Patents by Inventor Bruno Berge

Bruno Berge has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20100040355
    Abstract: A method for calibration in the field of imaging systems and imaging systems using the method for calibration. In particular, the method involves calibration in the field of open loop variable focus imaging systems and methods for calibration in the field of imaging system having a variable optical parameter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2009
    Publication date: February 18, 2010
    Applicant: Varioptic S.A.
    Inventors: Pierre Craen, Olivier Jacques-Sermet, Bruno Berge
  • Publication number: 20100020285
    Abstract: The invention concerns an optical lens comprising a cavity formed by two transparent windows and a peripheral frame positioned in between, said cavity containing first and second liquids, non miscible, forming an interface, said interface being movable by electrowetting on a wall of said peripheral frame by application of a voltage between first and second electrodes, wherein said wall has a non symmetrical revolution surface, the geometrical shape of which is calculated such that said interface is of a predetermined shape, for example substantially spherical, for at least one value of said voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2007
    Publication date: January 28, 2010
    Applicant: VARIOPTIC, S.A.
    Inventor: Bruno Berge
  • Patent number: 7649692
    Abstract: A variable-focus lens that includes a wall made of an insulating material, a drop of an insulating liquid arranged on an area of a first surface of the wall, a conductive liquid covering the first surface and the drop, and an electrode arranged on a second surface of said wall. The insulating and conductive liquids are non-miscible, having different optical indexes and substantially the same density. The drop of the variable-focus lens is centered in a truncated cone centered on an axis perpendicular to the first surface, the bottom of which is pierced with a centered hole, and the insulating material wall is transparent and covers the hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2010
    Assignee: Varioptic S.A.
    Inventor: Bruno Berge
  • Patent number: 7602557
    Abstract: The invention relates to a variable-focus lens comprising two opposing walls (21, 22) which are orthogonal to the axis of the lens and which define a space containing an isolating liquid (31) on the first wall (22) and a conductive liquid (32) which covers the isolating liquid and which comes into contact with the second wall (21). The surface (24) of the first wall (22) has high wettability for the isolating liquid and low wettability for the conductive liquid, while the surface (23) of the second wall (21) has high wettability for the conductive liquid and low wettability for the isolating liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2009
    Assignee: Varioptic S.A.
    Inventors: Bruno Berge, Jérôme Peseux
  • Publication number: 20090225436
    Abstract: A variable-focus lens that includes a wall made of an insulating material, a drop of an insulating liquid arranged on an area of a first surface of the wall, a conductive liquid covering the first surface and the drop, and an electrode arranged on a second surface of said wall. The insulating and conductive liquids are non-miscible, having different optical indexes and substantially the same density. The drop of the variable-focus lens is centered in a truncated cone centered on an axis perpendicular to the first surface, the bottom of which is pierced with a centered hole, and the insulating material wall is transparent and covers the hole.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2009
    Publication date: September 10, 2009
    Applicant: VARIOPTIC S.A.
    Inventor: Bruno Berge
  • Patent number: 7548377
    Abstract: A method for centering a drop of liquid on a given point on a surface. The inventive method consists in forming a bell-mouthed recess, whereby said recess has a curvature at any point at the limit of contact between the drop and the recess that is lower than or opposite to the curvature of a circle (TC) that is tangent to the surface of the recess to said point and at a symmetrical point (CP2) of said surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2009
    Assignee: Varioptic S.A.
    Inventor: Bruno Berge
  • Patent number: 7515350
    Abstract: A lens assembly of variable focal length comprises two transparent plates (24, 38) at least partially facing each other and parallel to one another and delimiting, at least in part, an internal volume (15) containing two non-miscible liquids having different optical indices. The lens comprises an elastic element (36) capable of deforming in response to a change in pressure of the liquids, in such a way as to substantially maintain the optical properties of the lens assembly, e.g., in order to maintain the parallelism of the two transparent plates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2009
    Assignee: Varioptic S.A.
    Inventors: Bruno Berge, Jérôme Peseux, Frédéric Laune
  • Patent number: 7499223
    Abstract: The invention relates to a variable-focus lens (60) for focusing light rays in light paths passing through the lens along an optical axis (?). The lens comprises an arrangement of first and second immiscible liquids (67, 68) that have different refractive indices and are in contact over a moveable refractive optical interface (69), a volume of gas (72) in contact with one of said liquids, and a retention measure (70, 74) for keeping the volume of gas away from the light paths of the light rays passing through the lens for focusing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: Varioptic S.A.
    Inventors: Bruno Berge, Jérome Peseux, Mathieu Maillard, Pierre Craen
  • Publication number: 20090021842
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrowetting-based variable-focus lens, comprising: (a) providing an enclosure having a cavity (17) and at least one channel (27, 28; 59) communicating at one end with the cavity and at the other end emerging at the exterior surface of the lens; (b) filling the cavity with first and second liquids (44, 47) that are immiscible and of different refractive indices via the channel; and (c) hermetically scaling the channel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2006
    Publication date: January 22, 2009
    Inventors: Bruno Berge, Jerome Peseux, Bertrand Boutaud, Pierre Craen
  • Publication number: 20080316611
    Abstract: A variable-focus lens that includes a wall made of an insulating material, a drop of an insulating liquid arranged on an area of a first surface of the wall, a conductive liquid covering the first surface and the drop, and an electrode arranged on a second surface of said wall. The insulating and conductive liquids are non-miscible, having different optical indexes and substantially the same density. The drop of the variable-focus lens is centered in a truncated cone centered on an axis perpendicular to the first surface, the bottom of which is pierced with a centered hole, and the insulating material wall is transparent and covers the hole.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2008
    Publication date: December 25, 2008
    Applicant: Varioptic S.A.
