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

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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 In Top Five For Number Of Patents Granted For 35 Consecutive Years

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Canon is very prolific when it comes to patent applications.

Canon press release:

Canon Ranked 3rd in the 2020 IFI CLAIMS U.S. Patent Rankings

Canon has Now Ranked in the Top Five for Number of Patents Granted for 35 Consecutive Years

MELVILLE, NY, January 13, 2021 – Continuing its mission of empowering innovation, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to announce that its parent company, Canon Inc., ranked third for the number of U.S. patents awarded in 2020 with 3,226 patents.1 With this year’s ranking, Canon has now ranked in the top five for number of patents granted for 35 consecutive years, according to the latest ranking of preliminary patent results issued by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services. Additionally, Canon once again ranked first in patents among Japanese companies for the 16th consecutive year.

“As the world continues to shift and the needs of our customers evolve, we too will continue exploring new areas and future opportunities for innovation that will benefit our customers,” 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 be in the top three patent holders as it further demonstrates our commitment to delivering innovative ideas and solutions that meet market and customer demands.”

Canon actively promotes the globalization of its business and places great value on obtaining patents overseas. Among these, the United States, with its many high-tech companies and large-market scale, represents a particularly important region in terms of business expansion and technology alliances.

Canon promotes the acquisition and utilization of intellectual property rights, not only for fundamental technologies required for next-generation products, but also for such technologies as wireless communication and image-compression shared by the next-generation social infrastructure.

For more information on Canon and its products, please visit www.usa.canon.com.

Canon Patent: Macro Lenses For EOS R System (85mm, 95mm, 100mm, all f/2.8)

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And now let’s go for one more Canon patent for an RF mount lens.

Canon patent application 2020-91334A (spotted by Hi Lows Note) discusses optical formulas for three macro lens for the RF mount.

RF 85mm F2.8 1:1 MACRO

  • Focal length: 84.92 mm
  • F number: 2.92
  • Half angle of view: 14.29
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 120.23 mm
  • Back focus: 10.60 mm

RF 95mm F2.8 1:1 MACRO

  • Focal length: 94.82 mm
  • F number: 2.92
  • Half angle of view: 12.85
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 124.00 mm
  • Back focus: 14.11 mm

RF 100mm F2.8 1:1 MACRO

  • Focal length: 99.75 mm
  • F number: 2.92
  • Half angle of view: 12.24
  • Image height: 21.64 mm
  • Lens length: 169.97 mm
  • Back focus: 14.00 mm

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

Canon And Other Companies Free Patent Rights To Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

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Canon, Toyota, and other Japanese companies are freeing their patents in a common effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nikkei Asian Review reports:

TOKYO — About 20 Japanese companies, including Toyota Motor and Canon, will release patents and other intellectual property held in Japan and overseas for free to help fight the new coronavirus, Nikkei has learned.

The goal is to make it easier for businesses and research organizations to develop medical devices as well as testing and treatment technologies. The hope is that it will lead to a faster resolution of the crisis, which threatens to seriously affect the global economy.

The idea was initially proposed by Professor Fumihiko Matsuda, head of the Center for Genomic Medicine at the Graduate School of Medicine at Kyoto University. Nissan Motor, Honda Motor, Shimadzu, Ajinomoto Group and Tokyo-based SRL, a member of the Miraca Group, will also participate.

Canon patent applications are something we cover extensively.

Canon Patent: Battery Grip That Works With Different Cameras

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Well that’s an interesting Canon patent application. One that might get into production.

Canon patent application 20200073213 (USA) describes a battery grip with adapter that fits various cameras.

From the abstract:

An accessory attachable to an image pickup apparatus through an adapter includes a body portion configured to contact the adapter, a screw engageable with a screw hole in the image pickup apparatus through a through-hole formed in the adapter, an operation unit configured to move the screw relative to the body portion. The screw is movable in a plurality of directions including a direction along an optical axis of the image pickup apparatus and a direction orthogonal to the optical axis in accordance with an operation of the operation unit by a user.

From the patent literature:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention provides an accessory and camera system, each of which is generally attachable to a plurality of types of camera bodies.

[0005] An accessory according to one aspect of the present invention attachable to an image pickup apparatus through an adapter includes a body portion configured to contact the adapter, a screw engageable with a screw hole in the image pickup apparatus through a through-hole formed in the adapter, an operation unit configured to move the screw relative to the body portion. The screw is movable in a plurality of directions including a direction along an optical axis of the image pickup apparatus and a direction orthogonal to the optical axis in accordance with an operation of the operation unit by a user. A camera system including an image pickup apparatus, and the above accessory also constitutes another aspect of the present invention.

[0006] An accessory according to another aspect of the present invention attachable between a battery grip and an image pickup apparatus includes a body portion configured to contact the image pickup apparatus, and a first positioning member configured to position relative to the image pickup apparatus. The body portion has a through-hole into which a screw of a battery grip is inserted in order to fix the battery grip to the image pickup apparatus.

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

Canon Patent: 13-21mm f/2.8 Lens For EOS R Camera System

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Here is another Canon patent application dealing with a lens for the Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless system.

Canon patent application P2020-30251A (Japan) discusses optical formulas for a 13-21mm f/2.8 lens for a full frame mirrorless camera system, i.e. for the EOS R system.

  • Zoom ratio: 1.58
  • Focal length: 13.40 17.30 21.20 mm  
  • F number: 2.88 2.88 2.88
  • Half angle of view: 58.23 51.35 45.58  
  • Image height: 21.64 21.64 21.64 mm  
  • Lens length: 150.15 136.89 130.04 mm
  • Back focus: 20.96 25.13 29.31 mm

This might well be a lens that goes into production, sooner or later.

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

[via Hi Lows Note]