Lots of Sensor & AF Patents Emerge

[StudentOfLight]

"A Canon patent [http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=09247122] covers the design of phase detection sensors (such as we may get to see in the 1DXmk2)"

The phase detect sensor patent shows what looks like a 65pts, all cross-type system. Is it not the 7D Mark-II AF sensor patent? I didn't read the details of the patent... I thought the 1D-X Mark-II would have more AF points.

 

[JohanCruyff]

The thread's title should read "Lots of Canon Sensor & AF Patents Emerge"

 

[MintChocs]

Unfortunately most of this good stuff will cost an arm and a leg. :-\
It will be a few years before it trickles down into the lower end products. (Just think of that aps-c 18mp sensor) as they just introduced the new aps-c sensors it's going to be a while.

 

[Mitch.Conner]

Although no guarantee, I find the timing of this publication damn curious given the curtain being drawn next week on what we have to assume is the DX2. Yeah they just got published yesterday, but the reference dates on there go back a few years, listing 2010, 2011, and 2012. This sort of tech is certainly something you'd expect to debut on a 1 series body... I know I may be reaching here, but hey, this site is built for fun and speculation

It's really hard to time releases with patent approvals. USPTO gets to stuff when they get to it, and when it's approved, it's public.

More likely, Canon will do it's best to smash it's IP into such tiny pieces that a clear end-product is not visible from looking at a single patent.

- A

The first production (which has certainly started months ago) could have had "Patent Pending" labels ready in case the patents were not yet released at announcement time. Now that the patents have been released they can just put standard labels on the product. That's just a guess. I have absolutely no idea how it all works.

The term "patent pending" was, last time I checked, legally worthless for the most part. There is a requirement that patented articles be marked in order to bring an infringement suit, but if you don't have a patent, you can't bring suit anyways. Additionally, this will be an internationally sold product. Canon I'm sure would wait for actual patent protection before releasing it (and subjecting it to potential reverse engineering) to the public.

 

[bdunbar79]

Although no guarantee, I find the timing of this publication damn curious given the curtain being drawn next week on what we have to assume is the DX2. Yeah they just got published yesterday, but the reference dates on there go back a few years, listing 2010, 2011, and 2012. This sort of tech is certainly something you'd expect to debut on a 1 series body... I know I may be reaching here, but hey, this site is built for fun and speculation

It's really hard to time releases with patent approvals. USPTO gets to stuff when they get to it, and when it's approved, it's public.

More likely, Canon will do it's best to smash it's IP into such tiny pieces that a clear end-product is not visible from looking at a single patent.

- A

The first production (which has certainly started months ago) could have had "Patent Pending" labels ready in case the patents were not yet released at announcement time. Now that the patents have been released they can just put standard labels on the product. That's just a guess. I have absolutely no idea how it all works.

The term "patent pending" was, last time I checked, legally worthless for the most part. There is a requirement that patented articles be marked in order to bring an infringement suit, but if you don't have a patent, you can't bring suit anyways. Additionally, this will be an internationally sold product. Canon I'm sure would wait for actual patent protection before releasing it (and subjecting it to potential reverse engineering) to the public.

Correct. I work for a company that files tons and tons of patents. Patent pending means very little.

 

[Loswr]

It's really hard to time releases with patent approvals. USPTO gets to stuff when they get to it, and when it's approved, it's public.

True - you can't time the approvals. However, patents publish 18 months from when they are first filed, or earlier at the request of the applicant. So it's public long before it's an awarded patent.

[quote author=35USC§122]
...each application for a patent shall be published, in accordance with procedures determined by the Director, promptly after the expiration of a period of 18 months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought under this title. At the request of the applicant, an application may be published earlier than the end of such 18-month period.
[/quote]

For example, the patent for the 3-layer stacked, back-illuminated 'Foveon-type' sensor that was just awarded was actually published back in 2011 and discussed on CR way back then.

 

[uri.raz]

The term "patent pending" was, last time I checked, legally worthless for the most part. There is a requirement that patented articles be marked in order to bring an infringement suit, but if you don't have a patent, you can't bring suit anyways. Additionally, this will be an internationally sold product. Canon I'm sure would wait for actual patent protection before releasing it (and subjecting it to potential reverse engineering) to the public.

The term "patent pending" is a warning that a patent was filed, and *might* be approved. if it is approved, anyone who copied the patent prior to the approval might be sued for infringing on it.

[In other words, copying a patent-pending-covered-technology might become an infringement retroactively, which is why the warning label of "patent pending" is used.]

 

[PureClassA]

Would such a sensor design necessarily be exclusionary to DPAF? Seems like the two wouldn't be able to go together

It's really hard to time releases with patent approvals. USPTO gets to stuff when they get to it, and when it's approved, it's public.

True - you can't time the approvals. However, patents publish 18 months from when they are first filed, or earlier at the request of the applicant. So it's public long before it's an awarded patent.

[quote author=35USC§122]
...each application for a patent shall be published, in accordance with procedures determined by the Director, promptly after the expiration of a period of 18 months from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is sought under this title. At the request of the applicant, an application may be published earlier than the end of such 18-month period.

For example, the patent for the 3-layer stacked, back-illuminated 'Foveon-type' sensor that was just awarded was actually published back in 2011 and discussed on CR way back then.
[/quote]

 

[NancyP]

Well, I might be very interested in upgrading, if there is significant improvement in either dynamic resolution or in color subtlety. I love the look of the Foveon sensor (I have the Sigma Merrills), I just HATE the software. Plus, I have "a lot" of Canon lenses now. (not a lot compared with Eldar or others, but I like my lenses).

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

There's quite a wide collection of patents just come out - I skipped over most of the photocopier and printer related ones ;-)

There were quite a few others covering things like transistor configurations in pixels and related aspects of sensor design/manufacture, such as

http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=09239423

Keith

I've tried looking at US patents from Canon as they emerge, and its a huge and frustrating job. I admire your persistence at doing something that I lost interest in after a couple of tries reviewing a few dozen patents, many for printers medical equipment, etc.