Canon
History
The predecessor company was established in 1930 by
Goro Yoshida and his brother-in-law
Saburo Uchida. Named Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory
(精機光学研究所,
Seiki Kōgaku Kenkyūjo), it
was funded by
Takeshi Mitarai,, a close friend of Uchida. Its original purpose was to
develop a 35 mm rangefinder camera.
1934 logo depicting the
In June 1934 they released their first camera, the >Kwanon (see
"Origins of company name" below). Three variations of this product were
marketed, however, none were actual products. Of the ten Kwanon cameras
that were rumored to be produced, none were ever known to reach the market.
The new company was off to a good start. However, there was a problem:
Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory had not developed a lens. Several
alternatives were considered, but the decision was made to seek help from a
corporation known as Nippon Kogaku Kogyo (Japan Optical Industries, Inc.,
the predecessor of Nikon) to use their Nikkor lens. So in February 1936, the
Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory/i> was able to release the "Hansa Canon
(Standard Model with the Nikkor 50 mm f/3.5 lens)", which became Kwanon's first
commercially available camera.
The following year the company name was changed to Canon t to reflect a
more modern image, and on 10 August 1937, the current corporation was founded
Today, despite the company's high profile in the consumer market for cameras
and computer printers, most of the company revenue comes from the office
products division, especially for analog and digital copiers, and its line of
imageRUNNER digital multifunctional devices.
Canon has also entered the digital displays market by teaming up with Toshiba
to develop and manufacture flat panel televisions based on SED, a new type of
display technology. The joint venture company SED Inc. was established in
October 2004. In January 2007, Canon announced that it would buy Toshiba's share
of the joint venture. This move was triggered by litigation from Nano-Proprietary,
Inc., which claimed Canon breached a license agreement by sharing technology
licensed to Canon with the joint venture company.
Canon has also announced it is developing OLED and rear-projection displays.
Origins of company name
TheThe company's original product, the "Kwanon" camera was named after the
Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy.
The company name "Canon" was chosen because it sounds similar to the name of
their original product, and because the usual meaning of "canon" implies
precision, a characteristic they wanted associated with their company.> |
Manufacturer products
