We’ve seen in the past that Nikon files for patents of new products few months before the official announcement (this is the general trend, of course there are exceptions and the patents discussed in this post may or may not turn into real products). I am monitoring Nikon patents on a weekly bases and here are the latest applications:
- Camera with a built-in TV? Here is the patent description:
“The present invention relates to a camera-equipped electronic device having functions other than a photographing function, such as functions of receiving and displaying TV broadcasts.”
Nikon patent: camera with built-in TV
- Mirror retention structure – is this how Nikon will achieve 14fps on the D3s? (btw, is this a D3 on the drawing? compare with this image of a D3).
Is that a D3?
- I cannot figure out what lens they are trying to patent with that one – the drawing looks very detailed:
Which lens is that?
More Nikon patents after the jump:
- Projection Apparatus for a mobile phone?
“Small size electronic equipment having a projection function is known. With the projector-attached mobile phone, an user can have information projected on a palm of his or her own or on a wall while he or she is calling.”
- I am not sure about that one either, but this is what the patent says (built-in HDR maybe?):
“A camera is per se known that is endowed with the function of, during photography, arranging a plurality of images and combining them into a single image. With the camera, the images that have been obtained by photography are laid out sequentially, in the order in which they were photographed, in a display frame that is set in advance.”
And another image combining method.
- Vibration actuator, lens barrel and camera: the interesting part is that besides the lens, they also talk about body (camera) VR.
- Remember the mirrorless camera drawing on this patent? Is this the “Nikon X1“?
Previous Nikon patents discussion can be found here.
