Ten years ago, a news that Chinese tourists went to Japan to buy rice cookers appeared on the hot search, and caused Chinese people to worry and reflect on "Made in China". Today, ten years later, through scientific and technological innovation, domestic enterprises represented by Midea have not only broken through the patent blockade of foreign brands, but also built a new patent system and led the second and third waves of global rice cooker technology upgrading because of their disruptive innovation and accurate user insight into core technologies.
A small rice cooker is just the tip of the iceberg. In recent years, as a technology group based on the world, Midea Group (000333) has gone hand in hand in the ToC business represented by home appliances and smart home and the ToB sector dominated by new energy and industrial technology, robotics and automation, and intelligent building technology, and has been at the forefront of technological innovation and patent layout - user-oriented efficient innovation has become a new engine for the company to participate in global competition, and forward-looking patent layout and strict management measures have put on armor for this engine.
Chiyan rice cooker has an innovative heating method
According to the data, by the end of 2023, the number of valid patent applications worldwide exceeded 100,000, of which more than 80,000 valid patents were granted worldwide. Among them, in 2023 alone, Midea Group has authorized more than 10,000 global patents (including more than 4,500 invention authorizations). On the occasion of the 24th (2024.4.26) World Intellectual Property Day, Midea Group is committed to building new quality productivity with its own strength, echoing the theme of "Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development Goals: Building a Common Future Based on Innovation and Creativity".
Innovation patents require quantity and quality
The object of the patent right is the invention and creation. In other words, there is innovation before there is a claim to innovation. Midea Group, which has listed "leading technology" as the first of the four strategic axes, has continuously increased its layout and investment in core areas and cutting-edge technologies in recent years, especially focusing on high-quality patent innovation, and has borne fruitful results.
As one of the core categories of Midea Group's ToC end, Midea Air Conditioning has invested its innovation goal in the research and industrial application of next-generation refrigeration technology. Among them, it took 14 years to complete the research and development of core components including R290 compressors, heat exchangers and controller components, especially to solve the technical problems of "low impulse, large displacement and high flow resistance" of R290 refrigerant, and completed more than 200 domestic and foreign patents related to low GWP refrigerant R290 products, opening up a new path for leading the global refrigeration technology upgrade. "Refrigerant is the blood of air conditioning operation", said Shao Yanpo, head of the performance development platform of the R&D center of Midea's household air conditioning division, "Today, when the Kigali Amendment has become a global consensus, the technological breakthrough and industrialization of R290 refrigerant application have once again enhanced the international influence and voice of Chinese air conditioning enterprises."
GMCC Mercy Air Conditioner Compressor
The rice cooker mentioned above is also a typical example of breakthrough innovation and leading industrial technology upgrading. In recent years, focusing on the core functions of rice cookers, Midea has made comprehensive breakthroughs in multi-stage IH heating technology, low-sugar patented technology, Chiyan multi-stage IH patented technology, and supersonic cold spraying technology. In particular, it is worth mentioning the patented low-sugar technology and the Chiyan multi-stage IH patented technology, the former promotes the second upgrade of the industry from "good taste" to healthy low-sugar rice through the innovative design of the sugar draining kettle and the underlying technology patent at the level of the layout mechanism of the relationship between resistant starch and human blood sugar. With more than 100 domestic and foreign patents, Chiyan multi-stage IH technology is upgrading healthy rice to 5-star (fragrant, sweet, loose, glutinous, and moist) healthy and good rice, thus driving the third upgrade of the industry.
From followers to leaders, from game-breakers to "controllers", high-quality technological innovation has become the key to achieving this transformation. This kind of R&D and innovation, which does not shy away from difficulties, especially the courage to focus on key technologies, is not only reflected in the ToC sector, but also in the B-end oriented field of Midea.
As we all know, the energy storage industry currently has industry problems such as poor safety, short life, low efficiency, and long return on investment, and the Midea Electrical Research Institute is focusing on the two core components of BMS (battery management) and PCS (power electronics technology), and has obtained a total of 35 invention patents in high-precision battery information acquisition, abnormal diagnosis and early warning, power conversion and control.
