초록 ▼

Systems and methods allow driving a solid-state image pickup apparatus at high-speed operation by reducing a number of different samples in the horizontal and vertical directions. In an exemplary embodiment, three or more odd-numbered pixels are incorporated into a single block and signal charges fr

Systems and methods allow driving a solid-state image pickup apparatus at high-speed operation by reducing a number of different samples in the horizontal and vertical directions. In an exemplary embodiment, three or more odd-numbered pixels are incorporated into a single block and signal charges from same color outputs are added within transfer registers such that an average center of the pixels coincides with a pixel at a center of the block. Three transfer electrodes are preferably provided for a column of a vertical transfer register in a part of the vertical transfer register on a side of the horizontal transfer register. The three transfer electrodes may be formed from one layer of three different gate electrode layers. The vertical registers may be arranged in a three column cycle. Preferably, an imaging device employing this structure has a switching mode of operation between a mode in which mixed charges that result from adding signal charges of predetermined pixels from one block are output and a normal mode for outputting all pixel information.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method for driving a solid-state image pickup apparatus formed of a plurality of pixels each for photoelectric-converting incident light into signal charge and a transfer register for transferring the signal charge, characterized in that three or more pixels are provided in one block, and fo

1. A method for driving a solid-state image pickup apparatus formed of a plurality of pixels each for photoelectric-converting incident light into signal charge and a transfer register for transferring the signal charge, characterized in that three or more pixels are provided in one block, and for each of a plurality of blocks, signal charges are added together so as to make a weighted center of pixels coincide with a pixel at a center of the block, and a resulting mixed charge is transferred. 2. In a solid-state image pickup apparatus which comprises a solid-state image pickup device including pixels in a two-dimensional arrangement and a horizontal register, a method for driving a solid-state image pickup apparatus being characterized in that: three pixels in a horizontal direction are provided in one block; signal charges of two outer pixels except a pixel in the middle of each block are added together inside said solid-state image pickup device; and a signal charge of one pixel in the middle of said block is added inside said solid-state image pickup device to a signal charge of one pixel in the middle of an adjacent block. 3. In a solid-state image pickup apparatus which comprises a solid-state image pickup device including pixels in a two-dimensional arrangement having a horizontal register, a method for driving a solid-state image pickup device being characterized in that: a total of nine pixels including three pixels in the horizontal direction and three pixels in the vertical direction are provided as one block; signals charges of six pixels except three pixels in the middle row of each block are transferred from said received light storage to said vertical register; out of the signal charges of the remaining six pixels in each block, transferred to said vertical register, signal charges of four pixels except two pixels in the middle column are added together inside said solid-state image pickup device; and signal charges of four pixels in total, namely, signal charges of two pixels in the middle column of the block and signal charges of two pixels in the middle column of the adjacent block are added together inside said solid-state image sensing device. 4. A method of driving an imaging device having an array of pixel elements comprising: generating signals corresponding to an amount of incident light with the pixel elements; for each of a plurality of blocks of three adjacent pixel elements, combining the signal charges from the outermost pixels of the groups; and providing an output signal corresponding to each of the combined signals such that a weighted center of the two combined signals is at a center of the block. 5. The method of driving an imaging device according to claim 4, further comprising, providing an output corresponding to a combination of signals from a top and bottom grouping of three of said blocks of adjacent pixel elements such that the grouping is comprised of 9 pixels and the output signal is exclusively generated from pixel information of pixels at corners of the block of 9 pixels such that a weighted center of the four pixels is a center pixel of the block of 9 pixels.