Two-line, shared pixel linear image sensor
US9531974B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 10, 2012 |
| Grant date | Dec 27, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 19, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N25/77
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention relates to image sensors of scanner type observing one image line at a time. According to the invention, only two lines of pixels are used, operating in TDI mode (summation of the charge of two pixels seeing the same image point successively) but using active pixels with a charge-voltage conversion within the pixel. The pixels of like rank of the two lines each use a photodiode and a charge storage node with a transfer gate adjacent to the photodiode and to the storage node for transferring the charge accumulated in the photodiode to the charge storage node. The storage node is shared between the two pixels of like rank, and the charge of the two photodiodes is transferred successively into this node before the reading of the potential taken by the node. The time interval which separates the two charge transfers corresponds substantially to the time which separates the transit of an image line past the first line of pixels and then past the second.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.