Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Shintaro Takenaka

Kazuhiro Sonoda

Noriyuki Shikina

Tomoyuki Noda

Hidetoshi Hayashi

Yoshiko Shigiya

Masaru Fujimura

Yasuji Ikeda

Tatsuhiko Yamazaki

Taichi Kasugai

Atsushi Furubayashi

Kazunari Kitani

Daisuke Yoshida

Tetsuya Itano

Kazuo Yamazaki

Daisuke Kobayashi

Satoshi Suzuki

Yukihiro Kuroda

Koichiro Iwata

Yasuharu Ota

Takenori Kobuse

Atsushi Shimada

Kentaro Tsukida

Takuro Yamamoto

An apparatus includes a pixel unit including a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of rows and each including a quench element of which a control node a signal defining a start and an end of an exposure period is input to and a photodiode connected to the quench element, a scan unit that scans the pixel unit by performing processing of reading signals of the pixels, processing of starting the exposure period, and processing of ending the exposure period on the plurality of rows sequentially in units of one row or two or more rows, and a control unit that outputs a synchronization signal to the scan unit to control a timing of the reading processing, wherein at least one of a timing of the start processing and a timing of the end processing is controlled by another control signal different from the synchronization signal.

Apparatus, system, moving body, and equipment

The photoelectric conversion device includes pixels each including photoelectric converters and a floating diffusion to which charges of the photoelectric converters are transferred, a vertical scanning unit for performing readout processing and reset processing on the pixels while switching the photoelectric converter to be processed and the floating diffusion to be processed, and a control unit that controls the vertical scanning unit. The control unit includes a readout row address generation unit and a reset row address generation unit that generate a row address to be processed. A first cycle in which the photoelectric converter is switched is shorter than a second cycle in which the floating diffusion is switched, an update cycle of the row address is equal to the second cycle, and a setting unit of an update timing of the row address is equal to the length of one cycle of the first cycle.

Photoelectric conversion device

A photoelectric conversion device includes a plurality of unit pixels each including a charge holding portion to which charges are transferred from four or more photoelectric conversion units. Sensitivity of each photoelectric conversion unit of a first group to incident light is greater than sensitivity of each photoelectric conversion unit of a second group to the incident light. After charge accumulation is started in all the photoelectric conversion units of the second group, charge accumulation is started in the photoelectric conversion units of the first group. After signals corresponding to charges accumulated in all the photoelectric conversion units of the second group are read out, signals corresponding to charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion units of the first group are read out.

A photoelectric conversion apparatus includes a pixel array having pixels arranged to form rows and columns and column signal lines configured to output noise signals and optical signals of the pixels, a driver configured to drive the pixels so that the optical signal is output following the noise signal from each pixel, A/D converters configured to perform A/D conversion to convert the noise signals output to the column signal lines into noise data and to subsequently perform A/D conversion to covert the optical signals output to the column signal lines into optical data, a data hold circuit, and a transmitter configured to transmit the noise data converted by the A/D converters to the data hold circuit and to subsequently transmit the optical data converted by the A/D converters to the data hold circuit.

Photoelectric conversion apparatus and image capturing apparatus with A/D conversion and data transmission

The photoelectric conversion device includes a pixel unit configured to output first and second signals from columns of first and second regions, and a processing circuit including a first processing circuit including first and third memories, a second processing circuit including second and fourth memories, and a data exchange circuit. The first memory stores the first and second signals output from the first region, and the second memory stores the first and second signals output from the second region. The data exchange circuit stores the first signals read out from the first and second memories in the third memory, and stores the second signals read out from the first and second memories in the fourth memory. The processing circuit outputs the first signals stored in the third memory from the first processing circuit, and outputs the second signals stored in the fourth memory from the second processing circuit.

Photoelectric converter and imaging system

Provided is an imaging device including a scanning unit configured to control a plurality of pixels so as to perform a shutter scan and a readout scan, and the scanning unit is further configured to switch a drive mode between a first drive mode and a second drive mode having periods of different lengths of the readout scan in control of the plurality of pixels and start the shutter scan performed in the second drive mode before the readout scan performed in the first drive mode ends when switching a drive mode from the first drive mode to the second drive mode.

