Mapping technological development using patent citation trees: an analysis of bogie technology

ABSTRACT

We create a generational patent citation tree to reveal the development of bogie technology in the high-speed rail industry. We cull the information in patent citations to reveal the generational development of bogie technology by analysing patent titles, patent publication dates and patent-granting regions. We then measure the development of bogie technology by calculating its technological development on-orbit rate and by mapping the stages of technological development and its regional diffusion. The results show that bogie technologies are in a period of sustained growth and this period of sustained growth will remain. Technological development is accelerating and this acceleration will persist, although the global dispersion of technology lags behind in scope and speed.

KEYWORDS:

• Patent citation tree
• bogie technology
• technological development path
• technological development on-orbit rate

Acknowledgement

This work is supported by National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFB1401100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 71273030, 71573017 and 71603019), China Academy of Engineering (grant number: 2017-xz-42), and Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (grant number: 14YJA630019). We thank anonymous reviewers for useful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Bingxiu Gui, PhD student in Beijing Institute of Technology, his research interests are patent analysis, network analysis innovation management.

Yanbing Ju, Professor of Beijing Institute of Technology, his research interests are System Modeling and Simulation, operation research.

Yun Liu, Deputy Dean, Professor, and Doctoral Tutor at the School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests focus on R&D evaluation, science and technology policy, innovation management, knowledge management, etc. He also serves as the executive director of Chinese Association for Science of Science and S&T Policy Research, China Society of Soft Science, Director of China Technology Economics Association, academic committee of Technological Innovation Research Center of Tsinghua University, visiting researcher of Georgia Institute of Technology. He has presided over more than 60 national research projects such as 973 programs, key project of National Natural Science Foundation of China and project of National International Cooperation of S&T Program. He has published over 200 academic papers, 9 monographs, and won many provincial science and technology awards. As a member of the expert group, he participated in the research, drafting, and evaluation of many national science and technology plans such as the Outline of the National Medium and Long-term Science and Technology Development Plan (2006–2020).

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFB1401100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 71273030, 71573017 and 71603019), China Academy of Engineering Physics (grant number: 2017-xz-42), and Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (grant number: 14YJA630019).