| Abstract: |
With the trend of energy conservation and carbon emissions reduction, methods for reducing the energy consumption of airconditioning systems through technological development has become a prevalent industry research topic. Studies have been conducted on the application of film technology on large airconditioning and dehumidification systems. This study performed a patent search through Taiwanese and US patent databases to analyze various technological development trends among competitive manufacturers. Through interviews with experts, this study established a technology classification fishbone framework for film dehumidification and used technical-analysis software for plotting a technical-efficacy matrixto serve as a reference for future research and development. The results revealed that film dehumidification technology has reached its inflection point of technical development and entered technical maturity. The primary patent owners were 7AC Technologies, Texas A&M University, and Daikin Industries. Currently, film patterns have the greatest number of patents (222), followed by runner-type devices (175) and humidification methods (134). Among film patterns, flat-type film has the highest number of patents (98); 79 patents have also been grantedfor hollow fiber tubes. Regarding humidification methods, mixed systems of film and a dehumidifying agent had the greatest number of patents (64), indicating thatcombining two methods may be the primary focus of future short-term development. For runner-type devices, straight-type technology had the greatest number of patents (119). In summary, this study concluded that few patents have been granted for tubular film, roll-type film, vacuum dehumidification methods, and Z-type runners but that breakthroughs regarding the technical gap for these technologies are possible. In the short term, using thin film to completely replace other humidification methods is infeasible. However, combining film and dehumidifying agents can be the focus of future short-term development.
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