SOLID-STATE IMAGING DEVICE

• US 20140071321A1
• Filed: 02/28/2013
• Published: 03/13/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: SEYAMA, Shigeru
• Application Number:
  US13/780,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20140071321A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/308
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/745 Circuitry for generating timing or clock signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/75 Circuitry for providing, modifying or processing image signals from the pixel array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/7795 Circuitry for generating timing or clock signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/78 Readout circuits for addressed sensors, e.g. output amplifiers or A/D converters

Abstract

According to an embodiment, a solid-state imaging device includes: a pixel region in which multiple unit pixels are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix; and a timing generator configured to control application timings of a reset signal and a read signal to be supplied to the pixel region; and during a period for performing a long-time-period exposure once for a first pixel group constituted by multiple unit pixels of the pixel region, a short-time-period exposure is performed multiple times for a second pixel group constituted by multiple unit pixels different from the unit pixels of the first pixel group.

Claims

1. A solid-state imaging device comprising:

a pixel region in which multiple unit pixels are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix; and

a timing generator configured to control application timings of a reset signal and a read signal to be supplied to the pixel region;

wherein

during a period for performing a long-time-period exposure once for a first pixel group constituted by multiple unit pixels arranged on one row of the pixel region, a short-time-period exposure is performed multiple times for a second pixel group constituted by multiple unit pixels arranged on the other row of the pixel region.

2. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the short-time-period exposure performed multiple times for the second pixel group is continuously performed.

3. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein, the other row is adjacent to the one row.

4. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the one row is one of even-number rows and odd-number rows of the pixel region, the other row is the other of even-number rows and odd-number rows of the pixel region.

5. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein a time period until the read signal is applied after applying the reset signal to the first pixel group and a time period until a last read signal is applied after applying a first reset signal to the second pixel group are equal.

6. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 1, wherein, by the short-time-period exposure performed multiple times for the second pixel group, at least a first short-time-period exposure image obtained by applying the reset signal almost at the same timing as the reset signal for the first pixel group to perform a short-time-period exposure and a second short-time-period exposure image obtained by applying the read signal almost at the same timing as the read signal for the first pixel group to perform a short-time-period exposure are picked up.

7. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 6, wherein the second short-time-period exposure performed at predetermined time intervals from the first short-time period exposure.

8. A solid-state imaging device comprising:

a pixel region in which multiple unit pixels are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix; and

a timing generator configured to control application timings of a reset signal and a read signal to be supplied to the pixel region, and, during a period for performing a long-time-period exposure once for a first pixel group constituted by multiple unit pixels of the pixel region, perform a short-time-period exposure multiple times for a second pixel group constituted by multiple unit pixels different from the unit pixels of the first pixel group;

a frame buffer configured to hold one long-time-period exposure image obtained by the long-time-period exposure and multiple short-time-period exposure images obtained by the short-time-period exposure performed multiple times; and

an image signal processing section configured to average the multiple short-time-period exposure images to generate one average short-time-period exposure image, and combine the average short-time-period exposure image with the long-time-period exposure image to generate an output image.

9. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 8, wherein the short-time-period exposure performed multiple times for the second pixel group is continuously performed.

10. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 8, wherein, the first pixel group is adjacent to the second pixel group.

11. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 8, wherein a time period until the read signal is applied after applying the reset signal to the first pixel group and a time period until a last read signal is applied after applying a first reset signal to the second pixel group are equal.

12. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 9, wherein the multiple times are equal.

13. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 8, wherein, in the short-time-period exposure for the second pixel group, a first short-time-period exposure image for which the reset signal is applied at least almost at the same timing as the reset signal for the first pixel group to perform a short-time-period exposure and a second short-time-period exposure image for which the read signal is applied at least almost at the same timing as the read signal for the first pixel group to perform a short-time-period exposure image are picked up.

14. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 13, wherein the second short-time-period exposure performed at predetermined time intervals from the first short-time period exposure.

15. A solid-state imaging device comprising:

a pixel region in which multiple unit pixels are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix; and

a timing generator configured to control application timings of a reset signal and a read signal to be supplied to the pixel region; and

an integral type A/D converter configured to convert an analog pixel signal inputted from the pixel region to a digital pixel signal;

wherein,

during a period for performing a long-time-period exposure once for a first pixel group constituted by multiple unit pixels of the pixel region, a short-time-period exposure is performed multiple times for a second pixel group constituted by multiple unit pixels different from the unit pixels of the first pixel group, and the integral type A/D converter averages the pixel signals outputted by the short-time-period exposure image performed multiple times to convert the pixel signals to a pixel signal forming one average short-time-period exposure image.

16. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 15, further comprising an image signal processing section configured to combine one long-time-period exposure image obtained by the long-time-period exposure and the one average short-time-period exposure image to generate an output image.

17. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 15, wherein the short-time-period exposure performed multiple times for the second pixel group is continuously performed.

18. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 15, wherein, by the short-time-period exposure performed multiple times for the second pixel group, at least a first short-time-period exposure image obtained by applying the reset signal almost at the same timing as the reset signal for the first pixel group to perform a short-time-period exposure and a second short-time-period exposure image obtained by applying the read signal almost at the same timing as the read signal for the first pixel group to perform a short-time-period exposure are picked up.

19. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 15, wherein, during a period for performing the long-time-period exposure once for the first pixel group, the short-time-period exposure is performed at least twice for the second pixel group.

20. The solid-state imaging device according to claim 19, wherein a period until the read signal is applied after applying the reset signal to the first pixel group and a period until a last read signal is applied after applying a first reset signal to the second pixel group are equal.