Patent analysis of silicone rubber foam

发布时间:2019-8-30 12:39:24, 点击: 0

• The silicone rubber foam material is a porous polymer elastic material prepared by foaming a silicone rubber, and is also called a sponge silicone rubber or a microporous silicone rubber. As one of the forms of use of silicone rubber, silicone rubber foam not only has the properties of high temperature resistance, stability and aging resistance of silicone rubber itself, but also has high flexibility, high ductility and high. The characteristics of foams such as elasticity and high porosity can be widely used in the fields of electronics industry, automobile, aerospace and daily life products, and their research has attracted wide attention.

  

  In this paper, the author is based on the patent documents published in the Derwent World Patent Index Database (DWPI), using the classification numbers C08G77, C08L83, C09J and keywords such as "rubber,POre+,sponge?,foam?" Screening one by one, the patent application published before June 6 this year is the data base of statistical analysis, and comprehensively search and analyze the patent status of silicone rubber foam material. It should be noted that since the patent has a lag period of 18 months from application to publication, the data for 2017 to 2018 is for reference only.

   

  Japanese companies are strong

   

  The author found through the search that applicants from Japan from all over the world contributed the largest number of silicone rubber foam patents. As can be seen from the figure, more than half of the world's patent applications for silicone rubber foam come from Japan. At the same time, patent applications from China exceed one-third of the global applications. Other applicants mainly come from the United States and the Soviet Union. In Russia, South Korea, Germany and other countries, applicants from Europe such as Denmark, Czech Republic, Switzerland and other countries have also submitted a small number of patent applications for silicone rubber foam. It can be seen that the global silicone rubber foam industry is mainly dominated by China, Japan and Europe and the United States.

   

  Among the world's major applicants, applicants from Japan accounted for four of the top five applicants in the world, especially Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., which submitted a total of 67 patent applications. It is far more than other applicants. As one of the most comprehensive silicone companies in the world, the company has strong comprehensive strength in the field of silicone rubber foam.

   

  In addition, Japanese companies have started research on silicone rubber foam since the 1960s, and still submit a large number of patent applications each year, while applicants from the United States, the Soviet Union (Russia) and other countries have submitted silicone rubber foam earlier. Patent application for materials, but its patent continuity is poor. Many applicants have not submitted any related patent applications in recent years, and their research work has been gradually discontinued. It can be seen that Japanese companies have deep technical know-how and global patent layout in the field of silicone rubber foam materials, and the comprehensive strength is the most powerful.

   

  Chinese companies are catching up

   

  Silicone rubber foams submitted worldwide on the priority date or application date, from 1956 to 1980, 1981 to 1990, 1991 to 2000, 2001 to 2010 and 2011 to 2018 The patent applications are 12, 18, 65, 69 and 103 respectively. Prior to 1980, the development of silicone rubber foam was still in its infancy. In 1956, GE submitted the first patent application for silicone rubber foam. Since then, in 1958 and 1966, it came from the Soviet Union, Switzerland and Japan (Shin-Etsu Chemical). The applicants also submitted relevant patent applications. At this stage, research work on silicone rubber foam materials was mainly carried out in countries such as the Soviet Union, Europe, America and Japan. 1981-1990 was a period of slow development of silicone rubber foam. During this period, the number of patent applications gradually increased. Since 1991, the development of silicone rubber foam has been booming, and the number of patent applications has increased rapidly.

   

  Due to the late start of China's organic silicon industry and the overall lag in development, in 2004, the applicants from China submitted the patent application involving silicone rubber foam for the first time. China missed the most important development period of silicone rubber foam.

   

  However, careful analysis shows that between 2004 and 2018, patent applicants from China provided 92 patent applications, while foreign applicants submitted 85 patent applications in the same period, especially from China to China from 2004 to 2018. The number of patent applications for people has gradually increased, while the number of patent applications from foreign applicants has remained basically unchanged. Especially between 2015 and 2018, the average number of applications per year for applicants in China exceeded 15, and the average number of applications for patent applications submitted by foreign applicants during the same period was only four. It can be seen that as the research heat of silicone rubber foams has gradually declined in foreign countries, China's research in this field has been continuously enhanced.

   

  As far as the technical theme is concerned, the patent application submitted by Chinese applicants not only involves the preparation of silicone rubber foam, but also the application of silicone rubber foam. It involves not only room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber but also high temperature vulcanized silicone rubber, not only silicon. The rubber matrix material also involves specific technical branches such as reinforcing systems, foaming agents, and preparation processes for silicone rubber. In particular, the number of patent applications filed by the China Academy of Engineering Physics is the fourth in the world. In the patent field of silicone rubber foam, China's right to speak has gradually increased, and the overall strength of China's silicone rubber foam industry has gradually increased, and China and Japan are equally divided.

   

  Comprehensive strength still needs to be enhanced

   

  It can be seen from the above analysis that China has absented the initial research and development stage of silicone rubber foam materials, but with the development of the silicone rubber foam material industry, many foreign applicants have gradually withdrawn from the field. At the same time, China's comprehensive strength in this field has gradually increased, and domestic applicants have also developed the patent layout of silicone rubber foam materials, and have certain advantages. However, compared with companies with strong influence in the field, especially Shin-Etsu Chemical, Dow Corning Toray Silicon, GE Toshiba Silicone, etc., there are still problems of high cost and poor material mechanics in the preparation of silicone rubber foam in China. There is still a lack of competitive large enterprises in the field. Domestic applicants' focus is mostly on the preparation methods of products and the lack of research on further application of products. In addition, comprehensively, there are not many high-value patents in this field in China. Domestic applicants rarely submit patent applications abroad, and the patent layout ability is poor. China's patent work in this field is still relatively obvious.

   

  In short, we should see that China has gradually led the second development boom of silicone rubber foam materials, and domestic enterprises have paid more and more attention to patent protection in this field. The patents help China's silicone rubber foam materials to move forward firmly. It is believed that in the near future, the technological advantages and product competitiveness of Chinese enterprises will be further enhanced, and will gradually lead the development of the world silicone rubber foam industry.

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