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Digital Camera Powered By a Fuel Cell
An anonymous reader notes a development from the world of photography that could spread to notebooks and cell phones. Canon has filed for a patent on a fuel cell-powered DSLR. The fuel cell would power not only the camera body but also all accessories attached to it, doing away with the need to power flashes (for example) with AA or other batteries. The patent covers other electronic devices generally, but is clearly directed toward DSLR cameras, given the diagrams and examples used. "Canon continues to push its fuel cell development by devising a method for powering not only the internal DSLR body electronics, but also external components such as lenses and hotshoe flashes."
Unless they have a new type of fuel cell, what gives them the ability to patent "using a fuel cell in a camera". A fuel cell is basically a new kind of battery. There should be no need for a separate patent for each type of device somebody decides to put one in.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
"The patent covers other electronic devices generally, but is clearly directed toward DSLR cameras, given the diagrams and examples used."
Canon and Nikon et al are pillars of openness and are renowned for sharing their technology freely. This will in no way hinder the adoption of fuel cell technology in electronic devices at all.
*cough*
As with fuel cell powered laptops, I have to wonder how exactly I would get this through airport security.
Big tubes of toothpaste and sticks of deodorant get confiscated, but they're going to let me waltz through toting a canister of (m)ethanol?
If libertarians are so opposed to effective government, why don't they all move to Somalia?
Now, if I attach the SB-600 flash I have with it, that's a different story -- that's powered by AAs, and sucks those up rather quickly. So I could see having a fuel cell option for the flash. But as an option, as opposed to having a special fuel cell built into the camera directly, thereby requiring you to by your manufacturer's energy products -- sometimes you're in a crunch and buying a couple of AA batteries is just the easiest, rather than finding time to charge up rechargeables or charge up the camera itself.
Of course, I'm not a professional photographer, so my camera's power consumption is likely to differ somewhat from a pro that needs to be ready to snap that latest shot of Paris or Britney's latest escapades,...
If Canon just put a fuelcell camera on the market, that action would actually advance fuelcell technology across our industrial society. Just patenting it does nothing but stop everyone else from taking that step.
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make install -not war
I am a fuel-cell researcher and when I RTFA'd I gasped—it seems they want to run this on hydrogen. They must be kidding. Normal H2 fuel cells run at about 80 C and require a hell of good cooling. Portable electronics is the domain of passive direct-methanol FCs.
Good luck selling people a can of explosive pressurised gas they have to hold close to their body, and a machine that has to heat up to 80 Celsius before it starts delivering power.
Anyway, I fail to see the inventive step in the camera. Fuel cells are not new. This type in particular does not seem new. The only new thing is that they stuffed it into a camera. Doesn't that qualify for trivial? Or can I file a patent for FC-powered drills and mixers?
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Pretty gushy article: "Essentially, Canon wants its fuel cell to power everything you attach to your camera. Thatâ(TM)s right. No more AA batteries to stuff into your camera bag."
Yep, no more AA batteries, you'll just need to stuff little bottles of something like lighter fluid or butane or alcohol into your camera bag. And in order for those little bottles to be safe and not freak out TSA, they'll have to be fairly well-designed little gadgets.
And they'll need to clip neatly and securely into the camera. I betcha Canon and Nikon and Olympus will all have different and incompatible fuel canisters... and probably Canon will have different fuel canisters for different camera models. And if you don't buy a bunch and you do run out, the local camera store in the strange city will stock the fuel canisters for current models but not for your three-year-old model... and you'll need to shell out $129.95 for the adapter kit that lets you refill them from a propane cylinder, which, of course, you'll have to stuff into your gadget bag, too.
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