Imaging device and drive method of imaging device

A signal processing apparatus includes an analog-to-digital conversion unit, a determination unit including a comparator, and a data calculation unit that performs calculation. The data calculation unit generates a first calculation result by performing calculation including processing for averaging a first digital signal and a second digital signal or processing for adding the first and second digital signals. The data calculation unit generates a second calculation result based on a difference between the first digital signal and first noise digital data. The data calculation unit switches whether to output the first calculation result or output the second calculation result, based on a comparison result of the comparator.

Signal processing apparatus, photoelectric conversion apparatus, imaging apparatus, and moving body

An imaging device includes pixels, output lines on each column, an AD conversion unit including column AD conversion circuits connected to the output lines, a first storage unit including holding units connected to the column AD conversion circuits, a transfer unit that transfers signals in the first storage unit, a second storage unit that holds signals from the transfer unit, and an output unit that outputs signals in the second storage unit. The pixels output a first analog signal based on signal from the first photoelectric converter and a second analog signal based on signal from the first and second photoelectric converter. The AD conversion unit converts the first and second analog signals into first and second digital signals. The number of signals corresponding to the first digital signals of signals output by the output unit is less than the number of signals output in parallel from the output lines.

Imaging device and imaging system

In a photoelectric conversion apparatus, an amplification unit outputs a first amplified signal generated by amplifying a first signal using a first gain, a second amplified signal generated by amplifying the first signal using a second gain, a third amplified signal generated by amplifying a second signal using a third gain, and a fourth amplified signal generated by amplifying the second signal using a fourth gain to an analog to digital (AD) conversion unit in this order. The AD conversion unit generates first to fourth digital signals corresponding to the first to fourth amplified signals, respectively, and outputs the second digital signal and the third digital signal to an output unit prior to the first digital signal and the fourth digital signal.

Photoelectric conversion apparatus, signal processing circuit, image capturing system, and moving object

Provided is an imaging device including row drive unit having a first storage unit that stores and outputs a first signal for a readout from the pixels on an associated row, a second storage unit that stores and outputs a second signal for an operation for causing the photoelectric conversion element on an associated row to be reset to a charge accumulation state, and a third storage unit that stores and outputs a third signal for maintaining the photoelectric conversion element on an associated row in a charge accumulation state or a reset state based on the first signal output from the first storage unit and the second signal output from the second storage unit.

Imaging device, drive method of imaging device, and imaging system

An embodiment includes: a pixel unit including first and second imaging regions arranged with effective pixels and first and second reference regions arranged with optical black pixels; and a scanning unit that performs, on a row-by-row basis, reset operations of photoelectric converters and readout operations of pixel signals based on charges generated in the photoelectric converters which includes charge transfer to transfer charges generated in the photoelectric converters to holding portions. The scanning unit drives the pixels in the first imaging region and the first reference region in a first condition where a period from the end of reset operation to the end of charge transfer is a first length and drives the pixels in the second imaging region and the second reference region in a second condition where a period from the end of reset operation to the end of charge transfer is a second length.

Imaging device and method of driving imaging device

A solid-state imaging apparatus includes: a pixel unit () configured to perform imaging of a plurality of frames by a photoelectric conversion; an exposure amount calculating unit () configured to calculate exposure amounts of the plurality of frames imaged in a flicker cycle of a light source; and a control unit () configured to control the exposure amount of each of the frames imaged by the pixel unit based on the exposure amounts of the plurality of frames calculated by the exposure amount calculating unit.

Solid-state imaging apparatus and method of operating solid-state imaging apparatus to set a pluratlity of charge accumulation periods in accordance with a flicker period

Periods in which first selection transistors of several pixel cells of a plurality of pixel cells are in an on state are overlapped, and periods in which second selection transistors of several other pixel cells of the plurality of pixel cells are in an on state are overlapped.

Method of driving image pickup device, image pickup device, image pickup system

An imaging apparatus includes a first holding circuit, a second holding circuit, and a calculator. The first holding circuit is configured to hold and output a logical value based on a logical value supplied from an address decoder. The second holding circuit is configured to hold and output a logical value based on the logical value output from the first holding circuit. The calculator is configured to receive the logical values supplied from the first and second holding circuits and perform a logical operation for generating a driving signal.

Imaging apparatus and imaging system having logical circuit to generate pixel driving signals

An imaging apparatus includes a scanning circuit configured to perform shutter scanning and readout scanning, a first control unit configured to control the capacitance setting unit to set a capacitance value of the input node in the readout scanning, and a second control unit configured to control the capacitance setting unit to set a capacitance value of the input node in the shutter scanning.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Shintaro Takenaka