In terms of motor technology, which is the most common in modern industrial applications, Midea's research and development of "Rotor Position Estimation Method, Device and Motor Control System of Motor" has achieved a breakthrough in the underlying common technology of motor drive control through multiple pioneering technologies, and successfully solved the industry problem of motor miniaturization and overload drive, which is 15% higher than that of foreign benchmark competitors, and 3% higher energy efficiency, which has achieved a reversal in one fell swoop.
Energy storage technology
Welling Motor
In addition, Midea Industrial Technology Motor Products Co., Ltd. has made comprehensive breakthroughs in motor power density, noise level, reliability and other aspects through system research and development. With the blessing of patented technology, the "air conditioning fan motor" product represented by Welling's new generation of household air conditioning BLDC motor won the "single champion" list by virtue of its leading technical advantages and international influence.
Based on users, the high-level research and development of key technologies, key components and industry-level problems has not only allowed Midea to gain face, but also earned "lining". According to the data provided by Liu Huayong, the head of the pilot research of the cooking appliance innovation platform of the Midea Household Appliances Division, the use of Midea's low-sugar patented technology and Chiyan multi-section patented technology covers different price ranges of 199 yuan to 3599 yuan, which has firmly stuck in the main sales price segment in the market competition, and has sold more than 20 million units and achieved sales of 5.68 billion yuan.
Zooming in to the entire Midea Group, in the past 2023, Midea's innovative technology patents have won a number of honors in the 24th China Patent Award in 2023, among which "Frame Components and Clothing Handling Devices of Clothing Handling Devices" won the China Patent Silver Award, and "Floor Air Conditioner (CH)" won the China Design Silver Award; Eight patents, including computer equipment and storage medium", "range hood", "microwave oven food thawing control method and microwave oven", won the China Patent Excellence Award. In addition, Midea also won 21 provincial patent awards in 2023. Today, when market growth is increasingly dependent on scientific and technological innovation, Midea's emerging high-quality innovation patents are forming their own new quality productivity and promoting Midea's continuous progress.
Offensive and defensive order, with strategic thinking to lay out patents
As mentioned above, innovation in technology research and development is the foundation of patent claims. As a follower, how to break out of the patent blockade, and how to make forward-looking deployment and build its own moat after becoming a leader, which is particularly important in today's world when intellectual property has become the core competitiveness.
Taking Chiyan IH technology patent as an example, at the beginning of the project in Midea, the upper cover IH heating technology has formed a "patent wall" composed of more than 200 patents in the field of rice cookers. In the end, Midea opened up a new technical route with its self-developed coil heating and temperature control scheme, successfully broke through the "patent wall", and built a new "patent moat", thus building a leading position in Midea's upper cover red flame heating technology.
As Midea's first initiative in a new field, the low-sugar patent reflects more of a defensive side in its patent strategy. Generally speaking, the realization of an innovative function is nothing more than design principles, materials, processes and other aspects. Midea has firmly built a technical firewall through a comprehensive patent protection layout for the structural design of the low-sugar kettle, the underlying mechanism of resistant starch, the cooking process and the control method.
As a patent for supersonic cold spraying technology developed in an in-depth technical no-man's land, it can better reflect Midea's strict layout in patent defense. According to Wan Peng, the leader of the project and the chief engineer of the material research institute of the Midea Household Appliances Division, in order to prevent plagiarism and infringement by latecomers, the core patents are laid out in a hierarchical manner, and obstacles are gradually set up to increase the difficulty of infringement. In addition, in order to improve the protection effect of patents, Midea also protects the structural changes brought about by the application of cold spray technology to different scenarios as an expanded reserve patent, and makes overseas patent layout according to the expected sales area of the product and the distribution of competitors.
Midea's life appliance experts are discussing the technical problems of rice cookers
The technology itself has a high threshold, layers of fortification, and predictive fortification, and Midea has applied for nearly 100 domestic and foreign patents only around the cold spraying technology on the IH pot liner. It is no wonder that Wan Peng said, "The product has been on the market for 5 years, and no competing products have been found in the domestic market to follow up."
