Patent · US Expired

Method of driving solid-state image sensor and solid-state imaging apparatus

US5402169A · kind A · utility

3Cited by
6References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 9, 1994
Grant dateMar 28, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 9, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N25/745
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

In a method of driving a solid-state image sensor having an effective pixel area formed of a plurality of pixels in an array having M pixels in the vertical direction and N pixels in the horizontal direction, a scanning pixel area formed of m pixels in the vertical direction and n pixels in the horizontal direction (where M>m, N.gtoreq.n) is established within the effective pixel area, and charges stored in the pixels in the scanning pixel area are transferred by vertical CCDs driven by a first scanning pulse to a horizontal CCD and the charges transferred to the horizontal CCD are transferred by the horizontal CCD driven by a second scanning pulse to an output portion of the horizontal CCD. Further, while the driving of the horizontal CCD is stopped, the vertical CCDs are driven by a third scanning pulse having a higher frequency than the frequency of the first scanning pulse so that charges stored in the pixels in the effective pixel area outside the scanning pixel area are transferred at high speed to the horizontal CCD of which driving is stopped. The charges transferred from the vertical CCDs to the horizontal CCD at high speed are swept out of the horizontal CCD.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.