Image sensing apparatus
AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorYusaku Motonaga
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An image sensing apparatus includes an image sensor having a plurality of pixels and a control unit configured to control the image sensor. Each pixel includes a photoelectric conversion element configured to convert light into an electric charge, an amplifier configured to amplify accumulated electric charge, a transfer switch configured to input a signal of the photoelectric conversion element to the amplifier when being turned on, a reset switch configured to reset the input to the amplifier when being turned on, and a selection switch configured to output an output from the amplifier to a signal output line when being turned on.
Claims8
An apparatus comprising a sensor having a plurality of pixels and a control unit configured to control the sensor,
- each of the plurality of pixels comprising:
- a photoelectric conversion element configured to convert light into an electric charge;
- an amplifier configured to input a signal of the photoelectric conversion element to the amplifier when being turned on;
- a transfer switch configured to input a signal of the photoelectric conversion element to the amplifier when being turned on;
- and
- a reset switch configured to reset the input to the amplifier when being turned on,
- the control unit for executing a first readout operation in which, sequentially with the transfer switch turned off and with the reset switch turned on, a first signal is output from the amplifier to an output line and a second readout operation in which, sequentially with the reset switch turned off and with the transfer switch turned on, a second signal is output from the amplifier to the output line, and
- the control unit for further selecting and executing a first mode in which the first readout operation and the second readout operation are executed for respective predetermined time periods to acquire an image and a second mode in which the first readout operation is executed for a time period shorter than the predetermined time period for the first mode by a short-time reading operation and the second readout operation is executed to acquire an image for light metering.
An apparatus comprising a sensor having a plurality of pixels and a control unit configured to control the sensor,
- each of the plurality of pixels comprising:
- a photoelectric conversion element configured to convert light into electric charge;
- an amplifier configured to input a signal of the photoelectric conversion element to the amplifier when being turned on;
- a transfer switch configured to input a signal of the photoelectric conversion element to the amplifier when being turned on;
- and
- a reset switch configured to reset the input to the amplifier when being turned on,
- the control unit for executing a first readout operation in which, sequentially with the transfer switch turned off and with the reset switch turned on, a first signal is output from the amplifier to a signal output line and a second readout operation in which, sequentially with the reset switch turned off and with the transfer switch turned on, a second signal is output from the amplifier to the output line, and
- the control unit for further selecting and executing a first mode in which the first readout operation and the second readout operation are executed for respective predetermined time periods to acquire an image and a second mode in which the first readout operation and the second readout operation are executed for respective time periods shorter than the predetermined time periods for the first mode by a short-time reading operation to acquire an image for light metering.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.