Patents Assigned to Thomson-CSF
  • Patent number: 5677544
    Abstract: Quantum well detector, in which the active detection zone (2) occupies only a limited area of the device and in which a diffraction grid (5) having a larger surface area than this zone thereby makes it possible to couple to it a greater light flow than that corresponding to the surface area of this zone. In this way, the sensitivity of the device is increased.Application: Detection of optical radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 1994
    Date of Patent: October 14, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Jean-Yves Duboz, Fran.cedilla.ois Luc, Philippe Bois
  • Patent number: 5675112
    Abstract: A device for the localizing and restoring of a line of fire of a weapon carried by a shooter equipped with a helmet, the device comprising two cameras, a first camera and a second camera, each having an objective and at least one sensor sensitive to light radiation, the first camera being mounted on the helmet and the second camera being mounted on the weapon, a computer receiving digitized information from each of the cameras and, on the basis of this digitized information, computing and controlling a display system to bring about the appearance thereon of a symbology providing a real-time depiction of the axis of fire of the weapon, wherein at least three distinctive optical reference marks in the range of sensitivity of the sensor and/or of the sensors are distributed between the weapon and the helmet and wherein, in the firing positions, the reference marks of the helmet are in the fields of the camera of the weapon and the reference marks of the weapon are in the fields of the camera of the helmet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 7, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Philippe Giry, Claude Michel
  • Patent number: 5675343
    Abstract: This radiating-element array antenna has its radiating elements grouped together, in reception, in two sets of parallel linear sub-arrays imbricated and oriented in the two directions, namely the horizontal and vertical directions. It comprises two beam-shaping circuits each receiving the signals from one of the sets of linear sub-arrays and carrying out two reduced beam-shaping operations, one in the elevation plane and other in the relative bearing plane, and one output circuit delivering a reception signal from a non-linear combination, a product or convolution, of the two reduced beam-shaping signals generated by the beam-shaping circuits. This reception signal simulates the signal of an antenna with total beam-shaping in the two planes, namely the elevation and relative bearing planes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 7, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventor: Andre Champeau
  • Patent number: 5672008
    Abstract: A temperature sensor having a light fiber connecting a light source and a reflectometer. Temperature measurement zones are formed by sensing elements made of shape-memory alloy. The elements exert a stress on the fiber when they are subjected to an increase in temperature due to their memorized state. The change in temperature is detected by the reflectometer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 30, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Philippe Bonniau, Jean Chazelas, Marc Turpin
  • Patent number: 5671106
    Abstract: A magnetic head including a first induction conductor coupled to a second conductor which is coupled into a closed magnetic circuit having a magnetic flux induction coil supplied with a pulsed or alternating current. Instead of a coil, therefore, only the first induction conductor is magnetically coupled with the head. The magnetic head allows for implementation of high density heads with matrix control and can be used in magnetic recording/reading applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: September 23, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventor: Jean-Claude Lehureau
  • Patent number: 5668388
    Abstract: A bipolar transistor in which the emitter possesses a double "mesa" structure so as to achieve the maximum avoidance of the phenomena of electron/hole recombinations that have a deleterious effect on the current gain. The double mesa emitter can be made out of an alternation of materials M.sub.I /M.sub.II having different types of behavior with respect to a pair of etching methods. These materials may be GaInP and GaAs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 16, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Sylvain Delage, Marie-Antoinette Poisson, Christian Brylinski, Herve Blanck
  • Patent number: 5663817
    Abstract: A structure including a laser source 1, a collimator 14, a liquid-crystal cell spatial modulator 7, a convergent lens and a zoom 10 function to project moving images with variable enlargements onto a screen 11 for use with air combat simulators.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 2, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Pascal Frapin, Michel Lacroix
  • Patent number: 5661473
    Abstract: A system for the identification and automatic detection of vehicles or objects includes an electronic label installed in each of the vehicles or objects, each of these electronic labels having means for memorizing an identification code assigned to a vehicle or object in which the electronic label is installed and radioelectrical transmission and reception means for transmitting this identification code, and at least one mobile reader disposed exterior to the vehicles or objects and movable within a vicinity of these vehicles or objects.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 26, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventor: Jean-Pierre Paschal
  • Patent number: 5659272
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for generating an amplitude-modulated signal based on a modulation signal including first and second digital oscillators which are controlled based on first and second phase shifts derived from the modulation signal, and output first and second phase-modulated signals having a same amplitude and first and second phases, respectively; first and second amplification channels which amplify the first and second phase-modulated signals, respectively, and output first and second amplified phase-modulated signals; an adder which adds the first and second amplified phase-modulated signals and outputs a resultant amplitude-modulated signal; and a filter which filters the resultant amplitude-modulated signal and outputs the amplitude-modulated signal. The method and apparatus for amplitude modulation is suited for applications in "solid state" power transmitters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventor: Laurent Linguet
  • Patent number: 5659536
    Abstract: Disclosed is a system for the recording of data on optic disks. Presently used optic disks, which can be read with lasers working in wavelengths of the visible region (between 0.5 and 0.8 microns), have a maximum surface storage density of the order of one data bit per elementary zone having an area of about one square micrometer. Beyond this limit, the diffraction does not allow the neighboring zones to be distinguished. A means is proposed to considerably increase the storage capacities: in an elementary zone of a layer, an information bit is written not in the form of a point of absorption of a laser light but in the form of a diffraction grating with a determined pitch. Several diffraction gratings, having pitches different from one another, may be superimposed at the same position, enabling the recording, in one and the same zone, of several information bits. The diffraction gratings are made by a periodic local variation of the optic index of the layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 19, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Christian Maillot, Jean-Pierre Huignard, Jean-Claude Lehureau, Paul-Louis Meunier, Claude Puech
