Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

The global automotive industry is shifting towards modular, software-defined vehicle architectures, demanding greater flexibility and cost efficiency in development. Manufacturers face immense pressure to expand product portfolios while simultaneously reducing per-model engineering expenses. This technology aligns perfectly with this trend by offering a standardized, adaptable relay system that can significantly streamline the development process for new and derivative models, enabling faster innovation cycles and more competitive product offerings worldwide.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Significantly Reduces Development Costs: Optimizes development expenses by enabling common portable and vehicle relay units across car models, reducing individual design and development effort by up to 50%.

02

Maximizes Wireless Communication Quality: Enhances wireless communication stability and reliability by automatically switching to optimal parameters for each vehicle type, improving remote operation precision.

03

Flexible Adaptation to Diverse Vehicle Models: Supports multiple vehicle models with a single relay system, enabling rapid and easy deployment to new or derivative models and increasing product lineup flexibility.

Market Opportunity
Automotive OEMs
$50B–$100B globally (AI est.)
Commonizing relay systems in new vehicle development could significantly reduce development costs and timelines, directly enhancing competitiveness.
Global automotive manufacturers Electric vehicle startups Commercial vehicle producers
Automotive Component Suppliers
$20B–$50B globally (AI est.)
Supplying common relay units as standardized components could improve production efficiency and enable adaptation to high-mix, low-volume production, fostering business expansion.
Tier 1 automotive electronics suppliers Telematics system providers Aftermarket component manufacturers
Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) Providers
$5B–$20B globally (AI est.)
In managing diverse vehicle fleets, a common relay system could enhance operational efficiency and maintainability, improving overall service quality.
Ride-sharing and car-sharing operators Autonomous shuttle service providers Fleet management solution developers
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent protects a vehicle relay system that achieves commonality across different vehicle types by storing and switching communication parameters. The claims were robustly established through successful responses to examiner rejections, indicating a stable and difficult-to-invalidate scope, providing a strong foundation for licensees.

Competitive White Space

Adjacent areas not covered by this patent include advanced security protocols for remote access and integration with specific vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication standards beyond basic relay functions.

Economic Impact
~$1M/year estimated vehicle development cost reduction per facility (est.)
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

Assuming an average development cost of ~$2M (AI est.) for relay systems in new vehicle development. This technology could reduce relay unit design and verification effort by 50% (~$1M AI est.) and procurement costs by 20% (~$0.4M AI est.) due to component commonality. The total estimated annual reduction is ~$1M (AI est.).

Speed to Market
6× faster than in-house development
This technology's clear technical concept for relay system commonality and vehicle-specific parameter settings, along with its well-defined operating principles in the claims, allows for a significant reduction in design and verification phases compared to greenfield development. This could accelerate market entry by approximately 2.5 years. Its interface design with existing in-vehicle systems and wireless communication modules is relatively straightforward, enabling rapid prototype development and transition to field trials.
Competitive Positioning

X: Product Adaptability Range
Y: Development Efficiency

Business Models & Applications
📝 Licensing Model
License this technology to automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, enabling them to design, manufacture, and sell common vehicle relay systems.
🤝 Joint Development & System Integration
Collaborate with specific automotive manufacturers to develop next-generation relay systems based on this technology, aiming for exclusive deployment in their vehicle models.
⚙️ Component & Module Supply Model
Develop and manufacture relay system modules implementing this technology, offering them as versatile components compatible with various vehicle models to the automotive industry.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
🏠 Smart Home Systems
Multi-Vendor Appliance Integration Hub
This technology could centralize control of diverse smart home appliances from various manufacturers. It could store and switch communication protocols for each device, enabling users to operate all appliances via a single interface, potentially reducing setup complexity by over 50%.
🏭 Industrial IoT
Multi-Device Factory Communication Hub
Applicable as a communication hub for diverse IoT devices, robots, and sensors within a factory. By storing device-specific communication parameters and automatically selecting optimal paths and protocols, it could enhance data exchange efficiency by 20-30% across heterogeneous systems.
📦 Logistics & Warehouse Management
Centralized Control for Mixed Fleet Robotics
This system could manage and control various automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and drones from different manufacturers. Switching communication methods and operational parameters per robot could optimize fleet operations and improve warehouse throughput by up to 15%.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 24-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Technical Feasibility Assessment & Requirements Definition
Duration: 3 months
Evaluate technical compatibility with the licensee's existing vehicle control systems and portable devices, defining specific requirements and objectives for integrating this technology.
Phase 2: Prototype Development & Field Trials
Duration: 9 months
Develop a prototype incorporating this technology for selected vehicle models. Conduct verification of communication quality and functionality under actual vehicle conditions, assessing performance.
Phase 3: Mass Production Design & Market Launch
Duration: 12 months
Based on field trial results, optimize the design for mass production. Prepare for integration into manufacturing lines and aim for full-scale market introduction.
Technical Feasibility
This technology's components, such as the 'parameter storage unit' and 'setting switch' described in the claims, are structured for easy integration into existing vehicle control units and portable devices via software updates or module additions. It exhibits high compatibility with general wireless communication protocols, suggesting potential for implementation without significant capital investment. Deployment is anticipated to be relatively low-cost and quick, functioning as an add-on to existing systems.
Success Scenario
Implementing this technology could enable companies to reduce development time for relay systems in new vehicle models by up to 50%. This would shorten product lead times to market, establishing a competitive advantage. Furthermore, component commonality is estimated to yield annual cost savings in the millions of dollars (AI est.), allowing for more flexible expansion of product lineups.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2022-155923
REGISTRATION NO.
7450291
FILING DATE
2022/09/29
GRANT DATE
2024/03/07
EXPIRATION DATE
2042/09/29
PATENT HOLDER
株式会社ユピテル
Examination History
2022年09月29日
出願審査請求書
2023年07月04日
拒絶理由通知書
2023年09月01日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2023年09月01日
意見書
2023年10月24日
拒絶理由通知書
2023年12月25日
意見書
2023年12月25日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2024年02月06日
特許査定