# The First Digital Camera's Core Technology > Kodak's 1978 patent on the fundamental technology for capturing, processing, and storing digital images using a CCD sensor and magnetic tape. - **Patent:** US 4131919 - **Original title:** Electronic still camera - **Owner:** Eastman Kodak Co - **Granted:** 1978 - **Status:** Public domain (expired) - **Times cited:** 106 - **Field:** consumer_electronics, semiconductors, software, telecommunications ## What it does This patent describes the essential components of an early electronic still camera. It uses a solid-state device, like a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD), to capture an optical image and turn it into electrical signals. These signals are then processed quickly to separate them and slow down their rate. Finally, this slower stream of digital information is recorded onto a non-volatile medium, like magnetic tape, for later playback on a television. Claim 1 outlines extracting discrete signals, separating them, slowing their rate, and recording them. Claim 4 adds the step of converting these signals into multi-bit digital words in real-time before storage and slower retrieval. ## What it does NOT cover - Does not cover cameras that capture analog video signals instead of discrete digital signals. - Does not cover recording methods that are not on a non-volatile medium like magnetic tape. - Does not cover systems that do not involve a solid-state light-responsive device. - Does not cover displaying the image on anything other than a conventional television receiver. - Does not cover image capture using film. ## The clever bit The innovation was in orchestrating the entire digital image pipeline: from capturing light with a CCD, processing the raw signals rapidly, and then buffering and slowing them down for recording on inexpensive audio tape, making digital image capture feasible. ## Real-world examples 1. The first Kodak digital camera prototype (1975) 2. Early digital imaging systems ## Why it matters This patent covers the foundational technology for the world's first digital still camera, invented by Steven Sasson at Kodak. It represents a pivotal moment in the transition from film to digital photography, fundamentally altering the consumer electronics and media industries. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does The First Digital Camera's Core Technology cover? Kodak's 1978 patent on the fundamental technology for capturing, processing, and storing digital images using a CCD sensor and magnetic tape. ### Who owns patent US 4131919? Eastman Kodak Co owns this patent, granted in 1978. ### When does this patent expire? This patent has expired and is now in the public domain — anyone can use the invention freely. ### What is patent US 4131919 cited by? This patent has been cited by 106 later patents that build on its ideas. ### What problem does this patent solve? This patent covers the foundational technology for the world's first digital still camera, invented by Steven Sasson at Kodak. It represents a pivotal moment in the transition from film to digital photography, fundamentally altering the consumer electronics and media industries. ### What does this patent NOT cover? Does not cover cameras that capture analog video signals instead of discrete digital signals. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/4131919/digital-camera-electronic-still **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US4131919 --- _Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._ ## Related patents Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus: - [How Buried Channel CCDs Move Data Deep Inside Silicon Chips](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3792322/ccd-image-sensor) — A foundational 1974 invention that improved how computer chips store and move electrical charges by keeping them away from messy surface defects. - [How a Modern Camera Sensor Captures Light and Converts It to Data](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/5471515/cmos-active-pixel-image-sensor) — This patent describes a camera sensor technology that combines light-capturing elements with a special circuit to read out the image data quickly and efficiently, all on a single chip. - [George Eastman's Original Box Camera Design](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/388850/kodak-roll-film-camera-eastman) — A foundational 1888 patent by George Eastman describing the mechanical structure of a simple, mass-market box camera that made photography accessible to everyday people. - [How James Russell Invented the Digital Optical Disc](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/3501586/optical-digital-recording-russell) — A 1966 invention that replaced physical needles on vinyl records with a laser beam reading digital data from a spinning disc. - [Chester Carlson's Original Xerography Patent](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2297691/xerography-electrophotography-photocopier) — Chester Carlson's 1942 patent for xerography, the dry copying process that became the foundation for Xerox machines.