  • Patent number: 5657304
    Abstract: A system for the optical writing/reading of a recording medium, the system including at least one light source emitting three beams that focus at three distinct points on the recording medium and a diffraction device creating three orders of diffraction, -1, 0 and +1, for each beam, the focusing points of the three beams being aligned in the direction of diffraction of the diffraction device and being at a distance from one another so that, at the focusing point of the 0 order diffraction of the central beam, there is focused the -1 order diffraction of one lateral beam and the +1 order diffraction of the other lateral beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventor: Jean-Claude Lehureau
  • Patent number: 5656806
    Abstract: Disclosed is a photodetector comprising at least one photosensitive diode and at least one read circuit enabling the charges generated by photoelectric effect in said diode to be converted into a voltage information element sampled by a switch, wherein said photosensitive diode has a first terminal connected to the gate and to the drain of a first transistor and a second terminal connected to the source of said first transistor and to the ground of said photodetector, wherein a second transistor with dimensions proportional to those of said first transistor is mounted as a current mirror with respect to said first transistor and wherein an integration capacitor is connected to the drain of said second transistor so as to collect said voltage information element at its terminals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 12, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF Semiconducteurs Specifiques
    Inventor: Pierre Dautriche
  • Patent number: 5652672
    Abstract: Modulation mirrors including the deformable cells (CD1 to CDn) locally modified the planarity of a reflecting surface 18. The deformable cells deform under the effect of a voltage and the control of these deformable cells is such that a control voltage V.sub.c is applied between a first and a second electrode 17, 26. A photoconductor element P1 to Pn is inserted between the second electrode 26 and the deformable cell (CD1 to CDn). A light beam (MF1 to MFn) illuminates the photoconductor element in order to obtain an elongation of the deformable cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 29, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Jean-Pierre Huignard, Brigitte Loiseaux, Claude Puech
  • Patent number: 5650786
    Abstract: Disclosed is a device to compensate for the aiming errors caused by malfunctions in phase-shifters of electronic scanning antennas. With the electronic scanning antenna being plane and having a power distribution that is symmetrical in amplitude and in phase, the device has means positioning a malfunctioning phase-shifter and its symmetrical phase-shifter in supplementary phase states. Application notably to landing systems requiring high precision for the aiming of the beam in free space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 22, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Claude Aubry, Andre Peyrat
  • Patent number: 5645761
    Abstract: A phosphor material based on manganese-doped zinc silicate, in which the manganese doping level ranges from 3.5% to 25%, can be used to obtain a very short time of decay after excitation. Applications: display panels and television tubes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 1996
    Date of Patent: July 8, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Antoinette Morell, Nathalie Goumard
  • Patent number: 5644209
    Abstract: A method and device for monitoring and balancing individual batteries in a pack. The terminals of each battery, which are connected in series, is connected to an electronic monitoring and balancing device. Each of these electronic devices are ballasted for tapping off and dissipating part of the current of the corresponding battery if the characteristics of the battery are out of balance with respect to the others.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 1, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Philippe Chabbert, Alain Chatenay, Michel Petit
  • Patent number: 5640760
    Abstract: In a method for the interconnection of stacked packages, each of the packages encapsulating, for example, a semiconductor chip containing an integrated circuit, a memory for example, the packages provided with pins are mounted on a printed circuit board. The printed circuit boards are stacked and fixedly joined with one another by means of a coating, for example a resin coating. The stack is sliced through so as to form bars, the pins of the packages being electrically connected to the side surfaces of the bars by means of the tracks of the printed circuit boards. The connection of the packages to one another is done on the side faces of the bars. The bars are then sliced through to obtain unit blocks of stacked packages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 24, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Christian Val, Andre Gerard
  • Patent number: 5642251
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to the protection circuits interposed between a DC supply and a load circuit to protect the load circuit against short-circuits or reversals in polarity of the supply. The protection is obtained by means of a MOS power transistor connected between the supply and the load circuit. This transistor is turned on if it receives a voltage Vg from a bias circuit through a control circuit. The bias circuit delivers the voltage Vg only if the voltage given to it by the supply is sufficient while the control circuit turns the power transistor off if the output of the supply gets short-circuited or gives a voltage with reversed polarity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 24, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Guillaume Lebbolo, Claude Prevot, Michel Rincent
  • Patent number: 5641955
    Abstract: A fiber-optic sensor composed of elements made of shape-memory alloy which, in one of their memorized shapes, impose a stress on the optical fiber, which stress is easy to locate with an interferometer. The multisensor configuration is thus easily reconfigurable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 24, 1997
    Assignee: Thomson-CSF
    Inventors: Philippe Bonniau, Jean Chazelas, Marc Turpin
  • Patent number: 5640285
    Abstract: System for recording/writing on a recording medium in which there are distributed, on the tracks, groups (G0) of tracks with positive continuous components and groups (G1) of tracks with negative continuous components. In reading, the values of the different signals are integrated for each track. Then, on the one hand, a first addition circuit S1 adds up the results of integration of the first tracks of each group of tracks and, secondly, a second addition circuit S2 adds up the results of integration of the last tracks of each group of tracks. A comparison circuit (CD) compares the results of additions of the two addition circuits to correct the track-following operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 17, 1997
    Assignees: Thomson-CSF, Thomson Consumer Electronics
    Inventors: Fran.cedilla.ois Maurice, Joseph Colineau, Charaf Hanna, Michel Sonrier