and the examination standards of each country's patent office.

9. 2. The invention creation system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic invention generation unit comprises: a patent specification generation unit that automatically generates a draft of claims and a specification based on the generated design solution; and a self-improvement unit that improves the accuracy of the general-purpose design knowledge base and the technology space modeling unit by using the validity or patent status of the generated design solution as feedback.

10. A program that causes a computer to function as the invention creation system according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

Images