‘3밀 Risk’ Elevators, Virus Blocking Technology Patent Applications Increase↑

Graph of patent application status for elevator virus transmission prevention technology. Provided by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Patent applications for technologies that block virus transmission inside elevators?known as high-risk spaces characterized by the so-called "3M" conditions: enclosed spaces (Milpae), close contact (Miljip), and crowdedness (Miljip)?are rapidly increasing.

According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on the 14th, patent applications related to virus transmission blocking technologies inside elevators surged from an average of 15 per year between 2010 and 2019 to 114 last year.

This result was possible as virus transmission blocking technologies inside elevators, which are representative 3M spaces, attracted public attention amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Representative virus transmission blocking technologies applied to elevators include non-contact information input technologies that allow users to call the elevator and select destination floors without directly pressing buttons, technologies that purify and sterilize/disinfect the internal air, and technologies that sterilize/disinfect contact buttons.

Among these, non-contact information input technologies mainly use infrared sensors and cameras to recognize the hands of elevator passengers to receive information, as well as voice and smartphone-based methods to transmit information.

Additionally, internal air purification and button sterilization/disinfection technologies apply methods such as spraying disinfectants or sterilizing/disinfecting the interior with ultraviolet light when no one is inside the elevator.

As of last year, patent applications by technology type were evenly distributed: 40 cases (35%) for non-contact information input technologies, 38 cases (33%) for internal air purification and sterilization/disinfection technologies, and 36 cases (32%) for button sterilization/disinfection technologies.

Regarding applicants, unlike the period from 2010 to 2019 when applications were concentrated in companies and research institutes (71%), last year individual applicants (61%) surpassed companies and research institutes (39%).

This is interpreted as an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic situation, where the 3M environment inside elevators was perceived as a tangible risk to the public, leading to an increase in patent applications based on ideas arising from everyday life.

Park Joo-sung, an examiner at the Transportation Machinery Examination Division of KIPO, said, "I hope that risk factors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will be improved one by one through new technologies. KIPO will spare no policy support to ensure that ideas derived from daily life, such as those addressing the 3M problem inside elevators, naturally lead to patent applications."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.