INNOVATION IN PRODUCT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

In product development, innovation is the process of creating value through the application of novel solutions to meaningful problems (1).

WHEN TO INNOVATE

Innovation, or the need for novel solutions, should be justified. Examples include avoiding blocking intellectual property, enabling a new technology, miniaturization, or a new implementation that improves performance. If no such rationale for innovation exists, then the responsible approach may be to integrate rather than innovate.

As a general rule, integration yields incremental value. To create a significant increase in value – for both the end user and the client – innovation is almost always required.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CREATION

The qualifications for patentability of an invention are a useful metric of a teams ability to innovate.

  • The subject matter of the invention must be consistent with statutory requirements
  • The invention must be new (novel)
  • The invention must be useful
  • The invention must be non-obvious

Thus, the number of patents awarded to an engineering team is a good measure of the ability of that team to innovate. NOVO’s staff are named inventors on hundreds of U.S. utility patents. Our clients rely on our ability to innovate to solve technical problems and build their intellectual property portfolios.

References:

  1. Credit for this concise and practical definition of “innovation” comes from Digintent, a business consulting firm, and it applies directly to innovation in the product development process.
41 Issued U.S. Patents And Counting
Patent # Patent Type Patent Title
9 750 186 Commercial Products Walk-behind mower including debris container
9 378 671 Commercial Products Large scale LED display
9 135 838 Commercial Products Large scale LED display
9 038 502 Commercial Products Control interface activated restraining system to secure a rider's footwear to a foot support
8 997 361 Commercial Products Laser measurement of a vehicle frame
8 922 458 Commercial Products Data and power distribution system and method for a large scale display
8 803 766 Commercial Products Large scale LED display
8 648 774 Commercial Products Large-scale LED display
8 599 108 Commercial Products Large-scale LED display
8 558 755 Commercial Products Large-scale LED display system
8 381 409 Commercial Products Laser measurement of a vehicle frame 
7 854 573 Commercial Products Landscaping products including continuous chamber mass confinement cells and methods of use thereof 
7 044 485 Commercial Products Elastomeric suspension system skateboard truck
6 778 764 Commercial Products Strobe controller system with flash unit interoperability
6 598 303 Commercial Products Surface conforming shaving razor and handle therefor
6 308 416 Commercial Products Surface conforming shaving razor and handle therefor
6 250 755 Commercial Products Attachment of bridge and temples to eyeglass lenses
6 157 450 Commercial Products Automated optical surface profile measurement system
6 139 182 Commercial Products Enhanced protective cover for use in an IR thermometer 
6 024 445 Commercial Products Single point attachment of bridge and temples to eyeglass lenses
5 986 753 Commercial Products Wafer holding and orienting fixture for optical profilometry
5 656 248 Commercial Products Multi-stage infectious waste treatment system
5 425 925 Commercial Products Multi-stage infectious waste treatment system
5 313 261 Commercial Products Method and apparatus for faithful gray scale representation of under water laser images
5 182 877 Commercial Products Fish line stripping basket
5 049 855 Commercial Products Security screen system
D 781 024 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station
D 779 774 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station
D 779 773 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station
D 779 772 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station
D 779 771 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station
D 762 040 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station
D 755 649 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station
D 735 964 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station (certificate of correction; post-issue communication)
D 735 439 Commercial Products Multispace parking pay station (certificate of correction; post-issue communication)
D 690 771 Commercial Products Vending control unit (certificate of correction; post-issue communication)
D 683 795 Commercial Products Vending control unit (certificate of correction; post-issue communication)
D 683 794 Commercial Products Vending machine control unit (certificate of correction; post-issue communication)
D 580 801 Commercial Products Thermostat housing
D 422 262 Commercial Products Housing for piggyback mounted battery for portable phone
D 386 041 Commercial Products Water purification pitcher