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Posts Tagged ‘patent’

Apple patent shows camera system that helps you take better selfies

19 Jul

A newly granted Apple patent details a new type of camera system that aims to produce higher-quality selfies. The patent, first filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office in 2015, describes using a wider field-of-view with the iPhone’s front-facing camera when taking selfies in landscape mode. The wider FOV wouldn’t be fixed, however, with the camera reverting to a narrower FOV when a selfie is taken in portrait mode.

These field-of-view effects are designed to improve selfies when taken both in groups of people and alone. In the case of groups, the patent explains that turning the phone sideways would expand the camera’s field-of-view to cover a wider angle, ensuring everyone in the group is featured in the selfie. A self-only selfie taken in portrait mode, though, would feature a more traditional aspect ratio such as 4:3 and a narrower FOV.

The camera system in this patent would also be able to intelligently prod the user to take better selfies by selectively narrowing the FOV in portrait mode, requiring the user to extend their arm further away. The system could also adjust the previewed image in such a way that the user will need to change the camera’s angle, the end result being an overall better selfie with a more natural look, reduced distortion, and other improvements.

Explaining that latter point, the patent says the camera system may ‘crop/scale/zoom/shift the image window to coax the user to hold the camera device in a more optimal ‘self-taking’ position.’ As with any patent, it is possible Apple will never implement this technology into a consumer product, but it’s good to know so much technical thought is being put into… selfies.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Red patent shows plans for insanely modular Hydrogen One smartphone system

12 Jul

Last week, camera company Red unveiled its own upcoming Android smartphone: the VR/AR/3D/’4D’-capable Hydrogen One. But while the company did reveal some details about the model—such as the fact that it will be sold unlocked and that it is modular—a bunch of questions remain unanswered.

Red’s greater plans, though, may be revealed in a patent application it filed, in which the company describes a modular camera system that revolves around a smartphone.

The patent application, filed with the USPTO, describes a ‘Modular Digital Camera and Cellular Phone,’ explaining that the modular camera systems could include both still and motion products. While Motorola has already launched a modular phone system with the Moto Z, the patent indicates that Red’s version of a modular phone will be far more capable.

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As you can see from the diagrams above, rectangular modules can be attached to the phone detailed in the patent, each stacked on the other to form an increasingly robust product. These modules may include high-quality cameras, larger batteries, mechanical controls, a camera grip, EVF, and more.

The illustrations even show the modular phone being transformed, via modules, into a DSLR-like still camera and a cinema-like motion camera.

The cost of assembling something like a DSLR or cinema camera using a phone like the Hydrogen One and these modules is unclear, but given the phone’s starting price of $ 1,195 there’s little doubt a fully assembled modular camera system would be very pricey.

For whatever upsides a consumer may get from this system, there would also be some notable downsides: losing access to your phone while it is part of the camera, having to assemble and disassemble the camera system frequently, and having to store/transport many small modules.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon in legal tussle with ASML and Carl Zeiss over alleged patent infringements

29 Apr

On Monday this week Nikon initiated legal action against the Dutch company ASML Holding NV, which is one of the market leaders in the field of semiconductor lithography machines. Germany’s Carl Zeiss AG is ASML’s optical supplier. Nikon said both companies were using its lithography technology without permission and that it was seeking damages and to prevent ASML and Zeiss from selling the technology.

Nikon and ASML have contested IP rights for more than fifteen years, as ASML has come to dominate several aspects of the market for semiconductor manufacturing equipment previously divided up primarily between Nikon and Canon.

In first statements both companies called Nikon’s legal action unfounded and categorically denied any infringements. A spokesperson for ASML said the company had repeatedly attempted to negotiate an extension of a cross-license agreement with Nikon.

Now ASML and Carl Zeiss have teamed up to counter-sue Nikon and are both filing legal claims against Nikon for the infringement of more than 10 patents. Peter Wennink, ASML President and Chief Executive Officer, said the following in the company’s issued statement:

We have no choice but to file these countersuits. We have tried for many years to come to a cross-license agreement that reflects the increased strength of our patent portfolio. Unfortunately, Nikon has never seriously participated in negotiations. Now that Nikon has decided to take this dispute to court, we also have to enforce our patent portfolio, and we will do this as broadly as possible.

Both ASML and Carl Zeiss have issued press releases on the matter. It seems this is a legal dispute that could go on for quite some time, and not the first one involving these three parties either. According to Nikon, ASML and Carl Zeiss paid it $ 87 million and $ 58 million respectively in 2004. We’ll keep you updated on any future developments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Google patent details a hat with a wearable camera and bone conduction speaker

03 Mar

Google was recently granted a patent it filed in 2013 that details a hat with a built-in camera system able to pair with a mobile device for the purpose of ‘interactive sessions.’ While a baseball cap in particular seems like a somewhat odd choice for a wearable, the system itself sounds fairly straight-forward as a portable studio of sorts for live broadcasting video and snapping photos.

The system revolves around the camera, but includes related technologies to encompass a complete system. This system includes a speaker that transmits audio to the user via bone conduction, a module that uses vibrations to direct the user’s attention from one side to another, and a microphone, as well as a built-in battery to power it all.

