Capacitive coupled bipolar active pixel imager having overflow protection and electronic shutter
US6088058A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 29, 1997 |
| Grant date | Jul 11, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 29, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/766
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An imaging array having overflow protection and electronic shuttering features is realized without an increase in pixel complexity. Overflow protection is provided by pulsing each row of the imager with a small overflow pulse during the sense amplifier reset phase. An electronic shutter is realized using a modified version of the pixel readout timing. The shutter provides sub-frame exposure by restricting the number of line-times a pixel is allowed to integrate. For a full-frame exposure, each pixel is read out once per frame; during readout of the other rows of the array, the pixel integrates. For subframe exposure, the pixel is continually reset, using a shutter pulse applied to the row lines during sense amplifier reset, until a certain number of rows (line-times) before it is to be read out. The pixel then is allowed to integrate until it is read out normally.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.