Patents by Inventor Thierry Midavaine

Thierry Midavaine 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: 11940322
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for classifying a light source, comprising: a sensor adapted to receive a luminous flux emitted by a light source, the sensor comprising a plurality of pixels grouped in sets, each set comprising a first pixel and a second pixel adjacent to the first pixel, each first pixel being adapted to generate a first signal relating to a first portion of luminous flux in a first spectral band received by said first pixel, each second pixel being adapted to generate a second signal relating to a second portion of luminous flux in a second spectral band received by said second pixel, a computer configured to compare the first and second signals and to classify the emitting light source according to the result of the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Paul Thibout, Thierry Midavaine, Guillaume Bloom, Yves Courcol, Olivier Verdy
  • Patent number: 11686612
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical pulse detection device, the device comprising a sensor having a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising: a receiver configured to receive optical pulses and generate an electrical signal, an event detection unit comprising a frequency filter having an adjustable cut-off frequency defining a passband for the event detection unit, the adjustable cut-off frequency being such that the upper bound of the passband is greater than or equal to 1 Megahertz, the detection unit being configured to detect variations in the electrical signal generated by the receiver only when the frequency in the frequency domain of said variations is within the passband of the event detection unit, and a timing unit configured to date each change in the electrical signal detected by the event detection unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Ludovic Perruchot, Thierry Midavaine, Guillaume Bloom, Jérôme Achart, Marc Thillot, Tugdual Perrot, Vincent Ligeret
  • Publication number: 20220260415
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for classifying a light source, comprising: a sensor adapted to receive a luminous flux emitted by a light source, the sensor comprising a plurality of pixels grouped in sets, each set comprising a first pixel and a second pixel adjacent to the first pixel, each first pixel being adapted to generate a first signal relating to a first portion of luminous flux in a first spectral band received by said first pixel, each second pixel being adapted to generate a second signal relating to a second portion of luminous flux in a second spectral band received by said second pixel, a computer configured to compare the first and second signals and to classify the emitting light source according to the result of the comparison.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Inventors: Paul THIBOUT, Thierry MIDAVAINE, Guillaume BLOOM, Yves COURCOL, Olivier VERDY
  • Publication number: 20220260413
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an optical pulse detection device, the device comprising a sensor having a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising: a receiver configured to receive optical pulses and generate an electrical signal, an event detection unit comprising a frequency filter having an adjustable cut-off frequency defining a passband for the event detection unit, the adjustable cut-off frequency being such that the upper bound of the passband is greater than or equal to 1 Megahertz, the detection unit being configured to detect variations in the electrical signal generated by the receiver only when the frequency in the frequency domain of said variations is within the passband of the event detection unit, and a timing unit configured to date each change in the electrical signal detected by the event detection unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 13, 2020
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Inventors: Ludovic PERRUCHOT, Thierry MIDAVAINE, Guillaume BLOOM, Jérôme ACHART, Marc THILLOT, Tugdual PERROT, Vincent LIGERET
  • Patent number: 11221468
    Abstract: An imaging module includes a single-pupil head component with hyper-hemispherical entrance field with refractive entrance surface, concave exit face, a refractive central zone and reflective peripheral zone. The imaging module also includes a secondary mirror, an aberrations corrector having an aspherical lens, a focusing objective, and an aperture diaphragm between the aberrations corrector and the objective. The head component is quasi-afocal in the vicinity of the field of 90° angular radius, its entrance surface has a ½ vertex angle of smaller than 30°, the secondary mirror is aspherical with variable local focal length with a maximum local power for a zone used by a field of 90° angular radius and minimum smaller by at least a factor of 2 for a zone used by a field of angular radius smaller than 20°.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Catherine Antier, Thierry Midavaine
  • Publication number: 20210278639
    Abstract: An imaging module comprises: a single-pupil head component with hyper-hemispherical entrance field with refractive entrance surface, concave exit face, a refractive central zone and reflective peripheral zone, and comprising a secondary mirror, an aberrations corrector which comprises an aspherical lens, a focusing objective, an aperture diaphragm between the aberrations corrector and the objective. The head component is quasi-afocal in the vicinity of the field of 90° angular radius, its entrance surface has a ½ vertex angle of smaller than 30°, the secondary mirror is aspherical with variable local focal length with a maximum local power for a zone used by a field of 90° angular radius and minimum smaller by at least a factor of 2 for a zone used by a field of angular radius smaller than 20°.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2014
    Publication date: September 9, 2021
    Inventors: Catherine ANTIER, Thierry MIDAVAINE
  • Patent number: 9953226
    Abstract: The subject of the invention is a method for detecting and classifying events of a scene by means of a single-pupil imaging system equipped with a VisNIR detector in the 0.6 ?m-1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Thierry Midavaine, Olivier Garin
  • Patent number: 9712762
