US 5,317,408 AGranted

Horizontally aligned image pickup for CCD image sensor

AssigneeSony Corporation

InventorIsao Hirota

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Abstract

A charge coupled device image sensor is comprised of an imaging section including a plurality of photoelectric converting sections arrayed in a matrix configuration for generating signal charges and a plurality of horizontal shift registers arranged between the horizontal rows of the photoelectric converting sections for transferring the signal charges via a readout section in the horizontal direction, a storage section having a plurality of horizontal shift registers for transferring the signal charges in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction line by line, a readout section coupled to the storage section and including a plurality of horizontal shift registers for reading out signal charges from the storage section, and a serial-to-parallel converting section provided between the imaging section and the storage section for storing one-line of signal charges from the imaging section into double-line of image signal.

Claims5

Dependent claims

A charge coupled device image sensor, comprising:

(a) an imaging section including a plurality of photoelectric converting sections arrayed in a matrix configuration for generating signal charges and a plurality of horizontal shift registers arranged between horizontal rows of the photoelectric converting sections for transferring the signal charges via a readout section in the horizontal direction;
(b) a storage section having a plurality of horizontal shift registers for each of said horizontal shift registers in said image section for transferring the signal chargers in the horizontal direction and in zigzag fashion in the vertical direction line by line;
(c) readout means coupled to said storage section and including first and second sets of horizontal shift registers for reading out signal charges from said storage section, said first set of horizontal shift registers storing signal charges of odd lines of said photoelectric converting sections, said second set of horizontal shift registers storing signal charges of even lines of said photoelectric converting sections;
and
(d) serial-to-parallel converting means provided between said imaging section and said storage section for converting one line of signal charges from said imaging section into a plurality of lines of signal charges, said serial-to-parallel converting means including:
a pair of transfer sections coupled to each output of the plurality of said horizontal shift registers of said image section and a channel provided between the pair of said transfer sections and a first gate controlling said channel;
and
a second gate provided between each input side of the plurality of horizontal shift registers of said storage section and said pair of said transfer sections.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.