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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."
How about an option to vent fuel vapor across the contacts for a really big flash?
Ethanol based fuel cells would seem to be perfect for this equipment, based on some professional photographers I've met in the past.
"One for you," pours vodka into the camera. "And one for me," while pouring some vodka into self. Rinse, repeat.
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*
The fuel cell would power not only the camera body but also all accessories attached to it
looking at the picture I'm pretty sure that's not what the patent covers. Instead all accessory will include it's own fuel cell.
The patent is about distributing the H2 to the different attachments.
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?
...As for fuel cells, you better have special ordered a new one if you run out cuz you can't recharge it like a lithium one or run to a gas station to get more like AAs.
From everything i've seen about fuel cells, when they get low you just refill them with alcohol or whatever fuel they use, which only takes a few seconds. You don't have to "special order a new one" when it runs low... Where did you even get that information? Did you honestly think this was a non-replenishable technology?
-Taylor
Worldwide Military budgets: $2100 billion. Worldwide Space Exploration budgets: $38 billion. Really, world? Really?
The summary is incorrect - this is a patent application. It has not yet been examined in any way shape or form. I can't give my own opinion of patentability because I am an examiner, but I can say that due to obviousness requirements produced by KSR v. Teleflex the combination of a known object (such as a power source) to another known object (such as a camera) for the same purpose as provided by the original object (such as providing power) is considered obvious - and therefore not patentable.
Well, back to rejecting software patent applications.
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,...
Whoops! That should be "LCD display", not "LSD display". Although I imagine that if my camera had an "LSD display", it would be most amusing,... ;-)
"as a patent examiner, I'm not allowed to post my opinion of patentability, but I will say that most cases are heavily modified from their original application form as this one is in now."
and yet... one-click. I wonder, and fear, what the original application for that was if the resulting 'heavily modified application'-based patent is still what it is now.
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
Anything think it's not OBVIOUS? We've been talking about fuel cells for YEARS. Now someone's come up with the idea to - and get this - Use it somewhere.
I'd go for thinking that nowadays accessories are the power hungry devices. As you mentioned LCDs, but particularly flashes are really power consuming, specially is you want a really fast recycling time. Moreover, other devices like personal printing devices, which come with several moving parts and drain batteries pretty quick.
So what I think they want to do, is to avoid having batteries for the printer, the flash, the camera it self and other devices, but having a centralized battery, like laptops and USB devices work right now.
The reason for this is that, with a dSLR, you're taking pictures by looking through the viewfinder directly, without using the power-hungry LCD display.
This is changing, most of the latest models now have a 'live view' mode where you can compose the picture on the LCD. Also, try a big image stabalized telephoto lens... the camera batteries don't last long.
ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
Hey, thanks for the idea! Looks like nobody's got that one yet.
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?
Victims of 9/11: <3000. Traffic in the US: >30,000/y
Hydrogen bombs are the Next Logical Step in blowing up the customer.
Here are a list of the claims from the patent application. They are clearly trying to patent fuel supply control to multiple fuel cells.
1. An electronic equipment system comprising:an electronic equipment body;a connection device connected to the electronic equipment body;independent power generation cells each disposed to the electronic equipment body and to the connection device; anda fuel storage vessel disposed to the electronic equipment body,wherein fuel from the fuel storage vessel is suppliable to each of the independent power generation cells.
2. The electronic equipment system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic equipment body comprises a fuel control unit for controlling an amount of the fuel supplied to each of the independent power generation cells from the fuel storage vessel.
3. The electronic equipment system according to claim 2, wherein the fuel control unit controls the fuel supply amount depending on a fuel consumption amount in each of the independent power generation cells.
4. The electronic equipment system according to claim 3, wherein the electronic equipment body comprises a unit for detecting the fuel consumption amount.
5. The electronic equipment system according to claim 4, wherein the electronic equipment body comprises an image display portion for displaying a remaining amount of the fuel in the fuel storage vessel based on a detection result of the unit for detecting the fuel consumption amount.
6. The electronic equipment system according to claim 1, which is a camera system, wherein the connection device connected to a camera body is at least one of an interchangeable lens and a strobe light, and wherein as the independent power generation cells, a body power generation cell, a lens driving power generation cell, and a strobe light power generation cell are disposed to the camera body, the interchangeable lens, and the strobe light, respectively.
No.
"Fuel cell" refers to the module in which a membrane allows the following reaction to occur:
2H2 + 02 = 2H20
Or some variant if the reagent H2 source is a hydrocarbon.
A fuel cell will always have a reservoir of fuel, as will any engine or energy output mechanism. Thus a fuel cell can have a refillable "fuel tank" in which the user just ads the H2 source fuel, be it alcohol or some other liquid hydrocarbon.
I hate printers.
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.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
The whole idea behind a fuel cell is the factory fills it up and then you use it until it's empty and swap it out and the factory refils it.
That's just wrong, sorry. The whole idea behind a fuel cell is that it's like a battery only you fill it with fuel instead of recharging it, and they last much longer in between fillings than a a battery does between charges. Fuel cells are generally intended to be quickly refilled by the user. There are variations on the concept but that's the most common scenario. Quick refilling is one of the two main advantages of fuel cells, yet you seem to have missed that...
-Taylor
Worldwide Military budgets: $2100 billion. Worldwide Space Exploration budgets: $38 billion. Really, world? Really?
The cells you are thinking of are borohydrate/borohydride with alkaline electrolyte and are (were?) manufactured by a company called medis.
You used to be able to get them at treostore.net but they don't seem to have them in stock there any longer.
They were pretty much a curiostiy - a VERY expensive ($20/use) disposable battery.
+++ ATH0 +++