The intended purpose for the wearable camera system appears multifaceted. One obvious purpose is capturing content and sharing it via the mobile app whether directly or as a live broadcast. The patent indicates the system could also be used for more utilitarian things as well, though, such as getting help from a remote entity (a line worker sharing a problem with someone at a facility, for example).

Whether this patent will ever be turned into a consumer product — and whether that product would actually be based around a baseball cap — is unclear at this time.

Via: Mashable

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple files patent application for optimization of focus stacks

14 Feb

Focus stacking on smartphone cameras is not an entirely new thing. It was used on some Nokia Lumia phones, including the Lumia 1520 in 2014, to create a shallow depth-of-field effect and allow for refocusing an image after capture, similar to what the Lytro light field cameras can do.

However, now it appears Apple is also taking an interest in the technique. The company describes a method for the optimization of focus stacking in a patent application that was filed in 2015, but only published in December 2016. The patent details a method for calculating what positions the lens elements need to be in for an optimized capture process. After the lens is positioned in its first location and collects initial focus information, an algorithm calculates ‘target depths’ that would be required to capture all objects in the scene in focus. The camera would then capture an image at the current lens location, continuing to other focal points until all elements of the screen have been captured in focus. 

In combination with ever improving smartphone processing power and potentially optimized camera hardware, this new method could help speed up the focus stacking process significantly, making it a possible default camera setting. Current options usually take at least a couple of seconds per focus stack for capturing and processing. The method could also be used for depth mapping and help improve the precision of portrait modes, such as the one implemented on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Samsung patent shows dual-camera tracking feature

04 Jan

2016 was a breakthrough-year for the dual-camera concept on smartphones, with several models being launched. Notably the largest manufacturer of Android smartphones, Samsung, has so far not participated in the dual-camera game. This appears to be changing however, as a patent application has been filed with the South Korean Patent Office suggests that the tech giant is at least considering smartphone models with dual-cameras. The patent suggests that the phone would feature two different focal lengths, similar to what we have already seen on the LG G5 or Apple iPhone 7 Plus.

The patent application is for a specific dual-camera feature that allows for tracking a moving subject with the preview-image of the wide-angle lens and then capturing it larger in the frame with the tele-lens. In the images included in the patent application the frame lines of the tele-image are superimposed onto the wide-angle image, which should make it easier to follow a fast moving subject. 

As usual, there is no way of knowing if the concept will ever make it into a final product but the system certainly looks possible to implement with current technologies. We probably should not expect a dual-cam in Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S8 flagship but after the Galaxy Note 7 disaster the Korean manufacturer could certainly do with a stand-out feature in one of its next models to recover lost market share.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Canon patent shows curved sensor design

03 Dec

A new patent suggests Canon’s engineers might be working on a curved sensor design to reduce vignetting. Japanese blog Egami reports on a patent that was released on the 24th of November and describes an image sensor design with a flat central portion, where light fall-off from the lens is not much of an issue, and curved edges, where fall-off is generally more noticeable. This approach, rather than using a sensor that’s totally curved, would avoid making the whole unit much thicker.

Such a sensor design could potentially be applied in mirrorless camera models where, due to short flange-back distances, vignetting is generally more of a problem than on conventional DSLRs. Software processing can correct for the effect but only to a certain degree, so it would not be a surprise that manufacturers are looking for hardware solutions.

As with all patents, it’s impossible to know if the technology will ever make it into a production model but it’s good to know manufacturers are looking at innovative ways of improving image quality.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Tamron files patent for 115mm F1.4 VC lens

25 Aug

Lens manufacturer Tamron has filed a patent for what looks like an interesting portrait lens to add to its growing collection of fixed focal length lenses. The company appears to be developing a 115mm F1.4 moderate telephoto lens that will come with Tamron’s Vibration Compensation system built in. The focal length is very unusual, as is the 45mm that the company chose for its F1.8 standard lens, but that will only make it stand out from the crowd of 90mm, 100mm, 105mm and 135mm lenses. The 115mm focal length isn’t unheard of though as Carl Zeiss produced Tessar 115mm F3.5 and Pro Tessar 115mm F4 lenses for SLR and rangefinder film cameras. 

The patent application was spotted by Japanese website egami.

* Patent Publication No. 2016-151661
* Published 2016.8.22
* Filing date 2015.2.17

* Example
* f = 113.000
* Fno = 1.456
* ? = 10.632

* Tamron patent
* Positive and negative positive
* Inner focus (the second group)
* Vibration proof group (one of the group)

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Canon applies to patent double-sided micro lenses designed for better edge performance

23 Aug

Canon engineers have developed a new design for the micro lenses it uses on imaging sensors that it claims will reduce vignetting and false coloration at the edges of the picture. The new designs have a bi-convex lens that uses the upper surface to collect light and the lower to channel the light more effectively to the photodiode. The patent application shows the lower face of the micro lenses with a convex surface featuring an off-center vertex. Canon says these would be placed at the edges of the sensor to direct light approaching from a steeper angle. The idea is to direct more of the light toward the photodiode than can be achieved with standard single-micro-lens designs.