    Inventor: Bruno Berge
  • Patent number: 7443596
    Abstract: A method for centering a drop of liquid (2) on a given point on a surface (4). The inventive method consists in forming a bell-mouthed recess (6), whereby said recess has a curvature at any point at the limit of contact between the drop and the recess that is lower than or opposite to the curvature of a circle (TC) that is tangent to the surface of the recess to said point and at a symmetrical point (CP2) of said surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 28, 2008
    Assignee: Varioptic
    Inventor: Bruno Berge
  • Publication number: 20080204891
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a method for controlling a variable focal length lens (10) comprising a dioptre (28) capable of being deformed by variation of the electro-wetting characteristics by application of a control voltage (V), wherein a focal length value corresponds to a given control voltage in the steady state, said method comprising: —applying, during a transition between the application of a first control voltage (V1) corresponding to a first focal length value (f1) and a second control voltage (V2) corresponding to a second focal length value (f2), a control voltage which is different from the first and second control voltages and changes according to a given profile that depends on the first and second control voltages.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2006
    Publication date: August 28, 2008
    Inventors: Nicolas Tallaron, Pierre Craen, Bruno Berge
  • Publication number: 20070103790
    Abstract: A method for centering a drop of liquid on a given point on a surface. The inventive method consists in forming a bell-mouthed recess, whereby said recess has a curvature at any point at the limit of contact between the drop and the recess that is lower than or opposite to the curvature of a circle (TC) that is tangent to the surface of the recess to said point and at a symmetrical point (CP2) of said surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2006
    Publication date: May 10, 2007
    Inventor: Bruno Berge
  • Publication number: 20070002455
    Abstract: The invention relates to a variable-focus lens (60) for focussing light rays in light paths passing through the lens along an optical axis (?). The lens comprises an arrangement of first and second immiscible liquids (67, 68) that have different refractive indices and are in contact over a moveable refractive optical interface (69), a volume of gas (72) in contact with one of said liquids, and a retention measure (70, 74) for keeping the volume of gas away from the light paths of the light rays passing through the lens for focussing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2006
    Publication date: January 4, 2007
    Inventors: Bruno Berge, Jerome Peseux, Mathieu Maillard, Pierre Craen
  • Publication number: 20060126190
    Abstract: A lens assembly of variable focal length comprises two transparent plates (24, 38) at least partially facing each other and parallel to one another and delimiting, at least in part, an internal volume (15) containing two non-miscible liquids having different optical indices. The lens comprises an elastic element (36) capable of deforming in response to a change in pressure of the liquids, in such a way as to substantially maintain the optical properties of the lens assembly, e.g., in order to maintain the parallelism of the two transparent plates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2005
    Publication date: June 15, 2006
    Inventors: Bruno Berge, Jerome Peseux, Frederic Laune
  • Publication number: 20050002113
    Abstract: A method for centering a drop of liquid on a given point on a surface. The inventive method consists in forming a bell-mouthed recess, whereby said recess has a curvature at any point at the limit of contact between the drop and the recess that is lower than or opposite to the curvature of a circle (TC) that is tangent to the surface of the recess to said point and at a symmetrical point (CP2) of said surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2004
    Publication date: January 6, 2005
    Inventor: Bruno Berge
  • Patent number: 6369954
    Abstract: A variable focus lens comprising a chamber (12) filled with a first liquid (13), a drop of a second liquid (11) being disposed at rest on a region of a first surface of an insulating wall of the chamber, the first and second liquids being non miscible, of different optical indexes and of substantially same density. The first liquid is conductive and the second liquid is insulating. The lens further comprises means for applying a voltage between the conductor liquid and an electrode (16) placed on the second surface of said wall; and centering means for maintaining the centering of the edge of the drop while the voltage is applied and for controlling the shape thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2002
    Assignee: Universite Joseph Fourier
    Inventors: Bruno Berge, Jerome Peseux
  • Patent number: RE39874
    Abstract: A variable focus lens comprising a chamber (12) filled with a first liquid (13), a drop of a second liquid (11) being disposed at rest on a region of a first surface of an insulating wall of the chamber, the first and second liquids being non miscible, of different optical indexes and of substantially same density. The first liquid is conductive and the second liquid is insulating. The lens further comprises means for applying a voltage between the conductor liquid and an electrode (16) placed on the second surface of said wall; and centering means for maintaining the centering of the edge of the drop while the voltage is applied and for controlling the shape thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2007
    Assignee: Varioptic
    Inventors: Bruno Berge, Jérôme Peseux