Figure above: When electricity is applied the optical element gets a shape.

Another Canon patent spotted by Egami (translated).

Liquid lenses have a series of advantages over traditional lenses. Beside not having moving parts (and thus less mechanical parts), they respond quicker to electrical signals, they do not have a motor (you thought that USM was the big thing? Think again) and they are naturally much more silent. The lack of a motor also means such a lens needs less electrical power, hence the battery lasts longer. Liquid lenses are most likely going to be employed in compact cameras and/or smartphones. If you want a more scientific description about what liquid lenses are and do, I recommend this article.

It is not the first time Canon files a patent for a liquid lens (and yes, I shamelessly recycled some of the text of my previous post :-) ).

Patent description (machine translated):

• Patent Publication No. 2013-101227
  • Publication date 2013.5.23
  • Filing date 2011.11.9
• Canon patent
  • I drive a plurality of pumps
  • Drive pump liquid optical element to hold the end of the interface
  • When applied to the electrodes, electrowetting phenomenon in which the liquid moves to the interface from the drive pump occurs
  • Optical properties are changed by the movement of the liquid
  • By discretely and independently controlled and a voltage, enabling high-speed drive

[via Egami]

Egami (translated) spotted another Canon patent. Two superzoom lenses, one for APS-C cameras (18-200mm f/3.5-5.6), the other for full-frame (28-200mm f/3.5-5.6). Given all the patents I published in the last months, it appears that Canon is intensively working n new technology. Both lenses are image stabilized and both are most probably future kit lenses.

• Patent Publication No. 2013-97184
  • Publication date 2013.5.20
  • Filing date 2011.11.1
• Example 1
  • Zoom ratio 10.39
  • Focal length f = 18.60-60.40-193.27mm
  • Fno. 3.48-4.98-5.88
  • Half angle ω = 36.27-12.74-4.04 °
  • Image height 13.65mm
  • 144.58-176.50-208.42mm overall length of the lens
  • BF 38.09-63.96-77.06mm
  • 16 pieces of 13-group lens configuration
  • Four four-sided aspherical
  • The effective diameter of the front lens 55.82mm
  • MOD 0.5m
• Example 3
  • Zoom ratio 6.69
  • Focal length f = 28.90-76.87-193.28mm
  • Fno. 3.60-5.27-5.88
  • Half angle ω = 36.82-15.72-6.39 °
  • Image height 21.64mm
  • 144.56-176.58-208.59mm overall length of the lens
  • BF 38.00-66.95-76.98mm
  • 15 pieces of 11-group lens configuration
  • Four four-sided aspherical
  • The effective diameter of the front lens 62.81mm
  • MOD 0.5m
• Canon patent
  • 5-group zoom positive and negative negative positive positive
  • Inner Focus (third group)
    • Because it is possible to reduce the beam effective diameter of the first group, can be miniaturized optical system
  • Image stabilization

[via Egami]

 

Indefatigable Japanese site Egami (translated) spotted another Canon patent. It concerns a 3-layer image sensor that appears to be particularly sensitive to light. No idea where such a sensor could be employed, maybe in a future generation of high-end cameras?

Patent description (machine translated):

• Patent Publication No. 2013-93553
  • Publication date 2013.5.16
  • Filing date 2011.10.4
• Imaging element of three-layer structure
  • Photodiode deep layer (hereinafter, PD) in the charge is diffused into the substrate
  • Thus sensitivity is poor red
• Canon patent
  • I as a photonic crystal of irregular shape, the boundary surface of the PD of red or green,
  • In the periodic structure of uneven spacing, less than twice the 1/4 times or more the wavelength of light, or I shall be two times or less 1/2 times or more
  • Irregular shape has the properties to be spatially-localized or resonant light
    • The incident light is diffracted, it combines with the light of the boundary plane, the resonant
    • Prolonged exists than normal, the light becomes easy to be absorbed by the PD Thus

Egami (translated) spotted a new Canon patent. Three lenses are covered by the patent: 18-90mm f/3.5-5.6, 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, 30mm f/2.8. The patent appears to refer to lenses that are resistant to temperature variation, i.e. that have consistent performance regardless of temperature variations .

• Patent Publication No. 2013-88736
  • Publication date 2013.5.13
  • Filing date 2011.10.21
• Example 1
  • Zoom ratio 7.02
  • Focal length f = 18.60 – 130.50mm
  • Fno 3.59 -. 5.88
  • Half angle ω = 36.29 – 5.98 °
  • Image height 13.66mm
  • 187.48mm – 138.01 overall length of the lens
  • BF 35.60 – 70.79mm
  • Effective diameter of 58.92mm front lens
  • 16 pieces of 12-group lens configuration
  • One piece of one aspherical surface
  • One UD glass
  • 6-group zoom positive and negative negative positive positive
  • Inner Focus (Group 4)
• Example 2
  • Zoom ratio 4.73
  • Focal length f = 18.60 – 87.97mm
  • Fno 3.59 -. 5.88
  • Half angle ω = 36.29 – 8.83 °
  • Image height 13.66mm
  • 164.98mm – 125.04 overall length of the lens
  • BF 35.60 – 69.29mm
  • Effective diameter of 61.54mm front lens
  • 13 pieces of 9 lens configuration
  • One piece of one aspherical surface
  • 4-group zoom positive and negative positive positive
  • Inner Focus (the second group)
• Example 3
  • Focal length f = 29.48mm
  • Fno. 2.92
  • Half angle ω = 24.86 °
  • Image height 13.66mm
  • The overall length of the lens 78.43mm
  • BF 35.40mm
  • Effective diameter of 22.43mm front lens
  • 10 pieces of 8 lens configuration
  • One piece of one aspherical surface
• Resin lens
  • Vulnerable to temperature change
  • There are restrictions on the type of coating, ghost and flare cause of
• Canon patent
  • The final lens group is arranged a resin lens having a concave surface facing the image side, and place the glass lens on the image side
  • Weaken the power of the resin lens, I reduce the performance variation due to temperature change
  • Incident light axial rays is arranged in a low position of the resin lens, to suppress the influence of the birefringence variation of the resin lens
  • Likely to occur in the concave surface of the resin lens ghost is avoided by optimization of the power of the air lens in the shape of the glass lens and resin lens, in the meantime

Egami (translated) spotted a Canon patent concerning an image stabilized lens for astro-photography. The lens is able to automatically track objects (stars etc). Canon has a DSLR suited for astro-photography, the EOS 60Da (price & specs). Such a lens obviously needs a camera that supports it. That means GPS, levelling, and a powerful CPU.

• Patent Publication No. 2013-77910
  • Publication date 2013.4.25
  • Filing date 2011.9.29
• Canon patent
  • In the lens anti-vibration mechanism from etc., let me change the direction of the optical axis
  • From the GPS, etc., I ask the coordinates and altitude
  • Detects the inclination of the posture from the electronic level, etc., to determine the direction of the optical axis
  • Calculate the speed and direction of movement of celestial angle of view, and controls the lens according to the calculation result