Canon Among The Top Dogs When It Comes To Patents Granted In USA

Canon Firmware Updates Viltrox Eos R7 Eos R10 Reuters Canon Cameras Europe Canon Eos R1 Eos R Rf 14-35mm Olympic Games Ef-mount Rudy Winston
View Post

See our coverage of Canon patent applications here.

Canon press release:

Canon Inc. Places Third in U.S. Patents Granted in 2021 IFI Claims Rankings

Canon extends streak of ranking in the top-five for number of U.S. patents granted to 36 years

MELVILLE, NY, January 13, 2022 – Sustaining success in empowering innovation, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced that its parent company, Canon Inc., ranked third in the number of United States patents awarded in 2021. Canon garnered 3,022 U.S. patents according to the latest ranking of preliminary patent results issued by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, becoming the only company in the world to earn a top-five ranking for number of patents granted for the 36th straight year.1 Canon also finished first in U.S. patents granted among Japanese companies for the 17th consecutive year.

“Companies rise and fall in our annual patent ranking, but Canon remains a steadfast leader,” said Mike Baycroft, CEO of IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. “The company entered our top-10 U.S. patent rankings in 1983 and has been there ever since. These results no doubt reflect its focus on continuous innovation.”

Canon values obtaining patents as it actively promotes the globalization of its business. The company promotes the acquisition and utilization of intellectual property rights, which it uses to maintain a robust patent portfolio. Securing patents in the United States, with its many high-tech companies and large-market scale, remains a key component in the plan for developing strong technological alliances.

“To help meet our customers’ evolving needs, we will continue to explore new areas and future opportunities for innovation,” said Seymour Liebman, executive vice president, chief administrative officer and general counsel of Canon U.S.A., Inc. and senior managing executive officer of Canon Inc. “Canon is proud to once again finish as a top-three patent holder and continue to demonstrate our commitment to delivering innovative ideas and solutions that meet market and customer demands.”

Canon aims to make great strides in its four new businesses of commercial printing, network cameras, medical and industrial equipment. In addition, the company is working to create new business in the fields of next-generation imaging, healthcare and smart mobility.

Canon Patent Application Roundup (dual sensor cam, shrinking MILCs, RF 50mm f/1.8, RF 14-28mm f/2)

Canon Patent
View Post

Some new Canon patent applications, all spotted by Canon News.

Canon Patent Application 2019-184921 discusses how to further shrink the size of a mirrorless camera:

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for suppressing an increase in the size of an image pickup apparatus due to the arrangement of a motor for driving a shutter.

Canon Patent Application 2019-186594 deals with the idea of a camera with dual sensors. Might produce some pretty cool HDR photography:

The half mirror 103 splits the imaging light beam (subject light beam) that has passed through the imaging optical system 102 into a first light beam and a second light beam. The first image sensor 104 and the second image sensor 105 receive the first light beam and the second light beam, respectively. The first image sensor 104 and the second image sensor 105 are constituted by a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, or the like. The first image sensor 104 and the second image sensor 105 have an image pickup pixel and a focus detection pixel for autofocus using a phase difference detection method. The MPU 106 includes a CPU and a memory that stores a program executed by the CPU, and functions as a control unit that controls the overall operation of the camera body 101. Further, the MPU 106 controls the driving of the photographing lens 102b via the lens driving motor 108.

Can the Canon EOS R system miss a Nifty Fifty lens? It looks like this has not to happen. Canon patent application 2019-184748 discusses optical formulas for an RF 50mm f/1.8 lens. Here comes the Nifty Fifty:

  • F-number 1.85
  • half angle (in degrees) 23.95
  • image height 21.64
  • total lens length 58.55
  • BF 20.94
  • Focal length 48.70
  • F-number 1.85
  • field angle 23.95
  • Image height 21.64
  • total lens length 58.55
  • BF 20.15
  • Focal length 48.70
  • F-number 1.85
  • half angle (in degrees) 23.95
  • Image height 21.64
  • total lens length 58.55
  • BF 16.48
  • Focal length 48.70
  • F-number 1.85
  • half angle (in degrees) 23.95
  • Image height 21.64
  • total lens length 58.55
  • BF 19.38

Canon patent application 2019-0324229 discusses optical formulas for an RF 14-28mm f/2 lens for the EOS R system

  • Focal length 14.42 19.78 27.16
  • F-number 2.06 2.06 2.06
  • Half angle of view 56.32 47.56 38.54
  • Image height 21.64 21.64 21.64
  • Total lens length 164.32 150.29 146.47 
  • BF 16.13 16.13 16.13

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

Canon Patent for RF 17-34mm f/4-5.6 Lens for EOS R Systems

Canon Patent
View Post

Hi Lows Note spotted a Canon patent application (Japan, 2019-074633) describing the optical formula for a 17-34mm f/4-5.6 lens for the Canon EOS R mirrorless system.

  • Zoom ratio: 1.94
  • Focal length: 17.50 – 27.00 – 33.95 mm
  • F number: 3.94 – 3.92 – 5.69
  • Angle of view: 51.03 – 38.71 – 32.51
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 122.00 – 119.11 – 121.87 mm
  • Back focus: 20.00 – 31.62 – 40.07 mm

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