Solid-state image-sensing device with selectively grouped pixels

• US 7,443,438 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2004
• Issued: 10/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Holdings Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.), Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Holdings Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.), Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kakumoto, Tomokazu, Throngnumchai, Kraisorn
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye; Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lam; Hung H
• Application Number:
  US11/009,465
• Publication Number:
  US 20050128328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 348/308, 348/272
• US Class Current: 348/308
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/46 by combining or binning pixels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/573 the logarithmic type
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/76 Addressed sensors, e.g. MOS or CMOS sensors

Abstract

A solid-state image-sensing element 1 is fed with, from a coupling controller 4, a signal φSv that couples together the photoelectric conversion portions of every predetermined number of vertically adjacent pixels and a signal φSh that couples together the photoelectric conversion portions of every predetermined number of horizontally adjacent pixels. This sets the numbers of pixels of which the photoelectric conversion portions are coupled together horizontally and vertically. A pixel output controller 5 feeds a signal that controls the connection between the photoelectric conversion portion and the signal output portion in each pixel, and, within each group of pixels so coupled together, signals are outputted from one of those pixels.

Claims

1. A solid-state image-sensing device comprising:

a plurality of pixels, each pixel including

a photoelectric conversion portion that outputs an electrical signal commensurate with amount of incident light and

a signal output portion that feeds a current to the photoelectric conversion portion and that outputs the electrical signal outputted from the photoelectric conversion portion,

wherein the pixels are divided into groups each consisting of a plurality of vertically adjacent pixels and a plurality of horizontally adjacent pixels,

wherein coupling of the photoelectric conversion portions of the individual pixels can be switched among

(a) a state in which, within each group of pixels, the photoelectric conversion portions of all the pixels of the group are coupled together,

(b) a state in which, within each group of pixels, the photoelectric conversion portions of all the vertically adjacent pixels in each column are coupled together, and

(c) a state in which, within each group of pixels, the photoelectric conversion portions of all the horizontally adjacent pixels in each row are coupled together, and

wherein, within each group of pixels, the electrical signals are outputted from the signal output portion of one of the pixels of which the photoelectric conversion portions are coupled together.

2. A solid-state image-sensing device as claimed in claim 1,

wherein each pixel operates with a logarithmic conversion characteristic so as to output an electrical signal that is natural-logarithmically proportional to the amount of incident light.

3. A solid-state image-sensing device comprising:

a plurality of pixels, each pixel including

a photoelectric conversion portion that outputs an electrical signal commensurate with amount of incident light and

a signal output portion that feeds a current to the photoelectric conversion portion and that outputs the electrical signal outputted from the photoelectric conversion portion;

first switches that electrically connect together and disconnect from one another the photoelectric conversion portions of vertically adjacent pixels; and

second switches that electrically connect together and disconnect from one another the photoelectric conversion portions of horizontally adjacent pixels,

wherein, through combination of connections achieved by the first and second switches, the photoelectric conversion portions of particular pixels are coupled together, and the electrical signals are outputted from the signal output portion of one of the pixels of which the photoelectric conversion portions are coupled together.

4. A solid-state image-sensing device as claimed in claim 3,

wherein the pixels are divided into groups each consisting of x (x≧

1) vertically adjacent pixels and y (y≧

1) horizontally adjacent pixels, and a coupling controller is provided that controls, on a group-by-group basis, connection and disconnection of the first and second switches.

5. A solid-state image-sensing device as claimed in claim 4,

wherein the first and second switches are provided on a group-by-group basis, and

wherein the coupling controller feeds, on a group-by-group basis, a first switch control signal for controlling connection and disconnection of the first switches and a second switch control signal for controlling connection and disconnection of the second switches.

6. A solid-state image-sensing device as claimed in claim 5,

wherein, through combination of the first and second switch control signals fed from the coupling controller, number of pixels of which the photoelectric conversion portions are coupled together to form each group is set.

7. A solid-state image-sensing device as claimed in claim 3,

wherein, in each pixel, a third switch is provided that electrically connects together and disconnects from each other the photoelectric conversion portion and the signal output portion.

8. A solid-state image-sensing device as claimed in claim 7,

wherein, in each pixel, the third switch also serves as a switch that disconnects the electric conversion portion and the signal output portion from each other when noise signals representing variations in sensitivity among different pixels are outputted.

9. A solid-state image-sensing device as claimed in claim 3,

wherein each pixel operates with a logarithmic conversion characteristic so as to output an electrical signal that is natural-logarithmically proportional to the amount of incident light.