Industry News: Fujifilm Files Patent For Active Sensor Cooling System For Cameras With IBIS

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Interesting patent application by Fujifilm: active sensor cooling for cameras with IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation).

Fujifilm patent application 2022-55674 (Japan) discusses methods and technology to actively cool down an imaging sensor with IBIS.

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging device and an imaging method including an imaging unit.

Conventionally, in an image pickup apparatus provided with a camera shake correction mechanism, a technique for cooling an image pickup element has been proposed.

In recent years, an image pickup device may be used to shoot a high-quality moving image for a long time. The image pickup device is preferably used in an appropriate temperature range. Shooting high-quality moving images consumes a lot of power, and the heat generated from the image pickup device itself exceeds the appropriate temperature range. In high-quality video shooting for a long time, the image pickup device activates a protection function such as forcibly terminating the shooting when the temperature exceeds an appropriate temperature range for the protection of the device itself and the safety of the photographer. Therefore, it may not be possible to secure a sufficient shooting time when shooting a high-quality moving image. Further, in the case of repeated shooting, if there is no time interval in which the temperature of the image pickup device, which has risen during the previous use, falls to an appropriate range, it is not possible to secure a sufficient shooting time. Further, in an image pickup device with a camera shake correction function, since the heat-generating image pickup element is always floating at the time of shooting, it is structurally difficult to dissipate the heat generated from the image pickup element.

The image pickup unit 100 includes three heat pipes 180A to 180C. The heat pipes 180A to 180C are heat transporters that transport heat. The ends of the heat pipes 180A to 180C are installed on the sheet metal 108C of the cooling device 108. Further, the other end of the heat pipes 180A to 180C is installed in the heat sink 110. As a result, the heat generated by the cooling device 108 is transported by the heat pipes 180A to 180C, and can be cooled by the forced cooling mechanism 46 at the transportation destination.

As described above, the heat generated from the cooling device 108 can be transported by using the heat pipes 180A to 180C, and the cooling can be performed by the forced cooling mechanism 46 at the transportation destination. As a result, it is not always necessary to equip the sheet metal 108C of the cooling device 108 with the forced cooling device, and the space inside the image pickup device main body 2 of the image pickup device 10 can be effectively used.

The Fujifilm patent application was spotted by Asobinet. Canon patents are listed here.

Canon Patent: Improved Image Plane Phase Difference AF Using IBIS Data

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Another Canon patent application spotted by asobinet.com: how to improve the detection of image plane phase difference autofocus by using data derived from IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation).

Canon patent application 2021-128303 discusses technology and methods to improve phase difference AF on a subject represented by a horizontal line.

[Problem]

To provide an imaging device capable of detecting focus even if a subject is a horizontal line pattern.


[Means for solving]

An imaging element for picking up an image for detecting a phase difference in a predetermined direction on an image plane to detect a focus state of an image formed by an imaging lens, and an imaging element driving means for driving the imaging element in a translational direction and a rotational direction in a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the imaging lens ; What it has for a focus detection means which is made to rotate the aforementioned image sensor by the aforementioned image sensor driving means according to the imaging result by the aforementioned image sensor, and carries out focus detection was considered as the composition by which it is characterized.

More from the patent literature:

Conventionally, as AF of the phase difference detection method, secondary imaging phase difference AF using a secondary imaging optical system and an AF sensor, or image plane phase difference AF using an image sensor is known. .. In the secondary imaging phase difference AF, the AF sensor is composed of a vertical eye sensor that forms a vertically separated subject image and a horizontal eye sensor that forms a horizontally separated subject image. Focus detection of vertical line patterns is possible.


However, in the image plane phase difference AF, when each pixel of the image sensor is composed of a pixel group divided in only one direction, the focus of the horizontal line pattern or vertical line pattern is detected depending on the division direction of the pixels. May not be possible . In a general image pickup device capable of image plane phase difference AF, since the pixels are divided into two in the left-right direction, it is difficult to detect the focus on the horizontal line at the normal position of the image pickup device.


