Solid state image pickup device driving method utilizing an electronic shutter operation

Abstract

A solid image pickup device driving method is provided in which a charge storage type solid image pickup device of a frame transfer interline system is used to detect still picture signals. Either the odd-numbered or even-numbered field elements are transferred to charge transfer paths in a light receiving section and next transferred to a storage section. The remaining field elements are then transferred to charge transfer paths in the light receiving section. The field elemeents residing in the storage section are then transferred to a horizontal CCD for output. Finally, the remaining field elements, having been stored in the charge transfer paths in the light receiving section, are transferred to the storage section, and then transferred to the horizontal CCD for output. The driving method provides for increased vertical resolution and facilitates miniaturization of the device. In addition, the shutter periods and/or the signal amplification factors of the odd-numbered and even-numbered fields are adjusted so that, with respect to the picture elements of the odd-numbered and even-numbered fields, with light applied under the same conditions, the output signals of the odd-numbered and even-numbered fields obtained through scanning are equal to each other. Therefore, the odd-numbered field scanning operation and the even-numbered field scanning operation each possess an equal ratio of the video signal to smear, and field flickering is therefore suppressed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.