Solid state imaging device and method for driving solid state imaging device

A solid state imaging device comprising:

• a light receiving section including a plurality of light receiving pixels, wherein the light receiving pixels are arranged in rows and columns in a matrix-like manner and accumulate information charges;
• a plurality of vertical shift registers connected to the light receiving section for transferring the information charges accumulated in the light receiving pixels in a vertical direction;
• a horizontal shift register connected to the vertical shift registers and including a plurality of bit regions, wherein the bit regions receive information charges transferred from the vertical shift registers, and the horizontal shift register transfers the received information charges in a horizontal direction;
• an output section connected to an output of the horizontal shift register, wherein the output section receives the information charges transferred in the horizontal direction and generates an image signal having a voltage corresponding to the charge amount of the information charges;
• and
• a drain section connected to the horizontal shift register for collecting the information charges received in the horizontal shift register;
• wherein the drain section is connected to some of the bit regions of the horizontal shift register, and wherein the horizontal shift register transfers the information charges of the some of the bit regions to the drain section and transfers the information charges of the remaining bit regions to the output section.

A method for driving a solid state imaging device including a plurality of light receiving pixels, wherein the light receiving pixels are arranged in rows and columns in a matrix-like manner and accumulate information charges, wherein the solid state imaging device thins out the information charges in a horizontal direction at a rate of m/n (m, n both being natural numbers and satisfying m<n) and outputs the thinned out information charges, and wherein the solid state imaging device includes a plurality of vertical shift registers, a horizontal shift register having a plurality of bit regions connected to the vertical shift registers, an output section connected to an output of the horizontal shift register, and a drain section connected to a k·(n−m) (k being a natural number) number of bit regions in a k·n number of the bit regions of the horizontal shift register, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving the information charges accumulated in the light receiving pixels with the vertical shift registers;
• vertically transferring the information charges received in the vertical shift registers to the horizontal shift register in units of single rows;
• transferring the information charges of the k·(n−m) number of bit regions in the k·n number of the bit regions to the drain section;
• and
• horizontally transferring the information charges of a k·m number of the bit regions in the k·n number of the bit regions to the output section.

A method for driving a solid state imaging device including a plurality of light receiving pixels, wherein the light receiving pixels are arranged in rows and columns in a matrix-like manner and accumulate information charges, wherein the solid state imaging device thins out the information charges in a horizontal direction at a predetermined rate, and wherein the solid state imaging device includes a plurality of vertical shift registers, a horizontal shift register having a plurality of bit regions connected to the vertical shift registers, an output section connected to an output of the horizontal shift register, and a drain section connected to some of the bit regions of the horizontal shift register, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving the information charges accumulated in the light receiving pixels with the vertical shift registers;
• vertically transferring the information charges received in the vertical shift registers to the horizontal shift register in units of single rows;
• transferring the information charges of the some of the bit regions to the drain section;
• and
• horizontally transferring the information charges of remaining ones of the bit regions after excluding the some of the bit regions to the output section.