Company patents
CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA's patent strategy reveals a strong, sustained focus on its core imaging and printing technologies, with Pictorial / Video Communications (28.9% of portfolio) and Electrography (Xerography) (19.3% of portfolio) dominating, both showing consistent growth in 2024-2025 before a partial year decline in 2026. Surprisingly, despite its historical strengths, the company appears to be significantly shifting away from Semiconductor Manufacturing Process, which saw a dramatic 77.9% decline in 2026 (so far), and Integrated Circuit Layout & Arrangement, which had a -76.3% YoY decline in 2025 and no patents so far in 2026, indicating a potential divestment or reduced internal R&D in these areas.
Patent Trend by Technology Area
Yearly patent publications since 2023
Product themes
Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.
20,573 US filings (since 2023) · 12 categories · 62 themes
Techniques and apparatuses for enabling specialized printing applications beyond standard color reproduction, such as forming toner images specifically for adhering foil onto sheets.
Systems and methods for controlling temperature within image forming apparatuses, particularly for fixing devices, and during printer operation or shutdown, to ensure optimal performance, energy efficiency, and component longevity.
Methods and apparatus for improving the visual fidelity, resolution, or compression efficiency of video signals, often through advanced processing, up-scaling, or neural network-based filters.
Systems and methods for maintaining and improving the quality of printed images, encompassing adjustments to developing bias based on environmental conditions, paper characteristic detection, and color profile generation.
Methods and systems for improving the quality of video streams, generating intermediate frames, or continuously locating and following objects within a sequence of images, even under occlusion.
Advancements in the structure, materials, and electrical characteristics of electrophotographic photosensitive members, focusing on photosensitive layers, conductive supports, protection layers, and their impedance properties.
Mechanisms and control systems for precise movement of optical lens elements, often for autofocus, zoom, or image stabilization, utilizing various driving principles (e.g., piezoelectric) and low-friction components.
Mechanisms and control systems for reliably feeding, conveying, and separating print media, including managing media roll changes, adjusting airflow, and adapting to different media characteristics.
Systems that employ imaging and image processing to automatically detect defects, verify states, or ensure quality control in manufactured goods, printed materials, or industrial processes.
Mechanisms and sensors for accurately conveying, positioning, loading, and managing various types of recording media (e.g., paper, fabric, labels) through a printing apparatus, and detecting their presence, type, or potential collision.
Innovations in the design and arrangement of piezoelectric or thermal actuators, drive electronics, and fluidic structures within the printhead to achieve precise and efficient liquid ejection.
Layout, material composition, and structural arrangement of photoelectric conversion elements and associated circuitry within image sensor arrays, including infrared detectors and back-side illuminated structures.
Mechanisms and methods for preventing or removing clogs, ink residue, or contaminants from printhead nozzles and surfaces to ensure consistent print quality and extend printhead lifespan.
Design aspects of user-replaceable cartridges or containers for printing consumables (e.g., ink, tape, labels) that facilitate easy installation, proper positioning, type identification, and reliable supply to the printer.
Technologies for precisely controlling the timing and volume of liquid droplet ejection, and for real-time or post-ejection monitoring of droplet trajectory, velocity, and nozzle health to maintain print accuracy and quality.
Development of sophisticated optical lens assemblies and computational methods to achieve high-resolution, precise, or specialized imaging, often for medical or scientific applications.
Systems and components for storing, delivering, circulating, and managing printing liquids (e.g., ink) to the printhead, often including features for pressure regulation, filtration, degassing, and balancing liquid levels.
Methods and apparatus for detecting objects and determining their three-dimensional position and orientation (pose) using imagery or point cloud data, often for navigation, surveying, or environmental understanding.
Innovations in the chemical and physical properties of toner particles, including binder resins, waxes, colorants, and inorganic additives, to optimize performance, production, and environmental characteristics.
Systems that combine data from multiple camera sensors or capture multiple images from different perspectives or qualities, often involving image processing techniques like synthesis to create enhanced or comprehensive views.
Techniques for rendering, interacting with, and managing content within augmented or virtual reality environments, including spatial tracking, gaze interaction, and dynamic multi-application display management.
Techniques and hardware architectures for optimizing the radio frequency (RF) front-end, antenna systems, and beamforming strategies in wireless networks to improve signal quality, capacity, and interference mitigation.
Systems and components for projecting images, including light sources (e.g., laser), optical modulation elements (e.g., metasurfaces, spatial modulators), and optical paths for generating and displaying images.
Optical systems and components specifically designed for head-mounted displays, augmented reality (AR) glasses, and virtual reality (VR) headsets, focusing on image projection, waveguide integration, and display durability.
Camera assemblies specifically designed for integration into vehicles, addressing challenges like mounting, field of view coverage, environmental robustness, and specialized imaging (e.g., near-infrared) for autonomous driving or safety.
Technologies that create dynamic and interactive visual content for displays, including virtual/wearable systems, by generating overlays, replacing input streams, or merging real-time user actions with digital environments.
Mechanical structures and devices designed to support, stabilize, or mount cameras and related photographic equipment, often featuring quick-release mechanisms, damping, or adjustable components.
Techniques for precise material removal, pattern shaping, and controlling etch selectivity or uniformity, often involving plasma, wet chemistry, or directed beams to achieve desired features on semiconductor substrates.
