Dr. Agnes Poulbot is a Ph.D. in applied mathematics, and currently holds the position of senior expert in 3D design simulation programs at Michelin. She is a mother of five and loves solving puzzles. One such puzzle she untangled is related to truck tire treads which earned her European inventor of the year award in 2018 given by the European Patent Office (EPO).
Dr. Agnes Poulbot invented a regenerative tire tread technology in which a new tire tread emerges when the current one in contact with the ground wears off. The technology is marketed as Reginion by Michelin and extends the lifespan of a tire by 20% and reduces 3724 kg C02 emission per tire.
She didn’t follow the traditional approach of using a single layer but designed a tire with multiple shallow treads, stacked on top of each other. Next, she developed a special mold using 3D printing to make mass production possible. You can read Dr. Agnes’ patent on re-generative tire tread by clicking here. Below we have brought a quick snapshot of her patent portfolio.
Agnès Poulbot Patents
Agnès Poulbot’s patent portfolio has 13 patents that belong to 3 unique patent families. The below exhibits highlight the key statistics of her patent portfolio.
Technology wise distribution of Agnès Poulbot’s Patents
In the table below, we have picked one unique patent from each family.
| Publication Number | Title | Technology |
| BR112019005034A2 | Tyre which comprises three layers of work | Regenerating tire treads |
| CN102256812B | Tread with improved drainage space | Regenerating tire treads |
| IN201104355P1 | Tread with an improved drainage space | Regenerating tire treads |
Country Wise Patent Filing
The patent count in the exhibit below is calculated by including each family member of a patent family. A patent family can have multiple patent documents – filed globally or in a single country – covering a single invention.
An Interesting Patent
One patent that stands out in Agnès Poulbot’s portfolio is US8939183B2. It has received 39 citations and has family members in the United States, China, France, and Japan.
If a patent is cited by a lot of other patents, it implies that the technology is being followed and incrementally innovated. This indicates the importance of a patent. Furthermore, it also indicates that citing companies are working on similar or closely related technologies.