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US 2003/0193574 A1Published application
Imaging device
AssigneeSanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
InventorTakashi Tanimoto
Life of this patent
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AssigneeSanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
InventorTakashi Tanimoto
Estimating the term…
An imaging device that is activated quickly and prevents deterioration of an image signal. The imaging device includes a boosting circuit for boosting an input voltage to generate a boosted voltage. A solid state imaging device receives the boosted voltage and generates the image signal. A clock signal generation unit is connected to the boosting circuit to determine a timing for generating the image signal in correspondence with a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal and to generate a boosting clock signal for operating the boosting circuit. The clock signal generation unit continuously generates the boosting clock signal during a predetermined period in which the imaging operation starts and, after the predetermined period, generates the boosting clock signal during at least part of a blanking period of the vertical synchronization signal and the horizontal synchronization signal.
An imaging device for performing an imaging operation to generate an image signal, the imaging device comprising:
An imaging device having a standby mode and an imaging mode, the imaging device comprising:
A method for controlling an imaging device that performs an imaging operation to generate an image signal, the imaging device including a boosting circuit, which boosts an input voltage in accordance with a boosting clock signal to generate a boosted voltage, and a solid state imaging device, which receives the boosted voltage and generates the image signal in correspondence with a vertical synchronization signal and a horizontal synchronization signal, wherein there is a blanking period for the vertical and horizontal synchronization signals, the method comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
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SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith: charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors
Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof: sSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith: circuitry for control of the power supply
Charge-coupled device [CCD] sensors; Charge-transfer registers specially adapted for CCD sensors: circuitry for providing, modifying or processing…
Term end not estimated
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-094745, filed on Mar. 29, 2002, the entire contents of which arc incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an imaging device incorporating a boosting circuit for generating a boosted voltage.
Batteries are used as power supplies in imaging devices, such as digital cameras, that employ solid state imaging devices (CCD image sensors). A battery has a predetermined output voltage width. Thus, an imaging device is provided with a boosting circuit and a regulating circuit to drive the CCD image sensor.
The invention, together with objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description of the presently preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an imaging device in the prior art;
FIG. 2 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of the imaging device of FIG. 1;
In the drawings, like numerals are used for like elements throughout.
FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of an imaging device 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The imaging device 100 includes a CCD image sensor 1, a boosting circuit 2, a regulating circuit 3, a vertical driver circuit 4, a horizontal driver circuit 5, and a timing control unit 11, which is a clock signal generation unit.
In the first embodiment, a feature of the imaging device 100 is in that the boosting circuit 2 is continuously provided with the boosting clock signal CKV when the imaging operation is started. Further, modes for generating the boosting clock signal CKV are switched when the output voltage (boosted voltage) of the boosting circuit 2 increases to the required value.