Canon’s New Camera Display Patents are Cool Ideas
News | By Stephan Jukic | September 1, 2022
Canon is something of a newcomer to the world of mirrorless cameras, but it’s an old pro at camera design in general. This might be why the company doesn’t lack innovativeness at unique build concepts, such as taking the idea of folding screens from smartphones and applying it to a camera.
Canon’s new concept is a rear screen for its mirrorless cameras that also happens to fold open into a larger, partly flexible display, much like those on folding phone displays do. There are two versions of the design that Canon has submitted to the U.S Patent Office.
One shows a screen with two folding hinges that open outward from a middle much like window shutters, but turned to one side, while the second design is of a single folding hinge that opens out for a landscape-oriented larger display, sort of like a book turned onto one side.
According to the first patent, spotted by the website Canon Watch, “A display of an electronic apparatus includes first to third display portions that at least partially have flexibility and are integrally configured,”
The patent document -numbered 20220269152- also mentions, “The display has a first bending portion at a boundary between the first display portion and the second display portion and has a second bending portion at a boundary between the second display portion and the third display portion.”
For the second patent design -numbered 20220272266- Canon notes that “In an electronic apparatus, a display at least partially has flexibility, includes a plurality of display portions, and includes a bending portion at each of boundaries of the display portions,”
Canon also states “An electronic apparatus includes, near each bending portion, a hinge portion that relatively rotatably couples two display portions and is configured to be bendable at each bending portion as a start point in response to rotation of each hinge portion.”
It’s worth stressing that both of these designs are just U.S. Patent office submissions from Canon. They don’t yet exist in any known, upcoming or rumored product releases by the manufacturer. Canon might indeed release a camera with expanding folding display technology, but it might just be cornering the design with an official filing just in case so others can’t take it first. This doesn’t mean Canon will use it.
If Canon did actually end up releasing a camera with a folding display, it would be pretty damn cool. Now that this exists in phone screens and other devices, it’s a logical progression for digital camera technology and as any photographer can attest, it would be great to have more visual space for a larger preview of what’s being captured.
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