    Abstract: A method is provided for detecting a target not emitting in the wavelength region lying between 1 ?m and 1.9 ?m. The target is situated in a night sky luminous environment of level less than or equal to 4. Use is made of an imaging device of focal length f and of pupil diameter D, comprising at least one detector comprising types of pixels configured to operate in the wavelength region lying between 1 ?m and 1.9 ?m, the detectors exhibiting a noise level of less than 0.6×1015/(f/D)2, and from the image obtained by this device is extracted at least one negative-contrast zone, that is to say a black zone on a bright background corresponding to the presence of the target in the night sky of level less than or equal to 4.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventor: Thierry Midavaine
  • Publication number: 20160335504
    Abstract: The subject of the invention is a method for detecting and classifying events of a scene by means of a single-pupil imaging system equipped with a VisNIR detector in the 0.6 ?m-1.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2015
    Publication date: November 17, 2016
    Inventors: Thierry MIDAVAINE, Olivier GARIN
  • Publication number: 20150350568
    Abstract: A method is provided for detecting a target not emitting in the wavelength region lying between 1 ?m and 1.9 ?m. The target is situated in a night sky luminous environment of level less than or equal to 4. Use is made of an imaging device of focal length f and of pupil diameter D, comprising at least one detector comprising types of pixels configured to operate in the wavelength region lying between 1 ?m and 1.9 ?m, the detectors exhibiting a noise level of less than 0.6×1015/(f/D)2, and from the image obtained by this device is extracted at least one negative-contrast zone, that is to say a black zone on a bright background corresponding to the presence of the target in the night sky of level less than or equal to 4.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Publication date: December 3, 2015
    Inventor: Thierry MIDAVAINE
  • Patent number: 9137007
    Abstract: A method of synchronizing optronic systems, of the type operating simultaneously on one and the same scene, each optronic system being intended to emit and/or receive light of a target of the scene and each optronic system having an internal precision clock and a module suitable for synchronizing the internal clock with a reference time signal, the method being characterized in that it has the following steps of receiving and generating a reference time signal by each synchronization module, the reference time signal being independent of the optronic systems and emanating from an item of equipment different from the optronic systems, and synchronizing the internal clock of each optronic system with the reference time signal by the synchronization module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventor: Thierry Midavaine
  • Patent number: 9025004
    Abstract: A video optronic system, comprises a sensor with a supra-hemispheric lens and a matrix detector array, a unit for processing the sensed images, display means for the processed images. The matrix detector, having video rate, comprises: i. L×C pixels, with L and C>2000, each employing correlated double sampling and able to ensure a charge-voltage conversion, and ii. 2 C parallelized analog-digital conversion elements, each comprising a first ADC with output having low level and large gain and a second ADC with output having high level and low gain; the lens exhibits a focal length controlled by the angle of elevation, the focal length being longest in the equatorial plane, and has a numerical aperture lying between 0.9 and 1.6; and the processing unit comprises: i. means for correcting the non-uniformities, ii. means of weighted summation, of several neighboring pixels, iii. means for adapting and compressing the sensed image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2011
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventor: Thierry Midavaine
  • Publication number: 20140010554
    Abstract: A method of synchronizing optronic systems, of the type operating simultaneously on one and the same scene, each optronic system being intended to emit and/or receive light of a target of the scene and each optronic system having an internal precision clock and a module suitable for synchronizing the internal clock with a reference time signal, the method being characterized in that it has the following steps of receiving and generating a reference time signal by each synchronization module, the reference time signal being independent of the optronic systems and emanating from an item of equipment different from the optronic systems, and synchronizing the internal clock of each optronic system with the reference time signal by the synchronization module.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2011
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicant: THALES
    Inventor: Thierry Midavaine
  • Publication number: 20130176386
    Abstract: A video optronic system, comprises a sensor with a supra-hemispheric lens and a matrix detector array, a unit for processing the sensed images, display means for the processed images. The matrix detector, having video rate, comprises: i. L×C pixels, with L and C>2000, each employing correlated double sampling and able to ensure a charge-voltage conversion, and ii. 2 C parallelized analog-digital conversion elements, each comprising a first ADC with output having low level and large gain and a second ADC with output having high level and low gain; the lens exhibits a focal length controlled by the angle of elevation, the focal length being longest in the equatorial plane, and has a numerical aperture lying between 0.9 and 1.6; and the processing unit comprises: i. means for correcting the non-uniformities, ii. means of weighted summation, of several neighboring pixels, iii. means for adapting and compressing the sensed image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2011
    Publication date: July 11, 2013
    Applicant: THALES
    Inventor: Thierry Midavaine
  • Patent number: 4999502
    Abstract: A device is divulged for generating an infrared image, in which an electron beam having a section substantially equal to the area of a pixel formed from a material having high emissive power in the infrared, directly bombards this material. The energy of the beam is transformed into heat then into infrared radiation, in the material. Each pixel is supported by a slab of a material transparent to the infrared, which is heat insulating and deposited on a screen transparent to the infrared and heat conducting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 1989
    Date of Patent: March 12, 1991
    Assignee: SAT (Societe Anonyme de Telecommunications)
    Inventor: Thierry Midavaine