Canon Patent Application: High Speed Mirror Control

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Canon patent application 20190310458 (US) discusses technology and methods for a high speed mirror mechanism.

From the patent application literature:

In view of improvement of continuous photographing performance, a technique for stably keeping the main mirror and sub mirror in the mirror-down state promptly by reducing bounds of the mirrors that occur when the mirror unit that is rapidly driven toward the mirror-down state contacts the stopper is continuously required. A conventional mirror drive device drives the mirror unit between the mirror-down state and the mirror-up state by transmitting power to the main mirror and by making the sub mirror follow a motion of the main mirror using a combination of a toggle spring and a reversal cam or a linkage mechanism. 

[…] A quick return mirror mechanism of a single-lens reflex camera moves a mirror unit that has a main mirror and a sub mirror at a high speed between a mirror-down state in which the mirror unit enters into a photographing light path and a mirror-up state in which the mirror unit is retracted from the photographing light path.

[…] A mirror drive device that is capable of achieving high speed drive of a mirror unit and of reducing generation of bounds of mirrors. A first mirror unit is rotatably attached to a mirror box and is movable between a fast position within a photographing light path and a second position outside the path. A second mirror unit is rotatably attached to the first mirror unit and is movable between a third position within the path and a fourth position outside the path. A drive member moves the first mirror unit to the second position from the first position and moves the second mirror unit to the fourth position from the third position when, the drive member is driven by an actuator to a sixth position from a fifth position.

We think this Canon patent application might get into production. High fps cameras like the EOS-1D X series in the future may well get the improvements discussed in the patent literature.

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

Canon Patent For Various RF Mount Zoom Lenses

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Canon patent application US20190369372 discusses optical formulas for various zoom lenses for the Canon EOS R system.

Among the discussed optics in this Canon patent application is a 28-280mm f/2.8 lens. All lenses seem to be designed for the EOS R full frame mirrorless system.

A zoom lens includes, in order from an object side, a positive first unit, a negative second unit, a positive intermediate group consisting of one or two units and including a third unit located on a most object side, a negative unit, and a rear group consisting of one or two units including a positive unit located on a most object side. Conditional expressions are satisfied with respect to amounts of movement of the second and third units from a wide angle end to a telephoto end, a distance at the wide angle end from a most object side surface vertex in the first unit to a most object side surface vertex in the third unit, an Abbe number of a most object side lens in the first unit, a focal length of the second unit, and focal lengths at the wide angle end and at the telephoto end.

[…]

A zoom lens of the disclosure includes a first lens unit having a positive refractive power, a second lens unit having a negative refractive power, an intermediate lens group having a positive refractive power and including one or two lens units inclusive of a third lens unit located on an object side, a lens unit having a negative refractive power, and a rear lens group including one or two lens units inclusive of a lens unit which is located on the object side and has a positive refractive power, which are arranged in order from the object side to an image side. Here, an interval between every two adjacent lens units is configured to be variable for zooming. In the meantime, a total length of the zoom lens is reduced by keeping the first lens unit unmoved relative to an image plane while varying the intervals between the lens units during the zooming. The first lens unit includes three or more lenses and mainly corrects a spherical aberration and an axial chromatic aberration on a telephoto side. The second lens unit includes three or more lenses and mainly suppresses variations in curvature of field and in chromatic aberration of magnification during the zooming. In order to achieve correction of aberrations and reduction in size at the same time, it is preferable to form each of the first lens unit and the second lens unit by use of three or four lenses. 

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

Canon Patent: Prime Lenses And A Wide Angle Zoom For Canon EOS R

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Canon patent application 2019-204115A presents a bunch of prime lenses and a wide angle zoom, all for the RF mount

The Canon patent discusses the optical formulas for these lenses for the Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless system:

  • 35mm F/1.8
  • 20mm F/2
  • 35mm F/2.8
  • 45mm F/2.8
  • 35mm F/2
  • 16-34mm F/4

With more details:

35mm F/1.8 (RF 35mm F1.8 MACRO IS STM)

  • Focal length: 35.60 mm
  • F number: 1.85
  • Half angle of view: 31.22
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 81.87 mm
  • Back focus: 13.49 mm

RF 20mm F/2

  • Focal length: 20.50 mm
  • F number: 2.06
  • Half angle of view: 46.54
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 90.13 mm
  • Back focus: 13.50 mm

RF 35mm F/2.8

  • Focal length: 35.70 mm
  • F number: 2.88
  • Half angle of view: 31.22
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 60.00 mm
  • Back focus: 13.15 mm

RF 45mm F/2.8

  • Focal length: 44.70 mm
  • F number: 2.85
  • Half angle of view: 25.83
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 62.63 mm
  • Back focus: 13.13 mm

RF 35mm F/2

  • Focal length: 35.91 mm
  • F number: 2.06
  • Half angle of view: 31.07
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 50.50 mm
  • Back focus: 15.05 mm

RF 16-34mm F/4

  • Focal length: 16.48 24.02 33.75 mm
  • F number: 4.12
  • Half angle of view: 52.70 42.01 32.66
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 117.64 109.16 110.13 mm
  • Back focus: 11.50 19.17 29.63 mm

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

[via Hi Lows Note]

Canon Patent For Superfast Prime Lenses For The EOS R System

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If we believe the sheer number of Canon patent applications for RF lenses we must think Canon takes their EOS R full frame mirrorless system very seriously.

Canon patent application 2019-197095A (Japan) discusses the optical formulas for three very fast prime lenses for the RF mount. The lenses are 18 mm f/1, 18mm f/1.2, and 25mm f/1.2. 

  • Focal length: 18.51mm
  • F no: 1.24
  • ω : 49.45
  • Image height: 21.64mm
  • Lens length: 129.00mm
  • Back focus: 16.40mm
  • Focal length: 24.59mm
  • F no: 1.24
  • ω : 41.35
  • Image height: 21.64mm
  • Lens length: 129.01mm
  • Back focus: 13.57mm
  • Focal length: 18.50mm
  • F no: 1.03
  • ω : 49.47
  • Image height: 21.64mm
  • Lens length: 150.00mm
  • Back focus: 4.99mm

Don’t expect these lenses to be announced anytime soon.

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

[via Hi Lows Note]

Canon Patent For Big Telephoto Lenses, Likely For The Canon EOS R System

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Canon patent application 2019-0339497 (USA) discusses optical formulas for 500mm f/4, 300mm f/2.8, 400mm f//4, and 800mm f/5.6 lenses for the Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless system. At least likely.

The optical formulas discusses in the patent might as well refer to the EF mount. We are not sure about this, though we tend to think the lenses are for the EOS R system. All lenses seem to have internal focusing.

You can download the patent:

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

Canon Patent For High Power Speedlite Flash With Air Cooling

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After the Canon patent application for a lens with built in vacuum cleaner, here is another interesting patent application filed by Canon.

Canon patent application 2019-185021 (Japan) discusses a high power flash unit with a built-in air cooling system. Air is sucked into the flash unit, passes through or around the flash head (the part that gets hottest) and is then put out. Effective cooling system.

An object of the present invention is to provide a lighting device capable of protecting a member related to light emission from heat associated with light emission.  A light source, a first optical member that transmits light emitted from the light source, and a light source that transmits light emitted from the light source are disposed between the light source and the first optical member. The second optical member and the air sucked from the first space, which is the inner space including the light source, on the light source side of the second optical member, and the first optical member and the second optical member. An air blowing mechanism that sends the air to a second space that is a space between the optical members.

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  • canon patent

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

[via Canon News]