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US 8,427,558 B2Granted
Image pickup apparatus
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorFumihiro Inui
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Abstract
There is provided an image pickup apparatus comprising two-dimensionally arrayed pixels, a plurality of read-out channels each including a read-out circuit and an amplifier circuit, a parallel-serial conversion circuit which sequentially selects pixel signals output via the plurality of read-out channels and outputs a series of pixel signals, and a clamp unit which clamps the reset level included in an output signal from the read-out circuit in order to remove an offset generated in each read-out channel.
Claims5
A solid-state imaging apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of pixels arranged along rows and columns;
- and
- a plurality of read out channels, each arranged correspondingly to one of the columns, for reading out a signal from the plurality of pixels, and
- a plurality of switches each corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of read out channels, for reading out the signal from each of the plurality of read out channels to a common output node;
- wherein each of the plurality of read out channels includes:
- a correlation double sampling circuit for receiving the signal read out from the plurality of pixels and reducing a noise contained in the signal;
- an amplifier for amplifying the signal of which noise is reduced by the correlated double sampling circuit;
- and
- an offset removing unit which includes a clamp unit, the offset removing unit for subjecting a signal outputted through the amplifier to an offset correction processing.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.