Image pickup apparatus having a CPU driving function operable in two modes

• US 6,628,328 B1
• Filed: 09/28/1998
• Issued: 09/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Corporation Limited (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Kijima, Takayuki, Sakurai, Junzo, Ogawa, Yoshitaka, Yokouchi, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Ngoc-Yen, VU, NGOC YEN T
• Application Number:
  US09/161,585
• Time in Patent Office: 1,828 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.314, H04/N.5238, H04/N.5235, 348/207, 348/220, 348/221, 348/222, 348/240, 348/294-304, 348/307-312, 348/315-319, 348/362, 348/363, 348/364, 348/222.1, 348/229.1, 348/230.1, 348/220.1, 348/221.1, 250/208.1
• US Class Current: 348/221.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/73 by influencing the exposure time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/00 Circuitry of solid-state image sensors [SSIS]; Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/42 by switching between different modes of operation using different resolutions or aspect ratios, e.g. switching between interlaced and non-interlaced mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/445 by skipping some contiguous pixels within the read portion of the array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/70 SSIS architectures; Circuits associated therewith
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/73 using interline transfer [IT]

Abstract

In an image pickup apparatus comprising a CCD image pickup device made up of a plurality of pixels constituted by photodiodes which are two-dimensionally arrayed, a vertical register and a horizontal register, and a CPU for driving and controlling the CCD image pickup device, the CPU has a driving function in an all-pixel read mode for reading pixel signals from all the pixels of the CCD image pickup device, a driving function in a thinning (skipping) read mode for reading pixel signals from all the pixels in a thinned-out fashion, and a device shutter function for extracting signal electric charges from each pixel to control an exposure time. In the thinning read mode, the operation of extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel is carried out one or more times for each read period of one frame.

Claims

1. An image pickup apparatus comprising a solid state image pickup device made up of a plurality of pixels constituted by photoelectric transducers which are two-dimensionally arrayed in the horizontal and vertical directions, a vertical register for receiving signal electric charges of each pixel and transferring the signal electric charges in the vertical direction, and a horizontal register for transferring the signal electric charges in said vertical register in the horizontal direction, and control means for driving and controlling said solid state image pickup device, wherein said control means has a driving function in an all-pixel read mode for transferring the signal electric charges from all the pixels of said solid state image pickup device to said vertical registers to read pixel signals, a driving function in a thinning read mode for transferring the signal electric charges from a number n (n is one or more positive integer) of pixels for each unit of a number m (m is two or more positive integer) of pixels in the vertical direction to said vertical registers to read pixel signals, and a device shutter function for extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel to control a photoelectric conversion time, said control means being designed in the thinning read mode to carry out the operation of extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel one or more times for each read period of one frame.

2. An image pickup apparatus comprising a solid state image pickup device made up of a plurality of pixels constituted by photoelectric transducers which are two-dimensionally arrayed in the horizontal and vertical directions, a vertical register for receiving signal electric charges of each pixel and transferring the signal electric charges in the vertical direction, and a horizontal register for transferring the signal electric charges in said vertical register in the horizontal direction, and control means for driving and controlling said solid state image pickup device, wherein said control means has a driving function in an all-pixel read mode for transferring the signal electric charges from all the pixels of said solid state image pickup device to said vertical registers to read pixel signals, a driving function in a thinning read mode for transferring the signal electric charges from a number n (n is one or more positive integer) of pixels for each unit of a number m (m is two or more positive integer) of pixels in the vertical direction to said vertical registers to read pixel signals, and a device shutter function for extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel to control a photoelectric conversion time, said control means being designed to carry out the operation of extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel one or more times immediately before the start of exposure when said solid state image pickup device is driven in the all-pixel read mode directly subsequent to the thinning read mode.

3. An image pickup apparatus comprising a solid state image pickup device made up of a plurality of pixels constituted by photoelectric transducers which are two-dimensionally arrayed in the horizontal and vertical directions, a vertical register for receiving signal electric charges of each pixel and transferring the signal electric charges in the vertical direction, and a horizontal register for transferring the signal electric charges in said vertical register in the horizontal direction, and control means for driving and controlling said solid state image pickup device, wherein said control means has a driving function in an all-pixel read mode for transferring the signal electric charges from all the pixels of said solid state image pickup device to said vertical registers to read pixel signals, a driving function in a thinning read mode for transferring the signal electric charges from a number n (n is one or more positive integer) of pixels for each unit of a number m (m is two or more positive integer) of pixels in the vertical direction to said vertical registers to read pixel signals, and a device shutter function for extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel to control a photoelectric conversion time, said control means being designed to transfer the signal. electric charges from all the pixels to said vertical registers at the beginning of the read period of one frame immediately before starting to read the pixel signals of all the pixels when said solid state image pickup device is driven in the all-pixel read mode directly subsequent to the thinning read mode.

4. An image pickup apparatus comprising a solid state image pickup device made up of a plurality of pixels constituted by photoelectric transducers which are two-dimensionally arrayed in the horizontal and vertical directions, a vertical register for receiving signal electric charges of each pixel and transferring the signal electric charges in the vertical direction, and a horizontal register for transferring the signal electric charges in said vertical register in the horizontal direction, and control means for driving and controlling said solid state image pickup device, wherein said control means has a driving function in an all-pixel read mode for transferring the signal electric charges from all the pixels of said solid state image pickup device to said vertical registers to read pixel signals, a driving function in a thinning read mode for transferring the signal electric charges from a number n (n is one or more positive integer) of pixels for each unit of a number m (m is two or more positive integer) of pixels in the vertical direction to said vertical registers to read pixel signals, and a device shutter function for extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel to control a photoelectric conversion time, said control means being designed to transfer the signal electric charges from all the pixels to said vertical registers and then transfer the signal electric charges in said vertical registers at a high speed immediately before starting to read the pixel signals of all the pixels when said solid state image pickup device is driven in the all-pixel read mode directly subsequent to the thinning read mode.

5. An image pickup apparatus comprising a solid state image pickup device made up of a plurality of pixels constituted by photoelectric transducers which are two-dimensionally arrayed in the horizontal and vertical directions, a vertical register for receiving signal electric charges of each pixel and transferring the signal electric charges in the vertical direction, and a horizontal register for transferring the signal electric charges in said vertical register in the horizontal direction, and control means for driving and controlling said solid state image pickup device, wherein said control means has a device shutter function for extracting signal electric charges from each pixel to control a photoelectric conversion time, performs the operation of extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel a number n (n is one or more positive integer) time(s) immediately before the start of exposure during a read period in which an output of the solid state image pickup device is used to form a motion picture, and performs the operation of extracting the signal electric charges from each pixel repeatedly to inhibit an exposure operation during a read period in which an output of said solid state image pickup device is used to form a still picture.