The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by connected vehicles and electrification, and growing importance of technologies such as Internet of Things and cloud computing. In the last three years alone, there have been over 1.2 million patents filed and granted in the automotive industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Automotive: Turnable line connectors. Buy the report here.
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However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
290+ innovations will shape the automotive industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the automotive industry using innovation intensity models built on over 619,000 patents, there are 290+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, resilient spoke wheels, auto-transmission lubrication circuits, and ignition switching engines are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Engine purge actuators, electro-dynamic braking, and adsorptive vapour recovery system estimation are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are collision avoidance braking control system and direct injection type engines, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the automotive industry
Turnable line connectors is a key innovation area in automotive
Flexible or turnable line connectors are often used to connect equipment with moving parts and fixed duct or pipe networks. Turnable line connectors are utilised to isolate the transfer of noise, isolate the transfer of vibrations and compensate for any misalignment.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 10+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of turnable line connectors.
Key players in turnable line connectors – a disruptive innovation in the automotive industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to turnable line connectors
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Furukawa Electric | 538 | Unlock company profile |
| Alps Alpine | 70 | Unlock company profile |
| Valeo | 25 | Unlock company profile |
| Niles | 20 | Unlock company profile |
| Nexans | 18 | Unlock company profile |
| Valeo Japan | 15 | Unlock company profile |
| Tokai Rika | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kk | 13 | Unlock company profile |
| Toyota Motor | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Leopold Kostal | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Yazaki | 9 | Unlock company profile |
| Honda Motor | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Kia | 7 | Unlock company profile |
| Hyundai Motor Group | 7 | Unlock company profile |
| Sc2N | 6 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Furukawa Electric is a key player in the turnable line connectors innovation area. The company offers a wide-ranging line-up of turnable line connectors, which play an important role in reducing the risk of failure/leakages in hot water, steam, and chilled water pipe networks. Furukawa’s turnable line connectors are designed to exclude the vibration transmission from fans or ventilating units to the air duct and reduce the thermal distortion compensation within the air duct. Alps Alpine, Valeo, Niles, Nexan, and Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha are some of the other key players.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the automotive industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Automotive.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
