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US 8,710,422 B2Granted
Imaging device
AssigneeNikon Corporation
InventorsTaku Arii, Yojiro Tezuka, Ryoji Motohana, Satoshi Nakayama, Wataru Funamizu, Hideki Yamanaka
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A horizontal driving control unit of an imaging device supplies dummy pulse signals to a horizontal driving unit at least at a part of period during a period from a start time point of each horizontal blanking period to a last signal sampling time point defined by a sampling control signal.
Claims11
An imaging device, comprising:
- a plurality of pixels being disposed two-dimensionally and each having a photoelectric conversion unit, a charge-voltage conversion unit converting a charge transferred from the photoelectric conversion unit into a voltage, a transfer unit transferring the charge from the photoelectric conversion unit to the charge-voltage conversion unit, an amplifying unit outputting a pixel signal according to the voltage of the charge-voltage conversion unit, and a reset unit resetting the voltage of the charge-voltage conversion unit;
- a vertical driving unit supplying a driving signal driving the pixels to the plurality of pixels;
- vertical signal lines being provided to correspond to respective columns of the plurality of pixels and to which the pixel signal is supplied;
- a sample hold unit sampling and holding the pixel signal supplied to each of the vertical signal lines according to a sampling control signal, and supplying to horizontal signal lines according to a horizontal driving signal;
- a horizontal driving unit supplying the horizontal driving signal to the sample hold unit;
- and
- a horizontal driving control unit supplying a plurality of kinds of pulse signals relating to a reading of the pixel signal from the sample hold unit to the horizontal signal lines, wherein:
- a circuit controlling the reset unit among the vertical driving unit is operated by an identical current source with the horizontal driving unit;
- the horizontal driving control unit supplies the plurality of kinds of pulse signals to the horizontal driving unit at each horizontal reading period;
- and
- the horizontal driving control unit supplies dummy pulse signals to the horizontal driving unit at least at a part of period during a period from a start time point of each horizontal blanking period to a last signal sampling time point at the horizontal blanking period from among signal sampling time points defined by the sampling control signal.
8 more elements
An imaging device, comprising:
- a plurality of pixels being disposed two-dimensionally and each having a photoelectric conversion unit, a charge-voltage conversion unit converting a charge transferred from the photoelectric conversion unit into a voltage, a transfer unit transferring the charge from the photoelectric conversion unit to the charge-voltage conversion unit, an amplifying unit outputting a pixel signal according to the voltage of the charge-voltage conversion unit, and a reset unit resetting the voltage of the charge-voltage conversion unit;
- a vertical driving unit supplying a driving signal driving the pixels to the plurality of pixels;
- vertical signal lines being provided to correspond to respective columns of the plurality of pixels and to which the pixel signal is supplied;
- and
- a sample hold unit sampling and holding the pixel signal according to a signal of each of the vertical signal lines in accordance with a sampling control signal, and supplying the signal being held to horizontal signal lines according to a horizontal driving signal, wherein
- the vertical driving unit supplies a driving signal controlling the reset unit to the reset unit to make the reset unit perform a reset operation at least at a part of period from among a period from a last signal sampling time point at the horizontal blanking period to an end time point of the horizontal blanking period at each horizontal blanking period.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.