Publications Details

Analysis of Patent Databases Using VxInsight

Boyack, Kevin W.; Wylie, Brian N.; Davidson, George S.; Johnson, David L.

We present the application of a new knowledge visualization tool, VxInsight, to the mapping and analysis of patent databases. Patent data are mined and placed in a database, relationships between the patents are identified, primarily using the citation and classification structures, then the patents are clustered using a proprietary force-directed placement algorithm. Related patents cluster together to produce a 3-D landscape view of the tens of thousands of patents. The user can navigate the landscape by zooming into or out of regions of interest. Querying the underlying database places a colored marker on each patent matching the query. Automatically generated labels, showing landscape content, update continually upon zooming. Optionally, citation links between patents may be shown on the landscape. The combination of these features enables powerful analyses of patent databases.