Canon Patent: Drone Camera Pan/tilt Assembly And Mount

Here is a somewhat different Canon patent application. A drone camera pan/tilt assembly.

Canon patent application 2022-046746 discusses methods and technology for a drone camera assembly.

[Problem] To provide an imaging device which can be miniaturized.

A camera 100 includes a tilt unit 40 having a lens unit 50, a base unit 20, a pan unit 40 erected from the base unit 20 and rotatably supporting the tilt unit 40, and a tilt drive unit 350 for rotationally driving the tilt unit 30. The tilt drive unit 350 has a drive unit 351 for transmitting a drive force, and the tilt drive unit 350 is disposed on the pan chassis 311 of the pan unit 30 so that the drive unit 351 is in pressure contact with the lens unit 50.

[…]

In particular, in order to finely control the rotation in the tilt direction, it is necessary to greatly reduce the rotation of the motor, so that a plurality of pulleys and timing belts are required, and the tilt drive mechanism becomes large. As a result, the image pickup device consisting of the camera and the rotation drive mechanism also becomes large, and the degree of freedom of mounting on the handlebar of the drone or bicycle may be reduced, and in particular, the weight of the image pickup device may exceed the maximum load capacity in the drone. ..
An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device, an image pickup device, and a mobile body that can be miniaturized.

More Canon patent applications are listed here. Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production are these:

• Automatic shutter silencing based on subject and distance
• A bunch of prime lenses for the RF mount
• An improved Electronic Viewfinder
• Patent application for RF 50mm F1.4 and an RF 35mm f/1.4 lenses
• A zoom lens that might be for an EOS R with APS-C sensor
• A smaller IBIS unit.
• A cooling adapter for the RF mount (R5 overheating?)
• A bunch of macro lenses for the RF mount.
• A 8mm f/4 circular fisheye lens for the Canon EOS R system
• A battery grip that works with differently siszed cameras
• A 100-400mm f/5.5-7.1 lens for APS-C cameras. EOS M or DSLR?
• RF 17-70mm lens for EOS R system
• IBIS coming to the EOS M and PowerShot lineup?
• Patent Application: mirrorless camera with large display and virtual control wheel
• Patent Application: IBIS and Lens IS Working Together
• Patent application for high speed mirror movement and control
• Patent application for an RF 14-28mm f/2 lens
• Patent application for an RF 50mm f/1.8 lens
• Patent application for a smart lens cap
• Patent application for celestial auto-focus
• Patent application describing a Pop-Up Flash With LED
• Patent application describing the optical formula for a RF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 IS lens for EOS R systems
• Patent application describing how to improve burst rate by compressing raw files
• Patent application describing a new way to review photos from a sequential shot
• Patent application that describes technology to improve wireless communication while reducing power consumption
• Patent application to spot and reduce moire artefacts in image data
• Patent application for weather sealed lens adapter
• Patent application for AI powered predictive camera control system
• Patent application for 18-55mm kit lens with LCD display
• Patent application to reduce noise in image files

[via CN]