US 12,418,736 B2 · Counter, analog-to-digital converter, and method for reading out image signals

Abstract

A counter, an analog-to-digital converter, and a method for reading out image signals; the counter comprises N cascaded counting units, each of which comprises a writable D flip-flop, which has a clock input, a data input, a Q output, a Q-bar output, a control input, and a write input; the clock input of the writable D flip-flop of each counting unit is connected to the Q-bar or Q output of the writable D flip-flop of a previous counting unit, except that the clock input of the writable D flip-flop of a first counting unit of the N cascaded counting units receives a clock signal; the Q-bar output of each writable D flip-flop is connected to the data input of the same writable D flip-flop, each Q output generates a counting result, each control input receives a control signal, and each write input receives a write signal.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A counter, comprising N cascaded counting units, wherein each of the counting units comprises a writable D flip-flop, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1,

wherein the writable D flip-flop of each counting unit has a clock input, a data input, a Q output, a Q-bar output, a control input, and a write input, wherein the clock input of the writable D flip-flop of each counting unit is connected to the Q-bar output or Q output of the writable D flip-flop of a previous counting unit, except that the clock input of the writable D flip-flop of a first counting unit of the N cascaded counting units receives a clock signal, wherein the Q-bar output of the writable D flip-flop of each counting unit is connected to the data input of the same writable D flip-flop, wherein each Q output generates a counting result, each control input receives a control signal, and each write input receives a write signal;
wherein the write signal is written into each writable D flip-flop when the control signal is active.

A method for reading out image signals, comprising:

in a first conversion gain mode, collecting a first-gain reset signal of all-phase pixels;
in a second conversion gain mode, collecting a second-gain reset signal of the all-phase pixels;
in the second conversion gain mode, first collecting a second-gain one-side exposure signal of first-side pixels of the all-phase pixels, and then collecting a second-gain total exposure signal of the all-phase pixels;
in the first conversion gain mode, collecting a first-gain total exposure signal of the all-phase pixels;
wherein, after collecting the second-gain reset signal, the method further comprises:
quantizing the second-gain reset signal to obtain and store a quantized second-gain reset signal.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Counter, analog-to-digital converter, and method for reading out image signals

Life of this patent

Counter, analog-to-digital converter, and method for reading out image signals

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20