Shared terminal of an image sensor system for transferring image data and control signals

An image sensor for use in an image sensor system having a host controller, the image sensor comprising:

• a power input terminal to be coupled to the host controller solely to receive power from the host controller for operating one or more components of the image sensor;
• a data terminal to be coupled to the host controller to provide analog image data to the host controller from the image sensor;
• a clock input terminal to be coupled to the host controller to receive one or more clock signals from the host controller;
• a ground terminal to be coupled to the host controller to serve as a common reference between the image sensor and one or more circuits of the host controller;
• and
• logic coupled to the data terminal and configured to perform operations comprising:
• transferring the analog image data from the image sensor to the host controller through the data terminal;
• and
• transferring one or more digital control signals between the image sensor and the host controller only through the data terminal and the clock input terminal.

A host controller for use in an image sensor system having an image sensor, the host controller comprising:

• a power supply to be coupled solely to a power input terminal of the image sensor to provide power for operating one or more components of the image sensor;
• a clock signal generator to be coupled to a clock input terminal of the image sensor to provide one or more clock signals to the image sensor;
• a ground to be coupled to a ground terminal of the image sensor to serve as a common reference between the image sensor and one or more circuits of the host controller;
• and
• logic to be coupled to a data terminal of the image sensor and configured to perform operations comprising:
• transferring analog image data from the image sensor to the host controller through the data terminal;
• and
• transferring one or more digital control signals between the image sensor and the host controller only through the data terminal and the clock input terminal.