Patent research concerning algorithms, methods and software products for managing the quality of design documentation

This study addresses the critical challenge of ensuring and managing the quality of design documentation in the development of high-tech equipment and radio-electronic apparatus. In the context of Russian government directives on import substitution, improving product quality and reducing production costs are paramount. The research highlights a fundamental problem: while regulatory standards frequently reference quality control, they lack unified, formalized methodologies for systematically preventing non-conformities. Most provisions are recommendatory, leaving developers with excessive freedom, which results in a fragmented approach to design documentation quality.

To assess practical capabilities, the study compares four leading CAD systems: KOMPAS-3D, Siemens NX, AutoCAD, and CATIA. The analysis reveals significant functional disparities across seven key areas, including regulatory compliance control, geometry verification, version comparison, and feedback mechanisms. Crucially, foreign systems like Siemens NX and CATIA offer superior tools for geometric analysis and model verification; however, they require extensive, labor-intensive adaptation to align with the Russian ESKD standards. Conversely, the domestic system KOMPAS-3D is natively compliant with ESKD but lags in the depth of its geometric verification capabilities. This divergence means that the same documentation can receive varying quality assessments depending on the software environment used, fundamentally undermining the goal of a unified quality management system.

Recognizing these systemic gaps, the study proceeds with a comprehensive patent analysis covering the period from 2016 to 2025. Using patent databases and specific IPC subclasses related to document management and verification, a linear regression model was constructed to analyze global patent activity. The statistical analysis demonstrates a strong positive correlation (r = 0.94) between the year of publication and the number of patent documents, confirming a steady global increase in innovation within this domain. The constructed regression equation (y = -71824.9 + 35.77x) and the graphical patent landscape further validate this robust upward trend.

Despite this global growth, the patent landscape reveals a critical deficiency: the overwhelming majority of existing solutions are of foreign origin. The disparity between foreign CAD capabilities and the underdeveloped domestic ecosystem for quality control algorithms underscores a pressing need to intensify Russian research and development efforts. The study concludes that standardizing quality assurance methodologies and fostering the creation of domestic software tools are essential steps to ensure consistent design documentation quality, reduce costly late-stage defect corrections, and achieve national industrial independence.