A patent is a kind of technical document to protect intellectual property for individuals or enterprises. Patentable idea generation is a crucial step for patent application and analogy is confirmed to be an effective technique to inspire creative ideas. Analogy-based design usually starts from representation of an analogy source and is followed by the retrieval of appropriate analogs, mapping of design knowledge and adaptation of target solution. To diffuse one core idea into other new contexts and achieve more patentable ideas, this paper mainly centered on the first two stages of analogy-based design and proposed a patentable ideation framework. The analogical information of the source system, including source design problems and solution, was mined comprehensively through International Patent Classification analysis and represented in the form of function, behavior and structure. Three heuristics were suggested for searching the set of candidate target systems with a similar design problem, where the source design could be transferred. To systematize the process of source representation, analogs retrieval, idea transfer, and solution generation, an ideation model was put forward. Finally, the bladeless fan was selected as a source design to illustrate the application of this work. The design output shows that the representation and heuristics are beneficial, and this systematic ideation method can help the engineer or designer enhance creativity and discover more patentable opportunities.

While Product-Service Systems (PSS) have a potential sustainability impact by increasing a product’s life and reducing resource consumption, the lack of ownership might lead to less responsible user behavior. Smart PSS can overcome this obstacle and guarantee correct and safe PSS use. In this context, intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) with PSS can effectively reduce traffic accidents and ensure the safety of vehicles and pedestrians by guaranteeing optimal and safe vehicle operation. A core subsystem to support that is the collision-warning system (CWS). Existing CWSs are, however, limited to in-car warning; users have less access to the warning information, so the result of CWS for collision avoidance is insufficient. Therefore, CWS needs to be extended to include more elements and stakeholders in the collision scenario. This paper aims to provide a novel understanding of extended CWS (ECWS), outline the conceptual framework of ECWS, and contribute a conceptual modeling approach of ECWS from the smart PSS perspective at the functional level. It defines an integrated solution of intelligent products and warning services. The function is modeled based on the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). Functions of an ECWS from the perspective of smart PSS can be comprehensively expressed to form an overall solution of integrated intelligent products, electronic services, and stakeholders. Based on the case illustration, the proposed method can effectively help function modeling and development of the ECWS at a conceptual level. This can effectively avoid delays due to traffic accidents and ensure the safety of vehicles and pedestrians.