Systems and methods for authenticating users, devices, or applications, authorizing their access to resources based on policies, and managing digital identities across various platforms.
Designing user interfaces and interaction methods specifically for mobile or wearable devices, enabling control of external systems, monitoring user states, or facilitating real-world transactions.
Methods and components for converting power into mechanical motion to drive pump mechanisms, encompassing electric motors, hydraulic actuators, and specialized motion converters like ball screws or solenoids.
Development and optimization of novel neural network layers or architectures specifically designed to improve performance or efficiency for computer vision tasks.
Safety features and interlock mechanisms designed to prevent hazards during printer operation or maintenance, such as automatic power cut-offs for heating elements when access covers are opened.
Systems and methods for automated substrate transport, precise positioning, temperature regulation, and chamber environment management to ensure process stability, uniformity, and yield in semiconductor manufacturing.
Systems that combine light sources, waveguides, and display elements into unified products for backlighting, automotive applications, general lighting, or color-corrected displays.
Utilizing machine learning, particularly deep learning, to analyze medical data such as images, sensor readings, or physiological signals for disease prediction, diagnosis, or treatment assessment.
Techniques and hardware for autonomous systems to gather and interpret data about their surroundings, including obstacle detection, object recognition, and depth estimation, to inform control decisions.
Physical layout and material composition of individual pixels within a display panel, including active layers, electrodes, light-emitting elements (LEDs, OLEDs), and associated thin-film transistors (TFTs).
Techniques utilizing deep learning models like Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) or diffusion models to create new images, modify existing ones, or generate synthetic data based on various inputs or conditions.
Methods for temporarily attaching a wafer or substrate to a carrier for thinning, dicing, or other processing, followed by controlled debonding, often using light-sensitive resins, temporary adhesives, or roughened interfaces.
Techniques and hardware architectures designed to efficiently generate and display complex 3D graphics, particularly for interactive applications like virtual reality, focusing on speed and visual quality.
Processes involving chemical and mechanical forces to planarize surfaces (CMP) or wet chemical treatments for cleaning, etching, or material removal, often utilizing specialized compositions, nozzles, or fluid management systems.
Methods and systems for displaying complex data in three-dimensional graphical formats, allowing users to manipulate, explore, and derive insights from the data through interactive controls.
Automated systems using image processing and artificial intelligence to identify, classify, and assess the extent of damage to structures or objects, supporting maintenance or insurance claims.
Integrated solutions for dissipating heat generated by high-density semiconductor devices within the package, including embedded cooling structures, cold plates, and optimized fluidic channels.
Techniques for combining data from disparate sensor types (e.g., cameras, radar, mobile device signals) to achieve a more robust and comprehensive understanding of an environment or subject, often leveraging machine learning for interpretation and correlation.
Processes for creating or manipulating three-dimensional digital representations of objects or environments, including mesh generation, surface fitting, and depth estimation from multiple views.
Integrated circuits or sub-circuits designed to regulate, balance, or protect power delivery within a device, often involving specific transistor and capacitor arrangements.
User interface designs and systems that enable multiple users to interact with shared content, provide feedback, or coordinate activities, often across different devices or locations.
The design and manufacturing of integrated circuits that combine optical and electronic components, particularly for high-speed data communication between processors and memory.
Techniques for designing and fabricating the conductive pathways (interconnects) and their contacts between different components within an integrated circuit, focusing on density, reliability, and performance.
Engineering of artificial subwavelength structures (meta-atoms) to create metasurfaces that manipulate light properties (phase, polarization, wavelength) for multi-functional optical devices.
Algorithms and systems for generating, optimizing, and executing trajectories for autonomous vehicles or robots to move through an environment, often involving obstacle avoidance, route validation, and goal reaching.
Systems enabling wireless communication between vehicles (V2V), vehicles and infrastructure (V2I), or vehicles and other entities (V2X) to share information for traffic management, safety, and navigation.
Methods for depositing thin films with controlled conformality, thickness, and material properties, including selective deposition on specific areas, often using atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or epitaxial growth.
Mechanisms to facilitate the secure exchange of data between different entities or systems while enforcing usage policies, managing digital content rights, and ensuring data consistency during replication or transfer.
Techniques for protecting data at rest or in backup, ensuring its integrity, confidentiality, and verifiable origin, often involving encryption, unique identifiers, or secure repositories.
Applying artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to enhance cryptographic systems, such as generating encryption models, improving zero-trust architectures, or enabling privacy-preserving computations like federated learning.
Mobile applications and systems leveraging wireless communication and location data (e.g., GPS, RFID, geo-fencing) to provide context-specific services, transactions, or user interactions.
Technologies for transmitting critical alerts and information during emergencies, often involving wireless networks, specialized devices, and protocols to ensure timely and targeted communication to users or emergency services.
Systems and methods that utilize optical fibers as sensing elements or for transmitting sensing signals, often for distributed monitoring of environmental conditions, phase changes, or integrating sensing with communication.
Structural innovations in individual transistors, such as fin-based field-effect transistors (FinFETs), 3D gate structures, or multi-layer active regions, aimed at improving performance or density.
Patents
Showing 1-10 of 1395
Image Sensor Pixel & Array Design