This case study is the fourth in a series of studies that cover benchmarking of PatSeer’s AI Search against invention descriptions from different fields of science.

The aim is to demonstrate the effectiveness of PatSeer’s AI search by manually examining the top 10 results and their Title, Abstract, Claims, and Summary of Invention against the input invention description.

In our previous case study, we did a benchmarking on Topical Skin care Composition related patents. In this case study, we have chosen an invention from Water Treatment and Desalination domain and more specifically – Salt water desalination equipment.

Salt water desalination equipment involves multiple components working together to convert saltwater into freshwater. It has wide applications in providing a sustainable source of freshwater for drinking and domestic use in areas facing water scarcity.

Our invention description of Salt water desalination equipment contained the following key elements:

Key elements of the invention description:

1. Salt water supply unit

2. Osmotic membrane component

    • Reverse osmosis membrane component
    • Forward osmosis membrane component

3. Concentrated salt water

4. Assisting device

To evaluate the AI Semantic search results and their relevance, an analysis was conducted on the first 10 search records that showed up in the result set against the elements mentioned above. We followed the same method as in our previous case studies.

The following table shows the manual analysis based on the key elements for the first record that appeared in the AI search (US2015352497A1 – SALT WATER DESALINATION EQUIPMENT):

Key ElementsClaim Numbers matchedReference from the claimOverlapMatched with Title, Abstract, and SOI
Salt water supply unit1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 11Salt water supply unitFull overlapFull overlap
Osmotic membrane component1, 3, 4, 11, 12, 13Reverse osmosis membrane component, Forward osmosis membrane componentFull overlapFull overlap
Concentrated salt water1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13Concentrated salt water, concentrated water, concentrated sea waterFull overlapFull overlap
Assisting device1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11Assisting device, assisting component, assisting electric powerFull overlapFull overlap



The table lists all the elements from the paragraph, followed by the patent claim numbers where these elements appeared. The subsequent column shows the exact text from the patent claims that matched the respective key elements. For instance, “concentrated salt water” was matched with “concentrated sea water.” Similarly, the key components of an osmotic membrane component, like reverse osmosis and forward osmosis membrane components, were appropriately matched and, an assisting device was matched with an assisting component. The fourth column assesses the degree of similarity between the paragraph and the claims of the patent document. The last column of the table indicates the extent of overlap between each element and the corresponding Title, Abstract, and Summary of Invention. This alignment was determined through manual examination.

It is evident that all the key elements mentioned in the paragraph were precisely covered in the Title, Abstract, Claims, and Summary of Invention of the first record identified through the AI Semantic search.

A similar evaluation was conducted for the remaining set of records, and we have compiled all the results into a single table provided below.

To calculate the final semantic performance score for the top 10 results, a scoring system was employed: assigning 1 point for full overlap, 0.5 point for partial overlap, and 0 point for no overlap and positional weightage was given based on the position of the result in top 10. Based on the calculations done the final semantic performance score for the top 10 results in this case was 82.27%.

 Key Elements
Patent NumberTitle of the patentSalt water supply unitOsmotic membrane componentConcentrated salt waterAssisting device
US2015352497A1Salt water desalination equipmentFull OverlapFull OverlapFull OverlapFull Overlap
WO2010004819A1Salt water desalination equipment using reverse osmosis membrane, and method for producing desalinated water using salt water desalination equipmentFull OverlapPartial OverlapPartial OverlapFull Overlap
KR101869030B1Desalination Apparatus and Method Using Forward Osmosis and Reverse Osmosis Having Multi-step Energy RecoveryFull OverlapFull OverlapFull OverlapFull Overlap
CN212731714USeawater desalination equipmentPartial OverlapFull OverlapFull OverlapFull Overlap
WO2012099074A1Salt water desalination apparatusFull OverlapPartial OverlapFull OverlapNo Overlap
WO2004065308A1Water Desalination InstallationFull OverlapPartial OverlapFull OverlapFull Overlap
US2012234760A1Desalination apparatus and desalination methodFull OverlapPartial OverlapFull OverlapNo Overlap
JP2014034005ASalt water desalination apparatus and fresh water production methodFull OverlapPartial OverlapFull OverlapNo Overlap
JP2013252502ADevice for desalination of salt water and water producing methodFull OverlapPartial OverlapPartial OverlapPartial Overlap
US2007181473A1Water Desalination InstallationPartial OverlapPartial OverlapFull OverlapPartial Overlap

 

You can refine original search results based on records that you identify as highly relevant, and these additional steps can significantly improve the quality of the results. However, in the case study above, we conducted the benchmarking without employing any such refinements.

In conclusion, conducting a thorough evaluation of semantic search performance using your own invention descriptions is crucial. Our approach involved benchmarking the invention description against Title, Abstract, Claims, and Summary of Invention.

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