The conventional technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above solves the problem that the image plane phase difference AF of the image pickup device in which each pixel is divided in only one direction cannot detect the focus of a subject having a horizontal line pattern.

Basically, the discussed technology makes it easier to detect lines that are difficult to detect with image plane phase detection AF.

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

Canon Patent: Improved IBIS For Shooting HDR Photos

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Here we are with another rather interesting Canon patent application: better IBIS (In Body Image Stabilisation) for shooting HDR photos.

Canon patent application 2021-089387 discusses how to improve IBIS during automatic exposure bracketing, for instance to take HDR pictures. This is to compensate differences between the single images because of movement. From the patent literature:

The present invention relates to a technique for performing a plurality of times of photographing for acquiring images used for image synthesis while suppressing image blurring of an image.

Background of invention:

In the dynamic range expansion processing of an image signal, for example, a plurality of signals having different output conditions are combined to generate a high dynamic range (hereinafter, also referred to as HDR) image signal. In an imaging apparatus, a photographing for synthesizing a plurality of images having different still image exposure periods is known, and is referred to as HDR photographing hereinafter. Since a plurality of photographing operations are performed in HDR photographing, a time required for completing all photographing operations becomes longer than a time required for photographing 1 images.

When HDR photographing is performed by an imaging device having an image blur correction function for correcting image blur of a captured image due to camera shake or the like, HDR photographing is possible while performing image blur correction. In this case, since it is necessary to perform image blur correction for a long time, a limit of a correction range related to an image blur correction lens (hereinafter, also referred to as a correction lens) becomes a problem. In other words, when the drive control of the correction lens in the imaging optical system is performed on the basis of a detection signal such as camera shake, it is impossible to perform the image blur correction beyond the movable range of the correction lens. Thus, when the image blur correction amount reaches the limit of the movable range (correction stroke limit), no further image blur correction effect is obtained.
[0004]

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

Does The Canon EOS R5 Have An IBIS Bug (sensor twist when IBIS always on)?

Sensor Twist
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Not sure if this is a general issue, i.e. a bug, or not. Some users experience a weird phenomenon, a sensor twist, on their EOS R5 (and it seems also for some R6s) when IBIS is set to “always on”.

User juanmaasecas documented the phenomenon in the video below. He writes about his observation (emphasis mine):

Some weeks ago I found what I think is an annoying bug with the IBIS in the Canon R5 (some users also experience it with the R6).

When the ibis is set to “always ON”, the sensor twists after the first picture is taken, producing a blurred picture. If you keep pressing the shutter half (while in continuous autofocus or just In single) and then take more pictures, the rest are just fine.

I went to Canon repair center/showcase here in Hong Kong, and the cameras there show the issue as well (that is why I didn’t leave my camera for repair), and yet canon has not yet repaired the issue (I discovered it first in firmware 1.2.0 that I bought the camera with, but still happens in 1.3.0 and 1.3.1).

Here is the observed phenomenon:

Someone here having seen this sensor twist on his or her EOS R5 or EOS R6? Please let me know in the comments section.

[via Canon Rumors]

Canon Patent: In Body Image Stabilization For EOS M Or PowerShot Camera

Canon Patent
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After all those Canon patents referring to RF mount lenses, here is a different one: IBIS on a small camera body.

Canon patent application US20210105391 (USA) discusses In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) for a small camera body. According to the drawings in the patent literature it’s either an EOS M camera or a PowerShot camera. IBIS coming to the EOS M system is already rumored. This patent seems to consolidate it.

Drawing seems to show an EOS M camera

This one looks more like a PowerShot camera

More Canon patents are listed here.

Canon Working To Make IBIS Units Smaller, Patent Suggests

Ibis Units
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It took Canon a long time to feature IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) on their cameras. Now they are actively researching how to make it better. The Canon EOS R5 already has the best in its class.

Canon patent application 2020-140104 (Japan, spotted by Canon News) discusses technical aspects related to making an IBIS unit smaller. IBIS units are relatively bulky and take a considerable amount of space inside the camera. A smaller IBIS unit might mean an overall smaller camera.

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