This kind of patent layout thinking extends to the entire Midea Group. Focusing on industry problems, we even go deep into the technical no-man's land to explore and improve the success of patent innovation, fortify and build technical barriers at all levels, and set up a professional intellectual property team on a global scale to carry out comprehensive management of patents. As a result, Midea has formed a complete set of orderly, rigorous and efficient intellectual property rights system, which effectively protects R&D and innovation achievements and empowers Midea's new development.
It is particularly worth mentioning that on April 17 this year, around the theme of World Intellectual Property Day and the company's strategy, Midea's "Intellectual Property Month" activity kicked off again. Through professional training and publicity for different business groups, the awareness and literacy of intellectual property rights of various business groups will be further enhanced. In 2024, Midea will focus on high-value patents and overseas patent layout to further escort the company's overseas development strategy.
Continue to invest in scientific and technological innovation to create new quality productivity
Forty-four years ago, in 1980, China joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and 23 years ago, in 2001, China formally joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). The former is for Chinese enterprises to break down the barriers of thinking and recognize the value of knowledge innovation with globally accepted standards, while the latter is to open the door and participate in global competition with actions.
Midea, which originated in 1968 and entered the home appliance industry in 1980, has witnessed these two key moments throughout the process. Acknowledging that knowledge is also a kind of property right and participating in global competition in accordance with the rules of the game of intellectual property, Chinese enterprises represented by Midea, especially Chinese private enterprises, have embarked on the road of counterattack under the global coordinate system.
"Science and technology is the primary productive force" has long been deeply rooted in the bone marrow, in the experience of the extensive market growth era of the test, several rounds of financial crises, especially in recent years when the global economic downturn intruded, this recognition is even more deafening. It is precisely for this reason that Midea has listed "leading technology" as the first of the four strategic axes.
Under the background of the leading strategy of science and technology, Midea knows that continuous investment is the "food and grass" of R&D and innovation. The latest statistics show that from 2021 to 2023, the total R&D investment will exceed 39 billion yuan, and the R&D investment in 2023 will exceed 14.5 billion yuan, continuing to hit a record high.
The continuous high investment has made Midea at the leading level in the construction of scientific research facilities and R&D teams. By the end of 2023, Midea has 16 national-level science and technology innovation platforms, such as the National Key Laboratory, the National Industrial Design Center, the National Enterprise Technology Center, the National Artificial Intelligence Open Innovation Platform, the National Industrial Internet Platform, the National Postdoctoral Research Workstation, etc., and 70 provincial and ministerial-level science and technology innovation platforms, such as the Provincial Key Laboratory, the Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center, the Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, the Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, the Provincial Key Laboratory, the Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center, the Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, the Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, the Provincial Key Laboratory, the Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center, the Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, the Provincial Key Laboratory, the Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center, the Provincial Enterprise Technology Center, As of December 2023, Midea has more than 23,000 R&D personnel worldwide, accounting for more than 50% of non-production personnel.
Foshan Midea's global innovation center
For Midea Group, the improvement of innovation ability is not only reflected in visible statistics. Within the group, Midea has formed a "three-generation" R&D model based on the research of technology, users and markets, continuously optimized the "four-level R&D system", and integrated various resources such as major enterprises, scientific research institutes and universities to build the world's top R&D capabilities by building an open innovation ecological platform and integrating various resources such as major enterprises, scientific research institutes and universities. At the same time, through the innovation of the management system, Midea further implements the "3+1" standardization strategy of "innovation patenting, patent standardization, standard internationalization, and Midea standards going global", and through the two-level standardization management system of "group-business department" and the parallel dual-drive mode of "standard innovation + product innovation", the innovation achievements are transformed into advanced technology standards, and the implementation of the "science and technology leadership" strategy is effectively promoted.
As of 2023, Midea has won 3 national science and technology awards, 440 provincial and ministerial/social force science and technology awards, and 340 international leading technological achievements. In terms of patents, by the end of 2023, Midea Group has accumulated more than 100,000 global patent applications and more than 80,000 valid patents.
With "sharp" to hold and "strong" to wear, Midea is forming its own new quality productivity through user-oriented scientific and technological innovation and patent protection, showing the demeanor of Chinese enterprises in the new era on a global scale.