As pixels have depth it can be difficult to channel light from the camera’s lens down the ‘well’ to reach the photodiode unless it approaches straight-on. When a pixel is positioned at the edge of the sensor array it becomes more difficult because light approaches from an extreme angle and can miss the photodiode, as the refractive index of the micro lens isn’t high enough to bend it directly down the well. Since certain colors experience different refractive indices, some wavelengths of light don’t make it to the photodiode either. Thus, pixels outside the central area can report less light – and false colors – compared to those in the middle of the sensor.

Canon’s new dual micro lens design aims to take more control of the light as it enters and exits the micro lens, and to channel it in a more vertical direction down the well so that less is lost. This should in theory improve both vignetting and false coloration nearer to the edges of the image.

For more information see Canon’s full patent application.

Extract from the patent:

The lower surface 102 of the microlens 103 has an asymmetrical shape with a position nearest to the photoelectric conversion device 104 (a position at which the thickness from a center plane 130 of the microlens 103 is the maximum) shifting from the center position of the microlens 103 to the central side of the pixel array 110A. The lower surface 102 of the microlens 103 has a convex shape with respect to the photoelectric conversion device 104.

Each microlens 103 is formed from a material having a higher refractive index than a material in contact with the lower surface 102 at a position between the microlens 103 and the photoelectric conversion device 104. The microlens 103 is formed from, for example, a color filter material.

The upper surface 101 of each microlens 103 has a convex shape with respect to the incident side of incident light. The incident light 111, incident light 121, and incident light 131 entering the microlens 103 from the same direction as that of the straight line 115 each are refracted by the upper surface 101 of the microlens 103 and focused onto the photoelectric conversion device 104. In this case, if the upper surface 101 of the microlens 103 lacks in refractive power with an increase in curvature radius, the lower surface 102 of the microlens 103 compensates for the refractive power to cause the incident light 111, 121, and 131 to enter the photoelectric conversion device 104. At this time, the refractive power of the lower surface 102 of the microlens 103 is larger than that of the upper surface 101 of the microlens 103. As described above, the microlens 103 can focus incident light onto the photoelectric conversion device 104 by using the upper surface 101 having a convex shape extending upward and the lower surface 102 having a convex shape extending downward with respect to the center plane 130.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Best of both worlds? Canon patent for DSLR hybrid viewfinder design published

01 Apr

Canon has applied for a patent for a viewfinder design that combines both optical and electronic displays in a DSLR style system. Via a system of mirrored prism the design allows users to benefit from all the advantages of both EVF and TTL optical systems through the same eye piece. Menus can be overlaid on a normal optical view, or a live view function can be used through the viewfinder – which would be of great benefit to video shooters.

In Canon’s new hybrid viewfinder design light passes through the lens as usual and is reflected through a ground glass screen into the pentaprism. As it exits the pentaprism is can be supplemented with light from a LCD panel (labelled ‘9’) that is projected through a series of lenses and bounced from a half-mirror (6b) and on to a reflective surface (6). The two sources of light combine and pass to the photographer’s eye via the eye piece (8). When the mirror is in the up position the image recorded by the sensor (12) can be sent directly to the LCD panel (9) so the photographer can get a live view of what the sensor is recording. Thus the system combines the best elements of electronic and optical viewfinders.

Through a clever use of optics and a mirrored prism, the new design allows a ‘full screen’ display across the whole viewfinder. The significance of the system is that DSLRs will be able to gain some of the advantages of mirrorless systems, such as full menus and playback in the viewfinder, and shooting information could be shown across the larger screen instead of just the bottom or sides of the screen. This would also make possible video shooting through the viewfinder, which could become important if technologies like Dual Pixel AF start to replace secondary-sensor PDAF systems. This would eliminate the need to switch between viewfinder and rear screen shooting to change from stills to video mode, creating a more consistent experience.

The system allows menus to be viewed and accessed as they are overlaid on the image produced by the optical finder

The patent description explains that one of the challenges has been to ensure that the image projected from the electronic screen matches that of the optical system, which is why the screen has been placed close to the viewfinder instead of before the prism, where there might have been more room. Being on the viewing side of the prism means less magnification is needed to create an image big enough to coincide with that of the optical view.

The projection system uses a complex set of lenses to reduce the size of the construction so that the manufacturer shouldn’t have to make physically larger cameras to accommodate it. Canon also indicated that it has taken steps to reduce the impact of the half mirror that has been placed in the optical path. It says that the angle of the mirror is optimized to allow as much light to pass as possible.

The heads-up display type viewing system is nothing new, and although it has been discussed in camera circles before we have yet to see a good example of technology combining optical and electronic views. The closest we have come is the hybrid viewfinders used by Fujifilm in the X-Pro and X100 series of cameras, but Canon’s method is the first to combine an EVF with a TLL viewfinder, rather than a more rangefinder-style arrangement.

Canon’s patent was applied for in 2014 and the information only just published, so the company may be in a position to introduce the system quite soon. However, as with any patent there’s a chance nothing will come of it, no matter how good an idea it is. We will just have to wait and see what, if anything, comes of it.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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