Image pickup apparatus

• US 20050046719A1
• Filed: 10/04/2004
• Published: 03/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Inui, Fumihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,688,365 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/308
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14643 Photodiode arrays; MOS imagers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/63 applied to dark current
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/67 applied to fixed-pattern noise, e.g. non-uniformity of response
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/672 between adjacent sensors or output registers for reading a single image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/767 Horizontal readout lines, multiplexers or registers

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 includeda in an output signal from the read-out circuit in order to remove an offset generated in each read-out channel.

Claims

1-20. -20. (Canceled)

21. An image pickup apparatus comprising:

two-dimensionally arrayed pixels;

a plurality of read-out channels each including a read-out circuit adapted to read out signals from the pixels, and an amplifier circuit;

a conversion circuit adapted to select pixel signals output via the plurality of read-out channels and output a series of pixels signals; and

a clamp unit adapted to clamp a reset level included in an output signal from said read-out circuit in order to remove an offset generated in each read-out channel.