Drive unit for image sensor, and drive method for imaging device

• US 8,174,595 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2008
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Imaging Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Honda, Tsutomu, Haneda, Kazuhiro, Tanaka, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): HASAN, MOHAMMED A
• Application Number:
  US12/328,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20090195683A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,250 Days
• Field of Search: 348/272, 348/273, 348/280, 348/281, 348/222.1, 348/294, 348302-308
• US Class Current: 348/294
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/134 based on three different wavelength filter elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/447 by preserving the colour pattern with or without loss of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/46 by combining or binning pixels
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 25/778 comprising amplifiers shared between a plurality of pixels, i.e. at least one part of the amplifier must be on the sensor array itself

Abstract

A drive unit for an image sensor of the present invention comprises, for horizontal scanning, a drive section performing addition and readout of a first FD (floating diffusion) shared by two pixels of the same color that are adjacent in a diagonal direction by simultaneously transferring electrical charge of the two pixels of the same color, and for a second FD shared by two pixels of different colors that are adjacent in a diagonal direction, transferring and reading out electrical charge of a pixel of one color among the two pixels of different colors.

Claims

1. A drive unit for an X-Y scanning type image sensor having an RGB Bayer array color filter, comprising:

for horizontal scanning, a drive section performing addition and readout of a first FD (floating diffusion) shared by two pixels of the same color that are adjacent in a diagonal direction by simultaneously transferring electrical charge of the two pixels of the same color, and for a second FD shared by two pixels of different colors that are adjacent in a diagonal direction, transferring and reading out electrical charge of a pixel of one color among the two pixels of different colors; and

a horizontal adding section for adding electrical charges that are adjacent in a horizontal direction, among electrical charges for two pixels of the same color that have been added in the horizontal scanning and read out, and adding electrical charges that are adjacent in the horizontal direction among electrical charges of associated pixels of the same color, of the two pixels of different color that have been read out in the horizontal scanning, and reading out.

2. The drive unit for an image sensor of claim 1, wherein:

the read out electrical charge is used in a HD (High Definition) movie signal.

3. A drive method for an X-Y scanning type image sensor having an RGB Bayer array color filter, comprising:

for horizontal scanning, performing addition and readout of a first FD (floating diffusion) shared by two pixels of the same color that are adjacent in a diagonal direction by simultaneously transferring electrical charge of the two pixels of the same color, and for a second FD shared by two pixels of different colors that are adjacent in a diagonal direction, transferring and reading out electrical charge of a pixel of one color among the two pixels of different colors; and

for adding electrical charges that are adjacent in a horizontal direction, among electrical charges for two pixels of the same color that have been added in the horizontal scanning and read out, adding electrical charges that are adjacent in the horizontal direction among electrical charges of associated pixels of the same color, of the two pixels of different color that have been read out in the horizontal scanning, and reading out.

4. An imaging device for an X-Y scanning type image sensor having an RGB Bayer array color filter, comprising:

for horizontal scanning, a drive section performing addition and readout of a first FD (floating diffusion) shared by two pixels of the same color that are adjacent in a diagonal direction by simultaneously transferring electrical charge of the two pixels of the same color, and for a second FD shared by two pixels of different colors that are adjacent in a diagonal direction, transferring and reading out electrical charge of a pixel of one color among the two pixels of different colors;

a horizontal adding section for adding electrical charges that are adjacent in a horizontal direction, among electrical charges for two pixels of the same color that have been added in the horizontal scanning and read out, and adding electrical charges that are adjacent in the horizontal direction among electrical charges of associated pixels of the same color, of the two pixels of different color that have been read out in the horizontal scanning, and reading out;

an image processing section for processing signals that have been read out by the control horizontal adding section; and

a storage section for storing image data that has been processed by the image processing section.

5. The imaging device of claim 4, wherein:

two pixels that are adjacent in the diagonal direction are adjacent in different directions in each row.

6. An X-Y scanning type image sensor having an RGB Bayer array color filter, comprising:

a first FD (Floating Diffusion) common to two G pixels, the two G pixels being adjacent to each other in a diagonal direction and being connected to the first FD by means of a first transfer transistor and a second transfer transistor, respectively;

a first reset transistor connected to the first FD;

a first amplification transistor connected to the first FD;

a second FD, common to two pixels of R and B, that are adjacent to each other in a diagonal direction, and are connected to the second FD by means of a third transfer transistor and a fourth transfer transistor, respectively;

a second reset transistor connected to the second FD;

a second amplification transistor connected to the second FD; and

a signal reading section connected to the first amplification transistor and the second amplification transistor, and wherein the first transfer transistor, the second transfer transistor, the third transfer transistor and the fourth transfer transistor are respectively independently connected to transfer control lines for carrying out transfer control.

7. The image sensor of claim 6, wherein:

the two pixels that share the first FD are adjacent in different directions in each row.