Patents by Inventor Francois Kaess

Francois Kaess 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).

  • Patent number: 7672506
    Abstract: A system is provided in which the spatial values (S1 to Sn) of the physical quantity are represented by measurement pulses (I1 to In), the temporal ordering of which represents the values, which are processed by processing units (U1 to Un) arranged in at least one row and each include an output (SOR1 to SORn). During successive processing cycles, a measurement pulse processed therein can be delivered to form the output signal (SU) of the system. Each processing unit includes an inhibiting unit (BI) for, in other units and during a given processing cycle, inhibiting the passage to the outputs of the other units respective measurement pulses processed therein and hence preventing them from forming the output signal, if the measurement impulses are temporally ordered later in the given processing cycle than the one processed in the unit concerned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2010
    Assignee: CSEM Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique SA - Recherche et Developpement
    Inventors: Pierre-Yves Burgi, Francois Kaess, Pierre-Francois Ruedi, Pascal Nussbaum
  • Patent number: 7170043
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of calculating the local contrast at each pixel (PC) in a network (Mp) of photosensitive pixels which are arranged in at least one dimension (x, y). The inventive method consists in, during successive image acquisition cycles, producing a signal which is representative of the local luminance at each pixel, said luminance-representative signals being integrated values of luminance values sensed by the respective pixels (pC, pG, pD, pH, pB). The inventive method consists in: sampling the integrated values of the signals representing the luminance values at the pixels adjacent (pG, pD, pH, pB) to a considered pixel (pC), said sampling taking place at an instant in the cycle when the integrated value of the luminance at the considered pixel (pC) is equal to a pre-determined reference value; and determining the local contrast at the considered pixel (pC) on the basis of values thus sampled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 1, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2007
    Assignee: CSEM Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique SA - Recherche et Developpement
    Inventors: Pascal Heim, Pierre-François Ruedi, Eric Fragniere, Eric Grenet, François Kaess
  • Publication number: 20060034347
    Abstract: The invention concerns a system wherein the spatial values (S1 to Sn) of the physical quantity are represented by measurement pulses (I1 to In) whereof the temporal ordering represents said values. The system comprises a plurality of processing units (U1 to Un) for processing said measurement pulses. They are arranged in at least one row and include each an output (SOR1 to SORn) whereon, during successive processing cycles, a measurement pulse processed therein can be delivered to form the output signal (SU) of the system. The invention is characterized in that each processing unit (U1 to Un) comprises inhibiting means (BI) for, in other units of the row and during a given processing cycle, inhibiting the passage to the outputs (SOR1 to SORn) of said other units respective measurement pulses processed therein and hence preventing them from forming the output signal (SU), if said measurement impulses are temporally ordered later in the given processing cycle than the one processed in the unit concerned.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2003
    Publication date: February 16, 2006
    Inventors: Pierre-Yves Burgi, Francois Kaess, Pierre-Francois Ruedi, Pascal Nussbaum
  • Publication number: 20060011806
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of calculating the local contrast at each pixel (PC) in a network (Mp) of photosensitive pixels which are arranged in at least one dimension (x, y). The inventive method consists in, during successive image acquisition cycles, producing a signal which is representative of the local luminance at each pixel, said luminance-representative signals being integrated values of luminance values sensed by the respective pixels (pC, pG, pD, pH, pB). The inventive method consists in: sampling the integrated values of the signals representing the luminance values at the pixels adjacent (pG, pD, pH, pB) to a considered pixel (pC), said sampling taking place at an instant in the cycle when the integrated value of the luminance at the considered pixel (pC) is equal to a pre-determined reference value; and determining the local contrast at the considered pixel (pC) on the basis of values thus sampled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2003
    Publication date: January 19, 2006
    Inventors: Pascal Heim, Pierre-Francois Ruedi, Eric Fragniere, Eric Grenet, Francois Kaess