Canon Patent For Translucent Mirror (?)

Canon Patent 2014_202780_fig05

Edit: it’s not the first time Canon uses a translucent mirror technology (thanks JOKJOK).

Egami (translated) spotted an interesting patent filed by Canon.

Looks like a patent for a technology similar to Sony’s translucent mirror. The aim is to use the on-sensor auto-focus (think Dual Pixel AF) while using the optical view-finder. Intriguing. Canon is always doing research and I like it.

Patent description (machine translated):

  • Patent Publication No. 2014-202780
    • Published 2014.10.27
    • Filing date 2013.4.1
  • Canon patent of
    • Half mirror transmittance of the variable for each region
    • The center of the screen AF
      • Phase difference AF
      • Half mirror center only transmission of
      • Half mirror around is reflected, and guided to the OVF
    • Screen around the AF
      • Contrast AF
      • Selected regions of the half-mirror that portion of the transmittance, reflection otherwise

What do you think, did I get the patent right?

[via Egami ]

 

Canon Patent To Reduce Ghosting Artefacts

2014_207253_fig01

Egami (translated) spotted a patent filed by Canon to reduce ghosting artefacts by a new engineering of the micro-lenses (that stay above of the pixel sensors). If I got the patent right, a reverse-phase layer is applied on the micro-lens.

Machine translated patent description:

  • Patent Publication No. 2014-207253
    • Published 2014.10.30
    • Filing date 2012.4.17
  • Challenge
    • Micro-lens is a positive phase structure are aligned periodically
    • Periodic phase structure, the incident light is reflected and diffracted
    • Angle of incidence of the reflected diffracted light is unexpected, UV IRCF is reflected in ghost to generate and produce a red regular pattern
  • Canon patent of
    • Another of the members on top of the micro-lens
    • Phase structure of the member
      • Reverse of the phase structure of the micro-lens
      • Negative refractive power
      • It does not have a refractive power
      • Short form and trapezoidal cross-sectional shape
    • And reflected and diffracted light of the sensor surface (concave), offset by the reflected and diffracted light of the micro-lens (convex)
[via Egami]

Canon Patent for a 2mm f/1.4 Weather-Sealed Lens (action camera coming?)

Canon Patent

I totally missed this patent. Found it on Action Camera Rumors while surfing the web.

The patent was spotted by Egami (translated). The patent is for a 2mm f/1.4, weather-sealed lens. Such a lens could be used in surveillance cameras, or, as Action Camera Rumors suggests, for an upcoming action camera made by Canon. I think the lens in the patent will go on some surveillance camera (since Canon is already active in this domain). However, not all patents make into a market product.

Given all the hype around action cameras, who can say Canon is not planning one? Egami also mentions the possibility that such a lens would fit well on an action camera.

Machine translated patent description:

  • Patent Publication No. 2014-197128
    • Published 2014.10.16
    • Filing date 2013.3.29
  • Example
    • Focal length f = 2.03mm
    • Fno. 1.44mm
    • Half angle ω = 59.18 °
    • Image height 3.00mm
    • Overall length of the lens 32.17mm
    • BF 0.51mm
  • Canon patent of
    • Focus position of the periphery of the screen is displaced When mounting the dome cover
    • And suppress the deviation of the focus by changing the air space of the lens, depending on the presence or absence of the dome cover
[Egami via Action Camera Rumors]

Canon Patent For 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Lens For EOS M System

EOS M

Egami (translated) spotted a patent for a 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens with EF-M mount. Curious because there is already an EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens for the EOS M system.

  • Patent Publication No. 2014-199421
    • Published 2014.10.23
    • Filing date 2013.3.13
  • Example
    • Zoom ratio 4.36
    • Focal length 56.14-134.30-245.00mm
    • Fno. 4.50-5.09-6.45
    • Half angle ω = 13.67-5.81-3.19 °
    • Image height Y = 13.66mm
    • Overall length of the lens 119.39-157.52-184.41mm
    • BF 22.04-27.75-50.36mm
    • Positive and negative positive and negative negative 5-group zoom
    • Inner focus (group 4)

Canon Patent For 10-22mm Lens With Liquid Element (it’s not the first)

Lens With Liquid Element

Egami (translated) spotted a patent filed by Canon for 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 lens with a liquid element. Liquid lenses work by applying an electric voltage to an electrolytic solution (that’s the liquid) in order to curve its surface (called meniscus). This is not the first patent of this kind filed by Canon (1 | 2). Hard to say if such a lens will come to the market any time soon.

  • Patent Publication No. 2014-145883
    • Published Date 2014.8.14
    • Filing date 2013.1.29
  • Example 4
    • Zoom ratio 2.07
    • Focal length f = 10.30-13.12-21.35mm
    • Fno. 3.23-3.62-4.63
    • Half angle ω = 52.86-46.03-32.50 °
    • Image height 13.60mm
    • The overall length of the lens 135.13-133.91-135.09mm
    • BF 0.15mm
  • Canon patents
    • And by varying the shape of the boundary surface, thereby changing the refractive power
    • Zooming, and has a refractive power element is positive, the element is negative
    • And reduce the variation of the curvature
[via Egami]